The Eagles don't deserve to be third.

Perhaps you forgot but the Broncos beat the Pats....in NE.

San Diego has beaten precisely no one, which is to say numbers 20, 31 and 32 on your list. New England was beaten convincingly, at home, by Denver. Was that game a fluke? Have you noticed that they've beaten no one but Cincy?

I'd like to hear Bob's rationale for why the Eagles don't deserve to be third. They're solidly on top of the NFC East and the case could be made that they should have won the one game they lost. They've played fantastic football all season with the exception of the 4th quarter in that game. They have one of the best defenses out there and the top ranked offense and McNabb looks better than ever. Really...ever.

Hey Will-

A loss is a loss is a loss. Especially in Philly.

No one is SOLIDLY on tope of the NFC east after five weeks. We'll see what happens. And the Eagles have had the EASIEST schedule in the NFC East. Who have they played that's been tough? Houston? San Fran? GREEN BAY? Cowboys are not any better than last year despite the TO hype. The only decent team the Eagles faced was the Giants. And they LOST. Look who the Giants have faced: Indianapolis. Seahawks. Admittedly they looked awful. But the Eagles have been playing chumps.

Only time will tell. But they don't deserve 3 spot by a long shot.

I'm also very confused. How you can rate the Broncos lower than both the Pats and Chargers? The Broncos beat the Pats on the road and the Chargers lost to the team that the Broncos beat on Monday Night. Not to mention that the Chargers have beat the Titans, Raiders, and a mediocre Pittsburgh team. That's hardly a tough schedule.

Everyone's an expert, right Mark?

The Eagles Beat #'s 31, 28, 24, and in a nail biter at home 18. That is why they dont deserve to be #3.

For the second straight week Maske has the Bills ranked ahead of the Jets even though they lost to the Jets.

Hey Mark, how's about a Wednesday online chat room session so we can actually discuss your rankings with you?

As an admitted Broncos fan, it does seem odd that the Broncos are rated below the Pats, when they beat the Pats recently in New England! Granted the Broncos may fall when they approach the hardest part of their schedule (they have Indy at home and Pittsburgh away after facing Oakland and Cleveland), but how can you NOT eank them in the top 5. Of course, Michael Irvin doesn't even have them in the top 5 in the AFC, but then again, what does Michael Irvin know!

My Broncos did beat the Pats in New England

So who deserves to be #3?

Mostly, folks, the rankings are just a mechanism to get a good, lively debate going, and I'm glad they're accomplishing that. It's an inexact science. It's about 50 percent hard evidence and 50 percent gut feeling. Certainly head-to-head results count, but they don't count for everything. If they counted for everything, you'd have to rank the Titans right beneath the Colts this week, given that they came within an eyelash of winning in Indy. So while I know the Broncos beat the Patriots, that result becomes slightly less meaningful with each passing week and I put a little bit of stock into the fact that, while the Denver defense is playing great, I still personally have concerns over the way Jake Plummer is playing. But it's not like I put the Broncos 20th. So these are very subjective and I welcome the (hopefully) good-natured ripping I receive here each week after they're posted. You all are certainly welcome to put up your own rankings in this comments section. As for a Wednesday chat, well, that's not my call, but from now on I'll make sure to come by the comments section every Wednesday and we can do a pseudo-chat that way. How's that?

So the Bolts beat the Steelers a less than good team to paraphrase you and they jump by the Broncos and Ravens????? The Ravens did beat them remember-you even picked the Ravens Mark.

Ah the glories of being an NFL Blogster!