Ballot and comments from AP Pro 32 panel voter Dan Pompei of Chicago
Tribune:

Week 12

DAN POMPEI (Chicago Tribune)

1. Houston Texans — They had a letdown game and got away with it.
That's a sign of a good team.

2. Baltimore Ravens — Nobody suspected Jacoby Jones would be the
reason they'd be winning, but they are winning nonetheless.

3. Green Bay Packers — With any other quarterback, they would be just
another team.

4. Denver Broncos — This team has scored 30 or more in five straight
games and might be the hottest team in football. Are they peaking too
soon?

5. San Francisco 49ers — With a trip to New Orleans on a short week
looming, the 49ers needed to beat the Bears, and they did.

6. Atlanta Falcons — The offense may be off the tracks, and up next
are games against the red-hot Bucs and red-hot Saints.

7. Chicago Bears — They lost back to back challenges against elite
teams, and still have not beaten a contender.

8. New England Patriots — Their stock goes up for beating the Colts,
but their stock goes down for losing Gronk.

9. New Orleans Saints — If the season started at the beginning of
October, they might be No. 1 in these rankings.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — They have won four in a row, and Greg
Schiano is starting to look like a coach of the year candidate.

11. New York Giants — If they are going to finish strong, they are
going to earn it. Up next: Packers, at Redskins, Saints, at Falcons,
at Ravens.

12. Seattle Seahawks — Three of next four are on the road, where the
Seahawks are 1-4.

13. Minnesota Vikings — Season starts now: at Bears, at Packers, and
then Bears at home.

14. Pittsburgh Steelers — With Ben Roethlisberger's arm in a sling,
having the Bengals catch them may be a bigger concern than catching
the Ravens.

15. Cincinnati Bengals — They have won two straight by 18 points or
more, and the arrow is pointing up.

16. Indianapolis Colts — Leave it to Bill Belichick to be the one who
made Andrew Luck look like a rookie.

17. Dallas Cowboys — No truth to the rumor that Jerry Jones rescinded
his coaching offer to Mike Holmgren after seeing how Holmgren's Browns
played.

18. Detroit Lions — Time is running out for the Lions to make a run
for the playoffs, and they get the Texans on Thanksgiving next.

19. New York Jets — Beating the Rams handily on the road Sunday
arguably was the most impressive thing the Jets have done all season.

20. Washington Redskins — Don't look now, but RG3 just jumped over the
rookie wall.

21. Buffalo Bills — The defense finally might be coming to life —
about nine games too late.

22. St. Louis Rams — Just when you think the Rams are turning the
corner, they run into a wall.

23. Miami Dolphins — Looks like the rest of the league might have
caught up with the Dolphins.

24. San Diego Chargers — Remember when the Chargers always had an
offense that could put up big numbers? Not anymore.

25. Tennessee Titans — Five of their six losses have come by 21 points
or more.

26. Arizona Cardinals — Raise your hand if you can tell the difference
between John Skelton and Ryan Lindley.

27. Philadelphia Eagles — How far have the Eagles fallen? It is now
news that Andy Reid will be coaching next weekend.

28. Oakland Raiders — The Raiders defense is the best friend of every
offense with a league-high 322 points allowed. Every offense except
the Raiders offense, that is.

29. Carolina Panthers — They have lost a lot of close games, which
makes them an OK team that just doesn't know how to pull it out at the
end.

30. Cleveland Browns — They are 3-17 over their past 20 games.

31. Kansas City Chiefs — They have been outscored by 132 points this
year, biggest point differential in the NFL.

32. Jacksonville Jaguars — Now it looks like it will be Chad Henne's
turn to take the blame.

___

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