Ballot and comments from AP Pro 32 panel voter Pat Kirwan of SiriusXM Week 12 PAT KIRWAN (SiriusXM NFL Radio/CBSSports.com) 1. Houston Texans — A shaky performance especially on defense this 2. San Francisco 49ers — The win over the Bears with a backup QB was 3. Atlanta Falcons — Another shaky performance, but this one was by 4. Denver Broncos — The Bronco machine led by Peyton Manning is 5. New England Patriots — It is going to be very tough to beat the 6. Baltimore Ravens — The Ravens proved they can overcome lots of 7. Green Bay Packers — Aaron Rodgers can put points on the board, but 8. Chicago Bears — The loss to San Francisco raised some serious 9. Seattle Seahawks — The 'Hawks had a bye last week, but are one 10. Pittsburgh Steelers — They almost beat the Ravens without Big Ben, 11. New York Giants — On a well needed bye. They better return to the 12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Schiano has injected toughness and a 13. Indianapolis Colts — It's too much to ask rookie QB Andrew Luck to 14. New Orleans Saints — I really should move them up even higher the 15. Minnesota Vikings — On a bye last week and a chance to rest AP, 16. Cincinnati Bengals — A.J. Green may be the best receiver in 17. Dallas Cowboys — They probably should have lost the Cleveland 18. Detroit Lions — The Lions have the parts to be a very good team, 19. San Diego Chargers — What a frustrating season for all concerned 20. Washington Redskins — RG3 gives them a chance every week. The 21. Miami Dolphins — The running game disappeared, the run defense has 22. New York Jets — Leave Tebow on the bench, stop talking about the 23. Buffalo Bills — The team is not meeting expectations but last week 24. Tennessee Titans — Coming off a bye and hoping Jake Locker can 25. Arizona Cardinals — The defense is playoff caliber and the offense 26. St. Louis Rams — I thought they had enough to beat the Jets, but 27. Carolina Panthers — There are moments when Cam Newton looks like a 28. Philadelphia Eagles — The Eagles have landed and they will not fly 29. Cleveland Browns — There is no quit in this team and there were a 30. Oakland Raiders — A paper thin roster, a defense that struggles a 31. Jacksonville Jaguars — Chad Henne put a spark into this team and 32. Kansas City Chiefs — The lost season! ___ Online:
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week giving up 36 points to the Jaguars, but the offense prevailed in
overtime. For now they keep the top spot, but there are teams on the
rise.
all I needed to move them up to the No. 2 spot. Their passing game is
really starting to come alive.
the Falcon offense and five interceptions by Matt Ryan. Holding down
the No. 2 spot is going to be difficult if it happens again.
looking good and the defensive effort with pass rushers and the return
of DJ Williams makes them tough.
Patriots at home, where they put 59 points on the Colts. Aqib Talib
will help a questionable secondary.
injuries and win against good teams. I wonder what was going to happen
last week if Roethlisberger was healthy?
the defense has lots of issues. Dom Capers does a masterful job to
cover problems up, but how far can they go?
questions about their defense. The offensive pass protection is
starting to fall apart, and without Cutler the Bears will continue to
struggle.
tough outfit that will run the ball on any team and play tough
defense. Russell Wilson needs to win on the road and they move up.
but then again Leftwich struggled to complete passes. If the Steelers
have to throw more than 25 times a game they are in trouble.
form of September or they are heading down the rankings.
resolve into this young team that never quits. The Bucs can score on
any team right now.
throw 50 times a game. He needs better support from the running game
and defense if they want to stay in the playoff hunt.
way they're playing. One former head coach said 'that's the team I
would least like to play right now.'
who is running better than ever. Christian Ponder needs to be more
consistent if they want to make the playoffs.
football right now, Dalton has his confidence back and the defense is
back on track. A dangerous team going forward.
game, but they didn't. The Cowboys have an easy schedule and a lot of
home games. It will be their own fault if they don't make a run.
but it has yet to come together. They will win some games down the
stretch, but it looks like 2013 before the playoffs.
in San Diego. Changes probably coming at the end of the season. Philip
Rivers has to find his game and return to the great deep ball thrower
and efficient QB.
future is bright, but the club probably needs one more year to get it
all tied together.
been challenged and the young quarterback is going to take time to
develop.
playoffs and just keep grinding away at the season.
they looked like the team Buddy Nix and Chan Gailey are trying to
build. They could be a tough out the rest of the way.
spark this team. Chris Johnson is back in form, but the defense needs
to improve. The owner's frustration could be a problem for a head
coach building this team the right way.
just struggles. Rookie quarterback Ryan Lindley coming off the bench
for performance reasons last week was a surprise, but next week they
get Beanie Wells back which could help stabilize the offense.
of course they didn't get it done. Fisher will need a whole season to
figure out what he has to do next year to improve this roster. For now
they should be satisfied to get to six wins.
superstar and there are other times he looks frustrated and the
defense has a bead on him. Expectations were too high coming into
2012.
again in 2012. It is tough to watch a team penciled in for a Super
Bowl run falling this far down the rankings. Now LeSean McCoy has a
concussion.
few calls in the Dallas game that turned a win into a loss. The young
players are really starting to play well.
fullback at the running back spot because of injuries and the results
are predictable. Everyone from the owner on down has to have some
patience.
they should play him the rest of the way if they want any fans in the
seats next year.
AP Pro32 ballot from Kirwan
Nov. 20 5:25 PM EST
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