A Writer's March ~ The Monday Analysis 27 September 2004

The Patriots signed cornerback Earthwind Moreland and wide receiver Cedric James. Moreland, 27, has been extensively in Europe. James, 25, comes lately from the Dallas practice squad and training camp...Kevin Faulk returned to the Patriots after a two-week hiatus following the death of his mother in Louisiana. Faulk has also been nursing an injured knee. It is uncertain if he will be active for next week's game...Safety Rodney Harrison was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week following the game in Arizona. Harrison had seven solo tackles, two sacks for 21 lost yards, a forced fumble, and a pass defended...TE Ben Watson (knee), RB Kevin Faulk (personal, knee), and WR Deion Branch (leg) are all questionable for Week 4 with injuries...

Lots of injuries. Deuce McAllister strained his ankle in the Saints homer against the 49ers...Tommy Maddox injured his elbow and will be out several weeks...Prime Slime Deion $anders injured his hamstring...Tight end Todd Heap is out two to four weeks with a strained ankle...Lawyer Milloy injured his forearm and may be out a couple of weeks...Both backup QBs for the Bills are out for an extended amount of time. Travis Brown was placed on inured reserve with a knee injury. JP Losman is out 8 to 12 weeks with a broken leg...Stephen Davis is out 2 to 5 weeks...Steve Smith is out indefinitely with a broken leg...Rex Grossman sustained a knee injury against Minnesota...Brian Urlacher inured his hamstring...Bears safety Mike Brown is out for the season with an Achilles injury...DT Larry Chester is out for the season with a right knee injury...Vikings RT Mike Rosenthal is out for the season with a right foot injury and TE Jermaine Wiggins is out 2 to 3 weeks with a broken left hand...LaVar Arrington out 2 to 4 weeks with surgery on his right knee...Mark Brunell has a strained hamstring...Rich Gannon is out six weeks with a broken neck vertebrae...The Bucs have lost Charlie Garner for the season with a knee injury...Eagles FB Jon Ritchie and Bears QB Rex Grossman will both miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL...Steve McNair is hospitalized with a bruised sternum...Brett Favre has an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, but expects to play.

The Monday Analysis POWER Rankings

Sloping through Week 3.

1. New England (2-0). Get a Bye, stay on top.

2. Seattle (3-0). The Seahawks have never had such a promising outlook for a season.

3. Philadelphia (3-0). I think Philly is better than the Seahawks, but it'll hurt more to Seattle fans when I knock them down a few spots in the next coming weeks than it'll satisfy Phillites to pop the Eagles up a notch.

4. Jacksonville (3-0). Something is in the water with all that Hurricane weather in Florida. And Jack Del Rio is doing a fine job to capture enough of it to mix with the Gatorade. The Jags haven't been this positive in a long time.

5. Atlanta (3-0). The Mike Vick Show is exciting, but the Falcons are not better than the Top 4 on this list. Not even as good as a few below them, but their record earns them a high spot.

6. Indianapolis (2-1). Fiery offense is winning them all kinds of tough games. But we all know how far this offense to take: Just so far.

7. New Jersey Jets (2-0). This won't last. Bye week or not, it won't last.

8. Baltimore (2-1). Top dog in the AFC North. Not saying much.

9. Denver (2-1). Top dog in the AFC West. Not saying much.

10. Minnesota (2-1). If they can maintain some better consistency this season, the Vikes could actually get into the playoffs this season.

11. Detroit (2-1). Dropping in the list, and maybe off the board.

12. New Jersey Giants (2-1). The records gets them here, but I am still not convinced.