St. Louis Rams Get Some Power Ranking Love

October 4, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) throws on the run for a seven yard touchdown pass as Arizona Cardinals defensive end Darnell Dockett (90) defends during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

The St. Louis Rams have made earned a little bit of respect from some of the members of the national media afterall, everyone except the folks over as ESPN I suppose.  Yes the week 5 power rankings have been revealed and the St. Louis Rams made a surprise appearance in the top ten of Profootball Talk’s power rankings.  More importantly they appear ahead of the Cardinals and Seahawks who they have beaten in back to back weeks.  The three power rankings I have reviewed are NFL.com, ESPN and Pro Football Talk.  Let’s look at where the Rams have ranked in each as well as their division rivals.

ESPN.   Lets start with the top ranked team in the division with the 49ers who ESPN has ranked at number 3 behind the two undefeated teams.  The Cardinals and Seahawks check in at 9 and 16 respectively followed by the St. Louis Rams at #18.  Really ESPN, I can see the 4-1 Cardinals ahead of the Rams but the Seahawks?  That and I think the 18th overall rating is a tad low as well, this team is probably in the top half of the league even if not by a wide margin.

NFL.com.  Again starting with the highest ranked team we have the 49ers coming in at #2 and after what they have done to the Jets and Bills its hard to argue against that.  Then we have the Cardinals, Rams and Seahawks all bunched together at 10, 12 and 13 respectively.   These rankings are pretty much right in line with where I might put these teams, although possibly 1 spot lower for each team.

ProFootball Talk.  The ProFootball talk power rankings were the most kind to the St. Louis Rams.  They have the 49ers at 3 just like ESPN did.  Then they have the Rams at 9 followed by the Cardinals at 10 and the Seahawks at 15.  I think the Seahawks ranking is probably the most accurate of the three lower ranked teams.  The best part of their power rankings is the short blurb they wrote on the Seahawks ranking.

"15.  Seahawks:  They may have the fourth-best defense in the league — and the fourth-best defense in their division."

It is nice to see the Rams get a little bit of love from the national media, and to see profootball talk throw a little bit of cold water on the overhyped Seahawks defense at the same time.  Go Rams!!