I may be over reacting a bit, but it appears that our offense is reverting to old ways and leaving a lot of points out on the field.  Take a look at this trend: 41, 39, 34, 19, 16.  That's our point total from Week 1 to Week 5.  I'm not saying the reversion is complete, but our coaching staff needs to work on the red zone some more and get this offense back into scoring dominance.  If we don't score more points than we have in the past two weeks, this game will be very difficult to win.  See you guys tomorrow...GO BRONCOS!

After two brutalizing weeks, I hope to turn things around this week with several upset picks.  I flip flopped a few times, but these upset picks come directly from my cash league and may not reflect what I picked on MHR.  We do our picks earlier on MHR than I do on the Yahoo league I do and I tend to make a few key adjustments during the week.

Last Week: 1-3
Overall Record: 5-6

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For Everything Jags Related, Check Out BigCatCountry

This week was easy for me.  Sure, there were plenty of great games between these two teams, but none sticks out to me as much as the 1997 Revenge tour the Broncos took all the way to the Super Bowl.  Now I by no means picked this game because it was the first playoff victory that led our team to its first Super Bowl titles.  No way, no how.  I chose this game because of one reason...Hatred. 

Anyone out there born before 1990-91 and has been a Bronco fan since remembers the 1996 Season.  The Denver Broncos that year were the class of the league at 13-3 with homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.  Then, in comes this weird looking uniform of some expansion team no one had heard of two years before.  The 9-7 Jacksonville Jaguars were having a a dream season and came into Denver with a swagger and a quiet confidence that no one realized they had until after the 30-27 upset of the Broncos.

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Here are the Main Stream Media(MSM) Power Rankings around the web this week.  Below that you can find MHR's own Power Rankings for Week 6.  Feel free to discuss and even post your own rankings for this week.

Yahoo! Sports -- Ranked 8th, Last Week 10th

Sporting News -- Ranked 9th, Last Week 12th

ESPN -- Ranked 7th, Last Week 11th

Fox Sports -- Ranked 7th, Last Week 9th

CBS Sportsline -- Ranked 7th, Last Week 9th

Covers.com -- Ranked 8th, Last Week 9th

Sports Illustrated, Dr. Z -- Ranked 8th, Last Week 14th

Finally, the main stream media is jumping off of the Charger bandwagon in droves as the Broncos take complete control as the Best in the AFC West.  Another huge test awaits the Broncos this week as the fan hated foe, Jacksonville, comes to town looking for answers to their offensive and defensive woes.  For the Broncos, it's another chance to move up in the the rankings!

Last week, the Broncos average rank was a deflated 10.8, but a hard fought defensive win did much to pull the Broncos back into the elite categories.  Our average rank jumped to 7.7 thanks in large part to that strong defensive showing. Now it's time to review the rankings of MileHighReport.com.

MHR's Week 6 Power Rankings

RANK	LOGO	TEAM	PTS	COMMENTS
1. (2)		NYG 4-0	96 (93)	League leading offense gets its best player back in Plaxico Burress.  These guys are for real! ~styg
2. (1)		TEN 5-0	93 (94)	It looks like Shanahan's good friend, Coach Fisher, is finally getting the Titans ready for another Super Bowl run.  Very smart defense, and doing well behind a backup QB. ~HT
3. (4)		WAS 4-1	90 (88)	This team is the most balanced team in the NFC East.  They are also a young football team and prone to inconsistency.  ~Zappa
4. (8)		CAR 4-1	86 (74)	Climbing quickly, this team finds new ways to get it done each week and is looking like a complete football team. ~styg
5. (12)		DEN 4-1	82 (64)	Another young team that is winning in spite of inconsistent play.  The Broncos will only get better as the season progresses.  ~Zappa
6. (5)		DAL 4-1	81(80)	Getting pressured by the likes of CIN at home is no way to convince skeptics that this playoff bound team has no equals. ~styg
7. (7)		PIT 4-1	79 (78)	A balanced team with deep playoff potential.  ~HT
8. (16)		CHI 3-2	73 (52)	This team keeps playing better and getting more balanced.  They rode this formula to a Super Bowl in 2006.  ~styg
9. (3)		BUF 4-1	72 (89)	After a quick start, they are beginning to show some weaknesses.  ~HT
10. (17)		NE 3-1	65 (48)	Other than the MIA game, they still look pretty good.  ~HT
11. (13)		BAL 2-2	64 (64)	The Ravens have played better football this year, especially at home, but they are establishing a trend right now of better QB play from week to week.  ~styg
12. (6)		TB 3-2	61 (79)	In spite of Griese's winning streak, this is a better football team with Jeff Garcia at the helm.  Solid coaching will take this team to the playoffs.  ~Zappa
13. (11)		PHI 2-3	60 (65)	This team is nothing without a healthy Brian Westbrook.  Look for the slide to continue while he is out with this rib injury.  ~Zappa
14. (19)		IND 2-2	59 (40)	What is happening with the Colts?  Is the Peyton Manning era over already?!  ~HT
15. (9)		NO 2-3	51 (71)	Failing to finish your job will be the death of this team and an early end to their playoff hopes.  ~styg
16. (20)		ARI 3-2	49 (40)	All the talent in the world + horrible division = playoffs.  Right?  It should, but this team has no identity and only a 50% chance at playing football in January.  ~Zappa
17. (21)		ATL 3-2	48 (38)	Every week this team gets better and the skills of Matt Ryan improve and become more consistent.  The coaching staff is putting together some fantastic game plans.  ~styg
18. (14)		JAX 2-3	46 (54)	I thought this team could be a contender this year, especially with IND in a slump.  Too many injuries on offense and screw ups on defense are killing this team.  ~HT
19. (25)		MIA 2-2	45 (29)	Every week that passes creates more film of the wildcat formation and less chance of them pulling an upset on the Broncos.  ~styg
20. (10)		SD 2-3	41 (66)	I saw right through the paper tiger long ago.  This team is on the decline and will whine and cry all the way back to obscurity.  ~Zappa
21. (24)		MIN 2-3	38 (30)	Allows two punt returns for TDs, their star RB can't get his game going and they allow Brees to throw for over 300 yards.  And they still win on MNF!  I'm not impressed.  ~HT  (lol from Zappa)
22. (18)		NYJ 2-2	34 (42)	Outstanding play from the bottom half of the league causes this team to slide in the rankings even though they had a bye.  Favre sucks! ~Zappa
23. (15)		GB 2-3	32 (53)	Aaron Rodgers gave the team hope in the post-Favre era, but too many injuries are ripping the guts out of the defense.  ~HT
24. (22)		SF 2-3	28 (36)	Still struggling with mediocrity, their only hope for a division crown lies in the weight of ananke dangling from the necks of the Cardinals.  ~styg
25. (26)		OAK 1-3	25 (20)	What's worse than having a head coach who isn't allowed to run the team? Having the offensive line coach become the head coach and not letting him run the team!  Now I know why the Raiders call their home the "Black Hole".  ~HT
26. (23)		SEA 1-3	21 (35)	Is this team really that bad?  At least they won't have to worry about being worse than the Rams, they beat them already.  ~Zappa
27. (27)		CLE 1-3	17 (19)	The league didn't miss them for one week.  ~styg
28. (28)		KC 1-4	15 (18)	Don't look now, but KC is heading back down to the cellar.  ~styg
29. (29)		HOU 0-4	14 (13)	Gave IND a run for their money, then remembers that they were the Texans.  ~HT
30. (30)		CIN 0-5	9 (9)	They pressured the Cowboys early, but their play looks absolutely abysmal.  ~styg Ocho Stinko. ~HT
31. (32)		STL 0-4	5 (3)	A bye week was a great thing for this team.  It allowed the Lions to continue stinking, which enabled this team creep up a spot on the rankings.  ~Zappa
32. (31)		DET 0-5	4 (6)	This should be censored.  ~styg

I just got done wasting an hour of my life watching NFL Network's Greatest Comebacks episode.  With John Elway's 48 4th quarter miracles, I thought for sure The Drive or even The Drive II would be featured somewhere on this list.  Instead, I was forced to endure two Joe Montana comebacks, a Jeff Garcia comeback, a Rex Grossman comeback, a Vinny Testaverde comeback, a Baltimore Ravens comeback, two other 49er losses, two Cowboy comebacks, and not one....NOT ONE John Elway comeback victory.  Not his 2 touchdown in two minutes performance against the Chiefs, not his two fourth down conversion 98 yard drive to beat the Oilers in the Divisional Playoffs, not his 98 yard drive to beat the Browns to advance to the Super Bowl...nothing.  No a damn thing.  I vow never, EVER to watch NFL Network produced garbage again.  I feel like I have been slapped in the face and spit upon.  Disgusting.

I felt the need to rant and rave about this....I am livid.  Screw NFL Network and the morons they have working for them.

For those of you who have read my stuff before, go on ahead and check out my upset picks for Week 5. 

Previous Week: 1-3
Overall Record: 4-4

Picking games each week is really a science.  One must choose where to take a chance.  Picking the favorite every week will basically guarantee you a 55% winning percentage.  The good pick'em players have a knack for picking the right underdogs.  Thanks to my old man, I have been picking games for 20+ years.  I have my ups and downs, but I usually end up with a top tier record.  I would attribute that picking the right underdogs a majority of the time.

I grade my upset picks based on the level of risk involved.  The first tier is the riskiest picks, which bring the highest reward in pick'em leagues but can also cause disaster for you which happened to me last week.  The second tier bring less risk than the top tier, because the favorite is not as heavily favored to win.  And the third tier risk is basically a coin flip that could go either way, those are the most irritating games because they are so damaging when the coin flip doesn't go your way.

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Here are the Main Stream Media(MSM) Power Rankings around the web this week.  Below that you can find MHR's own Power Rankings for Week 5.  Feel free to discuss and even post your own rankings for this week.

Yahoo! Sports -- Ranked 10th, Last Week 8th

Sporting News -- Ranked 12th, Last Week 5th

ESPN -- Ranked 11th, Last Week 7th

Fox Sports -- Ranked 9th, Last Week 8th

CBS Sportsline -- Ranked 9th, Last Week 4th

Covers.com -- Ranked 9th, Last Week 7th

Sports Illustrated, Dr. Z -- Ranked 14th, Last Week 9th

Well, as I predicted, we took some major hits in the Power Rankings this week.  Although, it's not quite as bad as I previously though it would be.  In fact, we are ahead of the Chargers still in a couple of them which surprised me.  For the most part, however, the Denver Broncos are the lowest ranking 3-1 team on just about all of the rankings.

Last week, the Broncos average rank was a solid 6.9, but losing to the Chiefs this year should have cost our team more than it actually did.  Our average rank dropped to 10.8, which isn't as bad as it could or should be.  A victory this week will put the Broncos back in charge of their season.  Now it's time to review the rankings of MileHighReport.com.

After working out some of the kinks from last week's MHR Power Rankings, I have devised(styg50 actually did the devising for me. heh) a more accurate ranking moving forward.  I was using an average of all of the contributing staffers, but I've since realized that using a "median" average I will come up with more accurate results.  I do not know why this didn't occur to me, but thanks to styg50 it did this week.  I removed the highest and lowest ranking for each team and then adding them up for the final ranks.  As you can see, the previous week's scoring, in parenthesis, will have the total number of points from last week and the total will invariably be different.  This discrepancy will be gone by next week...I just felt the need to explain that obvious difference.  Everything is a work in progress at first, until you find the right mix.

MHR's Week 5 Power Rankings

RANK	LOGO	TEAM	PTS	COMMENTS
1. (5)		TEN 4-0	94 (113)	The best defense in the league paired with their 4-0 record puts them over the 3-0 Giants.
2. (2)		NYG 3-0	93 (121)	A bye week and some major upsets keeps the Giants in firm control of the number 2 spot.
3. (6)		BUF 4-0	89 (112)	There is a new sheriff in the AFC East.
4. (13)		WAS 3-1	88 (77)	Beating some stiff competition in the NFC East moves them up the board very quickly.
5. (1)		DAL 3-1	80 (128)	From first to third in the NFC East puts them down the list after having the number one spot last week.
6. (8)		TB 3-1	79 (90)	Another win and another move up the power rankings. The Broncos are going to have their hands full this weekend.
7. (7)		PIT 3-1	78 (95)	A tough win at home on Monday night didn't earn them any moves up the ladder, especially after suffering a few more key injuries.
8. (16)		CAR 3-1	74 (72)	A blowout against Atlanta puts them in a neck and neck race with Tampa Bay, but consistency is still a concern with this team.
9. (14)		NO 2-2	71 (76)	This team is dangerous even with all the injuries they've suffered so far, they should be down right frightening once this team gets back to 100%.
10. (10)		SD 2-2	66 (87)	Somehow they eek out a victory over Oakland last week and somehow get ranked higher than the Denver Broncos in spite of a lesser record and a loss to them.
11. (4)		PHI 2-2	65 (114)	From the best 2-1 team in football to nothing without Brian Westbrook in the line up.
12. (3)		DEN 3-1	64 (118)	A loss to the Chiefs in Arrowhead stadium usually doesn't mean much, but apparently it means a loss of nine spots in this Power Ranking.
13. (11)		BAL 2-1	64 (86)	Their defense is solid, but their fortunes ride on the shoulders of a rookie quarterback.
14. (12)		JAX 2-2	54 (78)	Though they have been decimated by injuries, this team is keeping the top of the division within sight.
15. (9)		GB 2-2	53 (89)	Chinks in the Packer armor are beginning to show.
16. (18)		CHI 2-2	52 (62)	This defense only needs Kyle Orton to manage the game and not turn the ball over. So far, so good.
17. (20)		NE 2-1	48 (52)	A bye week and a plus three movement upwards. It must mean we all exaggerated the blowout loss two weeks ago.
18. (23)		NYJ 2-2	42 (43)	The media was making excuses for Favre two weeks ago for a flat performance on MNF, now he is back to being God-like. The Jets still suck.
19. (17)		IND 1-2	40 (66)	Are they this bad? Apparently, everyone 18 and up has a better record.
20. (15)		ARI 2-2	40 (73)	This team will not go very far so long as they don't have a backbone. Or maybe they just got Favre'd!
21. (22)		ATL 2-2	38 (44)	One week they're phenominal, the next week they are pathetic. Yet somehow they move up a spot this week.
22. (21)		SF 2-2	36 (56)	San Francisco loses to a high powered Saints team, but they might be the most well rounded team in the NFC West right now.
23. (24)		SEA 1-2	35 (40)	A bye week and this team is starting to get heathier. They could be moving up the ladder over the next few weeks.
24. (19)		MIN 1-3	30 (59)	Expectations were high for this team. There is still time to right the ship.
25. (26)		MIA 1-2	29 (33)	It's been almost two weeks, but we're finally going to find out if the blowout of the Patriots was a fluke.
26. (25)		OAK 1-3	20 (34)	Another heartbreaking loss and now upheaval from the top that may send this team into a tailspin.
27. (29)		CLE 1-3	19 (19)	The finally won a game, but had to fight tooth and nail for it over a horrible Bengals team.
28. (31)		KC 1-3	18 (10)	A victory over the Broncos in Arrowhead bumps them up a few spots, but then again they almost always beat the Broncos in Arrowhead.
29. (28)		HOU 0-3	13 (20)	Jacksonville played down to the Texan's level, but the Texans went even lower. Neither side of the ball complements the other.
30. (27)		CIN 0-4	9 (25)	Lots of talent, but too much attitude. (Ocho who?)
31. (30)		DET 0-3	6 (11)	Millen may be gone, but his presence is still felt. The damage will take years to fix.
32. (32)		STL 0-4	3 (4)	Still Horrible. Just horrible.