THE TIMES’ RANKINGS

SAM FARMER’S NFL RANKINGS AND COMMENTS:

*--* Rank Team (record) Comment (last week’s rank) 1 SAN DIEGO (6-1) Open date comes at an ideal time for Chargers’ banged-up defense. (3) 2 NEW ORLEANS (6-1) Finally, Saints build a team with speed. (5) 3 MIAMI (5-2) Cris Carter should help, but Dolphins botched the Gadsden situation. (1) 4 OAKLAND (4-2) Losing at home to San Diego could be a big psychological blow. (2) 5 GREEN BAY (6-1) Packers lead the league with a plus-12 turnover differential. (7) 6 SAN FRANCISCO (4-2) At New Orleans, 49ers played well but simply lost to a better team. (6) 7 PHILADELPHIA (4-2) Eagles have won seven prime-time games in a row. (9) 8 TAMPA BAY (5-2) Rob Johnson finally gets his chance. (4) 9 DENVER (5-2) In their last meeting, Broncos intercepted five Tom Brady passes. (8) 10 BUFFALO (4-3) Travis Henry is aiming for his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game. (11) 11 KANSAS CITY (3-4) The last time against Raiders, Priest Holmes had career-high 277 total yards. (10) 12 PITTSBURGH (3-3) Steelers have beaten Baltimore five consecutive times. (14) 13 ARIZONA (4-2) If the Cardinals win Sunday, they’ll be off to their best start since 1976. (16) 14 BALTIMORE (3-3) Ravens have won 18 of 23 games at home. (18) 15 INDIANAPOLIS (4-2) Pass protection eroding: Manning has been sacked seven times in two games. (12) 16 ATLANTA (3-3) Michael Vick has thrown 139 consecutive passes without interception. (19) 17 NEW ENGLAND (3-3) Belichick took his team back to training-camp basics last week. (17) 18 JACKSONVILLE (3-3) Jaguar special teams are the pits. (13) 19 CHICAGO (2-4) Bear intensity is seriously lacking. (15) 20 DALLAS (3-4) Emmitt gets his record, then Troy Hambrick moves to the front of the line. (20) 21 ST. LOUIS (2-5) Ram defense has given up one touchdown in last two games. (24) 22 DETROIT (2-4) Lions have not won two games in a row since the 2000 season. (26) 23 SEATTLE (1-5) Good news for Emmitt: Seahawks have league’s worst rushing defense. (22) 24 TENNESSEE (2-4) Should beat Cincinnati, but no team is more unpredictable than the Titans. (23) 25 CLEVELAND (3-4) Browns have next to no running game. (27) 26 CAROLINA (3-4) Defense is the only thing keeping Panthers in games. (21) 27 N.Y. GIANTS (3-3) Michael Strahan always plays the Eagles tough. (25) 28 N.Y. JETS (2-4) All-green uniforms worked for a week -- but everyone beats the Vikings. (31) 29 MINNESOTA (1-5) Viking turnover differential is league-worst minus-14. (28) 30 WASHINGTON (2-4) QB-go-round continues. This week: Shane Matthews. (29) 31 HOUSTON (1-5) David Carr has shown poise, even though he’s taking a beating. (30) 32 CINCINNATI (0-6) Bengals have a decent chance to become first 0-16 NFL team. (32)

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