What If Sports ranks them 4th (+2)

National Football Post ranks them 4th (nc):  Randy Moss proved yet again that he can eat up man coverage—and the Dolphins lost because of it.

The Sporting News ranks them 4th (+1):  You can believe Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will have new wrinkles for the Colts.

ProFootball Weekly ranks them 4th (+2):  Last four vs. Indy have been decided by 18 total points.

CBS Sports ranks them 4th (+1):  They have a firm grip on the division heading to the second half, but to have a chance at the top seed in the conference they need to win at Indy. The way their offense is getting cranked up, it's definitely possible.

Cold Hard Football Facts ranks them 4th (+1):  Last week: 27-17 win vs. Miami.  Randy Moss passed his old teammate Cris Carter for seventh place on the all-time receiving yards list (13,913). He's only 1,275 yards behind No. 2 Isaac Bruce, but still needs 8,982 yards -- approximately the career total  for HOFer Fred Biletnikoff -- to catch Jerry Rice. 

Don Banks at SI ranks them 4th (+1):  Tom Brady against a Colts secondary missing safety Bob Sanders and starting two rookie cornerbacks sounds like an epic mismatch in the making, but let's not pencil it in for a 17-point Patriots blowout win just yet. After all, Houston's Matt Schaub can wing it a bit too, and he still only threw for 311 yards and led the Texans to 17 points in last week's loss at Indy. But don't be surprised if this is one of those games where New England lets Brady throw it 50 times, spreading the field with receivers and challenging the Colts defense to respond. Then again, with no running game to speak of, Indy's likely to do the very same thing.

WEEI ranks them 5th (+1):  Now is the time for the Patriots to prove what they are capable of. The play of Laurence Maroney over the past few games has really helped balance this offense.

Vic Carucci at NFL.com ranks them 5th (nc):  As all-time great QB matchups go, Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning sits at the very top.

USA Today ranks them 5th (nc): Colts are approaching their record 21-game winning streak.

ESPN ranks them 6th (-1):  With Tom Brady, the Pats are atop the AFC East again. Life is normal.

Peter King at SI ranks them 6th (nc):  Randy Moss, that was one of the best straight-arms in the history of straight-arming. And for you who need to know the rule about helmet-touching, the only player who can't have his helmet touched is the quarterback. So as long as the straight-armer doesn't grab or twist the facemask, it's legal.

Yahoo! Sports ranks them 7th (-2):  After abusing one set of rookie cornerbacks last Sunday, how excited is Randy Moss to get a crack at another untested tandem in Indy?

Fox Sports ranks them 7th (-2):  FIRST-HALF BLESSING: Kudos to the doctors who obviously did a fine job fixing and rehabbing Tom Brady's knee. But Bill Belichick deserves praise for adjusting to a more balanced offense after dialing up 100 pass plays in the first two weeks of the season while Brady was still getting his groove back.
FIRST-HALF CURSE: Curses only to the schedule-maker. If the Patriots played the Jets now instead of in Week 2, who would win? We'll find out in Week 11 for the rematch .

AVERAGE RANK:  4.93 (+.28)