Matt Barkley or Geno Smith? Browns leading the way

We've just past the quarter point of the 2012 season and some teams are in serious danger of completely falling out of the race for No. 1, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NFL Draft that is.

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints for exiting the list with a huge win over the San Diego Chargers. Or should I say controversial win over the Chargers? I have a few things to say about this game, I'm just unclear if the NFL editors will allow me to say it. But I'm going to give it a go and hopefully, it will still there when you're reading it.

[Section redacted]

Sorry for the language, but it needed to be said. Thank you for hearing me out on that, I really needed to purge there.

But before we take a look at the bottom six, we should point out there was a time when this was nearly an NFC West affair about a year ago. Now the NFC West is the best division in football, based on records.

And it should be noted we probably need to start working on new artwork to include Geno Smith, who has thrown 24 touchdowns without an interception.

And without further ado ...

Others receiving votes: Green Bay Packers (2-3); Detroit Lions (1-3); Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3), Oakland Raiders (1-3); and Dallas Cowboys (2-2).

If you want to sum up the Panthers' sorry 2012 existence in only one play, no doubt it would be the bounce-pass Cam Newton threw on fourth-and-goal when his team needed a big play (I'll even forget the fantasy impact of such a toss) late in the fourth quarter. To add insult to injury, the Seahawks players bragged how they knew Newton was going to tank.

The Jaguars struggled in the first half against the Bears, as they went into the locker room knotted 3-3. But the Jaguars really know how to make the adjustments as the team allowed 38 second-half points (including 28 in the fourth quarter) to jump up in the rankings.

The Chiefs are making a strong push up the rankings with another poor performance at home against the Ravens, though the defense was strong against Joe Flacco. But to be honest, after what the hometown crowd did to Matt Cassel, I'm not sure the fans deserve Geno Smith. Matt Barkley, maybe, but not Geno Smith.

Don't let anybody know this, but when I'm playing Madden NFL 13, I prefer to be the offensive coordinator and can't be bothered to play defense. Charming for a gamer. Not so charming when your head coach has the same attitude towards your team. Right Chan Gailey? This is kind of a strong ranking because the Bills have won two games, but they've really run up the score the last to weeks to earn this.

The Titans are serious contenders for this dishonor because they have found a way to be lousy in all three facets of the game, offense, defense and special teams. You know, Chris Johnson held out when he thought he had out-earned his contract. I must have missed the news story where he offered to give money back to the team because he was playing so poorly.

The Browns look like they are getting closer to winning. Trent Richardson is a legitimate superstar in the making. Joe Haden is coming back, and you have to admire the way he actually admitted his mistake instead of blaming a supplement maker or going to the extremes Melky Cabrera went to make excuses (but what can you expect from a former Yankee). I'm still on board with this team making a strong second-half push.

Got a comment or a question? Don't waste your brilliant, biting flame in the comment section, hit Rank up via Twitter or via Facebook Also be sure to catch the latest on the Dave Dameshek Football Program.