Ballot and comments from AP Pro 32 panel voter Clifton Brown of Sporting News:
Week 11
CLIFTON BROWN (Sporting News)
1. Houston Texans — Tough victory at Soldier Field earns Texans the No. 1 spot.
2. San Francisco 49ers — If they have to play longer without Alex Smith, they will miss him.
3. Atlanta Falcons — We knew they were not going undefeated, but they are still very good.
4. Denver Broncos — The more you see, the more you realize the Broncos are dangerous.
5. Chicago Bears — Jason Campbell must step up if the Bears have to go without Jay Cutler.
6. New England Patriots — The defense still needs to improve, but the offense is just fine.
7. Green Bay Packers — Having Aaron Rodgers makes their injuries easier to deal with.
8. Pittsburgh Steelers — Big Ben's injury is a big concern. They can only go so far without him.
9. Baltimore Ravens — Two games vs. Pittsburgh in three weeks could decide AFC North.
10. New Orleans Saints — If defense can hold up, the offense could carry Saints to playoffs.
11. New York Giants — Plenty to fix during the bye. Eli Manning needs the break.
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Greg Schiano has his young team looking like a playoff contender.
13. Seattle Seahawks — A physical defense and a physical running game makes a good combo.
14. Indianapolis Colts — A feel-good story that seems to be getting better every week.
15. Minnesota Vikings — The incomparable Adrian Peterson is leading a surprising season.
16. Dallas Cowboys — All is not lost. The Cowboys are very much in the NFC East picture.
17. Cincinnati Bengals — A win over the Giants may be the spark that rejuvenates the Bengals.
18. San Diego Chargers — Norv Turner sounds frustrated. Chargers fans are more frustrated.
19. Carolina Panthers — The Panthers didn't expect to be playing for next season so soon.
20. Detroit Lions — Their winless record (0-3) in NFC North makes playoff hopes bleak.
21. Washington Redskins — After a bye week, Robert Griffin will try to halt three-game skid.
22. St. Louis Rams — Maybe coach Jeff Fisher should make more players run the stairs.
23. Buffalo Bills — Stevie Johnson is right — this team needs victories, not moral victories.
24. Miami Dolphins — With Reggie Bush struggling, the offense is struggling as well.
25. Philadelphia Eagles — Looks like Nick Foles will get his chance to unseat Michael Vick.
26. Cleveland Browns — Averaging 11.7 points in last three games. It's tough to win that way.
27. Arizona Cardinals — Riding a five-game losing streak, and facing an angry Falcons team next.
28. Tennessee Titans — Maybe owner Bud Adams should call out his employees every week.
29. New York Jets — This team is a mess, no matter what Rex Ryan or anyone says.
30. Kansas City Chiefs — Week after week, they make too many mistakes to win.
31. Oakland Raiders — Defense has yielded more than 40 points the past two weeks.
32. Jacksonville Jaguars — Need to figure out if Blaine Gabbert is their guy for next season.
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