TAYLOR TOP 25 SONGS POWER RANKINGS | Week 7 | YouTube Rabbithole
One year ago, Taylor Swift dropped her album Midnights and that same night I dropped Week 7, ‘22 which featured my Top 12 Taylor Swift Songs Power Rankings…
Usually, of late, I’d a breakdown of the The Great War lyrics. Today we’ll switch things up and skip over Taylor Swift’s passion for World War I. Instead here’s my Taylor Top 25 Power Rankings of Songs, it’s caused a Great War in my head…
Taylor Top 25 Power Rankings
25. the 1 (the long pond studio sessions)
- It probably should be listed a bit higher on the list, in my defense I have none, I need to show the Swifties this list means business. Fellas make sure you listen to the long pond studio session version, thank me later.
24. Lover
- Basically a Christmas song. FYI my 25 has variety for all seasons as well as all her eras.
23. Tear Drops on My Guitar
- Only true Swifties like myself had this on their iPod before there were touch screens.
22. Mine (Taylor’s Version)
- Classic Happy Taylor Swift, sung with such pure innocence.
21. Midnight Rain
- Different kind of vibe and sound from most of her songs. Also, I made a clean Reel to this song so I’m biased AF.
20. Last Great American Dynasty
- The fact that she would write a song about the Bernie-Jeter ‘90s Yankees gives me goosebumps to this day.
19. right where you left me
- Trends change, rumors fly, yet, T-Swift stays at the top of the charts, right where we last left her.
18. Champagne Problems
- Let’s just say I’ve booked the night train before…
17. You Belong With Me
- This song came out 15 years ago, sheesh, that’s not ok.
16. marjorie
- Never be so kind you forget to be clever. Never be so clever you forget to be kind. I don’t even have a witty bullet point for this one. It’s about her grandma, Marjorie, who was a singer too. Nice tribute.
15. Red (Taylor’s version)
- It doesn’t get talked enough about how Taylor Swift really put redheads on the map. Very brave of her to give us a soul.
14. this is me trying
- I just wanted you to know, that this is me trying to make content for casual fans who may not typically read about sports.
13. Maroon
- I wake up every day and thank @Zuck for giving me the platform to dance in New York (no shoes) with Taylor Swift in his Meta Verse.
12. exile
- You know I love a good duet. I’m still practicing my Bon Iver vocals for the right one to sing with.
11. my tears ricochet
- I’ll admit, the 2:28 mark drop/beat switch-up still hits every time.
Alright, we gotta have an intermission and talk some ball, but you can scroll past if you want the Top 10…
Week 7, ‘23
Thursday Nighter Recap
Okay, that was your typically weird Thursday Night Game. The Amazon Prime Broadcast kept showing us this British Jags super fan who gets dressed up like a Jaguar and looks like this…
…The 1st half of this game could pretty much be summed up with the Jags and Sunshine Lawrence getting off to a scorching hot start. The Saints were able to move the ball a bit but kept settling for field goals. Every time they showed QB Derek Carr he was either hurt or screaming some obscenity at himself or a WR. Carr threw a Pick-6 to put the Jags up 24-9 halfway through the 3rd Quarter. The game looked like a complete stinker…
…New Orleans got the ball back and executed a 16-play drive that finished in a 4th and Goal 1-yard from RB Alvin Kamara. That made it 24-16, but with the way the Jags were moving the ball and how methodical it took the Saints to score, it didn’t feel like much of a game. Then the Jags proceeded to go 3 & Out while the Saints finally started hitting on throws downfield, finishing in a great TD grab by Michael Thomas…
…Only to then have Sunshine Lawrence hit Christian Kirk over the middle for a 1st Down that turned into a 44-yard TD. At this point, Derek Carr must have played in 40 Prime Time games with this exact game script…
I had the Jaguars winning 20-17 (+3 JAX & Under 39) so we’re 1-1 entering Week 7 weekend…
1 PM Slate
Last weekend, Atlanta Falcons TE Kyle Pitts scored his first TD since Week 8 of last year. Falcons QB Desmond Ridder didn’t have quite as good a Sunday as he threw 3 INTs in a game for the first time in his NFL career. HC Arthur Smith has started to let Ridder sling it more in the past two weeks which has brought mixed results as Ridder has now thrown for two straight 300+ passing-yard games, but the Atlanta ground game has been less effective. RB Bijan Robinson hasn’t cracked the 50-yard rush mark ever since he passed the century mark on the ground in Week 4. For Tampa Bay, QB Baker Mayfield is coming off his worst game as a Buc. Last week Mayfield only threw for 206 yards on 51% completion against Detroit, as Tampa Bay could only muster 2 field goals in their defeat. The Bucs have been unable to establish the run this season as their RB Rachaad White has yet to pass the 75 rushing yards mark. With no more TB12 in TB, a reported thousands of tickets are up for grabs which may lead to less of a home-field advantage for the Buccaneers. That said, I’ll take the 1st place Bucs in this one.
Prediction: 16-13 TB (-2.5 TB & Under 38.5)
This Raiders vs Bears matchup will feature two backup QBs. Las Vegas will have to pick between 15-year veteran Brian Hoyer and rookie 4th-rounder Aidan O’Connell. The Purdue alum was 10 years old when Hoyer was a rookie in the NFL, what do you think these two talk about in the QB room? Maybe this week they talked about how Bears’ QB Tyson Bagent’s father Travis Bagent is the best arm wrestler in the world. His son Tyson will be making his NFL debut start after he came on for the injured Justin Fields last week. Bagent is a complete underdog story, as he is an undrafted free agent who played DII football for Shepherd University. This time last year, Bagent was playing in stadiums that seated 7,500 and now this Sunday he’ll be playing for 61,500 at Soldier Field. I’ll take Da Bears because Travis Bagent looks like he would kick my ass, so let’s go Tyson!
Prediction: 22-6 CHI (+3 CHI & Under 37.5)
The Cleveland Browns are a week removed from their best win in the Browns’ Deshaun Watson era, the only problem is Deshaun Watson didn’t play. Cleveland’s defense has been elite as they are currently #2 in the NFL in passing yards allowed per pass attempt and #5 in the NFL in rushing yards per rush attempt. It may only be 5 games, but Cleveland has allowed just 200.4 total yards per game. For context, the NFL's all-time record for yards allowed per game for a season was Buddy Ryan’s 1991 Philadelphia Eagles which allowed 221 total yards per game. With no Watson, WR Amari Cooper stepped up hauling in 4 passes for 108 yards, including the beauty GIF’d above which only had a 9% probability of being a catch - the most improbable catch so far this year. (@NextGenStats) The Colts last week struggled in QB Gardner Minshew’s return to Jacksonville. The RB duo of Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss combined for 15 carries for 40 rushing yards, a stat line that looks like most RBs who play the Browns. Deshaun Watson has been throwing at practice yesterday but is still questionable for Sunday. Whether the Browns have to start Watson or PJ Walker, I’ll take their defense over Gardner Minshew this Sunday afternoon.
Prediction: 20-14 CLE (-2 CLE & Under 39.5)
The Washington Commies QB Sam Howell threw 3 TDs in a game for the 1st time in his young NFL career. Washington somehow managed to win a game by a full score when their leading rusher ran for 31 yards (RB Brian Robinson) and Howell only threw for 151 passing yards. Their lack of yards on offense was because they had good field position thanks to their 3 interceptions. CB Kendall Fuller is listed as questionable and hasn’t practiced this week but told reporters, “I’ll be out there” on Sunday. Fuller is having another very good season with Washington as he was named to PFF’s 1st Quarter All-Pro Team and picked off his 2nd pass of the season last Sunday. Giants QB Daniel Jones was back at practice yesterday throwing the football. He still has some discomfort in his neck which may lead to Tyrod Taylor getting his 2nd straight start if the GMen wants to take precautions with their $92 million guaranteed investment. With New York off to a horrific 1-5 start, their murmurs that the team should sell pieces with star RB Saquon Barkley being one of them. Barkley told reporters, “I don't think anybody in their right mind would want to get traded anywhere. It's not an easy thing to do, you've got to move, I have a family. I would love to be here but like I said, it's not in my control.” While I like Barkley on the Giants, it may make a ton of sense for them to see what they could get for him. If they didn’t want to pay him at 26 years old, it makes no sense that they would invest long-term in him a year older. LT Andrew Thomas has still not practiced this week and has missed the past 5 games, the Giants have completely wasted a roster spot with Thomas as he could have been placed on IR well over a month ago. @GiantsFans sorry for being a downer, they showed some fight against the Bills, but I’ll take the Commies in this one with Daniel Jones playing still up in the air.
Prediction: 15-12 WSH (-2 WSH & Under 40.5)
The Detroit Lions have won 4 straight games by double-digits for the first time since 1991. Their 2nd year WR Jameson Williams is now being incorporated as their deep threat, which will only add another element to their offense. Last week was Williams’ 2nd game of the season and he scored a 45-yard TD bomb, his 2nd 40+ yard TD of his career in only 5 career catches. Baltimore is coming off a nice London trip where they beat the Titans. The Ravens’ defense is 2nd in the NFL in sacks so far this year with 24. They’ve been getting to the QB as a true team as 11 different players on Baltimore’s defense have recorded a sack so far this year. I’m currently on the Detroit train so I’ll take the Lions to win in Baltimore for the 1st time in franchise history, but just not by double-digits, that’d be asking too much.
Prediction: 23-21 DET (+3 DET & Over 42.5)
The Buffalo Bills won an ugly one on Sunday Night and now head east to New England. WR Stefon Diggs last week had the perfectly symmetrical stat line of 10 catches for 100 yards on the dot, I just thought that should be Noted. QB Josh Allen is dealing with a shoulder but has shrugged off concerns of the injury. The Patriots' QB Mac Jones has no excuse as to why he’s been playing like arse ever since he got caught groping a grown man on the gridiron. Jones has now thrown 5 INTs with no TDs. Will the Evil Hoodie pull Mediocre Mac for Malik? The rookie undrafted QB out of Louisville, Malik Cunningham, took some snaps last week but has yet to throw an NFL pass in a regular season game. I’ll take the Bills by a billion and my guess is Cunningham will throw a pass this Sunday.
Prediction: 35-3 BUF (-9 BUF & Under 41.5)
4 PM Slate
The Arizona Cardinals are 1-5. They stink but that was to be expected. QB Kyler Murray was back at practice this week for the first time this year. Murray is returning from an ACL injury that occurred at the end of ‘22. As of today, his target date is likely at least two weeks from now, but the plan moving forward for the Cardinals is to play their franchise QB plenty this season. The Seahawks’ WR DK Metcalf did some talking before Seattle played the Bengals and lost. Metcalf was flagged for a crucial unnecessary roughness on a penalty that had very little to do with the play. This was already Metcalf’s 5th penalty of the year who defiantly said that the penalties are “not going to change who I am.” Seahawks’ RB Kenneth Walker has now scored a TD in 4 straight games as he now has scored 6 TDs in this stretch. Expect another Walker TD and Metcalf flag in a Seahawk win.
Prediction: 28-19 SEA (-8 SEA & Over 44.5)
The Pittsburgh Steelers were off last week with a bye. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is a career 15-6 when coming off a bye week. The last time Pittsburgh played on Sunday, their star pass rusher TJ Watt had 2 sacks. The youngest Watt brother already has 8 sacks on the season which ties him for most in the NFL. Unfortunately, Watt showed up on the injury report this week with a heel and didn’t practice yesterday. It may just be precautionary but judging by his injury history, it’s not ideal. The Rams WR Cooper Kupp scored his 1st TD of the season in his 2nd game played. Kupp has not missed a beat in his return, as the Eastern Washington product has produced 118 & 148 receiving yards in back-to-back weeks. Rams head coach Sean McVay’s wife is pregnant and due any minute. The LA coach isn’t concerned with missing the birth of his son, joking "My son knows better than to come during the game." Pittsburgh despite having a well-respected defense actually struggles against the pass, allowing the 11th most yards per attempt so you would think I’d like Stafford slinging it to Kupp & Co. Nope, my angle is a distracted coach becoming a father for the first time will lose to a win off a bye week specialist in Tomlin. Upset city!
Prediction: 27-24 PIT (+3 PIT & Over 43)
The Chiefs have Taylor Swift. The Jets have Fireman Ed. The Patriots have Mark Wahlberg (who left at halftime of their 28-3 Super Bowl by the way). The Jaguars have whatever you want to call that guy, is he considered a furry? The Cowboys once had LeBron James. The Giants have License Plate Guy. Well, the Chargers finally found their fan in Merrianne Do. The only problem is that she is also a Vikings fan, but we gotta let that slide because the Chargers collectively have about 14 fans in North America. I’ll get straight to the point with this pick, in 6 matchups between QB Patrick Mahomes and QB Justin Herbert, the Chiefs are 4-2 and the average total points scored of 54.3 per game. The Chargers are 0-1 with Merrianne Do as the face of the franchise while the Chiefs are undefeated with Taylor Swift as theirs, so no need to overthink this one in KC.
Prediction: 34-26 KC (-5.5 KC & Over 49)
By the time the Packers take the field on Sunday, they will have had a whole 13 days of stewing since their defeat in Las Vegas. QB Jordan Love better remember the slogan, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas as his 3 INT performance against the Raiders was terrible. Love told reporters this week that he is very motivated after the loss that left a “very sick taste in (his) mouth.” WR Christian Watson was removed from the injury report this week, but now may matchup with CB Patrick Surtain. The Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy was the latest in the Denver organization to make a fool out of himself. Jeudy during warmups against the Chiefs last Thursday Night started a confrontation with former NFL legend WR and now commentator Steve Smith. The former Panthers great wasn’t even trying to be disrespectful when saying that Jeudy needed to prove his worth on the field. Jeudy then went out onto the field and produced a stat line of 3 catches for 14 yards. Embarrassing. These Broncos are a mess, Green Bay will pull it out.
Prediction: 25-18 GB (-1 GB & Under 44.5)
Prime Time
Sunday Scaries
A Sunday Night Football Battle of ‘Bama QBs between 2 teams at 5-1. Miami started last week against Carolina down 14 nothing in the 1st quarter. They then went on to score 35 straight points and eventually beat the Panthers 42-21. The Phins probably can’t afford to start that way against Philadelphia, but when their offense is clicking, who knows? RB Raheem Mostert was the AFC Player of the Week in Week 6 as he rushed for 115 yards with 2 scores on the ground and even caught 1 TD through the air. The Eagles are a week removed from their 1st loss of the season at the hands of another AFC East team. QB Jalen Hurts made some mistakes that cost Philly the game, as he threw 3 INTs for the 1st time in a game since against the Giants in Week 12 of ‘21. Not only did the QBs between these two teams play for Nick Saban at Alabama, but a pair of WRs did too as Phins Jaylen Waddle and Eagles DeVonta Smith were once teammates as well. The Eagles also just added another ‘Bama legend in WR Julio Jones. Phins QB Tua took over for Jalen Hurts at halftime in the College Football National Championship of ‘18 and led Alabama to victory after they were down 13-0 at the half. Hurts, after playing all of that year as the QB1 had to watch from the bench as Tua won the National Championship. Do you think Hurts is going to be a bit motivated?
Prediction: 10-7 PHI (-2 PHI & Under 52)
Moody Mondays
49ers’ QB Brock Purdy is human in the regular season after all. Purdy lost his first game as a start last week to the Browns after San Francisco endured some injuries to their top players in LT Trent Williams, RB Christian McCaffrey, and WR Deebo Samuel. All 3 stars have sat out this week of practice and are questionable for Sunday. Niners should definitely take their time with each of these players’ injuries. McCaffrey in particular should sit out, as he is currently on pace for over 400 touches on the season and HC Kyle Shannahan clearly can’t help himself to use him as much as possible. The Vikings are coming off an uninspiring win over the Bears. The Niners, with or without their stars, will win this one and it’ll be chalked up as a team-culture victory.
Prediction: 31-11 SF (-6.5 SF & Under 43.5)
Back to the action…
10. Blank Space
- You could read Week to Week Notes like a magazine, ain’t it funny? Or I hope you think of it as a newspaper, or just a blog, or whatever you want to call the Notes.
9. cardigan
- This song just sounds like something my mother would enjoy listening to.
8. Our Song
- Old school Taylor with a twang. Enough said.
7. Delicate - Seeb Remix
- I’ve been to plenty of dive bars on the east side in search of the perfect pint of Guinness. Always in dark jeans with Nikes too. Just in case.
6. mirrorball
- I’m still a believer, but I don’t know why. I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try at writing. Alright, that one was a bit too cringy, I need a coffee.
5. You’re On Your Own Kid
- Puts me in a puddle, just an absolute puddle.
4. Love Story
- Fellas, I’m sorry, what can I say, it’s always been catchy. Hell, even Wedding Crashers is sorta a love story.
3. Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)
- I had this wildest dream that I asked Taylor Swift out for a pint of Guinness on Week to Week Notes. Imagine that? How embarrassing. Thank goodness nobody’s reading through to the end of this list.
2. Anti-Hero
- I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser. I’m not kidding when I say I listened to this song 498,213,561 times in a two-week stretch before writing Week 9, ‘22 last fall.
1. All Too Well (Sad Girl Autumn Version)
- 10 minutes. Speechless.
YouTube Rabbithole
Taylor Swift - All Too Well (Sad Girl Autumn Version) - Recorded at Long Pond Studios