Guest Blog: NFL Power Rankings

Posted by Nick Verlaney on Oct 18, 2011 in NFL | 0 comments

By: Adam Troester

We are at the one-third point of the NFL Season, and at this point there are still probably more questions to be asked than we have answered so far.  We’ll cover those a little later.  Right now let’s get into the Power Rankings thru week 6 of the NFL.  Even though we are 1/3 of the way thru the season, there is still not enough data to determine who the best teams are going to be at the end of the season.  At this point, schedules are very lopsided and once division games are all played you’ll get a better view of where your favorite team stands.

1. Green Bay Packers (6-0, 1^st NFC North): There is no other choice for the #1 spot in the league.  The defending champions are playing better than any defending champ of recent memory, check that, since I’ve known what football is.  They are undefeated and still have “a lot of room to improve”.  That’s scary for the other 31 teams in the league.
2. New England Patriots (5-1, 1^st AFC East):  This is one of these toss up spots.  I put the Patriots in front of the Ravens just slightly base on the fact that they still have a man named Tom Brady in the clutch.  Wes Welker is also on pace to break the single season record for receiving yards.
3. Baltimore Ravens (4-1, 1^st AFC North):  The lone slip up comes at Tennessee after their week one beat down of defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh.  They, and their stout defense, will win this division and battle with the Patriots for home field advantage in the AFC.
4. New Orleans Saints (4-2, Tied 1^st NFC South):  Some of you might disagree with this pick.  My argument is that they lost week one at the defending champion Packers (see past defending champs record on opening night).  Then, they lost at Tampa Bay on the third game of a three game road trip.  With six home games left the Saints are in prime position to reclaim the NFC South.
5.  San Francisco 49ers (5-1, 1^st NFC West):  So much for Jim Harbaugh tanking to get his Stanford QB, Andrew Luck.  The 49ers have stormed out of the gates and are an overtime loss to Dallas away from being undefeated.  The NFC West contest is already over.
6. Detroit Lions (5-1, 2^nd NFC North):  Before the season I thought the Lions would be 8-8 or 9-7, but I didn’t think they’d look good enough to challenge the Packers for the division crown.  They have a couple big games before that Thanksgiving show down with Green Bay, but that will be the most anticipated Turkey Day Game in Detroit since the days of Barry.
7. San Diego Chargers (4-1, 1^st AFC West):  I’m still not sold on the Chargers with their weak schedule, but any team would take 4-1 thru five games.  We’ll learn a lot about them in the next three weeks when they go to the Jets and host the Packers.
8. Oakland Raiders (4-2, 2^nd AFC West): The two loss teams are pretty equal once you get past the Saints.  I am going to go out on a limb here and take the Raiders.  Word is they are trading for Carson Palmer.  If that happens, they challenge for the AFC West.  If it doesn’t they cling to life until Campbell returns from surgery.
9. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2, Tied 2^nd AFC North):  No marquee wins on the resume so far, but the defending AFC Champs still have plenty of room to grow.  Two games against the Bengals will prove who the second best in this division really is.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2, Tied 1^st NFC South):  Just scored a big win against New Orleans, but road games against New Orleans, Green Bay and Atlanta remain for the Bucs.  A 9-7 finish might still be in the cards.  
11. Buffalo Bills (4-2, 2^nd NFC East):  It’s tough to tell where this team is going to go in the future.  They need to win some big road games to have a shot at the playoffs.  Their two losses both come on the road by three points at the #12 and #13 teams.  If they played them at home, they probably would beat both.
12. New York Giants (4-2, NFC East): Can you believe the first team from the NFC East shows up at #12?  They have a bye week before playing Miami and then their schedule might be the toughest in the NFL.  Don’t be shocked if they finish at 8-8, but for now their #12.
13. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2, Tied 2^nd AFC North):  Rookie sensations Andy Dalton and AJ Green have Bengals fans happy (for now) in 2011.  If Dalton keeps playing like this, the Carson Palmer situation couldn’t have played out better for the Bengals.  A legit starter and two first round draft picks for Palmer.  Can’t beat that.
14. Tennessee Titans (3-2, 1^st AFC South):  Only two losses came on the road, the last being at Pittsburgh.  Three home straight winnable home games could set them up nicely to take the Peyton Manning-less AFC South. 
15. Atlanta Falcons (3-3, 3^rd NFC South):  The Falcons can’t seem to gain any momentum.  Their results are L-W-L-W-L-W.  The NFC South is a tough division, but they have the talent to be in the hunt.  They won’t get the first round bye they got last year, but will still be a tough out.
16. New York Jets (3-3, 3^rd AFC East):  A Monday Night win that everyone expected, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t need it.  The Jets can’t boast a big win yet, but three consecutive games against the Chargers, Bills and Patriots could change all of that. 
17. Washington Redskins (3-2, 2^nd NFC East):  Before the season Rex Grossman predicted the Redskins would win the East.  Without his four interceptions on Sunday they would be 4-1 and leading the division.  Now, three remaining division games and the whole AFC East still on the schedule will make it hard to finish over .500.
18. Chicago Bears (3-3, 3^rd NFC North):  It’s hard to gauge the Bears.  Their three losses to the Packers, Saints and Lions are games that they probably should’ve lost.  They’re next five games (@Tampa, @Philadelphia, vs Detroit, vs San Diego, @Oakland) will tell us a lot more about them.  That’s turned out to be a brutal schedule for the defending NFC North Champs.
19. Houston Texans (3-3, 2^nd AFC South):  This was supposed to be the year for the Texans.  They are 3-3 with losses against the Saints, Ravens and Raiders.  Luckily, they are only ½ a game out of first with two remaining games against the first place Titans.  The question is, can they overcome the loss of Mario Williams?
20. Philadelphia Eagles (2-4, 4^th NFC East):  This week’s win over the Redskins could be the kick start the Eagles needed.  I still wouldn’t be shocked if this team made the playoffs if they play to their talent level.  If 9-6 wins the second wild card behind Detroit I think they get there. 
21. Dallas Cowboys (2-3, 3^rd NFC East):  Base on performance alone, it is hard to determine who is better between the Eagles and Cowboys.  The Cowboys have played five teams with winning records and their sixth game is against Philly.  This division will play itself out nicely.
22. Seattle Seahawks (2-3, 2^nd NFC West):  The two win teams after the Cowboys are hard to place.  Wins against the Cardinals and Atlanta has this team on life support still.  They have two winnable games in a row that could get them over .500, but just have too much ground to make up to catch the 49ers.
23. Cleveland Browns (2-4, 4^th AFC North):  Two wins against teams with no wins is way better than two losses against teams with one win. This is the case for both the #23 and #24 teams in our rankings.
24. Kansas City Chiefs (2-4, 3^rd AFC West): Read #23. Cleveland Browns.
25. Five Way Tie (Let’s not waste too much time on these):
    1. a.       Carolina Panthers (1-5, 4^th NFC South):  They at least may have a future with Cam Newton
    2. b.      Minnesota Vikings (1-5, 4^th NFC North):  They at least can watch Adrian Peterson every week.
    3. c.       Arizona Cardinals (1-4, 3^rd NFC West):  They at least play in the NFC West and could reach 5 wins based on that.
    4. d.      Denver Broncos (1-4, 4^th AFC West):  They at least put all the blame on Kyle Orton and can get thru the bye week on that.
    5. e.      Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5, 3^rd AFC South):  They at least have two games against the Colts.

30.   Three Way Tie (Ditto remarks on Five Way Tie for #25):

a. Saint Louis Rams (0-5, 4^th NFC West):  Reverse fight to the finish between the Rams and Cardinals in the NFC West.

b. Miami Dolphins (0-5, 4^th AFC East):  Schedule only gets harder, which is never good for a winless team.

c. Indianapolis Colts (0-6, 4^th AFC South):  This season should prove how good Manning really is.  Will they take Andrew Luck as his protégé if in fact they finish last and Luck leaves Stanford early?

 

With two thirds of the season left to play there is still a lot to be determined, which is no surprise.  For now, the Packers look to be the team to beat again.  The biggest surprise is that there are EIGHT teams that have one or zero wins and of the five teams with two wins, FOUR of them have at least one win against the eight teams with one or fewer wins.  That’s unbelievable and the race for the #1 overall pick is too close to call.

If the season ended today the playoffs would look like this:

NFC:

Byes: #1 Green Bay Packers, #2 San Francisco 49ers

#3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. #6 New Orleans Saints

#4 New York Giants vs. #5 Detroit Lions

AFC:

Byes: #1 New England Patriots, #2 Baltimore Ravens

#3 San Diego Chargers vs. #6 Buffalo Bills

#4 Tennessee Titans vs. #5 Cincinnati Bengals

Check back after Week 9 for a mid-season review right here.  Until then, good luck to you and your team!