Our resident stat guru, jdb, is keeping track of stats and compiling his own power rankings, which he posts in the diary section each week. After week three, jdb's stat system is starting shake out into a pretty good gauge for who the good teams and bad teams are.
For example, the Colts are in the top five in offense, but they are ranked right in the middle on defense. That's pretty accurate. Using jdb's stat system, I give you Stampede Blue's Power Rankings for Week 3:
- San Diego: Their offense can run. Their defense can maul. They play strong special teams, and Phillip Rivers hasn't screwed anything up... yet. Solid team all around.
- Chicago: The media was ready to roast Rex Grossman alive for costing the Bears a win in Minnesota when his 4th quarter pass was intercepted and returned for a TD. However, Grossman proved the pundits (and Vikings safety Darren Sharper) wrong by leading his team to victory on the road in Minnesota. The Bears start the season 3-0 in their division.
- Cincinnati: The Bengals blew away the Steelers in Pittsburgh this past Sunday. Their defense is improved and Carson Palmer looks a-okay.
- Baltimore: I said during the off-season this team was dangerous. Boy, I hate being right. The Ravens have committed only one turnover in three weeks. Steve McNair looks healthy and is guiding the offense well.
- Seattle: The loss of MVP Shaun Alexander will hurt this team. They will morph from a run-oriented team to a more traditional West-Coast offense passing team until Alexander comes back 100%.
- Indianapolis: Despite mounting injuries on defense, the Colts find ways to win. Marvin Harrison, at age 34, is leading the league in receiving yards and is second in catches.
- Dallas: Their 1-1 record is misleading. Losing to the Jags in Jackonsville is not a shocker. Dallas' defense will continue to get better. T.O.'s injury will not have much of an impact. Bledsoe's main targets are Terry Glenn and Jason Witten.
- New Orleans: Yes folks, the Saints. They are 3-0 and are playing excellent football. They dominated Atlanta on MNF, and Sean Payton has the New Orleans offense looking sharp.
- New York Jets: Beware the Jets folks. They should be in first place in the AFC East had they not lost in Week 2 to the Patriots. Chad Pennington looks great in the new offense, and the Jets defense looks solid.
- Atlanta: Despite getting thrashed on Monday Night, the Falcones still have some weapons. Getting Jon Abraham back is paramount. Despite their strong defense and great running game, the Falcons are not going to take it to the next level this year. Michael Vick still cannot throw the ball accurately from the pocket.
New England: This team is not in good shape, folks. Their rookie kicker has had two FGs blocked in two weeks. Their defense looks anemic and they have no one to stretch the field on offense. If you saw Tom Brady's press conference after the Denver loss, you can see he is NOT happy.
Pittsburgh: They are a shell of their former selves. Roethlisberger has played bad football, making dumb mistakes and throwing INTs. Their defense is not the force it once was, and teams are teeing off on Pittsburgh's run, daring Roethlisberger to beat them.
Jacksonville: They rank 11th in the power rankings mainly because of their offense. Despite excellent RBs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, a solid receiving corps, and a good o-line, the Jags have managed to score a whopping 15 ppg. The blame falls squarely on QB Byron Leftwich.
Many thanks to jdb for compiling the stats and creating a system to track them.