Quite a bit of movement this week in the Power Rankings, as the better teams start to separate themselves from the rest of the league. The Colts moved up 2 spots this week to #4 after their dismantling of the Rams. As I mentioned in the Inside the Numbers article, the Colts now have the #1 offense, but a middle of the pack defense, which is keeping them at #4.
The biggest surprise on here has the be the Patriots at #2, but that mainly has to do with the fact they've played the Titans and Buccaneers, who've combined for as many wins as all of us have this year. Their upcoming schedule of Dolphins, Colts, Jets, Saints (OMG!), and Dolphins again will show if they deserve to stay up there.
More analysis after the jump, along with the rankings:
| Team | Power Rankings | Strength of Schedule | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | Defense | Total | Offense | Defense | Total | |
| Saints | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 11 |
| Patriots | 2 | 8 | 2 | 17 | 22 | 19 |
| Broncos | 7 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 11 | 18 |
| Colts | 1 | 16 | 4 | 28 | 27 | 27 |
| Packers | 6 | 5 | 5 | 31 | 24 | 30 |
| Giants | 12 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 29 | 22 |
| Ravens | 3 | 17 | 7 | 25 | 9 | 17 |
| Eagles | 18 | 1 | 8 | 22 | 32 | 32 |
| Steelers | 4 | 18 | 9 | 32 | 19 | 29 |
| Vikings | 11 | 10 | 10 | 30 | 14 | 25 |
| Cowboys | 8 | 20 | 11 | 20 | 23 | 20 |
| Dolphins | 10 | 19 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 4 |
| Bengals | 14 | 15 | 13 | 19 | 5 | 5 |
| Cardinals | 20 | 4 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 15 |
| Texans | 16 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 30 | 28 |
| Falcons | 9 | 23 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 14 |
| Jets | 23 | 7 | 17 | 6 | 20 | 12 |
| Redskins | 21 | 11 | 18 | 27 | 31 | 31 |
| Seahawks | 19 | 13 | 19 | 26 | 16 | 26 |
| Chargers | 13 | 28 | 20 | 23 | 7 | 8 |
| Jaguars | 15 | 27 | 21 | 21 | 25 | 24 |
| 49ers | 25 | 9 | 22 | 15 | 15 | 21 |
| Bears | 17 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 4 | 10 |
| Bills | 28 | 12 | 24 | 10 | 18 | 16 |
| Panthers | 24 | 21 | 25 | 16 | 28 | 23 |
| Chiefs | 26 | 22 | 26 | 13 | 13 | 9 |
| Lions | 22 | 31 | 27 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Titans | 30 | 26 | 28 | 14 | 3 | 3 |
| Buccaneers | 29 | 30 | 29 | 1 | 21 | 7 |
| Rams | 27 | 32 | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 |
| Raiders | 32 | 25 | 31 | 2 | 17 | 6 |
| Browns | 31 | 29 | 32 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
A few more thoughts from around the league:
- Don't let common misconceptions tell you how well teams are playing. Take a look at the Ravens, Steelers, and Cardinals. All 3 are lauded over for the side of the football that is average at best, while excelling on the other side. It was crazy to include Kurt Warner in any MVP talks last year, and it's even more so this year. Likewise with the Steelers and Ravens...they are winning on Offense, and not on Defense.
- I was talking to a buddy of mine who is an Eagles fan, and I mentioned to him about the Eagles being #1 defensively. He was quick to point out the QBs they have faced this year: Delhomme, Brees, Cassel, Josh Johnson, Russell, and Campbell. They really just need Derek Anderson thrown in to make it complete. They have had the easiest defensive schedule so far, but that is pretty obvious.
- The Giants have really slipped the past 2 weeks, after playing some real teams. Maybe they aren't as good as everyone in New York made them out to be.
- The Colts schedule has been pretty easy so far this season. Having the schedule backloaded isn't such a bad thing though. It will keep them motivated throughout the season, and playing sharp going into January.
This weekend I'm going to attempt to get a Defensive-Adjusted Ranking. That is, if I can figure out iterative calculations in Excel. This will (hopefully) give us a little clearer picture as to how well these teams are playing.