Tuesday, October 28, 2008

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings

2008 Navigation Links
Read this for a description of APR

RankTeamW-LPower
Index
This week
1 (-)Tennessee
Titans
7-01.5221
(LW × 0.999)
won by 10
vs Colts
2 (-)Tampa Bay
Buccaneers
5-31.4424
(LW × 0.983)
lost by 4
at Cowboys
3 (↑1)Chicago
Bears
4-31.4105
(LW × 1.000)
Bye
4 (↑3)Philadelphia
Eagles
4-31.4083
(LW × 1.006)
won by 13
vs Falcons
5 (↑10)New York
Giants
6-11.4053
(LW × 1.074)
won by 7
at Steelers
6 (↓1)Carolina
Panthers
6-21.4048
(LW × 1.000)
won by 4
vs Cardinals
7 (↑2)Baltimore
Ravens
4-31.3942
(LW × 1.022)
won by 19
vs Raiders
8 (↓5)Pittsburgh
Steelers
5-21.3696
(LW × 0.946)
lost by 7
vs Giants
9 (↑1)Washington
Redskins
6-21.3635
(LW × 1.005)
won by 8
at Lions
10 (↓2)Arizona
Cardinals
4-31.3594
(LW × 0.994)
lost by 4
at Panthers
11 (↑3)Dallas
Cowboys
5-31.3522
(LW × 1.032)
won by 4
vs Buccaneers
12 (-)Green Bay
Packers
4-31.3420
(LW × 1.014)
Bye
13 (↓7)Buffalo
Bills
5-21.3340
(LW × 0.950)
lost by 9
at Dolphins
14 (↑4)Cleveland
Browns
3-41.3227
(LW × 1.045)
won by 6
at Jaguars
15 (↓2)San Diego
Chargers
3-51.2889
(LW × 0.976)
lost by 5
at Saints
16 (↑7)Miami
Dolphins
3-41.2878
(LW × 1.050)
won by 9
vs Bills
17 (-)Indianapolis
Colts
3-41.2841
(LW × 1.002)
lost by 10
at Titans
18 (↓2)Atlanta
Falcons
4-31.2825
(LW × 0.984)
lost by 13
at Eagles
19 (↑1)New England
Patriots
5-21.2765
(LW × 1.014)
won by 7
vs Rams
20 (↓9)Jacksonville
Jaguars
3-41.2745
(LW × 0.960)
lost by 6
vs Browns
21 (↓2)Minnesota
Vikings
3-41.2709
(LW × 1.004)
Bye
22 (↓1)New Orleans
Saints
4-41.2626
(LW × 1.006)
won by 5
vs Chargers
23 (↓1)New York
Jets
4-31.2165
(LW × 0.980)
won by 4
vs Chiefs
24 (↑2)Houston
Texans
3-41.2054
(LW × 1.033)
won by 29
vs Bengals
25 (↓1)St. Louis
Rams
2-51.1880
(LW × 0.996)
lost by 7
at Patriots
26 (↑2)Seattle
Seahawks
2-51.1808
(LW × 1.062)
won by 21
at 49ers
27 (↓2)Denver
Broncos
4-31.1754
(LW × 0.987)
Bye
28 (↓1)Oakland
Raiders
2-51.1024
(LW × 0.968)
lost by 19
at Ravens
29 (-)Kansas City
Chiefs
1-61.0702
(LW × 1.010)
lost by 4
at Jets
30 (-)San Francisco
49ers
2-61.0303
(LW × 0.975)
lost by 21
vs Seahawks
31 (-)Cincinnati
Bengals
0-81.0285
(LW × 0.981)
lost by 29
at Texans
32 (-)Detroit
Lions
0-70.9913
(LW × 1.008)
lost by 8
vs Redskins

Comments:

  • Parity: there are 25 teams with at least 3 losses. There are 25 teams with at least 3 wins (Obviously(?) not the same 25).

  • The Buccaneers' loss drops their power index, but they maintain the #2 spot because the former #3 Steelers dropped out of the top 5, and the Bears are still a long way down.

  • The Giants beat their first top-10 team since week 1. They've got the Cowboys and Eagles coming up, so they finally have their chance to prove (or disprove) they belong at the top of the rankings.

  • The Browns have climbed to #14 based on the strength of a couple of big wins (Giants and Jaguars) and a close loss to the Redskins.

Teams ESPN likes more than APR:

Patriots (+12)
The Patriots are APR's lowest ranked 5-win team. But they haven't beat a team ranked higher than #23 (the Jets). They've got a bunch of higher-ranked teams yet to play (Colts, Bills, Dolphins, Steelers, Cardinals), so we'll find out if the Patriots are who APR thinks they are.

Broncos (+12)
ESPN calls the Broncos "free-falling", but move them up 3 spots on the bye. Their only road win was at the Raiders, and they gave the Chiefs their only win.

Teams APR likes more than ESPN:

Bears (-9)
The Bears' losses have come by a combined 8 points, and APR gives credit for close losses.

Browns (-8)
Their win over the Giants might have been a fluke, and the win Jaguars was pretty ugly, but they're still wins.

Dolphins (-8)
It would be easier to defend the Dolphins if they could get out of their "win one, lose one" pattern. Still, ESPN's 24th place seems kind of low for a team that's beat the Patriots, Chargers, and Bills.