Tuesday, December 7, 2010

NFL: Week 13 APR vs ESPN

What this is

A comparison of APR's Week 12 power rankings with ESPN's rankings for the same week of games. This acts as a sanity check (both ways) to see what teams are over- or underrated.

Only teams that are at least 9 positions apart are listed. The number in parentheses is the difference between APR's rank and ESPN's rank.

Teams ESPN likes more than APR:

Seahawks (+10)
I'm not sure it's worth much to argue ranking the Seahawks #20 or #30 (though I think the Browns, Vikings, and Cowboys are all easily better teams). But I will point out the game vs. the Panthers would've been a lot closer without a pick-6 and a long punt return going the Seahawks' way.
In range:
Rams (+6). Last week I said maybe the Rams were ranked too low. But a good team would've come away with touchdowns where the Rams had to settle for field goals.

Teams APR likes more than ESPN:

Browns (-10)
Unlike the Lions, the Browns keep winning just enough for APR to continue to rank them high. Certainly, they're not a team to overlook. And I think it's safe to say they're doing better than last year (they didn't get their second win in 2009 until week 14).