Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The NFL Blog: 2011 Power Rankings (After Week 14)

Power Rankings After Week 14

1. Green Bay 13-0 (1st)

2. New Orleans 10-3 (2nd)

3. Pittsburgh 10-3 (4th)

4. San Francisco 10-3 (3rd)

5. New England 10-3 (5th)

6. Baltimore 10-3 (6th)

7. New York Jets 8-5 (7th)

8. New York Giants 7-6 (8th)

9. Houston 10-3 (10th)

10. Dallas 7-6 (9th)

11. Detroit 8-5 (11th)

12. Atlanta 8-5 (12th)

13. Tennessee 7-6 (14th)

14. Denver 8-5 (16th)

15. Philadelphia 5-8 (19th)

16. Chicago 7-6 (13th)

17. Arizona 6-7 (20th)

18. San Diego 6-7 (21st)

19. Miami 4-9 (15th)

20. Cincinnati 7-6 (17th)

21. Oakland 7-6 (18th)

22. Seattle 6-7 (24th)

23. Carolina 4-9 (22nd)

24. Washington 4-9 (28th)

25. Kansas City 5-8 (23rd)

26. Buffalo 5-8 (25th)

27. Cleveland 4-9 (27th)

28. Jacksonville 4-9 (29th)

29. Tampa Bay 4-9 (26th)

30. Minnesota 2-11 (30th)

31. St. Louis 2-11 (31st)

32. Indianapolis 0-13 (32nd)

-Previous week’s rankings in parenthesis;

Routine Perfection? While the media rants and raves about Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are quietly (in a relative sense anyway) putting together one of the more impressive runs in NFL history. I don’t mean to say that Rodgers is getting no publicity. I’m not claiming that the Packers are being ignored. I’m just saying that Rodgers is clearly the best player in football and he’s being overshadowed by Rudy. I’m also saying that the Packers have won 19 consecutive games (they haven’t lost a game in calendar year) and they are 3 wins from a perfect regular season, but the networks are all fighting over who gets to show the Broncos vs. whoever game.

The most amazing part of all of this is that the Packers have been able to continue their historic run without feeling any of the pressure that every other team chasing a perfect record has felt. Admittedly, the fact that the Patriots went 16-0 in 2007 has surely taken away some of the buzz that would have otherwise been following Green Bay from week to week. But the Packers are defending Super Bowl champs, they have 3 more wins than any other team in football, and they are the Green Fucking Bay Packers! It’s not like this is happening in Jacksonville.

Anyway, the Packers roasted the Raiders on Sunday to go to 13-0 and they are head and shoulders above the rest of the NFL. They are my #1 team for a 12th consecutive week.

Inevitable Infamy? Since I pointed out the lack of buzz (again, relatively speaking) surrounding Green Bay’s run at perfection, it might only be fair to mention that Indy’s run at imperfection also seems to be flying under the radar. You might say that the overall story (Peyton Manning’s injury; the dramatic effect that his absence has had on the team; and the impending decision concerning Andrew Luck) of the 2011 Colts is overshadowing the possibility that they will finish the season winless.

Again, the fact that Detroit went 0-16 in 2008 has probably lessened the scrutiny that the Colts would otherwise be having to deal with. But 0-16 for a team that has been a perennial double digit win team for more than a decade would be unreal.

The Colts are by far the worst team in football. They lost by 14 points to the Ravens on Sunday to fall to 0-13. They are my #32 team for a 7th straight week.

Changing it Up. Once again there were changes in 20 of 32 spots in my rankings this week. 10 teams went up and 10 teams went down. Of the 10 teams going up, 6 moved up more than 1 spot; of the 10 teams going down, 6 teams moved down more than 1 spot.

It’s Coming Up. Four teams moved up at least 3 spots in my rankings this week. Arizona beat the Niners to get to 6-7 and they moved up 3 spots in my rankings from #20 to #17. The Chargers took care of the Bills on Sunday to get to 6-7 and they also moved up 3 spots in my rankings from #21 to #18.

The Eagles and the Redskins each moved up 4 spots in my power rankings this week. This may seem strange, as only one of those teams was victorious in week 14. The Eagles whipped the red hot Dolphins on the road last Sunday, and despite their 5-8 record, I moved them up 4 spots in my rankings from #19 to #15.

The Washington Redskins lost at home on Sunday to fall to 4-9 on the year, but they lost by only 7 points to the Patriots. Plus, they were inside the New England red zone with a shot to tie or perhaps even go for 2 and the win in the final moments. In addition, a number of the teams in front of Washington played poorly last week. Thus, the Skins climbed 4 spots in my rankings from #28 to #24.

Sunday Morning Coming Down. There were a number of teams taking spills in my rankings this week. Interestingly enough, several of the teams taking big falls in these rankings are teams with winning records.

The Bears, Bengals, and Raiders all fell off 3 spots in the power rankings this week. Chicago lost a surreal overtime chiller in Denver to Tim Tebow and the Broncos. I dropped the Bears 3 spots in my rankings from #13 to #16. Cincinnati choked away a game they had to have at home against a Houston team playing with their 3rd string QB. The Bungles fell 3 spots in my rankings from #17 to #20. The Raiders got demolished by the Packers and slipped 3 spots in my rankings from #18 to #21.

Tampa Bay also fell 3 spots this week. The Bucs were embarrassed by the Jags on Sunday, falling to 4-9 on the year. I moved Tampa down 3 spots in my rankings from #26 to #29.

The team taking the biggest fall in my rankings this week was the Dolphins. I may have had Miami a little too high in the rankings to begin with but they had been one of the most competitive teams in the NFL over the previous 5 or 6 weeks. On Sunday the Eagles went to Miami and won easily. The loss made the Fins 4-9 on the year and head coach Tony Sparano was fired afterward. The Dolphins fell 4 spots in my rankings this week from #15 to #19.

Other Notes. The #1 Green Bay Packers remain the only undefeated team at 13-0; the #32 Indianapolis Colts remain the only winless team at 0-13…The Philadelphia Eagles are back to being my highest ranked team with a winning record. They are my #15 team at 5-8. The Raiders are 7-6 and they are once again my lowest ranked team with a winning record at #21…No teams are .500. This isn’t a surprise because each team has played 13 games and there have been no ties. Okay, I think we’re done with “other notes.”



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