Rankings crossposted at sk7326's personal site:
With both of last week's Top 2 teams going down - the chance for a shift in the rankings seemed inevitable. So it is strangely appropriate that for the week where NPR successfully reminded people my age how old we really are, that we reach into a similar era for the new #1 team in the NFL.
As always, the rankings compare the NFL teams with each other on RPI (schedule adjusted record), adjusted scoring margin, head to head, common opponents and record vs good teams (that will be more relevant later in the year). The big caveat to note is that the ranking model only knows what this season tells it - so the rankings as the season rolls on will reflect increased knowledge of who these teams really are. So, voila!
1. Buffalo Bills (3-0) 30 pairwins
2. Green Bay Packers (3-0) 30
3. Detroit Lions (3-0) 29
4. Oakland Raiders (2-1) 26
5. New Orleans Saints (2-1) 25
6. Dallas Cowboys (2-1) 24
7. Northern New Jersey Jets (2-1) 23
8. New England Patriots (2-1) 23
9. Washington Racial Slurs (2-1) 22
10. Baltimore Local Literary References (2-1) 22
11. Tennessee Titans (2-1) 21
12. Houston Texans (2-1) 19
13. San Francisco 49ers (2-1) 18
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) 16
15. Northern New Jersey Giants (2-1) 16
16. Land Surrounding Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) 15
17. San Diego Chargers (2-1) 14
18. Chicago Bears (1-2) 12
19. Cleveland Paul Browns (2-1) 11
20. Cincinnati Other Paul Browns (2-1) 11
21. Denver Broncos (1-2) 10
22. Arizona Cardinals (1-2) 9
23. Carolina Panthers (1-2) 8
24. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-2) 7
25. Seattle Seahawks (1-2) 6
26. Atlanta Falcons (1-2) 6
27. Philadelphia Eagles (1-2) 5
28. Minnesota Vikings (0-3) 3
29. Miami Dolphins (0-3) 2
30. Indianapolis Colts (0-3) 1
31. Kansas City Chiefs (0-3) 0
32. Saint Louis Rams (0-3) 0
The Bills small edge at the top (a virtual tie) is due to the slightly better opponents (as far as we know) that they have seen to date compared to the Packers. Also - it has been so long it is nice to see the Bills on top.
As far as the football that got played - obviously the diary is meant for discussion on that end. What I will note is the Monday night debacle between Washington and Dallas showed two teams - that while having Top 10 grades so far - that did not put a great show together. Dallas deserves credit for hanging in despite the mistakes and the injuries, but Washington has to be kicking itself. Most notably the coaches on defense took the game away on the fateful 3rd and 21 in the 4th. How do you blitz all out on a 3rd and 21? There is no need to risk so much to create advantage that was already there. Romo evaded the rush, some of it got blocked and Dez Bryant was able to make the game winning catch. Just silly.
UPDATE: Stupid math error in both this and last week (counted a category double - quick new rankings below - old ones left so erstwhile author can be mocked appropriately)
1. Bills 28 pairwins
2. Packers 27
3. Raiders 26
4. Saints 25
5. Cowboys 24
6. Lions 23
7. Jets 23
8. Patriots 23
9. Redskins 22
10. Ravens 22
11. Titans 21
12. Texans 19
13. 49ers 18
14. Bucs 13
15. Giants 12
16. Bears 12
17. Bengals 12
18. Steelers 11
19. Broncos 11
20. Cardinals 8
21. Panthers 6
22. Chargers 5
23. Browns 5
24. Jaguars 5
25. Seahawks 4
26. Falcons 4
27. Eagles 3
28. Vikings 3
29. Dolphins 2
30. Colts 1
31. Chiefs 0
32. Rams 0
Since this is not the DC press corps or Dick Cheney doing this, a mistake is openly acknowledged (see? Now it has political merit too!).