rankings posted on sk7326's personal site
With Green Bay holding at #1 on its bye week, the chaos occured in the rest of the upper half. With Pittsburgh's thumping of New England and Kansas City's sudden ascent to the top of the AFC West, the tide has shifted slightly. Even the Eagles are starting to round into form, although the fruit might not show quite yet. Normally you would not expect Baltimore to come out looking good after spotting the Arizona Cactus Wrens a 24-3 lead, but when the wreckage around you does what it does, a home win is a port in as storm. As usual, the rankings are a team by team comparison of one team to another on schedule adjusting wins (RPI for college basketball types), adjusted scoring margin, record vs good teams, record vs common opponents and head to head. (NOTE: I only do not use silly names for teams when I cannot think of them - if you want to leave any suggestions for a silly team nickname, feel free)
1 (1). Green Bay Packers (7-0) 30 pairwins
2 (3). San Francisco 49ers (6-1) 30
3 (6). Buffalo Bills (5-2) 29
4 (7). Detroit Lions (6-2) 27
5 (4). Baltimore Edgar Allan Poems (5-2) 27
6 (2). Greater Boston and Providence Patriots (5-2) 26
7 (9). Cincinnati Other Paul Browns (5-2) 23
8 (5). New Orleans Saints (5-3) 23
9 (12). Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) 22
10 (15). Houston Texans (5-3) 21
11 (13). Atlanta Falcons (4-3) 19
12 (11). Chicago Bears (4-3) 19
13 (21). Kansas City Chiefs (4-3) 18
14 (14). Oakland Raiders Unless the Crypt Keeper Moves Them (4-3) 17
15 (8). Northern New Jersey Jets (4-3) 17
16 (10). San Diego or maybe Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) 15
17 (17). Land Mass Surrounding Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3) 13
18 (18). Tennessee Non Oilers (4-3) 13
19 (19). Northern New Jersey Giants (5-2) 12
20 (16). Dallas Cowboys (3-4) 12
21 (22). Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) 11
22 (20). Washington Racial Slurs (3-4) 9
23 (23). Seattle Seahawks (2-5) 7
24 (24). Denver Broncos (2-5) 7
25 (25). Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) 7
26 (28). Minnesota Vikings (2-6) 6
27 (27). Cleveland Paul Browns (3-4) 4
28 (26). Carolina Panthers (2-6) 4
29 (30). Saint Louis Cardinals (1-6) 3
30 (29). Arizona Cactus Wrens (1-6) 2
31 (31). Indianapolis Colts (0-8) 0
32 (32). Miami Dolphins (0-7) 0
The 8 Toughest Slates So Far (Opp W/L vs rest of league, avg of opponents W% and opponents' opponents W%)
1. Buffalo Bills (27-15, .555)
2. Detroit Lions (27-22, .551)
3. Oakland Raiders (25-18, .546)
4. Atlanta Falcons (25-19, .546)
5. San Francisco 49ers (25-18, .545)
6. Chicago Bears (27-19, .541)
7. Dallas Cowboys (24-19, .540)
8. New England Patriots (24-19, .535)
The 8 Easiest Schedules to Date
25. Pittsburgh Steelers (22-29, .468)
26. San Diego Chargers (18-25, .466)
27. Tennessee Titans (20-26, .463)
28. Carolina Panthers (22-29, .460)
29. Cleveland Browns (17-26, .457)
30. Washington Redskins (16-27, .436)
31. Arizona Cardinals (19-26, .433)
32. New York Giants (13-29, .414)
The big plunge of the week belonged to the Jets. They of course were on a bye, but with losses by the Patriots, Dolphins, Cowboys, Jaguars, Chargers and a close shave by Oakland, their schedule metrics slipped a bunch and teams hopped over them. However the two teams that deserve special hat-tips are the sudden #7 Cincinnati Bengals and the #13 Chiefs. Consider how horrible Kansas City looked out of the gate losing two games by an 89-10 margin, the idea that they are leading the AFC West and back in the top half of teams is nothing short of miraculous (at least as miraculous as doing this with Matt Cassel). With Cincinnati, it is the product of a great defense - a defense which was good even the last two years. Yes, as a member of the AFC North they have the easiest schedule of any group of teams (playing the AFC South and NFC West), but the defense is legit. The rookie quarterback, Andy Dalton, has shown that he can handle this - that while he might not be an all-pro yet, he is good enough for them to not use a dumbed down game plan. In addition, rookie receiver AJ Green is going to be a great one.
Anyway, some food for thought - if you want a more "serious" diary - there is no shortage :).