My 2015 "Rankings"

[KCSLC2008 606]

Last year, I did an experimental rankings system where I took the records of every team and slotted them in their W-L categories. I ran into two issues besides it being unconventional, misunderstood as a real ranking, and time-consuming: bye weeks and ties.

http://chiefscoalition.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/1455-my-2014-rankings/page-3

I think I've resolved the issue by going with win percentages, where close enough might result in a jump or a drop somewhere. A bye week'd undefeated team won't suffer by not playing and a bye week'd winless team would stay low. So a 6-0 team can be ahead of a 7-0 team, but not below a 6-1 team. And vice versa. Tie games would be 0.5W/0.5L, but this year, I reserve the right to drop them a bit, as I think being permanently slotted in one spot helped Cincinnati too much in my rankings.

Here's what I have right now as an actual rankings. I might change it before Sunday morning.

1. New England Patriots: I think I will always start the year with the defending champions in front, unless something major happened, like a future HOFer at QB or coach retiring.

2. Seattle Seahawks: Tempted to drop them a spot or two, but who would I bring up? No one deserves the second spot yet.

3. Indianapolis Colts: Yes, hype, but I can't put the others ahead of them right now. They'll have time to prove me wrong if Luck keeps turning the ball over. I just don't want to hear an announcer call a deep interception on 2nd and 5 "just like a bad punt." It's second down!

4. Green Bay Packers: I think this year's slow start won't result in losses in the first two weeks. Beating Seattle would help.

5. Denver Broncos: I "feel" they will drop a bit, but until they do, they deserve this spot.

6. Dallas Cowboys: I think they'll drop, too, but again, who am I going to bring up?

7. Kansas City Chiefs: Tried to be neutral and maybe over-compensated. Could have put us ahead of Dallas, but didn't. Almost put us behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh just to be safe, but nah.

8. Baltimore Ravens: Great coach on an OK team, gives them the edge over good coach in Philadelphia. My oak leaving is why they aren't ahead of the Chiefs. Could be lower than Philadelphia.

9. Philadelphia Eagles: They are always around 9-10 best but never seems to matter much.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers: Think they will start with a loss, but should settle in Top Ten somewhere. It might take awhile.

11. Arizona Cardinals: Assuming healthy QB. Who am I kidding? Assuming trouble at some point, drops them.

12. Detroit Lions: Can't drop them lower, but they have the feeling of Philadelphia, top half, but so what?

13. Cincinnati Bengals: Always seems to luck into a higher spot than they deserve. Why change here? Hope they drop, at least Week 4.

14. Miami Dolphins: Can't put them higher, because, you know, the Bengals' luck.

15. San Diego Chargers: Just a feeling.

16. Houston Texans: Schedule helped last year, but we can sympathize with how overstated that can be. Would've been ahead of Chargers and maybe Dolphins.

17. Buffalo Bills: Can't believe I just put them here. But their defense will be good.

18. New Orleans Saints: This is as high as Drew Brees' reputation can bring them before proving it. They should win the division this year.

19. Carolina Panthers: Winning a playoff game has to put them ahead of the hyped Vikings for now.

20. Minnesota Vikings: Rumors are they are rising. AP is back and while that would mean more last year (age), it still counts.

21. New York Giants: Can't start two time SB in bottom third. Could get there by poor play.

22. Atlanta Falcons: Where else? They have to get better, right?

23. Oakland Raiders: Sad to say, but they'll jump up a bit.

24. Chicago Bears: Should improve, bound for bounce back to top two-thirds. Will start them here first.

25. San Francisco 49ers: I think they'll be a few spots higher, but couldn't justify it yet. Chicago got their bad years started early. Should be closer to recovery than the Niners.

26. St. Louis Rams: Same hype as Vikings, but lower. I see them winning or competitively losing every game. Next year, they will be Top 20.

27. New York Jets: Defense > Offense. May rise a few spots.

28. Tennessee Titans: Second year improvement. Don't really know them well.

29. Cleveland Browns: Probably will be higher, but it is Cleveland. I think I'm obligated to rank them here.

30. Washington Redskins: They can't be the worst football team, just worst organization.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars: They seem to like it here. Why change, it's getting cozy. Second worst keeps them out of the headlines but gets them a great pick. Could get troublesome if picks start to pan out.

32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Process of elimination brought them here. Probably will be better.

[KCSLC2008 606]

So far, the "Rankings" are:

 

1. New England Patriots: Didn't see the game, but it sounded like it was pretty obvious who was the better team.

17. Pittsburgh Steelers: Last second touchdowns don't impress me much when down by 14+. Feel the NFL screwed up the headphones on purpose in retaliation against the Patriots for the Deflategate thing. Makes the Patriots look more guilty.

 

Winners go first half according to how well they played; losers go second half according to how well they fared against the winners.

[omahacolt 208]

the colts should be #1

[KCSLC2008 606]

the colts should be #1

Just might be by the end of the year. Cheers!

[omahacolt 208]

Just might be by the end of the year. Cheers!

lets hope so.  although i don't think they will have the defense to get there

[liquidfriend 1,151]

The Colts have the easiest cruise to a division title, but that Defense is going to cost them in the playoffs.

 

The Bengals are better than the Steelers and I look for Baltimore to slide back without Kubiak.

 

I like the formula that the Chicago Bears have, but I just don't know if they have enough pieces right now to form a respectable D.

 

Right now my surprise team is the Eagles. I think Chip Kelly is a smarter coach than we give him credit for and they sneak in as a wildcard.

[Smoulder 89]

Chip Kelly is absolutely very smart, and he is smart enough to rely on the "gimmick" of using advanced physical training regimens, computerized monitoring, and a culture of buy-in and honest feedback to individually tailor workout routines to extract the absolute most from each player. This is a strategy that supports gameday tactics of wearing the opponent down to the point of exhaustion with a rapid succession of plays with the intent of denying the defense rest between snaps.

 

As a playcaller, I don't think Chip Kelly is a "genius". I think everything else is designed to compensate for that, which works alright until they run into a stout defense like the Chiefs - we can send you 3-and-out in 2 minutes or 30 seconds, whichever you prefer.

[KCSLC2008 606]

I have shown my rankings to two different places and everybody tells me that the Steelers should be lower. Since I was on the fence with them and this is before Sunday, I lowered them. This is more based upon others jumping them than what I saw on Thursday. Didn't want to go overboard and drop them too much. I did say that they will probably end up in the top 10 of the league, which with the NFC being stronger, is like a wildcard.

[Chiefsfan1963 1,101]

So far, the "Rankings" are:

 

1. New England Patriots: Didn't see the game, but it sounded like it was pretty obvious who was the better team.

17. Pittsburgh Steelers: Last second touchdowns don't impress me much when down by 14+. Feel the NFL screwed up the headphones on purpose in retaliation against the Patriots for the Deflategate thing. Makes the Patriots look more guilty.

 

Winners go first half according to how well they played; losers go second half according to how well they fared against the winners.

Pittsburgh should have beaten them.

NE at home, having a huge SB/Brady rally and they still barely beat Pittsburgh.

 

Pittsburgh had two starting weapons and thei srud center out and still moved the ball at ease.

 

Two missed FGs at makeable distances.

 

Busted coverage on Gronk, they forgot to cover him.

 

Putting 10 players on the field.

 

All this and NE barely won.

 

Anyone who saw the game knows that Pittsburgh was the better team but was not prepared. Similar to the KC - Tennessee game last. Does anyone really believe the Titans were a better overall team than the Chiefs last year?

[KCSLC2008 606]

Pittsburgh should have beaten them.

NE at home, having a huge SB/Brady rally and they still barely beat Pittsburgh.

 

Pittsburgh had two starting weapons and thei srud center out and still moved the ball at ease.

 

Two missed FGs at makeable distances.

 

Busted coverage on Gronk, they forgot to cover him.

 

Putting 10 players on the field.

 

All this and NE barely won.

 

Anyone who saw the game knows that Pittsburgh was the better team but was not prepared. Similar to the KC - Tennessee game last. Does anyone really believe the Titans were a better overall team than the Chiefs last year?

 

Barely won, but with a garbage TD with 2 seconds to go. Was up 28-14 before that.

[Chiefsfan1963 1,101]

A garbage TD that should have tied the game.

 

Pittsburgh was the better team just not ready. Again, do you feel that the Titans were a better team than the Chiefs last year or were they just better prepared for that game?

[KCSLC2008 606]

A garbage TD that should have tied the game.

 

Pittsburgh was the better team just not ready. Again, do you feel that the Titans were a better team than the Chiefs last year or were they just better prepared for that game?

The Patriots are the better team. (Maybe not the best.) They are the Super Bowl champions and they didn't drop anywhere. Saying that a game could've been tied doesn't convince me. The Chiefs were better than the Titans last year, but the Chiefs hadn't just won the Super Bowl the year before either. Also, even if I accepted the Patriots played poorly, they didn't play as poorly as we did last year. Just because there are upsets that happen doesn't mean that the Steelers are better than the Patriots.

 

Everything you've said assumes that this is a tiebreaker situation and those teams are equal teams or that the Steelers were unarguably better. If you miss two field goals and score fewer touchdowns with one of the ones you do score being in garbage time, your team isn't better. The kicker is part of the team. Ignoring Gronkowski does make your team a worse team. That garbage touchdown would not have tied the game as they would've played the game differently if it were that close.

 

I don't even like the Patriots and my friend is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

[KCSLC2008 606]

the colts should be #1

 

Sorry man, not yet - With this loss, probably would take until Week 4-7 to get closer than top ten. Have to wait for last undefeated team. And then, play really well otherwise.

[KCSLC2008 606]

Week One “Rankings”

1.       New England Patriots: Felt they played well enough to keep their spot on top of the “rankings.” Game could have been closer without Steelers misfires and game’s last score was meaningless and made the game closer than it actually was.

2.       Green Bay Packers: Hard to judge this game, as the stats don’t jump out at you and the score looks close. Efficient game plus Top QB and it’s hard not to give the benefit of the doubt that this game could have been lopsided if they tried.

3.       Kansas City Chiefs: Second half play would be more concerning if the Chiefs didn’t have a game this Thursday and weren’t nursing the lead. However, against the Broncos, KC’s foot must remain on the pedal for a win against Denver. First half dominance of a good, if not overrated, defense, pushes the Chiefs ahead.

4.       Dallas Cowboys: Turnovers hurt and turnovers helped, timing was key. I value playing well from the outset more than comebacks and hence why they are behind Kansas City; however, the ability to win it like they did, jumps Denver. Stringing victories together, in any fashion, will keep them high on this list.

5.       Denver Broncos: Denver didn’t seem to click anywhere except on defense. Reputation prevents a bigger fall down the standings, but for Bronco fans, they must at least wonder about Thursday Night.

6.       Cincinnati Bengals: Not sure how much of this is Cincinnati playing well versus Oakland losing Carr and the Raiders making dumb decisions and playing poor defense. Given the repeated 2-3 play drives from Oakland, it’s probably defense and QB switch.

7.       Arizona Cardinals: They will rise in this list eventually, but New Orleans stuck around with them for a bit too long. Speed sealed the Cardinals’ victory with less than two minutes to go, but not putting the game out of reach earlier keeps them behind Cincinnati who cruisingly beat an inferior opponent.

8.       Buffalo Bills: Impressive win that quite a few people predicted for some reason. Efficient rookie QB created an insurmountable 24 point lead for the Colts. Never was close; if they continue winning, they’ll rise pretty high up this list.  This was as high as I could put them without being sensational about it. Teams will get film and tendencies of the new offense and they’ll have to adjust.

9.       St. Louis Rams: There were moments where you just knew that Seattle was going to pull it off, but then, when a botched overtime kickoff happened, you just knew a flub would lose it for them. Seattle just does that from both sides of the spectrum. A combination of being low ranked early and the times where it seemed like the Rams were trying to lose it, prevents a higher jump.

10.   San Diego Chargers: In an otherwise stat-dominating comeback-rallying game, turnovers were pretty bad for San Diego and almost stopped their comeback win. Detroit should be a respectable team but was subpar offensively.

11.   Atlanta Falcons: Julio Jones is damn good, but this game had the feel of all the other games where I felt the Falcons got lucky by missed FGs. I mean, I’ve seen around 3-4 of them where they got to rekick a miss (playoffs) or the opponent missed and easy one. Beating Philadelphia has to count for something, though.

12.   San Francisco 49ers: Maybe Minnesota’s awful, but given the hype that they’d be a good sleeper team, dominating them has to feel pretty good and count for something for the Niners. If they are as hurt by player and coaching departures, they’ll drop later.

13.   Tennessee Titans: Mariota cannot keep up his play for another game, historically speaking, but we’ll see if Whisenhent’s team can keep going. Had to put them behind San Francisco because unless Mariota is special season-long, jumping from 2^nd worst to Top Ten for one game isn’t prudent. Miami should eventually jump the Titans, but thought their win was ugly enough to rank them lower.

14.   Miami Dolphins: Beating the Redskins by one touchdown in a comeback win on a punt return is not impressive. Still, a win is a win and the offense didn’t need to be good outside of two drives sandwiching halftime.

15.   Carolina Panthers: I shouldn’t penalize a winning team for its opponent, but when you are winning only by one, albeit on the road, at halftime, and you win by several turnovers, it’s not convincing.

16.   New York Jets: Statistically close game won by four fumbles and an interception. Opponent downgrades the win for now, but the Jets will have a chance to push up the list.

17.   Seattle Seahawks: My rankings are designed this way, winning will bring them out of their hole. Lost to an ok-to-good team in overtime. Being in the Super Bowl last year gives them the benefit of the doubt over the Steelers.

18.   Pittsburgh Steelers: Interesting team, have had people tell me they were ranked too high in my actual ratings and then another telling me the better team lost. Kickers are part of the team and being stopped at the one is still a stop. Having said that, better performance than the rest of the teams who lost.

19.   Baltimore Ravens: Barely lost to a playoff team from last year. Interceptions should and did cost Flacco and it didn’t even seem necessary to gunsling the first one. You get the good and the bad of Flacco and it’s only the regular season.

20.   Indianapolis Colts: Man, only one week, but the Colts looked bad. They’ll jump this list eventually, as this first week is basically by definition knee-jerk given its W/L slotting limitations. Good to see Luck not still win despite turning the ball over. I’ll remember this the next time I complain about Luck winning a multiple TO’d game.

21.   New York Giants: Defense played well until the fourth quarter when it counted. Much is talked about comebacks offensively, but the defense had no answers for the Cowboys at the end. Eli Manning’s football IQ is probably up there, but not when he doesn’t just take a sack to run out clock. Coughlin could have helped him with that and time clock management. Just don’t ask Andy Reid for advice.

22.   Philadelphia Eagles: Giving them the benefit of the doubt here. Didn’t know where else to put them, as I don’t know how good, bad, or lucky the Falcons are. I think losing drops them enough from where I thought the Eagles were going to be.

23.   Detroit Lions: Almost jumped back in to steal what they gave away. Fast start was quickly lost and never quite regained. Another quarter and we might see a different result, but same goes for many games. The deserving team won.

24.   Chicago Bears: Not a good team but kept the game close for a while and finished relatively close in a game never really in question. Convoluted backwards compliment?

25.   Houston Texans: Note to O’Brien – don’t start Hoyer. Not all his fault, but never seemed in it. Good for KC who also helped in benching Hoyer. Of course, could’ve said the same thing about Mallet if the Chiefs had gameplanned against him and got a few mental mistakes from Mallet. Hypothetically, “Note to O’Brien – Start the veteran.” Even anticipating a Chiefs win, I thought they’d be higher on my list.

26.   New Orleans Saints: Slipping team it seems. I’m assuming Brees and Payton pick it up, but if they don’t, where do they land next year? Being the road team, against a good team, in Week One, with a 5 point game with two minutes left, I’ll keep them ahead of Oakland.

27.   Washington Redskins: Pick on the favorite team to pick on, but they did almost tie/beat Miami, so that’s something. Cousins just can’t turn the ball over so much. Alex Smith could have helped them.

28.   Minnesota Vikings: Should be able to climb back into the teens at some point, but for now, scoring 3 points against the depleted Niners? Should be happy to be here.

29.   Oakland Raiders: Losing Derek Carr can’t be good news for Raider fans. But he’ll be back in little time. If McGloin could have done something, I’d say the team was pretty good; since they didn’t, even without Carr, I’d assume they are a ways away.

30.   Cleveland Browns: Lost by a lot to the Jets, need I say more? Even if the Jets improve, should have been closer. Would be in a rematch, as Manziel would get more time as starter, but also more film on him. Can you film random?

31.   Jacksonville Jaguars: They want to be here, got nothing else to say. Carolina was as beatable of a playoff team/favorite as they could ask for at home with a second year QB.

32.   Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Everyone talks about Mariota/Winston, but this game shows something about coaching and something about the Titans talent outside of QB – it’s better than Tampa Bay’s. I thought they tanked for the first pick in the last game of the 2014 year – maybe, but they’re bad.

[liquidfriend 1,151]

Cincinnati benefited from more talent, veteran staff and team.

 

Arizona got lucky that Payton is a pill'd out bad decision maker.

 

Not buying into the Bills and Tyrod Taylor. They lucked into mmatching up quite favorably against the Colts weaknesses and the HFA boost.

 

The Lions really suffer from bad coaching.

 

Houston should tread lightly with Mallet. New England dropped a Day 2 pick on him and had no problems letting him walk free for a reason. Houston suffers from a New England clone disease and people and teams should stop doing this.

 

I liked the Vikings, but damn do they really miss Sullivan and Loadholt. They look weak without them and Bridgewater had no time if they rushed more than 3.

 

Chip Kelly is lacking in skill players. They are stretched thin at WR right now and have lost too much too fast. They've never been able to field a respectable secondary.

 

Figured the Steelers would improve on Defense, but they have actually taken a step back. They will be in fine shape once Bell is back.

 

Baltimore is an odd squad and doesn't really have the backs or receivers to run a good Offense. Don't care much for domestic violence Suggs.

 

The Titans come back to earth when they finally face a team that can mount any form of passrushing.

[KCSLC2008 606]

Cincinnati benefited from more talent, veteran staff and team.

 

Arizona got lucky that Payton is a pill'd out bad decision maker.

 

Not buying into the Bills and Tyrod Taylor. They lucked into mmatching up quite favorably against the Colts weaknesses and the HFA boost.

 

The Lions really suffer from bad coaching.

 

Houston should tread lightly with Mallet. New England dropped a Day 2 pick on him and had no problems letting him walk free for a reason. Houston suffers from a New England clone disease and people and teams should stop doing this.

 

I liked the Vikings, but damn do they really miss Sullivan and Loadholt. They look weak without them and Bridgewater had no time if they rushed more than 3.

 

Chip Kelly is lacking in skill players. They are stretched thin at WR right now and have lost too much too fast. They've never been able to field a respectable secondary.

 

Figured the Steelers would improve on Defense, but they have actually taken a step back. They will be in fine shape once Bell is back.

 

Baltimore is an odd squad and doesn't really have the backs or receivers to run a good Offense. Don't care much for domestic violence Suggs.

 

The Titans come back to earth when they finally face a team that can mount any form of passrushing.

 

I might have a bias against Cincinnati because I view them as a good team who underachieves in play but lucks out at the end. They are the more talented Atlanta Falcons of the AFC. Better than Atlanta, but lucky, too. I've seen enough dropped interceptions, missed field goals from the other team, etc. Having said that, their win was also the way it was due to opponent. They would have won either way and could have beaten a better team, but when judging this week's win, I think opponent helped a lot, especially with the starter QB out.

 

I didn't see the Arizona game, and they are good, but I thought New Orleans stuck around too long. That might have been what you are referring to when you said that Payton made bad decisions. Did he make a dumb decision when down 24-19?

 

I don't buy the Bills and do see the Colts as a team susceptible to a few clunkers. But I wanted to give them credit for this week and they might drop out later. If they sustain it, they will stay up but not as much as they are right now.

 

I'll take your word for the Lions' coaching deficiencies. I assume they are similar to the old Colts.

 

Houston should stick with Mallet and draft someone probably next year. He has a short chance to earn it, but he has to do it. Hoyer has had his chances.

 

Vikings looked out of it, maybe it's Norv Turner who always starts slow and finishes strong.

 

Philadelphia should have made the kick, but as much as I view the Falcons as lucky special teams-wise, I wanted Chip's team to lose every once in awhile like this. I think he's smart but I dislike his press conferences. I know, bad reason. He was asked about his pace and he said it was only to give fans more entertainment rather than sitting around, no football reasons. He could have just said he doesn't discuss strategy and that he might mix it up some. Come on, no football reasons? That's bullshit and he knows no one should buy it. I dislike that, it doesn't give him a disadvantage to just give a real answer that doesn't say what his strategy is.

 

Unfortunately, Bell will be back for the game against us, but I hope their defense isn't much better by then.

 

Don't know what to say about Baltimore. I always give them the benefit of the doubt in my list.

 

The Titans should go down, but for the same reasons as Buffalo, I ranked them higher than they are.

[omahacolt 208]

Sorry man, not yet - With this loss, probably would take until Week 4-7 to get closer than top ten. Have to wait for last undefeated team. And then, play really well otherwise.

the colts are a top ten team.  regardless of a week 1 loss.  they started out 0-2 last year and ended up in the afc championship game

[KCSLC2008 606]

the colts are a top ten team. regardless of a week 1 loss. they started out 0-2 last year and ended up in the afc championship game

True, but my rankings aren't true rankings. They are slotted by win/loss records. That's why I put "rankings" in quotes.

[liquidfriend 1,151]

Punted while they were down. Sub 2 minutes and only 2 TO's left and they absolutely had to score a TD.

 

At best they get the ball back with maybe 25 seconds left to drive the entire field. At worst they don't convert and Arizona wins, which they did anyhow.

 

The Saints D is mediocre at best and I take my chances on the more reliable offense to convert on 4th down.

[KCSLC2008 606]

Punted while they were down. Sub 2 minutes and only 2 TO's left and they absolutely had to score a TD.

 

At best they get the ball back with maybe 25 seconds left to drive the entire field. At worst they don't convert and Arizona wins, which they did anyhow.

 

The Saints D is mediocre at best and I take my chances on the more reliable offense to convert on 4th down.

Wow, that's bad. I usually am an apologist for the professional, but that's bad.

[KCSLC2008 606]

Week Two “Rankings”

1.       New England Patriots: Beating a good offensive team in the Steelers and then a good defense in Buffalo, albeit with neither being a dominant victory, puts them up tops, especially coming off a Super Bowl year.

2.       Green Bay Packers: Beating Seattle doesn’t have quite the same awe as it used to, but defeating a mostly intact Super Bowl runner-up while having the best QB in football should keep them right on the heels of New England before one of them slips up.

3.       Denver Broncos: Until they lose, they’re going to be high on this list. If the play Manning’s offense and get a 5-TO defense, they should beat quite a bit of good teams. Trouble is finding other teams who will gift them 5 turnovers. Indianapolis Colts, anyone?

4.       Arizona Cardinals: What do you do when the schedule gods give you an easy start? You blow one of them out and you beat the other. Well coached team with a good defense and a good QB who just needs to stay healthy. Should have another victory this next Sunday against the Niners at home.

5.       Dallas Cowboys: I could put them below the Bengals, but since they are maybe dropping a game or so after this, after losing Romo, I’ll give them the boost. Beating two division rivals right out of the gate softens the blow, but they do need Weeden to, I mean, the team, to win. Atlanta looks better than last year, beating the same two teams.

6.       Cincinnati Bengals: Good team that didn’t have to get lucky this game. Helped out the division race, so appreciative for that. Ended the Chargers hope with an interception of Rivers pass, always love one of those. Baltimore gets them next at home and now, Kansas City needs to beat them in Week 4. Looking good for Pittsburgh with those two playing each other.

7.       Atlanta Falcons: The Eagles and Giants are harder teams to beat than the Texans and Jaguars that Carolina beat, and collectively are harder to both beat than just Cleveland and the Colts, that the Jets beat. Two close wins, if not for QB errors in the second half by their opponent, they could easily be 0-2. But they’re not, so credit to them.

8.       New York Jets: Great defense and another showing that you can’t have 5 turnovers and win the game. I was convinced that the Colts were going to get a kickoff TD return and a muffed punt at the end. They just have that luck. Since they are the Jets and the Browns were their only other win, putting them down here below the Falcons.

9.       Carolina Panthers: Playing the Jaguars before the Texans is a good way to start. They beat Houston pretty handily, as there was a Houston garbage time TD at the end of a previously 14 point lead. Sound familiar?

10.   Buffalo Bills: Beating the AFC Runnerup and then losing a close one to the Super Bowl Champion is a great way to start. With that defense and an inexperienced QB not screwing it up, top of the 1-1 teams.

11.   Pittsburgh Steelers: Basically same argument for the Steelers with a close loss to the Super Bowl Champions and a blowout of the only other team they’ve had an opportunity to play, but since the Colts are a better team than the Niners, tie goes to the Bills. They’ll have their chance to surpass.

12.   Kansas City Chiefs: Great defense, outside of one player/drive. Should have been game winning drive by the offense. BUT… 5 turnovers. Fleming. Playing for field goals and overtime is usually frowned upon, but in this game, those were several chances to win this game. Defense and better offense than last year (believe it or not), absent turnovers, keeps them up here. Turnovers keeps them down in the real world.

13.   San Diego Chargers: Beating an OK 0-2 team and losing close to a good 2-0 team is good for optimism. Coming up, a beatable Vikings team and the Browns help a lot. The next two, Packers and Steelers do not. Likely 3-3 to start before splitting the Raiders and Ravens. Without looking at their schedule, splitting with KC and Denver, 8-8 sounds possible for the season.

14.   St. Louis Rams: As said before, beating Seattle is watered down a bit, but still a good win. Losing to Washington by a lot? Wow. The negative outweighs the positive, however, since Seattle is in-division, it’s the preferable order.

15.   Oakland Raiders: Giving up 33 points in both games is not good. Oakland winning this game puts more questions on the Ravens than it does in praising the Raiders. Scoring 13 and 37 points, which team is this? Cincinnati’s D is good, but so is the declining Raven’s D (to a lesser extent).

16.   San Francisco 49ers: Their win over Minnesota is better than Tennessee’s win over Tampa Bay, but with SF beating MN, SF getting routed, Titans losing to Cleveland, Titans beating TB, TB beating Saints, it’s hard to figure out who is the best of the inconsistent middle teams. Defense didn’t show up and offense got a lot of garbage yards resulting in zero points.

17.   Minnesota Vikings: Lost to the team ahead of them in the rankings, better than the teams below. Simple as that. Peterson being back was one game delayed from helping them.

18.   Tennessee Titans: Losing to the Browns is no way to go and suggests that they weren’t ready to capitalize on a good Week One victory over a bad team. Predictable, as they weren’t ready to progress after beating the Chiefs game one last year. Pagano is showing to be a slow starter, maybe Whisenhunt is fast but runs out quickly? Browns > Jaguars right now, hence the ranking over the under-achieving Dolphins.

19.   Miami Dolphins: Barely beating the Redskins and losing to the Jaguars is not the way to build a good reputation or record. Both teams seemed to be trying to lose, having a punt-fest of three and outs. Wish the Redskins had not thrown a INT at the end of the game in the redzone.

20.   Jacksonville Jaguars: Having just beat the Dolphins, I should put them ahead of them, but just can’t. Jacksonville is not a good team and they seemed to not want to win that game. Miami is better, just underachieves. Under-achievement will lead to lower rankings in the future.

21.   Cleveland Browns: I may biasedly keep them down, but my bias is stronger against the Buccaneers and Redskins. So there. If Manziel can improve 1% every game, they should be ok for 2017.

22.   Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Could rise if Winston figures it out and plays well, but it’s still the Buc’s to me and I feel they will drop the ball if Jameis gets it to them.

23.   Washington Redskins:  Honestly haven’t seen them, but with QBs who throw INTs and get injured in a bad franchise, prognosis overall can’t be good. Don’t want to drag other teams down because of one good win from Washington.

24.   Seattle Seahawks: Probably the best of the 0-2’s but are missing something while also facing ok to good teams. This should start turning around this week. If it doesn’t, it shows two things, concern over the Seahawks and Cutler’s future… who am I kidding? Cutler’s future is questioned every game and he wins out.

25.   Baltimore Ravens: Still a good team, just missing something, too. Well coached team that faced a good team last week and just dropped the ball this week. Not sure if Flacco’s deal has made people leave, but if so, that could be the cause. I think the affect is more next year or the next than it would be this year. GM is a good drafter. Sugg’s injury is more likely to be why they lost.

26.   Indianapolis Colts: So much for the easiest schedule in the NFL. They didn’t help themselves with 5 TOs… sound familiar? Luck will be good to great, but he is turning the ball over a lot the past two seasons. Thought it was “trying to make a play” before; this year, it’s making mistakes when pressured.

27.   New York Giants: Lost to two 2-0 teams barely and some of it self-inflicted, though that definitely is judged against them. Point is, they aren’t as far away as they were last year, I’m sure I could find many positives if I were a fan of theirs.

28.   Philadelphia Eagles: Whatever they do, good or bad, is overhyped and it’s because of the coach’s attitude. No problem with that, but when I did my first rankings, I said they’d be ranked high but of no consequence. They just seem to be a lose in the WC/Division team or miss the playoffs team – even in their good year. So, it’s also fair to say, their failure is overstated so far.

29.   Detroit Lions: Never seemed like a good team, just a team that could beat anyone, but most likely would only beat the bad teams. I hope they don’t figure it out before they play us and I hope we beat them with a healthy Stafford.

30.   Chicago Bears: They don’t seem 30^th ranked, I just got here by process of elimination, since so many bad teams won a game and a lot of good teams lost. It kind of forced me here. If Cutler’s backup can’t produce with Jeffrey, etc., they’ll fall a few spots, hopefully against us.

31.   Houston Texans: They aren’t this bad either, could have put them above the Lions and Bears, but had no interest. They need their runningback and as everyone should know, Watt is not enough when you haven’t figured out their QB yet. I mean, if they were confident in either, I’d think they’d do better. They do have their QBs throwing the most in the league, though.

32.   New Orleans Saints: I know they have Payton and Brees, but losing to the Buccaneers at home? They’ll either climb out of it because they have Brees and Payton, or they’ll deserve to be down here longer.

[omahacolt 208]

these rankings are terrible

 

 

what do you base this nonsense on?  man thinking (logical) or woman thinking (illogical)?  nevermind.  i know the answer

[KCSLC2008 606]

these rankings are terrible

 

 

what do you base this nonsense on? man thinking (logical) or woman thinking (illogical)? nevermind. i know the answer

They aren't rankings. If they were, the Colts would have been much higher. I ranked all the 2-0 teams, then ranked all the 1-1 teams, then I ranked all the 0-2 teams. And within each group, all of them are based on who they played and who they beat. They aren't a ranking of who is stronger or better. That's why I put "rankings" in quotes. I thought the Colts were the third best 0–2 team when it came to who they played and how they played. I do think that they are a better team than most.

 

I did the rankings thing to see whether it would all even out at the end of the season and be close to where I would rank them. In my cumulative ranking at the end of the year, I made each week stronger in the formula than the last. So the first week loss would be worth very little in the ranking. The first rankings I did at the beginning of this thread is the closest to what I thought was strongest or best teams before the first game started. The first post of this thread has last year's. Take a look if you'd like to see the last post.

 

I have another thread I do that is called Weekly Rooting Guide, it is what I want to happen. It would be like someone coming on here and telling me that I was crazy to think those things would happen.

[KCSLC2008 606]

Week Three “Rankings”

1. New England Patriots: Beating Jacksonville doesn’t add much to their season, as it’s just something they are supposed to do. Routing them, however… nevermind, that’s what they are supposed to do, too.
2. Green Bay Packers: Really tempted to put them on top, but New England blew out their opponent and are the defending champions. Aaron Rodgers is great, but even on normal plays, they were gaining 9-12 yards per play to start the season. That’s a sign of a great coach, great QB, and facing an unprepared and inferior team, even with Kansas City’s defense.
3. Arizona Cardinals: Carson Palmer should have sat this one out just as a health precaution, as they didn’t need him. All they needed was Colin Kaepernick and the Arizona D and they could have put Drew Stanton back there. Fitgerald showed again how gifted he is, holding on after a big fall in the endzone for a tough TD.
4. Denver Broncos: Special teams and defense was the key in this game. A blocked PAT from the new distance prompted Detroit to go for two on their next TD, failing to convert put them 2 whole points down. An illegal formation on a missed FG by Denver allowed a rekick from 5 yards closer to tack on three more lost points. There’s 5 points. Add in two interceptions on great grabs, and you get a 12 point loss.
5. Cincinnati Bengals: Still think Baltimore is better than their record and I was torn with who I wanted to lose the game more, but with Big Ben’s injury and seeing Baltimore look cocky after each lead swing made it clear that it would be best to push a down team down than ding a likely division leader.
6. Atlanta Falcons: Close enough game that it seems that a healthy Romo would have reversed the outcome, however, when you score 39 points, you deserve to win the game. Atlanta is now, IMO, clearly the division leader, despite Carolina’s 3-0 record.
7. Carolina Panthers: Playing New Orleans this year seemed easy enough, put in their backup QB? Add in their previous 2 games opponents, Carolina’s a lucky team now. Assuming it gets much tougher here on out.
8. Buffalo Bills: Made Miami look pretty bad, if the Dolphins’ loss to the Jaguars didn’t already signal that. Rex Ryan has his defense rolling and his QB is actually playing pretty well. Miss the good ol’ days when we could count Buffalo out of the running.
9. Dallas Cowboys: The game, with their backup QB, was close enough that I couldn’t drop them too far. Likely would have won against Atlanta had they had Romo, but since they didn’t, they dropped from their 5 spot.
10. Pittsburgh Steelers: Losing Big Ben for around 6 weeks will hurt them in real life as well as these “rankings.” Winning with him out questions the Rams, but also gives Pittsburgh some credit. Only loss of the season has been to the champs. Two more scores and they would have been top of the 2-1 teams.
11. New York Jets: Provided Philly with their first win, consoled Miami for their big loss, and made sure that there was less pressure on the unpressured Patriots. Won’t call the Jets pretenders, but they should have beaten Philadelphia for the media’s sake.
12. Minnesota Vikings: Two double digit wins in a row after a blowout loss in the season opener. Bridgewater didn’t need to do anything this game due to Adrian Peterson’s game. In fact, the only thing that showed up on the box score was the 0/1 TD/INT line and 5.0 YPA.
13. Oakland Raiders: Oakland should thank Petite for going with McCown this game. Not saying that Manziel would have won, but it just seemed to have no point. If Cleveland can’t beat Oakland with McCown, why not play someone else? As a fan of Oakland’s division rival, I penciled this as a loss for the Browns not just because they are the Browns. Carr played well for the second week in a row, I feel we’ll change that at least once in the two we play.
14. Seattle Seahawks: Chicago is a welcoming opponent for any beat down team north of bad. Started the game winning with their special teams and then did enough the rest of the way to keep this from ever getting close. With Cutler, it’d have been a few garbage time TDs closer, but still a loss.
15. Indianapolis Colts: Barely beating Tennessee after dropping your first two is not a good thing, but they are amongst the strongest 1-2 teams. Gave Seattle the nod over them due to their blowout and having been a Super Bowl team last year.
16. Kansas City Chiefs: Wanted to only note the WR TDs thing, because that’s the only thing people note in wins when we don’t throw one. The schedule did the Chiefs no favors and I have a sense that being at ground zero makes me want to “rank” them lower, but I won’t. I see the team as a middle of the pack team, so I put them here. The defense looked awful out of the gate and the offense didn’t do anything, running or passing, until the game was out of hand.
17. Philadelphia Eagles: Beat a previously undeafeated team on the road. Chip Kelly really needed this one and they held on against the Jets defense. Should be happy with Marshall’s ill-advised and poorly executed lateral pass that turned into a lost fumble in the second quarter. Didn’t follow the game, but in a 7 point loss, that could have been huge.
18. Tennessee Titans: Came back from big deficit, gave up big lead, and almost came back, only to fail to tie on a running two-point conversion attempt. I never like running attempts for 2-pt conversions, but I’m biased. They obviously work, otherwise no one would do it.
19. New York Giants: Close losses to average to good teams and beating a bad team without a big doubt in the outcome is a good sign for them. Coughlin will still challenge plays he can’t challenge, even if in hindsight, he has a good argument for each challenge.
20. San Diego Chargers: Back to back losses that weren’t really in question and the win not being real convincing. The Chargers are a second half team so I expect them to pick it up and do well in the weeks following. Sad to say as a Chiefs fan.
21. Miami Dolphins: Average team losing to below average teams or being blown out by a good team with an inexperienced QB (used against us in 2013, so it’s fair, eh?) is pretty low. Still couldn’t put them below the Rams who have scored 16 points in the last two games or the Browns, who are the Browns.
22. St. Louis Rams: Their win over Seattle is looking so far away right now, but it has to count for something until Seattle loses its third game. Offense is just not scoring and it seems they would have been better off sticking with Bradford. But Bradford might later get re-injured, which is why they traded.
23. Cleveland Browns: Close loss to an improving team. I may biasedly keep them down, but my bias is stronger against the Buccaneers and Redskins. So there. If they can improve 1% every game, they should be ok for 2017.
24. Houston Texans: Close losses and good win over last year’s worst record team with a rookie QB. Have to put them low on this list, but higher than the next two.
25. San Francisco 49ers: Two back to back 40-point games given up, two pick sixes, and 4 total INTs with sacks all around. Not the worst team, but among the worst 1-2 team, in my opinion. Now, they are facing the Packers this coming week. Ugh.
26. Washington Redskins: Sound win over St. Louis (revenge for RGIII trade?), close loss to Miami, and could have been closer loss to the New York Giants on their short week. Bias helps bring them down here, but not confident in their prospects.
27. Jacksonville Jaguars: Barely beat underachieving Miami in game it seemed neither team wanted to win. Blowout loss to best team in the league and defending champion.
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Sound losses to the Titans and Texans, with a win over the struggling Saints team. Only managed nine points against fellow 1-2 team. Miami > Saints, tie-breaker.
29. Baltimore Ravens: They don’t deserve to be here, but until they win, they can’t climb higher. Best of the 0-3 teams. If they lose to Big Ben-less Steelers, they still won’t deserve being here, but this is how it works. They also lost to Had multiple times where they took the lead and acted like they won it. Where would they be without Steve Smith, Sr. who took sure tackles short of the sticks to the house and a great TD grab. Too bad for them that it didn’t help them.
30. Detroit Lions: Beat up team playing like they are beat, getting beaten by everybody.
31. New Orleans Saints: Backup QB playing for a good QB playing for a losing team that just doesn’t have it this or last few years.
32. Chicago Bears: Was going to put the Bears right below the Ravens, as their schedule has been pretty hard (Packers/Cardinals/Seahawks), but couldn’t because of a 26-0 loss to Seattle. You have to compete in losses to use the schedule excuse. Having a backup QB in there hurts, too.

[KCSLC2008 606]

Again, the above Week 3 "Rankings" are not true rankings!