Week 6 NFL Barometer

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With another week of NFL action completed, we’re back to show you which teams are on the rise and which teams are on the decline. After their tough losses, Pittsburgh and Dallas were our big fallers this week falling eight and six spots respectively. San Diego, who defeated Pittsburgh, was the biggest riser as they climbed five spots in our rankings.

Week 6 features six inter-conference games between the AFC and NFC. Surprisingly, after five weeks the NFC is leading the competition 9-6. Are we starting to witness the dominance of the AFC diminishing? It’s still early, but that’s something to keep an eye on.

Recently, we asked eight Cafe members to rank all 32 NFL teams from first to worst after Week 5 of the 2006 season. The average number for each team, based on their submissions, was calculated and the teams were ranked accordingly (to increase consistency, the highest and the lowest values for each team were disregarded).

Rank	Change	TEAM	Avg Rank	K n a p p	K i l r o y	M a t t	J o e l	A l k	A b e	G S O E	J a y
1 (1)		Chicago	1.0	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Chicago is leading the league in scoring offense and scoring defense. They are winning by an average margin of 24 points. Can anyone beat “Da Bears”?
2 (1)		Indianapolis	2.3	3	2	2	2	2	3	2	3
Indy continues to play down to their competition. They have been the dominant team these past few years in the regular season. Are they just bored?
3 (4)		Philadelphia	2.7	2	3	3	5	3	2	3	2
Donovan McNabb continued his MVP-caliber season as he threw for over 350 yards and two touchdowns in Philly’s revenge over TO and the Cowboys. They’ll travel to New Orleans in Week 6.
4 (9)		San Diego	5.5	4	4	7	8	6	4	8	4
Coming off of a win against the Super Bowl champs, the Chargers face a lower hurdle this week against the 49ers.
5 (7)		New England	6.5	7	7	4	3	11	6	9	6
The Pats were in a close one with the Dolphins last week until a late Tom Brady touchdown pass sealed the victory. They’ll have two weeks to prepare for Buffalo.
6 (3)		Cincinnati	6.7	8	9	5	4	8	5	6	8
They survived the bye week without any off the field incidents. Can the Bengals correct their on the field problems of stopping the run in Tampa Bay this week?
7 (4)		Jacksonville	7.8	12	14	8	7	4	10	5	5
After their overtime loss in Washington, the Jags came out and clobbered the Jets 41-0. They have a bye this week as wide receiver Matt Jones and others try to get healthy.
8 (11)		Denver	8.0	10	5	9	16	7	8	4	9
That was a defensive struggle last week with the Ravens. The Broncos should have an easier time moving the ball against Oakland.
9 (10)		Atlanta	9.8	11	11	12	9	9	7	14	7
Fresh off their bye, the Falcons get a good test as the Giants make a visit the Georgia Dome. Can the Falcons keep their ground game going?
10 (4)		Baltimore	10.0	13	6	14	17	5	9	7	11
Steve McNair was arguably one of the biggest free agent acquisitions this off season. At the moment, he sure isn’t living up to his billing. Carolina isn’t going to make it any easier on him.
11 (13)		Seattle	10.3	9	10	10	10	10	14	10	12
Looks like they’ll be without Shaun Alexander for at least another week. Can the Seahawks notch a win over the Rams without him?
12 (14)		Carolina	11.5	14	13	11	6	13	11	11	10
Carolina’s defensive end, Julius Peppers, bailed out the offense last week with his consistent pressure on Charlie Frye. He may need a repeat performance against the Ravens this week.
13 (16)		New Orleans	12.3	6	12	14	11	12	12	17	13
The combination of Deuce and Reggie proved to be just enough for a win over Tampa Bay. Can the Saints protect Drew Brees from Philly’s swarming defense in Week 6?
14 (15)		NY Giants	15.2	17	15	15	14	17	16	12	14
The Giants finally looked like a playoff caliber team in their dominating win against Washington. Will they get their third win of the season in Atlanta on Sunday?
15 (20)		St. Louis	15.7	5	7	18	20	18	15	18	18
The Rams will get a chance to take control of their division on Sunday as Seattle visits St. Louis.
16 (8)		Pittsburgh	16.2	18	16	13	19	14	18	16	15
The Steelers are riding a three game losing streak where Big Ben has thrown zero touchdowns and seven interceptions. Can they save their season with a win versus the Chiefs?
17 (11)		Dallas	16.5	16	17	19	13	16	19	15	16
TO did not have the game he wanted against his old teammates last week. Will a big game against Houston keep the harmony in Big D?
18 (19)		Kansas City	16.8	20	18	17	12	15	13	19	19
Larry Johnson nearly had his head taken off last week in Arizona. Now he gets to face a Steelers defense that’s allowing only 88 rushing yards a game.
19 (20)		Minnesota	18.0	15	19	16	25	19	17	20	17
The Vikes stuffed Detroit’s rushing game and notched their third win of the year. They’ll get two weeks to get ready for their trip to Seattle in Week 7.
20 (17)		Washington	19.8	19	20	20	26	20	20	13	20
After their exciting overtime win against the Jags, Washington looked lost against division rival New York last week. Can a game against the Titans steer them in the right direction?
21 (18)		NY Jets	21.5	21	21	22	15	25	23	21	21
The Jets are having major issues stopping the run. They have allowed 140 yards rushing in each of their last four games. Will Ronnie Brown shred the Jets on Sunday?
22 (22)		Buffalo	22.0	22	22	25	18	23	21	22	22
They were trounced by the Bears to the tune of 40-7 last week. How will the Bills respond against Detroit?
23 (28)		Arizona	23.8	24	24	24	22	24	22	25	27
Matt Leinart’s hot start wasn’t enough to carry the Cardinals to victory against the Chiefs. He will face a real test on Monday night in Chicago.
24 (24)		Tampa Bay	24.0	25	28	21	21	21	27	26	24
Bruce Gradkowski played quite well in his first ever start last week. Can he have a similar performance against a banged up Bengals team?
25 (23)		Cleveland	25.7	26	27	26	29	22	24	28	23
Cleveland lost a close one against the Panthers last week. They are on a bye this week as they will welcome Denver to town in Week 7.
26 (30)		San Francisco	26.5	23	23	29	31	26	25	30	26
In the “Battle on the Bay”, San Francisco proved they are at least improving. They will need to improve a lot more if they want to hang with the Chargers this week.
27 (27)		Green Bay	26.8	27	26	27	24	28	30	23	29
Brett Favre and the Packers will try to sort things out over their bye week as they plan to travel to Miami in Week 7.
28 (25)		Houston	27.7	28	25	28	30	27	28	24	30
Coming off their bye, the Texans will try to topple an in-state opponent in Dallas this week.
29 (25)		Miami	27.8	29	29	23	28	29	29	27	25
It looks like they will go with Joey Harrington for a while. Can he and the Dolphins rally to get a win over divisional opponent New York?
30 (31)		Tennessee	29.8	32	31	30	27	31	26	29	31
They had the Colts on the ropes for the majority of the game but faltered late. Will they put a complete game together against Washington?
31 (28)		Detroit	30.0	30	30	31	23	30	31	31	28
You won’t win many games when you only rush for 16 yards. Can the Lions break in to the win column when they face Buffalo on Sunday?
32 (32)		Oakland	32.0	31	32	32	32	32	32	32	32
Randy Moss grabbed his 100th career touchdown reception on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough for the win. Will Randy and the Raiders step up on Sunday night in Denver?

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