Week 14 Barometer

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Welcome to the Week 14 edition of our NFL Barometer. Last week was an extremely normal week in the NFL. And by normal, I mean one of those weeks where the only thing that is predictable is the fact that the NFL is SO unpredictable. However, the Cafe’s own group of “experts” will attempt to rank the NFL teams from top to bottom, first to worst, one to thirty-two, and any other way you can possibly think of.

By the way, when we say “experts” here at the cafe, we are referring to those that are at the top of the pack. Those that play close attention to all the details of the NFL. Those that break down the stats and players. Those that watch the AP wire for any breaking news. And, most importantly, those that can predict the NFL within 10 percentage points of your average ape. So, after that brief disclaimer, lets get on to the rankings for week 14 in the NFL.

Recently, we asked several Cafe members to rank all 32 NFL teams from first to worst after Week 13 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	M a r t i n	S n i p e r	K n a p p	S l i m	B l u e	J o e l	D a n
1 (2)		San Diego	1.0	1	1	1	1	1	1	2
The Chargers are probably happy with any cold weather road wins they can get. Now they have a legitimate shot at home field advantage.
2 (1)		Indianapolis	3.0	2	2	4	2	5	5	1
The Colts lost a close road game to one of the hotter teams in the NFL. Luckily, many other teams stumbled as well.
3 (6)		Dallas	3.8	4	3	6	3	2	4	5
This is definitely a team rounding into form. It is hard to see the Bears beating them without an improvement in QB play.
4 (5)		New England	4.4	8	4	2	4	6	2	6
A close game against a horrible team is indicative of the up and down nature of this year’s Patriots.
5 (3)		Baltimore	4.8	5	6	5	5	3	3	7
That loss has to leave the Ravens wondering about their chances in the playoffs.
6 (4)		Chicago	5.0	6	8	3	6	4	6	3
Wow! Has one man ever held back a team this much before? Griese must not look very good in practice.
7 (11)		Cincinnati	6.6	3	7	8	9	7	7	4
Granted, the Ravens and Browns are not offensive powerhouses, but if the Bengals’ defense continues to play this well they will go deep into the playoffs.
8 (7)		Seattle	8.2	9	5	9	7	8	8	9
This is obvious, but the Seahawk’s offense is much better with Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck. Yet before Seahawk’s fans get too hopeful, the defense is not playing nearly as well as last year.
9 (9)		New Orleans	8.4	7	9	7	8	9	9	10
In the weak NFC, they have a legitimate shot to make a cinderella run to a butt-kicking at the hands of the AFC champion.
10 (9)		Denver	10.2	13	11	10	10	10	10	8
With four other major contenders for the wildcard spots, it is beginning to look like they won’t make it.
11 (7)		Kansas City	11.6	12	10	11	11	14	11	16
The Chiefs better hope the 2003-2005 defense has not reappeared. The Browns are not good offensively.
12 (14)		Jacksonville	12.0	10	13	13	12	11	11	16
The most inconsistent team in recent memory. They may have a hard time putting it together for four games to make the playoffs.
13 (16)		NY Jets	12.8	11	15	12	13	12	12	18
Green bay stinks, but seriously, does anyone see this team winning a playoff game?
14 (13)		NY Giants	14.2	15	14	15	14	13	17	12
The Giants appear to be in disarray, but they are still in control of their own destiny given the amount of games versus the other wildcard contenders.
15 (12)		Carolina	15.6	20	16	17	15	15	15	13
Jake Delhomme has not played very well this year. They need him to play better in the upcoming 6-6 NFC wildcard playoff extravaganza.
16 (19)		Atlanta	16.0	16	12	16	16	18	14	21
Atlanta is putting it together just in time to disappoint everyone again.
17 (22)		Philadelphia	17.8	21	21	14	17	21	16	14
Maybe this team isn’t dead after all?
18 (20)		Buffalo	19.4	17	17	21	24	16	18	25
This is the story of the Bills franchise. Just good enough to make it close with the really good teams.
18 (15)		Miami	19.4	18	22	24	18	20	19	15
Joey Harrington really hasn’t played that well, and the defense will be even older next year. A rebuilding project is in this team’s future.
20 (24)		Tennessee	19.8	14	18	20	21	19	21	22
The Titans have played the hardest schedule; look for them to be a hot pick for breakout team of 2007. Unfortunately, Miami has made that a rather dubious honor.
21 (23)		Pittsburgh	20.6	22	20	18	20	17	24	23
The age of this offensive line has finally started to show.
22 (17)		Minnesota	21.2	19	23	22	22	26	20	17
If they can finish 8-8, they have a pretty good chance (66%) of making it as all the 6-6 teams play each other repeatedly.
23 (17)		St. Louis	22.2	28	26	19	19	25	22	19
That 4-1 record sure seems like a very long time ago. Also, this is by far the worst division in the NFL.
24 (21)		San Francisco	23.4	24	19	23	23	22	25	27
Another potential breakout team for 2007, which will most likely disappoint. While the offense looks much better this year, the defense looks worse.
25 (25)		Washington	23.6	23	24	26	25	23	23	20
The Redskins could probably be in first place in the NFC West. As it is, the team kind of seems like a mess.
26 (26)		Green Bay	26.2	29	25	25	28	27	26	24
They were blown out of the water by the Jets. That had to be a bit embarrassing at home.
27 (29)		Cleveland	27.0	25	28	27	26	28	28	26
They have played respectably through a a very tough schedule, but unfortunately, they probably will have a difficult schedule again next near. Isn’t the AFC great?
28 (27)		Houston	27.2	26	32	28	27	24	27	28
The Titans have built a team that is specifically designed to compete with the Colts. Anyone have an idea of what Houston is building?
29 (31)		Arizona	29.2	27	29	29	29	29	32	30
How many teams like this need to be put together before people realize that offense starts with the offensive line?
30 (30)		Oakland	30.6	30	27	32	30	30	31	32
It is too bad this top 5 defense is being squandered by such a horrible offense. Whatever their defense holds their opponent to, the offense scores just a few less points.
30 (28)		Tampa Bay	30.6	32	31	30	31	32	29	29
The Bucs have played the second most difficult schedule in the NFL and are missing their starting QB, so the future may not be as bad as it seems.
32 (32)		Detroit	30.8	31	30	31	32	31	30	31
They actually looked like they had a shot there, but oh yeah, this is the Lions. Next week they can attempt to kill the Vikings’ playoff hopes.

for the interim writing help.
 

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