2007 NFL Week 2 Barometer

After one week of the NFL season a few teams performed as expected and a few had some surprise showings. The Colts continued to look like a championship caliber team, as did the Patriots, Chargers, and Bears. Pittsburgh jumped all over the Browns like we knew they would. Cincinnati gets a high ranking this week after a nice Monday night victory over the Ravens. Are they really a top team? We will soon find out. Week 2 has a lot of divisional matchups in store and it’s a chance for 0-1 teams to get on the right track. It’s also a chance to fix what didn’t work in week 1. It’s not quite do or die, but nobody wants to start the NFL season 0-2.

All I know is that I’m ecstatic to have NFL football back every week. Sometimes I wonder how I get through those 5 or 6 months of offseason.

After the first week of the season, ten active Cafe members got together and ranked the 32 NFL teams form first to worst. These rankings are the averages of all 10 of the member’s rankings.

Rank	Change	TEAM	Avg Rank	K n a p p	D e e r a y	S t e e l e r s	S n i p e r	S w i p e r	J o e l	B o b b i n g	W h o d e y	P M o n e y	F l e s h n e r
1 (1)		Indianapolis	1.2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	2
To open up the 2007 NFL season, the Colts defense showed up against a great New Orleans offense with several weapons, and their offense did what it always does, score, score, score.
2 (2)		New England	2.5	3	3	2	2	4	2	1	4	3	1
The Patriots took down the division rival Jets, and Randy Moss showed signs of his old Vikings self. Tom Brady took full advantage of his new weapons and was almost unstoppable.
3 (3)		San Diego	2.8	2	2	5	3	2	3	4	2	2	3
The Chargers and the Bears put on a defensive clinic where it took an LT passing TD to turn the game. This teams has just about everything it takes to go the distance, however the road doesn’t get easier heading to New England next week.
4 (4)		Cincinnati	5.2	6	5	10	6	3	8	3	3	4	4
The Bengals beat the Ravens on Monday night in a turnover heavy game. Palmer and Chad Johnson lit up the scoreboard early and held on to beat a tough Baltimore team.
5 (5)		Chicago	6.5	7	6	8	7	5	5	11	5	5	6
The Bears may have lost last Sunday to the Chargers, but it was an amazingly close game and hard fought by two of the best teams in the league. Any team with a defense that can hold LT to 25 yards rushing is deserving a top spot.
6 (6)		Pittsburgh	6.7	5	8	6	4	7	7	7	8	7	8
Pittsburgh obliterated the Browns last Sunday. What is there to say? Ben was stellar, Parker was stellar, the defense was stellar, they just did everything right.
7 (7)		Baltimore	7.2	4	11	12	5	11	4	8	6	6	5
Even though they lost and turned the ball over 3 times in their first 5 offensive plays, they held with the sharp Bengals offense. The game was tied in the 4th quarter, despite all the offensive struggles of the Ravens. That defense will keep them in any game.
7 (7)		Dallas	7.2	8	4	9	8	8	6	5	9	8	7
The Cowboys scored 45 on their division rival Giants. Their defense however let up 35. This might be the team to beat in the NFC East. How much will their injuries affect them? Romo looked amazing too.
9 (9)		Seattle	9.1	9	7	4	11	6	9	14	11	10	10
Shaun Alexander broke 100 yards as the ‘Hawks took down the Bucs. An even brighter note… they didn’t allow anyone in the endzone.
10 (10)		Denver	10.3	16	12	7	10	10	11	6	10	12	9
Travis Henry stepped into his starting RB gig very well putting up 139 yards on the ground. Denver had some last second heroics from kicker Jason Elam to win a close one.
11 (11)		Carolina	10.6	10	15	3	9	12	10	12	12	11	12
The Panthers got a huge game out of Jake Delhomme as they win a division game over the Rams.
12 (12)		New Orleans	12.8	22	10	14	18	9	19	9	7	9	11
From the NFC Championship game last year to a beatdown doled out by the Colts in week 1, what happened? Not much. Could be rust, maybe they lost the magic, or maybe they were just outmatched on the road.
13 (13)		San Francisco	15.5	17	9	18	17	13	18	13	20	17	13
The 49ers took the game back for good with a couple minutes left Monday night to beat the Cardinals. Their defense looked fairly good holding the Cardinals to 194 yards and a paltry 3/12 on 3rd downs.
14 (14)		Green Bay	16	15	17	16	14	18	13	15	23	13	16
The Pack won on the big leg of rookie kicker Mason Crosby who went 3-3 on field goals and hit an extra point after a fumble recovery TD. Their offense couldn’t get in the endzone, but they won the game nonetheless.
15 (15)		Tennessee	16.1	13	21	11	12	14	16	28	13	19	14
Just like last year, Vince Young just wins games. They have question marks all over the place facing a decent Jags team, and won. No matter who they play they seem to have a puncher’s chance.
16 (16)		Philadelphia	16.3	20	14	13	19	15	20	10	17	18	17
Once again the offense ran through Brian Westbrook and Donovan McNabb. It just wasn’t quite enough on the road versus the Packers. They will hope to get on the winning track against the Redskins on Monday Night.
17 (17)		Minnesota	17.7	14	20	15	13	22	15	20	16	20	22
The Vikings were considered one of the worst teams in football prior to the season. Enter Adrian Peterson. ADP was excellent and the defense was suffocating. However, remember that this was against Joey Harrington and the Falcons.
18 (18)		Detroit	17.8	12	16	25	15	20	14	23	15	15	23
The rookies are stepping up this week as Calvin Johnson goes for 70 yards and a touchdown. The Lions lit up a stout pass defense of the Raiders. If they can do this to the Raiders, what will they do next week to one of last year’s worst pass defenses, the Vikings?
19 (19)		Houston	18.4	11	18	20	16	24	12	21	24	14	24
Houston looked very impressive shutting down the Chiefs and scoring a bunch. Are they for real? Were Ahman Green and Matt Shaub the answer?
20 (20)		St. Louis	20.2	21	22	23	21	17	23	19	14	21	21
The Rams took a big hit losing Orlando Pace. Will Steven Jackson and Marc Bulger be able to be as productive this season without him?
21 (21)		Washington	20.8	25	23	21	20	19	24	22	18	16	20
Randel El played out of his mind as the ‘Skins beat the Dolphins in OT and now have to face the Eagles on Monday night.
22 (22)		Jacksonville	21.2	23	19	22	26	16	25	18	22	23	18
The Jaguars lost a close game this weekend. Bright spot: They held the Titans to just 58 yards passing.
23 (23)		Arizona	21.7	18	13	24	24	25	17	25	21	25	25
They lost a close one late Monday night. The Cards will look to rebound next week against the Seahawks.
24 (24)		New York Jets	22.4	30	27	19	28	21	21	16	19	24	19
They lost to the Pats, lots of teams do. Unfortunately, they have to travel to Baltimore next week to take on possibly a better defense and without their quarterback.
25 (25)		New York Giants	23.4	19	25	17	27	23	22	17	30	27	27
The Giants lost their starting QB and RB in the first game! OUCH! Next week they are at home against the Packers, but can Jared Lorenzen help them put up 35 again? Or at least bring home a win?
26 (26)		Buffalo	25.2	31	24	26	25	26	26	26	25	28	15
The Bills showed some promise with Marshawn Lynch running for 90+ and a touchdown. Can he do it again against the Steelers?
27 (27)		Miami	26.8	24	28	37	22	28	27	27	27	22	26
The Dolphins lost in OT, and those are always a heartbreaker. Will they use that as motivation for the Cowboys game?
28 (28)		Oakland	28.1	28	26	28	30	30	28	24	26	31	30
What happened to the league’s top pass defense? Lamont Jordan actually showed up to play and so did Ronald Curry. This team might actually win a few more games this year if they can lock down that QB position.
29 (29)		Tampa Bay	28.6	26	30	29	31	27	29	32	28	26	28
They were ranked 29th at the end of last year’s Fantasy Football Cafe Barometer, and apparently not much has changed. They couldn’t do anything against the Seahawks. Hopefully they can get it going this week.
30 (30)		Kansas City	29.5	27	29	30	29	29	30	30	32	30	29
Just like many suspected, the Chief’s offense had trouble sustaining drives. Houston was the sexy upset pick going into the game and did not disappoint. They might need to ride LJ into the ground for wins this year.
31 (31)		Atlanta	29.7	29	31	32	23	31	31	29	31	29	31
The Falcons lost to what was believed to be a weak Vikings team. Harrington had a lot of troubles, although one of the interceptions for a TD was not his fault. It’s gonna be a long year.
32 (32)		Cleveland	31.5	32	32	31	32	32	32	31	29	32	32
Pittsburgh was able to do anything they wanted against Cleveland this week. Cleveland is hoping that a change of QB will keep them in games, but what about the defense?

Thanks to everyone that helped make these rankings happen!

(5 votes, average: 5 out of 5)  Loading ... Questions or comments for Scott? Post them in the Cafe Forums! Want to see your own fantasy wisdom published? Check out the Cafe's Pencil & Paper section!