2007 NFL Week 7 Barometer

This week saw a couple of really great games and a couple of really great matchups. We got to see Adrian Peterson show the world to stop doubting him in a game that went down to the final tick. We got to see LT do what LT does. We also, got to see the Patriots toy with and then beat down the Cowboys, arguably the NFC’s best team. How will this affect where the rankers placed them this week?

After each week of the NFL season, several active Cafe members get together and rank the 32 NFL teams from first to worst. The Barometer is an average of the rankings submitted by these members. To maintain consistency, the high and low scores have been removed.

Rank	Change	TEAM	Avg Rank	B B 2 4	m i k u s	W a C o u g	P m o n e y	J i m	s L i m	M o D e e	M a d a s	J o e l	t r e a t
1 (2)		New England	1.4	2	1	1	2	1	1	2	1	1	2
The Patriots reclaim the top spot by the slimmest of margins after toying with the Cowboys before pulling away.
2 (1)		Indianapolis	1.6	1	2	2	1	3	2	1	2	2	1
The Colts had a bye and dropped a spot. I have a feeling that the Pats and Colts will be the top 2 in the rankings all season, regardless of how their week 9 matchup plays out.
3 (4)		Pittsburgh	3.5	3	3	3	3	8	3	6	3	4	3
Pittsburgh didn’t have to do anything to jump in the rankings except sit at home and watch the Pats crush the ‘Boys.
4 (3)		Dallas	4.0	5	4	5	4	2	4	3	6	3	4
They may be the best the NFC has to offer, but that isn’t saying much. They could easily go 15-1 in the NFC.
5 (5)		Green Bay	5.1	7	5	6	5	5	5	4	4	5	5
The Packers beat a very tough Redskins team. However, this may be about the highest in the Barometer they can reach.
6 (8)		Jacksonville	5.6	4	6	4	9	4	7	5	7	6	6
Once again, the Jags move a few more spots up the rankings. Maurice Jones-Drew is taking over just as he did last season. Hopefully the rest of the team can give him enough help to keep winning.
7 (11)		San Diego	8.0	6	8	7	10	9	9	8	5	8	9
This week they acquired Chris Chambers from the Dolphins. It’s going to be a whole lot harder to stop LT when you have to watch a couple big wide receivers and the league’s best tight end.
8 (9)		Baltimore	8.4	8	7	14	12	6	8	7	8	10	7
Baltimore dispatched of one of the league’s worst teams last week. They have now beaten the Jets, Cardinals, 49ers, and Rams and lost to the Bengals and Browns. Next week they take on Buffalo. Congratulations on going 4-2 versus some of the league’s worst teams.
9 (14)		Tampa Bay	9.4	9	9	9	7	12	11	9	10	7	11
Tampa Bay is the Barometer’s yo-yo. They will be 20th one week and 8th the next. They are up 5 spots this week.
10 (12)		NY Giants	9.5	10	12	8	6	10	10	10	9	11	8
The Giants have just been looking great the last few weeks. Who would have thought they had depth at running back. Injuries at that position haven’t really set them back.
11 (7)		Washington	10.6	12	11	11	11	9	6	12	13	9	10
The Redskins are a good team. They lost a close one to a good team. I expect them to rebound against Arizona.
12 (6)		Tennessee	11.8	11	10	10	13	11	15	11	12	12	14
They lost Vince Young for most of the second half. A time where Vince seems to excel. He has led several fourth quarter comebacks in his short career. He didn’t have an opportunity this time and the Bucs scraped out the win.
13 (16)		Carolina	13.6	15	15	13	8	14	16	15	11	14	12
86-year-old Vinny Testaverde led the Panthers to another win. They have a bye week to get Carr healthy, but are they sure they want Carr to start?
14 (9)		Seattle	14.1	22	13	12	14	13	12	14	21	13	13
Seattle lost badly to the Saints. Are the Saints back or has Seattle just been overrated?
15 (13)		Houston	14.9	16	14	15	15	15	13	13	17	15	16
MJD ran all over Houston, good thing Tennessee doesn’t have a back of that talent for Houston to stop this week. If Andre Johnson can make his way back onto the field it would be a huge boost for the Texans.
16 (15)		Arizona	17.3	17	16	19	19	21	14	16	14	17	18
Warner lasted about 5 seconds into his return. Hopefully he can stay on the field this week before his arthritis sets in or he breaks a hip.
17 (16)		Detroit	17.5	21	17	18	20	16	19	17	16	16	17
The Lions sat last week out and Calvin Johnson is supposedly 100% healthy for this week. I wonder if they learned how to play defense with the week off.
18 (22)		Cleveland	18.8	13	21	20	16	22	18	20	20	20	15
Cleveland can score, there is no question. They just can’t stop anyone. They will beat most of the bad teams and lose to the good ones. I guess I’m just stating that I see them as a middle of the road team from here on out. Their record will completely depend on their schedule, not their talent.
19 (19)		Denver	18.9	19	19	17	23	19	17	18	22	18	19
Huge Sunday night game for the Broncos this week. They have lost 3 straight to good teams in the Jags, Colts, and Chargers. This week they draw the Steelers. Not many teams reach the playoffs on a 2-4 start.
19 (23)		Philadelphia	18.9	14	20	23	17	18	22	19	15	19	22
The Eagles had a week to get Westbrook healthy. He’s no Adrian Peterson, but he should be able to record some nice numbers on the Bears.
21 (25)		Kansas City	21.1	18	22	22	21	17	23	25	19	21	23
The Chiefs were, at one point, the worst team on the Barometer. Three wins out of their last four has given them a nice boost. They should be able to beat the Raiders.
22 (18)		Chicago	22.1	24	18	26	22	20	20	21	27	23	21
The Bears lost to Adrian Peterson this week, no they didn’t lose to the Vikings. I think that’s why the rankers have Chicago a spot above the Vikes. At least Griese can put up points.
23 (26)		Minnesota	23.3	20	23	24	18	25	25	26	23	27	20
Fire Childress.
24 (20)		Cincinnati	23.8	25	27	16	27	26	21	22	18	28	25
The Bengals can pass. They can’t run, they can’t play defense. It sure does make for some exciting plays to watch.
25 (21)		Oakland	24.0	23	26	27	24	23	24	23	25	22	24
You can’t expect a lot when you don’t even know who their starting QB and RB is half of the time.
26 (24)		San Francisco	24.9	28	25	25	25	24	26	24	24	24	26
Remember when this team was going to be a contender? Alex Smith was getting the hang of things, Vernon Davis was going to be the next best thing to Gates, they acquired Darrell Jackson for WR help, and Frank Gore was a superstud. Yeah, what happened there?
27 (29)		New Orleans	26.1	27	24	21	26	27	27	27	26	25	28
Personally, I think this team is on the path back. However, they have been exposed. Teams know how to play against them. It will be a tougher road.
28 (27)		Buffalo	28.3	26	28	28	29	29	28	29	28	31	27
One win and the Trent Edwards show has begun? I like it.
29 (28)		NY Jets	28.8	30	29	29	28	28	29	28	29	26	30
Thomas Jones ran well but still couldn’t find the endzone. If he can’t find it against the Bengals, I’ll start to worry if he ever will.
30 (30)		Atlanta	29.9	29	30	30	30	30	31	31	30	29	29
Atlanta was destroyed Monday night. All the advertising about how you shouldn’t turn off the game because they could come from behind didn’t seem to inspire the Falcons.
31 (31)		St. Louis	30.8	32	31	31	31	31	30	30	31	30	31
The Rams are just bad. They can’t do anything. They have given up 86 more points then they have scored. That’s worst in the league by a good margin.
32 (31)		Miami	32.0	31	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32
Even though they are 0-6, they are competing. Ronnie Brown is playing like a mad man. A good running game can keep you in games. It just hasn’t gotten them a win yet.

Thanks to everyone that helped make these rankings happen![/quote]

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