2007 NFL Week 8 Barometer

By Scott Fish

This week the Patriots made it look all too easy, and the Colts continued to shine. They have all but cemented themselves in the top 2 spots for the rest of the season, regardless of their week 9 matchup. The other top teams have had some struggles. Both the Bills and Vikings played well against the Cowboys, but lost in the end. The Steelers lost a close game to the Broncos. While the Packers and Chargers sat at home, the Giants and Redskins both made their case to be in the top 5. See how this week’s action affected the rankings!

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	m i k u s	W a C o u g	B a n d i t o	M o n e y	J b i z z l e	s L i m	S n i p e r	M a d a s	L e S w i p r e	D a T r e a t	J o e l
1 (1)		New England	1.3	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	2	2	1
I’m no longer wondering if the Pats can go undefeated. I’m now wondering if anyone can hold them under 30.
2 (2)		Indianapolis	1.7	2	2	1	1	2	2	2	2	1	1	2
The Champs still haven’t lost. Week 9 against the Patriots should be a fun one, just don’t overlook Carolina.
3 (4)		Dallas	3.0	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
Dallas jumps back up to number 3 after beating a smash mouth Vikings team. Pittsburgh losing didn’t hurt.
4 (3)		Pittsburgh	4.6	4	5	4	8	5	4	4	5	5	5	4
They lost a close one to a decent team, that won’t drop this powerhouse too far.
5 (5)		Green Bay	5.4	5	6	6	6	4	6	5	5	4	6	6
Favre took the week off and they stayed at number 5. Hopefully they figured out their running back situation with the extra time.
6 (10)		NY Giants	5.6	7	4	7	5	6	5	6	4	6	4	8
The Giants have been looking more and more like contenders. Let’s see how that trip across the pond treats them. Luckily for them, they play a Dolphins team sans Ronnie Brown when they get to London.
7 (7)		San Diego	6.7	6	7	5	4	8	7	7	7	7	7	7
The Chargers had the week off and used it to get another offensive playmaker in Chris Chambers. How are defenses going to stop LT now when they have to worry about Chambers and Gates?
8 (11)		Washington	8.9	9	9	9	9	9	10	9	8	9	8	9
The Redskins have been playing great football, especially on defense. Are they playing well enough to take down arguably the best team in the league?
9 (6)		Jacksonville	9.2	8	12	8	11	7	9	11	15	8	9	5
The Jaguars lost Garrard for a month, I wonder if they are regretting letting Leftwich go? I wouldn’t be.
10 (12)		Tennessee	10.1	10	10	10	10	10	14	10	9	10	10	11
Rob Bironas, beast of the week.
11 (8)		Baltimore	12.9	11	14	16	21	11	8	12	12	12	11	17
They haven’t played anyone noteworthy yet and have a 4-3 record. Their opponents combined record ia a whopping 13-32. I think the stigma of the Ravens and their D is keeping them this high in the rankings. I’m guilty of it too, they’ve been a good team for a long time.
11 (17)		Detroit	12.9	16	11	13	7	12	13	15	10	15	15	12
They did just enough to win against a tough Buccaneer defense. Calvin Johnson showed some versatility on a 32 yard touchdown run.
13 (14)		Seattle	13.4	13	8	18	14	13	15	13	13	13	14	13
The ‘Hawks put the wood to the Rams. They can now take a week off before they travel to play the Browns.
14 (9)		Tampa Bay	13.7	12	13	14	15	18	11	8	18	14	12	14
I love it! The Lions D made Ernest Graham look more LT than the player whose previous best game was 75 total yards against the horrid Rams. Graham racked up 191 total yards against them. Is he actually their answer at running back?
15 (13)		Carolina	14.6	14	15	15	16	16	17	18	14	11	13	10
The Panthers are hoping that they can catch the Colts off guard this week. Maybe the Colts will be looking forward to their week 9 matchup against the Patriots. Trap game?
16 (19)		Denver	15.9	15	16	11	18	19	12	14	17	17	16	18
I feel bad for the Broncos. They have a tough matchup just about every week. They had the Jags, Colts, Chargers, Steelers, and now the Pack… When will it end?
17 (21)		Kansas City	17.1	19	17	17	13	21	16	16	11	21	20	15
They have 4 wins in their last 5 games now. This team is rolling.
18 (15)		Houston	18.4	20	18	20	19	14	18	19	19	16	18	19
After an amazing 2nd half, the Texans just couldn’t get a win against Rob Bironas and the Titans. This week they will have to figure out how to beat the Chargers and their new weapon.
19 (18)		Cleveland	18.9	17	22	12	17	17	19	21	22	20	17	20
Cleveland had last week off and now face an 0-7 Rams team. The Rams may get Jackson back, but that doesn’t change their offensive line or their defense.
20 (22)		Chicago	19.3	18	21	21	12	20	22	17	21	18	24	16
Griese called his own plays to drive and beat the Eagles in the final minute. Maybe they should let him do that more often.
21 (16)		Arizona	20.4	21	24	19	20	15	20	20	29	19	19	22
It’s tough losing 2 in a row. It was definitely nice to see Boldin back and playing well.
22 (20)		Philadelphia	22.6	23	23	23	22	23	23	22	16	23	23	21
The Eagles suffered a tough last minute loss to the Bears. Will they take out their frustration on Minnesota?
23 (24)		Cincinnati	23.0	24	19	22	24	24	21	24	23	24	21	25
The Bengals scored 3 unanswered touchdowns to beat the lowly Jets. If they have trouble with the Jets, I’m not sure if they can handle the Steelers.
24 (27)		New Orleans	23.9	22	20	24	25	22	26	25	24	25	25	23
After an 0-4 start, the Saints have won 2 in a row with Bush as their primary tailback. Coincidence? Yeah, I think so.
25 (23)		Minnesota	24.0	25	25	25	23	25	24	23	26	22	22	24
The Vikings held with the best team in the NFC until a defensive touchdown put the Cowboys ahead for good. The ‘Boys kept Adrian Peterson to only 75 total yards. That is a feat.
26 (28)		Buffalo	26.4	27	27	26	27	26	27	26	25	27	26	26
The Bills beat the Ravens and they stayed with the Cowboys until the final tick. The Jets should be no match for this powerhouse, right?
27 (25)		Oakland	26.6	26	26	27	26	27	25	30	27	26	27	27
The Raiders drop a couple spots after losing to the Chiefs. That’s 2 losses in a row and they have a tough matchup against Tennessee this week.
28 (26)		San Francisco	28.0	28	28	28	28	28	28	27	28	28	28	28
The 49ers have lost 4 straight. This week they play Reggie Bush and the Saints, who are on a 2 game winning streak. This is very close to a must win for both teams. A 2-5 record is tough to come back from and still make the playoffs. Then again, they are in the NFC.
29 (29)		NY Jets	29.1	29	29	29	29	29	29	28	30	29	30	29
What? Pennington is still the starter? I’m not sure he could start for a Division I college team anymore.
30 (30)		Atlanta	29.8	30	30	30	30	30	30	29	29	30	29	30
When is Petrino going to realize that Norwood needs more snaps to break some big plays?
31 (31)		St. Louis	31.1	32	31	31	31	31	32	31	31	31	31	31
The Rams are hoping a healthy Steven Jackson is their ticket to some wins. I’m a little more skeptical.
32 (32)		Miami	31.9	31	32	32	32	32	31	32	32	32	32	32
What do you call it when the worst team in the league loses their best player? I don’t know either, but man does that hurt.

Legend:

mikus = mikus
WaCougMBS = WaCoug
BlueBandit24 = Bandito
PMoneyTKE = Pmoney
Jimboozie = Jimbizzle
sLim = sLim
SniperShot = Sniper
Madaslives911 = Madas
SwiperNoSwiping = Le Swipre
treat24 = DaTreat
Joelamosobadiah = Joel

Thanks to everyone that helped make these rankings happen!

Scott is a hardcore fantasy football addict and lives at the Cafe. Seriously, he has a cot in back. You can find Scott posting in the Cafe forums as treat24.

(7 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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