2008 NFL Week 15 Barometer

On Monday night the Carolina Panthers stepped into the limelight and into the lead in the NFC South by demolishing the Buccaneers. Tampa Bay had been tied for the division lead and had been playing solid defense until Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart ran all over them. Like the NFC East, every team in the NFC South has a winning record. With the Saints taking down the Falcons and the Panthers beating the Buccaneers this week, where will the rankers place these NFC South teams in the grand scheme of things?

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	C o u g s	h o o k	4 P a c k	M a d a s 9 1 1
1 (1)		NY Giants	1.5	1	1	3	2
The Giants had no answer for Brian Westbrook this week, but maintain their hold on the top spot.
2 (3)		Tennessee	2.0	3	2	2	1
In a shocker, the Titans beat the Browns with Ken Dorsey under center. Nobody saw it coming.
3 (2)		Pittsburgh	2.5	2	3	1	3
“Willie Parker – more fragile than a leg lamp prize at Christmas time.” – The Lung
4 (5)		Carolina	4.0	4	4	3	4
Smash and Dash ran all over Tampa Bay to take control of their division.
5 (6)		Indianapolis	5.0	5	5	5	5
Just one week after Manning had an off game, he comes right back and throws for near 300 yards and 3 touchdowns.
6 (9)		Baltimore	7.0	6	7	7	10
Baltimore is back to it’s old ways. Hard nosed defense, a decent running game, and a quarterback who does just enough.
7 (11)		Arizona	7.5	13	6	9	6
“The last time the Cardinals hosted a playoff game Harry Truman was president, candy cost a penny, and Al Davis was still sane. My how times have changed.” – Kilroy
8 (4)		Tampa Bay	8.0	7	9	6	9
The only real bright spot of the night for the Buccaneers was Antonio Bryant’s statline and his one handed touchdown catch.
9 (7)		Dallas	8.0	9	8	8	8
Romo throwing winning touchdowns is nothing new. Throwing them to the wrong team with less than 2 minutes left isn’t his norm. The Cowboys had that game, they needed that game, now they will scramble for a wild card against a very tough schedule.
10 (10)		Atlanta	10.5	8	14	10	11
The Falcons punted the ball away with about 4 minutes left and didn’t get the ball back. It was probably the right call, but it sure bit them in the keyster.
11 (8)		NY Jets	11.0	10	10	12	19
Brett Favre has been incredibly inconsistent. The big problem was that the 49ers had the ball bearly twice as long as the Jets.
12 (13)		New England	12.0	11	11	13	13
Wes Welker chose this week to do his best impression of himself from last year. The Patriots are now in a 3 way tie for first in the AFC East.
13 (17)		Philadelphia	13.0	15	17	11	7
In a huge upset, Brian Westbrook beat the Giants on Sunday. You read that right… Westbrook beat the Giants, not the Eagles. At least McNabb didn’t lose it for them.
14 (14)		Denver	13.5	12	12	15	15
The Broncos are in the lead of the AFC West, but they can’t seem to keep a running back healthy for more than 2 weeks.
15 (15)		New Orleans	14.0	18	13	14	14
Pierre Thomas has really solidified some balance in the Saints offense that was very pass heavy before.
16 (16)		Minnesota	14.5	14	15	16	12
The Vikings maintained their division lead by beating the Lions in an ugly game that they should have lost. Fire Chilly.
17 (12)		Washington	17.0	17	16	17	23
The Redskins scored 10 points in the 4th quarter, but were just too far behind to catch up on that defense. They now fall to last in the NFC East.
18 (20)		Miami	18.0	16	19	19	17
“2007 – 1-15, 2008 – 8-5 and tied for the division lead, 2009 – Super Bowl Champs!! Hey, I am allowed to dream.” – Dolfin99
19 (18)		Chicago	18.5	19	18	18	20
The Bears stay a game back of the Vikings in the NFC North. The Bears schedule is more favorable, so the division may be their for the taking.
20 (22)		Houston	20.0	20	21	20	16
Steve Slaton and Kevin Walter amassed over 300 yards combined while Matt Schaub threw for over 400 yards in an offensive assault on the Packers defense. That might be a little tougher next week against the Titans.
21 (21)		San Diego	20.5	23	20	21	18
Although Tomlinson has lost a step, he’s still better than several running backs in the NFL. He hasn’t hit that wall like Shuan Alexander, Rudi Johnson, and Edgerrin James did.
22 (19)		Green Bay	22.0	22	22	22	21
A two minute drive capped by a field goal all but knocked the Packers out of playoff contention.
23 (23)		Buffalo	24.0	21	25	24	24
It’s hard to believe the Bills started the season 4-0.
24 (24)		Jacksonville	24.0	25	23	25	22
The Jaguars have now lost 6 out of their last 7 games and are looking at a decent draft pick instead of hoping for a playoff birth.
25 (25)		San Francisco	24.0	24	24	23	25
The 49ers are well on their way to missing the playoffs and drafting in the middle of the first round. Best of both worlds. Oh, and their only real star is hurt… fun days in San Francisco.
26 (26)		Cleveland	26.0	26	27	26	26
“It’s OK Romeo, with all the free time you’ll have soon you can concentrate on the things you truly love….like sandwiches.” – Kilroy
27 (28)		Seattle	27.0	27	26	28	27
Subbing for Matt Hasselbeck, Seneca Wallace kept the Seahawks in the game and combined for over 250 yards and 3 touchdowns.
28 ( 27 )		Oakland	28.5	29	30	27	28
168 yards against one of the worst defenses in the nfl? Al Davis will look to get Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress in the offseason to bolster that offense.
29 (29)		Kansas City	28.5	28	28	29	29
Despiute being 2-11, Since Tyler Thigpen took over the Chiefs have lost 4 games by a touchdown or less and won 1. They have been competing, just not winning much.
30 (31)		St. Louis	30.5	30	31	32	30
The Rams looked horrible once again allowing the Cardinals to clinch their first division title in 33 years.
31 (30)		Cincinnati	31.0	31	29	31	31
The Bengals could not do anything right against the Colts. It’s impressive this team actually had a win and a tie this season.
32 (32)		Detroit	32.0	32	32	30	32
The Lions may have just lost their last chance at a win this season.

Legend: Cougs = WaCougMBS hook = utility-hook 4Pack = 4Pack Madas911 = madaslives911

Thanks to everyone who helped make these rankings happen! If you would like to help with the rankings and give your own input as to where teams should be ranked you can do so here each week!

 
<i>Scott is one of the growing number of fantasy experts who writes for the Cafe. He has been playing fantasy football since 1992 and and is now a hardcore fantasy football addict who lives at the Cafe. Seriously, he has a cot in back. You can find Scott posting in the Cafe forums as</i> treat24.
 

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