2008 NFL Week 9 Barometer 

Week 8 was one of the few normal weeks this year. There weren’t really any upsets to speak of. Some games were played close, others blow outs, but no real upsets. There were very few big injuries. Jason Witten’s cracked rib would be a big hit to the Cowboys, but luckily he might be able to play in a couple of weeks if not earlier and they have a lot of weapons in that offense. Did the rankings stay about the same given this week’s lack of surprises?

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	D - L a m b	4 P a c k	A m u k	J o e l
1 (1)		Tennessee	1.0	1	1	1	1	2	1
The Titans made a statement Monday night by taking out the division rival Colts to stay undefeated.
2 (2)		NY Giants	2.0	2	2	2	2	1	2
The Giants’ defense racked up four interceptions and five sacks to get them a tough win against the Steelers.
3 (3)		Pittsburgh	3.3	4	3	3	3	8	3
You won’t win many games throwing 4 interceptions. Once again, the Steelers offensive line didn’t do their job protecting Ben Roethlisberger.
4 (5)		Washington	4.3	5	6	4	4	3	4
They let Detroit get ahead of them in the first half, but the Lions turned into the Lions and the Redskins played like the Redskins in the second half.
5 (6)		Carolina	6.0	3	8	5	9	6	5
Through a Tommy John surgery and a suspension, Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith haven’t lost their connection.
6 (4)		Buffalo	6.5	6	9	8	6	5	6
The Bill have lost two out of their last three games and are starting to flounder.
7 (11)		Dallas	7.8	8	4	6	5	13	12
Dallas looked absolutely horrible but managed to still snag a win.
8 (9)		Philadelphia	7.8	10	7	9	8	4	7
When healthy, there are few players more valuable than Brian Westbrook.
9 (8)		San Diego	9.8	9	14	10	7	12	8
The Chargers still have games against the Steelers, the Colts, the Buccaneers, the upstart Falcons, and the division rival Broncos coming up. This isn’t looking good for the Chargers and their non existent defense.
10 (16)		Denver	9.8	11	5	7	13	10	11
Jay Cutler appears to be healthy and ready to come out firing.
11 (14)		New Orleans	11.0	12	12	17	11	7	9
The Saints and Chargers gave people a show across the pond. Drew Brees seems to be nearly unstoppable.
12 (7)		Tampa Bay	11.5	7	11	16	12	9	14
Tampa Bay can only blame themselves for losing to the Cowboys. They couldn’t drive when it counted.
13 (15)		Indianapolis	12.8	16	15	11	10	15	10
Peyton Manning and the Colts are a different team now. There will be glimmers of the old dominant form, but they just are not that team anymore.
14 (10)		Green Bay	13.0	13	10	12	14	17	13
It appears no one wants to win the NFC North. With the Packers having a tough matchup against the Titans, the Bears should take the lead after their week 9 game versus the Lions.
15 (12)		Chicago	14.8	15	13	15	15	14	20
“The Bears were on their Bye this week, so here’s a fun fact: Chicago is tied for the NFL record of being undefeated when leading after four quarters. Only 31 other teams currently hold this distinction.” - knapplc
16 (13)		Arizona	16.0	17	16	13	18	11	19
“The Good News? The Cardinals got Anquan Norris back. The Bad? Another trip East, another defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.” - Kilroy
17 (17)		New England	16.0	14	18	14	16	21	16
The Patriots got by the giant killers, the Rams, this week. Next week they have a tough test against the rival Colts. Neither team is what they used to be.
18 (18)		Jacksonville	18.8	21	17	20	19	19	15
The Jacksonville running game couldn’t get much going against the 24th ranked Cleveland run defense and had to rely on the probably-soon-to-be suspended Matt Jones to even stay in the game.
19 (21)		NY Jets	19.5	18	19	21	20	24	17
What can you say about Brett Favre? At this point he’ll probably have the most interceptions in the NFL, but he still gets wins.
20 (22)		Baltimore	20.0	19	24	22	21	16	18
The Ravens used some unique plays utilizing two quarterbacks and a strong day on the ground to beat the Raiders.
21 (19)		Atlanta	20.3	20	23	18	17	22	21
The Falcons had no answer for Brian Westbrook and Michael Turner hasn’t been able to get anything done on the ground against good teams this year.
22 (20)		Minnesota	20.8	25	20	19	22	18	22
Former 7th round draft pick of the Vikings, Tyler Thigpen, looked better last week than any of the Vikings quarterbacks. Fire Chilly.
23 (23)		Houston	22.8	22	21	24	24	20	24
The Texans have enough weapons to make some noise. Andre Johnson could break two NFL Records this week against the Vikings. Consecutive double digit reception games and consecutive games over 130 yards.
24 (24)		Miami	23.0	24	22	23	23	23	23
“With Ginn’s first 100 yard game under his belt, expect another solid performance against the Bailey-less Broncos.” - dolfin99
25 (26)		Cleveland	25.3	23	26	25	25	26	25
“The Browns got a big win in Jacksonville, but worrying about which Derek Anderson would show up last week almost ruined Romeo Crennel’s pregame meal of 4 Chickens, a 5 Gallon Bucket of Mashed Potatoes, and 3 Chocolate Creme Pies. He still ate it, but he didn’t savor it.” - Kilroy
26 (29)		Seattle	27.3	26	27	29	26	29	27
“We don’t need no stinking wide receivers - we’ll just throw dump-off passes to our fullback and own you!” - WaCougMBS
27 (28)		Oakland	27.5	27	29	26	29	25	28
The Oakland running backs have been good recently, but against the stingy Raven defense they could only muster 34 yards on 18 carries.
28 (25)		St. Louis	27.5	28	25	27	27	28	29
Even though they lost to a better Patriots team, they held with them. Haslett has really turned this team around.
29 (27)		San Francisco	27.8	29	28	28	28	27	26
Letting a fullback get 129 yards on you is not a good game plan. On to the Shaun Hill era in San Francisco.
30 (30)		Kansas City	30.0	30	30	30	30	31	30
Tyler Thigpen emerged last week, was it real or a mirage?
31 (31)		Cincinnati	31.0	31	31	31	31	30	31
Eight more games and they may be living in infamy.
32 (32)		Detroit	32.0	32	32	32	32	32	32
The Lions couldn’t hold onto their early lead against the Redskins and even entertained the idea of getting Duante Culpepper to help. That says something.

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!

(9 votes, average: 2.11 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!