2008 NFL Week 5 Barometer 

And then there were three. Three NFL teams remain undefeated, the Superbowl champions, The Buffalo Bills, and the Tennessee Titans. The Bills and Titans are running the ball well and playing great defense. That formula has always been a key to winning in the NFL and so far has lead Tennessee and Buffalo to 4-0 records. With Dallas losing to their NFC East Rivals Redskins this week, will any of these three undefeated teams overtake the number one spot in our 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	C o u g s	L a m b s k i n	t r e a t	4 P a c k	J o e l	h o o k	B h e a d z	A m u k
1 (2)		NY Giants	1.2	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	4
Despite not playing, the Superbowl champs take the top spot after a Cowboys loss.
2 (1)		Dallas	2.0	2	2	4	3	2	2	1	1
The Cowboys learned any game against an NFC East team this year is going to be a brutal fight.
3 (8)		Tennessee	3.8	4	5	2	4	3	3	4	5
The Titans dispatched of a talented Vikings team and became 4-0 for the first time in team history.
4 (7)		San Diego	5.2	3	4	5	6	5	5	6	7
The Chargers were down 15-0 at one point before exploding in the 2nd half. They can score at will and that is always very dangerous.
5 (4)		Denver	6.0	8	3	6	9	7	15	3	3
“I’ve officially lost patience with Denver running back Seldomlyused Young.” - The Lung
6 (6)		Pittsburgh	6.3	5	6	7	2	6	4	10	10
Pittsburgh barely won Monday night on an overtime field goal. In the win they lost yet another running back, their first round draft pick Rashard Mendenhall, to a season ending injury.
7 (3)		Philadelphia	7.0	10	8	9	5	8	7	5	2
Even though the Eagles lost, it’s a shame all four teams from the East can’t make it to the playoffs. These teams are very good. That would make for fun playoff games to watch.
8 (10)		Buffalo	7.5	6	10	3	8	4	9	11	8
The Bills are looking like the AFC East favorites. I can’t imagine anyone saw this coming before the season.
9 (17)		Washington	8.3	7	7	8	12	9	6	7	14
The Redskins looked like they were going to be horrible this year when they played the Giants in the NFL’s opening game. Oh, how things have changed.
10 (9)		Indianapolis	11.5	15	9	20	7	20	8	8	9
A quarter of the season gone and they are already 3 games back in the division.
11 (12)		Carolina	11.8	13	12	13	10	12	10	19	11
They may be 3-1, but all the teams they have played are currently 2-2 or worse.
12 (5)		Green Bay	12.0	14	13	14	14	10	12	9	6
“His new name should be Aaron Fraudgers.” - biju’s girlfriend
13 (16)		Tampa Bay	12.5	12	15	12	11	13	11	12	15
The Buccaneers finally gave Aaron Rodgers a real welcome to the NFL. Once again, his first two games were against two of last year’s worst pass defenses. They inflated how good he looked. Now he suffers his 3rd injury in his 4 year career and has only been on the field in 11 games in that time.
14 (11)		New Orleans	12.7	9	11	10	13	14	16	18	12
The Saints are a very explosive team. Drew Brees is firing on all cylinders and has the weapons to strike from anywhere.
15 (14)		Jacksonville	13.0	11	14	11	16	11	13	13	19
The Jags needed a field goal in overtime to get by the well rested Texans team.
16 (15)		New England	15.8	16	16	17	15	15	14	16	17
The Patriots are going to need to play well after the break just to keep up with the Bills.
17 (19)		Baltimore	17.3	21	18	15	19	16	18	14	18
The Ravens lose a heartbreaker in overtime. Willis McGahee just can’t seem to stay healthy.
18 (20)		Chicago	18.0	19	17	18	17	18	19	15	22
The Bears last three games have been decided by four points or less. Unfortunately, two were for losses.
19 (18)		Minnesota	18.7	17	20	16	21	17	22	21	16
The Vikings knew the first five games of the season was the toughest part of their schedule, They couldn’t have been hoping for just one win through four games though.
20 (21)		NY Jets	18.8	18	19	19	18	19	20	17	21
Nice call Ted and Mike, in going with Rodgers over Favre. The Jets are loving your decision.
21 (13)		Arizona	20.5	23	21	21	20	21	17	29	15
The loss of Boldin is a horrible blow to this team on a losing streak. Add to that, their two wins were against Miami and San Francisco. This might be a team in trouble.
22 (23)		Seattle	21.5	20	22	22	22	23	21	22	20
With possibly both Engram and Branch returning soon, the Seahawks look to get back to .500 this week.
23 (22)		San Francisco	22.8	22	23	23	23	22	23	24	23
Although JT O’Sullivan and Frank Gore played well, the 49ers defense had no answer for Drew Brees.
24 (24)		Atlanta	24.7	24	24	24	25	25	26	26	24
If you throw over 40 times and have trouble gaining 150 yards passing, you won’t win many games.
25 (25)		Houston	24.8	25	25	25	24	26	24	23	26
It looks like the bye week helped them prepare for Jacksonville, it just wasn’t enough though.
26 (27)		Cleveland	26.2	26	28	26	27	24	25	25	29
Hold on Brady Quinn, Derek isn’t ready to give up yet. A few more losses and you’ll get your chance.
27 (28)		Miami	27.3	27	26	27	28	27	27	30	28
Miami took the week off after their slaughter of the Patriots. Maybe with the extra week they figured out a way to slow down the Chargers’ offense.
28 (29)		Oakland	28.7	30	27	29	29	32	30	27	25
The Raiders hope a coaching change can help this talented team get some wins.
29 (26)		Cincinnati	28.8	28	30	30	26	29	29	31	27
This team is just bad. Not having Palmer is just another kick in the groin.
30 (31)		Kansas City	28.8	29	29	28	30	28	28	29	31
It appears the Larry Johnson from a couple of years ago has returned.
31 (30)		Detroit	30.8	31	32	31	31	30	32	28	30
The Lions play Chicago in their first game in the post Millen era. I don’t think much will change for this season. What they do with their inevitable top 5 draft pick will be where it really starts.
32 (32)		St. Louis	31.7	32	31	32	32	31	31	32	32
“The Rams are changing their name to the Rockettes…the new cheer is 1, 2, 3, kick!” - Tyeattolah

Thanks to everyone that helped make these rankings happen!

(3 votes, average: 4.67 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!