2009 NFL Barometer: Week 10

And then there were … still two? The Colts were scheduled to lose this week, leaving but one defeated team remaining, but a Houston fumble late in the first half coupled with a field goal pulled to the left at the end of the game conspired to give Indianapolis another win, though it can be argued whether this one was deserved.

Thursday Night Football kicked off for the first time since Kickoff weekend, with the 49ers defense intercepting five Jay “The Cutler Did It” passes, returning one close enough to the goal line that the ho-hum 49ers offense was able to score a TD, giving San Francisco a 10-6 win. Our Barometer rankings were submitted before the game kicked off, and the two teams came out tied in the rankings. Expect San Francisco to be a few spots higher and Chicago a few spots lower next week.

*Game of the Century Alert*
The New England Patriots, coached by evil genius Bill Belichick travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts, coached by Peyton Manning (or so it would seem) on Sunday night. Will the injuries to the Indy secondary do them in? Does the New England defense have an answer for Professor Manning?

Race for Number 1
Five teams are battling it out for the right to be called number one … by commissioner Roger Goodell in next spring’s NFL First-Year Player Entry Draft. Kansas City, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Detroit and Cleveland all sit with one win to their name at the midway point of the season. St. Louis (playing New Orleans) and Detroit (in Minnesota) are almost assuredly dropping to 1-8 on Sunday. Cleveland has a puncher’s chance against Baltimore at home, but the outlook is pretty bleak for that Monday night game. Tampa Bay has to somehow contain the Miami Wildcats, while Kansas City has a winnable game in Oakland. I’d tell fans of these teams “There’s always next year,” but we know that these cellar dwellers are more than one top prospect from competing.

Rank	Change	TEAM	Avg Rank	D Z	D N	U H
1		Indianapolis Colts (8-0)	1.00	1	1	1
Last week: Win 20-17 vs. HOU. Good thing you don’t get style points. Colts ranked one point behind Pats in point differential.
2		New Orleans Saints (8-0)	2.00	2	2	2
Last week: Win 30-20 vs. CAR. Saints outscore Panthers 24-3 in second half to win from behind. They looked beatable in this one.
3		Minnesota Vikings (7-1)	3.00	3	3	3
Last week: Bye. Brett Favre spent the week off replaying the Packer victory again and again in his mind. While wearing Wranglers.
4		New England Patriots (6-2)	4.33	4	5	4
Last week: Win 27-17 vs. MIA. Two TDs and four FGs (like they had last week) might not be enough against Indy.
5		Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)	4.67	5	4	5
Last week: Win 28-10 at DEN. Five-game winnings streak includes the Chargers, Giants, and now Broncos. Lookin’ tough.
6		Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)	6.00	6	6	6
Last week: Win 17-7 vs. BAL. Huge sweep of the Ravens, and the Steelers could be next. Are these guys for real?
7		Dallas Cowboys (6-2)	7.00	7	7	7
Last week: Win 20-16 at PHI. Took sole possession of the NFC East lead after beating Giants and Eagles in successive weeks.
8		Denver Broncos (6-2)	8.33	8	8	9
Last week Loss 10-28 vs. PIT. This may still be too high for them after that embarrassing Monday night loss.
9		Philadelphia Eagles (5-3)	9.00	9	10	8
Last week: Loss 16-20 vs. DAL. I know they were being cautious, but I still don’t see how Brian Westbrook could miss that critical game.
10		Atlanta Falcons (5-3)	10.00	11	9	10
Last week: Win 31-17 vs. WAS. Losses came to the Saints, Cowboys, and Patriots. No shame in that — Atlanta’s a sleeper.
11		Arizona Cardinals (5-3)	10.67	10	11	11
Last week: Win 41-21 at CHI. Good Kurt came a-callin’ last week. Will Bad Kurt be back for the Seahawks game?
12		San Diego Chargers (5-3)	12.00	12	12	12
Last week: Win 21-20 at NYG. Sure the Giants are slipping, but this was a huge win for the Chargers. Philly is next.
13		Houston Texans (5-4)	13.67	13	15	13
Last week: Loss 17-20 at IND. One of these days, the Texans are going to get over the Indy hump and win this division.
14		Baltimore Ravens (4-4)	13.67	14	13	14
Last week: Loss 7-17 at CIN. The actually have a better point differential than the team they just lost to, and it’s about to get better.
15		New York Giants (5-4)	14.67	15	14	15
Last week: Loss 20-21 vs. SD. No team needed a Week 10 bye more than New York. They’ve been plugging holes in the D all season.
16		Miami Dolphins (3-5)	17.00	16	17	18
Last week: Loss 17-27 at NE. Kept it close, but just couldn’t get the job done. Maybe it’s time to invest in a big-play WR?
17		New York Jets (4-4)	18.00	17	16	21
Last week: Bye. The Jets look to come back strong against Jacksonville this week. Can they make a playoff push? Doubt it.
18		Green Bay Packers (4-4)	19.00	20	18	19
Last week: Loss 28-38 at TB. This team ruined all Week 9 teasers. Unbelievable to give up 38 points to a debut QB.
19		Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4)	19.33	21	21	16
Last week: Win 24-21 vs. KC. I made a case for MJD (No. 1 RB currently in fantasy) over Peterson in the preseason. Lookin’ good, MoJo!
20		Carolina Panthers (3-5)	20.33	22	19	20
Last week: Loss 20-30 at NO. I say leave Jake on the bench and let D-Will run the Ronnie and Ricky offense in Carolina.
21		San Francisco 49ers (4-5)	21.00	19	20	24
This week: Win 10-6 vs. CHI. It’s easy to win when the other QB is targeting you in the passing game. Frank the Tank looks 100%
22		Seattle Seahawks (3-5)	21.00	18	23	22
Last week: Win 32-20 vs. DET. I had the Lions and the points, and Seattle snuck a cheap cover in at the last minute.
23		Chicago Bears (4-5)	21.00	24	22	17
This week: Loss 6-10 at SF. Bears, meet fork. Probably would have been better off just drafting a QB in 2010 and keeping the picks.
24		Tennessee Titans (2-6)	23.33	23	24	23
Last week: Win 34-27 at SF. Remember the Titans? Well, they’re back, led by the one and only Vince Young. Let’s make a run!
25		Buffalo Bills (3-5)	25.33	25	25	26
Last week: Bye. The Buffalo Bills officially kick off our “Crappy Teams Coming Off a Bye in Week 10″ Tour. Music City Miracle rematch in Week 10.
26		Kansas City Chiefs (1-7)	26.67	27	28	25
Last week: Loss 21-24 at JAC. Look on the bright side: they aren’t any worse without Larry Johnson!
27		Washington Redskins (2-6)	27.00	28	26	27
Last week: Loss 17-31 at ATL. How many coaches will Dan Snyder go through before he realizes what the problem actually is?
28		Oakland Raiders (2-6)	28.00	26	27	31
Last week: Bye. The Raiders may be getting back both Darren McFadden and Chaz Schilens this week. Look out, NFL!
29		St. Louis Rams (1-7)	28.67	29	29	28
Last week: Bye. It’s sad watching Steven Jackson waste away what should have been an epic career by playing for this team.
30		Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-7)	30.00	30	30	30
Last week: Win 38-28 vs. GB. The Bucs continued their domination of the Pack at RJ stadium, this time led by the newly-anointed savior.
31		Detroit Lions (1-7)	30.67	31	32	29
Last week: Loss 20-32 at SEA. Cheer up, Lions fans; the draft is only a few short months away!
32		Cleveland Browns (1-7)	31.67	32	31	32
Last week: Bye. Didn’t Week 9 football look a bit better than the previous eight weeks? That’s what a Browns bye does for the sport.

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