Wednesday, November 12, 2008

NFL Rankings After Week 10

Since 1980 I have ranked NFL teams based purely on numbers. Aside from my algorithm's few basic assumptions, this strips all emotions and opinions out of the equation. I'm not saying this makes my rankings superior to all other rankings, but it offers another way of evaluating teams in the NFL. Over the years, I have refined the algorithm to the point that I believe it now portrays a very accurate picture of how teams stack up against one another. My algorithm is based on the following basic assumptions.

Assume nothing at the start of the year. Before week 1, all teams are considered equal.

We all have our opinions at the start of the year but anyone who has watched any sports league for any length of time knows that "on paper" is pretty useless. This means for the first couple of weeks, the rankings are meaningless because there are not enough numbers to make a good analysis of the teams. But as the season progresses, the algorithm comes into its own. I'll just say I use it to put money on it.


 

Any win is worth rewarding

Some wins are ugly, some are closer than they should be, but the NFL is all about winning.


 

Over time, very good teams should slaughter very bad teams. Wins over highly ranked teams are worth more than wins against low ranked teams. The reverse is true. Losses against low ranked teams are worse for ranking purposes than losses against highly ranked teams

While this is an opinion, I apply it equally to all games.


 

After week 10, the rankings are as follows:


 

1

Tennessee Titans 

2

New York Giants

3

Baltimore Ravens 

4

Carolina Panthers 

5

New York Jets 

6

Arizona Cardinals 

7

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

8

Pittsburgh Steelers 

9

Philadelphia Eagles 

10

Atlanta Falcons 

11

Miami Dolphins 

12

Chicago Bears 

13

Indianapolis Colts 

14

New England Patriots

15

Green Bay packers 

16

San Diego Chargers 

17

Minnesota Vikings 

18

Washington Redskins 

19

Dallas Cowboys 

20

Jacksonville Jaguars 

21

Cleveland Browns 

22

New Orleans Saints 

23

Buffalo Bills 

24

Denver Broncos 

25

Seattle Seahawks 

26

San Francisco 49ers

27

Houston Texans 

28

Kansas City Chiefs

29

Oakland Raiders 

30

St. Louis Rams 

31

Cincinnati Bengals 

32

Detroit Lions 


 

1 comment:

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