Week 8 Power Rankings: the Top 8 from each conference

[gettlemanjack]

the Top 7 in the NFC feature no teams from the NFC South,

which the Washington Post called a "dreadful" division

-Sports Illustrated (Cowboys #1)

-NBC Sports (Cowboys #1)

-FOX Sports (Broncos #1)

-CBS-Kirwan (Broncos #1)

-CBS-Prisco (Broncos #1)

-Yahoo Shutdown Corner (Broncos #1)

-The AP Pro32 (Broncos #1)

-NFL.com (Broncos #1)

-ESPN (Broncos #1)

NFC

1/1/1/1/1/1/2/2/2 Cowboys - #1

1/1/2/2/2/2/3/3/3 Eagles - WC

1/2/2/3/3/3/3/4/4 Cards - #1

3/3/4/4/4/4/4/4/5 Packers - #1

4/5/5/5/5/5/6/6/7 Lions - WC

5/5/5/6/6/6/6/7/7 Seahawks

6/6/6/7/7/7/7/7/7 49ers

8/8/8/8/8/8 Panthers - #1

8 Giants

8 Bears

AFC

1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1/1 Broncos - #1

2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/3 Colts - #1

2/3/3/3/3/3/3/4/5 Chargers - WC

3/4/4/4/4/4/5/5/7 Patriots - #1

3/4/4/4/5/5/5/5/5 Ravens - #1

5/6/6/6/6/6/7/7/8 Chiefs - WC

6/6/6/7/7/7/7/8 Bengals

6/7/8 Dolphins

7/8/8/8 Bills

8/8/8 Steelers

CBS Sports: Peyton Manning gets better and better by the week. That's scary.

CBS Sports: the Colts , led by a sensational Andrew Luck and a stout defense, jump into the top three... Andrew Luck is awesome... Throw in a defense that is aggressive and looks like it never missed Robert Mathis and the the Colts may be a team that could go toe to toe with the Broncos.

Yahoo Sports: We all know Andrew Luck is legit. If the rest is clicking like it was Sunday, they can make the Super Bowl.

CBS Sports: The Ravens defense is back to its old form and Joe Flacco has receiving targets that can change a game.

CBS Sports: The Cardinals are a mirror image of their coach. Gritty, tough and a never-say-die attitude. No injury or suspension holds them back, and now they sit on top of the NFC West.

CBS Sports: Aaron Rodgers is having an MVP season

Yahoo Sports: there's no doubt Rodgers is playing at that MVP level again.

CBS Sports: The Lions pass rush is awesome and can disrupt most quarterbacks in the league.

Yahoo Sports: Remember, the Lions are doing all this with just 348 yards and two touchdowns from the great Calvin Johnson this season. He'll be healthy soon.

[Mother Grabber]

we're 2-3-1 against the teams on that list, with the highest rank of anyone we've played being the Ravens and Packers receiving a total of 3, #3 votes.  Packers average a 4 and Ravens average close to 5.  Philly is the only team on our entire schedule who has any #1 or #2 votes.  Our super tough schedule doesn't look so super tough anymore.

[gettlemanjack]

Sports Illustrated:

"They're all back." Nope, not a quote from the latest Poltergeist remake, but rather how Chip Kelly began his post-bye week press conference -- announcing the returns of Darren Sproles, Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce and Mychal Kendricks from injury. The returns of Mathis and Kelce alone would be worth celebrating. With them, the Eagles might be able to bury their early-season O-line issues."

RB Darren Sproles: limited in practice, might not be 100% until Week 9.

"Darren looked good,'' offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. "It's always good to have guys back. But we'll know more later in the week.''

LG Evan Mathis: has been cleared to resume practicing for first time since Week 1, but isn't eligible to play until Week 10 (vs the Panthers) because was put on the I.R./return list. Mathis has graded out as Pro Football Focus' No. 1 guard in each of the past three seasons.

Mathis: "Right now I"m completely fresh. It feels like I'm stepping into OTAs or training camp. It's a really good feeling."

C Jason Kelce: back at practice for the first time since Week 3. Kelce was originally targeting Week 10 for his return, but appears to be ahead of schedule. He was PFF's No. 1 center from a year ago.

Chip Kelly: "He's just coming off the surgery, so I hope he ties his shoes right and put him in individuals and see what he can do," Kelly said.

ILB Mychal Kendricks: back at practice. Rotoworld: "Kendricks has been out since Week 2, leaving a gaping hole in the Eagles defense... Kendricks is an every-down player and one of the stars of the defense...A rising stud, Kendricks is their best cover linebacker.... Kendricks, is arguably the Eagles best defender and certainly their best cover linebacker. Getting him back would be huge ... Kendricks has freakish sideline-to-sideline physical tools, and he put them on display during a breakout sophomore campaign. He posted 106 tackles, four sacks, three interceptions, six tackles for a loss and two forced fumbles. ... has the potential to be an annual All-Pro candidate...He's a sideline-to-sideline linebacker with All-Pro potential ... Kendricks has All-Pro upside."

(he is age 24, ran a 4.44 forty at the combine and jumped a 39.5 vertical)

"He's slowly getting back in there,'' defensive coordinator Billy Davis said of Kendricks. "If he mass it through practice, we expect him to play.''

Chip Kelly: "Mychal hasn’t practiced in a while," he said. "We’ll see what Mychal can do and take it from there."

...

"I just said they're all practicing. It doesn't mean anything more than they're all practicing."

[gettlemanjack]

Cardinals D

#1 rush D, ypc (3.2)

#1 rush D, ypg (72.5)

#2 in fewest 1st downs allowed by rushes

#3 in most INTs

#3 in turnover margin

#5 scoring D (19.8 ppg)

#9 in fewest passing TDs allowed

Sports Illustrated:

"Six games in and no opponent has managed to hit 100 yards rushing against the Cardinals yet. Of the four rushing touchdowns Arizona has allowed, just one has been longer than eight yards"

[gettlemanjack]

Eagles: #3 scoring offense (30.5 ppg) - #1 in NFC

Eagles head to the desert of the American Southwest to take on the Cards -- FOX's 4PM (EST) afternoon game

[gettlemanjack]

Sports Illustrated:

The Patriots now lead the AFC East by a game and close the season with three straight division games (including a Week 17 matchup vs. Buffalo). But what happens between now and then -- a six-game stretch against teams currently a combined 28-12 -- likely will determine how this Patriots season ends.

Patriots remaining schedule:

Bears

Broncos

-bye-

@Colts - SNF

Lions

@Packers (Nov 30 - 25°F to 33°F avg)

@Chargers - SNF

Dolphins

@Jets

Bills

[gettlemanjack]

WRs currently averaging 70 or more ypg

NFC

101.7 - Jordy Nelson, Packers

96.6 - Julio Jones, Falcons

92.7 - Golden Tate, Lions

84.3 - Dez Bryant, Cowboys

75.4 - DeSean Jackson, Redskins

74.2 - Jeremy Maclin, Eagles

72.0 - Alshon Jeffery, Bears

69.6 - Megatron, Lions

AFC

110.3 - Demaryius Thomas, Broncos

102.7 - Antonio Brown, Steelers

101.6 - T.Y. Hilton, Colts

91.4 - Steve Smith, Ravens

85.7 - Emmanuel Sanders, Broncos

78.5 - AJ Green, Bengals

70.9 - Andre Johnson, Texans

[gettlemanjack]

Cowboys hit a home run drafting Zach Martin at #16 overall out of Notre Dame. PFF graded all the 1st R picks and he grades Top 5 overall and #1 of offensive players

the best:

+16.6 - Khalil Mack, OLB Raiders

+15.5 - Aaron Donald, DT Rams

+8.2 - CJ Mosley, ILB Ravens

+8.2 - Jason Verrett, CB Chargers

+7.0 - Zach Martin, OG Cowboys

+6.9 - Taylor Lewan, OT Titans

+3.4 - Anthony Barr, OLB Vikings

+3.2 - Odell Beckham Jr., WR Giants

+2.9 - Calvin Pryor, S Jets

16. Zack Martin, Dallas Cowboys, OG

Grade: +7.0

Snaps: 495

Analysis: This rookie has been getting better every week. Martin is a big reason why the Cowboys’ offensive line has taken such a big step forward. Four positively-graded games in a row and is sixth overall in our guard rankings.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/10/22/first-rounders-in-review/

[gettlemanjack]

PFF on RBs:

New England Patriots: Of Shane Vereen’s 53 carries, 24 have been for 5 yards or more. That is a rate of 45.3% which is the best for running backs with at least 30 carries.

Baltimore Ravens: When Justin Forsett has run between the guards, he has 272 yards on 41 carries for two touchdowns. His average of 6.63 yards per carry between the guards is the highest rate for those with at least 20 carries between the guards.

Pittsburgh Steelers: When LeGarrette Blount has run between the tackles, he has 159 yards on 21 carries. That’s an average of 7.57 which is the best for backs with at least 20 carries between the tackles. When rushing outside of the tackles, he has just 63 yards on 23 carries for a 2.74 yard average.

Cincinnati Bengals: When rookie Jeremy Hill has run with the ball within 5 yards to go for a touchdown, he’s ended up scoring 75% of the time. That is tied for the best rate for those with more than two carries. He has converted three of four carries for 12 yards.

Philadelphia Eagles: Of Darren Sproles’ 32 carries carries, eight have been for 10 or more yards. That 25% of rate is the best for backs with at least 30 carries.

Green Bay Packers: A few running backs have yet to allow a pressure this year, but none have stayed in to block as much as Eddie Lacy. On 36 pass blocks, Lacy has a perfect Pass Blocking Efficiency of 100% with zero pressures allowed.

San Francisco 49ers: On Carlos Hyde’s 48 carries, he has 5 or more yards after contact on 10 of them. That is a rate of 20.8% of his carries which is the best in the league. The second-best rate belongs to quarterback Colin Kaepernick at 20.4%.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/10/21/32-observations-week-7-3/

[pstall]

WRs currently averaging 70 or more ypg

NFC

101.7 - Jordy Nelson, Packers

96.6 - Julio Jones, Falcons

92.7 - Golden Tate, Lions

84.3 - Dez Bryant, Cowboys

75.4 - DeSean Jackson, Redskins

74.2 - Jeremy Maclin, Eagles

72.0 - Alshon Jeffery, Bears

69.6 - Megatron, Lions

AFC

110.3 - Demaryius Thomas, Broncos

102.7 - Antonio Brown, Steelers

101.6 - T.Y. Hilton, Colts

91.4 - Steve Smith, Ravens

85.7 - Emmanuel Sanders, Broncos

78.5 - AJ Green, Bengals

70.9 - Andre Johnson, Texans

Where did you find this? I know you can sort from nfl.com but did someone specifically mention this stat?

[gettlemanjack]

Where did you find this? I know you can sort from nfl.com but did someone specifically mention this stat?

used ESPN. NFL.com works too. one i was most surprised to see on there was Jeremy Maclin...and he had a monster game today, catching for 187 yds, 2 TD catches (of 54 and 21 yds) plus 25 yds on punt returns for 212 all purpose yds in the Eagles' 20-24 L at Arizona in the Dome in the Desert

[footballisasport]

we're 2-3-1 against the teams on that list, with the highest rank of anyone we've played being the Ravens and Packers receiving a total of 3, #3 votes.  Packers average a 4 and Ravens average close to 5.  Philly is the only team on our entire schedule who has any #1 or #2 votes.  Our super tough schedule doesn't look so super tough anymore.

 

Unfortunately, this team's struggles never really seem to be their opponents but themselves. I have to be honest.

[gettlemanjack]

Matthew Stafford becomes: 1 of 8 active QBs who are current teams’ record holder in Pass TD

[gettlemanjack]

ESPN

-Ben Roethlisberger becomes 4th QB to win at least 100 games in first 150 starts. Others: Tom Brady, Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw.

-Ben Roethlisberger became the 1st QB in NFL history with multiple games of 500 or more passing yards and he becomes the 2nd QB in NFL history with 500 passing yards, 6 TD, 0 INT in a game (other was in 1962 by Hall of Famer Y.A. Tittle)