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Who's beaten who? (Why power rankings are junk)

shaka

By shaka,
in Carolina Panthers

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shaka Mentor

shaka

Posted
Posted


Undefeated teams only.  

 

You can only beat the teams you play...So then why are the teams at the top of the power rankings at the top?  You could say media bias or simply point to the fact that power rankings drum up conversation and attention.  

Green Bay Packers

    Week 1 - Chicago 
    Result:  GB 31 - CHI 23
    Looking at the box score the game was 17-16 going into the fourth.  

    Week 2 - Seattle
    Result:  GB 27 - SEA 17
    Looking at the box score the game was 17-16 going into the fourth.

    Week 3 - Kansas City
    Result:  GB 38 - KC 28
    Aaron Rodgers is good.  Nothing new here.  


New England Patriots

    Week 1 - Pittsburgh 
    Result:  NE 28 - PIT 21

    Week 2 - Buffalo
    Result:  NE 40 - BUF 32

    Week 3 - Jacksonville
    Result:  51 - 17
    Tom Brady is good.  Nothing new here. 

 

Cincinnati Bengals

    Week 1 - Raiders
    Result: CIN 33 - OAK 13 

    Week 2 - Chargers
    Result:  CIN 24 - SD 19

    Week 3 - Ravens
    Result:  CIN 28 - BAL - 24

Denver Broncos

    Week 1 - Ravens
    Result:  DEN 19 - BAL 13 

    Week 2 - Chiefs
    Result:  DEN 31 - KC 24

    Week 3 - Lions
    Result:  DEN 24 - DET 12

Trying to be a run first team to take the pressure of an aging Manning.  Total rushing yards through 3 games: 171 yards.  

Atlanta Falcons

    Week 1 - Eagles
    Result:  ATL 26 - PHI 24  

    Week 2 - Giants
    Result:  ATL 24 - NYG 20

    Week 3 - Cowboys
    Result:  ATL 39 - DET 28

The NFC East features three 1-2 teams with the injured Cowboys leading the way.  Arguably the worst division in football this season.

Arizona Cardinals

    Week 1 - Saints
    Result:  ARZ 31 - NO 19  
    Looking at the box score the game was 17-16 going into the fourth.

    Week 2 - Bears
    Result:  ARZ 48 - CHI 23

    Week 3 - 49ers
    Result:  ARZ 47 - SF 7

This is what you're supposed to do to 'bad' teams.  Should be near the top of the rankings.  

Your Carolina Panthers

    Week 1 - Jaguars
    Result:  CAR 20 - JAX 9  

    Week 2 - Texans
    Result:  CAR 24 - HOU 17

    Week 3 - Saints
    Result:  CAR 27 - NO 22

Our wins are against the AFC south and the dumpster fire Saints.  

 

 

Please feel free to discuss but in my opinion it's better to chop these teams into tiers:

Pretty Good
Arizona.  Dominated two bad teams and beat the Saints with Drew Brees.  
Green Bay.  Chicago is in a rebuilding mode after 3 games.  I admit I don't know much about the Chiefs.  Beat a Seattle team without Kam Chancellor, but just have to respect Aaron Rodgers.  
New England.  Beat Pitt (2-1, W-Rams, W-49ers) and Buffalo.  I'm not sold on Buffalo with Tyrod Taylor as the starter and Pitts wins are against bad teams.  If the Packers are here because of Aaron Rodgers, you can make the same argument for the Pats with Tom Brady. 

Good
Carolina.  We beat two AFC South teams and the Saints.  The good:  Cam Newton.  We are finding ways to win despite injuries and key personnel going down.  Also Cam Newton.  The bad: Finding ways to win is code for 'damn these games are tighter than they should be.' The ugly: Shula is actually doing a decent job this year so far.  Can you count on Shula to keep it up?
Denver and Cincinnati.  I admit my knowledge of the AFC is not strong. I am just going to put them here and ignore them.  The media seems to get hyped on these two teams  often enough, I just put my head in the sand when they're talked about.  

Good for you little guy
Atlanta Falcons.  It's hard to win in the NFL so 3-0 is 3-0 and that deserves respect.  With that said, I think of all the teams listed they are the worst.  Their style of play makes it tough to win on the road in November/December.  Can you really see these guys going into Lambeau in January and putting up 25+?  I can't.  

Edit:  Apparently they did go into Lambeau in December last year and put up 25+.  My point was more about passing based dome teams having the perceived difficulty of performing poorly outdoors on the road.  

 

So just remember when the rankings come out, the point is to get fans talking.  It's all subjective.  

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shaka Mentor

shaka

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Yes, didn't the OP question whether the falcons could put up 25+ in Lambeau?  Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'll admit it was a bad example, should have done my research.  My point being the high flying passing attack typically doesn't travel well.  The running game with strong defense is generally viewed as the better approach for winning on the road in playoff like conditions.  

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Newtcase Experienced

Newtcase

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Yes Shaka I agree that the widely accepted better traveling team is the physical one.  I suppose my point is Julio is a special player and Matt Ryan is certainly capable of finding and delivering the ball to him.  He's already on a historical pace in 2015, with a guy like Julio you have a puncher's chance against anyone.  In fact, without Julio, both NY and Dallas would have very likely beat the Falcons already.  Atlanta's problem in Lambeau in January (if they made it there) will not be putting up 25+, it will be holding Green Bay under 40.

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Seltzer Veteran

Seltzer

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Falcons have won 3 games that looked like losses at the start of the year (could argue the Giants, but the Eagles & Cowboys) both looked like mismatches on paper.  Their offensive line has looked good despite having a mismatch of parts (got to give credit to Kyle Shanahan), and they have found ways to get Julio the ball (ala Dan Henning's "Feed the Stud" to Smitty in 2005).  Their defense is certainly not a world beater, but they have made stops when they had to.

Right or wrong, the national perception right now is that the Falcons have beat 3 quality teams, and the Panthers have beaten 3 teams with lower talent than they have.  I have no beef with it.  I don't see it as a knock on the Panthers- I think it's more a recognition of what the Falcons have done.  The Falcons are not a joke.  The Falcons have question marks on defense that are going to remain all year (like we will on offense), but they can score with anyone.  Matt Ryan is awful under pressure, but there is no doubt he is a top 10 guy when he has time in the pocket.

Most power rankings have the Panthers in at least the top 12.  What more can you ask for in Week 3?  The Panthers have a chance over the next several weeks to earn national acclaim.  The Panthers have earned respect through 3 weeks, but no one still trusts that the offense will be able to do enough to win against contenders.  It's still a fair question b/c we haven't seen it yet.  We have won the games we have played, and that is a big deal.

The Panthers looks like a good team, and the arguement could be made that they should be ranked higher than Atlanta, but it's not that big a deal.  The Panthers certainly have not proven they belong up in the conversation with the Pats, GB, AZ, CIN, or DEN (the other unbeatens).

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CoastalCat Newbie

CoastalCat

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So just remember when the rankings come out, the point is to get fans talking.  It's all subjective.  

Here are the week 4 rankings from ESPN. If you go to a prior week(like pick week 2 from the drop-down for instance), then change the week in the html address, you can see them (at least the comments) as early as Monday.

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/week/4  

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pantherphan96 Newbie

pantherphan96

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My thoughts:

AFC

1. New England - Offense has been dominant and the defense will do enough for them to outscore their opponents and win.

2. Cincinnati - That defense is legit. The offense is too now, with weapons in Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard on the ground and with AJ Green and Tyler Eifert in the passing game. Andy Dalton has looked to improve his game dramatically but reducing mistakes. Whether that continues into primetime games or the playoffs (where he has struggled mightily) is yet to be seen.

3. Denver - Their defense is the reason they are still undefeated, and while P. Manning seems to be wearing down, he still has the ability to shred defenses, assuming the OL can keep him in a clean pocket and standing upright.

 

NFC

1. Green Bay - With Rodgers at QB, they will have one of the top offenses in the league. Probably have the best home field advantage of any team in the NFL. Defense may end up being their downfall, but that offense can swing with the heavyweights.

2. Arizona - Keeping Palmer healthy is conducive to their chances of making a dent in the playoffs. Without him, they are not a playoff team, despite their array of weapons on offense (Fitzgerald and Brown at WR) and stingy defense. Lack of a dominant running game may ultimately be their downfall, but they have a hard-nosed defense that will keep them in games all year, provided they have a healthy QB.

3. Panthers - A healthy OL is key to Cam's improvement as a passer. Once a consistent running game can be established, the Panthers offense will be dangerous, as teams are forced to spy Cam, contain the run, and provide one-on-one matchups against Funchess, Olsen, and Ginn. Establishing a pass rush will be key to the season, as the secondary is much improved and the LBs are as good as ever. Special Teams needs to improve too, but if the Panthers can weather the flurry of injuries and the tougher schedule ahead, this team is in decent shape to contend.

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