Totally Scientific Power Rankings: Week 8

[The King]

From Zone contributor Dujek....

Welcome one and all to the Totally Scientific Power Rankings, following week 8 of the NFL season. Due to time constraints there isn't too much preamble this week, but I have got the numbers done, and have time to review the AFC East and the Colts' efforts to draft Andrew Luck.

Bills/AFC East Watch: A win for Buffalo, and a loss for the Patsies may have the Bills ahead in the standings, but the numbers say the Patriots are still the better team. Just. The Dolphins managed to throw away a second game in two weeks, and I just can't see them going through the entire season without managing to sneak one somwhere. The Jets had the week off, but dropped a place due to a slight improvement in the Falcons' SOS and a slight decline in theirs.

Suck for Luck: The Tennessee Titans played some of the worst football I have ever seen on Sunday, and were still far too good for the Colts.

1. Green Bay Packers - 125.994 (Record: 7-0) (Previous Week: 1)
2. Detroit Lions - 122.072 (6-2) (4)
3. San Francisco 49ers - 121.951 (6-1) (3)
4. Houston Texans - 118.888 (5-3) (5)
5. New England Patriots - 117.916 (5-2) (2)
6. Buffalo Bills - 114.965 (5-2) (9)
7. Baltimore Ravens - 114.425 (5-2) (7)
8. Pittsburgh Steelers - 112.009 (6-2) (11)
9. New Orleans Saints - 108.402 (5-3) (6)
10. Chicago Bears - 107.897 (4-3) (10)
11. New York Giants - 107.674 (5-2) (16)
12. Cincinnati Bengals - 107.026 (5-2) (12)
13. Atlanta Falcons - 106.312 (4-3) (14)
14. New York Jets - 106.279 (4-3) (13)
15. Oakland Raiders - 103.502 (4-3) (17)
16. Dallas Cowboys - 103.031 (3-4) (8)
17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - 100.819 (4-3) (18)
18. Philadelphia Eagles - 100.808 (3-4) (22)
19. San Diego Chargers - 100.801 (4-3) (15)
20. Tennessee Titans - 100.295 (4-3) (20)
21. Kansas City Chiefs - 96.294 (4-3) (23)
22. Cleveland Browns - 96.113 (3-4) (19)
23. Carolina Panthers - 89.096 (2-6) (21)
24. Washington Redskins - 88.064 (3-4) (24)
25. Minnesota Vikings - 87.637 (2-6) (27)
26. Jacksonville Jaguars - 86.990 (2-6) (25)
27. Denver Broncos - 84.100 (2-5) (26)
28. St Louis Rams - 83.116 (1-7) (29)
29. Seattle Seahawks - 82.673 (2-5) (28)
30. Arizona Cardinals - 73.270 (1-6) (30)
31. Miami Dolphins - 70.306 (0-7) (31)
32. Indianapolis Colts - 64.822 (0-8) (32)
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[malvado78]

After 8 weeks my opinion is these formulas do not put enough weight on head to head matchups.

Lions ranked over 49ers even though head to head lions lost.
Patsies ranked over Bills even though head to head Patsies lost.
Chargers ranked over Chiefs even though head to head Chargers lost.

All with matching or very close record.

I understand the scores are close but just saying...

[psubills62]

After 8 weeks my opinion is these formulas do not put enough weight on head to head matchups.

Lions ranked over 49ers even though head to head lions lost.
Patsies ranked over Bills even though head to head Patsies lost.
Chargers ranked over Chiefs even though head to head Chargers lost.

All with matching or very close record.

I understand the scores are close but just saying...
I'd say those arguments are just nitpicking. Like you said, the scores are very close. And fact is, one game where Team X beats Team Y doesn't necessarily mean X is better than Y.