Interesting week. I already gave you the preview that despite winning four games in a row and five of the past six, the Hawks actually dropped in the rankings. I suspect those that criticized the rankings when it showed the Hawks relatively high compared to their perceived performance might have similar questions here.
The rankings match my gut feel for where teams are. I may go against them at times in my stock market, but they have given me some great insight into teams I might not have otherwise noticed. Minnesota, for example, has been ranked in the top 10-15 all season. I, like many others, would have never considered them a contender until just recently. Same thing for the Eagles, and the relative weakness of once-popular teams like Detroit.
Pittsburgh is a much stronger team than they are given credit for, and I expect them to give the Pats a significant test.
.nobrtable br { display: none }
|
Rank
|
Team |
Team Strength
|
Change
|
|
1
|
New England |
23.47
|
-2.02
|
|
2
|
Dallas |
15.08
|
-0.38
|
|
3
|
Pittsburgh |
14.89
|
0.22
|
|
4
|
Indianapolis |
13.5
|
-1.08
|
|
5
|
Green Bay |
8.96
|
-1.89
|
|
6
|
Tampa Bay |
6.43
|
0.11
|
|
7
|
Minnesota |
5.75
|
2.67
|
|
8
|
Seattle |
5.73
|
-0.20
|
|
9
|
San Diego |
4.48
|
1.35
|
|
10
|
Jacksonville |
4.03
|
-0.54
|
|
11
|
Philadelphia |
1.71
|
-0.54
|
|
12
|
NY Giants |
1.29
|
0.54
|
|
13
|
Arizona |
0.26
|
0.41
|
|
14
|
Cleveland |
-0.28
|
-0.41
|
|
15
|
Tennessee |
-0.42
|
0.95
|
|
16
|
Washington |
-2.18
|
-0.24
|
|
17
|
Houston |
-2.5
|
-0.81
|
|
18
|
New Orleans |
-2.87
|
-0.58
|
|
19
|
Cincinnati |
-3.15
|
-0.95
|
|
20
|
Detroit |
-3.33
|
-2.82
|
|
21
|
Oakland |
-3.37
|
1.69
|
|
22
|
Carolina |
-4.69
|
2.11
|
|
23
|
Chicago |
-5.02
|
-0.29
|
|
24
|
Baltimore |
-5.63
|
0.55
|
|
25
|
Kansas City |
-6.29
|
-1.22
|
|
26
|
Denver |
-7.55
|
-0.62
|
|
27
|
NY Jets |
-7.61
|
3.62
|
|
28
|
Buffalo |
-8.16
|
1.25
|
|
29
|
St. Louis |
-9.65
|
2.07
|
|
30
|
Atlanta |
-9.71
|
-0.29
|
|
31
|
San Francisco |
-11.48
|
-0.61
|
|
32
|
Miami |
-12.1
|
-2.03
|