NFL Power Rankings - Week 8 - Final Edition

by One.Cool.Customer on Oct 27, 2009 5:08 PM CDT Comment 41 comments

Here's a look at the various power rankings out there heading into week 8. Special preview guest this week: The Seattle Seahawks.

For your reading pleasure, I've subdivided the rankings into three different sections, Major Media Networks & Affiliates, Blogs & Other Media as well as Computer & Statistics based rankings.

1. Klick me, pleeeaaase. Major Media Networks & Affiliates

NationalFootballPost.com: 9th (+2). "Are the Cowboys the new favorite in the NFC East? Tony Romo looks like a different quarterback with Miles Austin making plays. "

ESPN: 9th (+10). "DeMarcus Ware is the Cowboys' $78 million man, and Miles Austin is playing like a $78 million man. (Clayton)"

SportingNews.com: 10th (+3). "Miles Austin has provided a quick-strike presence that has lifted the offense."

Michael Silver at Yahoo Sports: 10th (+4). "Can we all stop pretending (and by 'we all' I mean 'all of us, including Roy Williams') that Roy Williams is anything more than a No. 2 receiver?"

Pete Prisco at CBSSports.com: 11th (+1)."With Miles Austin becoming a big-play receiver, it should help Tony Romo the rest of the way. The good thing from the Atlanta game is the defense came alive. "

SI.com:

[Update] Don Banks' Power Rankings 11th (+5) "Everybody's arrow is pointing up when it comes to the Cowboys this week, and with good reason after that impressive rout of the Falcons. But why does one win seem to have changed everything in Dallas? Maybe because the Cowboys' three previous victories had come against teams that were winless at the time (Tampa Bay, Carolina and Kansas City). Miles Austin aside, the best news in Dallas is the Cowboys pass rush is once again alive and well."
Peter King in MMQB: 11th (-)."Finally a pass rush, the kind of pass rush the Cowboys have been lacking the entire season. Matt Ryan had been sacked twice in the first five games. Dallas got him four times."

Fox Sports: 11th (+4). "It figures that with the Cowboys' season teetering toward complete and utter disaster when locked in a fourth-quarter duel with the lowlife Chiefs in Week 5, it would be a kid named Austin who would help save Texas' most famous team. The Cowboys' new breakout WR has scored four of the team's last five offensive TDs, all coming in the last 5+ quarters (including OT in Kansas City). Suddenly, the 'Boys to Men have hope again."

NFL.com's Brain Trust of Experts: 12th (+4). Bucky Brooks and Vic Carucci have the Cowboys at 8 & 9 respectively, Jason La Confora placed us 16th. Hello?

2. I write, therefore I am: Blogs & Other Media

[Update] ColdHardFootballFacts.com: 11 (+4)."The Cowboys are first in the NFL in yards per play (6.8) and also first in the NFL in yards per play on first down (7.1)." Hear, Hear!

[Update] Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com: 11th (+4). "Maybe after the season the Lions will offer the Cowboys a first-round pick, a third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick for Miles Austin." Florio in a head-to-head battle with John Clayton from ESPN for the worst jokes.

[Update] SBNation 11th (+4). "Terrell who? Miles Austin has breathed life into a seemingly moribund passing game, just as injuries to Marion Barber and Felix Jones had hampered the Cowboys' ground game. If Austin can continue anything close to his recent tear, the Boys could be a formidable team down the stretch." 11th, but still behind the Giants and Eagles. Grizz, you're like one of the head honchos on NFL SBNation, right? Do something!

Zac Wassink at AssociatedContent: 11th (+6). "Don't look now but here comes Dallas. Could the Cowboys be in the top ten of my NFL power rankings in week 9?"

Weii.com: 11th (+9). "The Dallas defense was finally able to rush the quarterback and that resulted in a win against a pretty solid team. Dallas was able to get to Matt Ryan four times and force two interceptions. The NFC East title suddenly is a possibility again for the Cowboys, with the Giants suffering their second straight loss."

ProFootballWeekly: 12th (+3). "They really believe they can go on a big run starting here."

Walter Football: 17th (+5). No comments provided and no love lost.

3. Just the facts, ma'am: Computer & Statistics based rankings.

[Update] AdvancedNFLstats.com: 5th (+2). No. 2 on Offense, No. 27 on Defense. Their ranking model includes offensive and defensive passing and running efficiency, offensive turnover rates, defensive interception rates, and team penalty rates.

WhatIfSports: 9th (+4). This weeks hot potato are the Giants who drop 11 spots.

tom slick publishes his Rankings over at The Falcoholic: 10th (+2). He weighs offensive and defensive points scored/allowed relative to all other teams to determine his rankings.

FootballOutsiders.com: 11th (+1). Offense ranks 4th (+-0), Defense 22nd (+3), Special Teams 6th (+11).

[Update] Covers.com 14th (+4). "The Cowboys easily took care of Atlanta following their bye week. Another winnable game this week against the Seahawks before road games in Philadelphia and Green Bay."

Jeff Sagarin's NFL rankings: 14th (+5), just one spot behind the Giants and a delicious 8 spots ahead of the Eagles, who are ranked lower than the Seahawks by this method.

Here's how the NFC East - and our next opponent, the Seahawks - fared:


	This Week	Last Week	This Week	Last Week	This Week	Last Week	This Week	Last Week	This Week
Advancednflstats	5	7	14	11	7	4	24	25	21
NFP	9	11	12	12	10	5	28	28	23
Whatifsports	9	13	16	14	18	7	30	27	23
ESPN	9	19	12	12	8	5	25	27	23
tom slick	10	12	6	9	8	7	20	21	16
SportingNews	10	13	14	14	9	5	27	29	24
Yahoosports	10	14	14	12	12	6	25	27	24
CBSsports	11	12	8	10	10	6	27	27	23
FootballOutsiders	11	12	6	2	9	5	22	22	19
CHFF	11	13	10	12	8	5	25	23	22
ProFootballTalk	11	15	9	11	8	4	28	27	23
SBNation	11	15	9	13	8	5	23	28	28
Foxsports	11	16	15	13	10	5	26	29	22
SI.com	11	16	8	9	10	5	23	26	25
Assoc. Content	11	17	9	12	8	5	28	29	23
Weii.com	11	20	15	16	9	5	26	26	23
ProFootballWeekly	12	15	9	9	7	5	25	25	23
NFL.com	12	16	10	9	8	5	26	29	22
Covers.com	14	18	20	20	11	7	30	30	21
Sagarin Ratings	14	19	22	21	13	11	30	30	20
Walter Football	17	21	15	17	4	3	26	29	21
Average	11.0	15.0	12.0	12.3	9.3	5.5	25.9	26.9	22.3

For a summary of all NFL teams using some of the same rankings, go to NFLpowerranks.com

Another user-created commentary provided by a BTB reader.

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Comments

Great stuff!

I really love your contributions to the blog.

by twistmypepsi on Oct 27, 2009 5:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Just to clarify

Michael Silver put the Cowboys at number 10 (ahead of all our divisional foes).

Here it’s written that he put as at 14th, but on the chart it’s 10th, so I’m just making the clarification.

2009 Dallas Cowboys: 10-6
2009 New York Jets: 11-5?

If someone could make for me and send to me a joint Cowboys/Jets avatar, I'd really appreciate it. :D

by Grady90 on Oct 27, 2009 5:31 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

oops, copy paste error from the previous post. Thanks.

by One.Cool.Customer on Oct 27, 2009 5:44 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks OCC!

I was waiting for this post all afternoon :) Knew we were gonna get some good love today and there isn’t any nicer package to see it all in then your excellent post!

Thanks again OCC

Wade Phillips has never won a playoff game as a head coach..he has lost 4 home playoff games.
His longest tenure as head coach was 3 years.
Only once did his record as a HC improve from one year to the next (by 1 game)

Wade Phillips for DC

by SDTrueblue on Oct 27, 2009 5:36 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

remarkable consistent rankings this week

right around that 11th spot

by scottmaui on Oct 27, 2009 6:08 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

ilovepowerrankings.com

I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys

by Aaron Novinger on Oct 27, 2009 6:16 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

DUDE!

I actually tried looking that up.

by One.Cool.Customer on Oct 27, 2009 6:45 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

LOL!

I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys

by Aaron Novinger on Oct 28, 2009 2:29 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sweet

I love this stuff, thanks OCC

(Whoever compiles the Walter football site rankings is clearly a Midgets fanatic. Our ranking is too low, and NYG is way, way too high)

Are you ready for some football???

by APerfectStar on Oct 27, 2009 7:10 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks dude

I look forward to your poll

by cowboy1966 on Oct 27, 2009 9:06 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

This post is HOT!

Great stuff, OCC.

~Texas Massacre '09~

by TheHeat on Oct 27, 2009 9:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Your contributions are greatly appreciated One cool.

Really enjoy reading your posts!

by Benthere on Oct 27, 2009 11:07 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

No Doubt, you guys are the top dogs this week

The Giants are coming off two losses in a row…We lost to the Raiders and then beat the Redskins with good Defense (against their miserable offense), and 2 offensive plays; if we can’t figure out how to sustain a consistent offensive drive, then there’s real cause for concern in Philly; the Redskins are in ABSOLUTE shambles, and then there are the Cowboys who beat a good team and looked pretty good doing it.

Hat’s off to you guys this week…I might have to actually consider you a contender ;)

"What did it feel like? That collision, I didn't feel nothing, because he was pretty much defenseless. It was like running through a cardboard box. Seriously. Cardboard box."- Sheldon Brown on his pounding of Reggie Bush in the '06 Playoffs

by jalarsen1 on Oct 27, 2009 11:28 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I hardly ever pull for the Eagles, but I did last night

I laughed my way through that whole game. I hope the ’Skins lose every game the rest of the season just as embarrassingly as they did on prime time MNF.

Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character. - John Wooden

by BishopWest on Oct 27, 2009 11:31 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks OCC

I look forward to this every week!

by Boyz4Life on Oct 28, 2009 12:44 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

AWESOME

I love these posts, man. Keep em goin please! WOOOOO :D

by xailin on Oct 28, 2009 1:03 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You do great work, OCC

But ultimately, I don’t care about these yak-heads. All I want is performance on the field, and I want another Ring. Everything in-between is microscopic.

PowerRankings overall are like the look on that hot girl’s face before she kisses you. I don’t care about the look — I care about the kiss.

by dfan77 on Oct 28, 2009 4:18 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

under the radar

am I the only one that was loving getting no respect from all the sports pundits (who by the way are pathetic in how quickly they jump on bandwagons) out there. I love this team, but they still strike me as psychologically fragile. They strike me as a bunch that will start believing all the hype.

by JasonGarrett on Oct 28, 2009 6:28 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Well..

This team has seemingly gone from over-hyped/headline readers to a team that has no confidence or belief that they can win a close game against a good team. To use an old cliche..they’ve lost their swagger.

So, it was good to see them go out there and really put it too the Falcons..especially after a tough opening drive. They could have easily pressed the issue and thrown a pick/fumbled/imploded like they seem to do somewhat regularly..but instead they went out with a solid game plan and a professional performance and laid the lumber.

This was a major positive. Though the next two weeks will give a better view of things to come..Seattle is a team they should handle with relative ease (though they are certainly not the Raiders or the Rams) and then a tough division opponent (though they have been sliding). If we come out on the other side of those two games at 6 -2 I’ll have regained a lot of the faith..and they’ll have regained a lot of their swagger..

Wade Phillips for DC

by SDTrueblue on Oct 28, 2009 6:40 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I've said it all along

I’d rather the team fly under than the BSPN talking heads spending useless time talking how good we are. There is nothing sweeter than being the underdog and winning

by dcfanz on Oct 28, 2009 1:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Love reading this every Tuesday!

To Dave and Raf – This should be a main post on the boards! Assuming One.Cool.Customer is ok with it!

by Masada on Oct 28, 2009 10:43 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I kind of like it as a Fan Post, because it highlights guys like OCC that contribute to the board. I do miss the old “What they’re saying…” posts that used to be done every week, though.

by Baked Potato Soup on Oct 28, 2009 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agree BPS

Thanks for the props, Masada, but a Fanpost is the right place for these rankings. For all the fun these rankings are, “Fluff” like this should not be on our main board (except for an occasional reference).

Our lead writers’ posts and analysis are what makes this blog stand out among an already high quality SBNation community, Fan contributions like this one and many others as well as the blitzkrieg of usually quite well-informed comments keep this blog alive and worth coming back to (multiple times a day).

by One.Cool.Customer on Oct 28, 2009 1:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

What were the "What they're saying..." posts?

I don’t remember those. Did TunaHelper do those?

I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys

by Aaron Novinger on Oct 28, 2009 2:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I thought it was Dave.

Basically it was just a gathering of tons of links.

by Baked Potato Soup on Oct 28, 2009 2:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here's an example:

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2007/12/23/115318/86

by Baked Potato Soup on Oct 28, 2009 3:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Okay, cool.

Damn, that was before I found this site. So, it’s kinda like a VRR—just more player quotes and less news stuff.

I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys

by Aaron Novinger on Oct 28, 2009 7:46 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right.

I like the VRR, too. I’m lazy, so I don’t like to look for Cowboys news. I like to just have this as my central hub.

by Baked Potato Soup on Oct 28, 2009 7:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

me too

I am so lazy, and therefore so grateful that I found this place

Lifetime Cowboys Fan from the Swamps of Jersey

by Seanrude on Oct 28, 2009 8:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I miss the press conference summaries

Lifetime Cowboys Fan from the Swamps of Jersey

by Seanrude on Oct 28, 2009 2:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character. - John Wooden

by BishopWest on Oct 28, 2009 2:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

You can tell those of us that have been here for awhile. I don’t remeber the last time I saw a “What they’re saying” post or a press conference summary. I guess I could say that I somtimes get nostalgic for them, but I really like the new content we got with the merge with Rafael.

"So you can’t stiff arm at all? What about the throat?"- Marion "Barbarian" Barber

by DC_fan on Oct 28, 2009 4:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not complaining.

I love the variety and quality of the content that we get. This site is awesome.

by Baked Potato Soup on Oct 28, 2009 4:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

the best

Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character. - John Wooden

by BishopWest on Oct 28, 2009 4:38 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Funnest site ever!

I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys

by Aaron Novinger on Oct 28, 2009 7:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like OCC's posts, a great idea on his part

Rotovibe’s breakdowns of specific plays. Very well done.
Quncyyy’s draft prospects are always interesting.
5Blings is one of the better at getting long debates going, often a lot of humor in them.

I’m forgetting a few, but there are so many guys that put a lot of work into their posts.
The amount of content to go through when taken with the front page columns and even the poor red-headed stepchildren (fanshots) can easily take up a couple hrs a day. I seriously have to try to limit myself.

Are you ready for some football???

by APerfectStar on Oct 28, 2009 7:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

me, too

I wonder how many hours a week I read this blog. It definitely keeps me informed of my beloved Cowboys more than any other medium out there. And sometimes I’ll hear some commentator on ESPN or another network say this or that about the Cowboys and I’m thinking, “That’s not even close to being true, because Raf said this, or Dave proved that, or Fisher’s post said the other, or Raul or Aaron said (whatever) …..”

BTB is just awesome!

Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character. - John Wooden

by BishopWest on Oct 28, 2009 10:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for including my ratings

on your summary! It’s a really simple algorithm, I’m humbed to be on the same page as the likes of Sagarin and Football Outsiders.

Best wishes to you and your ‘Pokes (unless you’re playing my beloved Falcons). Cheers!

by tom slick on Oct 29, 2009 2:35 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Customer you got one more to add

draft order according to Great Blue North, which is the real rankings:
http://www.gbnreport.com/weeklydraftorder.html

If the draft was held today we would be the 9th best team.

by quincyyyyy on Oct 29, 2009 7:21 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

will do

by One.Cool.Customer on Oct 29, 2009 7:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

REasons why the Giants WON't make the playoffs...

1- who they played:
they beat the redskins, chiefs, raiders, buccs, and cowboys (which would have been different by one play).
their losses were the shellacking from the saints, and lucky plays to hang with the cardinals

2-who they will play:
@philly, chargers, atlanta, @denver, dallas, philly again, @washington, carolina, and @minnesota
right now they are 5-2. i do not see them winning more than 3 of these matches, especially after watching the way they played against arizona.

3-don’t be fooled by their numbers
stats are a horrible way to distinguish one team from another. their are too many variables that are not accounted for, and looking at the giants and who they played, it really shows. i see their defense dropping significantly after playing @philly and against the chargers, going into the bye week 5-4.

4- optimism that cowboys will win 7-8 of their last games to take the division
we are in a great position to win a lot of the matchups in the second half of the season. Their are some tough matchups, but with a healthy team i believe we can hang with anyone in the league. It is also nice have Seattle, Oakland and two Washington games to play. NYG may go at best 9-7, a fighting chance for a wild card birth but i think they will have an early offseason.

5- Trust.

by om4bu on Oct 30, 2009 9:01 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs