byau
Active member
This will be quick because I'm short on time ... here ya go!
For the stats and numbers guys and for anyone that likes this type of discussion, here are the NFL Combined Power Rankings this week.
How The Seahawks Did This Week
"You'll probably never see anything like that ever again. And if you do, it'll probably come from Marshawn." -Doug Baldwin on Marshawn Lynch's 79 yard touchdown run
I can safely say just about everyone expected this to be a defensive affair and a low scoring game. I think score predictions were likely in the neighborhood of 13-6, 17-7, maybe another 19-3.
And as expected, the Seahawks defense held the Cardinals to a minimal score, 6 points in fact.
What was not expected was the Seahawks offensive domination against a top 5 defense. This is not just any defense, it is an elite defense that has been winning games for the Cardinals. And the Seahawks blew their doors off with five touchdowns (not sure what happened with the 0-3 field goals... an anomaly).
Punctuated not only by a Russell Wilson mini-BeastQuake 5-yard touchdown which included a juke and stiffarm, not only an 80 yard pass touchdown showing tight-end Luke Wilson OUTRUNNING two safeties, but also BeastQuake 2.0: the career high 79 yard touchdown run from Marshawn Lynch.
Perhaps there was no other better indication of the Seahawks night of offensive dominance than Marshawn's run: a wide range of power and grace and unbelievable want to make the play resulting in a score.
Combined with a loss by the Broncos, a dominating win by the Cowboys, and otherwise non-statement games by the other top contenders, it will be interesting to see how the rankings turn out this week. I can't wait!
NFL Combined Rankings Summary
Take the scores of 7 rankings and combine them. I use a system called "relative placement" which is advantageous in this type of subjective judging. I have used it many times in the past as a head judge of dance competitions which are pretty much all purely subjective judging.
Here are the source NFL power rankings
NFL.com
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... claim-no-1
1. Seahawks
2. Patriots
3. Packers
4. Cowboys
5. Broncos
1. Seahawks (+2). Yup, another absurd run from Mr. Lynch. (And Mr. Wilson's TD scamper wasn't too shabby, either.). That was nothing short of championship football we all witnessed Sunday night. Seattle darn near played a perfect second half. Steven Hauschka's missed kicks aside, it is becoming increasing difficult to foresee a team knocking off the defending champs. If we had to nitpick anything, it would be all the penalties -- maybe someone could show Michael Bennett the neutral zone. (It's that area of space between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, as set forth by the Organian Peace Treaty.)
SBNation
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/12/23/ ... ks-broncos
1. Patriots
2. Seahawks
3. Cowboys
4. Broncos
5. Packers
2. Seahawks (same).
Week 16 is in the books. The Patriots and Seahawks both picked up big wins again this week to further separate themselves from the pack, but the Cowboys, Broncos, Packers, Lions, Colts and Steelers aren't far behind.
The Seahawks now look to have the inside track to guarantee the road in the NFC goes through Seattle. Pete Carroll's crew extended their win streak to five by knocking off the previously No. 4-ranked Cardinals in their place, and a win over the Rams next week (without a Detroit-Green Bay tie) means the Hawks will be the NFC's No. 1 seed.
Seattle didn't pull away until the fourth quarter in this one, thanks to three missed field goals by kicker Steven Hauschka, but dominated in nearly every statistical category. The Seahawks exploded for a franchise record 596 yards of offense and did what they should do: hold Ryan Lindley's Cardinals to just 216 yards of offense in a 35-6 thrashing.
Russell Wilson accounted for 427 yards and three total touchdowns, and Marshawn Lynch added a highlight-reel 79-yard touchdown run for good measure. Seattle's offense has started firing on all cylinders to help that side of the ball keep pace with its dominant defense, which has only given up 33 points in their last five games combined.
The ballhawking, attacking defense the Cardinals have relied upon to get to 11 wins this year faltered when they needed a big game, giving up the most yards an Arizona defense has surrendered since 1958, back when the team was based in Chicago.
ESPN
http://espn.go.com/nfl/powerrankings/_/ ... 14/week/17
1. Patriots
2. Seahawks
3. Packers
4. Cowboys
5. Broncos
2. Seahawks (+1).Patriots or Seahawks? ESPN's Power Panel (a group of more than 80 writers, editors and TV personalities) was somewhat torn. New England ended up holding serve at No. 1, but an unconvincing victory over the lowly Jets (No. 29) clearly affected its appeal. An overwhelming choice last week, Tom Brady & Co. received only 10 more first-place votes than the surging Seahawks, who earned plenty of style points in a rout of Arizona.
So whom should we expect to reign supreme next week, which will be our final 2014 edition? Week 17 pits the Patriots against the Bills and Seahawks against the Rams. If both powers prevail, it could come down to which one looks more impressive in the process.
Richard Sherman's interception Sunday night was the 24th of his career, most of any player since he entered the league in 2011. Seattle is heating up at the right time.
CBS Sports (Pat Kirwan)
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/pat ... wrong-time
1. Seahawks
2. Patriots
3. Packers
4. Broncos
5. Cowboys
1. Seahawks (+1). The Seahawks are back on top of the Power Rankings -- and could stay there from here on out if they lock up home-field advantage in Week 17. The Seahawks defense has given up 33 points in the last five games and Russell Wilson seems to always make the right decision. It looks like the playoffs are going through Seattle again this year, barring a loss to the Rams.
FOX Sports
http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/power-rank ... =17&view=1
1. Seahawks
2. Patriots
3. Packers
4. Cowboys
5. Broncos
1. Seahawks (+1) Beast Mode plowing people again and Russell Wilson continuing to make chunk yardage plays with his feet. That’s about all the Seahawks will need from their offense with the way their defense is attacking right now.
Yahoo Sports
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutd ... 26850.html
1. Patriots
2. Seahawks
3. Packers
4. Cowboys
5. Broncos
2. Seahawks (same) Can anyone stop Pats-Seahawks showdown?
The Seahawks look fairly unstoppable in the NFC, too, especially since they're a win away from locking up home-field advantage for the playoffs.
The Seahawks look dominant, but don't forget that the Rams play them tough and have beaten them once. I don't think I'd pick the Rams to get the upset, but it's not a gimme either.
Their win at Arizona on Sunday night was dominant, and not just because the Cardinals don't have a competent quarterback anymore. The Seahawks are playing very well, and if they get the No. 1 seed, who is coming to Seattle and winning? The Packers aren't a great road team and the Seahawks' secondary nullifies Green Bay's biggest strength. Maybe the Cowboys can win in Seattle again, but it will be really tough to do that twice in one season. The Lions? Again, in a one-game elimination scenario anything is possible, but nobody will be betting on it.
Will these playoffs be that anticlimactic? Things rarely go as cleanly as we expect in the playoffs, so maybe not. But it will take a pretty significant upset to keep the Patriots and Seahawks from a date in Glendale, Ariz. on Feb. 1.
Washington Post Fancy Stats
aka the only numerical analysis non-subjective based power ranking
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fanc ... n-the-nfl/
1. Seahawks
2. Cowboys
3. Patriots
4. Packers
5. Broncos
1. Seahawks (+2) Seahawks are the best team in the NFL. The Seahawks are tied with Denver in allowing the fewest yards per play (4.7) and have kept the opposition to fewer than 300 total yards for six straight weeks.
NFL Combined Rankings Using Relative Placement
1st: Seattle Seahawks (last week: 2nd)
VOTES: 1,1,1,1,2,2,2
2nd: New England Patriots (last week: 1st)
VOTES: 1,1,1,2,2,2,3
3rd: Green Bay Packers (last week: 4th)
VOTES: 3,3,3,3,3,4,5
4th: Dallas Cowboys (last week: 6th)
VOTES: 2,3,4,4,4,4,5
5th: Denver Broncos (last week: 3rd)
VOTES: 4,4,5,5,5,5,5
Fell Out Of Rankings:
aka no 1st through 5th votes this week
Arizona Cardinals
Some Analysis With Relative Placement and What We Know
None of this is real deep, so if you see a comment and think to yourself "well, duh...", I have no problem with that
Ranking Shakers
Broncos lose to Bengals 37-28
The Broncos have been in the mix of the top three for a long time, but as of late they've just been on the peripheral with questions on Manning's health. The improved run game and improved defense kept them in the talk, but with Manning throwing 4 INTs, they have fallen out of the elite. I'm a bit surprised they are still in the top five.
Cowboys wollop the Colts 42-7
The Colts come off clinching their division with a terrible loss against the surging Cowboys. The Cowboys are a scary team in my opinion. Thanksgiving day they had a slight misstep, but other than that it's hard not to be worried about them. It wasn't just a win, it was a DOMINATING win that has them right up there in the top five this week.
Patriots eek a win from the Jets 17-16
The Patriots clinched their first round bye, but it was a squeaker of the game against one of the laughingstock teams in the NFL. Pretty much any team that has a quarterback debate, you know there is an issue.
With the nature of this win, they do not unanimously hold on to their #1 spot giving way to the Seahawks. But one small slip up of a game should not shake you too far from the clear domainance you have had the last handful of weeks. Very close in the rankings but rightfully still considered elite.
Seahawks dominate the Cardinals 35-6
Only because we were against a 3rd/4th string QB, the Seahawks are justifiably not given more 1st votes. But that offense, against a top five defense, definitely justifies them getting some #1 votes and they did. And as it turns out, they got the majority.
Natural Breaks from a Tally perspective
Natural Break # 1 Patriots and Seahawks at the top, splitting the first and second place votes (for the most part, darn those Fancy Stats). Passes the smell test too, this is what we've seen as of late with other teams faltering a bit from the smell test. The Patriots did not have an esteemed opponent in the Jets, so a win over them would have kept them in check. The fact that it was close lets them slip a little bit. The Seahawks dominating a top defense helps lift them up. No questions here.
Natural Break # 2 Everyone else. The Packers did not have a esteemed opponent so they do not get an opportunity to move. so a dominating win over a cellar dwellar keeps them in position. The Broncos loss against a good opponent doesn't negate what they've done the last few weeks, but has them fall out of the elite. And the Cowboys continuing to bring it are surging up.
None of this should surprise anyone, and it's nice to see the rankings reflecting these as a whole.
Fancy Stats Outliers
This actually passes the smell test too. I think the Cowboys are one of the most dangerous teams right now, and stat-wise with the demolition they put on the Colts, these guys are #2 and giving the Patriots their only non-1st and non-2nd vote.
Relative Placement Fun: Patriots and Seahawks
Just like the Seahawks and Broncos had a fun split at #2 and #3, this week it is the Patriots and Seahawks battling out the #1 and #2 spots.
Also the fact that the Seahawks and Patriots pretty much got all the 1s and 2s shows that they are alone and on top.
As I was putting together the rankings, I was almost thinking the Cowboys also belong up there, and sure enough Fancy Stats didn't let me down and threw them a #2 vote, the only #1 and #2 vote that did not go to the Seahawks or Patriots
Overall, if you just saw a rankings of Seahawks 1st and Patriots 2nd, you might argue that the Patriots should be 1st. And honestly, seeing as how they basically split the vote, you'd be right.
Relative Placement Fun: Cowboys
Also interesting: even though the Cowboys garner a #2 vote, the Packers get five 3's and get the 3rd place ranking. The Cowobys don't get their majority until you get to the 4th place vote.
Relative Placement Fun: clear Placements
The surprising thing? This is the first time we've had very very clean rankings. Five teams only getting the top five scores. Last week it was very close with six teams getting 1st through 5th votes. With the Cardinals falling out, we have our top five. In other words, there are no "novotes" this week.
Games To Watch For Week 17: Potential Rankings Shakers
As you'd expect, when December rolls around teams tend to really show who they are. And at this point you have two elite teams in the Patriots and Seahawks, a team knocking on the door in the Cowboys, and two teams struggling to make sure they are ready for the playoffs in the Packers and Broncos
And then everyone else clawing to get through the door like the Bengals, Steelers, Lions, and Colts.
While there are quite a few interesting games to clinch playoffs and division, as far as rankings go, interesting games here:
Bills (unranked) at Patriots (#2): An inspired Bills team beat the then-ranked-#1 high powered Packers. Can they repeat and knock off the Patriots? It's possible. Depends on the feeling coming out of the locker room after a loss to the Raiders.
Cowboys (#4) at Redskins (unranked): Very hard to see the Cowboys losing. But a dominating win will likely not move them anywhere in the rankings. It will take some movement from outside this game to move them up.
Lions (unranked) at Packers (#3): from a rankings perspective, a loss by the Packers could get them out of the top 5. With a win, the Lions are likely back in the top 5. Where they end up depends on the other teams.
Raiders (unranked) at Broncos (#5): Am I the only one that thinks the Raiders just might pull this off? They've beaten the Chiefs, 49ers, and Bills. A Broncos loss makes room for those knocking on the door to get in.
Rams (unranked) at Seahawks (#1): predictions aside because I just can't do that, I'll speak from a rankings perspective which means: well, the Seahawks can't go any higher, so they can solidify their spot here with a win.
All in all, of course the last thing to say is ...
GO SEAHAWKS!! GO YOU FREAKING SEAHAWKS!!!
