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Power Rankings: Week 15 2007
Cold, Hard Football Facts for December 11, 2007
 By Jonathan ComeyCold, Hard Football Facts powerful guy
Ho hum.
December in the NFL is usually a hair-raising, nail-biting, awe-inspiring time. In short, it usually gives Cold, Hard Football Facts trolls everywhere a tingly feeling all over.
But not this year.
Thanks to the overpowering performances of the former “Big Five” (now down to four with Pittsburgh’s retreat to the trailing pack), and the sub-mediocrity of most of the middle-classers, everything’s more or less wrapped up.
Other than the chase for perfection, good (NE) and bad (MIA), there’s not much to see.
The Dominant Dozen you see today will probably look a lot like the Dominant Dozen come playoff time – right now, it’d be an upset for any of those top 12 not to make the postseason.
In previous years, there have been deserving AFC teams waiting on the bubble, but in this well-balanced season it doesn’t look like that’ll happen.
The Patriots will stay in the No. 1 spot even if they lose a game, and the Dolphins will stay in the No. 32 spot even if they win one (or two).
Yep. It’s a bummer. We might even have to spend more time with our families, embracing the holiday spirit and really learning about what’s important in life.
THE DOMINANT DOZEN
1. NEW ENGLAND (13-0, previous rank: 1)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 7-0, +23.5 PPG
- Last week: WRs Jabar Gaffney, Randy Moss and Wes Welker combined for 23 catches, 335 yards and three TDs in the Patriots 34-13 home win over Pittsburgh's No. 1-ranked defense.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Pass for show, run for the sticks. The Patriots have run for 105 first downs, second-most in the league behind Minnesota (108), and are tied with Miami with 28.8 first downs per carry. Oh, and Tom Brady has nine first-down runs on third down out of 10 tries, a league-best 90-percent success rate.
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Next: vs. NY Jets. Anything interesting happen the first time these two met?
2. DALLAS (12-1, previous rank: 2)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 5-1, +3.5 PPG
- Last week:The defense managed just one sack and no INTs against Detroit’s porous O-line, but Romo’s near-perfect day rallied Dallas to 28-27 win.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: The Cowboys have never been 12-1 over their remarkable franchise history (28 playoff teams in 47 seasons).
- Next: vs. Philadelphia. About the last opponent the Cowboys want to see as they coast toward the postseason is the Eagles, who hit hard and harbor hatred for their NFC East rivals.
3. INDIANAPOLIS (11-2, previous rank: 3)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 4-2, +6.7 PPG
- Last week: Against a team that had nothing in the tank, Indy built up a 30-0 lead early in the second quarter and embarrassed Baltimore 44-20.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Indy’s kickers have been the worst in the league this year. Adam Vinatieri’s longest field goal of the season is 39 yards, and he’s missed three from short distance. And punter Hunter Smith has a net average of 32.8 yards, second worst in the NFL and almost 10 full yards per punt behind the league leaders.
- Next: at Oakland. Colts QB Peyton Manning is only 10 months younger than Raiders coach Lane Kiffin.
4. GREEN BAY (11-2, previous rank: 4)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 4-1, +12.0 PPG
- Last week: The Packers made short work of visiting Oakland, 38-7. NFL Films’ legendary narrator John Facenda would have been mortified by the lack of drama between these traditional heavyweights.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Green Bay tight end Donald Lee has quietly turned in a huge season, leading the NFL in completion percentage for a non-RB by catchting 80.7 percent of the passes thrown his way and racking up 569 yards and five TDs. He had only 10 catches in a full 2006 season.
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Next: at St. Louis. Green Bay's last three opponents (STL, CHI, DET) are a combined 14-25 (.359).
5. PITTSBURGH (9-4, previous rank: 5)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 4-1, + 10.6 PPG
- Last week: Steelers allowed 21.1 points more than their average over the first 12 games, falling 34-13 to homestanding New England.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Pittsburgh’s linebackers have combined for 24 sacks and 13 forced fumbles this season; in a full 2006 they registered 22 sacks and six forced fumbles.
- Next: vs. Jacksonville. The Steelers and Jags fight it out to see who’s the fifth-best team in a four-team race.
6. JACKSONVILLE (9-4, previous rank: 5)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 4-3, +2.4 PPG
- Last week: Jags held hapless Panthers to 149 yards of net offense, while rushing for 177 in 37-6 home rout.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Defensive end Bobby McCray had a breakout season in 2006 with 10 sacks for Jacksonville, but the Jaguars decided to sign him to a one-year RFA deal rather than a long-term contract. Good thing – he has zero sacks in 12 games for the Jags in 2007.
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Next: at Pittsburgh. Despite moving to different divisions in 2002, the Jags and Steelers will play for fifth time in last six years (two wins each heading into Sunday).
7. SEATTLE (9-4, previous rank: 8)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 1-2, -3.3 PPG
- Last week: Seahawks won the turnover battle 5-0 and beat Arizona 42-21 to clinch fourth straight NFC West title.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Defensive end Patrick Kerney has 13.5 sacks for the Seahawks, 2.5 more than he had in his final two seasons with Atlanta. Ten of those sacks have come in the last five weeks (five Seattle wins). In Seattle’s four losses, Kerney has no sacks.
- Next: at Carolina. Another easy game for Seattle – the Seahawks have won the past two NFC West titles while beating just two teams with winning records.
8. SAN DIEGO (8-5, previous rank: 9)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 2-4, -8.0 PPG
- Last week: Defense held Tennessee to 3.8 yards per offensive play and overcame three interceptions to beat Titans, 23-17, in OT.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Of San Diego's five losses, four were on the road against Quality Opponents (New England, Green Bay, Jacksonville and Minnesota).
- Next: vs. Detroit. Two teams going in opposite directions: San Diego four wins in five, Detroit five losses in a row.
9. TAMPA BAY (8-5, previous rank: 7)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 1-3, -7.8 PPG
- Last week: Defense allowed 10 third-down conversions en route to a Jeff Garcia-less 28-14 loss at Houston.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: If the Bucs win the Super Bowl this year, it would be their second title in six seasons. It would also signal the coming of the Apocalypse.
- Next: vs. Atlanta.
10. NEW YORK GIANTS (9-4, previous rank: 10)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 0-4, -16.7 PPG
- Last week: Despite two lost fumbles by Brandon Jacobs and four stalled drives inside the 10, New York held off the Eagles, 16-13, in Philly.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Tiki who? New York's three tailbacks (Droughns, Ward, Jacobs) have combined for 336 carries, 1,552 yards, 4.6 YPA and 11 TDs to go along with 46 catches, 314 yards and two receiving TDs. And their No. 4 tailback in preseason, Ryan Grant, has gone on to revitalize Green Bay's running game.
- Next: vs. Washington. A win and the Giants are in.
11. MINNESOTA (7-6, previous rank: 11)
- Record vs. Quality Teams: 2-3, -1.8 PPG
- Last week: Minnesota won its third straight by 20 or more (27-7 over San Francisco), the first time they’ve done it in franchise history.
- Cold, Hard Football Facts: Minnesota’s unheralded defense is second the NFL with 83 plays for loss: 33 sacks and 50 stuffs behind the line of scrimmage (Giants No. 1 with 84).
- Next: vs. Chicago (Monday night).
12. CLEVELAND (8-5, previous rank: 12)
THE TEPID TWENTY
13. TENNESSEE (7-6, previous rank: 13) – Rob “My” Bironas for team MVP: He leads the NFL in kickoff distance (67.9 yards per attempt) and is 9-of-11 from 40+ on field goals.
14. BUFFALO (7-6, previous rank: 16) – Before the Week 6 bye, WR Lee Evans averaged 22.6 yards per game even though he was a full-time starter. Since the bye, he’s averaged 81.9 yards per game, and is 232 away from a 1,000-yard season.
15. NEW ORLEANS (6-7, previous rank: 18) – In six wins, Drew Brees has thrown 17 TDs and just two INTs; in seven losses, he's thrown 6 TDs and 13 INTs. But he’s completed at least 60 percent of his passes in all but one game.
16. ARIZONA (6-7, previous rank: 14) – Kurt Warner’s passer rating is decent (85.9), but 17 turnovers in eight starts is an unacceptable number.
17. WASHINGTON (6-7, previous rank: 17) – Mirror images: Skins’ offense averages 5.0 yards per play, 3.8 yards per run. Defense allows 5.0 yards per play, 3.8 yards per run.
18. HOUSTON (6-7, previous rank: 19) – “Kaptain” Kris Brown for team MVP: he’s is 11-of-13 from 40+ this season on field goals, including 5-of-5 from 50-plus.
19. PHILADELPHIA (5-8, previous rank: 15) – Brian Westbrook averages a robust 5.0 yards per carry this year on "slow" grass, 3.8 yards per carry on "fast" turf.
20. DENVER (6-7, previous rank: 23) – The Broncos have allowed a league-high seven return scores (three punt/kick, four off turnovers)
21. CINCINNATI (5-8, previous rank: 22) – In addition to having the second-worst punt return average (5.3 per return), the Bengals have called a league-high 17 fair catches.
22. DETROIT (6-7, previous rank: 20) – You can’t spell “Detroit Lions” without “l-o-s-e-r.”
23. CHICAGO (5-8, previous rank: 21) – There’s no middle ground for the Bears. If they lose two of their last three, they’ll have double-digit losses for the seventh time in 11 seasons – to go alongside their three seasons with double-digit wins. Only the 2003 Bears (7-9) made it to mediocrity.
24. OAKLAND (4-9, previous rank: 24) –.RB Justin Fargas seems to have come out of nowhere with his 920 yards and 4.7-per-carry average. But he led the moribund offense of the 2006 Raiders in rushing (659 yards).
25. BALTIMORE (4-9, previous rank: 25) –The Ravens actually have more yards than their opponents this year (4,078-4,011)
26. CAROLINA (5-8, previous rank: 26) – All-world WR Steve Smith has caught 30 passes for 249 yards in Carolina's last six games (8.3 per catch average). His career average is 13.9 yards per catch.
27. NEW YORK JETS (3-10, previous rank: 28) – RB Thomas Jones has taken nine shots at the end zone from the 3-yard-line or closer. He’s only converted once.
28. KANSAS CITY (4-9, previous rank: 27) – Chiefs’ D not so stingy anymore, allowing 26.3 PPG over six-game skid (16.1 PPG over first seven games)
29. ST. LOUIS (3-10, previous rank: 29) – Rumors of Torry Holt’s demise just that; he’s over the 1,000-yard mark for the eighth straight season.
30. ATLANTA (3-10 previous rank: 30) – Roddy “Free Michael Vick” White has 11 catches of 25+ yards, tied for third in the league and one more than Randy Moss. He’s also five yards shy of 1,000 for the season.
31. SAN FRANCISCO (3-10, previous rank: 31) – Despite Frank Gore’s presence, the 49ers are last in the NFL with 404 rushing yards on first down.
32. MIAMI (0-13, previous rank: 32) – Miami hosts Baltimore this week; both teams committed five turnovers this past Sunday. But you don't really care, do you?
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