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Week Five 2005 Power Rankings
Cold, Hard Football Facts for October 5, 2005
The Cold, Hard Football Facts Power Rankings are compiled by Steve Hatch and Chuck Robinson, two barely functioning members of society who are even bigger football geeks than you are.
When Chuck's not hiding out in dark alleys fondling data, he chronicles sports and music on www.stucksports.com. This week's music selection is " One Way Ticket" by The Darkness. Let your metal flag fly!!!
Hatch, meanwhile, inspired the commercial last year of the guy who wanted team merchandise so bad that he hid out in the dirty laundry bin in the Giants locker room. He represents just the second generation of his family to walk erect.
Unlike other ranking systems, the Cold, Hard Football Facts put a premium on quality wins*, the single most accurate indicator of teams' relative strength.
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I
Indianapolis (4-0; previous, 1) – Two key components of the Colts' success have been the play of its O and D lines. The defense has racked up 15 sacks, second-best in the league (Atlanta, 17), while the offense leads the league by not allowing a single sack (on 114 pass attempts). In the 31-10 win over Tennessee in Week Four, the Colts scored more than 30 points for the first time this season, while the NFL's No. 1 scoring defense (6.5 PPG) held its fourth straight opponent to 10 points or less. |
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II
Philadelphia (3-1; previous, 4) – The Eagles are proving to be the NFL's top second-half team. In Week Four, they trailed Kansas City, 24-13, at intermission (and 24-6 late in the first half), but won 37-31. Philly has outscored its opponents 54-48 (+6) in the first half this season and smoked its opponents 58-20 (+38) in the second half.
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III
Cincinnati (4-0; previous, 5) – The Bengals recipe for success? Mix a league-leading 17 takeaways and +13 turnover margin, simmer with a series of mediocre opponents and serve up at the No. 3 spot on our list. The Bengals are 4-0 for the first time since 1988, when they ended the season 12-4 and made it to the big game only to lose to San Francisco, 20-16, on a last-minute, Joe Montana-to-John Taylor touchdown pass.
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IV
Atlanta (3-1; previous, 7) – Sure, you know the Falcons dig the ground game, but like a tipsy Tara Reid on the red carpet of gridiron analysis, we like to bare all the Cold, Hard Football Facts for your reading pleasure. And here they are in their stark, naked beauty: Atlanta is on pace to rush for 3,344 yards this season, which would shatter the league record of 3,165 yards set by New England in 1978. Even Atlanta backup QB Matt Schaub is on pace to rush for more than 200 yards and leads the team with 14.0 yards per carry (four attempts, 56 yards). |
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V
Pittsburgh (2-1; previous, 5) – The Steelers face a big Monday Night showdown at San Diego this week, in their first game since a devastating 23-20 loss to NE in Week Three. Even worse, they spent last Sunday watching their New England nemesis get manhandled at home by the very same team they have to face on the road this week. Here's some hope: Pittsburgh actually outranks San Diego in several major offensive categories: offensive rank (5th vs. 7th), total offense (360.3 YPG vs. 355.0 YPG) and yards per play (6.7 vs. 6.1). San Diego averages 31.8 PPG (2nd in the league); Pittsburgh averages 27.0 (4th). The Steelers are 5-5 following bye weeks over the past 10 years.
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VI
Tampa Bay (4-0; previous, 8) – The Buccaneers mustered but five wins last season, and just one came on the road. This season, they've already picked up wins at Minnesota and at Green Bay, where they hadn't won in 16 years. The Bucs last jumped out to a 4-0 start in 1997, when they went 10-6, won a wildcard spot and lost a divisional playoff game in Green Bay.
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VII
Denver (3-1; previous, previous, 10) – The Broncos have made tremendous use of Cleveland castoffs Courtney Brown, Gerard Warren and Mike Myers, who have teamed up with incumbent Trevor Pryce to form one of the league's most formidable defensive fronts. Denver has already faced Miami's Brown, SD's Tomlinson, KC's Holmes and Jax's Taylor and shut down all four. Against Denver, these backs have averaged just 45.5 yards per game and 2.9 yards per carry, while scoring just 2 TDs. In their 11 games against other opponents this season, these backs have rushed for 96.7 yards per game, 4.6 yards per carry and 11 TDs.
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VIII
San Diego (2-2; previous, unranked) – Two weeks ago, this team was standing at 0-2 and left for dead. Today, they count themselves the first team in nearly three years to walk into Gillette Stadium and come out with a victory. Even more impressively, they handed the defending champs their biggest home loss (24 points) in seven years. In San Diego's two losses, Tomlinson had just 38 carries, no receptions and 124 total yards of offense; in the two wins, he's had 46 carrries, nine receptions and 388 yards of offense.
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IX
New England (2-2; previous, 2) – New England's former championship-caliber defense is in complete shambles. It's 23rd against the run, 17th against the pass and has shown a complete inability to make the big play. The Patriots D has registered a paltry seven sacks and has forced just three turnovers (1 INT and 2 fumble recoveries). Last year after four games, NE had 16 sacks and nine turnovers (5 INTs and 4 fumbles). The only thing keeping the Patriots on the list is their proven ability in big games (note the inspired win over Pittsburgh), but the margin for error is razor thin.
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X
Jacksonville (2-2; previous, 3) – In the Jaguars' 26-20 Week Three win over the Jets, they ran the ball 47 times for 139 yards. The rushing game fell apart last week in a 20-7 loss to Denver. The Jags picked up a franchise record-low 12 yards on 11 carries. Even worse for Jacksonville is the ugly spate of mental errors: three turnovers and nine penalties for 85 yards against N.Y. Jets, followed by four turnovers and 15 penalties for 119 yards against Denver. |
* The Cold, Hard Football Facts define quality wins as any victory against a team that currently possesses a winning record.
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