Green Bay Leads the NFL Power Rankings Entering Week 12

The power rankings I'm writing today are a calculation based on year-to-date data from 2010 NFL games which include net points and won-loss records. The best NFL teams are established by win-loss records and are further defined by net points which as I see it is the most significant indicator of team strength available. Net points reflects overall team skill and the team with the best net points always has a deep run into the playoffs. As I asssessed the year-to-date data on NFL teams I narrowed the power rankings to twenty teams which happened this week to be the NFL teams with a record of .500 or better (San Diego with a 4-5 record is on the list also because they play tonight...I expect them to win tonight as well.)

When I establish a power ranking I consider the net points to be the main measure of power in the power rankings. Here is my power ranking of the top twenty NFL teams from number one to number twenty. I've included the net points as well to illustrate how the data supports the ranking. There are other ways of establishing a power ranking list and it is primarily based on win-loss records..that would reveal the same teams on the list though in a different order than my list would show.

Here's my power ranking on November 22, 2010. Net points follow the numerical rank and the team name.

1 Green Bay +106 Green Bay is 7-3 and has one win fewer than a few other teams but has a great net points number and the best scoring defense (tied with Chicago) in the league.

2 Pittsburgh +70 Pittsburgh is the AFC's best team based on net points.

3 New Orleans +65 New Orleans is 7-3 and many people think they're heading for the Super Bowl..they have two star offensive players injured now and will improve upon their return.

4 Atlanta +64 Atlanta is 8-2 and some writers have given them the number one power ranking.

5 New York Jets +61 The Jets are 8-2...they were shut out this year in a game by the Green Bay Packers.

6 Tennessee +59 Tennessee which has been hampered by injuries to key players is 5-5 but have a very high net point number this year.

7 Philadelphia +58 The Eagles net point number is very good...it was boosted greatly by the Eagles wipeout of the Redskins in Week 10.

8 Baltimore +55 Baltimore has a good defense which has them being considered Super Bowl contenders by some writers.

9 Indianapolis +52 Indianapolis has a great offense but their net points puts them at number nine on my list.

10 New England +47 New England is thought of as unbeatable by some because they are so tough to beat at home. In the playoffs though the home field advantage has to be won in the regular season.

11 Chicago +45 The Bears have the number one scoring defense (tied with the Green Bay Packers) having given up 146 points.

12 San Diego +42 San Diego is number twelve on the power ranking despite a losing record of 4-5.

13 Kansas City +36 Kansas City is 6-4 and should make the playoffs.

14 New York Giants +33 The Giants are 6-4 and have a very explosive offense...they've fallen to second place in their division.

15 Oakland +15 Oakland has a 5-5 record and can still make the playoffs.

16 Tampa Bay +3 Tampa Bay has a 7-3 record but they wouldn't make the playoffs based on their power ranking. The top twelve teams according to win-loss record make the NFL playoffs though.

17 Miami -36 All the teams following Miami on the power ranking have given up more points than they've scored.

18 Washington -43 The Redskins are 5-5 and need to win more than half of its remaining games to make the playoffs.

19 Seattle -48 Seattle is 5-5 and is headed for the playoffs as the leader in their division.

20 Jacksonville -50 Jacksonville has the worst net point differential of the teams with a .500 winning or better. They can, however, still make the playoffs.

Resources:
www.nfl.com