Currently I do not factor the post-season into my rankings so this is the end of the line for us this season.
Perhaps some day I'll think about slidding in the post season into the matrix to see how it effects the rankings. I'm not so hot on it for now. My next big thing is to start to create a way to compare across seasons. But more on that later (I hope).
The end results are very interesting this year.
| RANK W/OUT WEIGHT | OFFENSE RANK | DEFENSE RANK | RECORD | SS | ||||
| 1 | DENVER | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13-3-0 | 25 | ||
| 2 | NEW ENGLAND | 2 | 1 | 15 | 12-4-0 | 26 | ||
| 3 | SEATTLE | 3 | 7 | 3 | 11-5-0 | 10 | ||
| 4 | SAN FRANCISCO | 5 | 8 | 4 | 11-4-1 | 16 | ||
| 5 | ATLANTA | 4 | 11 | 9 | 13-3-0 | 22 | ||
| 6 | CHICAGO | 6 | 24 | 1 | 10-6-0 | 12 | ||
| 7 | HOUSTON | 7 | 10 | 8 | 12-4-0 | 28 | ||
| 8 | GREEN BAY | 8 | 4 | 17 | 11-5-0 | 17 | ||
| 9 | NY GIANTS | 11 | 12 | 12 | 9-7-0 | 8 | ||
| 10 | CINCINNATI | 9 | 18 | 5 | 10-6-0 | 29 | ||
| 11 | BALTIMORE | 12 | 9 | 14 | 10-6-0 | 14 | ||
| 12 | WASHINGTON | 13 | 5 | 20 | 10-6-0 | 14 | ||
| 13 | PITTSBURGH | 10 | 20 | 6 | 8-8-0 | 31 | ||
| 14 | CAROLINA | 14 | 15 | 11 | 7-9-0 | 7 | ||
| 15 | MINNESOTA | 15 | 14 | 21 | 10-6-0 | 2 | ||
| 16 | NEW ORLEANS | 19 | 2 | 30 | 7-9-0 | 9 | ||
| 17 | DALLAS | 20 | 13 | 22 | 8-8-0 | 5 | ||
| 18 | ST LOUIS | 22 | 19 | 13 | 7-8-1 | 1 | ||
| 19 | SAN DIEGO | 17 | 28 | 10 | 7-9-0 | 21 | ||
| 20 | INDIANAPOLIS | 16 | 16 | 28 | 11-5-0 | 32 | ||
| 21 | DETROIT | 21 | 6 | 26 | 4-12-0 | 2 | ||
| 22 | TAMPA BAY | 23 | 17 | 23 | 7-9-0 | 11 | ||
| 23 | MIAMI | 18 | 27 | 18 | 7-9-0 | 29 | ||
| 24 | CLEVELAND | 25 | 23 | 19 | 5-11-0 | 12 | ||
| 25 | ARIZONA | 26 | 32 | 7 | 5-11-0 | 4 | ||
| 26 | NY JETS | 24 | 30 | 16 | 6-10-0 | 18 | ||
| 27 | PHILADELPHIA | 30 | 25 | 25 | 4-12-0 | 6 | ||
| 28 | TENNESSEE | 28 | 26 | 27 | 6-10-0 | 26 | ||
| 29 | OAKLAND | 29 | 22 | 29 | 4-12-0 | 19 | ||
| 30 | BUFFALO | 27 | 21 | 32 | 6-10-0 | 24 | ||
| 31 | KANSAS CITY | 31 | 31 | 24 | 2-14-0 | 20 | ||
| 32 | JACKSONVILLE | 32 | 29 | 31 | 2-14-0 | 23 |
First off our Brownies were able to pull themselves up three spots to 24th. Most cities would shutter at being ninth from the bottom, but here in Cleveland we're moving on up! I don't think most people really look at teh stats in detail. I do not believe that people realize that the team (according to my reckoning) is the same rank on defense and only one spot higher on offense. Improvement is slim indeed. I think that people are excited to see young talent in key positions. Even if that talent hasn't translated into stats or wins.
Other observations.
I've compiled stats on four seasons now. Technically it was six, but the 2008 stats haven't been converted to the new model and the 2010 file was corrupted and I can't for the life of me remember where I put the backup.
Anyway, of the four seasons this years Chicago bears have the dubious honor of claiming the highest ranking without gaining a playoff berth. At 6th the 2012 Bears displaced the 2007 Philadelphia Eagles for this honor. It is also likely that the Bears are also the first top ranked defense not to be able to carry the team to the playoffs.
On the flip side the lowest ranked team to gain playoff admission are the Indianapolis Colts. At 20th the Colts are a few slots better than last years Denver Broncos who also hold the dubious honor of being the only bottom ten team in my system to gain a playoff spot with the 23rd ranked positions.
Of course the Denver Broncos started off strong and ended stronger. Far and away Manning has that offense running at a level nearly equal to that of their defense. There is something to be said for peaking at the right time.
Finally, this has been an odd season with teams rising and falling as late as week fifteen. There really wasn't a dominate team from start to finish. In recent history the league seems to cycle between periods of more and less dominance by a few teams. The middle periods of the past three decades have all been times of higher parity within the league. Perhaps that cycle is being repeated as teams like Pitts, Baltimore, New Orleans, Dallas and Chicago all are in a noticeable decline.
