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Best 5 NFL teams as of week 16. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Andy Dufresne
- Start date
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
You have the 8-7 Bengals as the 5th best team in the NFL? My top 5 would be:1. Chargers2. Ravens3. Bears4. Patriots5. Saints The Colts are 2-4 in their last 6 games, so they lose their top 5 spot.
Gr00vus
Footballguy
I'll stick with this.
Doug B
Footballguy
Even though they beat the Saints, at this moment I think New Orleans is better than Cincy. Also, right now, the Colts are a middle-of-the-pack club:1. Chargers
2. Ravens
3. Patriots
4a. Saints
4b. Bears
Can't sort the Bears and Saints out ... maybe they'll meet in the playoffs.
Doug B
Footballguy
Probably trying to keep up with the who-beat-who scenarios.Forget that, I say. The Dolphins aren't better than the Bears ... the Redskins aren't better than the Saints. Being better never meant "100% chance of winning".
Despyzer
Lousy Attention Whore
Add me to that list who are curious to know how the 7th best AFC team can be considered in the top 5 of the entire league.
Weapon of Mass Instruction
Watch my feet!
1. Chargers
2. Ravens
3. Patriots
4. Bears
5. Saints/Colts
*While certainly not in top 5, I'd venture to say that no one wants to play the Titans right now.
2. Ravens
3. Patriots
4. Bears
5. Saints/Colts
*While certainly not in top 5, I'd venture to say that no one wants to play the Titans right now.
Despyzer
Lousy Attention Whore
I think we heard that about the Dolphins around this time last year.
Gr00vus
Footballguy
The Titans are definitely on a great roll, but as a Charger fan I'd much rather see the Titans than the Pats, Broncos or Bengals. I'd rather the Chargers see the Jets than the Titans though - I think the Titans are better, but also there's a little payback involved.Weapon of Mass Instruction said:
Weapon of Mass Instruction
Watch my feet!
Well, IMO, the worst matchup the Titans could possibly have is vs the Charger. Just a bad matchup, period.
Despyzer
Lousy Attention Whore
I won't disagree with you about that, so why not make the Broncos 5th?
Colin Dowling
Footballguy
1. San Diego
2. Baltimore
3. Philadelphia
4. New Orleans
5. Titans
2. Baltimore
3. Philadelphia
4. New Orleans
5. Titans
Mahoney
Footballguy
Because I don't get into the whole "Who beat who" game. I think the Bengals are better. They almost beat them in Denver. If the field was neutral I think they would have won.
Despyzer
Lousy Attention Whore
What about the other 14 games?
Mahoney
Footballguy
Not sure what you are asking? Are you insinuating the Bengals aren't better because of their W-L record? If that's the case, should I just go check the standings write down the 5 best records and believe they are the best 5 teams in the NFL? The best team in the NFL in 2005 had the 6th best record in their conference.I think in 2005 all 6 teams in the AFC play-offs would've beaten the Seahawks. I don't think any differently in 2006. The Broncos beat the Bengals on a weird, flukey play. I think if they meet again in the post season the outcome will be different and that's why I have the Bronco 1 or 2 slots behind Bengals. Are you a Broncos fan? As long as Cutler is their QB, I'm not putting them in the top 5. Not this year.
Despyzer
Lousy Attention Whore
I don't think the best team in the NFL was 6th in the conference. I think the 6th best team in the AFC put together a nice little win streak when it counted most.
I think you're right.
So the Broncos being in the lead for pretty much the entire game was meaningless?
Fair enough. All I was asking for was a little reasoning.
I think Cutler has been looking better lately - been making better decisions. They are a scarier team this postseason than they would have been under Plummer.
Colin Dowling
Footballguy
I think Cutler has been looking better lately - been making better decisions. They are a scarier team this postseason than they would have been under Plummer.
I agree, but don't think that just b/c they are better with Cutler they are a threat in the playoffs.
I agree, but don't think that just b/c they are better with Cutler they are a threat in the playoffs.
Mahoney
Footballguy
I don't know how to break down all fancy with those different quotes and stuff. But I'll have to disagree on the Steelers not being the best team last year. I don't like saying that, but c'mon, that was more than just a "nice little run".You may be right about the Broncos being scarier with Cutler in the play-offs. Especially if you are firmly embedded into the camp of "They will never win it all with Plummer" so by virtue of that belief they are going to get knocked out of the play-offs. The worst they would do with Cutler is "The same", not possible to do worse, with a small chance of doing better.I think the Bengals and Broncos are a great match-up and I think they are 5 and 6. In Denver I'd give Denver the edge. Not in Denver I'd give the edge to Cincy.I don't think the best team in the NFL was 6th in the conference. I think the 6th best team in the AFC put together a nice little win streak when it counted most.I think you're right.So the Broncos being in the lead for pretty much the entire game was meaningless?Fair enough. All I was asking for was a little reasoning.
I think Cutler has been looking better lately - been making better decisions. They are a scarier team this postseason than they would have been under Plummer.
Doug B
Footballguy
I think the NFC's getting sold a little short here. Interconference record be damned.The Titans have been winning, but not messing anyone up. The Giants win was an out-of-nowhere fluke. They need to show me some more, IMHO.
Mahoney
Footballguy
The Titans not messing anyone up? They broke the Giants in half andf they have been tailspinning out of control since. They've won 6 straight against Philadelphia, Giants, Colts, Texans, Jaguars, and Bills. They lost to the Ravens by 1. The Bears look like a mess. They have a terrible Offense and their Defense has fallen apart. The Saints are far too inconsistent to be taken seriously.I don't think I'm selling the NFC short. All their teams stink in comparison to the AFC. That's reality. I'm not sticking "The best" NFC team on a top 5 in the NFL list, because they aren't.I think the NFC's getting sold a little short here. Interconference record be damned.The Titans have been winning, but not messing anyone up. The Giants win was an out-of-nowhere fluke. They need to show me some more, IMHO.
Doug B
Footballguy
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
SD
Balt
Chi
Indy
NO
NE
top 6
Balt
Chi
Indy
NO
NE
top 6
flapgreen
Footballguy
The Titans not messing anyone up? They broke the Giants in half andf they have been tailspinning out of control since. They've won 6 straight against Philadelphia, Giants, Colts, Texans, Jaguars, and Bills. They lost to the Ravens by 1. The Bears look like a mess. They have a terrible Offense and their Defense has fallen apart.I think the NFC's getting sold a little short here. Interconference record be damned.
The Titans have been winning, but not messing anyone up. The Giants win was an out-of-nowhere fluke. They need to show me some more, IMHO.
The Saints are far too inconsistent to be taken seriously.
I don't think I'm selling the NFC short. All their teams stink in comparison to the AFC. That's reality. I'm not sticking "The best" NFC team on a top 5 in the NFL list, because they aren't.
Such a mess they're 13-2. Keep listening to the media.
Doug B
Footballguy
Yeah ... but I can see where he's coming from with Chicago. The Arizona game alone made me wonder. Of course, every team has letdowns at points ... so there was nothing for the Bears to panic about. Still, they smell like an 11-win team that pulled a few out of their rears. A good, solid club -- in my Top 5, even -- but not some true juggernaut.Guess we'll see in a few weeks.
Despyzer
Lousy Attention Whore
If I told you about a team that got blown out at home by the Dolphins and struggled mightily against the Vikings, Lions, and Cardinals, you might tell me that team sounded like a mess. Win/loss records are important, but they don't always tell the whole story.
flapgreen
Footballguy
Didn't the Pats just get shut out and shut down by the Dolphins a couple weeks ago? Obviously, I'm a Bears fan so I'm in complete disagreement with you. Do you really think the top AFC teams would be undefeated if they played the same teams the Bears did? Surely not. I'm not going to argue that the Bears are the best team in the entire league because I think their are a couple teams who look better at the moment. However, not putting the Bears in the top 5 and even worse saying they're a complete mess is ludicrous to me. They're 13-2, undefeated in their conference and had a #1 seed locked with 2 games to go. The Bears may not have won like everyone wants to them to but they have found ways to win over and over again. Next to the media analysts who need something to run pie holes about, I'm not sure what else they could've done to show they're a top team to the rest of us.If I told you about a team that got blown out at home by the Dolphins and struggled mightily against the Vikings, Lions, and Cardinals, you might tell me that team sounded like a mess. Win/loss records are important, but they don't always tell the whole story.
flapgreen
Footballguy
No. I didn't say they were a juggernaut. Just not a complete mess like Despyzer said.Yeah ... but I can see where he's coming from with Chicago. The Arizona game alone made me wonder. Of course, every team has letdowns at points ... so there was nothing for the Bears to panic about. Still, they smell like an 11-win team that pulled a few out of their rears. A good, solid club -- in my Top 5, even -- but not some true juggernaut.Guess we'll see in a few weeks.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
A weird, flukey play? It's not the Broncos fault that the Bengals couldn't convert a routine XP. And besides, the Broncos might very well have won that game anyway, had they made the XP. But hey, you keep clinging to that belief that the Bengals are better. When they are sitting home after next week and the Broncos are playing in the first round, it won't really matter much, will it?
Only because they were playing some lousy teams. The Bears have only played three games against teams over .500 and only looked impressive in one of them (versus an injury-riddled Seahawks team). They've had at least four games where they did not play well enough to win, and won only because the other team didn't either.And you can't deny that in December, their defense has looked mediocre at best.
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Okay, but in a year where being average seems to be the norm (12 teams are either 8-7 or 7-8), being 13-2 is pretty damn impressive. You can talk about strength of schedule or crappy-looking wins all you want, but in the NFL, winning is what matters.
Limp Ditka
Footballguy
It also hasn't been at their best in terms of personnelHarris and Brown are gone for the year, we know that.But they've played 2 games without Tank, 3 games without Todd Johnson and at least 2 games without Vasher in December.All three of these guys will be back, and fresh for the playoffs so I expect the an improvement on the D in the playoffs.
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BoltBacker
Footballguy
But in the NFC are there going to be any "good" teams to even compete against? The CAR/DAL/SEA's of the world haven't exactly been world beaters themselves. What will be the biggest obsticale keeping CHI out of the superbowl? NO in CHI in JAN? I like CHI's chances.
Mahoney
Footballguy
First of all, I said they were a mess defensively.Second, in the last 3 weeks they've allowed 26 points per game against teams that were a combined 13-36 (Lions, Bucs, and Rams).No. I didn't say they were a juggernaut. Just not a complete mess like Despyzer said.Yeah ... but I can see where he's coming from with Chicago. The Arizona game alone made me wonder. Of course, every team has letdowns at points ... so there was nothing for the Bears to panic about. Still, they smell like an 11-win team that pulled a few out of their rears. A good, solid club -- in my Top 5, even -- but not some true juggernaut.Guess we'll see in a few weeks.Such a mess they're 13-2. Keep listening to the media.
To put that in context, the team that has surrendered the most points defensively all season is the 49ers. They have allowed 389 points. Divide that by 15 games and you get 25.93 points per game.
The Bears defense is worse than a mess. Unless they get some of their studs back they are going out in 1 game.....at home.
Tighten up.
Mahoney
Footballguy
How often do bad snaps cause XP to be missed? I bet in the course of the year it happens seldom enough to consider the times it does, to be deemed "Weird, Flukey".Could the Bengals have still lost if that kick was perfect? Of course. I will keep clinging to the belief that the Bengals are better. If they happen to cross paths in the post season I will be sure to refresh this post. Just to remind you that I was right!A weird, flukey play? It's not the Broncos fault that the Bengals couldn't convert a routine XP. And besides, the Broncos might very well have won that game anyway, had they made the XP. But hey, you keep clinging to that belief that the Bengals are better. When they are sitting home after next week and the Broncos are playing in the first round, it won't really matter much, will it?
Despyzer
Lousy Attention Whore
There are only two teams in the league with only two losses: The Bears and the Chargers. For that I will give the Bears their props. The Chargers lost by a total of six points in Kansas City and in Baltimore. Chicago lost by a total of 28 points in New England and at home against Miami. Personally, I like San Diego's chances of going undefeated if these two teams flip-flopped their schedules. The Ravens had narrow losses on the road against Cincinnati and Denver and a squeaker at home to Carolina. I like their chances, as well.The fact that the NFC's best team is merely a .500 team against the AFC (and the second best team is 1-3) helps to point out just how lopsided these conferences are. I have no problem with any top 5 list comprised only of AFC teams.
Doug B
Footballguy
The AFC does seem stronger, but I don't think you can just take those 4 interconfernce games for each club and hold them up like smoking guns. Heck, in other threads, I myself have used various interconference games throughout the league to make a point that the AFC is stronger ... but I disagree with you about just how much stronger.Regarding my team, the Saints: yes, the Steeler and Bengals beat the Saints ... but I didn't get the imperssion out of either game that the AFC opponent was clearly superior to the Saints. They won one game on one day--unfortunately, it's not like baseball, and you don't get a season series. Similarly, I don't think the Dolphins win 5 games if they played their entire 16-game schedule at Soldier Field against the Bears. The Dolphins won that game ... bully for them. They still ain't better than the Bears.
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Weapon of Mass Instruction
Watch my feet!
Re: The Titans making, or even being considered, for this list:
1. What NFL team has the best record against the spread this year? The Titans. 11-4 ATS.
2. What NFL team has the toughest schedule in the league based on opp. win %? The Titans.
Having done those things, winning 8 of 10 and 6 in a row = a dang good football team. Not elite, of course, but I don't think anyone but the Chargers would feel real comfy playing them right now.
1. What NFL team has the best record against the spread this year? The Titans. 11-4 ATS.
2. What NFL team has the toughest schedule in the league based on opp. win %? The Titans.
Having done those things, winning 8 of 10 and 6 in a row = a dang good football team. Not elite, of course, but I don't think anyone but the Chargers would feel real comfy playing them right now.
Despyzer
Lousy Attention Whore
So you don't believe that the fact that the best teams in the NFC don't even have winning records against the AFC teams they were scheduled to play is a valid indicator of how much better the AFC is? In most people's minds, if you took the very best from one conference and stacked them up against the very best from another conference and the outcome was obviously one-sided, they would believe the conference that won more against the best of the other conference was the better conference. The Saints and Bears didn't even have to go up against the Ravens and Chargers and were still barely competitive.
dickey moe
Fingerpicker
1. Chargers
2. Ravens
3. Bears
4. Saints
5. Patriots
2. Ravens
3. Bears
4. Saints
5. Patriots
sinatravolta
Footballguy
1. Chargers
2. Ravens
3. Bears
4. Patriots
5. Colts
I figure if you haven't locked up a playoff berth going into the last week of the season - you probably don't belong on this list. You may have more potential than some of these teams, or you may have squandered opportunities earlier in the year and are better now, but so what - tough luck.
Matchups will be interesting. For example I think the Chargers match up well against the Colts, but may have a tough time with the Ravens. The Ravens, though, I think might have trouble with the Colts.
2. Ravens
3. Bears
4. Patriots
5. Colts
I figure if you haven't locked up a playoff berth going into the last week of the season - you probably don't belong on this list. You may have more potential than some of these teams, or you may have squandered opportunities earlier in the year and are better now, but so what - tough luck.
Matchups will be interesting. For example I think the Chargers match up well against the Colts, but may have a tough time with the Ravens. The Ravens, though, I think might have trouble with the Colts.
Doug B
Footballguy
It's a matter of degree. I think the AFC top teams are better, but not dominantly better.Another way of couching my opinion: I think the Saints consistently beat the Steelers in hypothetical seven-game series. The Bengals are a closer match ... pretty much a coin flip when they bring their A-game. IMHO, the Week 16 Saints would handily control the Week 16 Bengals, though ... they've been an up-and-down squad.
As for the Bears-Dolphins ... if they played a bunch of seven-game series, there would be a lot of "4-1 Bears" outcomes. This is all my impressions and MHO, of course. You may have seen dominance -- I didn't.
Most people ignore the one-shot nature of football -- the results of individual games are chaotic. The better team in pro football probably wins only 2 out of 3 times.The Saints did play the Ravens, with Baltimore winning 35-22. The Ravens did need a lot of help, IMHO -- 5 turnovers, two INT returns for scores, Colston losing an easy jump-ball TD in the lights, some tip-drill antics, etc. The Saints moved the ball very efficiently in the second half, and that was before Bush really knew what he was doing. I came away from that one thinking the Ravens were better than the Saints, but not all that much. Both teams seem to be a lot better right now, incidentally: even I would favor the Ravens over the Saints ... but only by 3 or 4 points.
In my mind, at the moment, Baltimore seems the only team in shouting range of San Diego, with about 6 or 7 more teams bunched together chasing both of those two, including, but not limited to: (in no particular order since they are too close)
Chicago, Philly, New Orleans, Indy, New England.
Honorable mention to Dallas, Cincy, and Tennessee.
Chicago, Philly, New Orleans, Indy, New England.
Honorable mention to Dallas, Cincy, and Tennessee.
geoff8695
Footballguy
I don't think there is any doubt that the AFC teams have collectively outperformed the NFC teams in 2006 (particularly in head to head competition) during the regular season, but IMHO the post season is going to be a whole different level of competition, and will have a lot more to do with specific matchups and who gets 'hot' or 'peaks' at the right time. I will at least agree with you that the odds are certainly in the AFC's favor (especially if the Chargers or Ravens make it to the Super Bowl).However, if you are trying to say that it's a foregone conclusion that the AFC representative will beat up on the NFC representative in the Super Bowl, then perhaps you should take a look at some very recent examples of one conference dominating another in some other major sports... How about the way the 2005-2006 NBA Western Conference beat up on the Eastern Conference prior to the Eastern Conference team (Miami Heat) winning the championship.Perhaps an even better example would be how in MLB the AL trounced the NL in 2006 before a NL team (St. Louis Cardinals) won the World Series in very convincing fashion.Personally, as a Bears
I admit a desire to see the expressions on the faces of you and your fellow 'AFC elitists' about six weeks from now, should a certain 'messed up' NFC team (not even worthy of being considered a top 5 team in the NFL - according to you) be celebrating a championship and be holding high the Lombardi trophy. 
roadkill1292
Footballguy
I've been thinking about this particular matchup myself. Key to a Ratbird win, obviously, will be sustaining long drives, an area where they've had some degree of success this season. The secondary has been lit up at times, however, and the Colts' Oline has been among the league's best at picking up the kind of myriad blitzes Baltimore routinely uses. If you're any kind of fan of the NFL, you have to be looking forward to this game.
Gr00vus
Footballguy
I think all the AFC playoff games will be worth looking forward to, however it breaks down.
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