Foxboro Blog Top 12: Week 7

After a Week 6 where over half the teams stayed in their exact same spot, we have a lot of movement up and down the board following Week 7.  The only team to maintain their ranking are the Packers, who have had the spot locked down since Week 3.  No team jumped up more than one spot in the rankings, but the Ravens and Chargers managed to take some decent tumbles given their recent poor showings.  Falling off the board are the Buccaneers who faltered in England.  Taking their place are their AFC South Rivals, the Falcons.
 

Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
1		1	0	7-0	Bye Week
		Everyone’s ready to crown the Packers, but their schedule has been less than difficult with the likes of Carolina, Denver, St. Louis, and Minnesota in the rearview.  Let’s see how they fare in the second half of the season against San Diego, Tampa, NY, and Detroit x2.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
2		3	+1	5-1	@ Steelers
		It’s all about the defense for New England.  If they can continue to build on strong showings the past two games, the Lombardi is not out of the question.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
3		4	+1	5-2	@ Rams
		Sunday night’s Super Bowl XLIV rematch wasn’t quite as exciting as the original.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
4		4	-2	4-2	vs. Cardinals
		I’ll defer to the “any given Sunday” rule and won’t knock the Ravens down too badly for the loss to the Jaguars.  Still, that was a very concerning showing on Monday Night.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
5		6	+1	5-1	vs. Browns
		Week 7 was a good time to have a bye as the Pats, Niners, Bills, and Giants all moved up spots without stepping on the field.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
6		5	-1	5-2	Bye Week
		After a 5-0 start, the Lions have now lost two straight.  Still Detroit fans have to be ecstatic about the results so far.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
7		8	+1	4-2	vs. Redskins
		With the bye in the rear view mirror, the Bills now have to prove that their solid first half wasn’t a fluke.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
8		9	+1	5-2	vs. Patriots
		Pittsburgh keeps racking up the injuries, but have the W’s to go along with them as they sit atop the best division in football, the AFC North.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
9		10	+1	4-3	vs. Jaguars
		After some haphazard play the past few weeks, Houston took control of the AFC South with a drubbing of the Titans.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
10		7	-3	4-2	@ Chiefs
		The Bolts have looked shaky in their wins over inferior competition, and they’ve now lost to the two decent teams that they’ve played.  Not a ringing endorsement for the Chargers.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
11		12	+1	4-2	vs. Miami
		The Giants have a gimme game against 0-7 Miami this week.  After that, it’s a veritable eight week onslaught against quality competition.  There’s not an easy one on the schedule.  Ouch.
Ranking	Team	Last Week	Change	Record	Next Game
12		N/A	N/A	4-3	Bye Week
		The 12 spot is always tricky.  The Buccs, Jets, and Bengals were all vying for this spot, but ultimately, Atlanta had the biggest quality win in Week 7 with their road win at Detroit.