NFL Computerized Power Ranks: Week 11

Hope all of you had a happy Thanksgiving yesterday.  We’re going to celebrate black Friday with some power ranks…

…But first, since I often don’t get a chance to post on anything but power ranks during the fall, let me take a minute to comment on Purdue football.  What a horribly disappointing season all around.  We came into this season with Danny Hope claiming he has his best team ever, and with Ohio State and Penn State both on bowl suspension, had the perfect opportunity to at least play in the Big Ten championship game.  Now, the Boilermakers are sitting at 5-6 after a horrendous 5 game losing streak followed by 2 wins over teams even worse than them, and are probably looking at a bid to the Heart of Dallas Bowl or Meineke Car Care Bowl if they beat Indiana in the old oaken bucket game.  The worst part is that Purdue has actually shown some flashes of brilliance among the massive blowouts.  They played both of the remaining undefeated teams, Notre Dame and Ohio State, down to the wire, losing to OSU in OT and Notre Dame on a last second field goal.  During the losing streak, Hope and offensive coordinator Gary Nord were making the kind of quotes in the media that coaches that are about to be fired usually make, and it seemed like Purdue was on their way to a 3-9 season and we’d try again with a new coaching staff next year.  Then Purdue turned around and pulled off 2 wins on the road and are looking good to finish 6-6 and make a low-end bowl, which is exactly what Purdue’s athletic director Morgan Burke seems to aim for each year (and if he aims for more, then he consistently underachieves).  Also, a loss to IU would only result in a 5-7 season and maybe not lead to a coaching overhaul, so I guess us Purdue alums just need to root for us to win the bucket (it would be so hard to not to, regardless of the long term implications), enjoy our low-end bowl, and hope that one day Purdue’s athletic department strives for something more.

Now back to the NFL.  This week the 49ers demolishing the Bears and the Patriots doing the same to the Colts had the biggest impact on the ranks.  The Pats are now #2, while the Niners jumped to #6 and the Bears fell all the way to #9. The Bears got exposed in may ways.  They showed that when they play a team that is responsible taking care of the ball and doesn’t constantly turn it over, that their offense can’t keep up, Cutler or not, and they have yet to actually beat a good team this year.  Their 3 games against top teams have all been losses.  The Texans increased their lead at #1 despite their scare against Jacksonville.  A win is a win.

On the low end, the Bills got a win over the fading Dolphins and moved up a few spots.  The Raiders have looked horrible the past few weeks on defense, and fell 4 spots to #29.  The bottom 3 are still the awful bottom 3.

The biggest gainers this week are the Bengals, who jumped 6 spots and are now in the weak AFC’s playoff race.  The biggest losers were the above-mentioned Bears and Dolphins.

Playoff Projections

NFC
1st Round Byes: #3 Falcons, #4 Packers
#9 Bears @ #6 49ers (Hmm…this would not be ideal for Chicago, as proven Monday)
#8 Buccaneers @ #10 Giants
Top 5 Out: #12 Saints, #13 Seahawks, #14 Vikings, #17 Cowboys, #18 Redskins

AFC
1st Round Byes: #1 Texans, #2 Patriots
#15 Bengals @ #5 Ravens
#11 Steelers @ #7 Broncos
Top 5 Out: #16 Colts, #20 Titans, #21 Chargers, #22 Jets, #24 Dolphins