Football is back! That means Power Rankings are back too, and we plug all the rankings into our Rankotron 4000 and get a sense for how all 32 teams stack up.

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I don't know about you guys, but it's been a long seven months since the Super Bowl. Even though we're heading into autumn, today kinda feels like the first day of spring. The snow is melting, the grass is coming up, all the little critters are waking up and there's an excitement in the air.

Just like most teams in the NFL, it takes the rankers a few weeks to shake the rust off and get up to speed. Because of that, we don't have the full complement of rankers, especially those on the "Objective" side of things. Well, we don't have any objective rankers. That's fine, since they rely on the actual game stats to make their rankings.

Since it's the start of the season, I'll give everyone a quick primer about how this works.

I troll the web for various NFL power rankings, load them up into my computer and crunch the numbers. I then make observations based on what the numbers tell me. Don't worry, it's nothing too complicated, and I'll walk you through the various displays, explaining as we go along.

Notable Quotes

Has a team that made it to the playoffs one year ever been so disregarded the next? - ProFootballTalk

Dwight Freeney to Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman: "We're a Super Bowl team because we have the right mentality. There's a feeling on this team that this is our time." Freeney ought to know, having played on a Super Bowl team in Indianapolis. Granted, there was a four- or five-year stretch not that long ago when every season felt like the Chargers' time, and nothing came of it. - Sports Illustrated

It's hard not to like these Chargers. Philip Rivers looked reeeaaal nice in the preseason. As Cousin Eddie would say, it might have been best just to let him finish ... the games, that is. Of course, we don't get to see the No. 1s for very long in August football, so we're still waiting to learn how running back Ryan Mathews will fare. Oh, by the way, coordinator John Pagano's defense looks improved - NFL.com

Division Averages

Before we get to looking at where all the teams rank, let's take look at the bigger picture in the NFL. This table takes the average rankings for each team, then averages the rankings of each team in the division. It's used as a way of showing where the tougher and weaker divisions lie each week.

Division Week 1 Average Week 18 Average Difference NFC West 10.4318 7.9605 -2.4713 NFC South 14.4318 14.9605 0.5287 NFC North 14.6591 19.4079 4.7488 AFC West 15.4318 13.5132 -1.9186 AFC North 15.8409 17.0526 1.2117 AFC East 18.7045 16.6184 -2.0861 NFC East 19.1364 20.0789 0.9425 AFC South 23.3636 22.4079 -0.9557

So, as you can see, I'm including the averages from the last week of last season. I did it this way to see how much things have changed between seasons. So basically, the NFC West doesn't seem as scary as it did a few weeks ago, and the NFC North is surging.

Stock Rising

Team Week 18 Average Week 1 Average Difference GB 15.356 4.455 10.901 ATL 25.578 18.273 7.305 BAL 18.444 11.455 6.989 CHI 17.078 11.727 5.351 WAS 29.983 24.818 5.165

Wow, Green Bay seems poised to be scary good this year. Not surprising that 4 of the 5 teams that rose the most are NFC teams.

Stock Falling

Team Week 18 Average Week 1 Average Difference CAR 3.683 14.364 -10.681 TEN 19.444 27.364 -7.920 BUF 22.578 29.546 -6.968 KC 9.494 16.273 -6.779 DAL 18.067 23.000 -4.933

Looks like Carolina and Green Bay basically swapped spots. I think the rest pretty much jive with my gut feeling of which teams regressed in the offseason.

Subjective Average

We'll start off with the Subjective Average. These rankings are the ones that has actual people ranking the teams based on their gut feelings. You'll see in a moment that some of these sites may even just throw darts at a board, or have a chicken pecking at numbers.

I then take all those rankings and average them together, then sort the table based on the average ranking. This method evens out the peaks and valleys and allows us to get a more reliable "big picture" view of the perception of where teams rank in the league.

Subjective Seahawks 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.182 0.374 Broncos 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2.000 -0.444 Patriots 3 4 4 4 5 3 5 6 3 2 3 3.818 0.515 Saints 5 3 5 3 3 5 3 5 4 4 5 4.091 2.576 Packers 6 5 2 5 4 4 4 4 6 5 4 4.455 7.656 49ers 4 6 7 6 6 6 7 3 5 6 6 5.636 -1.747 Eagles 7 7 9 8 7 11 6 7 7 7 7 7.546 1.787 Colts 8 10 15 7 8 8 8 8 9 8 8 8.818 0.182 Bengals 9 8 6 9 9 9 10 10 8 12 10 9.091 -2.202 Ravens 12 9 13 12 10 7 15 12 15 10 11 11.455 4.434 Chargers 11 12 11 16 12 14 9 11 11 11 9 11.546 0.898 Bears 10 15 14 11 11 12 14 9 12 9 12 11.727 3.829 Cardinals 14 13 8 10 17 13 12 16 14 15 14 13.273 -2.495 Steelers 13 16 12 13 13 15 16 13 17 13 13 14.000 0.444 Panthers 15 14 22 14 14 10 11 17 10 16 15 14.364 -10.697 Chiefs 16 17 18 15 15 17 13 15 13 24 16 16.273 -7.384 Lions 18 11 16 19 16 19 21 18 16 17 17 17.091 4.020 Falcons 17 19 10 18 27 16 19 14 19 21 21 18.273 8.283 Jets 21 22 21 17 20 18 17 23 22 18 19 19.818 -0.707 Buccaneers 19 23 23 23 21 25 20 22 23 14 18 21.000 5.556 Giants 20 21 17 25 23 20 24 19 21 20 23 21.182 1.040 Dolphins 22 20 19 21 18 28 18 27 18 23 24 21.636 -3.192 Rams 24 18 20 20 19 24 23 20 25 25 20 21.636 -2.303 Cowboys 23 25 25 22 26 22 22 21 20 22 25 23.000 -5.667 Redskins 25 26 26 24 25 21 27 24 24 29 22 24.818 5.849 Vikings 26 27 27 27 22 23 26 26 28 19 28 25.364 -0.586 Titans 28 30 24 28 24 31 25 29 26 30 26 27.364 -5.475 Texans 27 29 31 26 32 27 31 25 27 31 27 28.455 3.545 Browns 30 24 28 30 29 29 30 28 30 28 31 28.818 -1.040 Jaguars 31 28 30 29 28 26 28 30 31 26 30 28.818 -0.040 Bills 29 31 29 31 30 30 29 31 29 27 29 29.546 -4.990 Raiders 32 32 32 32 31 32 32 32 32 32 32 31.909 -2.020

Observations:

Top 12 is evenly split between NFC and AFC teams (Chargers included). All bottom 6 teams are AFC teams, though.

CBS ... huh. Panthers at 22 and Falcons at 10? You're either a mad genius, or just plain mad. CBS was also the only one not to rank the Seahawks as first.

Based on the rankings, the Chargers/Cardinals game seems like it'll be a fairly even match.

Last year, the Chargers were ranked around 26th to open the season. My how things have improved.

The Raiders were almost a consensus worst team. *Shakes fist at SI*

If the rankings are to be believed, the Chargers have 4 games this season against the bottom 3 teams.

Subjective Standard Deviation

Put simply, Standard Deviation is a tool in statistics to measure how much variance there is in a set of numbers. To put more simply: I use it to look at who's ranked the most- and least-consistently. In Standard Deviation, the lower the number, the more consistent the values in the set.

For our purposes, this means the lower the Standard Deviation, the more consistent the rankings. The opposite is true too: the higher the number, the less consistent the rankings.

This table is sorted by most-consistently ranked to least-consistently ranked.

Subjective Raiders 32 32 32 32 31 32 32 32 32 32 32 0.288 -0.279 Broncos 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 0.426 -0.071 Seahawks 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.575 -0.110 Saints 5 3 5 3 3 5 3 5 4 4 5 0.900 0.233 Packers 6 5 2 5 4 4 4 4 6 5 4 1.076 -0.024 Patriots 3 4 4 4 5 3 5 6 3 2 3 1.113 0.170 49ers 4 6 7 6 6 6 7 3 5 6 6 1.150 0.413 Bills 29 31 29 31 30 30 29 31 29 27 29 1.157 -0.100 Eagles 7 7 9 8 7 11 6 7 7 7 7 1.305 -0.109 Bengals 9 8 6 9 9 9 10 10 8 12 10 1.443 0.568 Steelers 13 16 12 13 13 15 16 13 17 13 13 1.595 0.529 Jaguars 31 28 30 29 28 26 28 30 31 26 30 1.696 0.469 Browns 30 24 28 30 29 29 30 28 30 28 31 1.800 0.326 Cowboys 23 25 25 22 26 22 22 21 20 22 25 1.859 0.704 Bears 10 15 14 11 11 12 14 9 12 9 12 1.911 0.340 Chargers 11 12 11 16 12 14 9 11 11 11 9 1.924 1.427 Jets 21 22 21 17 20 18 17 23 22 18 19 2.037 -0.521 Colts 8 10 15 7 8 8 8 8 9 8 8 2.081 1.027 Redskins 25 26 26 24 25 21 27 24 24 29 22 2.124 1.181 Giants 20 21 17 25 23 20 24 19 21 20 23 2.249 0.852 Ravens 12 9 13 12 10 7 15 12 15 10 11 2.311 1.997 Texans 27 29 31 26 32 27 31 25 27 31 27 2.311 2.311 Titans 28 30 24 28 24 31 25 29 26 30 26 2.385 1.648 Lions 18 11 16 19 16 19 21 18 16 17 17 2.429 0.637 Cardinals 14 13 8 10 17 13 12 16 14 15 14 2.453 1.138 Rams 24 18 20 20 19 24 23 20 25 25 20 2.460 0.969 Vikings 26 27 27 27 22 23 26 26 28 19 28 2.706 2.077 Chiefs 16 17 18 15 15 17 13 15 13 24 16 2.863 1.200 Buccaneers 19 23 23 23 21 25 20 22 23 14 18 2.954 1.998 Panthers 15 14 22 14 14 10 11 17 10 16 15 3.283 2.466 Dolphins 22 20 19 21 18 28 18 27 18 23 24 3.392 1.969 Falcons 17 19 10 18 27 16 19 14 19 21 21 4.114 2.543

Observations:

Raiders, Broncos, Seahawks, and Saints are the most consistently ranked teams.

Falcons all over the board

The four least consistently-ranked teams all come from the southeast. Does it mean anything? No.

Chargers are in the middle as far as ranking consistency.

Sources