NFL Power Rankings (various sources) and combined rankings

First, the individual rankings I used.

NFL.com

1. Chargers
2. Seahawks
3. Broncos
4. Bengals
5. Eagles

SBNation

1. Seahawks
2. Broncos
3. Chargers
4. Bengals
5. Cardinals

ESPN.go.com

1. Seahawks
2. Broncos
3. Chargers
4. Eagles
5. Bengals

CBS Sports
1. Seahawks
2. Broncos
3. Chargers
4. Cowboys
5. Eagles

FOX Sports
1. Chargers
2. Seahawks
3. Broncos
4. Colts
5. 49ers

Bleacher Report

1. Seahawks
2. Broncos
3. Chargers
4. Colts
5. Bengals

Yahoo Sports
1. Seahawks
2. Broncos
3. Bengals
4. Chargers
5. Eagles

And the combined rankings (using a system called relative placement)


Seahawks: 1st (VOTES: Five 1st, Two 2nd)
Broncos: 2nd (VOTES: Five 2nd, Two 3rd)
Chargers: 3rd (VOTES: Two 1st, Four 3rd, One 4th)
Bengals: 4th (VOTES: One 3rd, Two 4th, Two 5th)
Eagles: 5th (VOTES: One 4th, Three 5th)
Colts: 6th (VOTES: Two 4th)
Cowboys: 7th (VOTES: One 4th)
Cardinals and 49ers tied for 8th: (VOTES: One 5th)


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If you're curious about the "relative placement" judging system:

The strength in it: it never gives power to just one "judge" (aka one specific power ranking), which can be extremely helpful when it is a very subjective competition (such as NFL football rankings)

I come from a background of doing a lot of swing dance competition judging. Without getting into it, there are a lot of styles to swing dancing and at an elite level you have to basically compare apples to oranges and decide which you like better. So you have to combine the scoring of seven different judges and come up with a final placement.

For that reason, I'm always interested in scoring and rankings of any sort. Especially when it is subjective like NFL football. In this case, instead of taking any one specific ranking into account, I like taking them all into account to come up with a "final" power ranking (combined power rankings)

Like swing dancing, with professional sports so many factors at an elite level and each author prizes apples or oranges better and uses that as a filter.

Some rankings might value straight stats. (subjective, which stats?)

Some might value better offense. (subjective, WR? RB? QB? 3rd down conversion?)

Some might value better defense (subjective: run defense? pass defense?)

Which is why you'll see differences in rankings. So if you just depend on one power ranking, you are assuming the person doing the ranking has the best criteria. When you combine them, you are using every judges' criteria to come up with which team has the best of all the best criteria so to speak.

That being said, the main judging system used is called "relative placement" as a way of tallying all judges scores. And not giving too much power to any one judge

Without explaining relative placement too much, combining all seven

Seahawks are a clear first (majority of first place votes)
Broncos are a clear second (majority of first and second place votes)
Chargers are a clear third (majority of first, second, and third place votes)

After that it gets a bit muddled as no team got a majority of first, second, third, and fourth place votes. You had to go to a majority of first, second, third, fourth, and fifth place votes just to get a fourth place majority.

Just some interesting number crunching and score tallying.

I really like relative placement because it never gives power to just one "judge", which can be extremely helpful when it is a very subjective competition.

It's weird that I have no issue with the Chargers being #1 even though I really should.

Their defense was terrible in 2013, it ranked 32nd in Defensive DVOA. Is their defense better this year or just lucky?

Their running game is one of the worst in the NFL this season.

Really, their entire success as a team is completely on Philip Rivers, but Rivers is having a season for the ages, it reminds me of what Aaron Rodgers did in 2011. We like to call Rivers a dink and dunk QB, but he has 8.7 yards per attempt so far this year. That's not too far off the NFL record. If he keeps this up he is a no-doubter MVP.

kearly":iulxpz6y said:

It's weird that I have no issue with the Chargers being #1 even though I really should.

Their defense was terrible in 2013, it ranked 32nd in Defensive DVOA. Is their defense better this year or just lucky?

Their running game is one of the worst in the NFL this season.

Really, their entire success as a team is completely on Philip Rivers, but Rivers is having a season for the ages, it reminds me of what Aaron Rodgers did in 2011. We like to call Rivers a dink and dunk QB, but he has 8.7 yards per attempt so far this year. That's not too far off the NFL record. If he keeps this up he is a no-doubter MVP.

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Both teams have 1 loss and they beat us. If positions were reversed, many Seahawk fans would be tweeting/emailing analysts and blowing them up because the "Hawks beat the Chargers so how are we not #1?"

I don't have a problem with it either. On a neutral field with regular conditions (not 100 plus degrees) I think it's still a damned close game.

kearly":3iw86mk1 said:

It's weird that I have no issue with the Chargers being #1 even though I really should. .

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Why would someone have a problem, same record and they beat us.

kearly":v016nir3 said:

It's weird that I have no issue with the Chargers being #1 even though I really should.

Their defense was terrible in 2013, it ranked 32nd in Defensive DVOA. Is their defense better this year or just lucky?

Their running game is one of the worst in the NFL this season.

Really, their entire success as a team is completely on Philip Rivers, but Rivers is having a season for the ages, it reminds me of what Aaron Rodgers did in 2011. We like to call Rivers a dink and dunk QB, but he has 8.7 yards per attempt so far this year. That's not too far off the NFL record. If he keeps this up he is a no-doubter MVP.

Click to expand...

Rivers is masking a lot of SD's deficiencies in defense and the run game. For the most part, he's keeping his defense off the field. Chargers are dominating T.O.P in the early part of games. I doubt their defense is much better -- it just doesn't have as many opportunities to screw up.

I agree that San Diego's success is entirely on Rivers' shoulders (along with the playcalling highlighting his strengths). Definitely the league MVP through Week 5.

I have no problem with SD being in front of us. They definitely pass the eyeball test...

Sgt. Largent":2hcmbt6m said:

Why would someone have a problem, same record and they beat us.

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They have a very flawed team and a very very very good QB. I'm sure their DVOA will go up a lot this week, but they entered week five ranked 12th. Their DVOA after week 4, if you take passing out of the equation, is -40%. That's the kind of DVOA a 2-14 team would have.

But Rivers has been that damn good.

I have no problem with it either, it's easy to see why

Of the seven rankings, while two power rankings of them gave San Diego 1st, the other five power rankings gave them 3rd or 4th, which means the teams flaws (some of which you pointed out) are glaring enough for the other five rankings to not even put them above Denver or Seatttle

I don't see how the Bengals are considered top 5 after this week's showing.

kearly":3p5cr1ni said:

Sgt. Largent":3p5cr1ni said:

Why would someone have a problem, same record and they beat us.

Click to expand...

They have a very flawed team and a very very very good QB. I'm sure their DVOA will go up a lot this week, but they entered week five ranked 12th. Their DVOA after week 4, if you take passing out of the equation, is -40%. That's the kind of DVOA a 2-14 team would have.

But Rivers has been that damn good.

Click to expand...

I think if we hadn't played each other, this would be a bigger part of the equation. But head to head should count for more than metrics like DVOA don't you think? If not, why play the games in the first place.

Rivers has been a top-five QB for a long time. Perennially underrated and ignored.

Interesting stuff! Nice post!

I have no issue with the Chargers rubbing elbows with the big dogs. They earned it I think by beating us. Rivers, as has been mentioned, is playing lights out at the moment. Would be awesome to meet up with them in Superbowl XLVIV no?