Well, it is that time of the week again. Time for us to examine what the media thinks of our team. At the very least, it will be an opportunity for others to bash our team rather than continue the self-bashing we have done since late Sunday afternoon.
This week, we will once again hear from ESPN, CBS Sports, Pro Football Talk, Fox Sports, The National Football Post, SB Nation, Walter Football, and the Football Outsiders. To keep this fun, we will add some guessing to our segment. After clicking past the jump, scroll down immediately to take our poll and see if you guess right! It is a nice little way to have fun with our current thirtysomething rankings. NO CHEATING! Ok though, on with the show.
Last week we saw the Chiefs slip towards the bottom of the league in most rankings, and in the AFC West the order was mainly Chargers, Raiders, Broncos, Chiefs. Well in that regard, not much has changed as the order is almost universally the same. Let's find out what everyone thought and we will find out if you were right in your guesses.
THE "SOMEONE IS WORSE THAN US GROUP" (AKA "The 31ers")
ESPN: Man, ESPN outdoes themselves every week. They are just so kind to us. Last week a 21, this week a 31. Thank you ESPN for still seeing the Seahawks as worse than us. Perhaps if you picked ESPN you may have won! Denver moved up four spots to 24th after their repeated attempts to let Cincy win victory, while the Raiders dropped two to number 20. The Chargers dropped three spots and now sit at 12. The old 12 vs 31 matchup is always a classic.
National Football Post: NFP also keeping us alive with a 31, slipping just five spots from last week. Denver getting no love for their big win over The University of Cincinnati, moves up just two spots to 28th. Oakland drops three spots down to 18th and the Chargers slip one spot to 8th.
Football Outsiders: The good news? This is a great site. Bad news? We are now listed as having a 24.4% chance of having the first pick in the draft. (I don't care what the "Suck for Luck" posse says, that's not good news) Their other rankings may seem a little odd, but as I mentioned last week, everything they do is mathematically and statistically driven. So at least in their eyes it all makes perfect sense. The Broncos dropped two spots to 27 after their victory over the Bengals while the Raiders dropped thirteen spots after their collapse to #25. Meanwhile, the Chargers actually jumped up four spots to 10th. Doesn't make sense, but as the weeks go on you will see what an accurate site this is.
THE "NOBODY IS WORSE THAN US GROUP"
Fox Sports (Brian Billick): According to Coach Billick, "The Chiefs have to be concerned that San Diego will be out to make a statement about the division this week. Unfortunately, other than to be concerned, there isn't much more they can do about it". Awesome. In related news, the Broncos are up five spots to 25th, the Raiders stay at 20th (despite a collapse they will most likely regret come Week 17 when they need one more win), and the Chargers drop just two spots to stay in the top 5 at number 5.
CBS Sports: Next to declaring us the league's worst team, CBS gives an excellent snippet: "I know it's easy to blame Todd Haley, but what about Scott Pioli? He's the one who made the deal to get Matt Cassel -- and paid him." Cannot say I disagree, but I have been known to be a member of Team Haley. The Broncos jump five spots to 24th, while another site keeps Oakland in place despite their loss at 19th. But CBS, if they didn't get worse why did you say, "In a span of a week, their defense went from top-tier to laughable. What happened?" I guess that is why they get the big bucks and I'm here with a cat yelling at me to feed him. Rounding out the West, the Chargers fell three places to number 6. Am I the only one who has been underwhelmed by the Chargers?
Pro Football Talk: Well they hammered us last week, so I was eager to see what they said this time around. "The ACC would reject their application for membership" Oh. Ok. Well, they have a 1-1 team ranked #2 so I don't feel that bad I guess but it still stings. How about those Broncos though, moving up everywhere, this time four spots to #24. The Raiders drop one spot to #20, while the Chargers drop two spots and sit at #5. I think we will keep Pro Football Talk here every week just for the comedy. Click that link if you want to have some more fun.
SB Nation: Our own Primetime can't even save us from the cellar. Ouch. We forgive you Joel, we forgive you. We replace the Broncos who leapt up four spots to 28th. I don't know about the Raiders Joel. Despite their meltdown, SB Nation has them up one spot to #24. Apparently the death threats over last week's rankings worked for the Silver and Black. Joel totally redeems himself though by dropping the Chargers 8 spots down to #16 this week. It's not just because I hate the Chargers, but there are at least 15 teams who have played better so far, so I concur.
THE CHOSEN ONE
Walter Football: If you chose Walter Football in the poll, pat yourself on the back! The Chiefs come in at #30 this week, just totally dominating the Colts and Seahawks. It feels good just to be thought of so highly. As for the other guys, the Broncos are up four spots to #23 (their highest ranking as well) and the Raiders fell one spot to 18th. Rounding out the division, the Chargers did not move at all and remain at 11th.
I tried to make this seem fun, but obviously this is not where we want to be. Going on the road against one of our arch rivals doesn't help, but hopefully an improved performance can make next week's edition a little better. Thanks for reading, and I hope you picked Walter Football!