NFL Power Rankings: Week 16 Edition

Welcome to the Week 16 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings.  Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube.  For Week 16, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker, and Smokey.  So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

After being upset on Saturday by Dallas, the Saints are no longer undefeated and have finally fallen from the top spot in the rankings after 13 weeks at No. 1.  Taking over are the undefeated Indianapolis Colts.  The Chargers remain at No. 3 after winning their ninth straight contest, and the Vikings remain at No. 4 despite their loss to Carolina.

For the fourth straight week, only one team dropped out of the Top 10, as the Denver Broncos fell three spots to No. 12 after their surprising home loss to Oakland. Taking their spot were the Dallas Cowboys, who moved up three to No. 8 after taking down previously undefeated New Orleans.

The bottom six of Detroit, Kansas City, Oakland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Cleveland changed for the first time in seven weeks, as Seattle dropped to No. 27 after their loss to Tampa Bay at home. Moving up was Oakland, who jumped two spots after their victory over Denver.  Never fear though, St. Louis stayed put at the very bottom, holding that No. 32 spot for the 11th time this season.

After a relatively quiet week last week where just 19 teams moved at least one spot in the ranks, this week there were 24 teams changing places. However, similar to last week, only three moved at least three spots up or down.

The aforementioned Dallas Cowboys turned out to be the biggest positive mover this week, jumping three spots after defeating the Saints.  The biggest downward movement was only three spots, as both the Broncos and Packers fell after tough, last-second losses on Sunday.

The disagreements among the rankers were the most they have been in some time, as there were 10 disagreements of exactly seven spots in the rankings.  Of those, eight involved our good pal Smokey.

New England Patriots (7) – Walker 6, Gideon 13

Arizona Cardinals (7) – Smokey 5, Gideon 12

Green Bay Packers (7) – Gideon 8, Smokey 15

Baltimore Ravens (7) – Gideon 6, Mickey / Walker 13

Denver Broncos (7) – Gideon 9, Smokey 16

Jacksonville Jaguars (7) – Smokey 13, Walker 20

Pittsburgh Steelers (7) – Smokey 12, Gideon 19

New York Jets (7) – Mickey 15, Smokey 22

Washington Redskins (7) – Smokey 21, Walker 28

Seattle Seahawks (7) – Walker 22, Smokey 29

On the divisional side, the AFC South remains at the top with an average score of 11.95, its highest of the season. The NFC East retained second place with an average score of 12.70.  The bottom division remains the same for the 13th consecutive week and will likely stay that way for the rest of the year.  The NFC West checks in with a 22.20 average score, miles behind second-to-last place NFC South, coming in with a score of 18.05.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here.  As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses.  So, without further ado, onto the rankings. 

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NFL Power Rankings: Week 14 Edition

Welcome to the Week 14 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings.  Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube.  For Week 14, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker and Smokey.  So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

The undefeated Saints got a pretty big scare from the Washington Redskins this week, but held on to remain both unblemished and at the top of the rankings.  The top portion of the ranks did get a shakeup for the first time in a few weeks, as both the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots lost on Sunday, dropping them to Nos. 4 and 6, respectively, while the San Diego Chargers vaulted to No. 3 after their seventh straight victory.

For the third straight week, only one team dropped out of the Top 10 this week, this time it was the Baltimore Ravens, who fell five spots to No. 12 after losing to Green Bay on Monday night.  Back in the Top 10, after a two week absence, are the Denver Broncos, who jumped three spots to No. 9 after a blowout win at KC.

The bottom six of Detroit, Kansas City, Oakland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis and Cleveland have now remained the same for five straight weeks, but did get a shakeup in the order.  Oakland leapfrogged Detroit, Tampa and Kansas City to jump to No. 27, while Cleveland and St. Louis swapped spots at the bottom, and the Rams grab the No. 32 spot for the ninth time this season.

The movement in the ranks was massive this week, as 26 of the 32 NFL teams moved at least one spot in the ranks this week. Of those teams, nine moved at least three spots up or down.

The biggest positive movement this week was split between the Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars, who each moved up four spots after wins on Sunday.  The biggest downward movement was also a split, this time between two AFC North teams, as the Pittsburgh Steelers joined the previously mentioned Ravens in falling five spots after their loss to Oakland at home.  Their current spot at No. 16 is their lowest of the season.

The disagreements among the rankers are back, and concentrated in the upper half of the rankings.  There were five disagreements of at least eight spots in their ranks, but for the second straight week none that reached a double digit disagreement between two of the contributors.

Tennessee Titans (9) – Smokey 8, Mickey / Walker 17

Dallas Cowboys (8) – Jacob 7, Smokey 15

Baltimore Ravens (8) – Gideon 8, Mickey 16

Jacksonville Jaguars (8) – Smokey 10, Walker 18

Washington Redskins (8) – Jacob 21, Smokey 29

On the divisional side, the AFC South remains at the top with an average score of 12.60.  The NFC East took second place after the big fall from the AFC North, coming in with an average score of 14.25.  The bottom division remains the same for the 11^th consecutive week and might just stay that way for the rest of the year.  The NFC West checks in with a 21.55 average score, its highest since Week 3, but still miles behind second to last place NFC South, coming in with a score of 17.85.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here.  As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses.  Without further ado, onto the rankings.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 13 Edition

Welcome to the Week 13 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings.  Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube .  For Week 13, we have rankings from four members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Walker and Smokey.  So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

The top echelon of teams in the rankings have gained themselves a new member, as the San Diego Chargers have closed the gap between themselves and the top four.  The Saints, after their convincing win on Monday Night, remain at No. 1 for the 11th consecutive week, followed by the Colts at No. 2.

On the other side of the Monday night game, the Patriots dropped one spot behind the Minnesota Vikings, who jump to No. 3 after their destruction of the Chicago Bears.

For the second straight week, only one team dropped out of the Top 10, as the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped two spots to No. 11 after their overtime loss to Baltimore.  Back in the Top 10 for the first time since Week 1 are the Green Bay Packers, who jumped four spots from No. 9 after their third straight win.

The bottom six teams in the rankings only had one change this week, as the Buccaneers and Raiders swapped spots at No. 29 and No. 30.  The bottom six of Detroit, Kansas City, Oakland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Cleveland have now remained the same for four straight weeks.

The movement in the ranks was similar to the last few, as 11 teams stayed in the same position as last week.  However, of the 21 teams that did move, only six of them moved at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The biggest positive movement this week came from the Tennessee Titans, who moved up five spots after defeating the Cardinals on the final play of the game for their fifth straight win. Look for their stock to fly even higher if they make it six straight against Indianapolis next week. The biggest downward mover was at the opposite end of that game, as the Cardinals fell four spots to No. 15.

The disagreements among the rankers were few and far between this week, with just four disagreements of at least six spots in their ranks.  However, this week there were none that reached a double digit disagreement between two of the contributors.

Seattle Seahawks (9) – Gideon 20, Smokey 29

Arizona Cardinals (7) – Jacob 12, Gideon / Smokey 19

Jacksonville Jaguars (7) – Jacob 15, Gideon 22

Buffalo Bills (6) – Smokey 21, Jacob 27

On the divisional side, the AFC South remains at the top with an average score of 12.25.  The AFC North edged out the NFC East for second by an extremely slim margin, with average score of 14.31 compared to 14.38. 

The bottom division remains the same for the 10th consecutive week and might just stay that way for the rest of the year.  The NFC West checks in with a 22.50 average score, while second to last is the AFC West, coming in with a score of 18.69.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here .  As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses.  Without further ado, onto the rankings .

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

NFL Power Rankings: Week 12 Edition

Welcome to the Week 12 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings.  Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube.  For Week 12, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker, and Smokey.  So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

The top-four teams in the rankings seem to have distanced themselves from the pack.  The Saints, Colts, Patriots, and Vikings have been there since the Week 9 rankings, and for the sixth straight week, the Saints and Colts held on to the top two spots.

Only one team dropped out of the Top 10 this week, but they fell hard, as the Denver Broncos dropped five spots from No. 9 to No. 14 after a drubbing by the division rival Chargers.  Moving back into the Top 10 after a one-week absence were the Eagles, who climbed one spot to No. 10 after a win over the Bears.

The bottom of the rankings remained unchanged for the first time since the Week 8 rankings, as Cleveland and St. Louis held onto the bottom two spots.  While the holder of the very bottom spot has been changing, the bottom six remained the same for the third straight week, as Detroit, Kansas City, Oakland, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Cleveland have entrenched themselves below the No. 27 spot.

In what is now a continuing trend, there was less movement in the ranks than there has been the past few weeks, as 12 teams stayed in the same position as last week, including the aforementioned four at the top and two at the bottom.  Of the 20 teams that did move, nine of them moved at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The biggest positive movement this week came from the New York Giants, who gained four spots after defeating the Falcons in overtime and ending their losing streak. The biggest downward mover was already mentioned, as the Denver Broncos dropped five spots after their fourth straight loss.

The disagreements among the rankers were nearly identical in number to last week, but the teams differed. There were just five disagreements of at least seven spots in their ranks, and for the second straight week there was one double-digit disagreement between two of the contributors.  And similar to last week, four of the five disagreements involved our pal Smokey.

Baltimore Ravens (7) – Jacob/Smokey 7, Mickey 14

Arizona Cardinals (10) – Smokey 9, Gideon 19

Green Bay Packers (7) – Smokey 8, Walker/Mickey 15

Jacksonville Jaguars (7) – Walker 13, Gideon 20

Seattle Seahawks (7) – Walker 22, Smokey 29

On the divisional side, the leader has changed for a second consecutive week, as the AFC South has all four teams in the Top 18, good enough for an average score of 12.95.  The NFC East jumps back into second thanks to the Giants, coming in with an average score of 13.75. 

The bottom division remains the same for the ninth consecutive week and might just stay that way for the rest of the year.  The NFC West checks in with a 22.65 average score, while second to last is the AFC West, coming in with a score of 18.45.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here.  As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses.  So, without further ado, onto the rankings.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

NFL Power Rankings: Week 11 Edition

Welcome to the Week 11 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings.  Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube .  For Week 11, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker and Smokey. 

So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

For the fifth straight week, the Saints and Colts held on to the top two spots in the rankings after their respective close wins.  However, for the first time in a month, it was not unanimous, as Walker chose to give the Colts the nod as the NFL’s top team and Gideon moved the Patriots up to No. 2 despite their loss.

After a big win over the Eagles, the Chargers jumped back into the Top 10 for the first time since Week 3, moving up five spots to No. 7.  Also re-entering the Top 10 were the Ravens, who moved up three spots to No. 8.  Falling out as a result were the Eagles and Falcons, who each dropped two spots following their losses.

The bottom of the rankings got another change this week, as it appears the dreadful teams are separating themselves from those that are just merely awful.  The Cleveland Browns found themselves in the No. 32 position for the first time all year, slightly below the Buccaneers, Chiefs, Raiders and Rams.  The bottom third of the rankings got two new entries, as both the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers fell after their miserable Thursday night game.

There was less movement in the ranks than there has been the past few weeks, as ten teams stayed in the same position as last week.  Of the 22 teams that did move, eight of them moved at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The biggest positive movement this week came from the aforementioned Chargers, but the next biggest just was surprisingly the Jaguars, who moved up four spots after defeating the Jets. The biggest downward mover was not surprising, as the Chicago Bears dropped four spots after failing to find the end zone on Thursday night.

The disagreements among the rankers remained few and far between this week, but when they did occur they were a little bigger. There were just four disagreements of at least seven spots in their ranks, but there was a double digit disagreement between two of the contributors.  And back to our old ways, all four disagreements involved our pal, Smokey.

Philadelphia Eagles (10) – Walker 7, Smokey 17

Green Bay Packers (9) – Smokey 9, Mickey 18

Baltimore Ravens (7) – Jacob / Smokey 8, Mickey 15

Arizona Cardinals (7) – Smokey 11, Gideon 18

On the divisional side, the NFC East’s lead has evaporated, as they now rank fourth among the divisions.  Leading the way is the AFC North with an average score of 12.95.  They barely edge their friends from the AFC South, who come in with an average of 13.45.  The bottom division remains the same for the eighth consecutive week, and this time it isn’t close.  The NFC West checks in with a 22.55 average score, while second to last was over 3.5 points higher, with the AFC West coming in with a score of 19.00.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here .  As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses.  Without further ado, onto the rankings . 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Dear NFL: Please Explain Your Punishment Scale

Thanks to the Bears’ dismal performance on Thursday night , I’m pretty sick of football right now, so I’m gonna keep this short and sweet.

Over the past few days, the NFL has levied fines from incidents that happened in three separate games in Week Nine.  These were the Falcons-Redskins sideline brawl, the Chad Ochocinco attempt to bribe a referee, and two incidents in the Bears-Cardinals game—Jay Cutler’s arguing with officials and Tommie Harris’ punch to the head of a Cardinals player.

Of those four incidents, two involve violent confrontation, one involves a verbal argument, and one involves a joke involving a small prop, in this case a one dollar bill.  Which two do you think cost the offending player the most money?

Jay Cutler and Chad Ochocinco were each fined $20,000 for their infractions, while the highest fine in the Falcons-Redskins brawl was $15,000 (for a coach no less), and Tommie Harris was fined just $7,500. 

Commissioner Goodell, please explain to me in what universe that makes sense.

I’ve admired your tough stance on off the field behavior, but why doesn’t the same logic apply to actions occurring on the field of play?  How is a clear joke/stunt performed by a WR more than two times worse than a punch to the head which resulted in an ejection?  Tommie Harris is the only one kicked out of the game for his infraction yet his fine is the least?  I just don’t get it.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM .

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Thursday Night Football: Stick a Fork In The Bears

I don’t just mean because they’re done. I literally want to stick a fork in some of the Bears.

Let’s be honest for a minute, the Bears’ chances of winning the NFC North pretty much went out the window when Brian Urlacher was lost for the season in Week One. The playoffs weren’t likely, but then this team gave us hope after rolling off three straight wins heading into the Week Five bye.

Just four games later, it was all but over. At 4-5 following a 10-6 loss to the 49ers on Thursday night, the Bears are still mathematically alive for a postseason berth, but their play and remaining schedule make it a long shot at best. So what went wrong on Thursday night?

Let’s start with the statline making all the headlines, Jay Cutler’s five interceptions. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are or how many weren’t his fault, five interceptions in one game is unacceptable. 

To be fair to Cutler for those who couldn’t see the game on NFL Network (another rant for another time), in my opinion three of the five picks weren’t his fault. Devin Hester fell down after the ball had been thrown on one, an ump set an accidental pick on Hester on another, and one of the more blatant pass interference calls I’ve seen in awhile was not given on a third. I promise you, that last one has nothing to do with bias.

What is concerning, and has been all season, are the nature of his other two interceptions, both of which happened in or right in front of the end zone. Both picks saw multiple defenders in the path of his intended receivers, and appear to be the result of nothing more than poor decision making. Jay Cutler certainly has all the tools to be an NFL QB, but it seems like he allows those tools to let him think he can make throws that just aren’t there.

Much is made of home-road splits in the NFL, but in Cutler’s case, what cannot be ignored is his day-night splits. In six games during the day, Cutler is 4-2 with an average QB rating of 93.5, 11 TDs and 6 INTs, three of which came in the dismal loss to Cincinnati.  In three prime time games, he is 0-3, has an average QB rating of 65.3, and has thrown just 3 TDs to 11 INTs, five of which of course came yesterday.

Cutler’s yardage average is greater by nearly 50 per game at night, but that is a result of him attempting nearly ten more passes per game. Whether this is a coincidence or a mental issue, I’m not sure, but the Bears’ next contest is a Sunday nighter against Philadelphia at home, where Cutler will need to improve.

To continue with the negative aspects of the Bears’ night/season, where the heck has the running game gone? This can no longer be considered a slow start for Matt Forte, as he rushed 20 times for only 41 yards on Thursday night, at just over two yards per carry. Granted, he had eight receptions for 120 yards, but as we saw Thursday night, that means nothing if the Bears can’t get anything going on the ground.

Part of the issue is the porous offensive line, as they seem to let everyone through except Forte. The names are all there, but these guys just aren’t creating holes for Forte. As a result, he seems to be dancing around in the backfield a la Thomas Jones more often than not, and getting stuffed for no gain way too often.

I won’t put all the blame on the offensive line, as another troubling aspect is Forte’s lack of breakaway speed. On multiple occasions this season, he has failed to leave a trail of defenders in his wake and been stopped earlier than he should have. 

A good example was in the second quarter last night, as Forte took a screen pass 37 yards to midfield before being stopped from behind. The very next play was one of Cutler’s INTs, which led to the 49ers only TD of the game. Forte just doesn’t seem to have that extra gear that can get him past the last level of defenders, in the rare occasion he gets past the first.

Finally, before I get into the redeeming aspect of last night’s game, let’s talk about the penalties. The Bears committed 10 penalties for 75 yards, which of course does not include those declined by the 49ers. 

There were at least three offsides calls in which the Bears were lined up in the neutral zone, an inexcusable offense. One of those penalties actually nullified an interception which would have given the Bears the ball near midfield. Go figure. This is just an undisciplined team, whether it’s an offside penalty or a block in the back on a punt with no return, and it’s frustrating beyond belief.

Was there anything positive to take from this outing? Absolutely, the performance of the defense. I know Alex Smith is no Kurt Warner, but the Bears defense made him look more like Matt Leinart. The Bears allowed just 216 total yards, and the 49ers longest drive didn’t even make it to their team name, covering just 48.

The defense came up with some critical stops, including a 4th and inches at midfield in the middle of the 3rd quarter which should have swung momentum, and a goal line stand in the fourth quarter which gave the Bears a chance to win. The only time the Bears let the Niners in the end zone was a one-play drive which started in the red zone, and held Frank Gore to 4.2 yards per carry, a full yard below his season average.

One week after being throttled by Arizona and allowing the Cardinals to score on their first six possessions of the game, the defensive unit dug in, got pressure, including two sacks, batted balls down at the line, and made a few plays. Aside from the offside penalties, the only other major blemish was the inability to recover the Frank Gore fumble in the 4th quarter inside the red zone.

So while the outcome was not the desired one, at least 49ers TE Vernon Davis was forced to eat his words, as he caught just three passes for 16 yards on the day and didn’t “destroy” anyone.

This article originally posted on Cubicle GM .

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NFL Power Rankings: Week 10 Edition

Welcome to the Week 10 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams. 

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube . For Week 10, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker and Smokey. So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

As it has been for nearly a month now, the Saints and Colts held on to their unanimous places in the top two spots in the rankings after their respective close wins. The Minnesota Vikings may have gotten a real life boost during their bye week, but not so in the rankings, as the New England Patriots leapfrogged them into the No. 3 spot, their highest such ranking since the preseason edition.

Entering the Top 10 for the first time this season are the Dallas Cowboys, who jumped three spots to No. 8 after their Sunday night victory over Philadelphia which moved them into first place in the NFC East. Falling out as a result were the Ravens, who dropped two spots to No. 11 after their second loss to Cincinnati this season. 

After dropping five spots in the last two weeks, the Giants fell down to No. 14 this week after suffering a fourth straight loss; a heartbreaker to the San Diego Chargers at home. The Chargers, on the other hand, jumped up three spots to No. 12 as a result. 

The bottom of the rankings got another change this week, as there are finally no more winless teams in the league. Tampa Bay jumped to No. 31 after their first win of the season, an indication that beating Green Bay means more than defeating Detroit. St. Louis again occupies the bottom spot, but both Tampa and Cleveland are not far away. 

As with last week, change was the theme in the rankings. Including the two undefeated teams, there were just five teams that held steady this week, with eight teams moving at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The Arizona Cardinals can’t decide what kind of a team they are, but after another big win had the biggest positive movement this week, jumping four spots back to No. 15 where they stood two weeks ago after defeating the Giants. The biggest downward mover was not surprising, as the Green Bay Packers fell six spots after their loss at the hands of previously winless Tampa Bay.

The disagreements among the rankers remained very little this week. There were just five disagreements of at least six spots in their ranks, and this marks the third consecutive week with no double digit disagreements between any of the contributors.

Carolina Panthers (7) – Mickey 18, Walker 25

Seattle Seahawks (7) – Walker 18, Gideon/Mickey 25

New York Giants (6) – Smokey 11, Gideon 17

New York Jets (6) – Gideon 14, Smokey 20

Oakland Raiders (6) – Mickey 26, Walker 32

On the divisional side, the NFC East’s lead is nearly gone, as their average score of 12.80 barely leads the AFC North, who came in with a 13.00 average this week.  The bottom division remains the same for the seventh consecutive week, as the NFC West checks in with a 22.65 average rank. Second to last did get a change, as the Broncos fall gave the lowly AFC West a score of 18.90. 

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here .  As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. Without further ado, onto the rankings . 

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

NFL Power Rankings: Week 9 Edition

Welcome to the Week 9 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For Week 9 we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker and Smokey. So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

While we are almost at the midway point of the NFL season, we have reached the midpoint of the Power Rankings for the year. As a result, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the teams that have done the most movement since the preseason to see how off we really were before the 2009 campaign kicked off.

The biggest surprise in almost everyone’s opinion was the Denver Broncos, who overcame the Jay Cutler saga and Brandon Marshall suspension to start the year 6-0. After ranking them a composite No. 26 to start the year, the Broncos moved up a whopping 23 spots to No. 3 as of last week, the most movement of any team.

The opposite of the Broncos turned out to be the Tennessee Titans. After giving them a composite ranking of No. 8 to start the year, the Titans fell 21 spots all the way to No. 29 after starting the year at an 0-6 clip. A close second was Mickey and Smokey’s beloved Panthers, who started the year at No. 9 but fell 17 spots to No. 26 after a poor start.

The teams who moved the least were those who started at the bottom and stayed at the bottom. St. Louis has not cracked the Top 30 this year, spending seven weeks at the very bottom of the ranks before emerging this week. The Kansas City Chiefs also haven’t moved much, fluctuating only five spots between their current No. 26 and No. 30 for the entirety of the year.

The Cubicle GM rankings have only seen two teams at the top of the rankings, starting with the Steelers defending their title and followed by the Saints after their hot start. Five teams have occupied the No. 2 spot, including the Colts for a third straight week. Half the league has found their way into the Top 10, but that includes our misreads on Tennessee and Carolina in the preseason.

Looking now at the Week Nine rankings, Denver fell from the ranks of the undefeated with their loss to Baltimore on Sunday and also out of the top three. Jumping back into that spot was the Minnesota Vikings, who looked impressive in their win at Green Bay. The Saints and Colts held on to their unanimous places in the top two spots in the rankings after their respective wins.

After dropping five spots in the last two weeks, the Giants fell again after suffering a third straight loss, a shellacking at the hands of the rival Eagles. Their position at No. 10 is their lowest of the year. Replacing them at No. 7 were those Eagles, jumping up three spots.

The bottom of the rankings got a change this week, as the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans removed themselves from the ranks of the winless. Tampa is now the lone team without a win and finds itself at No. 32 in the rankings. Cleveland falls down four spots to No. 30, and after seeing them in person this week, I’m not sure that’s low enough.

Outside of our top two undefeated teams, change was the theme in the rankings this week. There were 27 teams that changed spots this week, with 12 teams moving at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The Titans had the biggest positive movement this week, jumping four spots after finally winning a game. The biggest downward mover was interesting this week, as the Jets fell five spots after losing to the Dolphins for the second time this season.

The disagreements among the rankers dwindled this week to nearly nothing. There were just four disagreements of exactly seven spots in their ranks. This is the second consecutive week with no double-digit disagreements between any of the contributors.

Dallas Cowboys (7): Walker 9, Smokey 16

Green Bay Packers (7): Gideon 7, Jacob/Mickey 14

Atlanta Falcons (7): Gideon/Smokey 10, Walker 17

New York Jets (7): Gideon 13, Smokey 20

On the divisional side, the NFC East continues to lead the way with an average score of 11.50, holding its lead over the AFC North, who came in with a 13.20 average this week.

The bottom two divisions remain the same for the sixth consecutive week, as the NFC West remains at the bottom even with a win by the Rams, checking in with a 22.80 average rank. They are trailing the NFC South, which has a 19.45 average thanks to Tampa at the bottom.

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses.  Without further ado, on to the rankings.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings: Week 8 Edition

Welcome to the Week 8 edition of the Cubicle GM NFL Power Rankings. Every Tuesday you can look forward to our composite rankings, as well as a bit of brief insight and analysis about each of the 32 teams.

The rankings are determined by taking the average of each of the contributors here at The Cube. For Week 8, we have rankings from five members of the Cubicle GM team, including me, Gideon, Mickey, Walker, and Smokey. So remember, if you disagree with some portion of our rankings, be sure to check the individual rankings to find the culprit.

With their loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, Minnesota fell from the ranks of the undefeated and also out of the top three. Those spots in the rankings belong to the three remaining undefeated teams in the league. The Saints held on to their unanimous place at the top of the rankings after their comeback victory over Miami on Sunday.

The No. 2 ranking is also unanimous, as the Colts received all five votes at that position. The third and fourth spots were nearly uniform, as only Smokey chose not to vote Denver at No. 3 and New England at No. 4.

After dropping three spots last week after their loss to New Orleans, the Giants fell another two this week after falling to Arizona on Sunday night  The Eagles regained a spot in the top 10 after taking care of the Redskins, replacing the Falcons, who fell four spots after their loss to Dallas.

The bottom of the rankings was nearly unchanged this week, as none of the bottom eight teams moved at all from Week Seven. In fact, the only change in the bottom third of the league was Buffalo and Carolina swapping positions after the Bills win in their matchup on Sunday.

While the bottom of the rankings is pretty stable, the same cannot be said for the top and middle. Sixteen of the top 21 teams changed spots this week, with eight teams moving at least three spots up or down the ranks.

The Arizona Cardinals had the biggest upward movement, jumping four spots to No. 15 after their upset of the Giants. Not surprisingly the biggest downward mover was the Chicago Bears, falling six spots after being dismantled by Cincinnati.

The disagreements among the rankers increased this week, but are localized in the middle of the ranks. Out of the six disagreements of seven or more spots in their ranks, five were between No. 11 and No. 17. This week also marked the first time that there were no double digit disagreements between any of the contributors.

Green Bay Packers (9) – Gideon 6, Smokey 15

San Diego Chargers (8) – Smokey 11, Walker 19

Houston Texans (8) – Smokey 12, Mickey 20

Dallas Cowboys (7) – Walker 11, Smokey 18

Atlanta Falcons (7) – Smokey 9, Walker 16

Cleveland Browns (7) – Walker 23, Jacob 30

On the divisional side, the NFC East continues to lead the way with an average score of 11.85, but their lead over the AFC North is diminishing quickly, as that division improved to a 12.40 average this week.

The bottom two divisions remain the same for the fifth consecutive week, as the NFC West still cannot escape the last place Rams, checking in with a 21.80 average rank. They are trailing the NFC South, who has a 20.40 average thanks to Carolina and Tampa near the bottom.

 

As a reminder, you can check out all the backup data here. As always, last week’s ranks are in parentheses. So without further ado, onto the rankings.

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