Time to see if the BYE week had any impact, good or bad, on what the so-called "experts" think. I have always been a believer in the A>B and B>C, then A>C theory of sports. Translatioon? The Broncos best the Patriots, and the Patriots dominated the Bengals, so the Broncos have to be a top 5 team, right?? I'll focus on what these site think of my theory, and whether or not a BYE will drop the Broncos below the Pats. We'll find out even more about the Broncos on Monday Night, that's for sure....
ESPN - #8(LW: 8) - The BYE has no effect on our ranking, though the Patriots leap-frogged the Broncos, all the way to #5. --
CBS - #4(LW: 7) - CBS subscribes to my theory, raising the Broncos 3 spots even during the BYE, keeping them 1 spot above the Pats. --
Covers.com - #16(LW: 12) - We actually dropped 4 spots in this ranking, but remember, this site is geared for those of us who enjoy the line, for entertainment purposes only, of course!
Football Outsiders - #13(LW: 10) - Some prefer the thoughts of Football Outsiders since they are totally statistics based, though how seriously can we take a Power Poll that has the Chiefs ranked 6th?? -
RealFootball365 - #10(LW: 9) - Actually dropped a spot, leaving us behind teams like the Bengals, Patriots and Chargers. No idea what these guys are thinking! -
FoxSports - #4(LW: 8) - Fox, like CBS agrees with me. They also point out the Patriots/Bengals game and used it in raising the Broncos all the way to #4.
GridIronGrumblings - #13(LW: 11) - A couple of spopts down here, and not likely to change with an offensively challenged game upcoming.
NFL.com - #12(LW: 12) - Unchanged, though the same can't be said for the Pats who sky-rocketd all the way up to #4. I guess Vic Carucci doesn't like my theory. --
Seems pretty split on whether to reward a team on a BYE based on the results of teams they have beat. Makes for an interesting arugement, anyway. If you know of a Power Poll that You want me to link to, let me know and I will add it to the list...