Any loss, even to the high-flying Colts is bound to have an effect in the Power Rankings, the only question is how much and how far down. Let's take a look around the web.
ESPN - #6(LW: 3) - A bit of a Halloween edition to ESPN's rankings, with a Trick AND Treat to enjoy --
Treat: Champ Bailey. By far the NFL's best cornerback right now.
CBS - #7(LW: 3) - A 4-position drop from CBS, and a warning of things to come --
Covers.com - #7(LW: 7) - Tough break for the Under, as the Broncos failed to cover the number for the first time this season --
Football Outsiders - #12(LW: 10) - Damn, that DVOA is hard to figure out....
- Acronym stands for "Denver? Verily, only average."
- Quarterback has the lowest neck-beard road-rage coefficient in the league.
- Too much time spent in Coors Field humidor has weakened Broncos DVOA rating.
- Marilyn Musgrave-Angie Paccione attack ads are poisoning political discourse in this country, and the spreadsheets are very upset about this.
- FO intern? Roc Alexander.
- First place rank in rushing touchdowns allowed offset by first place rank in repulsive new art museum wings.
- Coors Light ads are awful.
- Local college rub-off effect: Colorado Buffaloes are so bad that they've named Ward Churchill as head coach just to get the team riled up about something.
- DVOA was designed by Jean-Luc Connerie, a bitter lifelong fan of the Quebec Nordiques.
- It's a dispassionate statistical system based on studying eight years of NFL play-by-play data, and it recognizes that the Broncos have yet to enjoy a dominating victory and the quarterback was awful for the first seven weeks.
RealFootball365 - #7(LW: 4) - Good point by the guys at RF365, who point out Jake's woes -
Yahoo Sports - #4(LW: 3) - Only dropped 1 by Yahoo, who gives D-Will a vote of confidence -
FoxSports - #4(LW: 3) - Same for FoxSports, who only move us down 1. More pot shots at the D, however.
Sports Illustrated - #3(LW: 3) - Dr. Z takes the opportunity to take a shot at our silent O and D lines.
GridIronGrumblings - #7(LW: 4) - 3 spot drop on this fantasy site
NFL.com - #5(LW: 3) - Only a couple of spots in Carucci's Power Poll, and he likes our match-up with the Steelers --
Not too shabby, no lower than 7, except on Football Insiders, and they get a bit too numbers oriented for my taste. Big game this week to get back on track towards a division title and first round bye.