Week 8 NFL Power Rankings and the 49ers Story

by David Fucillo on Nov 4, 2009 2:00 PM PST in San Francisco 49ers News

The power rankings this week seem to reflect some different interpretations of the 49ers loss in Indianapolis. Some folks view it as one of those proverbial moral victories and actually moved the 49ers up in their rankings. Some dropped the 49ers approximately two spots, with CBS Sports being the only one top them further (4 spots). I realize power rankings are subjective, but it's still interesting to see the varying opinions on our favorite team. It's safe to say there's no clear cut opinion on the team.

SB Nation has been running power rankings the last few weeks. Sometimes they appear after this post and thus I haven't included them. They were just posted earlier today with the 49ers ranked 19th, which is just a shade under the average of 18.77 seen in our composite rankings.

ESPN - #19 (20) - Opening up the offense could be tougher with left tackle Joe Staley on the injured list for six weeks.

Arizona - #13 (10)
Seattle - #24 (23)
St. Louis - #30 (32)

The Big Lead - #19 (17) - Were the Niners pulling a Patriots and instructing their defensive players to fake cramps to slow down the Colts’ offense? Maybe. Maybe not. Even if they were, it’s called gamesmanship and more teams should give it a shot, if not hire Willie McGinest as a consultant.

Arizona - #16 (11)
Seattle - #24 (23)
St. Louis - #27 (30)

Fox Sports - #19 (17) - Doing just enough to lose must be getting old to Mike Singletary, which is a shame because there is no shame in losing by four points at Indy while holding Peyton Manning's Colts to just one offensive TD.

Arizona - #17 (9)
Seattle - #21 (22)
St. Louis - #30 (31)

CBS Sports - #22 (18) - Playing close isn't good enough. They have to start winning those kinds of games. It's hard when they're limited on offense.

Arizona - #11 (12)
Seattle - #24 (23)
St. Louis - #28 (31)

Pro Football Talk (via NBCSports.com) - #20 (18) - Only the coach of a team in the NFC West could guarantee a playoff berth in November with a sub-.500 record.

Arizona - #15 (12)
Seattle - #24 (23)
St. Louis - #30 (31)

NFL.com (Brandt) - #21 (19)

Arizona - #13 (9)
Seattle - #24 (24)
St. Louis - #28 (31)

NFL.com (Brooks) - #20 (18)

Arizona - #11 (10)
Seattle - #25 (22)
St. Louis - #26 (32)

NFL.com (Carucci) - #18 (20)

Arizona - #14 (7)
Seattle - #25 (21)
St. Louis - #26 (31)

WhatIfSports.com - #11 (14)

Arizona - #18 (7)
Seattle - #24 (23)
St. Louis - #25 (26)

Average 49ers Ranking: 18.78 (18.11)
Average Cardinals Ranking: 14.22 (9.33)
Average Seahawks Ranking: 23.56 (22.67)
Average Rams Ranking: 28.00 (30.56)

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Comments

CBS moved the Cardinals up even though they lost to Delhomme

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

by SportsChicken on Nov 4, 2009 2:14 PM PST reply actions

lol

that was exactly my first thought as soon as i saw that, how dumb is CBS? haha

by sanfranfanmdk on Nov 4, 2009 2:44 PM PST up reply actions

CBS Sports can suck it

Seriously?! They drop the Niners 4 spots for a close loss to an undefeated Colts team IN INDY, yet the Cards get walked all over by a Panther team with a losing record AT HOME?! I think I’ve heard it all now.

by Haggardninja on Nov 4, 2009 2:14 PM PST reply actions

I forgot

to include that part about how the Cards moved up a spot with that short rant.

by Haggardninja on Nov 4, 2009 2:16 PM PST up reply actions

Down in the ranks

If you rank Yahoo Sports, ESPN, Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports in best overall coverage, CBS would rank a distant fourth in my book.

by Mangoman1 on Nov 4, 2009 3:52 PM PST up reply actions

Cold Hard Football Facts has the Niners at #15.

by Chimneyfish on Nov 4, 2009 2:17 PM PST reply actions

great team with no offensive line at the moment

I 49ers are very difficult to rank because they are a potentially very strong team, with no offensive line at the present time due to injuries etc.

So much hinges on the offensive line. It effects the game plan, the passing and running game (obviously), time of possession and thus the effectiveness of the defense.

Essentially the 49ers offensive line is an unknown. They may do okay week to week, but that is unpredictable and thus there power rating is volatile and uncertain at this time.

One of the problems of having a weak offensive line is that it makes it very hard to dictate or control the game. You cannot reliable hold the ball toward the end of the game, etc.

by zacksf on Nov 5, 2009 8:58 AM PST reply actions