New Orleans Saints Stay Atop My Power Poll: Indianapolis Colts Closing Fast

Despite losing to Indianapolis on Sunday night, the New England Patriots held on to the No. 3 spot in my weekly Power Poll. The Saints and Colts remain No. 1 and 2, but the Colts are quickly narrowing the gap.

This Power Poll combines three statistics. The first is a team's adjusted win-loss record, which is computed by adding the number of wins of each opponent a team has beaten and the number of losses of each opponent that a team has lost to. To achieve the adjusted winning percentage, I divide the number of games by the numbers of wins plus losses.

For instance, the seven teams Cincinnati has beaten have combined to win 30 games, while the two teams they have lost to have combined to lose 7 games, giving them an adjusted win-loss record of 30-7, which equates to a winning percentage of .811.

The second statistic compares a team's scoring against the average points allowed by the teams it has played. This is an attempt to measure a team's offensive efficiency.

For example, New England is averaging 28.8 points a game, while the nine teams the Patriots have played are allowing only 21.6 points per game, giving New England an offensive efficiency rating of 7.2.

The third stat compares a team's defensive points allowed versus the average points scored by the teams it has played. This measures a team's defensive effectiveness.

For example, Indianapolis is allowing only 15.8 points per game while its opponents are averaging 21.8 points a game, which gives Indy a defensive effectiveness ranking of -6.0 (negative numbers are good for the defensive ranking).

To achieve the final calculation, I multiply the adjusted winning percentage by three, then subtract a team's defensive effectiveness from its offensive efficiency, and then divide that by 10. I then add that number to the team's adjusted winning percentage number for the final ranking.

Without further ado, here are the results through Week 10 of the NFL season:

Rank	NFL Team	Total
1	New Orleans Saints	4.200
2	Indianapolis Colts	4.110
3	New England Patriots	3.372
4	Minnesota Vikings	3.220
5	Cincinnati Bengals	3.213
6	Arizona Cardinals	2.712
7	Baltimore Ravens	2.686
8	Pittsburgh Steelers	2.685
9	Atlanta Falcons	2.669
10	Dallas Cowboys	2.435
11	Denver Broncos	2.299
12	San Diego Chargers	2.241
13	Philadelphia Eagles	2.108
14	Houston Texans	2.079
15	New York Giants	2.059
16	Miami Dolphins	1.945
17	Green Bay Packers	1.840
18	New York Jets	1.722
19	San Francisco 49ers	1.559
20	Carolina Panthers	1.157
21	Chicago Bears	0.907
22	Jacksonville Jaguars	0.890
23	Tennessee Titans	0.661
24	Seattle Seahawks	0.607
25	Buffalo Bills	-0.045
26	Washington Redskins	-0.180
27	Kansas City Chiefs	-0.409
28	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	-0.544
29	Oakland Raiders	-0.738
30	Detroit Lions	-0.799
31	Cleveland Browns	-0.890
32	St. Louis Rams	-1.319

If I were a betting man...

I would go with No. 16 Dolphins (plus three and a half according to the Las Vegas Sunset Stations) over the No. 20 Panthers, the No. 9 Falcons (plus six and a half) over the No. 15 Giants, the No. 30 Lions (minus three and a half) over the No. 31 Browns, and the No. 19 49ers (plus six and a half) over the No.17 Packers.