NFL Week 5 Power Rankings: Where Do the New England Patriots Belong Sans Moss?

NFL Power Rankings are a subjective thing and rarely are two people's lists ever exactly the same. At my site, www.GuysNation.com, I once again took a hard look at all 32 teams, compared their records, the average points they've scored and allowed per game, their strength of schedule, and came up with the NFL Power Rankings for Week 5 in the 2010 NFL season.

Last week, the New England Patriots didn't even crack my Top 10.  Admittedly not a fan of the New England Patriots and Bill Belichik, I tried to be as objective as possible, with the end goal being a list that captured the NFL landscape as accurately as possible, but some things stuck out to me which didn't sit well:

• Their defense wasn't off to a good start.
• The Bengals and Bills aren't exactly great teams, so wins over them weren't impressive despite the number of points they posted.
• The loss to the Jets, a good divisional opponent in a road game, didn't bother me that much, but it was still a loss, and so the rest of their resume had to speak loud enough to overcome it...which it hadn't.

Then I look at their Week 4 trip to Miami.

Their defense showed up, only allowing seven points in the first part of both halves of the game.

Their special teams showed up in a BIG way...but it almost had to.

The Patriots looked lackluster in spots that they had previously shined (especially in the first half, actually going into the locker room losing by a point). 

Tom Brady only threw for 153 yards against the Dolphins—doubled-up in passing yardage and touchdowns by his fellow Michigan (Go Blue) Alumnus Chad Henne.  Is that going to be helped by trading Randy Moss to the Vikings? 

Whether or not Moss is playing at 100 percent effort, defenses still have to account for him when he's on the field, and now Brady's not going to have that luxury...and neither is Wes Welker or any of the other receiving options.

The running game is also going to take a hit because Moss isn't there to stretch the field, and it's not like they were on fire against the Dolphins in Week 4—neither of the backs rushing for over 100 yards...barely hitting the milestone combined!

So where did I rank the New England Patriots?

Putting them ahead of the Jets is still out of the question.

Are they better than the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs, whose opponents have a combined three wins?

They've outscored the Pittsburgh Steelers by an average of 11 points per game with the Patriots' only loss being to a team who is roughly the same talent level as the Ravens (the only loss the Steelers suffered), and the Patriots are yet to lose at home (which can't be said for the Steelers)!

For the complete rankings and analysis, check out the article on my website, www.GuysNation.com!  

Unlike Power Rankings you see elsewhere, your comments could help persuade me to rank your team better after Week 5!