NFL Week 7 Power Rankings: Focus on the New England Patriots

Over at my site—www.GuysNation.com—I do a weekly power ranking of all 32 NFL teams.  It's a hugely subjective process in which I try to account for a team's strength of schedule, margin of victory, good wins and bad losses.

Where do the New England Patriots currently rank?

Last week, I had the New England Patriots ranked in the No. 5 spot.  They were coasting after a victory on the road against a divisional opponent (Miami) and headed into the bye week.

Since then, other teams have crept up and shown what they were made of, most notably the New York Giants having a very strong string of games.  The Tennessee Titans also looked really good in a divisional road game where they blew out the Jaguars on Monday Night Football.

While I still consider the Patriots to be a top-10 team, it's questionable whether or not they're a top-five team.

Bill Belichick has a phenomenal record following bye weeks.  His record is even better at home in Massachusetts.  The Patriots offense fires on all cylinders, putting the team into the top spot in regards to points scored per game.  Their defense has been suspect, but the Ravens offense is in the lower half of the league.

This was a chance for New England to show that they're a dominant team.  This was a chance for the Patriots to reestablish themselves as the class of the AFC.  This was a chance for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick to show that they didn't need Randy Moss and they could overcome their defense's shortcoming.

In my opinion, a three point victory at home doesn't do any of those things.

In fact, they were losing at half time and they were losing to end the third quarter.  The crowd must have been thinking at that point that they were about to get shut-down, a demoralizing prospect for a home game. 

How does that all factor into my Power Rankings?  Some might say that New England showed enough to be ranked up with Baltimore.  Others would say that teams like the Giants and Titans have shown more than the Patriots have.

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 7!