NFL Week 7 Power Rankings: Focus on the Washington Redskins

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 Washington Redskins currently rank?

First and foremost, I'll tell you that I'm a Washington Redskins fan, and with GuysNation being run in the Washington D.C. area, you can bet that there's certainly an influence there. 

I do my best to try to keep the "homer-ism" to a minimum, but I do tend to see more potential in the hometown team than any others, simply because I follow the Redskins closer than any other NFL team.  I watch the games, I know the players, I look at needs, I follow the prospects.

Looking over the schedule, I try to pick out the good and bad in each of the games, so here's some of my analysis so far:

The opening game against the Cowboys could've been a loss very easily, as it came down to the final play, but missed opportunities and missed penalty calls could've very easily made it a two TD victory for Washington.  That said, Dallas isn't a great team, and it was a home game for the Redskins, and my belief is that a team needs to win all of its home divisional games.  Not inspiring.

Week 2 against the Houston Texans was inspiring...until Houston made its big 17-point comeback and got the victory.  I won't slag anyone for not being able to out-jump Andre Johnson in the end zone near the end of the game to try to block the final score, but come on, don't let their best player beat you.  Cover him with two guys.  Certainly not inspiring with a home loss against a team which was all but beaten late into the game.

The St Louis Rams are underrated, with its defense certainly being overlooked by many in the league.  That said, they've got a rookie quarterback who the Redskins should've eaten for lunch.  Losing by two touchdowns?  Not inspiring.

How did the Washington Redskins beat the Philadelphia Eagles IN PHILLY in Week 4?  It's certainly a combination of things, but Philly hasn't looked great at home yet this year.  Still, it was an inspiring win.

Having seen how the previous week played out, I had no reason to think the Redskins were going to catch fire with Green Bay coming to town, as the Packers seemed like they were near the top of the class in the NFC.  I was glad to be wrong.  A win over Green Bay, even if just by a field goal in over-time, was an inspiring afternoon to be sure.

The most important game on the schedule in deciding the current Power Rank is the most recent game, Sunday night's loss to the Indianapolis Colts.  Not only did I watch the game, but I was live in attendance, lower level, some of the best seats I've ever had.  With my trusty Android phone, I had access to stats and replays, so I don't feel like I missed out on anything.

We knew that Peyton Manning was going to throw the ball all over the field.  We knew that Joseph Addai was a high caliber running back when healthy.  We knew that the Redskins had to make the most of all opportunities they were presented with.  The likelihood of a victory was still very slight. 

And yet, coming to the end of the game, the Redskins not only played well enough to have nearly put themselves into position to tie the game up with some decent time on the clock, but they also refused to fold and had a good defensive stand late in the game (albeit with some questionable play calling from the Colts) and had themselves yet another shot to tie it up.

Losing at home is never a good thing, but when the opponent is the Colts?  I'll say it's forgivable.  In fact, given how the Redskins played against Indianapolis, I'd still say this was an inspiring game. 

If you had told me that the Redskins would get two victories during the Philly/Green Bay/Indianapolis stretch of the season, I would've told you that you were crazy, especially if this were prior to the season and you told me that the Redskins would be 3-3 at this point.

So where did I rank the Redskins?  There are plenty of 4-2 teams in the NFL right now and an additional three teams who have won more than 67 percent of their games.  I don't just rank based on record, though, as I take into account the quality of wins and losses. 

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!