Is there anything less meaningful than a "power poll?" The funniest thing I heard about power polls this week was when an NFL coach said to me, "Power polls are like asking me what I had for dinner yesterday -- I can't remember, and I bet no one can remember last week's power poll, either."
To me the whole concept of ranking the 32 teams every week is a waste of time and it is more interesting to study the things teams are doing to stay on top of the league. Someone once told me people like to read lists. My response was, "That's unfortunate."
Maybe it is society in general but it always feels like we try to tear down the people or teams on top and make excuses for the ones below as to why they aren't getting the recognition they deserve. If the Super Bowl were held today, the Tennessee Titans would be facing the New York Giants. But if either of these teams loses this week, watch how fast they drop from the top spots in these "power polls."
Maybe the Titans' old-fashioned, in-the-trenches style with little flash at the QB position, coupled with being a small-market team, just doesn't give them enough juice? Maybe the Giants -- even though they are the defending world champions -- don't get the credit they deserve because they are led by an unassuming QB who is hard to get a sound bite out of, or because they have a coach that has rules and regulations that are also "old school." I felt like people last week were waiting for the Giants to lose to the Steelers and the Titans to collapse while facing Peyton Manning.
I talk with Giants and Titans players every week and they thrive off the lack of respect and recognition, and they couldn't care less where they were ranked in a poll. But right now they are the best. And rather than simply ranking them the best, I thought I would look at a few reasons why they sit atop the NFL mountain:
» These two teams have been the most consistent winners in the NFL for a while now. Tennessee is the only undefeated team in the league, and also the only undefeated team on the road this season. The Titans have given up 87 points in seven games, or 12 points a game. In fact, the Titans are on a 10-game regular-season winning streak dating back to last year and have given up an average of 12 points a game throughout the streak. The Giants are 10-1 in their last 11 overall games, with a Super Bowl win in the middle of that run.
» Both teams make it hard to beat them because they don't beat themselves. They both are in the top five in the league in terms of limiting the damage after losing the football -- the Giants have only surrendered 11 points all season on giveaways and the Titans 16 points. When it comes to turnover ratio, the Titans are plus-8 and the Giants are plus-5. An average NFL game features 12 offensive series for each team. So with more than half the season to go, the Titans and Giants are headed towards an extra game of offense just off turnovers.
» Both teams are ranked in the top five for running the ball -- and inside that ranking is a more impressive number. The Giants lead the NFL in "explosive runs" -- 10 or more yards -- with 37 such plays and the Titans are fifth with 26 plays. Running the ball is one thing; taking big chunks at a time is quite another.
» How does the defense stiffen when they face goal-to-go situations? The Giants have only been in three goal-to-go situations all year and have surrendered just one touchdown, which is tops in the NFL. The Titans have been in nine goal-to-go situations and are fifth in the league, giving up five touchdowns. Both teams make the going very tough inside their own 10-yard line.
» Sticking with defense for another important issue:How many negative plays can these teams create? Combining sacks with runs and passes that produce loss of yards, these teams shine once again. The Giants are third in the NFL with 52 negative plays, or close to eight a game. The Titans have recorded 50 negative plays, which ranks them fifth.
» The Giants make their opponents play on the longest field in the NFL. The average starting position for their opponents is the 26-yard line, or 74 yards away from a score. The Titans'offense plays on the shortest field in the NFL with their average starting point the 31 yard line. Both teams play the field-position game extremely well.
» Finally, these teams protect their quarterbacks. The Titans are No. 1 in the NFL and have given up just 2 sacks all season, while the Giants are No. 3, with Eli Manning going down just six times. Together these two teams allow one sack every 52 pass attempts and if you can't get to Manning and Collins, these teams just might stay on top of the NFL mountain for the whole year, no matter what the power polls say.
Come to think of it, what is a power poll anyway?
