NBD 2009 Power Rankings 1.0

We've reached the 5/13ths point of the season, traditionally the time to take stock of where each team has been and where it's going. With that in mind, I embarked on a mission to establish some Power Rankings, and to do so in a systematic way. First what I did was look at the optimum line-up of each team. I established the weekly averages of the top quarterback, top three running backs, top three wide receivers, and tight end on each team. I decided to include three backs and receivers because I assumed that the team's RB3 and WR3 would be most often called into duty in the flex position or as a bye-week replacement. Then, since I am a teacher without a classroom, I graded each team at each position. This grade is reflective of each team's optimum production from that position so far this season. Once the grades were given, I developed my rankings from them, with a particular emphasis on the running back and wide receiver grades, since those represent the biggest chunks of scoring. Finally, I considered some qualitative factors (injuries, people I feel are bound to improve, etc.) and looked at the moves each owner had made (reasoning that an owner who had made good or bad moves already would continue to do so over the course of the season) to complete the rankings.
Gentlemen, your 2009 NBD Power Rankings 1.0


12) Roger's Oyster Lunch (D Haller)
3-2, 373 points
Grades: QB Tony Romo - D
RBs Marshawn Lynch
    Fred Taylor
    LeSean McCoy - Held Back
WRs Jerricho Cotchery
    Santonio Holmes
    Nate Washington - D
TE Zach Miller - F
Notable Bench Players: LaDainian Tomlinson, Anthony Gonzalez
Key Moves: All Derek's moves have involved kickers and defenses
Notes: Marshawn Lynch's sample size is admittedly small, and maybe he'll turn into a stud, but I really don't see anything big coming out of that Buffalo offense... Did A-Gonz show anything before he got injured to suggest that he'll be an abler receiver when he returns than Austin Collie or Pierre Garcon? If so, I never saw it... An F at TE might seem harsh, but Miller is literally producing half of what the A+ tight ends are... The lack of moves indicates to me a lack of involvement from Derek this year.

11) 1-4 But Not a Skins Fan (Koehler)
1-4, 402 pts
Grades: QB Joe Flacco - C
RBs Cedric Benson
    Julius Jones
    Tim Hightower - C+
WRs Dwayne Bowe
    Kevin Walter
    Braylon Edwards - D
TE Jeremy Shockey - C
Notable Bench Players: Steven Jackson, Kurt Warner, Clinton Portis
Key Moves: None
Notes: It's certainly not a good sign when the guys you drafted to be your top two running backs (Jackson and Portis) are not even in your top three in terms of production. Maybe they'll turn it around, but it's uphill sledding when you're working with two of the sleepiest offenses in the NFL... Edwards looked good in his first outing as a Jet, but I'm not buying a Meadowlands resurgence for him just yet... The pleasant surprises on this team (Benson, Flacco) are outweighed by the disappointments.

10) Bartelby (R Tarasovic)
4-1, 423 pts
Grades: QB David Garrard - D
RBs Frank Gore
    Ryan Grant
    Cadillac Williams - B
WRs Greg Jennings
    Devin Hester
    Antonio Bryant - D
TE John Carlson - C
Notable Bench Players: Donnie Avery
Key Moves: Added Cadillac ($5) immediately following the draft; added Donnie Avery ($5) right before this week's 15-point game
Notes: I have no idea how this team has got four wins, but early-season luck often translates into late-season misfortune... Gore coming back will be a shot in the arm, for sure, but Caddy's worth has been trailing off since the start of the season, and should continue to do so... The Garrard/Delhomme QB tandem is like the fantasy version of Cleveland's Anderson/Quinn carousel... With the early-season success, this team could slide into the playoffs and make for a cupcake opponent for some lucky first-rounder.

9) Questionable at Best (M Haller)
1-4, 410 pts
Grades: QB Philip Rivers - B
RBs Joseph Addai
    Ahmad Bradshaw
    Correll Buckhalter - C
WRs Calvin Johnson
    Steve Smith (CAR)
    Sidney Rice - D
TE Jermichael Finley - B
Notable Bench Players: Brandon Jacobs, Jason Witten
Key Moves: Acquired Rivers and Knowshon Moreno in trade for Fred Jackson, then traded Moreno and Jay Cutler for Calvin Johnson and Trent Edwards; added Rice ($5)
Notes: Our most active owner this season in terms of trades, and has worked them well, essentially turning Jackson and Cutler into Rivers and Johnson... Lots of opportunity for improvement here, especially if Jacobs, Megatron and Steve Smith start living up to potential... I'm eager to see what this team's next move is; considering his brother's weakness at TE and the presence of Finley and Witten here, I could see something happening there.

8) The Death Panel (M Tarasovic)
3-2, 481 pts
Grades: QB Drew Brees - B
RBs Ray Rice
    Matt Forte
    Jamal Lewis - C
WRs Andre Johnson
    Mario Manningham
    Chad Ochocinco - A
TE Vernon Davis - B
Notable Bench Players: Derrick Mason, Tony Gonzalez
Key Moves: Added Manningham ($16); added Davis ($6); has spent as much money as anyone in the league
Notes: Brees has been quiet the past few weeks, but assuming he returns to typical A+ form, this team gets a boost in the rankings... All three RBs here are yardage guys who haven't been finding the end zone much, meaning steady production but few big days... Manningham still has some work to do to justify his price tag, though Derek's (true?) claim that he bid $15 made me feel better about it at the time.

7) Mental Errors (E Toobin)
2-3, 509 pts
Grades: QB Tom Brady - D
RBs Ricky Williams
    Kevin Smith
    Reggie Bush - D+
WRs Steve Smith (NYG)
    Reggie Wayne
    Donald Driver - A+
TE Dallas Clark - A+
Notable Bench Players: TJ Houshmandzadeh
Key Moves: added Smith for free after the draft; added Mark Sanchez ($15)
Notes: The receivers and tight ends on this team are truly top-notch, but with Ds at the two top-scoring positions, it's hard to rank the whole team any higher... If Housh continues to be a contributor, I could see E trading away one of these WRs for help at RB... How long are we going to talk about Brady "rounding into form" or "getting back into a groove with his receivers"? He's had an entire pre-season and 5 weeks of regular season and is still missing Randy Moss, a guy who's hard to miss, frequently... Elliott was a big proponent of Free Agent keepers, and it served him well: Steve Smith seems our most likely Free Agent keeper so far.

6) Deuceburger (Manning)
2-3, 425 pts
Grades: QB Matt Schaub - B
RBs Adrian Peterson
    Darren Sproles
    Willie Parker - B
WRs Santana Moss
    Terrell Owens
    Bernard Berrian - D
TE Kellen Winslow - A
Notable Bench Players: Brett Favre, Jonathan Stewart
Key Moves: Recently added Willie Parker
Notes: Moss's recent success is the only thing keeping this receiving group from F-status... It will be interesting to see what Fast Willie's role is in Pittsburgh now that he's returning from injury in the wake of the Mendenhall explosion... Production-wise, this team's probably below a few of the team's ranked worse, but the potential for games won single-handedly by Schaub or Peterson gives them a boost.

5) Burke City Giants (M Toobin)
4-1, 510 pts
Grades: Peyton Manning - A
RBs DeAngelo Williams
    Steve Slaton
    Donald Brown - F
WRs Vincent Jackson
    Johnny Knox
    Wes Welker - B
TE Brent Celek - A
Notable Bench Players: Eli Manning, Randy Moss
Key Moves: Added Knox and Celek for free in same week
Notes: I'm always talking about this team as a powerhouse, but I didn't realize how truly bad their RB production had been. Still, I'm assuming that that will continue to improve as the season continues... It's pretty nuts that Moss is not amongst the top three receiver averages on this team, but it's true. Along with Williams and Slayton, that makes three guys who are not doing so hot, yet are virtually impossible to bench... Peyton looks fucking awesome this year, and I imagine he'll win this team a few by himself.

4) Smegma Amuse Bouche (Papkin)
2-3, 481 pts
Grades: QB Ben Roethlisberger - B+
RBs Ronnie Brown
    Mike Bell
    Marion Barber - A+
WRs Hines Ward
    Anquan Boldin
    Pierre Garcon - D+
TE Heath Miller - B
Notable Bench Players: Brian Westbrook, Tashard Choice
Key Moves: Added Heath Miller ($3); added Mike Bell ($15) this week; added Choice and Garcon relatively early for free
Notes: That RB grade is somewhat inflated by Bell and Barber, who've both missed several games for injury (the averages only take into account games played), but with Westbrook and Choice around, this team should almost always have good options in the rushing game... The price tag on the Bell pick-up this week is a bit puzzling since his major production came before Pierre Thomas returned, but I wouldn't be shocked if the Saints offense is prolific enough to support two quality backs... One of the great things about Big Ben is that he can seemingly be whatever the Steelers need from him. They've needed a lot of passing so far this year, and Papkin is the beneficiary of that, but if DeYoung is correct and they've re-claimed their grind-it-out identity with Mendenhall, Roethlisberger could be due for a downturn.

3) Woody's Warriors (Sherwood)
2-3, 465 pts
Grades: QB Donovan McNabb - A
RBs Michael Turner
    Thomas Jones
    Knowshon Moreno - B
WRs Brandon Marshall
    Steve Breaston
    Torry Holt - C
TE Antonio Gates - A+
Notable Bench Players: Jay Cutler, Michael Crabtree
Key Moves: Acquired Moreno and Cutler in trade for Calvin Johnson and Trent Edwards; acquired Brandon Marshall in trade for Rashard Mendenhall; added Michael Crabtree ($7), thus bringing the Crabtree Watch back to life
Notes: Early injury to McNabb hurt the team's early record/point total. Sample size is small, but McNabb has been big so far in the games he's played... The success of this team is largely tied to its Broncos. If Moreno continues to improve he'll be amongst the best flex plays in the league. If Marshall keeps up his recent dominance he'll make up for the loss of Megatron... The weakness of the receiving corps makes Crabtree a potential starter as soon as he suits up for the Niners.

2) Wild Stallions (DeYoung)
3-2, 501 pts
Grades: Aaron Rodgers - A
RBs Pierre Thomas
    Willis McGahee
    Fred Jackson - B+
WR Mike Sims-Walker
    Larry Fitzgerald
    Jeremy Maclin - A+
TE Chris Cooley - C
Notable Bench Players: Carson Palmer, Rashard Mendenhall
Key Moves: Acquired Fred Jackson via trade for Philip Rivers and Knowshon Moreno; acquired Rashard Mendenhall via trade for Brandon Marshall; added Glen Coffee ($26) and dropped him a few weeks later
Notes: The Jackson trade was probably misguided, and he will likely never produce again like he did for the first few weeks of the season, but Mendenhall looks like he's ready to step up and fill in that production gap... Fitzgerald hasn't been terribly special so far this season, and the receivers have still been solid. If Fitzy gets his mojo back, watch out... Coffee is the overpay of the season so far. DeYoung thinks everyone else is being too stingy; time will tell on that one.

1) You Got Got (Colly)
3-2, 564 pts
Grades: QB Matt Ryan - B
RBs Maurice Jones-Drew
    Chris Johnson
    Felix Jones - B+
WRs Roddy White
    DeSean Jackson
    Marques Colston - A+
TE Owen Daniels - B
Notable Bench Players: Matt Hasselbeck, Miles Austin, Austin Collie
Key Moves: Added Miles Austin right before his big day; added Austin Collie ($27) this week
Notes: These receivers are fierce, and are the only ones that rival Elliott's group... The cost of the Collie pick-up seems high, but it is the only money this team has spent so far, and who can question the appropriateness of a Colly/Collie tandem... Biggest question mark is at QB, but a rotation of Ryan and Hasselbeck should get the job done from week to week... It will be a shame if this league is won by a team that wasn't even drafted by its owner. I hope Bardey has negotiated a cut.