AIKMAN COMMENTARY thru Week 7, 2011
The Packers remain atop the Aikman Combined Ratings for another week, with the Ravens hanging onto second despite their loss to Jacksonville.
We note that the sum of the Packers’ offensive and defensive ranks as measured by the NFL (yards only) is 31 (4 on offense, 27 on defense). That total is bettered at the moment by 12 other teams, including the 3-3 Browns and 3-3 Redskins.
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The big news is the astonishing Aikman Game Rating of 136.2 achieved by the Saints in their 62-7 thrashing of the Colts.
It is the top score, reflecting the top offensive game performance, in AGR recorded history (since 1995).
The previous mark was 134.4 by the Eagles in their 59-28 victory over Washington on November 15, 2010.
The big score jumped the Saints from 87.6 (6th) to 95.4 (tied for 2nd) in the Aikman Offense Ratings.
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One interesting facet of the Aikman Combined this year has been how so many of the top teams are getting there through dominant performance on one side of the ball. The NFL’s yards formula has a 4-27 offense/defense split for the Packers for example. While it is not so pronounced in the Aikmans (4/12), it is still clear which side of the ball is driving the Packers success. The Patriots, Bills and Saints are three other teams with a significant offensive tilt.
On the other hand the Ravens, 1st on defense and 23rd on offense in the Aikmans, tilt the other way.
The only team in the NFL with a score over 80.0 on both offense and defense in the current Aikman Ratings is San Francisco.
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As a reminder, at the time the Aikman Ratings were conceived, a score of 75.0 measured average offensive and defensive performance based on longtime league norms. This year, the recent trend towards offense has increased even more. There are now 22 offenses performing over that historical NFL average of 75.0, but only 10 defenses.
Thus Baltimore’s defensive score of 92.5 is all the more remarkable because of the trend towards offense, as the Ravens have opened up a gap of 8.0 points over second-place San Francisco.
Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 7, 2011
--------- Aikman -------- ------- NFL --------
Rank Record Team Combined Off Def Off Def Combined
1 7-0 Packers 167.9 94.1 73.7 4 27 31
2 4-2 Ravens 166.4 73.9 92.5 20 1 21
3 5-1 49ers 165.8 81.3 84.5 27 11 38
4 5-1 Patriots 164.1 97.0 67.1 1 32 33
5 5-2 Lions 163.8 84.7 79.2 13 10 23
6 4-3 Texans 163.0 85.2 77.8 7 8 15
7 4-2 Bills 159.3 95.4 63.8 10 31 41
8 4-2 Giants 158.2 83.6 74.6 11 22 33
9 5-2 Saints 156.6 95.4 61.2 2 14 16
10 4-3 Falcons 156.2 83.6 72.6 18 20 38
11 3-3 Cowboys 155.9 79.3 76.6 6 7 13
12 4-3 Jets 155.5 77.2 78.3 29 9 38
13 4-2 Bengals 153.5 77.4 76.1 22 2 24
14 4-3 Bears 152.6 79.9 72.8 17 24 41
15 1-6 Vikings 152.3 82.1 70.2 21 19 40
16 3-3 Browns 152.1 76.1 76.1 23 4 27
17 5-2 Steelers 151.4 82.3 69.0 9 3 12
18 2-5 Panthers 148.7 85.5 63.1 5 17 22
19 4-2 Chargers 148.6 82.6 66.0 8 5 13
20 3-3 Redskins 147.1 71.8 75.3 14 12 26
21 4-3 Raiders 145.5 82.1 63.5 12 25 37
22 2-4 Eagles 145.1 80.8 64.3 3 13 16
23 2-4 Broncos 143.0 76.7 66.4 25 21 46
24 2-4 Seahawks 142.4 67.2 75.1 31 15 46
25 4-3 Buccaneers 141.5 70.8 70.7 15 28 43
26 3-3 Titans 140.9 76.8 64.2 24 16 40
27 3-3 Chiefs 137.4 71.5 65.9 26 18 44
28 1-5 Cardinals 136.8 71.9 64.9 16 26 42
29 2-5 Jaguars 134.7 62.1 72.5 32 6 38
30 0-6 Dolphins 131.9 66.2 65.7 19 23 42
31 0-7 Colts 126.5 70.8 55.6 30 30 60
32 0-6 Rams 121.4 62.0 59.5 28 29 57
Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 7, 2011
Aik NFL Team AER
1 1 Patriots 97.0
2 10 Bills 95.4
3 2 Saints 95.4
4 4 Packers 94.1
5 5 Panthers 85.5
6 7 Texans 85.2
7 13 Lions 84.7
8 18 Falcons 83.6
9 11 Giants 83.6
10 8 Chargers 82.6
11 9 Steelers 82.3
12 12 Raiders 82.1
13 21 Vikings 82.1
14 27 49ers 81.3
15 3 Eagles 80.8
16 17 Bears 79.9
17 6 Cowboys 79.3
18 22 Bengals 77.4
19 29 Jets 77.2
20 24 Titans 76.8
21 25 Broncos 76.7
22 23 Browns 76.1
23 20 Ravens 73.9
24 16 Cardinals 71.9
25 14 Redskins 71.8
26 26 Chiefs 71.5
27 30 Colts 70.8
28 15 Buccaneers 70.8
29 31 Seahawks 67.2
30 19 Dolphins 66.2
31 32 Jaguars 62.1
32 28 Rams 62.0
NFL Average 79.3
Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 7, 2011
Aik NFL Team AER
1 1 Ravens 92.5
2 11 49ers 84.5
3 10 Lions 79.2
4 9 Jets 78.3
5 8 Texans 77.8
6 7 Cowboys 76.6
7 2 Bengals 76.1
8 4 Browns 76.1
9 12 Redskins 75.3
10 15 Seahawks 75.1
11 22 Giants 74.6
12 27 Packers 73.7
13 24 Bears 72.8
14 20 Falcons 72.6
15 6 Jaguars 72.5
16 28 Buccaneers 70.7
17 19 Vikings 70.2
18 3 Steelers 69.0
19 32 Patriots 67.1
20 21 Broncos 66.4
21 5 Chargers 66.0
22 18 Chiefs 65.9
23 23 Dolphins 65.7
24 26 Cardinals 64.9
25 13 Eagles 64.3
26 16 Titans 64.2
27 31 Bills 63.8
28 25 Raiders 63.5
29 17 Panthers 63.1
30 14 Saints 61.2
31 29 Rams 59.5
32 30 Colts 55.6
NFL Average 70.7
Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC