http://www.aikman.com RSS feeds for Aikman Enterprises 60 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/44/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-Week-16.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=44 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=44&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/44/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-Week-16.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 16 With one week to go in the regular season, the Patriots remain in first place in the Aikman Combined Ratings while the surging Seahawks have moved into second. Of the 10 teams that have made the playoffs so far, nine of them rank in the top 10 of the current Aikman Combined.  The other team is the Bears, in sixth in the Combined and still the leaders in Aikman Defense.  Chicago still has a good chance of making the playoffs. The one team that has qualified for the playoffs without success in the Aikman Combined is Indianapolis.  The Colts, whose season has been marked by close victories and a not particularly rigorous schedule, are 23rd in the Aikman Combined. The NFL continues to use a “yards only” method to rank offense and defense.  Combining the league’s rankings yields mixed results in determining success. The Patriots, first in the Aikman Combined, and in the top five in nearly every subjective power ranking, stand only 12th when you combine their NFL rankings (1+27=28).  Of the 11 teams ahead of them by this method, six are in the playoffs, the Cowboys could be and the Lions, Steelers, Panthers and Eagles will not qualify. New England continues to dominate Aikman Offense just as it leads the NFL in yards.  But after only posting a mark of 89.7 in the last four weeks, they have fallen off a record pace.  The Patriots need an outstanding performance against the Bills on Sunday to reverse the trend and surpass their own mark of 99.0 in 2007 that constitutes the best in Aikman history, which dates to 1995.       Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 16, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1    11-4    Patriots           171.9     98.4     73.4         1     27     28    2    10-5    Seahawks           165.7     86.4     79.4        16      4     20    3    12-3    Texans             164.3     86.5     77.8         8      9     17    4    13-2    Falcons            161.9     87.8     74.0         7     23     30    5    12-3    Broncos            159.9     85.9     74.0         4      3      7    6     9-6    Bears              159.5     76.2     83.3        28      5     33    7    10-4-1  49ers              159.0     85.0     74.0        11      2     13    8    11-4    Packers            157.4     87.2     70.2        13     10     23    9    10-5    Ravens             155.8     83.4     72.4        15     20     35   10     9-6    Bengals            155.4     78.8     76.6        20      6     26   11     8-7    Giants             154.9     83.6     71.3        14     30     44   12     9-6    Redskins           154.6     88.0     66.6         5     28     33   13     7-8    Saints             153.3     89.3     63.9         3     32     35   14     7-8    Steelers           153.0     77.4     75.6        21      1     22   15     6-9    Panthers           152.4     81.5     70.9        17      8     25   16     7-8    Dolphins           151.8     76.8     75.0        26     18     44   17     6-9    Buccaneers         150.0     81.2     68.8        10     29     39   18     4-11   Lions              149.3     83.2     66.1         2     13     15   19     9-6    Vikings            148.5     79.8     68.7        23     16     39   20     8-7    Cowboys            146.2     80.0     66.2         6     19     25   21     7-7-1  Rams               145.2     73.4     71.9        24     15     39   22     5-10   Browns             144.3     72.3     72.0        27     24     51   23    10-5    Colts              142.3     79.3     63.0         9     26     35   24     6-9    Chargers           141.8     73.2     68.6        29     11     40   25     6-9    Jets               140.9     69.3     71.6        30      7     37   26     5-10   Cardinals          140.7     60.7     79.9        32     12     44   27     4-11   Eagles             139.7     72.9     66.8        12     14     26   28     4-11   Raiders            137.5     72.9     64.6        18     21     39   29     5-10   Titans             136.7     74.7     62.0        25     25     50   30     2-13   Jaguars            133.0     68.5     64.5        31     31     62   31     5-10   Bills              132.9     75.7     57.2        19     22     41   32     2-13   Chiefs             130.7     64.2     66.5        22     17     39       Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 16, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots            98.4    2       3      Saints              89.3    3       5      Redskins            88.0    4       7      Falcons             87.8    5      13      Packers             87.2    6       8      Texans              86.5    7      16      Seahawks            86.4    8       4      Broncos             85.9    9      11      49ers               85.0   10      14      Giants              83.6   11      15      Ravens              83.4   12       2      Lions               83.2   13      17      Panthers            81.5   14      10      Buccaneers          81.2   15       6      Cowboys             80.0   16      23      Vikings             79.8   17       9      Colts               79.3   18      20      Bengals             78.8   19      21      Steelers            77.4   20      26      Dolphins            76.8   21      28      Bears               76.2   22      19      Bills               75.7   23      25      Titans              74.7   24      24      Rams                73.4   25      29      Chargers            73.2   26      12      Eagles              72.9   27      18      Raiders             72.9   28      27      Browns              72.3   29      30      Jets                69.3   30      31      Jaguars             68.5   31      22      Chiefs              64.2   32      32      Cardinals           60.7   NFL Average                           79.5       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 16, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       5      Bears               83.3    2      12      Cardinals           79.9    3       4      Seahawks            79.4    4       9      Texans              77.8    5       6      Bengals             76.6    6       1      Steelers            75.6    7      18      Dolphins            75.0    8       3      Broncos             74.0    9      23      Falcons             74.0   10       2      49ers               74.0   11      27      Patriots            73.4   12      20      Ravens              72.4   13      24      Browns              72.0  14      15      Rams                71.9   15       7      Jets                71.6   16      30      Giants              71.3   17       8      Panthers            70.9   18      10      Packers             70.2   19      29      Buccaneers          68.8   20      16      Vikings             68.7   21      11      Chargers            68.6   22      14      Eagles              66.8   23      28      Redskins            66.6   24      17      Chiefs              66.5   25      19      Cowboys             66.2   26      13      Lions               66.1   27      21      Raiders             64.6   28      31      Jaguars             64.5   29      32      Saints              63.9   30      26      Colts               63.0   31      25      Titans              62.0   32      22      Bills               57.2   NFL Average                           70.5   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Thu, 27 Dec 2012 00:10:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:44 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/43/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-Week-15.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=43 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=43&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/43/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-Week-15.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 15   For the fourth consecutive week, we have the status quo of New England atop the Aikman Offense and Aikman Combined Ratings, while the Bears continue to lead in Aikman Defense.   Chicago’s lead continues to dwindle though, and this week they face the team that stands just 1.8 points behind them, the Cardinals.  One advantage for the Bears in Sunday’s game is that they will be facing an Arizona team that also has the NFL’s lowest-rated Aikman Offense.   The Patriots fell below 100 in Aikman Offense for the first time since Week 11, but still remain above the record of 99.0 (since 1995) that they themselves set in 2007.   While the top three in the Aikman Combined remained unchanged despite San Francisco’s win over New England, the Seahawks continued their recent rise from the middle of the pack. Having outscored their opponents 108-17 the last two weeks among other dominant stats, they have moved from 10th to 4th in that span.   The Falcons also surged this week. They were 10th in the Aikman Combined before they shut out the Giants; now they are 5th.   On the other hand, it has been a bad two weeks for Tampa Bay.  After losses to Philadelphia and New Orleans, the Buccaneers have dropped from 8th to 15th.       Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 15, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1    10-4    Patriots           171.5     99.6     72.0         1     27     28    2    12-2    Texans             167.5     88.8     78.7         6      7     13    3    10-3-1  49ers              163.8     86.8     77.0        11      2     13    4     9-5    Seahawks           162.6     84.4     78.2        16      3     19    5    12-2    Falcons            160.5     87.2     73.3         7     19     26    6    11-3    Broncos            159.2     85.3     73.9         5      4      9    7     8-6    Bears              158.4     76.5     81.9        29      5     34    8     8-6    Giants             157.2     84.0     73.2        10     28     38    9     8-6    Bengals            155.4     80.9     74.6        18      6     24   10     9-5    Ravens             154.4     82.0     72.4        21     26     47   11    10-4    Packers            153.5     84.6     68.9        17     14.5   31.5   12     8-6    Redskins           153.2     87.6     65.6         4     29     33   13     7-7    Steelers           153.1     79.5     73.6        19      1     20   14     6-8    Saints             152.8     88.4     64.3         3     32     35   15     6-8    Buccaneers         152.4     83.7     68.7        13     30     43   16     5-9    Panthers           151.7     82.5     69.2        14     10     24   17     4-10   Lions              151.5     84.3     67.2         2     12     14   18     6-8    Dolphins           149.0     74.9     74.0        27     17     44   19     8-6    Cowboys            147.0     79.2     67.9         8     14.5   22.5   20     8-6    Vikings            146.3     79.6     66.7        24     20     44   21     5-9    Browns             145.5     72.3     73.2        26     22     48   22     6-7-1  Rams               142.6     72.9     69.8        22      9     31   23     5-9    Chargers           142.2     74.0     68.2        28     13     41   24     5-9    Cardinals          141.9     61.8     80.1        32     11     43   25     9-5    Colts              141.2     79.5     61.8         9     21     30   26     4-10   Eagles             140.6     73.0     67.5        15     16     31   27     5-9    Titans             139.9     75.7     64.2        23     23     46   28     6-8    Jets               139.3     69.0     70.3        30      8     38   29     4-10   Raiders            137.7     74.3     63.4        12     25     37   30     5-9    Bills              134.4     76.7     57.7        20     24     44   31     2-12   Jaguars            133.7     69.5     64.2        31     31     62   32     2-12   Chiefs             130.4     64.5     65.9        25     18     43       Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 15, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots            99.6    2       6      Texans              88.8    3       3      Saints              88.4    4       4      Redskins            87.6    5       7      Falcons             87.2    6      11      49ers               86.8    7       5      Broncos             85.3    8      17      Packers             84.6    9      16      Seahawks            84.4   10       2      Lions               84.3   11      10      Giants              84.0   12      13      Buccaneers          83.7   13      14      Panthers            82.5   14      21      Ravens              82.0   15      18      Bengals             80.9   16      24      Vikings             79.6   17      19      Steelers            79.5   18       9      Colts               79.5   19       8      Cowboys             79.2   20      20      Bills               76.7   21      29      Bears               76.5   22      23      Titans              75.7   23      27      Dolphins            74.9   24      12      Raiders             74.3   25      28      Chargers            74.0   26      15      Eagles              73.0   27      22      Rams                72.9   28      26      Browns              72.3   29      31      Jaguars             69.5   30      30      Jets                69.0   31      25      Chiefs              64.5   32      32      Cardinals           61.8   NFL Average                           79.7       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 15, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       5      Bears               81.9    2      11      Cardinals           80.1    3       7      Texans              78.7    4       3      Seahawks            78.2    5       2      49ers               77.0    6       6      Bengals             74.6    7      17      Dolphins            74.0    8       4      Broncos             73.9    9       1      Steelers            73.6   10      19      Falcons             73.3   11      28      Giants              73.2   12      22      Browns              73.2   13      26      Ravens              72.4  14      27      Patriots            72.0   15       8      Jets                70.3   16       9      Rams                69.8   17      10      Panthers            69.2   18      14.5    Packers             68.9   19      30      Buccaneers          68.7   20      13      Chargers            68.2   21      14.5    Cowboys             67.9   22      16      Eagles              67.5   23      12      Lions               67.2   24      20      Vikings             66.7   25      18      Chiefs              65.9   26      29      Redskins            65.6   27      32      Saints              64.3   28      23      Titans              64.2   29      31      Jaguars             64.2   30      25      Raiders             63.4   31      21      Colts               61.8   32      24      Bills               57.7   NFL Average                           70.3   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Thu, 20 Dec 2012 02:56:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:43 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/42/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-Week-14.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=42 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=42&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/42/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-Week-14.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Thru Week 14 With their big win Monday night over the Texans, the Patriots have opened up a substantial lead of 5.1 points in the Aikman Combined as New England’s offense continues to thrive at record levels.   The Texans remain second in the Aikman Combined, followed by the 49ers.  The two other teams with three or fewer losses, the 10-3 Broncos in 8th and the 11-2 Falcons in 10th, continue to lag.   Because the Patriots allow ample yards on defense, ranking 26th in the NFL’s yards-only method of determining defensive proficiency, there are nine teams with lower combined yardage numbers than New England’s 27th (offense 1st, defense 26th), including the Eagles and Lions (both 4-9). However, in the Aikman Combined, the combination of an offense on a record pace and a middle-of-the-pack defense (currently 13th in Aikman Defense) puts New England in first with three weeks remaining. We remind you that, like compilations of offensive and defensive yards, the Aikmans represent the accumulation of all 14 games to date, but some teams may be showing better or worse recent form.  One team that is coming on strong is Seattle.  The Seahawks were 16th in the Aikman Combined after Week 7, but have surged to 6th with their recent winning streak.  Their dominant performance on both sides of the ball against Arizona last week advanced them from 10th to 6th.       Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 14, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1    10-3    Patriots           172.6    100.7     71.9         1     26     27    2    11-2    Texans             167.5     89.0     78.5         6      7     13    3     9-3-1  49ers              166.1     87.6     78.5        12      2     14    4     8-5    Giants             161.7     86.8     75.0         9     25     34    5     8-5    Bears              160.7     77.5     83.2        28      5     33    6     8-5    Seahawks           160.6     82.0     78.6        21      3     24    7     6-7    Buccaneers         158.3     87.2     71.0        14     29     43    8    10-3    Broncos            157.6     85.1     72.5         4      4      8    9     9-4    Ravens             157.1     83.8     73.3        18     24     42   10    11-2    Falcons            156.9     86.3     70.6         8     20     28   11     7-6    Bengals            153.8     81.5     72.3        15      6     21   12     4-9    Lions              153.5     86.5     67.0         2     13     15   13     7-6    Steelers           153.4     79.0     74.4        19      1     20   14     9-4    Packers            152.1     84.5     67.6        17     17     34   15     7-6    Redskins           151.7     86.4     65.3         5     28     33   16     4-9    Panthers           148.5     80.9     67.5        16     15     31   17     5-8    Saints             147.8     86.8     61.1         3     32     35   18     5-8    Browns             146.9     71.7     75.2        26     23     49   19     7-6    Cowboys            146.8     78.6     68.2        10     11     21   20     5-8    Dolphins           146.3     74.1     72.2        29     19     48   21     7-6    Vikings            145.6     78.8     66.8        24     18     42   22     5-8    Chargers           144.9     75.2     69.8        27      9     36   23     6-6-1  Rams               142.2     71.7     70.5        25     10     35   24     4-9    Eagles             141.9     75.0     66.8        11     14     25   25     9-4    Colts              141.7     80.2     61.6         7     22     29   26     6-7    Jets               139.5     69.8     69.7        30      8     38   27     4-9    Cardinals          139.4     60.6     78.8        32     12     44   28     4-9    Titans             138.3     76.0     62.2        23     27     50   29     2-11   Jaguars            136.3     71.9     64.4        31     31     62   30     5-8    Bills              136.0     76.8     59.2        20     21     41   31     3-10   Raiders            134.0     74.1     59.9        13     30     43   32     2-11   Chiefs             132.3     66.9     65.4        22     16     38       Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 14, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots           100.7    2       6      Texans              89.0    3      12      49ers               87.6    4      14      Buccaneers          87.2    5       3      Saints              86.8    6       9      Giants              86.8    7       2      Lions               86.5    8       5      Redskins            86.4    9       8      Falcons             86.3   10       4      Broncos             85.1   11      17      Packers             84.5   12      18      Ravens              83.8   13      21      Seahawks            82.0   14      15      Bengals             81.5   15      16      Panthers            80.9   16       7      Colts               80.2   17      19      Steelers            79.0   18      24      Vikings             78.8   19      10      Cowboys             78.6   20      28      Bears               77.5   21      20      Bills               76.8   22      23      Titans              76.0   23      27      Chargers            75.2   24      11      Eagles              75.0   25      13      Raiders             74.1   26      29      Dolphins            74.1   27      31      Jaguars             71.9   28      26      Browns              71.7   29      25      Rams                71.7   30      30      Jets                69.8   31      22      Chiefs              66.9   32      32      Cardinals           60.6   NFL Average                           80.0       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 14, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       5      Bears               83.2    2      12      Cardinals           78.8    3       3      Seahawks            78.6    4       2      49ers               78.5    5       7      Texans              78.5    6      23      Browns              75.2    7      25      Giants              75.0    8       1      Steelers            74.4    9      24      Ravens              73.3   10       4      Broncos             72.5   11       6      Bengals             72.3   12      19      Dolphins            72.2   13      26      Patriots            71.9   14      29      Buccaneers          71.0   15      20      Falcons             70.6   16      10      Rams                70.5   17       9      Chargers            69.8   18       8      Jets                69.7   19      11      Cowboys             68.2   20      17      Packers             67.6   21      15      Panthers            67.5   22      13      Lions               67.0   23      14      Eagles              66.8   24      18      Vikings             66.8   25      16      Chiefs              65.4   26      28      Redskins            65.3   27      31      Jaguars             64.4   28      27      Titans              62.2   29      22      Colts               61.6   30      32      Saints              61.1   31      30      Raiders             59.9   32      21      Bills               59.2   NFL Average                           70.0   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC   Troy Wed, 12 Dec 2012 14:29:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:42 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/41/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-13.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=41 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=41&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/41/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-13.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 13 The leaders in all three categories of the Aikman Ratings were unchanged after Week 13 NFL action. The Patriots are atop the Aikman Combined Ratings for the second consecutive week, just 1.2 points ahead of the team they displaced, the Texans.  The top two teams in the Aikman Ratings have a big showdown Monday night in New England.  Five of the next six teams in the Aikman Combined are from the NFC, led by the 49ers.   New England is also atop the Aikman Offense Ratings for the 10th straight week and remain on pace to be the first team in Aikman history (since 1995) to top 100.  They also stand as the top team in the NFL’s yards-only rankings. The Bears are still atop the Aikman Defense Ratings, but their lead that once was near double digits has dropped to 2.8 points ahead of both the Texans and Cardinals.   Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 13, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     9-3    Patriots           172.6    100.4     72.2         1     26     27     2    11-1    Texans             171.4     89.6     81.7         4      6     10     3     8-3-1  49ers              166.1     87.3     78.8        11      2     13     4     8-4    Bears              161.6     77.1     84.5        30      5     35     5     7-5    Giants             160.8     85.5     75.3        10     22     32     6     9-3    Ravens             158.4     83.3     75.1        19     25     44     7    11-1    Falcons            158.1     85.9     72.2         9     18     27     8     6-6    Buccaneers         157.8     86.7     71.1        14     30     44     9     9-3    Broncos            157.6     85.2     72.3         5      3      8    10     7-5    Seahawks           155.1     80.3     74.7        24      4     28    11     7-5    Steelers           154.5     78.6     75.9        20      1     21    12     7-5    Bengals            154.3     81.6     72.6        15      8     23    13     8-4    Packers            153.3     85.0     68.3        16     15     31    14     4-8    Lions              152.7     86.2     66.6         2     19     21    15     6-6    Redskins           151.1     85.3     65.7         7     29     36    16     5-7    Saints             149.6     87.5     62.1         6     32     38    17     3-9    Panthers           147.8     79.4     68.4        18     14     32    18     5-7    Dolphins           147.4     74.1     73.3        28     20     48    19     6-6    Cowboys            146.5     78.5     68.0         8     11     19    20     4-8    Cardinals          145.4     63.7     81.7        32      7     39    21     6-6    Vikings            145.3     78.5     66.7        22     13     35    22     4-8    Chargers           144.0     73.7     70.3        26      9     35    23     4-8    Browns             143.9     70.3     73.6        27     23     50    24     3-9    Eagles             141.9     74.3     67.6        12     17     29    25     8-4    Colts              140.5     80.2     60.3         3     21     24    26     5-6-1  Rams               139.8     70.8     69.0        25     12     37    27     4-8    Titans             137.9     76.4     61.5        23     27     50    28     2-10   Jaguars            137.5     73.8     63.7        31     31     62    29     5-7    Bills              136.6     78.1     58.5        17     24     41    30     5-7    Jets               136.5     69.2     67.2        29     10     39    31     2-10   Chiefs             133.7     68.2     65.4        21     16     37    32     3-9    Raiders            133.4     74.3     59.1        13     28     41        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 13, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots           100.4    2       4      Texans              89.6    3       6      Saints              87.5    4      11      49ers               87.3    5      14      Buccaneers          86.7    6       2      Lions               86.2    7       9      Falcons             85.9    8      10      Giants              85.5    9       7      Redskins            85.3   10       5      Broncos             85.2   11      16      Packers             85.0   12      19      Ravens              83.3   13      15      Bengals             81.6   14      24      Seahawks            80.3   15       3      Colts               80.2   16      18      Panthers            79.4   17      20      Steelers            78.6   18      22      Vikings             78.5   19       8      Cowboys             78.5   20      17      Bills               78.1   21      30      Bears               77.1   22      23      Titans              76.4   23      12      Eagles              74.3   24      13      Raiders             74.3   25      28      Dolphins            74.1   26      31      Jaguars             73.8   27      26      Chargers            73.7   28      25      Rams                70.8   29      27      Browns              70.3   30      29      Jets                69.2   31      21      Chiefs              68.2   32      32      Cardinals           63.7   NFL Average                           79.9       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 13, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       5      Bears               84.5    2       6      Texans              81.7    3       7      Cardinals           81.7    4       2      49ers               78.8    5       1      Steelers            75.9    6      22      Giants              75.3    7      25      Ravens              75.1    8       4      Seahawks            74.7    9      23      Browns              73.6   10      20      Dolphins            73.3   11       8      Bengals             72.6   12       3      Broncos             72.3   13      26      Patriots            72.2   14      18      Falcons             72.2   15      30      Buccaneers          71.1   16       9      Chargers            70.3   17      12      Rams                69.0   18      14      Panthers            68.4   19      15      Packers             68.3   20      11      Cowboys             68.0   21      17      Eagles              67.6   22      10      Jets                67.2   23      13      Vikings             66.7   24      19      Lions               66.6   25      29      Redskins            65.7   26      16      Chiefs              65.4   27      31      Jaguars             63.7   28      32      Saints              62.1   29      27      Titans              61.5   30      21      Colts               60.3   31      28      Raiders             59.1   32      24      Bills               58.5   NFL Average                           70.1   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC     Troy Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:14:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:41 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/40/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-As-of-Week-12.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=40 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=40&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/40/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-As-of-Week-12.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 12 Bolstered by an offense that is working at a record-setting pace, the Patriots have pulled into first place in the Aikman Combined Ratings, ending Houston’s three-week run at the top. The Patriots have been clicking at an incredible 110.2 pace for the last four weeks while averaging 47.5 points per game.  Other areas of remarkable performance for New England’s offense that have boosted their Aikman Offense number to 101.7 include having only one turnover, converting 64.7% of third down opportunities and averaging 8.61 yards per pass play. The Patriots, who have opened up a huge lead of 11.7 points over the second-place Texans, are seeking to break their own Aikman Offense record (since 1995) of 99.0 in 1997. On defense, the NFL, which only considers yards allowed, has New England in 27th place, while the Aikman Defense Ratings place them 13th.  We would argue that a more intuitive rating for the totality of New England’s defensive play so far is indeed in the middle of the pack and not near the bottom. In Aikman Defense, the Bears continue to steam along in first with a 7.7-point lead over the Cardinals.  They have been in first since Week 3 and, at 88.1, are seeking to become just the fourth defense in Aikman history to top the 90.0 mark. The 49ers are known as a defensive team, but in the Aikmans they stand fourth on both sides of the ball.  This combined success has pushed them into second in the Aikman Combined.   Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 12, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     8-3    Patriots           173.4    101.7     71.7         1     27     28    2    10-1    Texans             169.0     90.0     79.0         3      6      9    3     8-2-1  49ers              166.1     88.5     77.6        11      2     13    4     8-3    Bears              164.1     76.0     88.1        30      3     33    5     7-4    Giants             160.7     85.0     75.7        10     23     33    6     9-2    Ravens             159.5     84.2     75.3        16     24     40    7     6-5    Buccaneers         159.5     87.2     72.3        12     30     42    8     8-3    Broncos            157.5     84.8     72.7         4      4      8    9    10-1    Falcons            157.0     86.5     70.6         6     14     20   10     6-5    Steelers           154.4     78.7     75.7        19.5    1     20.5   11     6-5    Seahawks           154.3     78.3     76.0        27      5     32   12     4-7    Lions              153.4     85.7     67.7         2     13     15   13     7-4    Packers            153.3     85.1     68.2        18     18     36   14     6-5    Bengals            152.6     82.2     70.5        13      9     22   15     5-6    Redskins           152.3     85.9     66.4         7     28     35   16     5-6    Saints             151.2     89.9     61.3         8     32     40   17     5-6    Dolphins           148.4     74.2     74.2        26     21     47   18     3-8    Panthers           147.6     77.5     70.1        19.5   17     36.5   19     5-6    Cowboys            146.5     76.2     70.3         9      8     17   20     4-7    Cardinals          146.2     65.8     80.4        31      7     38   21     6-5    Vikings            145.5     78.5     67.0        22     11     33   22     4-7    Chargers           145.3     75.4     69.9        25     10     35   23     3-8    Browns             144.9     70.0     74.9        29     22     51   24     3-8    Eagles             140.9     71.3     69.6        14     15     29   25     4-7    Titans             140.9     79.7     61.2        24     29     53   26     4-6-1  Rams               140.6     72.1     68.5        23     12     35   27     7-4    Colts              139.6     79.2     60.4         5     20     25   28     2-9    Jaguars            137.9     74.0     63.9        32     31     63   29     4-7    Jets               134.0     70.6     63.5        28     19     47   30     4-7    Bills              133.9     77.2     56.8        17     26     43   31     1-10   Chiefs             131.6     64.8     66.7        21     16     37   32     3-8    Raiders            130.6     72.8     57.8        15     25     40       Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 12, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots           101.7    2       3      Texans              90.0    3       8      Saints              89.9    4      11      49ers               88.5    5      12      Buccaneers          87.2    6       6      Falcons             86.5    7       7      Redskins            85.9    8       2      Lions               85.7    9      18      Packers             85.1   10      10      Giants              85.0   11       4      Broncos             84.8   12      16      Ravens              84.2   13      13      Bengals             82.2   14      24      Titans              79.7   15       5      Colts               79.2   16      19.5    Steelers            78.7   17      22      Vikings             78.5   18      27      Seahawks            78.3   19      19.5    Panthers            77.5   20      17      Bills               77.2   21       9      Cowboys             76.2   22      30      Bears               76.0   23      25      Chargers            75.4   24      26      Dolphins            74.2   25      32      Jaguars             74.0   26      15      Raiders             72.8   27      23      Rams                72.1   28      14      Eagles              71.3   29      28      Jets                70.6   30      29      Browns              70.0   31      31      Cardinals           65.8   32      21      Chiefs              64.8   NFL Average                           79.9       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 12, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       3      Bears               88.1    2       7      Cardinals           80.4    3       6      Texans              79.0    4       2      49ers               77.6    5       5      Seahawks            76.0    6      23      Giants              75.7    7       1      Steelers            75.7    8      24      Ravens              75.3    9      22      Browns              74.9   10      21      Dolphins            74.2   11       4      Broncos             72.7   12      30      Buccaneers          72.3   13      27      Patriots            71.7   14      14      Falcons             70.6   15       9      Bengals             70.5   16       8      Cowboys             70.3   17      17      Panthers            70.1   18      10      Chargers            69.9   19      15      Eagles              69.6   20      12      Rams                68.5   21      18      Packers             68.2   22      13      Lions               67.7   23      11      Vikings             67.0   24      16      Chiefs              66.7   25      28      Redskins            66.4   26      31      Jaguars             63.9   27      19      Jets                63.5   28      32      Saints              61.3   29      29      Titans              61.2   30      20      Colts               60.4   31      25      Raiders             57.8   32      26      Bills               56.8   NFL Average                           70.1   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:05:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:40 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/39/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-As-of-Week-11.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=39 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=39&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/39/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-As-of-Week-11.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 11   The Texans, Patriots and Bears continue as the number one teams in the Aikman Combined, Aikman Offense and Aikman Defense Ratings, respectively, through Week 11, but change could be in the offing in the Combined.   The Texans have been atop the Aikman Combined since Week 9, but the Patriots have closed the gap to just 0.1 after a big outing against the Colts.     On defense, the Bears still lead, as they have since Week 3, but they fell below the 90.0-point mark after a less-than-stellar outing Monday night against the 49ers.   While the Bears’ lead is shrinking in Aikman Defense, the Patriots are stretching it out to nearly double figures in Aikman Offense.  With a mark of 100.8, New England’s offense is performing at amazing efficiency in all seven Aikman categories, as 100 is designed to represent a combined score of near NFL-record efficiency.  The best season on Offense in Aikman History (dating to 1995) is 99.0, also by the Patriots back in 2007.       Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 11, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     9-1    Texans             171.2     88.5     82.7         6      4     10    2     7-3    Patriots           171.1    100.8     70.3         1     28     29    3     7-2-1  49ers              168.5     89.6     78.9        13      2     15    4     7-3    Bears              161.5     74.4     87.2        30      5     35    5     6-4    Buccaneers         160.0     87.0     73.0        10     29     39    6     8-2    Ravens             159.1     84.4     74.7        21     25     46    7     7-3    Packers            158.5     87.5     71.1        18     16     34    8     9-1    Falcons            158.3     86.7     71.5         7     18     25    9     6-4    Steelers           158.0     82.7     75.3        17      1     18   10     7-3    Broncos            157.4     86.1     71.3         3      6      9   11     6-4    Giants             156.9     82.5     74.3        11.5   22     33.5   12     6-4    Seahawks           155.5     77.1     78.4        26      3     29   13     4-6    Lions              154.5     84.0     70.6         2     10     12   14     5-5    Saints             151.1     90.9     60.2         5     32     37   15     4-6    Redskins           150.9     84.6     66.2         8     26     34   16     6-4    Vikings            148.6     81.0     67.7        20     13     33   17     5-5    Bengals            148.1     79.2     68.9        15     17     32   18     5-5    Cowboys            147.7     75.6     72.2        11.5    7     18.5   19     4-6    Dolphins           146.9     71.7     75.2        28     21     49   20     4-6    Cardinals          146.1     66.6     79.5        31      9     40   21     2-8    Panthers           146.0     76.0     70.0        22     19     41   22     4-6    Chargers           145.7     76.0     69.7        23      8     31   23     3-7    Eagles             141.6     70.6     70.9        14     12     26   24     4-6    Titans             141.3     80.0     61.3        25     30     55   25     2-8    Browns             140.7     69.6     71.1        27     23     50   26     3-6-1  Rams               139.4     73.4     66.0        24     11     35   27     6-4    Colts              138.8     79.9     58.9         4     20     24   28     4-6    Jets               137.4     71.1     66.3        29     14     43   29     1-9    Jaguars            134.9     71.9     63.0        32     31     63   30     3-7    Raiders            133.5     74.0     59.5         9     24     33   31     4-6    Bills              132.2     77.5     54.7        16     27     43   32     1-9    Chiefs             131.2     65.3     65.9        19     15     34       Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 11, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots           100.8    2       5      Saints              90.9    3      13      49ers               89.6    4       6      Texans              88.5    5      18      Packers             87.5    6      10      Buccaneers          87.0    7       7      Falcons             86.7    8       3      Broncos             86.1    9       8      Redskins            84.6   10      21      Ravens              84.4   11       2      Lions               84.0   12      17      Steelers            82.7   13      11.5    Giants              82.5   14      20      Vikings             81.0   15      25      Titans              80.0   16       4      Colts               79.9   17      15      Bengals             79.2   18      16      Bills               77.5   19      26      Seahawks            77.1   20      23      Chargers            76.0   21      22      Panthers            76.0   22      11.5    Cowboys             75.6   23      30      Bears               74.4   24       9      Raiders             74.0   25      24      Rams                73.4   26      32      Jaguars             71.9   27      28      Dolphins            71.7   28      29      Jets                71.1   29      14      Eagles              70.6   30      27      Browns              69.6   31      31      Cardinals           66.6   32      19      Chiefs              65.3   NFL Average                           79.8       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 11, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       5      Bears               87.2    2       4      Texans              82.7    3       9      Cardinals           79.5    4       2      49ers               78.9    5       3      Seahawks            78.4    6       1      Steelers            75.3    7      21      Dolphins            75.2    8      25      Ravens              74.7    9      22      Giants              74.3   10      29      Buccaneers          73.0   11       7      Cowboys             72.2   12      18      Falcons             71.5   13       6      Broncos             71.3   14      23      Browns              71.1  15      16      Packers             71.1   16      12      Eagles              70.9   17      10      Lions               70.6   18      28      Patriots            70.3   19      19      Panthers            70.0   20       8      Chargers            69.7   21      17      Bengals             68.9   22      13      Vikings             67.7   23      14      Jets                66.3   24      26      Redskins            66.2   25      11      Rams                66.0   26      15      Chiefs              65.9   27      31      Jaguars             63.0   28      30      Titans              61.3   29      32      Saints              60.2   30      24      Raiders             59.5   31      20      Colts               58.9   32      27      Bills               54.7   NFL Average                           70.2   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:24:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:39 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/38/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-10.aspx#Comments 3 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=38 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=38&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/38/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-10.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 10   The leaders remain unchanged after 10 weeks in the three major categories of the Aikman Ratings.  The Patriots in Aikman Offense and the Bears in Aikman Defense have been atop those categories since September, while the Texans lead the Aikman Combined for the second straight week after their victory over Chicago. - - - The Aikman Combined has been identifying the Buccaneers as a team to watch for several weeks now.  Tampa Bay, winner of three straight, has moved up to 6th in the Aikman Combined, slightly ahead of the 8-1 Falcons, as well as the Packers, Steelers, Giants and Broncos.  The Buccaneers have two games remaining with Atlanta.  Is it possible they could still having something to say about the NFC South title? On the other hand, the Aikman Combined is not so kind to 6-3 Indianapolis.  Indianapolis stand just 25th at the moment, but part of that might be that nine of the bottom 10 teams are in the AFC.  Houston and New England represent the AFC at the top of the Aikman Combined, but 11 of the next 14 clubs are from the NFC.  - - - Troy Aikman conceived of the Aikman Ratings after noticing that quite often a team would dominate an opponent on both sides of the ball, score a convincing victory – and still falter in the NFL’s official “yards only” ranking of offense and defense. There were several striking examples of that in Week 10, with the Ravens, Bengals and Cowboys scoring double-digit wins on the scoreboard while outgained in yardage.  Among the games played to a decision, teams with more yards were only 6-7 on the week and are at just 58.2% for the year. On the other hand, teams with a higher Aikman Game Score went 12-1 on the week and have won 80% of the games to date. - - - The NFL’s “yards only” rankings would have you believe that the Eagles (8th) have a better offense than the Packers (19th) among others.  The Aikman Ratings put Green Bay’s offense 5th and Philadelphia in 27th.  Which offense do you think NFL defensive coordinators find more challenging to keep out of the end zone?       Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 10, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     8-1    Texans             172.8     87.2     85.7        15      2     17     2     6-3    Patriots           171.2     99.9     71.3         1     25     26     3     7-2    Bears              167.4     76.0     91.3        28      5     33     4     6-2-1  49ers              167.2     89.3     77.9        11      3     14     5     7-2    Ravens             160.6     87.7     72.9        16.5   27     43.5    6     5-4    Buccaneers         160.3     87.7     72.6        12.5   30     42.5    7     8-1    Falcons            159.7     90.0     69.6         6     20     26     8     6-3    Packers            158.4     88.3     70.1        19     14     33     9     6-3    Steelers           157.9     85.1     72.8        16.5    1     17.5   10     6-4    Giants             156.9     82.5     74.3        10     21     31    11     6-3    Broncos            156.2     86.8     69.4         3      6      9    12     4-5    Lions              155.8     85.5     70.3         2     10     12    13     6-4    Seahawks           155.5     77.1     78.4        27      4     31    14     4-5    Saints             149.0     89.9     59.0         4     32     36    15     6-4    Vikings            148.6     80.9     67.7        21     13     34    16     4-5    Cowboys            147.3     75.4     71.9         9      8     17    17     4-5    Dolphins           147.2     72.9     74.3        26     22     48    18     3-6    Redskins           147.0     83.8     63.2         7     28     35    19     4-5    Chargers           146.9     77.9     69.0        22      7     29    20     2-7    Panthers           146.2     76.1     70.2        23     16     39    21     3-6    Eagles             144.9     72.5     72.4         8     12     20    22     4-5    Cardinals          144.9     66.9     78.0        31      9     40    23     4-5    Bengals            143.0     76.4     66.7        20     19     39    24     4-6    Titans             141.3     80.0     61.3        25     29     54    25     6-3    Colts              139.9     79.1     60.8         5     18     23    26     2-7    Browns             139.8     68.7     71.0        29     24     53    27     3-5-1  Rams               138.9     73.5     65.4        24     15     39    28     3-6    Jets               135.2     70.2     65.0        30     17     47    29     1-8    Jaguars            134.1     69.4     64.6        32     26     58    30     3-6    Raiders            133.8     73.4     60.4        12.5   23     35.5   31     1-8    Chiefs             133.8     66.0     67.8        18     11     29    32     3-6    Bills              130.3     78.9     51.3        14     31     45        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 10, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots            99.9    2       6      Falcons             90.0    3       4      Saints              89.9    4      11      49ers               89.3    5      19      Packers             88.3    6      12.5    Buccaneers          87.7    7      16.5    Ravens              87.7    8      15      Texans              87.2    9       3      Broncos             86.8   10       2      Lions               85.5   11      16.5    Steelers            85.1   12       7      Redskins            83.8   13      10      Giants              82.5   14      21      Vikings             80.9   15      25      Titans              80.0   16       5      Colts               79.1   17      14      Bills               78.9   18      22      Chargers            77.9   19      27      Seahawks            77.1   20      20      Bengals             76.4   21      23      Panthers            76.1   22      28      Bears               76.0   23       9      Cowboys             75.4   24      24      Rams                73.5   25      12.5    Raiders             73.4   26      26      Dolphins            72.9   27       8      Eagles              72.5   28      30      Jets                70.2   29      32      Jaguars             69.4   30      29      Browns              68.7   31      31      Cardinals           66.9   32      18      Chiefs              66.0   NFL Average                           80.1       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 10, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       5      Bears               91.3    2       2      Texans              85.7    3       4      Seahawks            78.4    4       9      Cardinals           78.0    5       3      49ers               77.9    6      22      Dolphins            74.3    7      21      Giants              74.3    8      27      Ravens              72.9    9       1      Steelers            72.8   10      30      Buccaneers          72.6   11      12      Eagles              72.4   12       8      Cowboys             71.9   13      25      Patriots            71.3   14      24      Browns              71.0   15      10      Lions               70.3   16      16      Panthers            70.2   17      14      Packers             70.1   18      20      Falcons             69.6   19       6      Broncos             69.4   20       7      Chargers            69.0   21      11      Chiefs              67.8   22      13      Vikings             67.7   23      19      Bengals             66.7   24      15      Rams                65.4   25      17      Jets                65.0   26      26      Jaguars             64.6   27      28      Redskins            63.2   28      29      Titans              61.3   29      18      Colts               60.8   30      23      Raiders             60.4   31      32      Saints              59.0   32      31      Bills               51.3   NFL Average                           69.9   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Tue, 13 Nov 2012 20:37:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:38 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/37/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-9.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=37 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=37&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/37/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-9.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 9   We have our third leader in as many weeks in the Aikman Combined as the Texans edge ahead of the Patriots who were on bye in Week 9.  Four teams are within 3.3 points of the top, with the Bears, the Week 7 leaders, and 49ers rounding out the group.   The undefeated Falcons are in fifth, but they have yet to play any of the other teams in the current top 10.  The best team they have defeated in the Aikman Combined at the moment is 12th-place Denver.    We note that if you merely combined the NFL’s yards-only offensive and defensive ratings to determine the top team, you would get the 4-4 Lions (2 offense, 7 defense for 9 total) and Cowboys (6+5 for 11) as the two top teams.   The Aikman Offense and Defense leaders are much more clear cut with both the Patriots on Offense and the Bears in Defense, leading by 8.4 points.       Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 9, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     7-1    Texans             173.3     90.1     83.2        12      3     15     2     5-3    Patriots           172.2     98.8     73.4         1     22     23     3     7-1    Bears              171.4     79.8     91.6        25      6     31     4     6-2    49ers              170.0     88.8     81.2        13      2     15     5     8-0    Falcons            162.2     90.4     71.9         8     19     27     6     4-4    Buccaneers         162.2     87.5     74.6         9     29     38     7     6-3    Giants             160.7     84.6     76.1        11     25     36     8     6-3    Packers            158.4     88.3     70.1        18     12     30     9     5-3    Steelers           158.1     87.2     70.9        14      1     15    10     4-4    Lions              156.9     85.7     71.3         2      7      9    11     6-2    Ravens             156.4     85.3     71.1        19     26     45    12     5-3    Broncos            156.2     88.1     68.1         3     10     13    13     4-4    Dolphins           154.3     76.9     77.4        23     24     47    14     5-4    Seahawks           150.7     75.7     75.0        29      4     33    15     5-4    Vikings            148.1     80.1     68.0        22     11     33    16     3-5    Saints             147.8     88.9     58.9         5     32     37    17     3-6    Redskins           147.0     83.8     63.2         7     28     35    18     3-5    Cowboys            146.9     74.7     72.2         6      5     11    19     2-6    Panthers           146.8     77.1     69.7        20     13.5   33.5   20     4-4    Chargers           146.3     76.0     70.3        26      9     35    21     4-5    Cardinals          144.9     66.9     78.0        31      8     39    22     3-5    Eagles             144.3     71.5     72.8        10     15     25    23     2-7    Browns             139.8     68.7     71.0        30     23     53    24     3-5    Jets               139.2     73.6     65.6        27     16     43    25     3-5    Bengals            139.0     74.8     64.2        17     20     37    26     3-5    Raiders            137.5     74.9     62.6        15     21     36    27     5-3    Colts              137.2     79.4     57.8         4     18     22    28     3-5    Rams               137.1     70.5     66.6        28     13.5   41.5   29     3-6    Titans             134.3     77.7     56.5        24     30     54    30     1-7    Jaguars            133.8     70.2     63.6        32     27     59    31     1-7    Chiefs             132.5     66.5     66.0        16     17     33    32     3-5    Bills              129.4     76.8     52.6        21     31     52        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 9, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots            98.8    2       8      Falcons             90.4    3      12      Texans              90.1    4       5      Saints              88.9    5      13      49ers               88.8    6      18      Packers             88.3    7       3      Broncos             88.1    8       9      Buccaneers          87.5    9      14      Steelers            87.2   10       2      Lions               85.7   11      19      Ravens              85.3   12      11      Giants              84.6   13       7      Redskins            83.8   14      22      Vikings             80.1   15      25      Bears               79.8   16       4      Colts               79.4   17      24      Titans              77.7   18      20      Panthers            77.1   19      23      Dolphins            76.9   20      21      Bills               76.8   21      26      Chargers            76.0   22      29      Seahawks            75.7   23      15      Raiders             74.9   24      17      Bengals             74.8   25       6      Cowboys             74.7   26      27      Jets                73.6   27      10      Eagles              71.5   28      28      Rams                70.5   29      32      Jaguars             70.2   30      30      Browns              68.7   31      31      Cardinals           66.9   32      16      Chiefs              66.5   NFL Average                           80.2       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 9, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       6      Bears               91.6    2       3      Texans              83.2    3       2      49ers               81.2    4       8      Cardinals           78.0    5      24      Dolphins            77.4    6      25      Giants              76.1    7       4      Seahawks            75.0    8      29      Buccaneers          74.6    9      22      Patriots            73.4   10      15      Eagles              72.8   11       5      Cowboys             72.2   12      19      Falcons             71.9   13       7      Lions               71.3   14      26      Ravens              71.1   15      23      Browns              71.0   16       1      Steelers            70.9   17       9      Chargers            70.3   18      12      Packers             70.1   19      13.5    Panthers            69.7   20      10      Broncos             68.1   21      11      Vikings             68.0   22      13.5    Rams                66.6   23      17      Chiefs              66.0   24      16      Jets                65.6   25      20      Bengals             64.2   26      27      Jaguars             63.6   27      28      Redskins            63.2   28      21      Raiders             62.6   29      32      Saints              58.9   30      18      Colts               57.8   31      30      Titans              56.5   32      31      Bills               52.6   NFL Average                           69.8   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:20:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:37 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/36/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-8.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=36 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=36&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/36/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-8.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 8 In their narrow win over the Panthers, the Bears faltered a bit.  They still retain their top spot in Aikman Defense for the sixth straight week (by a huge margin of 10.1), but their Aikman Combined Rating dropped 5.3 points. In their London romp over St. Louis, the Patriots upped their Aikman Offense Rating to 98.8, good for first place for the fifth straight week.  They also advanced some on defense as well, for an Aikman Combined improvement of 5.7 points. As a result, New England has moved past the idle Texans and displaced the Bears as the leaders in the Aikman Combined through Week 8. At the halfway point of their season, New England’s offense may have to be evaluated on a historic scale.  The best season-long mark in the Aikman data base, that goes back to 1995, is the 99.0 mark of the Patriots in 2007.  Last year’s Saints came in just off that mark at 98.8. The scale has slid to the offensive side of the Aikmans in recent years.  Designed for 75 to be average on both sides of the ball, the game has changed to where 80.0 is this year’s offensive average (78.9 in 2011 was a league-wide season record that could be broken this year). Thus for the Bears defense to stand at 91.6, or 21 points above the league average, would be the equivalent league differential of 101.6 or so on offense.       Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 8, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     5-3    Patriots           172.2     98.8     73.4         1     23     24     2     6-1    Texans             171.8     90.3     81.5         9      3     12     3     6-1    Bears              170.8     79.1     91.6        26      7     33     4     6-2    49ers              170.0     88.8     81.2        11      1     12     5     6-2    Giants             163.5     86.7     76.8         4     24     28     6     7-0    Falcons            162.5     91.0     71.6        13     20     33     7     3-4    Buccaneers         160.7     84.5     76.2        15     27     42     8     5-3    Packers            157.7     88.9     68.8        21     13     34     9     4-3    Steelers           157.4     88.2     69.2        10      2     12    10     4-3    Dolphins           157.1     75.8     81.3        23     22     45    11     4-3    Broncos            156.6     88.4     68.3         3      8     11    12     3-4    Lions              153.6     81.6     72.0         2      9     11    13     5-2    Ravens             152.5     84.0     68.5        16     28     44    14     5-3    Vikings            149.9     79.6     70.3        22     11     33    15     3-5    Redskins           149.6     85.3     64.3         6     29     35    16     4-4    Seahawks           149.0     72.4     76.6        30      5     35    17     3-4    Cowboys            147.7     74.6     73.1         7      4     11    18     3-4    Eagles             147.0     73.3     73.8        14     12     26    19     3-4    Chargers           146.5     76.7     69.8        25     10     35    20     4-4    Cardinals          146.0     66.7     79.3        31      6     37    21     2-5    Saints             144.3     89.3     55.0         5     32     37    22     2-6    Browns             143.4     70.6     72.9        29     26     55    23     1-6    Panthers           142.9     74.1     68.8        20     15     35    24     3-5    Jets               139.2     73.6     65.6        27     16     43    25     3-4    Raiders            139.1     73.3     65.7        18     17     35    26     3-4    Bengals            137.8     73.5     64.3        17     21     38    27     3-5    Rams               137.1     70.5     66.6        28     14     42    28     1-6    Jaguars            135.4     68.2     67.2        32     25     57    29     3-5    Titans             134.8     79.3     55.6        24     30     54    30     4-3    Colts              133.3     76.4     56.9         8     19     27    31     3-4    Bills              130.9     79.6     51.3        19     31     50    32     1-6    Chiefs             130.7     66.1     64.6        12     18     30        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 8, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots            98.8    2      13      Falcons             91.0    3       9      Texans              90.3    4       5      Saints              89.3    5      21      Packers             88.9    6      11      49ers               88.8    7       3      Broncos             88.4    8      10      Steelers            88.2    9       4      Giants              86.7   10       6      Redskins            85.3   11      15      Buccaneers          84.5   12      16      Ravens              84.0   13       2      Lions               81.6   14      22      Vikings             79.6   15      19      Bills               79.6   16      24      Titans              79.3   17      26      Bears               79.1   18      25      Chargers            76.7   19       8      Colts               76.4   20      23      Dolphins            75.8   21       7      Cowboys             74.6   22      20      Panthers            74.1   23      27      Jets                73.6   24      17      Bengals             73.5   25      18      Raiders             73.3   26      14      Eagles              73.3   27      30      Seahawks            72.4   28      29      Browns              70.6   29      28      Rams                70.5   30      32      Jaguars             68.2   31      31      Cardinals           66.7   32      12      Chiefs              66.1   NFL Average                           80.0       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 8, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       7      Bears               91.6    2       3      Texans              81.5    3      22      Dolphins            81.3    4       1      49ers               81.2    5       6      Cardinals           79.3    6      24      Giants              76.8    7       5      Seahawks            76.6    8      27      Buccaneers          76.2    9      12      Eagles              73.8   10      23      Patriots            73.4   11       4      Cowboys             73.1   12      26      Browns              72.9   13       9      Lions               72.0   14      20      Falcons             71.6   15      11      Vikings             70.3   16      10      Chargers            69.8   17       2      Steelers            69.2   18      13      Packers             68.8   19      15      Panthers            68.8   20      28      Ravens              68.5   21       8      Broncos             68.3   22      25      Jaguars             67.2   23      14      Rams                66.6   24      17      Raiders             65.7   25      16      Jets                65.6   26      18      Chiefs              64.6   27      29      Redskins            64.3   28      21      Bengals             64.3   29      19      Colts               56.9   30      30      Titans              55.6   31      32      Saints              55.0   32      31      Bills               51.3   NFL Average                           70.0   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:43:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:36 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/35/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-7.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=35 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=35&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/35/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-7.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 7 After beating division rival Detroit on Monday night, the Bears remain in first place in the Aikman Combined Ratings after seven weeks of the 2012 NFL season. It is the second consecutive week in first for the Bears, who did see their margin over second-place Houston shrink from 6.2 points to 4.3 after the Texans slammed Baltimore. The Patriots, sitting atop the Aikman Offense Ratings for the fourth straight week, remain in 3rd. The NFL’s “yards only” measurement now puts the Bears in 6th place on defense despite Chicago’s defensive excellence in allowing the Lions only seven points on Monday.  Although Detroit had more yards, Chicago forced four turnovers and held them to only seven points on four red zone opportunities.  It was enough to up the Bears’ Aikman Defense Rating from 92.4 to 94.7. On the season, the Bears lead the NFL in takeaways and red-zone defense, and it is the key to their huge 12.0-point lead over the second-place Cardinals in the Aikmans. Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 7, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     5-1    Bears              176.1     81.4     94.7        22      6     28     2     6-1    Texans             171.8     90.3     81.5        12      3     15     3     4-3    Patriots           166.5     95.3     71.2         1     23     24     4     5-2    Giants             166.3     89.8     76.5         2     24     26     5     5-2    49ers              165.3     87.7     77.6         9      1     10     6     6-0    Falcons            162.8     89.6     73.2        13     22     35     7     4-3    Packers            158.9     91.6     67.3        14     14     28     8     2-4    Buccaneers         156.3     80.9     75.4        20     25     45     9     5-2    Vikings            154.8     80.9     73.9        23      9     32    10     3-3    Dolphins           154.3     75.3     79.0        21     20     41    11     3-3    Steelers           154.1     87.0     67.2        11      2     13    12     3-4    Redskins           153.3     87.5     65.8         5     29     34    13     5-2    Ravens             152.5     84.0     68.5        16     26     42    14     2-4    Lions              152.0     77.7     74.3         4      8     12    15     4-3    Cardinals          152.0     69.3     82.7        31      7     38    16     4-3    Seahawks           151.6     69.9     81.7        30      5     35    17     3-3    Broncos            151.5     85.0     66.5         6     11     17    18     2-4    Saints             149.2     92.1     57.1         3     32     35    19     3-3    Eagles             148.6     71.0     77.6         7     12     19    20     3-3    Chargers           147.9     78.8     69.1        25     13     38    21     3-3    Cowboys            146.3     75.7     70.6        10      4     14    22     3-4    Rams               145.8     72.4     73.4        28     10     38    23     1-6    Browns             141.6     70.8     70.8        27     27     54    24     3-4    Jets               141.4     76.6     64.8        29     19     48    25     1-5    Panthers           140.3     74.1     66.2        24     21     45    26     3-4    Bengals            137.8     73.5     64.3        17     18     35    27     2-4    Raiders            136.5     74.5     62.0        18     17     35    28     3-4    Titans             134.3     79.3     55.0        26     30     56    29     1-5    Jaguars            133.2     67.7     65.5        32     28     60    30     3-4    Bills              130.9     79.6     51.3        19     31     50    31     3-3    Colts              129.1     74.0     55.1        15     16     31    32     1-5    Chiefs             128.2     66.6     61.6         8     15     23        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 7, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots            95.3    2       3      Saints              92.1    3      14      Packers             91.6    4      12      Texans              90.3    5       2      Giants              89.8    6      13      Falcons             89.6    7       9      49ers               87.7    8       5      Redskins            87.5    9      11      Steelers            87.0   10       6      Broncos             85.0   11      16      Ravens              84.0   12      22      Bears               81.4   13      20      Buccaneers          80.9   14      23      Vikings             80.9   15      19      Bills               79.6   16      26      Titans              79.3   17      25      Chargers            78.8   18       4      Lions               77.7   19      29      Jets                76.6   20      10      Cowboys             75.7   21      21      Dolphins            75.3   22      18      Raiders             74.5   23      24      Panthers            74.1   24      15      Colts               74.0   25      17      Bengals             73.5   26      28      Rams                72.4   27       7      Eagles              71.0   28      27      Browns              70.8   29      30      Seahawks            69.9   30      31      Cardinals           69.3   31      32      Jaguars             67.7   32       8      Chiefs              66.6   NFL Average                           80.1       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 7, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       6      Bears               94.7    2       7      Cardinals           82.7    3       5      Seahawks            81.7    4       3      Texans              81.5    5      20      Dolphins            79.0    6       1      49ers               77.6    7      12      Eagles              77.6    8      24      Giants              76.5    9      25      Buccaneers          75.4   10       8      Lions               74.3   11       9      Vikings             73.9   12      10      Rams                73.4   13      22      Falcons             73.2   14      23      Patriots            71.2   15      27      Browns              70.8   16       4      Cowboys             70.6   17      13      Chargers            69.1   18      26      Ravens              68.5   19      14      Packers             67.3   20       2      Steelers            67.2   21      11      Broncos             66.5   22      21      Panthers            66.2   23      29      Redskins            65.8   24      28      Jaguars             65.5   25      19      Jets                64.8   26      18      Bengals             64.3   27      17      Raiders             62.0   28      15      Chiefs              61.6   29      32      Saints              57.1   30      16      Colts               55.1   31      30      Titans              55.0   32      31      Bills               51.3   NFL Average                           69.9   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC     Troy Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:51:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:35 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/34/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-6.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=34 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=34&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/34/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-6.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 6 Resting on a bye in Week 6, the Chicago Bears still surged to the top of the Aikman Combined Ratings, building a lead of 6.2 points over the Texans, who faltered against Green Bay on Sunday night. Houston falls out of the top spot in the Aikman Combined for the first time this year, landing in 2nd, just 0.2 ahead of the Patriots. The Bears have built their lead with a defense that is now 8.8 points ahead of the second-place team, this week the Cardinals, and an offense that ranks 14th. The NFL, using yards allowed as the lone factor, considers the 49ers to have the “top” defense.  The Aikman Ratings factor in seven different factors, and Chicago’s defense ranks 1st in fewest points allowed and in turnovers forced to key its domination.  The Bears have also been much tougher in the red zone, denying their opponents any points on four occasions, while San Francisco’s opponents have scored on all 12 of their trips to the red zone. On offense, the Patriots are in 1st for the third consecutive week. - - - The NFL uses yards as its sole determination of ranking, yet it is interesting to note that teams that have gained more yards this year have won their games only 58.7% of the time.     Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 6, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     4-1    Bears              174.6     82.2     92.4        20      3     23     2     5-1    Texans             168.4     87.9     80.5        14      6     20     3     3-3    Patriots           168.2     95.7     72.4         1     22     23     4     4-2    49ers              167.6     91.2     76.4         7      1      8     5     4-2    Giants             166.7     89.6     77.1         3     19.5   22.5    6     6-0    Falcons            162.8     89.6     73.2        15     21     36     7     2-3    Buccaneers         160.8     78.8     82.0        27     25     52     8     5-1    Ravens             160.1     87.6     72.5         8     26     34     9     2-3    Lions              158.8     83.7     75.1         2      9     11    10     3-3    Packers            157.4     90.3     67.1        18     14     32    11     3-3    Redskins           156.0     89.1     66.9         5     27     32    12     4-2    Vikings            154.8     82.3     72.6        17      8     25    13     3-3    Dolphins           154.2     75.2     79.0        22     19.5   41.5   14     4-2    Seahawks           153.3     71.1     82.2        29      4     33    15     4-2    Cardinals          153.1     69.5     83.6        31     10     41    16     2-3    Steelers           152.5     86.3     66.2        16      5     21    17     3-3    Broncos            151.5     85.0     66.5         9     11     20    18     3-3    Eagles             148.6     71.0     77.6        11     12     23    19     3-3    Rams               148.2     70.6     77.6        28      7     35    20     3-3    Chargers           147.9     78.8     69.1        24     13     37    21     1-4    Saints             146.7     89.4     57.3         4     32     36    22     2-3    Cowboys            145.8     77.0     68.9         6      2      8    23     3-3    Jets               141.4     74.9     66.5        30     18     48    24     1-5    Browns             139.8     68.4     71.4        25     30     55    25     1-4    Panthers           138.5     74.9     63.6        23     23     46    26     3-3    Bengals            138.0     72.9     65.0        10     15     25    27     1-4    Raiders            133.3     75.1     58.2        19     24     43    28     3-3    Bills              131.0     76.7     54.3        21     31     52    29     1-4    Jaguars            130.6     67.7     62.9        32     29     61    30     1-5    Chiefs             128.2     66.6     61.6        12     16     28    31     2-4    Titans             126.6     71.7     54.9        26     28     54    32     2-3    Colts              126.2     72.1     54.1        13     17     30        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 6, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots            95.7    2       7      49ers               91.2    3      18      Packers             90.3    4      15      Falcons             89.6    5       3      Giants              89.6    6       4      Saints              89.4    7       5      Redskins            89.1    8      14      Texans              87.9    9       8      Ravens              87.6   10      16      Steelers            86.3   11       9      Broncos             85.0   12       2      Lions               83.7   13      17      Vikings             82.3   14      20      Bears               82.2   15      27      Buccaneers          78.8   16      24      Chargers            78.8   17       6      Cowboys             77.0   18      21      Bills               76.7   19      22      Dolphins            75.2   20      19      Raiders             75.1   21      30      Jets                74.9   22      23      Panthers            74.9   23      10      Bengals             72.9   24      13      Colts               72.1   25      26      Titans              71.7   26      29      Seahawks            71.1   27      11      Eagles              71.0   28      28      Rams                70.6   29      31      Cardinals           69.5   30      25      Browns              68.4   31      32      Jaguars             67.7   32      12      Chiefs              66.6   NFL Average                           79.8       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 6, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       3      Bears               92.4    2      10      Cardinals           83.6    3       4      Seahawks            82.2    4      25      Buccaneers          82.0    5       6      Texans              80.5    6      19.5    Dolphins            79.0    7       7      Rams                77.6    8      12      Eagles              77.6    9      19.5    Giants              77.1   10       1      49ers               76.4   11       9      Lions               75.1   12      21      Falcons             73.2   13       8      Vikings             72.6   14      26      Ravens              72.5   15      22      Patriots            72.4   16      30      Browns              71.4   17      13      Chargers            69.1   18       2      Cowboys             68.9   19      14      Packers             67.1   20      27      Redskins            66.9   21      11      Broncos             66.5   22      18      Jets                66.5   23       5      Steelers            66.2   24      15      Bengals             65.0   25      23      Panthers            63.6   26      29      Jaguars             62.9   27      16      Chiefs              61.6   28      24      Raiders             58.2   29      32      Saints              57.3   30      28      Titans              54.9   31      31      Bills               54.3   32      17      Colts               54.1   NFL Average                           70.2   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC     Troy Tue, 16 Oct 2012 19:11:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:34 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/32/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-5.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=32 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=32&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/32/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-5.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 5   The Texans remain in first place in the Aikman Combined Ratings through five weeks, although the teams with the top Aikman Offense and Aikman Defense have moved closer in second and third place.  The Bears, in third last week, jumped into second ahead of the Patriots after a strong performance against Jacksonville.  The Patriots continue to have the top Aikman Offense.   Also moving up, into 4th, were the 49ers, who had the highest Aikman Game Score of Week 5 (128.5 on offense, while holding the Bills to a 49.9 mark with their defense). - - - One note of interest – the eight teams with the lowest ranking in the Aikman Combined are all in the AFC.  Not among the lowly eight are the 2-3 Dolphins, who are showing Aikman strength by moving up to 10th, ahead of traditional powerhouses like the Steelers and Eagles, after their victory over Cincinnati.       Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 5, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     5-0    Texans             179.4     90.1     89.3        14      3     17     2     4-1    Bears              174.6     82.2     92.4        19      6     25     3     3-2    Patriots           174.4    100.9     73.5         1     22     23     4     4-1    49ers              172.0     96.8     75.2         6      2      8     5     5-0    Falcons            168.0     94.1     73.9        12     17     29     6     3-2    Giants             164.5     90.6     73.9         2     21     23     7     4-1    Ravens             163.2     85.1     78.0         8     24     32     8     4-1    Vikings            163.0     84.7     78.3        20      7     27     9     1-3    Lions              157.4     82.3     75.1         3      9     12    10     2-3    Dolphins           155.3     74.9     80.4        13     15     28    11     2-2    Steelers           155.2     87.6     67.7        18      5     23    12     4-1    Cardinals          153.7     67.6     86.0        31     11.5   42.5   13     1-3    Buccaneers         153.2     76.0     77.2        30     27     57    14     2-3    Packers            153.0     86.5     66.6        21     16     37    15     3-2    Eagles             151.7     70.6     81.0        11      8     19    16     3-2    Chargers           150.7     82.3     68.4        23     11.5   34.5   17     2-3    Redskins           150.6     86.0     64.5         7     26     33    18     3-2    Seahawks           150.1     68.5     81.6        27      1     28    19     2-3    Broncos            148.8     86.6     62.2         9     13     22    20     3-2    Rams               147.4     69.6     77.9        29     14     43    21     1-4    Saints             146.7     89.4     57.3         5     32     37    22     2-2    Cowboys            142.9     69.0     73.9        16      4     20    23     3-2    Bengals            140.4     75.1     65.2        15     18     33    24     1-4    Panthers           138.5     74.9     63.6        22     23     45    25     2-2    Colts              136.2     77.9     58.4        10     19     29    26     1-4    Chiefs             133.1     70.4     62.7         4     10     14    27     0-5    Browns             132.2     64.0     68.2        24     28     52    28     1-4    Jaguars            130.6     67.7     62.9        32     30     62    29     2-3    Bills              127.7     76.5     51.2        17     31     48    30     1-3    Raiders            126.1     73.6     52.4        25     25     50    31     2-3    Jets               125.8     65.8     60.0        28     20     48    32     1-4    Titans             120.2     67.5     52.8        26     29     55        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 5, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots           100.9    2       6      49ers               96.8    3      12      Falcons             94.1    4       2      Giants              90.6    5      14      Texans              90.1    6       5      Saints              89.4    7      18      Steelers            87.6    8       9      Broncos             86.6    9      21      Packers             86.5   10       7      Redskins            86.0   11       8      Ravens              85.1   12      20      Vikings             84.7   13      23      Chargers            82.3   14       3      Lions               82.3   15      19      Bears               82.2   16      10      Colts               77.9   17      17      Bills               76.5   18      30      Buccaneers          76.0   19      15      Bengals             75.1   20      13      Dolphins            74.9   21      22      Panthers            74.9   22      25      Raiders             73.6   23      11      Eagles              70.6   24       4      Chiefs              70.4   25      29      Rams                69.6   26      16      Cowboys             69.0   27      27      Seahawks            68.5   28      32      Jaguars             67.7   29      31      Cardinals           67.6   30      26      Titans              67.5   31      28      Jets                65.8   32      24      Browns              64.0   NFL Average                           79.8       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 5, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       6      Bears               92.4    2       3      Texans              89.3    3      11.5    Cardinals           86.0    4       1      Seahawks            81.6    5       8      Eagles              81.0    6      15      Dolphins            80.4    7       7      Vikings             78.3    8      24      Ravens              78.0    9      14      Rams                77.9   10      27      Buccaneers          77.2   11       2      49ers               75.2   12       9      Lions               75.1   13      17      Falcons             73.9   14      21      Giants              73.9   15       4      Cowboys             73.9   16      22      Patriots            73.5   17      11.5    Chargers            68.4   18      28      Browns              68.2   19       5      Steelers            67.7   20      16      Packers             66.6   21      18      Bengals             65.2   22      26      Redskins            64.5   23      23      Panthers            63.6   24      30      Jaguars             62.9   25      10      Chiefs              62.7   26      13      Broncos             62.2   27      20      Jets                60.0   28      19      Colts               58.4   29      32      Saints              57.3   30      29      Titans              52.8   31      25      Raiders             52.4   32      31      Bills               51.2   NFL Average                           70.2   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC     Troy Tue, 09 Oct 2012 17:28:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:32 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/31/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-4.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=31 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=31&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/31/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2012-as-of-Week-4.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Through Week 4 Looking to be wire-to-wire winners, the Houston Texans remain atop the Aikman Combined Ratings for the fourth consecutive week.  The Texans are 4th in Offense and 2nd in Defense for a solid 178.3 Combined number.   Atlanta’s close-call win over the Panthers cost them second place as the Patriots, Bears and Ravens all edged ahead of Atlanta.  The NFL’s other undefeated team, the Cardinals, who have three of their wins by three points or less, are 8th. The Aikman Combined Rankings often roughly follow the won-loss record of teams.  Although the Cardinals are not in the top three, it should be noted that their combined offense-defense (31+17=48) by the NFL method of ranking, total yards only, would put them 26th. - - - With their big comeback against the Bills, and an Aikman Game Rating of 116.7, the Patriots have jumped into 1st in Aikman Offense, knocking off the Ravens who have fallen to 5th. - - - The NFL calls Chicago’s defense the 11th best in the league, based strictly on yards allowed, but the 3-1 Bears sit atop the Aikman Defense Rankings.  The Bears lead the league in takeaways and are 5th in points allowed per red-zone possession.  It is Chicago’s second straight week in first place in Aikman Defense.     Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 4, 2012                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     4-0    Texans             178.3     91.5     86.8        14      1     15     2     2-2    Patriots           173.4     98.5     74.9         1     20     21     3     3-1    Bears              168.1     78.0     90.1        26     11     37     4     3-1    Ravens             164.7     91.1     73.6         2     23     25     5     4-0    Falcons            163.8     94.7     69.1        15     15     30     6     2-2    Redskins           159.5     92.8     66.7         3     29     32     7     3-1    Vikings            158.5     83.0     75.5        21      8     29     8     4-0    Cardinals          158.4     72.1     86.3        31     17     48     9     3-1    49ers              158.2     88.3     69.9        19      3     22    10     2-2    Giants             157.7     86.2     71.5         7     22     29    11     1-3    Lions              157.4     82.3     75.1         6     10     16    12     2-2    Broncos            156.8     88.2     68.6        12      7     19    13     1-3    Dolphins           155.1     76.9     78.2         9     16     25    14     3-1    Eagles             155.0     70.5     84.5         5      6     11    15     2-2    Packers            153.4     83.4     70.0        20      9     29    16     1-3    Buccaneers         153.1     76.0     77.1        30     30     60    17     3-1    Chargers           152.3     80.3     72.0        24     12     36    18     1-2    Steelers           150.9     87.0     63.8        18      5     23    19     0-4    Saints             144.7     88.1     56.6         8     32     40    20     2-2    Seahawks           143.5     68.3     75.2        29      2     31    21     2-2    Rams               143.3     70.7     72.6        27     14     41    22     2-2    Cowboys            142.9     69.0     73.9        16      4     20    23     1-3    Panthers           141.0     82.1     58.9        13     24     37    24     2-2    Bills              140.2     81.6     58.7        11     27     38     25     3-1    Bengals            138.8     78.9     59.9        10     19     29    26     1-3    Jaguars            137.9     72.3     65.5        32     26     58    27     0-4    Browns             137.6     63.2     74.4        25     25     50    28     1-3    Chiefs             133.0     76.2     56.8         4     13     17    29     1-2    Colts              131.6     71.7     60.0        17     18     35    30     2-2    Jets               129.0     68.8     60.2        28     21     49    31     1-3    Raiders            126.1     73.6     52.4        22     28     50    32     1-3    Titans             120.6     69.4     51.3        23     31     54       Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 4, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots            98.5    2      15      Falcons             94.7    3       3      Redskins            92.8    4      14      Texans              91.5    5       2      Ravens              91.1    6      19      49ers               88.3    7      12      Broncos             88.2    8       8      Saints              88.1    9      18      Steelers            87.0   10       7      Giants              86.2   11      20      Packers             83.4   12      21      Vikings             83.0   13       6      Lions               82.3   14      13      Panthers            82.1   15      11      Bills               81.6   16      24      Chargers            80.3   17      10      Bengals             78.9   18      26      Bears               78.0   19       9      Dolphins            76.9   20       4      Chiefs              76.2   21      30      Buccaneers          76.0   22      22      Raiders             73.6   23      32      Jaguars             72.3   24      31      Cardinals           72.1   25      17      Colts               71.7   26      27      Rams                70.7   27       5      Eagles              70.5   28      23      Titans              69.4   29      16      Cowboys             69.0   30      28      Jets                68.8   31      29      Seahawks            68.3   32      25      Browns              63.2   NFL Average                           80.3   Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 4, 2012     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1      11      Bears               90.1    2       1      Texans              86.8    3      17      Cardinals           86.3    4       6      Eagles              84.5    5      16      Dolphins            78.2    6      30      Buccaneers          77.1    7       8      Vikings             75.5    8       2      Seahawks            75.2    9      10      Lions               75.1   10      20      Patriots            74.9   11      25      Browns              74.4   12       4      Cowboys             73.9   13      23      Ravens              73.6   14      14      Rams                72.6   15      12      Chargers            72.0   16      22      Giants              71.5   17       9      Packers             70.0   18       3      49ers               69.9   19      15      Falcons             69.1   20       7      Broncos             68.6   21      29      Redskins            66.7   22      26      Jaguars             65.5   23       5      Steelers            63.8   24      21      Jets                60.2   25      18      Colts               60.0   26      19      Bengals             59.9   27      24      Panthers            58.9   28      27      Bills               58.7   29      13      Chiefs              56.8   30      32      Saints              56.6   31      28      Raiders             52.4   32      31      Titans              51.3   NFL Average                           69.7   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC     Troy Thu, 04 Oct 2012 11:47:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:31 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/30/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-Final.aspx#Comments 6 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=30 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=30&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/30/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-Final.aspx FINAL AIKMAN RATINGS The Packers edge out the Ravens for the 2011 Aikman Combined title in what could be a preview of Super Bowl XLVI, but the surging Saints are just 0.4 behind and the top eight teams, all of whom made the playoffs, are within six points of the top. Including the Steelers, the top nine teams all made the playoffs.  - - - It was a historic year for Aikman Offense with a record league rating of 78.9 (since 1995).  But the bulk of that surge falls on the back of three historic offenses.  The final rating of the Saints (98.8) just missed the record of 99.0 set by the great 2007 Patriots team and the Packers and this year’s edition of the Patriots lined up right behind to give 2011 three of the top four Aikman Offenses in our 17-year history. 2007 New England               99.0                 2011 New Orleans               98.8                 2011 Green Bay                 96.4                 2011 New England               95.4                 2004 Indianapolis              94.4                 - - - The 49ers nosed out the Ravens for the 2011 Aikman Defense title with the Harbaugh brothers each having a clear edge of six points or so over the third-place Texans.  The Steelers, number one in the NFL’s yards-only measurement are not so highly rated by the Aikman measurements, largely due to a lack of turnovers forced and being below average on those occasions when teams reach their red zone.     Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 17, 2011                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1    15-1    Packers            164.9     96.4     68.5         3     32     35     2    12-4    Ravens             164.9     80.7     84.2        15      3     18     3    13-3    Saints             164.5     98.8     65.7         1     24     25     4    13-3    49ers              163.4     78.9     84.5        26      4     30     5    13-3    Patriots           163.3     95.4     67.9         2     31     33     6    10-6    Texans             161.4     82.9     78.5        13      2     15     7    10-6    Lions              160.1     87.4     72.7         5     23     28     8    10-6    Falcons            159.0     84.8     74.2        10     12     22     9    12-4    Steelers           155.7     80.5     75.2        12      1     13    10     8-8    Eagles             153.7     81.4     72.3         4      8     12    11     8-8    Cowboys            153.0     82.6     70.4        11     14     25    12     8-8    Jets               152.8     76.4     76.4        25      5     30    13     8-8    Bears              151.6     74.2     77.4        24     17     41    14     9-7    Giants             151.5     82.1     69.4         8     27     35    15     6-10   Panthers           150.4     87.5     62.9         7     28     35    16     6-10   Dolphins           149.7     75.2     74.6        22     15     37    17     9-7    Titans             149.7     78.3     71.4        17     18.5   35.5   18     8-8    Chargers           149.4     84.8     64.6         6     16     22    19     7-9    Seahawks           148.8     72.3     76.5        28      9     37    20     9-7    Bengals            147.2     75.3     72.0        20      7     27    21     3-13   Vikings            145.6     79.7     65.9        18     21     39     22     8-8    Cardinals          145.5     72.0     73.5        19     18.5   37.5   23     8-8    Raiders            144.0     80.2     63.8         9     29     38    24     4-12   Browns             143.4     69.8     73.6        29     10     39    25     5-11   Jaguars            143.0     68.2     74.8        32      6     38    26     5-11   Redskins           142.2     70.5     71.7        16     13     29    27     6-10   Bills              141.5     77.4     64.1        14     26     40    28     8-8    Broncos            140.8     71.9     68.8        23     20     43    29     7-9    Chiefs             138.7     65.9     72.8        27     11     38    30     2-14   Rams               131.7     65.1     66.7        31     22     53    31     4-12   Buccaneers         130.3     69.8     60.5        21     30     51    32     2-14   Colts              128.7     67.3     61.4        30     25     55        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 17, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Saints              98.8    2       3      Packers             96.4    3       2      Patriots            95.4    4       7      Panthers            87.5    5       5      Lions               87.4    6       6      Chargers            84.8    7      10      Falcons             84.8    8      13      Texans              82.9    9      11      Cowboys             82.6   10       8      Giants              82.1   11       4      Eagles              81.4   12      15      Ravens              80.7   13      12      Steelers            80.5   14       9      Raiders             80.2   15      18      Vikings             79.7   16      26      49ers               78.9   17      17      Titans              78.3   18      14      Bills               77.4   19      25      Jets                76.4   20      20      Bengals             75.3   21      22      Dolphins            75.2   22      24      Bears               74.2   23      28      Seahawks            72.3   24      19      Cardinals           72.0   25      23      Broncos             71.9   26      16      Redskins            70.5   27      21      Buccaneers          69.8   28      29      Browns              69.8   29      32      Jaguars             68.2   30      30      Colts               67.3   31      27      Chiefs              65.9   32      31      Rams                65.1   NFL Average                           78.9       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 17, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       4      49ers               84.5    2       3      Ravens              84.2    3       2      Texans              78.5    4      17      Bears               77.4    5       9      Seahawks            76.5    6       5      Jets                76.4    7       1      Steelers            75.2    8       6      Jaguars             74.8    9      15      Dolphins            74.6   10      12      Falcons             74.2   11      10      Browns              73.6   12      18.5    Cardinals           73.5   13      11      Chiefs              72.8   14      23      Lions               72.7   15       8      Eagles              72.3   16       7      Bengals             72.0   17      13      Redskins            71.7   18      18.5    Titans              71.4   19      14      Cowboys             70.4   20      27      Giants              69.4   21      20      Broncos             68.8   22      32      Packers             68.5   23      31      Patriots            67.9   24      22      Rams                66.7   25      21      Vikings             65.9   26      24      Saints              65.7   27      16      Chargers            64.6   28      26      Bills               64.1   29      29      Raiders             63.8   30      28      Panthers            62.9   31      25      Colts               61.4   32      30      Buccaneers          60.5   NFL Average                           71.1   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC     Troy Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:43:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:30 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/29/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-16.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=29 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=29&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/29/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-16.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS COMNENTARY Thru Week 16   With one week remaining, the Packers hold the lead in the 2011 Aikman Combined Ratings, but the close proximity of the Ravens, 49ers, Saints, Patriots, Texans and Lions indicates a very competitive playoff season is ahead of us. Interestingly, of the top 10 teams in the current Aikman Combined, the top nine are in the playoff field and the #10 Cowboys could join them.  It is not a perfect match, but the top 10 is closely aligned to the likely final seedings. On the other hand, if you merely add up the NFL’s offensive and defensive rankings, based solely on yards gained, the leading team, the Eagles, with a combined ranking of 11, will not make the playoffs, nor will the Chargers who are third at a combined 17. There are 17 teams with a lower combined NFL offense-defense total than the Packers (offense 5, defense 31 for 36), including the Redskins. - - - The Saints, Packers and Patriots have been sensational on offense this year – and at the moment stand as three of the top five teams in Aikman History which dates to 1995. 2007    New England              99.0      2011    New Orleans              97.6 2011    Green Bay                95.9 2004    Indianapolis             94.4      2011    New England              94.3 The falloff from these three clubs is considerable this year, down to 88.3 for the Panthers (who were 32nd last year). - - - The 49ers (86.0) and Ravens (84.3) continue to have the two best Aikman Defenses.  No other team is over 80. - - - Troy Aikman invented the Aikman Ratings because he believed offenses and defenses could be better evaluated than merely by comparing yardage totals. This was again shown this week in two high profile games. On Sunday night, the Packers beat the Bears, 35-21, behind another brilliant performance by Aaron Rodgers.  Yet it was the Bears, with an advantage of 441 to 363 in yards who saw their official NFL ratings for offense and defense improve compared to Green Bay’s.  The Aikman Game Ratings had it right, with a 109.4 to 84.7 advantage for the Packers. Then on Monday, the Saints rolled over the Falcons, 45-16.  However, Atlanta was the team with the 469 to 463 edge in yards gained.  The Aikman Game Ratings had it 108.2 to 67.6 in favor of New Orleans. Amazingly, the Packers have been outgained on the season (5,932 to 6,010) yet stand 14-1.  Flipping their defensive rating around the axis of 75.0, we can see that the Packers have an Aikman Offense advantage of 95.9 to 80.4 over their opponents’ offenses, much more in keeping with a great winning record. Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 16, 2011                                  --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1    14-1    Packers            165.5     95.9     69.6         5     31     36      2    11-4    Ravens             164.0     79.7     84.3        15      3     18      3    12-3    49ers              163.7     77.7     86.0        26      4     30      4    12-3    Saints             162.7     97.6     65.0         1     26     27      5    12-3    Patriots           162.2     94.3     67.9         2     32     34      6    10-5    Texans             161.7     82.6     79.2        12      2     14      7    10-5    Lions              161.5     87.0     74.5         7     20     27      8     9-6    Falcons            157.5     83.8     73.7        10     12     22      9    11-4    Steelers           155.9     81.4     74.5        11      1     12     10     8-7    Cowboys            155.0     83.6     71.4         9     14     23     11     8-7    Jets               153.3     76.8     76.5        27      7     34     12     6-9    Panthers           153.1     88.3     64.9         4     22     26     13     7-8    Bears              151.8     75.5     76.3        20     18     38     14     7-8    Eagles             151.7     80.5     71.2         3      8     11     15     7-8    Seahawks           150.4     73.3     77.1        28      9     37     16     8-7    Titans             150.3     78.2     72.0        17     17     34     17     8-7    Giants             149.8     81.2     68.6         8     28     36     18     5-10   Dolphins           149.6     75.3     74.3        19     16     35     19     9-6    Bengals            148.9     75.6     73.3        24      6     30     20     7-8    Chargers           148.8     83.3     65.4         6     11     17     21     3-12   Vikings            145.2     81.2     64.0        18     25     43     22     8-7    Raiders            144.2     79.0     65.3        13     29     42     23     5-10   Redskins           143.9     71.1     72.8        16     13     29     24     7-8    Cardinals          143.8     71.3     72.5        23     19     42     25     4-11   Browns             143.3     70.3     73.0        29     10     39     26     4-11   Jaguars            143.2     68.9     74.3        32      5     37     27     6-9    Bills              142.9     77.0     65.9        14     24     38     28     8-7    Broncos            141.6     73.6     68.0        22     23     45     29     6-9    Chiefs             137.2     66.1     71.1        25     15     40     30     2-13   Rams               131.0     63.5     67.6        31     21     52     31     4-11   Buccaneers         130.9     69.7     61.2        21     30     51     32     2-13   Colts              127.2     67.3     59.9        30     27     57   Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 16, 2011   Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Saints              97.6    2       5      Packers             95.9    3       2      Patriots            94.3    4       4      Panthers            88.3    5       7      Lions               87.0    6      10      Falcons             83.8    7       9      Cowboys             83.6    8       6      Chargers            83.3    9      12      Texans              82.6   10      11      Steelers            81.4   11       8      Giants              81.2   12      18      Vikings             81.2   13       3      Eagles              80.5   14      15      Ravens              79.7   15      13      Raiders             79.0   16      17      Titans              78.2   17      26      49ers               77.7   18      14      Bills               77.0   19      27      Jets                76.8   20      24      Bengals             75.6   21      20      Bears               75.5   22      19      Dolphins            75.3   23      22      Broncos             73.6   24      28      Seahawks            73.3   25      23      Cardinals           71.3   26      16      Redskins            71.1   27      29      Browns              70.3   28      21      Buccaneers          69.7   29      32      Jaguars             68.9   30      30      Colts               67.3   31      25      Chiefs              66.1   32      31      Rams                63.5 NFL Average                           78.7 Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 16, 2011   Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       4      49ers               86.0    2       3      Ravens              84.3    3       2      Texans              79.2    4       9      Seahawks            77.1    5       7      Jets                76.5    6      18      Bears               76.3    7       1      Steelers            74.5    8      20      Lions               74.5    9      16      Dolphins            74.3   10       5      Jaguars             74.3   11      12      Falcons             73.7   12       6      Bengals             73.3   13      10      Browns              73.0   14      13      Redskins            72.8   15      19      Cardinals           72.5   16      17      Titans              72.0   17      14      Cowboys             71.4   18       8      Eagles              71.2   19      15      Chiefs              71.1   20      31      Packers             69.6   21      28      Giants              68.6   22      23      Broncos             68.0   23      32      Patriots            67.9   24      21      Rams                67.6   25      24      Bills               65.9   26      11      Chargers            65.4   27      29      Raiders             65.3   28      26      Saints              65.0   29      22      Panthers            64.9   30      25      Vikings             64.0   31      30      Buccaneers          61.2   32      27      Colts               59.9 NFL Average                           71.3 Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:26:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:29 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/28/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-15.aspx#Comments 8 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=28 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=28&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/28/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-15.aspx Aikman Ratings Commentary Through Week 15   Week 15 was a week of change in leadership in all three categories of the Aikman Ratings. Despite suffering their first loss of the year – and despite falling out of first in Aikman Offense, the Packers took over the top spot in the Aikman Combined.  Their rating fell from 165.0 to 164.9 in the loss to the Chiefs, but the Ravens and Texans, who were ahead of Green Bay last week, suffered more precipitous drops.  In Aikman Offense, the Saints jumped nearly two points with their big day against the Vikings to move past Green Bay.  It should be noted that the top three teams in this category – Saints, Packers and Patriots – have opened up a huge lead over the rest of the league. The fourth spot is now occupied by a Panthers attack that has had a remarkable resurgence this year.  Last year, Carolina checked in last at season’s end with a 57.6 mark.  This year’s current rating is 28.8 points higher than that. Defensively, the 49ers with their shutdown of the Steelers have taken over the top spot from the Ravens, whose reign at the top lasted just one week.        Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 15, 2011                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1    13-1    Packers            164.9     95.0     69.9         4     31     35     2    11-3    49ers              164.8     77.3     87.5        25      5     30     3    10-4    Ravens             164.0     79.6     84.4        15      3     18     4    11-3    Patriots           162.4     94.1     68.3         2     32     34     5    10-4    Texans             162.1     83.2     78.9        10      2     12     6     9-5    Falcons            161.0     84.6     76.4        13      9     22     7    11-3    Saints             160.7     96.9     63.8         1     24.5   25.5    8     9-5    Lions              159.0     85.1     73.9         9     18     27     9     8-6    Cowboys            156.5     84.8     71.7         6     13     19    10     8-6    Jets               155.5     78.5     77.0        26      7     33    11    10-4    Steelers           153.7     80.3     73.4        12      1     13    12     7-7    Bears              153.6     74.8     78.9        24     17     41    13     7-7    Chargers           152.3     84.6     67.8         7     11     18    14     7-7    Seahawks           150.7     72.8     77.9        28      8     36    15     6-8    Eagles             150.7     80.3     70.4         3     10     13    16     5-9    Panthers           150.5     86.4     64.1         5     23     28    17     5-9    Dolphins           150.4     74.3     76.2        21     15     36    18     7-7    Titans             150.3     78.6     71.7        17     19     36    19     7-7    Giants             147.9     81.3     66.6         8     28.5   36.5   20     8-6    Bengals            147.7     75.9     71.8        23      6     29    21     5-9    Redskins           145.2     70.0     75.2        16     12     28    22     7-7    Cardinals          144.5     72.3     72.2        22     20     42    23     7-7    Raiders            144.4     80.2     64.2        11     27     38    24     4-10   Browns             143.7     70.6     73.2        29     14     43    25     2-12   Vikings            143.3     79.4     63.9        18     24.5   42.5   26     4-10   Jaguars            142.7     68.6     74.1        32      4     36    27     8-6    Broncos            141.8     74.8     67.0        19     22     41    28     5-9    Bills              141.5     77.6     63.9        14     26     40    29     6-8    Chiefs             135.7     65.8     69.9        27     16     43    30     2-12   Rams               132.4     63.9     68.5        30     21     51    31     4-10   Buccaneers         132.2     69.2     63.0        20     30     50    32     1-13   Colts              126.0     67.3     58.7        31     28.5   59.5       Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 15, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Saints              96.9    2       4      Packers             95.0    3       2      Patriots            94.1    4       5      Panthers            86.4    5       9      Lions               85.1    6       6      Cowboys             84.8    7      13      Falcons             84.6    8       7      Chargers            84.6    9      10      Texans              83.2   10       8      Giants              81.3   11       3      Eagles              80.3   12      12      Steelers            80.3   13      11      Raiders             80.2   14      15      Ravens              79.6   15      18      Vikings             79.4   16      17      Titans              78.6   17      26      Jets                78.5   18      14      Bills               77.6   19      25      49ers               77.3   20      23      Bengals             75.9   21      24      Bears               74.8   22      19      Broncos             74.8   23      21      Dolphins            74.3   24      28      Seahawks            72.8   25      22      Cardinals           72.3   26      29      Browns              70.6   27      16      Redskins            70.0   28      20      Buccaneers          69.2   29      32      Jaguars             68.6   30      31      Colts               67.3   31      27      Chiefs              65.8   32      30      Rams                63.9   NFL Average                           78.7       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 15, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       5      49ers               87.5    2       3      Ravens              84.4    3       2      Texans              78.9    4      17      Bears               78.9    5       8      Seahawks            77.9    6       7      Jets                77.0    7       9      Falcons             76.4    8      15      Dolphins            76.2    9      12      Redskins            75.2   10       4      Jaguars             74.1   11      18      Lions               73.9   12       1      Steelers            73.4   13      14      Browns              73.2   14      20      Cardinals           72.2   15       6      Bengals             71.8   16      13      Cowboys             71.7   17      19      Titans              71.7   18      10      Eagles              70.4   19      16      Chiefs              69.9   20      31      Packers             69.9   21      21      Rams                68.5   22      32      Patriots            68.3   23      11      Chargers            67.8   24      22      Broncos             67.0   25      28.5    Giants              66.6   26      27      Raiders             64.2   27      23      Panthers            64.1   28      26      Bills               63.9   29      24.5    Vikings             63.9   30      24.5    Saints              63.8   31      30      Buccaneers          63.0   32      28.5    Colts               58.7   NFL Average                           71.3   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC     Troy Tue, 20 Dec 2011 15:28:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:28 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/27/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-14.aspx#Comments 7 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=27 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=27&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/27/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-14.aspx AIKMAN COMMENTARY Thru Week 14   After defeating Indianapolis, the Ravens slide ahead of the Texans for first place in the Aikman Combined Ratings through Week 14, with the unbeaten Packers close behind in third.  In a year where the top teams tend to be strong on one side of the ball or the other, the Texans are the only team in the top five on both sides of the ball. - - - On offense, the Packers and Saints continue to battle with Green Bay remaining just ahead.  The 95.5 offensive rating of the Packers, if it holds up, would be the second best in Aikman history which dates to 1995.  The record 99.0 of the 2007 Patriots looks as if it will hold up. Currently, the second-best Aikman offensive rating belongs to the 2004 Colts at 94.4. - - - On defense, the Ravens and 49ers (both coached by Harbaughs) have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. We do note that while the NFL’s method of ranking, which is yards only, places the Packers and Patriots at the bottom of the heap, the Aikman Ratings do show their defenses to be in the middle of the pack at 19th and 21st respectively.  We believe this is a better reflection of the abilities that have produced a combined 23-3 record for those two squads.     Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 14, 2011                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1    10-3    Ravens             167.5     80.0     87.5        14      3     17     2    10-3    Texans             166.6     84.8     81.8         9      1     10     3    13-0    Packers            165.0     95.5     69.5         3     31     34     4    10-3    49ers              163.6     76.9     86.7        26      5     31     5    10-3    Patriots           162.0     93.0     69.0         2     32     34     6     8-5    Falcons            159.8     84.5     75.3        13     14     27     7     8-5    Jets               159.3     80.6     78.6        25      6     31     8     8-5    Lions              159.2     84.2     74.9        10     17     27     9    10-3    Saints             158.7     95.1     63.6         1     27     28    10     7-6    Bears              156.4     76.7     79.7        21     20     41    11    10-3    Steelers           156.1     82.0     74.0        11      2     13    12     7-6    Cowboys            154.7     83.6     71.1         6     16     22    13     7-6    Titans             152.0     80.2     71.8        19     22     41    14     4-9    Dolphins           150.4     74.6     75.8        24     12     36    15     6-7    Chargers           150.3     83.2     67.1         8      8     16    16     7-6    Giants             149.7     83.6     66.1         7     30     37    17     6-7    Seahawks           147.9     71.8     76.1        27     13     40    18     5-8    Eagles             147.6     79.5     68.1         4     11     15    19     4-9    Panthers           147.3     85.0     62.3         5     24     29    20     7-6    Bengals            146.8     76.0     70.8        20      7     27    21     2-11   Vikings            146.3     79.4     66.9        16     18     34    22     7-6    Raiders            144.5     79.4     65.1        12     26     38    23     4-9    Jaguars            144.0     69.2     74.8        32      4     36    24     4-9    Browns             143.7     69.8     73.9        29      9     38    25     6-7    Cardinals          143.4     71.2     72.2        22     21     43    26     4-9    Redskins           143.0     69.5     73.5        17     10     27    27     8-5    Broncos            142.6     73.5     69.1        23     19     42    28     5-8    Bills              141.0     78.2     62.7        15     23     38    29     5-8    Chiefs             135.3     64.8     70.5        28     15     43    30     4-9    Buccaneers         133.1     69.2     64.0        18     29     47    31     2-11   Rams               132.2     64.2     67.9        30     25     55    32     0-13   Colts              122.7     66.3     56.5        31     28     59        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 14, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       3      Packers             95.5    2       1      Saints              95.1    3       2      Patriots            93.0    4       5      Panthers            85.0    5       9      Texans              84.8    6      13      Falcons             84.5    7      10      Lions               84.2    8       6      Cowboys             83.6    9       7      Giants              83.6   10       8      Chargers            83.2   11      11      Steelers            82.0   12      25      Jets                80.6   13      19      Titans              80.2   14      14      Ravens              80.0   15       4      Eagles              79.5   16      12      Raiders             79.4   17      16      Vikings             79.4   18      15      Bills               78.2   19      26      49ers               76.9   20      21      Bears               76.7   21      20      Bengals             76.0   22      24      Dolphins            74.6   23      23      Broncos             73.5   24      27      Seahawks            71.8   25      22      Cardinals           71.2   26      29      Browns              69.8   27      17      Redskins            69.5   28      32      Jaguars             69.2   29      18      Buccaneers          69.2   30      31      Colts               66.3   31      28      Chiefs              64.8   32      30      Rams                64.2   NFL Average                           78.6       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 14, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       3      Ravens              87.5    2       5      49ers               86.7    3       1      Texans              81.8    4      20      Bears               79.7    5       6      Jets                78.6    6      13      Seahawks            76.1    7      12      Dolphins            75.8    8      14      Falcons             75.3    9      17      Lions               74.9   10       4      Jaguars             74.8   11       2      Steelers            74.0   12       9      Browns              73.9   13      10      Redskins            73.5   14      21      Cardinals           72.2   15      22      Titans              71.8   16      16      Cowboys             71.1   17       7      Bengals             70.8   18      15      Chiefs              70.5   19      31      Packers             69.5   20      19      Broncos             69.1   21      32      Patriots            69.0   22      11      Eagles              68.1   23      25      Rams                67.9   24       8      Chargers            67.1   25      18      Vikings             66.9   26      30      Giants              66.1   27      26      Raiders             65.1   28      29      Buccaneers          64.0   29      27      Saints              63.6   30      23      Bills               62.7   31      24      Panthers            62.3   32      28      Colts               56.5   NFL Average                           71.4   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:33:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:27 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/26/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-13.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=26 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=26&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/26/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-13.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS COMMENTARY Thru Week 13   Still plagued by a struggling defense, the unbeaten Packers have fallen to fourth in the latest Aikman Combined Ratings.  Through 13 weeks of the NFL season, it is the defensive-oriented Texans, Ravens and 49ers who claim the top three spots.  Green Bay’s defense does rank a bit better in Aikman Defense (22nd) than it does in the NFL’s yards-only measurement, where it is 31st. - - - The Packers do continue to sit atop the Aikman Offense Ratings, but the red-hot Saints have pulled to within 0.5 points.  Like the Packers, the Saints have defensive issues, ranking 31st in the Aikmans. - - - The three teams cited above continue to battle for the Aikman Defense lead, with the 49ers in first after their shutout of St. Louis, just 0.3 ahead of the Ravens. - - - The Dolphins have made remarkable strides in recent weeks, moving up to 14th of the Aikman Combined.  The Panthers are the other team with a losing record to rank in the top half, moving to 16th after beating Tampa Bay. - - - Teams with higher Aikman Game Ratings were 15-1 this week, with the lone loss being suffered by the Vikings (whose AGR of 77.9 was better than Denver’s 74.0). That was one of six games, though, where the team with more yards gained lost.  Minnesota helped its NFL yards-only rankings by outgaining the Broncos, 489 to 336, but still lost.  Teams that were outgained in yards, but still won easily with higher Aikman Game Ratings included the Saints over the Lions and Patriots over the Colts.     Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 13, 2011                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     9-3    Texans             167.7     85.7     82.0        10      2     12     2     9-3    Ravens             165.8     79.1     86.7        15      3     18     3    10-2    49ers              164.9     78.0     87.0        24      4     28     4    12-0    Packers            164.0     96.1     67.9         4     31     35     5     9-3    Patriots           163.3     93.7     69.6         2     32     34     6     7-5    Lions              160.1     84.4     75.7         8     13     21     7     7-5    Falcons            159.2     83.7     75.6        13     10     23     8     9-3    Saints             158.3     95.6     62.7         1     27     28     9     7-5    Bears              156.6     77.5     79.1        19     20     39    10     7-5    Jets               155.9     78.6     77.3        26      7     33    11     9-3    Steelers           155.3     83.4     71.9        11      1     12    12     7-5    Cowboys            154.4     81.5     73.0         7     11     18    13     7-5    Titans             153.2     80.6     72.6        22     18     40    14     4-8    Dolphins           152.4     76.8     75.6        21     15     36    15     6-6    Giants             150.2     82.2     68.0         9     29     38    16     4-8    Panthers           148.3     85.4     62.9         5     21     26    17     5-7    Seahawks           147.1     71.1     76.0        28     14     42    18     7-5    Bengals            146.7     76.5     70.2        18      6     24    19     5-7    Chargers           146.2     81.6     64.6         6     12     18    20     7-5    Raiders            146.1     80.9     65.2        12     26     38    21     2-10   Vikings            145.7     79.1     66.7        17     19     36    22     4-8    Eagles             145.4     80.3     65.1         3     17     20    23     5-7    Bills              144.4     80.3     64.0        14     22     36    24     4-8    Browns             144.3     71.3     73.0        30      8     38    25     5-7    Cardinals          142.7     71.6     71.1        23     25     48    26     7-5    Broncos            142.4     74.4     68.0        25     24     49    27     4-8    Redskins           142.0     67.9     74.0        20      9     29    28     3-9    Jaguars            140.6     67.4     73.2        32      5     37    29     5-7    Chiefs             138.6     65.9     72.7        27     16     43    30     4-8    Buccaneers         134.0     70.3     63.7        16     30     46    31     2-10   Rams               131.3     63.5     67.8        31     23     54    32     0-12   Colts              123.6     67.4     56.2        29     28     57        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 13, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       4      Packers             96.1    2       1      Saints              95.6    3       2      Patriots            93.7    4      10      Texans              85.7    5       5      Panthers            85.4    6       8      Lions               84.4    7      13      Falcons             83.7    8      11      Steelers            83.4    9       9      Giants              82.2   10       6      Chargers            81.6   11       7      Cowboys             81.5   12      12      Raiders             80.9   13      22      Titans              80.6   14      14      Bills               80.3   15       3      Eagles              80.3   16      15      Ravens              79.1   17      17      Vikings             79.1   18      26      Jets                78.6   19      24      49ers               78.0   20      19      Bears               77.5   21      21      Dolphins            76.8   22      18      Bengals             76.5   23      25      Broncos             74.4   24      23      Cardinals           71.6   25      30      Browns              71.3   26      28      Seahawks            71.1   27      16      Buccaneers          70.3   28      20      Redskins            67.9   29      29      Colts               67.4   30      32      Jaguars             67.4   31      27      Chiefs              65.9   32      31      Rams                63.5   NFL Average                           78.8       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 13, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       4      49ers               87.0    2       3      Ravens              86.7    3       2      Texans              82.0    4      20      Bears               79.1    5       7      Jets                77.3    6      14      Seahawks            76.0    7      13      Lions               75.7    8      15      Dolphins            75.6    9      10      Falcons             75.6   10       9      Redskins            74.0   11       5      Jaguars             73.2   12       8      Browns              73.0   13      11      Cowboys             73.0   14      16      Chiefs              72.7   15      18      Titans              72.6   16       1      Steelers            71.9   17      25      Cardinals           71.1   18       6      Bengals             70.2   19      32      Patriots            69.6   20      24      Broncos             68.0   21      29      Giants              68.0   22      31      Packers             67.9   23      23      Rams                67.8   24      19      Vikings             66.7   25      26      Raiders             65.2   26      17      Eagles              65.1   27      12      Chargers            64.6   28      22      Bills               64.0   29      30      Buccaneers          63.7   30      21      Panthers            62.9   31      27      Saints              62.7   32      28      Colts               56.2   NFL Average                           71.2   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:11:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:26 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/25/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-12.aspx#Comments 4 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=25 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=25&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/25/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-12.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS COMMENTARY Thru Week 12   Even as they face the final five games with their top two quarterbacks sidelined, the Texans remain atop the Aikman Combined Ratings after Week 12.   As we go forward, it should be remembered that like the NFL’s rankings of offense and defense based on yards, the Texans will carry all the ratings factors they earned through 10 weeks under Matt Schaub.  It would seem reasonable to assume that Houston will suffer somewhat on offense from the change of quarterbacks, and their ratings may falter. But unlike some rankings by “experts” that take into account the current state of a team’s injuries, the Aikmans are a season-long compilation.  Thus the Texans, Bears, Broncos and any other team with a change at quarterback – or another team with injuries elsewhere – still carry a proportionate amount of points over the entire season.  They represent the sum of accomplishment over the course of a season, not an estimate of a team’s current status. - - - With strong Week 12 performances, the Ravens and Patriots have moved up to 3rd and 4th respectively in the Aikman Combined. - - - For those wondering why the undefeated Packers aren’t first, we have to continue to point to the team’s defense (which still ranks better at 20th in the Aikman Defense than it does in the NFL’s “yards only” method where it is 30th).  Adding Green Bay’s yards numbers on offense and defense (the official NFL ranking), one gets a team that is surpassed in combined performance by 14 other teams, including the 4-7 Eagles and Browns. - - - The Ravens are back on top on Aikman Defense.  In Aikman Offense, the Packers hold onto first, but the Saints have closed to within 0.6 points. Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 12, 2011                                  --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     8-3    Texans             168.5     86.2     82.3         8      1      9      2    11-0    Packers            165.2     95.6     69.6         4     30     34      3     8-3    Ravens             165.2     78.9     86.3        17      3     20      4     8-3    Patriots           163.4     92.8     70.6         2     32     34      5     9-2    49ers              163.2     77.8     85.4        26      7     33      6     7-4    Lions              162.6     84.3     78.2         9     10     19      7     7-4    Falcons            160.9     84.7     76.2        13      9     22      8     7-4    Bears              159.9     81.9     78.0        16     23     39      9     8-3    Saints             157.6     95.0     62.6         1     25     26     10     7-4    Cowboys            155.2     81.7     73.5         6     12     18     11     6-5    Jets               154.2     77.7     76.5        24      8     32     12     6-5    Titans             152.8     80.3     72.5        20     17     37     13     8-3    Steelers           151.7     81.8     70.0        10      2     12     14     6-5    Giants             150.6     80.6     70.0        11     28     39     15     7-4    Bengals            150.5     78.2     72.3        18      5     23     16     3-8    Dolphins           149.8     74.3     75.4        21     16     37     17     7-4    Raiders            148.1     81.3     66.8        12     27     39     18     4-7    Eagles             146.7     81.1     65.6         3     15     18     19     4-7    Browns             145.6     72.3     73.3        28      6     34     20     4-7    Seahawks           145.5     69.4     76.1        30     14     44     21     2-9    Vikings            145.2     79.1     66.1        23     19     42     22     5-6    Bills              144.6     80.7     63.9        14     22     36     23     4-7    Chargers           144.4     79.8     64.6         7     13     20     24     3-8    Panthers           144.3     82.5     61.8         5     24     29     25     4-7    Redskins           143.2     68.2     75.0        19     11     30     26     6-5    Broncos            142.1     74.3     67.7        25     18     43     27     4-7    Cardinals          141.7     70.6     71.1        22     26     48     28     3-8    Jaguars            140.8     65.2     75.5        32      4     36     29     4-7    Buccaneers         136.9     70.3     66.5        15     31     46     30     4-7    Chiefs             135.1     66.5     68.6        27     20     47     31     2-9    Rams               132.4     65.1     67.3        29     21     50     32     0-11   Colts              122.0     64.7     57.3        31     29     60   Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 12, 2011   Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       4      Packers             95.6    2       1      Saints              95.0    3       2      Patriots            92.8    4       8      Texans              86.2    5      13      Falcons             84.7    6       9      Lions               84.3    7       5      Panthers            82.5    8      16      Bears               81.9    9      10      Steelers            81.8   10       6      Cowboys             81.7   11      12      Raiders             81.3   12       3      Eagles              81.1   13      14      Bills               80.7   14      11      Giants              80.6   15      20      Titans              80.3   16       7      Chargers            79.8   17      23      Vikings             79.1   18      17      Ravens              78.9   19      18      Bengals             78.2   20      26      49ers               77.8   21      24      Jets                77.7   22      21      Dolphins            74.3   23      25      Broncos             74.3   24      28      Browns              72.3   25      22      Cardinals           70.6   26      15      Buccaneers          70.3   27      30      Seahawks            69.4   28      19      Redskins            68.2   29      27      Chiefs              66.5   30      32      Jaguars             65.2   31      29      Rams                65.1   32      31      Colts               64.7 NFL Average                           78.4 Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 12, 2011   Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       3      Ravens              86.3    2       7      49ers               85.4    3       1      Texans              82.3    4      10      Lions               78.2    5      23      Bears               78.0    6       8      Jets                76.5    7       9      Falcons             76.2    8      14      Seahawks            76.1    9       4      Jaguars             75.5   10      16      Dolphins            75.4   11      11      Redskins            75.0   12      12      Cowboys             73.5   13       6      Browns              73.3   14      17      Titans              72.5   15       5      Bengals             72.3   16      26      Cardinals           71.1   17      32      Patriots            70.6   18      28      Giants              70.0   19       2      Steelers            70.0   20      30      Packers             69.6   21      20      Chiefs              68.6   22      18      Broncos             67.7   23      21      Rams                67.3   24      27      Raiders             66.8   25      31      Buccaneers          66.5   26      19      Vikings             66.1   27      15      Eagles              65.6   28      13      Chargers            64.6   29      22      Bills               63.9   30      25      Saints              62.6   31      24      Panthers            61.8   32      29      Colts               57.3 NFL Average                           71.6 Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC SuperUser Wed, 30 Nov 2011 19:24:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:25 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/24/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-11.aspx#Comments 1 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=24 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=24&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/24/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-11.aspx As Matt Leinart takes over, the Texans rank first in the Aikman Combined Ratings through Week 11, ahead of NFC powerhouses Green Bay and San Francisco.  The Packers and 49ers have the NFL’s best Aikman Offense and Defense respectively but have mediocre marks on the other side of the ball that have hindered their rise to the top. The Texans are the only team in the top five on both sides of the ball (4th on offense, 3rd on defense), but they will be playing without starting QB Matt Schaub for the foreseeable future. At “8”, the Texans also have the lowest combined number for the NFL’s yards-only method of ranking offense and defense. The Packers may have the league’s best record and sit atop most subjective rankings and polls.  It should be pointed out that only two teams have allowed more yards than Green Bay and their combined offense-defense NFL yards-only number of 34 is bettered by 12 teams and tied with four others including the 4-6 Browns.  At least in the Aikmans, they are a solid second to Houston, which admittedly has played a less-demanding schedule. - - - While there might be some disagreement about the top of the Aikman Combined, there is no dispute at the bottom where the Colts are last in Aikman Offense, last in Aikman Defense and a whopping 9.4 points behind the 31st-place Rams at the bottom of the Aikman Combined.  Aikman History starts in 1995, and since that time the only team to finish a season with a lower Aikman Combined than the current 122.5 of Indianapolis is Arizona in 2000.  That 3-13 Cardinals team, quarterbacked by Jake Plummer, combined for 120.2.     Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 11, 2011                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     7-3    Texans             169.6     88.3     81.3         7      1      8     2    10-0    Packers            166.6     96.4     70.2         4     30     34     3     9-1    49ers              166.5     79.8     86.7        20      8     28     4     7-3    Ravens             164.4     78.9     85.5        15      4     19     5     7-3    Lions              164.1     84.3     79.8        11      9     20     6     7-3    Patriots           162.2     91.3     70.9         2     32     34     7     7-3    Bears              160.5     82.7     77.8        17     25     42     8     6-4    Falcons            159.6     84.1     75.5        12     15     27     9     6-4    Giants             154.9     80.0     74.9        13     21     34    10     6-4    Cowboys            154.7     82.3     72.5         6     10     16    11     7-3    Saints             154.2     91.8     62.4         1     20     21    12     5-5    Jets               154.2     75.7     78.5        22      7     29    13     5-5    Titans             151.6     81.2     70.4        21     18     39    14     7-3    Steelers           151.3     83.5     67.7         9      2     11    15     6-4    Bengals            151.0     78.4     72.5        18      6     24    16     3-7    Dolphins           150.6     75.0     75.6        23     16     39    17     4-6    Eagles             148.8     80.8     67.9         3     12     15    18     6-4    Raiders            148.5     82.6     65.9        10     24     34    19     2-8    Vikings            147.0     80.1     66.9        19     19     38    20     4-6    Seahawks           144.9     68.9     76.0        28     11     39    21     4-6    Browns             144.9     71.7     73.3        29      5     34    22     5-5    Bills              144.5     79.6     65.0        14     26     40    23     4-6    Chargers           143.6     79.6     64.0         8     13     21    24     3-7    Redskins           142.4     67.6     74.8        24     14     38    25     5-5    Broncos            141.8     74.0     67.8        27     17     44    26     2-8    Panthers           140.9     81.0     59.9         5     27     32    27     3-7    Jaguars            140.8     66.2     74.6        32      3     35    28     3-7    Cardinals          139.6     70.4     69.2        25     28     53    29     4-6    Buccaneers         136.7     71.7     65.0        16     31     47    30     4-6    Chiefs             134.7     67.9     66.8        26     23     49    31     2-8    Rams               131.9     65.9     66.0        30     22     52    32     0-10   Colts              122.5     64.6     57.8        31     29     60        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 11, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       4      Packers             96.4    2       1      Saints              91.8    3       2      Patriots            91.3    4       7      Texans              88.3    5      11      Lions               84.3    6      12      Falcons             84.1    7       9      Steelers            83.5    8      17      Bears               82.7    9      10      Raiders             82.6   10       6      Cowboys             82.3   11      21      Titans              81.2   12       5      Panthers            81.0   13       3      Eagles              80.8   14      19      Vikings             80.1   15      13      Giants              80.0   16      20      49ers               79.8   17       8      Chargers            79.6   18      14      Bills               79.6   19      15      Ravens              78.9   20      18      Bengals             78.4   21      22      Jets                75.7   22      23      Dolphins            75.0   23      27      Broncos             74.0   24      16      Buccaneers          71.7   25      29      Browns              71.7   26      25      Cardinals           70.4   27      28      Seahawks            68.9   28      26      Chiefs              67.9   29      24      Redskins            67.6   30      32      Jaguars             66.2   31      30      Rams                65.9   32      31      Colts               64.6   NFL Average                           78.5       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 11, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       8      49ers               86.7    2       4      Ravens              85.5    3       1      Texans              81.3    4       9      Lions               79.8    5       7      Jets                78.5    6      25      Bears               77.8    7      11      Seahawks            76.0    8      16      Dolphins            75.6    9      15      Falcons             75.5   10      21      Giants              74.9   11      14      Redskins            74.8   12       3      Jaguars             74.6   13       5      Browns              73.3   14       6      Bengals             72.5   15      10      Cowboys             72.5   16      32      Patriots            70.9   17      18      Titans              70.4   18      30      Packers             70.2   19      28      Cardinals           69.2   20      12      Eagles              67.9   21      17      Broncos             67.8   22       2      Steelers            67.7   23      19      Vikings             66.9   24      23      Chiefs              66.8   25      22      Rams                66.0   26      24      Raiders             65.9   27      31      Buccaneers          65.0   28      26      Bills               65.0   29      13      Chargers            64.0   30      20      Saints              62.4   31      27      Panthers            59.9   32      29      Colts               57.8   NFL Average                           71.5   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:59:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:24 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/23/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-10.aspx#Comments 1 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=23 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=23&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/23/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-10.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS & COMMENTARY thru Week 10 The Texans have moved to the top in the Aikman Combined Ratings through Week 10, bolstered by a schedule that has seen them play only one game against a team in the top 10 (a loss to Baltimore).  For those thinking the undefeated Packers should be first, we note that the sum of their offensive and defensive ratings (4+28=32) would rank them 13th overall.  The Aikman Ratings have them with the best offense in the league and 16th-best defense. - - - Green Bay has indeed opened up a solid 4.1-point lead over New England and New Orleans in Aikman Offense. The Ravens continue to lead in Aikman Defense. - - - At the bottom of the Aikman Combined, the Colts have fallen 10.8 points behind #31 St. Louis. Put another way, there are six teams closer at the top to the Texans than the Colts are to getting out of the basement.   Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 10, 2011                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     7-3    Texans             169.6     88.3     81.3         8      1      9     2     9-0    Packers            167.4     95.9     71.5         4     28     32     3     6-3    Ravens             164.8     77.9     86.9        15      3     18     4     8-1    49ers              164.3     80.3     84.0        25.5   11     36.5    5     6-3    Lions              161.5     80.3     81.2        13      7     20     6     5-4    Falcons            160.7     84.7     76.1        12     14     26     7     6-3    Patriots           160.0     91.8     68.2         2     32     34     8     6-3    Bears              157.8     80.4     77.5        17     25     42     9     6-3    Giants             155.7     81.8     73.9        11     17     28    10     5-4    Cowboys            155.1     81.7     73.4         5      9     14    11     5-4    Jets               154.3     76.9     77.4        23      8     31    12     7-3    Saints             154.2     91.8     62.4         1     19     20    13     6-3    Bengals            152.7     78.9     73.8        24      5     29    14     7-3    Steelers           151.3     83.5     67.7        10      2     12    15     5-4    Titans             151.2     80.7     70.5        21     15.5   36.5   16     5-4    Bills              150.3     84.2     66.1        14     29     43    17     2-7    Vikings            149.2     81.7     67.6        18     23     41    18     3-6    Eagles             148.6     82.4     66.2         3     13     16    19     4-5    Chargers           146.5     80.6     65.9         7     10     17    20     5-4    Raiders            145.9     81.9     63.9         9     26     35    21     3-6    Browns             144.4     71.5     72.9        30      6     36    22     2-7    Dolphins           144.1     72.5     71.5        19     20.5   39.5   23     2-7    Panthers           144.0     80.8     63.2         6     20.5   26.5   24     3-6    Cardinals          142.3     73.7     68.6        20     27     47    25     3-6    Redskins           141.7     65.6     76.1        27     12     39    26     4-5    Broncos            141.4     75.4     66.0        22     18     40    27     3-6    Seahawks           140.8     67.2     73.6        29     15.5   44.5   28     3-6    Jaguars            140.0     65.6     74.4        32      4     36    29     4-5    Chiefs             137.2     69.9     67.3        28     22     50    30     4-5    Buccaneers         136.3     69.3     67.0        16     31     47    31     2-7    Rams               133.3     67.5     65.7        25.5   24     49.5   32     0-10   Colts              122.5     64.6     57.8        31     30     61        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 10, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       4      Packers             95.9    2       1      Saints              91.8    3       2      Patriots            91.8    4       8      Texans              88.3    5      12      Falcons             84.7    6      14      Bills               84.2    7      10      Steelers            83.5    8       3      Eagles              82.4    9       9      Raiders             81.9   10      11      Giants              81.8   11       5      Cowboys             81.7   12      18      Vikings             81.7   13       6      Panthers            80.8   14      21      Titans              80.7   15       7      Chargers            80.6   16      17      Bears               80.4   17      25.5    49ers               80.3   18      13      Lions               80.3   19      24      Bengals             78.9   20      15      Ravens              77.9   21      23      Jets                76.9   22      22      Broncos             75.4   23      20      Cardinals           73.7   24      19      Dolphins            72.5   25      30      Browns              71.5   26      28      Chiefs              69.9   27      16      Buccaneers          69.3  28      25.5    Rams                67.5   29      29      Seahawks            67.2   30      27      Redskins            65.6   31      32      Jaguars             65.6   32      31      Colts               64.6   NFL Average                           78.7       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 10, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       3      Ravens              86.9    2      11      49ers               84.0    3       1      Texans              81.3    4       7      Lions               81.2    5      25      Bears               77.5    6       8      Jets                77.4    7      12      Redskins            76.1    8      14      Falcons             76.1    9       4      Jaguars             74.4   10      17      Giants              73.9   11       5      Bengals             73.8   12      15.5    Seahawks            73.6   13       9      Cowboys             73.4   14       6      Browns              72.9   15      20.5    Dolphins            71.5   16      28      Packers             71.5   17      15.5    Titans              70.5   18      27      Cardinals           68.6   19      32      Patriots            68.2   20       2      Steelers            67.7   21      23      Vikings             67.6   22      22      Chiefs              67.3   23      31      Buccaneers          67.0   24      13      Eagles              66.2   25      29      Bills               66.1   26      18      Broncos             66.0   27      10      Chargers            65.9   28      24      Rams                65.7   29      26      Raiders             63.9   30      20.5    Panthers            63.2   31      19      Saints              62.4   32      30      Colts               57.8   NFL Average                           71.3   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC     Troy Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:57:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:23 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/22/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-9.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=22 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=22&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/22/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-9.aspx AIKMAN COMMENTARY thru  Week 9 The Packers may be undefeated, but with their average defense having been handled by the Chargers last week, they have dropped to 3rd in the Aikman Combined Ratings through Week 9.   Division-rival Detroit, on bye last week, has slipped into 1st in a close battle that finds just 2.3 points separating the top five teams (Lions, Texans, Packers, Ravens and 49ers). It should be pointed out that the sum of the NFL’s yards-only offensive and defensive rankings for the Packers (4+30=34) is bettered by 13 teams. - - - The Packers do remain atop Aikman Offense and the Ravens lead Aikman Defense.  The Saints surged up into 2nd on offense this week while the 49ers remain 2nd on defense. - - - When Troy Aikman started the Aikman Ratings, he was looking for a system that would reward not only teams with flashy, big-yardage offense, but those, like his Cowboys in the 90s, who had a strong running game.  In 2011, the 49ers are not trying to gain as many yards as the Saints or Packers, preferring to control the clock, make first downs and keep the other team’s offense off the field.   It is a style that has worked for San Francisco even though only six other teams have gained fewer yards.  The Aikman Offense Ratings do not reveal the 49ers to be an offensive juggernaut, but they do place as a solid middle-of-the-pack attack at 16th overall. Other offenses that the Aikman Ratings like better on offense than the NFL’s yards only method are those of the Bills (4th vs. 12th), Lions (6th vs. 13th) and Falcons (7th vs. 14th). Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 9, 2011                                  --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     6-2    Lions              167.3     86.5     80.8        13     10     23      2     6-3    Texans             166.6     87.5     79.1         8      1      9      3     8-0    Packers            166.0     95.2     70.8         4     30     34      4     6-2    Ravens             165.6     77.8     87.8        16      2     18      5     7-1    49ers              165.0     80.4     84.6        26      9     35      6     5-3    Falcons            161.0     85.1     75.9        14     14     28      7     5-3    Jets               158.6     78.5     80.2        28      8     36      8     5-3    Patriots           158.3     92.0     66.3         2     32     34      9     6-2    Giants             157.4     83.1     74.3        11     19     30     10     5-3    Bills              156.8     87.6     69.2        12     26     38     11     6-2    Bengals            155.3     79.3     75.9        22      4     26     12     5-3    Bears              154.8     81.9     72.9        17     23     40     13     6-3    Saints             154.5     93.3     61.2         1     15     16     14     2-6    Vikings            153.1     82.8     70.3        18     20     38     15     3-5    Eagles             150.5     84.9     65.6         3     12     15     16     6-3    Steelers           149.8     82.6     67.2         9      3     12     17     4-4    Cowboys            149.0     78.3     70.7         7     11     18     18     2-6    Panthers           147.9     84.9     63.0         5     18     23     19     4-4    Chargers           147.4     81.8     65.7         6      7     13     20     4-4    Titans             146.1     79.8     66.3        27     17     44     21     3-5    Browns             145.8     73.9     71.9        30      6     36     22     4-4    Raiders            144.6     82.1     62.5        10     27     37     23     3-5    Redskins           143.3     66.9     76.3        21     13     34     24     2-6    Seahawks           141.1     67.3     73.8        29     16     45     25     1-7    Dolphins           140.9     72.2     68.7        19     24.5   43.5   26     3-5    Broncos            140.4     75.5     64.9        20     22     42     27     4-4    Buccaneers         140.3     71.9     68.4        15     29     44     28     2-6    Cardinals          138.9     72.8     66.1        25     28     53     29     4-4    Chiefs             136.4     69.3     67.1        24     21     45     30     2-6    Jaguars            134.6     64.2     70.3        32      5     37     31     1-7    Rams               129.9     67.4     62.4        23     24.5   47.5   32     0-9    Colts              123.5     67.4     56.1        31     31     62   Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 9, 2011   Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       4      Packers             95.2    2       1      Saints              93.3    3       2      Patriots            92.0    4      12      Bills               87.6    5       8      Texans              87.5    6      13      Lions               86.5    7      14      Falcons             85.1    8       5      Panthers            84.9    9       3      Eagles              84.9   10      11      Giants              83.1   11      18      Vikings             82.8   12       9      Steelers            82.6   13      10      Raiders             82.1   14      17      Bears               81.9   15       6      Chargers            81.8   16      26      49ers               80.4   17      27      Titans              79.8   18      22      Bengals             79.3   19      28      Jets                78.5   20       7      Cowboys             78.3   21      16      Ravens              77.8   22      20      Broncos             75.5   23      30      Browns              73.9   24      25      Cardinals           72.8   25      19      Dolphins            72.2   26      15      Buccaneers          71.9   27      24      Chiefs              69.3   28      23      Rams                67.4   29      31      Colts               67.4   30      29      Seahawks            67.3   31      21      Redskins            66.9   32      32      Jaguars             64.2 NFL Average                           79.4 Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 9, 2011   Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       2      Ravens              87.8    2       9      49ers               84.6    3      10      Lions               80.8    4       8      Jets                80.2    5       1      Texans              79.1    6      13      Redskins            76.3    7       4      Bengals             75.9    8      14      Falcons             75.9    9      19      Giants              74.3   10      16      Seahawks            73.8   11      23      Bears               72.9   12       6      Browns              71.9   13      30      Packers             70.8   14      11      Cowboys             70.7   15       5      Jaguars             70.3   16      20      Vikings             70.3   17      26      Bills               69.2   18      24.5    Dolphins            68.7   19      29      Buccaneers          68.4   20       3      Steelers            67.2   21      21      Chiefs              67.1   22      32      Patriots            66.3   23      17      Titans              66.3   24      28      Cardinals           66.1   25       7      Chargers            65.7   26      12      Eagles              65.6   27      22      Broncos             64.9   28      18      Panthers            63.0   29      27      Raiders             62.5   30      24.5    Rams                62.4   31      15      Saints              61.2   32      31      Colts               56.1 NFL Average                           70.6 Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Wed, 09 Nov 2011 19:07:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:22 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/21/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-8.aspx#Comments 4 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=21 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=21&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/21/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-8.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS Thru Week 8 The Packers in Aikman Combined, the Patriots in Aikman Offense and the Ravens in Aikman Defense remain the leaders through Week 8, but in all three races things tightened significantly. With their strong showing in Denver, the Lions jumped into second place, just 0.6 back of the idle Packers in the Aikman Combined (167.9 to 167.3). In Aikman Offense, the Patriots fell 1.6 points with their sub-par offensive showing in Pittsburgh and are now just 1.3 points ahead of the Packers. And the Ravens saw their huge lead of 8.0 points after Week 7 nearly halved, with the 49ers just 4.6 points behind.  Baltimore fell from 92.5 to 89.3 after playing the Cardinals. - - - The won-loss records of the teams atop the Aikman Combined generally are among the best in the league.  One exception, at this point, is Pittsburgh.  The 6-2 Steelers stand only 16th in the Aikman Combined in large part because of a discrepancy on defense.  Pittsburgh has the 2nd-best defense in the NFL as measured by the NFL’s yards-only formula, but is only 21st in the tightly-clustered defensive middle ground.  The Steelers are a below-average 68.1 mainly because they are extremely bad in forcing turnovers and not very good at stopping teams when they reach the red zone.  - - - Teams with a higher Aikman Game Rating won 12 of 13 games this week, the only exception being in the Miami-Giants game.  That close Aikman Game Rating (Miami 89.5, Giants 84.3) helps explain how the Dolphins took the Giants down to the final minutes despite being outgained 246-402. On the other hand, the Seahawks piled up 411 yards Sunday to outgain the Bengals by nearly 150, but they still lost while scoring only 12 points.  In the Aikman Game Rating, the Bengals held a 75.3 to 64.1 advantage.     Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 8, 2011                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     7-0    Packers            167.9     94.1     73.7         4     28     32     2     6-2    Lions              167.3     86.5     80.8        13     12     25     3     6-1    49ers              166.2     81.5     84.7        23     10     33     4     5-2    Ravens             165.6     76.2     89.3        14      1     15     5     5-3    Texans             164.1     86.0     78.1         7      3     10     6     5-2    Bills              161.8     91.7     70.0        10     26     36     7     5-2    Patriots           161.1     95.4     65.6         3     32     35     8     5-2    Giants             157.2     83.8     73.4        11     16     27     9     4-3    Falcons            156.2     83.6     72.6        17     19     36    10     4-3    Jets               155.5     77.2     78.3        29      8     37    11     5-2    Bengals            154.8     77.1     77.7        22      4     26    12     5-3    Saints             153.2     92.8     60.4         2     15     17    13     2-6    Vikings            153.1     82.8     70.3        18     21     39    14     3-4    Eagles             153.1     85.9     67.1         1     11     12    15     4-3    Bears              152.6     79.9     72.8        16     23.5   39.5   16     6-2    Steelers           151.7     83.6     68.1         9      2     11    17     3-4    Browns             150.0     75.0     75.0        26      5     31    18     2-6    Panthers           147.9     84.9     63.0         5     17     22    19     4-3    Chargers           147.7     79.5     68.2         6      6     12    20     4-3    Titans             146.7     78.8     67.9        25     18     43    21     3-4    Cowboys            146.6     77.0     69.6         8      9     17    22     4-3    Raiders            145.5     82.1     63.5        12     25     37    23     3-4    Redskins           143.0     67.1     75.8        19     14     33    24     2-5    Seahawks           142.0     66.8     75.2        31     13     44    25     4-3    Buccaneers         141.5     70.8     70.7        15     29     44    26     4-3    Chiefs             140.5     71.1     69.4        24     22     46    27     2-5    Broncos            137.8     73.5     64.3        27     20     47    28     1-6    Cardinals          137.0     72.6     64.4        20     27     47    29     2-6    Jaguars            134.6     64.2     70.3        32      7     39    30     0-7    Dolphins           134.3     68.7     65.6        21     23.5   44.5   31     1-6    Rams               128.3     67.3     61.0        28     30     58    32     0-8    Colts              125.8     69.4     56.4        30     31     61      Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 8, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       3      Patriots            95.4    2       4      Packers             94.1    3       2      Saints              92.8    4      10      Bills               91.7    5      13      Lions               86.5    6       7      Texans              86.0    7       1      Eagles              85.9    8       5      Panthers            84.9    9      11      Giants              83.8   10       9      Steelers            83.6   11      17      Falcons             83.6   12      18      Vikings             82.8   13      12      Raiders             82.1   14      23      49ers               81.5   15      16      Bears               79.9   16       6      Chargers            79.5   17      25      Titans              78.8   18      29      Jets                77.2   19      22      Bengals             77.1   20       8      Cowboys             77.0   21      14      Ravens              76.2   22      26      Browns              75.0   23      27      Broncos             73.5   24      20      Cardinals           72.6   25      24      Chiefs              71.1   26      15      Buccaneers          70.8   27      30      Colts               69.4   28      21      Dolphins            68.7   29      28      Rams                67.3   30      19      Redskins            67.1   31      31      Seahawks            66.8   32      32      Jaguars             64.2   NFL Average                           79.2     Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 8, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Ravens              89.3    2      10      49ers               84.7    3      12      Lions               80.8    4       8      Jets                78.3    5       3      Texans              78.1    6       4      Bengals             77.7    7      14      Redskins            75.8    8      13      Seahawks            75.2    9       5      Browns              75.0   10      28      Packers             73.7   11      16      Giants              73.4   12      23.5    Bears               72.8   13      19      Falcons             72.6   14      29      Buccaneers          70.7   15       7      Jaguars             70.3   16      21      Vikings             70.3   17      26      Bills               70.0   18       9      Cowboys             69.6   19      22      Chiefs              69.4   20       6      Chargers            68.2   21       2      Steelers            68.1   22      18      Titans              67.9   23      11      Eagles              67.1   24      32      Patriots            65.6   25      23.5    Dolphins            65.6   26      27      Cardinals           64.4   27      20      Broncos             64.3   28      25      Raiders             63.5   29      17      Panthers            63.0   30      30      Rams                61.0   31      15      Saints              60.4   32      31      Colts               56.4   NFL Average                           70.8   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC Troy Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:44:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:21 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/20/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-7.aspx#Comments 5 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=20 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=20&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/20/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-7.aspx 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. - - - 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. - - - 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. - - - 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 Troy Tue, 25 Oct 2011 20:40:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:20 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/19/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-6.aspx#Comments 10 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=274&ModuleID=778&ArticleID=19 http://www.aikman.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=19&PortalID=6&TabID=274 http://www.aikman.com/AikmanEfficiencyRatings/tabid/274/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/19/Aikman-Efficiency-Ratings-2011-As-of-Week-6.aspx AIKMAN RATINGS COMMENTARY thru Week 6 The Packers, the undefeated defending Super Bowl champions, have regained the top spot in the Aikman Combined Ratings through Week 6 – a result that most observers would feel is justified based on Green Bay’s body of work this year.  In fact, the top five teams in the Aikman Combined – Green Bay, Detroit, Baltimore, San Francisco and New England – are the same top five teams in most polls by media experts.  Yet, the NFL continues to measure offensive and defensive performance based on a standard of yards alone.  A blending of the offensive and defensive yards rankings yields a top five of San Diego, Oakland, Dallas, Philadelphia and Baltimore – with the Ravens the only team in the top five in both.  Troy Aikman founded the Aikman Ratings based on the belief that there had to be a better way than just yards to measure offense and defense, a way that better measured all the qualities that lead to victory.  This year, as in each year monitored, better than 80% of the teams with higher Aikman Game Ratings (the measure of one team’s offense against their opponents defense) have won their contests while teams gaining more yards are usually victorious about two-thirds of the time.  Often teams gaining fewer yards build a lead and then allow their opponents some yards, but not points, in the second half.  For example, last week the Rams outgained the Packers, 424 to 399, but were defeated 24-3, while the Dolphins outgained the Jets, 308 to 296, but were defeated 24-6.  In both contests, the victorious teams, the Packers and Jets, had substantially better Aikman Game Ratings.  The Rams, for example, scored just three points but saw their official NFL offense ranking rise from 31st to 25th.  They remained last in the Aikman Offense.     Aikman Combined Ratings Through Week 6, 2011                                    --------- Aikman --------       ------- NFL -------- Rank  Record   Team             Combined     Off      Def       Off    Def  Combined    1     6-0    Packers            171.8     94.0     77.8         4     23     27     2     5-1    Lions              167.8     87.7     80.0        13     12     25     3     4-1    Ravens             166.1     77.4     88.7        14      3     17     4     5-1    49ers              165.8     81.3     84.5        28     13     41     5     5-1    Patriots           164.1     97.0     67.1         1     32     33     6     4-2    Bills              159.3     95.4     63.8         9     31     40     7     4-2    Giants             158.2     83.6     74.6        12     20     32     8     3-3    Texans             155.9     80.5     75.5         8     10     18     9     3-3    Falcons            155.8     85.4     70.4        20     22     42    10     3-3    Jets               154.1     74.6     79.5        29     11     40    11     4-2    Bengals            153.5     77.4     76.1        22      2     24    12     1-5    Vikings            152.0     79.2     72.8        23     15     38    13     2-3    Browns             151.8     80.8     71.0        24      7     31    14     4-1    Chargers           151.7     83.9     67.8         6      4     10    15     3-2    Redskins           151.4     70.6     80.8        17      6     23    16     4-2    Raiders            151.2     89.9     61.3        11     28     39    17     4-2    Steelers           150.1     79.1     71.0        10      1     11    18     3-2    Titans             149.1     79.6     69.5        19      9     28    19     3-3    Bears              147.5     79.5     68.0        21     29     50    20     2-3    Cowboys            146.7     72.8     73.9         7      5     12    21     4-2    Saints             146.2     87.6     58.5         2     17     19    22     4-2    Buccaneers         145.8     74.9     70.9        15     25     40    23     2-4    Eagles             145.1     80.8     64.3         3     14     17    24     1-5    Panthers           144.8     83.0     61.8         5     16     21    25     2-3    Seahawks           142.8     70.9     71.9        30     18     48    26     1-4    Broncos            138.4     75.4     63.0        26.5   24     50.5   27     1-5    Jaguars            137.8     68.3     69.5        32      8     40    28     1-4    Cardinals          136.4     68.4     68.0        18     21     39    29     0-6    Colts              134.7     71.1     63.6        31     27     58    30     0-5    Dolphins           131.2     66.4     64.8        16     26     42    31     2-3    Chiefs             127.8     71.0     56.8        26.5   19     45.5   32     0-5    Rams               126.2     62.8     63.4        25     30     55        Aikman Offense Ratings Through Week 6, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       1      Patriots            97.0    2       9      Bills               95.4    3       4      Packers             94.0    4      11      Raiders             89.9    5      13      Lions               87.7    6       2      Saints              87.6    7      20      Falcons             85.4    8       6      Chargers            83.9    9      12      Giants              83.6   10       5      Panthers            83.0   11      28      49ers               81.3   12       3      Eagles              80.8   13      24      Browns              80.8   14       8      Texans              80.5   15      19      Titans              79.6   16      21      Bears               79.5   17      23      Vikings             79.2   18      10      Steelers            79.1   19      22      Bengals             77.4   20      14      Ravens              77.4   21      26.5    Broncos             75.4   22      15      Buccaneers          74.9   23      29      Jets                74.6   24       7      Cowboys             72.8   25      31      Colts               71.1   26      26.5    Chiefs              71.0   27      30      Seahawks            70.9   28      17      Redskins            70.6   29      18      Cardinals           68.4   30      32      Jaguars             68.3   31      16      Dolphins            66.4   32      25      Rams                62.8   NFL Average                           79.5       Aikman Defense Ratings Through Week 6, 2011     Aik     NFL     Team                 AER    1       3      Ravens              88.7    2      13      49ers               84.5    3       6      Redskins            80.8    4      12      Lions               80.0    5      11      Jets                79.5    6      23      Packers             77.8    7       2      Bengals             76.1    8      10      Texans              75.5    9      20      Giants              74.6   10       5      Cowboys             73.9   11      15      Vikings             72.8   12      18      Seahawks            71.9   13       1      Steelers            71.0   14       7      Browns              71.0   15      25      Buccaneers          70.9   16      22      Falcons             70.4   17       8      Jaguars             69.5   18       9      Titans              69.5   19      29      Bears               68.0   20      21      Cardinals           68.0   21       4      Chargers            67.8   22      32      Patriots            67.1   23      26      Dolphins            64.8   24      14      Eagles              64.3   25      31      Bills               63.8   26      27      Colts               63.6   27      30      Rams                63.4   28      24      Broncos             63.0   29      16      Panthers            61.8   30      28      Raiders             61.3   31      17      Saints              58.5   32      19      Chiefs              56.8   NFL Average                           70.5   Ratings Courtesy of STATS LLC     Troy Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:25:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:19