Lonely at the Top: Super Bowl LXIV Champion Saints

In case you're confused, it's good to be green.

1. Indianapolis Colts (15-2)
2. Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
3. San Diego Chargers (13-4)
4. New Orleans Saints (14-3)
5. Houston Texans (9-7)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (10-7)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
8. New England Patriots (10-7)
9. Green Bay Packers (11-6)
10. Baltimore Ravens (10-8)
11. Dallas Cowboys (12-6)
12. Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)
13. Denver Broncos (8-8)
14. Tennessee Titans (8-8)
15. Atlanta Falcons (9-7)
16. San Francisco 49ers (8-8)
17. Arizona Cardinals (11-7)
18. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-9)
20. New York Jets (11-7)
21. Carolina Panthers (8-8)
22. New York Giants (8-8)
23. Washington Redskins (4-12)
24. Chicago Bears (7-9)
25. Cleveland Browns (5-11)
26. Buffalo Bills (6-10)
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-13)
28. Oakland Raiders (5-11)
29. Kansas City Chiefs (4-12)
30. Seattle Seahawks (5-11)
31. St. Louis Rams (1-15)
32. Detroit Lions (2-14)

...and then there were 2

I apologize to those keeping track at home for the the tardiness of this post. Though the Vikings had beaten what I believed to be a better team in the Bengals than anyone the Saints had managed to knock off, home field advantage seems to have been sufficient equalizer (both for the Vikings in their win over the Bengals and for the Saints in their win over the Vikings) to have carried the 4th, rather than the 2nd, best team to the Super Bowl for a showdown with the Colts. How the Jets survived to the Conference Championship, beating the Bengals twice as well as the Chargers in San Diego, will forever remain a mystery--unless you believe Nate Kaeding's two misses from inside the 45 and the Bengals' rash of late-season injuries count as sufficiently significant aberrations from regular season performance.

1. Indianapolis Colts (15-2)
2. Minnesota Vikings (14-3)
3. San Diego Chargers (13-4)
4. New Orleans Saints (14-3)
5. Houston Texans (9-7)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (10-7)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
8. New England Patriots (10-7)
9. Green Bay Packers (11-6)
10. Baltimore Ravens (10-8)
11. Dallas Cowboys (12-6)
12. Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)
13. Denver Broncos (8-8)
14. Tennessee Titans (8-8)
15. Atlanta Falcons (9-7)
16. San Francisco 49ers (8-8)
17. Arizona Cardinals (11-7)
18. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-9)
20. New York Jets (11-7)
21. Carolina Panthers (8-8)
22. New York Giants (8-8)
23. Washington Redskins (4-12)
24. Chicago Bears (7-9)
25. Cleveland Browns (5-11)
26. Buffalo Bills (6-10)
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-13)
28. Oakland Raiders (5-11)
29. Kansas City Chiefs (4-12)
30. Seattle Seahawks (5-11)
31. St. Louis Rams (1-15)
32. Detroit Lions (2-14)

Watching the Field

As we move through the playoffs, why not keep an eye on the final edition of the philosophically suspect power rankings I've published on the site each week? This weekend saw several teams relegated to underdog status by the rankings rise up and deliver a sucker-punch to a favorite, and so the 19-spot gap between the best and the worst of the playoff field remains:

1. Indianapolis Colts (14-2)
2. Minnesota Vikings (13-3)
3. San Diego Chargers (13-3)
4. New Orleans Saints (13-3)
5. Houston Texans (9-7)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (10-7)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
8. New England Patriots (10-7)
9. Green Bay Packers (11-6)
10. Baltimore Ravens (10-7)
11. Dallas Cowboys (12-5)
12. Philadelphia Eagles (11-6)
13. Denver Broncos (8-8)
14. Tennessee Titans (8-8)
15. Atlanta Falcons (9-7)
16. San Francisco 49ers (8-8)
17. Arizona Cardinals (11-6)
18. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-9)
20. New York Jets (10-7)
21. Carolina Panthers (8-8)
22. New York Giants (8-8)
23. Washington Redskins (4-12)
24. Chicago Bears (7-9)
25. Cleveland Browns (5-11)
26. Buffalo Bills (6-10)
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-13)
28. Oakland Raiders (5-11)
29. Kansas City Chiefs (4-12)
30. Seattle Seahawks (5-11)
31. St. Louis Rams (1-15)
32. Detroit Lions (2-14)

Final 2009 Entirely Non-Deriddean Achivement-Centered Rankings of 53-Man Football-Playing Associations

1. Indianapolis Colts (14-2)
2. Minnesota Vikings (13-3)
3. San Diego Chargers (13-3)
4. New Orleans Saints (13-3)
5. Houston Texans (9-7)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)
7. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7)
8. New England Patriots (10-6)
9. Green Bay Packers (11-5)
10. Baltimore Ravens (9-7)
11. Dallas Cowboys (11-5)
12. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
13. Denver Broncos (8-8)
14. Tennessee Titans (8-8)
15. Atlanta Falcons (9-7)
16. San Francisco 49ers (8-8)
17. Arizona Cardinals (10-6)
18. Miami Dolphins (7-9)
19. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-9)
20. New York Jets (9-7)
21. Carolina Panthers (8-8)
22. New York Giants (8-8)
23. Washington Redskins (4-12)
24. Chicago Bears (7-9)
25. Cleveland Browns (5-11)
26. Buffalo Bills (6-10)
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-13)
28. Oakland Raiders (5-11)
29. Kansas City Chiefs (4-12)
30. Seattle Seahawks (5-11)
31. St. Louis Rams (1-15)
32. Detroit Lions (2-14)

Entirely Non-Deriddean Achivement-Centered Rankings of 53-Man Football-Playing Associations Through 15 Weeks

1. Indianapolis Colts (14-0)
2. New Orleans Saints (13-1)
3. Minnesota Vikings (11-3)
4. San Diego Chargers (11-3)
5. New England Patriots (9-5)
6. Cincinnati Bengals (9-5)
7. Baltimore Ravens (8-6)
8. Philadelphia Eagles (10-4)
9. Tennessee Titans (7-7)
10. Houston Texans (7-7)
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (7-7)
12. Denver Broncos (8-6)
13. Green Bay Packers (9-5)
14. New York Giants (8-6)
15. Dallas Cowboys (9-5)
16. Atlanta Falcons (7-7)
17. San Francisco 49ers (6-8)
18. Arizona Cardinals (9-5)
19. Miami Dolphins (7-7)
20. Carolina Panthers (6-8)
21. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-7)
22. New York Jets (7-7)
23. Washington Redskins (4-10)
24. Oakland Raiders (5-9)
25. Chicago Bears (5-9)
26. Cleveland Browns (3-11)
27. Buffalo Bills (5-9)
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-12)
29. Seattle Seahawks (5-9)
30. Kansas City Chiefs (3-11)
31. St. Louis Rams (1-13)
32. Detroit Lions (2-12)

Entirely Non-Deriddean Achivement-Centered Rankings of 53-Man Football-Playing Associations Through 12 Weeks

1. Indianapolis Colts (11-0)
2. New Orleans Saints (11-0)
3. Minnesota Vikings (10-1)
4. Cincinnati Bengals (8-3)
5. New England Patriots (7-4)
6. Baltimore Ravens (6-5)
7. San Diego Chargers (8-3)
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
9. Denver Broncos (7-4)
10. Dallas Cowboys (8-3)
11. Philadelphia Eagles (7-4)
12. Green Bay Packers (7-4)
13. Arizona Cardinals (7-4)
14. New York Giants (6-5)
15. Atlanta Falcons (6-5)
16. Tennessee Titans (5-6)
17. Houston Texans (5-6)
18. San Francisco 49ers (5-6)
19. Chicago Bears (4-7)
20. Seattle Seahawks (4-7)
21. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-5)
22. Buffalo Bills (4-7)
23. Miami Dolphins (5-6)
24. New York Jets (5-6)
25. Carolina Panthers (4-7)
26. Kansas City Chiefs (3-8)
27. Oakland Raiders (3-8)
28. Detroit Lions (2-9)
29. Washington Redskins (3-8)
30. Cleveland Browns (1-10)
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-10)
32. St. Louis Rams (1-10)

Entirely Non-Deriddean Achivement-Centered Rankings of 53-Man Football-Playing Associations Through 9 Weeks

1. Indianapolis Colts (8-0)
2. New Orleans Saints (8-0)
3. Cincinnati Bengals (6-2)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)
5. Denver Broncos (6-2)
6. New England Patriots (6-2)
7. Minnesota Vikings (7-1)
8. Dallas Cowboys (6-2)
9. Houston Texans (5-4)
10. Baltimore Ravens (4-4)
11. Atlanta Falcons (5-3)
12. San Diego Chargers (5-3)
13. Philadelphia Eagles (5-3)
14. Miami Dolphins (3-5)
15. New York Jets (4-4)
16. Carolina Panthers (3-5)
17. Arizona Cardinals (5-3)
18. New York Giants (5-4)
19. Green Bay Packers (4-4)
20. Chicago Bears (4-4)
21. Tennessee Titans (2-6)
22. San Francisco 49ers (3-5)
23. Seattle Seahawks (3-5)
24. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-4)
25. Oakland Raiders (2-6)
26. Cleveland Browns (1-7)
27. Buffalo Bills (3-5)
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-7)
29. Kansas City Chiefs (1-7)
30. Washington Redskins (2-6)
31. St. Louis Rams (1-7)
32. Detroit Lions (1-7)

Week 8 Entirely Non-Deriddean Achivement-Centered Rankings of 53-Man Football-Playing Associations

1. New Orleans Saints (7-0)
2. Indianapolis Colts (7-0)
3. Denver Broncos (6-1)
4. New England Patriots (5-2)
5. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2)
6. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
7. Minnesota Vikings (7-1)
8. Dallas Cowboys (5-2)
9. Philadelphia Eagles (5-2)
10. Houston Texans (5-3)
11. Baltimore Ravens (4-3)
12. Atlanta Falcons (4-3)
13. San Diego Chargers (4-3)
14. Miami Dolphins (3-4)
15. New York Jets (4-4)
16. Green Bay Packers (4-3)
17. Chicago Bears (4-3)
18. San Francisco 49ers (3-4)
19. Carolina Panthers (3-4)
20. Arizona Cardinals (4-3)
21. New York Giants (5-3)
22. Seattle Seahawks (2-5)
23. Tennessee Titans (1-6)
24. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-4)
25. Oakland Raiders (2-6)
26. Cleveland Browns (1-7)
27. Buffalo Bills (3-5)
28. Kansas City Chiefs (1-6)
29. Washington Redskins (2-5)
30. St. Louis Rams (1-7)
31. Detroit Lions (1-6)
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-7)

NFL Achievement Rankings

Some day I'll explain why this is more right than the power ranking bullshit. That day's not today. First step towards dropping out of grad school to blog about national pastimes:

1. New Orleans Saints
2. Denver Broncos
3. Minnesota Vikings
4. Indianapolis Colts
5. New York Giants
6. New England Patriots
7. Atlanta Falcons
8. San Francisco 49ers
9. New York Jets
10. Cincinnati Bengals
11. Chicago Bears
12. Arizona Cardinals
13. Houston Texans
14. Green Bay Packers
15. Seattle Seahawks
16. Jacksonville Jaguars
17. Philadelphia Eagles
18. Dallas Cowboys
19. Pittsburgh Steelers
20. Baltimore Ravens
21. San Diego Chargers
22. Miami Dolphins
23. Buffalo Bills
24. Oakland Raiders
25. Carolina Panthers
26. Detroit Lions
27. Washington Redskins
28. Cleveland Browns
29. Kansas City Chiefs
30. Tennessee Titans
31. St. Louis Rams
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers