What is this?
Nef’s Power Rankings is a Power Rankings that will be provided weekly for PML members to enjoy! It’s rankings that don’t necessarily go off popular opinion or past results. It’s a fresh new look into power rankings that completely takes the popularity contest and bias out of it!
What is our goal?
Our goal is to provide a better understanding on who is really performing the best within a specific season using nothing but stats!
Who is involved?
Nefarious- Data gathering and inputing weekly.
Z- Weekly summary on the biggest surprises week to week to provide some substance to the Power Rankings and graphic itself.
CB- Weekly graphic to add something pretty to look at!
What stats are involved? Also what matters most?
Our Power Rankings are based into multiple scores. First you have your Record Score which gives you a certain amount of points every week. Making wins and loses weigh heavily week to week.Then you have your Weekly Score which gathers multiple stats based on that week to give you an overall score and performance on a week to week basis. Next you have Streak which takes your recent winning or losing streak to also adjust your ranking week to week. Then you have Team Overall that plays a very small factor when deciding where teams fall weekly. Finally we have our Total Score which is a combination of average Weekly Score, Record Score, Streak and Team Overall.
All of these things matter and factor into the final result but some matter more than others. Based on formulas used in this spreadsheet i can tell you roughly what effects the rankings mostly week to week and what effects them the least.
(From most to least)
Record Score– This is simple and self explanatory. The more you win the higher your score is. Wins and loses both weigh evenly. Wins effect it in a positive manner and loses effect it in a negative manner. For ties both team get half of what a win would get them.
Weekly Score– Recent weekly scores matter the most after record score. Older weeks (combined in 2’s) will effect the Total Score a little less and less as the season goes on. Weekly Scores does have multiple factors in it itself so I’ll break it down in most important to least.
– Record Differential in a win
– Point Differential
– Record Differential in a loss
– Ranking Differential in a win/loss (based on previous weeks total rankings)
– Team Overall Differential in a win/loss (based on team overall going into that weeks game)
– Points For/Points Against (small amount positive points for high scoring teams, and small amount subtracted for bad defenses)
Streak- With every win streak or losing streak you’ll receive a small hit or bump to your Total Score. So even if you lose one after having a big win streak you won’t punished by it in your total score. But the longer the streak is the more effect it can have on your Total Score and ranking.
Team Overall– Team Overall should matter. Especially when building a team is half of the battle. Though it matters it will not have a significant effect on our Power Rankings.
Thats a quick summary of what goes into it week to week. Please DM me (Nefarious) if you have any other questions.
Can I join?
Yes, we appreciate any help we can get. The more authors the better!
Z’s Island: The 5 Biggest Surprises Heading into Week 6
- The Return of MVP Lamar (Ravens 4-1): When the Ravens needed him most, he appeared. During season 1, Lamar Jackson set the league ablaze. He threw for 3826 yards and 41 touchdowns, all while having 1150 yards on the ground and 17 TDs. He would win the MVP that season and the Ravens, lead by Coach Ke, would make a run to the Super Bowl. Although he didn’t replicate the rushing stats in subsequent seasons, Lamar was still just as dangerous as ever the following two seasons. Unfortunately, his last season was cut short due to a late hit on a pass against the Denver Broncos. Coming into this year, the Ravens would need Lamar to return to the ultra-dual threat form he presented when they went to the Super Bowl. It couldn’t have come at a perfect time. After trailing 14-0 and pushing the score to 14-8 after a Xavier Worthy punt return TD, Lamar took over the game. He accumulated 189 yards on the ground and a total of 3 rushing TDs, stunning the Seattle Seahawks as the Ravens cruised to a 38-20 victory. If Lamar is truly back to MVP form, the rest of the AFC is in trouble. They’ll need everything he has next week as the 5-0 (!!) Cleveland Browns come to Baltimore with all the confidence in the world.
- Indianapolis Colts (4-1): Continue Their Early Season Hot Streak: JC and the Colts are balling right now. Down 10 late in the game (after a surge by the Los Angeles Rams from down 20-3 to take the lead), JC could’ve easily lost this game. However, he lived up to his name “JCClutch”, and put together three masterful drives: two offensive, and one defensive, to retake and hold onto the lead. The Colts are now 4-1 and in sole ownership of the AFC South. They boast the number 2 scoring offense (an incredible 40 ppg), number 8 offense in total yards (378.6 ypg), and a top 6 passing attack with 274 yards per game. Defensively they have the number 2 passing defense (only 188 yards allowed through the air per game) and a top 10 defense in both total yards allowed (8th) and points per game conceded (26 ppg). The Colts will look to continue their hot start against Patrick Mahomes and the New York Jets (2-3) in week 6.
- Chicago Bears (4-1): Bears move to 4-1 with a big win over the Giants: Bears nation is ecstatic right now. Two wins in back-to-back weeks over PML’s season 1 and season 3 super bowl winners have fans extremely optimistic about the team’s chances this year to make a run. Gee Scott Jr. has led the way for the team with 17 catches for 383 yards and 5 touchdowns. While not excelling in one area offensively, the Bears are in the top 16 in just about every offensive stat (13th in ppg, 16th in total offense, 15th in passing yards per game, and 15th in rushing yards per game). As a PML coach, offensive balance is one thing that can take you very far in this league. With their lone loss of the year coming to the 5-0 Las Vegas Raiders, it’s safe to say that the Bears might be here to make some noise..
- Las Vegas Raiders (5-0): Continue to Dominate Everyone They Play: Speaking of the Raiders, it’s time for Matigy to get his flowers. They’ve dominated just about every team they’ve played this season, all-madden CPU included. Their last 5 results have been: 34-17 win over the chiefs, a 38-12 win over the Chicago Bears, a 51-3 drubbing of the Dolphins CPU, a 49-29 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, and a defensively dominant 41-14 win over the Washington Commanders. While championships aren’t won in week 5, the Raiders have performed very well thus far, and won’t truthfully be tested until later in the season. Matchups against the Bengals (week 10), Giants (week 13), and Colts (week 14) will help us get a better visual of what the Raiders’ ceiling truly is.
- Kansas City Chiefs (3-2): A somewhat surprising addition to this list. The 3-2 Kansas City Chiefs make an appearance. While he does have two tough losses to the Raiders and the Patriots, Mali has played much better than I believe anyone would’ve given him credit for after the Patrick Mahomes trade. He has a top 10 offense in points per game (33 ppg) and a top 10 rushing attack. Although Trevor Lawrence hasn’t been a world beater (9 to 11 TD to int ratio), he’s done well enough for the Chiefs to pull off dominating wins over the Chargers (51-27) and Titans (41-16). A 36-22 win over the always dangerous Jaguars has his play garnering some deserved attention. We’ll see if he can keep it going against the Denver Broncos in week 6.
Z’s Happy Hour Bonus
One Thing I like, Heading into Week 6:
The Que-Nef Rivalry. This rivalry has an old-school feel to it. Think Steelers-Ravens, Cowboys-Giants, Panthers-Saints. There’s no way to definitively tell that these two don’t hate each other. The league needs more of this, and it provides us with even more forms of entertainment as we play our games throughout the week. If the patriots are able to win some more of the matchups, we could have something to look for in future cycles.
One Thing I Hate, Heading into Week 6:
The Lack of Accountability: Quarterback play has been a hot topic as of late. We’ve seen guys who were wrongfully marked as easy wins take ability QBs , buy into them, and elevate their game to an extremely high level. Ke, for example, took Lamar, built him as he needed, and created a scheme that allowed him to flourish and to this point has been the best version of Lamar we’ve seen across 5 cycles. Cammy has Joe Burrow looking like he does in real life: prolific and efficient. H***, even HD just had a 5000+ yard season, and a cycle ago that would’ve seemed as improbable as ever. We’ve also seen extremely skilled users elevate their teams with poor quarterbacks: DK and DJ U, Cook and Daniel Jones, HypeMike with Justin FIelds, Codes with DTR/Jacurri. At this point, it’s safe to say that anything is possible if you’re willing to put the time and effort into learning the players you have running your offense. I’m not only writing this as an indictment to those that complain about their guys not making throws or blaming their QBs for losses and bad-read interceptions, but also as a reminder to myself that there’s no point in complaining if you aren’t doing everything in your power to make your team as successful as possible, because nobody cares. I personally have spent too much time worrying about what CJ Stroud can’t do instead of looking at what he’s already done for me and building upon that. As a user who took a QB in the top 3 of the season 2 draft, I owe it to the league to have my QB perform as he should. I’m done blaming Stroud for his inconsistency and putting the onus on myself. I promise to be better. To those with QBs that they complain about, you owe it to not only to yourself but to the rest of the league, to elevate your game and perform at the highest level possible. This is the best madden league in the world, let’s act like it and put on a show for the people outside that do tune in.
