2018 FDH Midseason NFL UQB Rankings

By Rick Morris

This is the updated midseason version of The FDH Lounge’s Ultimate Quantitative Baseline rankings for 2018.  It’s a mashup of the following rankings: our updated power rankings, a metric that is ½ of our power rankings and ½ strength of schedule, offensive yards, defensive yards, DVOA, offensive DVOA, defensive DVOA and special teams DVOA.  These rankings are counterintuitive in many ways in terms of a surface view, but they offer a comprehensive look at where every team is at midseason.

 

	TOP TIER
1	LA Rams	43
	SECOND TIER
2	Kansas City	68
3	Carolina	77
	THIRD TIER
4T	Chicago	89
4T	Baltimore	89
6	New England	94
7T	New Orleans	95
7T	Seattle	95
9	Pittsburgh	97
10	Denver	103
11	Houston	106
12	LA Chargers	107
13	Jacksonville	109
14	Washington	114
	FOURTH TIER
15	Minnesota	124
16	Green Bay	125
17	Dallas	137
18	Cincinnati	139
19T	Philadelphia	143
19T	Indianapoilis	143
21	Atlanta	145
	FIFTH TIER
22T	Miami	159
22T	Buffalo	159
24	Tennessee	167
25	NY Jets	170
26	Detroit	174
27	NY Giants	177
28	Tampa Bay	184
29	Arizona	186
30	Oakland	192
31	Cleveland	195
32	San Francisco	198

FDH 2018 Week 9 NFL power rankings

By Rick Morris

NOTE: Rankings from start of season are in parentheses.

TOP TIER

1 LA Rams (2-1-1-1-1-1-1)

2 New Orleans (10-17-5-3-3-2-2)

3 New England (4-7-11-7-5-3-3)

4 Kansas City (5-3-2-2-2-4-4)

SECOND TIER

5 Carolina (8-11-4-4-4-9-7)

6 Pittsburgh (11-14-7-16-7-6-6)

7 Minnesota (1-2-6-8-6-5-5)

8 LA Chargers (14-13-14-14-11-8-8)

9 Philadelphia (3-4-3-5-8-7-9)

10 Chicago (18-18-19-12-12-12-13)

11 Houston (22-26-28-22-17-18-11)

12 Seattle (20-24-21-19-21-17-18)

13 Cincinnati (25-10-15-11-9-11-12)

14 Washington (21-23-20-20-26-21-15)

15 Baltimore (12-12-12-6-13-10-10)

16 Green Bay (6-5-8-9-14-14-14)

THIRD TIER

17 Atlanta (9-9-10-15-15-15-17)

18 Denver (16-15-18-18-18-20-20)

19 Jacksonville (7-6-13-10-10-13-16)

20 Indianapolis (27-21-22-23-24-27-24)

21 Miami (17-16-9-17-19-16-19)

22 Detroit (31-30-26-27-23-24-21)

23 Tennessee (23-22-17-13-16-19-22)

24 Dallas (26-25-25-25-28-22-23)

25 NY Jets (15-20-24-26-25-23-25)

26 Tampa Bay (13-8-16-21-22-26-26)

27 Cleveland (28-27-23-24-20-25-27)

FOURTH TIER

28 Buffalo (32-32-29-29-27-28-28)

29 Arizona (30-31-31-32-31-31-31)

30 San Francisco (19-19-30-31-32-29-29)

31 NY Giants (24-28-27-30-30-30-30)

32 Oakland (29-29-32-28-29-32-32)

BIGGEST RISERS: Seattle (6 spots), Indianapolis (4 spots), Chicago (3 spots)

BIGGEST FALLERS: Baltimore (5 spots), Jacksonville (3 spots)

RANKINGS BY DIVISION – 1 POINT PER RANKING SPOT FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TEAM

1 NFC South 50

2 NFC North 55

3 AFC North 61

4 AFC West 62

5 NFC West 72

6 AFC South 73

7 AFC East 77

8 NFC East 78

NFC 255

AFC 273

FDH Top 4 and Next 4 for College Football Playoff Week 10

By Rick Morris

NOTE: Rankings from start of season are in parentheses.

1 Alabama (1-1-1-1-1-1-1)

2 Clemson (4-3-3-7-5-4-3)

3 Notre Dame (OUT-7-7-6-3-2)

4 LSU (8-6-6-5-OUT-5-4)

5 Michigan (OUT-OUT-OUT-OUT-OUT-7-5)

6 Georgia (3-2-2-4-4-8-7)

7 Oklahoma (5-5-5-OUT-OUT-OUT-8)

8 UCF (OUT-OUT-OUT-OUT-OUT-OUT)

Lounge on YouTube: 2018 Week 8 fantasy football preview

By Rick Morris

THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER previews Week 8 of the 2018 NFL season.

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Lounge on YouTube: 2018 NFL Week 8 preview

By Rick Morris                                          

FDH Lounge Mini-Episode #1056 previews Week 8 of the 2018 NFL season.

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Lounge on YouTube: 2018 World Series preview

By Rick Morris

FDH Lounge Mini-Episode #1055 previews the 2018 World Series with FDH Lounge Dignitaries Ken Detwiler and Steve Kallas.

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2018 FDH Week 9 college football predictions

By Rick Morris

NOTE: 3-7 last week, 28-32 overall this year

Wisconsin -3 ½ over Northwestern

Michigan State +1 over Purdue

Florida State +17 ½ over Clemson

Florida +6 ½ over Georgia

Penn State -5 ½ over Iowa

Missouri -7 ½ over Kentucky

Stanford -3 over Washington State

Texas A&M +1 over Mississippi State

Tennessee +8 ½ over South Carolina

Texas -3 over Oklahoma State

FDH 2018 Week 8 NFL power rankings

By Rick Morris

NOTE: Rankings from start of season are in parentheses.

TOP TIER

1 LA Rams (2-1-1-1-1-1)

2 New Orleans (10-17-5-3-3-2)

3 New England (4-7-11-7-5-3)

4 Kansas City (5-3-2-2-2-4)

SECOND TIER

5 Minnesota (1-2-6-8-6-5)

6 Pittsburgh (11-14-7-16-7-6)

7 Carolina (8-11-4-4-4-9)

8 LA Chargers (14-13-14-14-11-8)

9 Philadelphia (3-4-3-5-8-7)

10 Baltimore (12-12-12-6-13-10)

11 Houston (22-26-28-22-17-18)

12 Cincinnati (25-10-15-11-9-11)

13 Chicago (18-18-19-12-12-12)

THIRD TIER

14 Green Bay (6-5-8-9-14-14)

15 Washington (21-23-20-20-26-21)

16 Jacksonville (7-6-13-10-10-13)

17 Atlanta (9-9-10-15-15-15)

18 Seattle (20-24-21-19-21-17)

19 Miami (17-16-9-17-19-16)

20 Denver (16-15-18-18-18-20)

21 Detroit (31-30-26-27-23-24)

22 Tennessee (23-22-17-13-16-19)

23 Dallas (26-25-25-25-28-22)

24 Indianapolis (27-21-22-23-24-27)

25 NY Jets (15-20-24-26-25-23)

26 Tampa Bay (13-8-16-21-22-26)

27 Cleveland (28-27-23-24-20-25)

28 Buffalo (32-32-29-29-27-28)

FOURTH TIER

29 San Francisco (19-19-30-31-32-29)

30 NY Giants (24-28-27-30-30-30)

31 Arizona (30-31-31-32-31-31)

32 Oakland (29-29-32-28-29-32)

BIGGEST RISERS: Houston (7 spots), Washington (6 spots), Detroit and Indianapolis (3 spots)

BIGGEST FALLERS: Jacksonville, Miami and Tennessee (3 spots)

RANKINGS BY DIVISION – 1 POINT PER RANKING SPOT FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL TEAM

1 NFC South 52

2 NFC North 53

3 AFC North 55

4 AFC West 64

5 AFC South 73

6 AFC East 75

7 NFC East 77

8 NFC West 81

NFC 262

AFC 267

Lounge on YouTube: 2018 Week 7 fantasy football preview

By Rick Morris

THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER previews Week 7 of the 2018 NFL season.

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Lounge on YouTube: 2018 NFL Week 7 preview

By Rick Morris                                          

FDH Lounge Mini-Episode #1053 previews Week 7 of the 2018 NFL season.

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Lounge on YouTube: Alex Cone and Gary Longsine tech roundtable

By Rick Morris

FDH Lounge Mini-Episode #1052 features a conversation with technology CEOs Alex Cone and Gary Longsine about the present state of their industry.

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Lounge on YouTube: Mini-Episode #1051 – Top guest clips #951-1050

By Rick Morris

Here is Mini-Episode #1051 of THE FDH LOUNGE, highlighting some of the top guest moments of the past 100 segments.

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Lounge on YouTube: Sean Oliver

By Rick Morris

FDH Lounge Mini-Episode #1050 features a conversation with author Sean Oliver of Kayfabe Commentaries about his new book FATHERS’ BLOOD.

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Lounge on YouTube: 2018 Week 6 fantasy football preview

By Rick Morris

THE FANTASYDRAFTHELP.COM INSIDER previews Week 6 of the 2018 NFL season.

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Lounge on YouTube: 2018 NFL Week 6 preview

By Rick Morris                                          

FDH Lounge Mini-Episode #1048 previews Week 6 of the 2018 NFL season.

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2018 World Series notes and oddities

By Rick Morris

NOTE: 6-4 record in the playoffs so far.

Once again, here’s our UQB ranking of all playoff teams measured against each other.

^ The only time that these franchises ever met in the World Series was in 1916,  when the Dodgers weren’t in LA and weren’t even called the Dodgers (Brooklyn Robins).  Call them what you want, the Dodgers are still looking for their first World Series win in a game against Boston.

^ These franchises have had many near-misses in terms of potential World Series matchups.  They’ve often been very good at the same point in history.  These are the times that they’ve come within one or two years of World Series appearances: 1946 (Red Sox) – 1947 (Dodgers), 1966 (Dodgers) – 1967 (Red Sox), 1974 (Dodgers) – 1975 (Red Sox), 1986 (Red Sox) – 1988 (Dodgers).  Additionally, the Dodgers won the NL pennant in 1978 while Boston lost the play-in game to the Yankees after collapsing down the stretch.  And in 1988 and exactly a quarter-century later in 2013, both teams were in the League Championship Series, but the first time the Dodgers won and the second time the Red Sox won.

^ These cities have seen more than a few near-misses in terms of Stanley Cup Finals collisions this decade.  The Kings made it to the Final in 2012 and 2014, while Boston sandwiched them in 2011 and 2013.

^ Obviously, the signature rivalry between these cities occurred on the hardwood, with the first Celtics-Lakers Finals clash actually coming in 1959, when the latter franchise was still based out of Minneapolis.  They lost those Finals and, after moving to LA, lost a whopping six times in the Finals against Boston in the 1960s and again in 1984 before breaking through with wins in 1985 and 1987.  The teams also split the 2008 and 2010 Finals.

^ 2004, the year that Boston infamously broke their World Series drought, looms large in this series as the respective managers, Alex Cora and Dave Roberts were playing for the teams that they are now managing against.  Memorably, Roberts had one of the biggest steals in Red Sox history in Game 4 of the ALCS.

^ One or more of the greatest players of this generation will win their first World Series here.  Clayton Kershaw is on his second try, as is Kenley Jansen.  Their teammate Manny Machado wasn’t here last year, so he’ll be trying to enter free agency on what would easily be his career highlight.  Chris Sale, David Price, Craig Kimbrel, Mookie Betts and JD Martinez are trying to break through for the BoSox.

^ In the Divisional Series era, the AL East is 2-1 against the NL West, winning 20 years ago with the Yankees over the Padres and in 2007 with these Red Sox over the Rockies.  The sole win for the NL West came with the Diamondbacks over the Yankees in 2001.