November 24, 2015
Week 11 of the NFL season is in the books. We have one new obituary, and no, it's not the Eagles. They're more like walking zombies than anything else. Here's this week's Hierarchy/Obituary.
DEAD: RamsLast week, in a desperation move, the Rams decided to bench starting quarterback Nick Foles for Case Keenum. Predictably, the Rams only managed 13 points in Baltimore, as Keenum went 12 for 26 for 136 yards. The next two weeks they'll face the Bengals and Cardinals.
The Rams are a team that is proud of themselves, and the way they've built their roster. That's clear by the nonsense they pulled when head coach Jeff Fisher sent Janoris Jenkins, Michael Brockers, Zac Stacy, Stedman Bailey, Greg Robinson, and Alec Ogletree out to be his captains against the Redskins late last season. Those were the players the Rams selected with the draft picks they got in the trade for Robert Griffin III a few years back.
So, that's great, Rams. You've got yourselves a lot of draft picks and some decent things going on your roster, but, you know, no quarterback. I wouldn't exactly go spiking the football to celebrate your brilliance. The Rams' record since 2004:
| Rams | Wins | Losses | Ties |
| 2004 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| 2005 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| 2006 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| 2007 | 3 | 13 | 0 |
| 2008 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| 2009 | 1 | 15 | 0 |
| 2010 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| 2011 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| 2012 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| 2013 | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| 2014 | 6 | 10 | 0 |
| 2015 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 61 | 124 | 1 |
9) Eagles (4-6)I really considered killing the Eagles off, but as it has been all season long, the Eagles' biggest strength this season remains that they play in the putrid NFC East, where the division-leading Giants have a slim one game lead (with the Eagles currently holding the tie-breaker). And so, for that reason, and that reason alone the Eagles remain alive.
Unfortunately, they can't throw, catch, block, tackle, or cover. It would almost just be easier on the fan base if the NFC East had some kind of legitimately good team that had actually piled up some wins by now so that people could move on and enjoy their holidays. Instead, the Eagles are just sort of undead, as we mentioned in the Eagles-Buccaneers "10 awards" post-game piece.
How bad are the Eagles right now? Well, the Redskins got destroyed by the Panthers, 44-16, and they moved up a spot ahead of Philly this week.
Again, like the Eagles, the only reason the Redskins aren't in the graveyard is because the NFC East is awful. However, they have the Giants coming to town this weekend, and if the Giants sweep them on Sunday, they're done.
7) Giants (5-5)According to ESPN's "Football Power Index," the Giants have the best chance of winning the division, but only at 47%.
It's almost kind of sad that a 3-7 team (the Cowboys) still have a 10% chance. Here is the rest of the NFC East teams' schedules the rest of the way:
| Giants | Eagles | Redskins | Cowboys |
| At Redskins (4-6) | At Lions (3-7) | Giants (5-5) | Panthers (10-0) |
| Jets (5-5) | At Patriots (10-0) | Cowboys (3-7) | At Redskins (4-6) |
| At Dolphins (4-6) | Bills (5-5) | At Bears (4-6) | At Packers (7-3) |
| Panthers (10-0) | Cardinals (8-2) | Bills (5-5) | Jets (5-5) |
| At Vikings (7-3) | Redskins (4-6) | At Eagles (4-6) | At Bills (5-5) |
| Eagles (4-6) | At Giants (5-5) | At Cowboys (3-7) | Redskins (4-6) |
| 34-26 (0.567) | 35-25 (0.583) | 24-36 (0.400) | 35-25 (0.583) |
6) Falcons (6-4)Hey, remember when the Falcons were 5-0? Yeah, they're not 5-0 anymore.
5) Seahawks (5-5)The Seahawks are like the little guy in the Italian mafia vs Japanese Yazuka episode of the Simpsons, where you're just waiting for them to do something.
That'll be in the playoffs after the Falcons blow it down the stretch.
4) Vikings (7-3)The Vikes had a chance to make some serious noise by beating the Packers at home last Sunday, but they came up small. Had they won, they'd have been up two games with the early tie-breaker. That would have been a major obstacle for the Packers to have to overcome the rest of the way. As it is, Minny is still very much in the driver's seat for the 5 seed in the NFC. Here's the updated wildcard standings:
| Team | Wins | Losses |
| Vikings | 7 | 3 |
| Falcons | 6 | 4 |
| Seahawks | 5 | 5 |
| Buccaneers | 5 | 5 |
3) Packers (7-3)After falling behind the Vikings in the standings for a week, Aaron Rodgers finally got some help from the rest of his team, as the Packer defense held Adrian Peterson to 45 rushing yards.
The Packers' next four opponents are the Bears (4-6), Lions (3-7), Cowboys (3-7), and Raiders (4-6). Combined record: 14-26.
2) Cardinals (8-2)The Cardinals might be the most complete team in the NFL:
A snapshot of yards per game differential in the NFL:
| Team | YPG diff | Team | YPG diff |
| Cardinals | 95.1 | Eagles | 0.6 |
| Patriots | 74.9 | Titans | -3.3 |
| Seahawks | 64.0 | Vikings | -4.9 |
| Falcons | 63.8 | Bills | -6.9 |
| Broncos | 53.1 | Saints | -9.8 |
| Bengals | 33.0 | Jaguars | -17.4 |
| Buccaneers | 31.6 | Packers | -26.7 |
| Panthers | 31.4 | Lions | -30.8 |
| Jets | 28.2 | Redskins | -37.3 |
| Texans | 24.5 | Rams | -37.6 |
| Chargers | 19.2 | Colts | -46.4 |
| Chiefs | 17.7 | Raiders | -47.0 |
| Steelers | 13.5 | Dolphins | -53.6 |
| Bears | 11.2 | Giants | -64.0 |
| Ravens | 10.3 | Browns | -71.5 |
| Cowboys | 7.7 | 49ers | -115.8 |
1) Panthers (10-0)This is not at all what the Eagles' locker room looks like. This is what a 10-0 locker room looks like:
Ron Rivera takes classes at the school of Cam Newton. (via @Panthers) https://t.co/bRxfJTeWCO
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 23, 2015
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
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