Football Statistical Nerd Alert! Which rankings do you put more faith in and feel is a more accurate reflection of this Patriots team, FO Rankings that have the Pats ranked 5th in DVOA (behind, among others, MIA and BAL!) or 538’s ELO rankings that have the Pats ranked 1st?

I haven’t really paid much attention to ELO rankings on 538. I’ve always been a big fan of DVOA and use it almost exclusively here. After digging a bit on ELO it just seems a little broader to me, while DVOA digs into the minutiae of football situations, while accounting the opponent.

Overall rankings, whether statistical or some pundits “Power Ranking”, don’t mean much to me. I like how specific DVOA can get, but it’s more about what teams have done, rather than what they will do.

So I find that useful for breaking down strengths and weaknesses and understanding how to hide/overcome your own problems, while attacking opponent’s.