National Football Post's Joe Fortenbaugh recently came up with a ranking system for NFL teams and their ability to 'handle their business' at home. He took each team's home record from 2009-2011 (regular season) and their record against the Vegas spread to compile his rankings. Per Fortenbaugh:
I've devised a rudimentary formula for these rankings that consists of both home field record and ATS (against the spread) record. The team that posted the best home field record since 2009 is awarded one point, while the organization with the worst record is awarded 32 points, and so on. If two teams had the same record and occupied spots No. 4 and No. 5 in the rankings, the difference was split and both teams were awarded 4.5 points. As I'm sure you could have already guessed, the goal is to have the fewest total points between the two categories.
As explained in the article, the ATS rankings become important because it "provides an accurate assessment of how well a team plays at home against inferior competition. [I.e.], how much value would you assign a Ravens win in Baltimore over a team like St. Louis? Probably not all that much. But if the Ravens failed to cover the Vegas number, that would serve as an indicator that maybe it's not as tough to play in Baltimore as the team's 21-3 straight-up home record since 2009 indicates."
Regardless, despite the Seahawks mediocre 19-29 record the past three seasons, they came in 11th in the NFL in 'home field advantage' behind their 13-11 home record straight up and their 15-9 record against the spread. Though it's obviously not a perfect way to measure the 'home-field advantage', it is an interesting look at team records at home, both straight up and against the spread, over the last few seasons. The Seahawks pride themselves on playing well at the CLink - and so do their fans - so these numbers affirm that it's a tough place for teams to come play in.
For more on the Seahawks, make sure you head to Field Gulls and join in on the discussion.
