Power Rankings Compilation, Week 5

Online petitions accomplish are about as useful as a three-legged racehorse, but you still might get a laugh or two by visiting this site. It looks like the highlights of the "book" change every week, so check back often!

On to this week's power rankings. My guess would be Vikings at 18.

First up, the good news. USAToday.com says:

18. Hosting the Lions could be a good springboard into following week's visit to Chicago.

Yay! Lions! It's like a bye week that gets you a win.

Yahoo.com's Michael Silver says:

16. Along with handing out game balls, shouldn’t Coach Chilly be sending thank-you cards to his players for bailing him out Monday night?

Nah, Chilly told Kevin Williams to block that kick. That's why he did it. And he drew it up so KW would knock the ball right to Antoine Winfield. That's expert coaching and a cunning game plan. Stop knocking my boy.

SportingNews.com's Vinnie Iyer says:

22. Everyone knows running back Adrian Peterson is the Vikes' MVP, including every defense that gangs up to try to stop him. That's why it was so huge for Gus Frerotte to deliver through the air when No. 28 was stuffed. Monday's wild win may end up being a big spark.

Wanna bet the Lions don't know it? Last year, the Vikes ran for 339 yards in two games against Detroit.

SI.com's Dr. Z says:

15. They're dysfunctional, but they still won a big one in the Superdome on Monday night. The QB's marginal. The receivers are catch-one, drop-one, at least Berrian, their top guy, is. Jared Allen is not the pass rushing demon they figured he'd be. I see him taking an outside rush and continuing on his own track, after the train has left the station. Their special teams got destroyed. And yet, they're up five spots. OK, you emailers, let's hear it. And you'll have the pleasure of hearing me whine about how I had to adjust some other teams.

Regarding Jared Allen: That's the same observation I made last week, too. On nearly every rush, he seems to continue on his outside path and just get taken past the QB. As soon as I realized this, he sat out a play, replace by (I think) Otis Grigsby. His replacement pushed outside, then made an inside move, diving at Brees' leg and grabbing onto his foot just as he threw and forcing and incomplete pass.

ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert says:

19. The Vikings saved their season Monday night -- with a big assist from the Saints.

Covers.com's Bryan Leonard says:

24. Won a game in which they were thoroughly outplayed offensively. Down field passing game is improving.

Fox Sports' Adrian Hasenmayer says:

22. Minnesota definitely escaped against the Saints Monday night, but give them credit for fighting to stay in the game long enough to steal it. Plenty of folks were ripping Brad Childress for playing too conservatively at the end of the first half, but the way New Orleans was moving up and down the field Childress was wise to keep Drew Brees on the sideline.

So, even if those two runs on the last drive of the first half were the right call, we should give Childress a break for making the right call for about two minutes of the game, thus ignoring the other 2,218 minutes that he's been an awful coach (yes, that's actually two years + four games + 58 minutes)? That's like saying that Tarvaris Jackson will be a great QB in 2008 based on about half a quarter in the last game of 2007 against Denver, when he looked good. Which is what people were saying going into this year.

Oh, and Adrian still ranks the Cowboys at #1 overall. Not bad for a one-loss team that can barely beat the Bengals at home.

CBS SportsLine's Pete Prisco says:

17. That move to Gus Frerotte just might get them to the playoffs. That was a huge road victory Monday night at New Orleans.

I was frankly stunned -- OK, maybe I shouldn't be, considering the source -- at how much Tony Kornheiser and, to a lesser extent, the other talking heads in the MNF booth, were questioning the decision to replace T-Jack with Frerotte. It's a classic case of reverse age-ism. People think Baltimore and Atlanta are making mistakes by playing rookie quarterbacks because they have veteran options at the position. So what? If the rookie's better, play him. On the same note, just because one guy's 25 (and bad) and the other's 38 (and at least mediocre) doesn't mean you should play the younger guy just because he's younger. Tarvaris Jackson is not the "quarterback of the future," as Tony put it. Neither is Gus Frerotte, granted, but at least he's a better "quarterback of the present."

Average ranking: 19.25

Finally, I don't have a "WTF" message with regard to the team rankings, but rather with quarterback rankings, specifically the overwhelming voice in the sports media that is now ready to anoint Eli as the better Manning brother (over Peyton). Everywhere I looked this week, the talk was about how Eli has surpassed Peyton and is clearly the better of the two right now.

OK, taking into account that Eli has had a pretty good run -- eight straight victories (going back to last year's postseason) and 12/2 TD/Int. ratio in those games, it's eight games. And there are still 12 left this season. That gives a lot of time for him to regress back to his 75.2 career passer rating. His last three years, he's thrown 17, 18, and 20 interceptions. Chances are he finishes somewhere in the teens this year, too.

But hey, what's eight good games versus 164 good games? Yeah, sure, not all of Peyton's have been that good, but I'll take Peyton's 164 over Eli's 8 any day. Including right now.

Power Rankings Compilation, Week 4

I wonder how much power rankings take the coach into consideration? That would cost the Vikings at least 5+ points.

My pick for Week 4: 22. Regardless of how they got there, 1-3 ain't good.

USAToday.com says:

21. Preseason buzz of Vikes as Super Bowl contenders firmly on the back burner.

Yahoo.com's Michael Silver says:

19. Hey, Vikings fans – before we fire Brad Childress, how about we give him a chance to finish first in what suddenly looks like a very winnable division?

Yes, let's embrace mediocrity. I'd love to win the division at 9-7 and get crushed in the first round of the playoffs. That's what every team should aim for.

ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert says:

21. It doesn't get any easier this week at New Orleans on "Monday Night Football."

^^^ Insert ESPN plug here. ^^^

SportingNews.com's Vinnie Iyer says:

25. The unrelated Williamses, Pat and Kevin, are 628 pounds of run-stopping force. Likewise, Matt Birk and Steve Hutchinson deliver 622 pounds of push for Adrian Peterson. Now, they need more help from the big guys on the edges.

Remember kids, Pat Williams is only *snicker* 317 pounds.

Fox Sports' Adrian Hasenmayer says:

19. The defense has played much better than the final scores have indicated thus far, but the Vikings may lose an important piece this week in leading tackler E.J. Henderson. They'll need him as they gear up for their season's first shootout possibility against New Orleans.

SI.com's Dr. Z says:

20. MLB E.J. Henderson, a serious all-pro choice, limped off the field against the Titans. Frerotte couldn't finish the game...bad hand. Is it all falling apart for a team with such high hopes?

Covers.com's Ryan Stetson says:

25. Another QB shuffle would spell big trouble in Minnesota.

Honestly? I'd rather live without E.J. Henderson this week than without Gus Frerotte. And that's just messed up, when your 37-year-old backup QB is more valuable to your team than your stud MLB.

CBS Sportsline.com's Pete Prisco says:

24. Changing from Tarvaris Jackson to Gus Frerotte has produced a 1-1 record. We'll see how it is for the long run.

I don't know what this means. The team was 0-2 under Jackson (though you know how much I love win-loss records for quarterbacks, especially over the incredible sample size of two whole games). While not great, Frerotte has produced better numbers than Jackson in completion percentage, yards per attempt, yards per game, sack percentage, and passer rating. Really, what's your point here?

And you knew it had to come, with Washington beating Dallas, the stiffy that the media has for the NFC East is as large as ever, with the Giants taking over the #1 spot on most polls, if they weren't there already, and the Redskins vaulting all the way up to #2 in Adrian Hasenmayer's poll. He starts his entry with "They may not finish the season at No. 2." So why are they there now? Meanwhile, Ryan Stetson says "So what?" to last week and still ranks the 'Boys at #1. I'm not sure which is more mystifying.

(And on a side note, does anyone else think Jason Campbell is this year's David Garrard? Dude's got 6 TDs and no interceptions through four games. He's taking care of the ball and could finish with single-digit picks, which will endear him to the hearts of everyone who thinks that "managing the game" is the mark of a great quarterback. It's not. It's the mark of a mediocre quarterback who at least understands that he's not good enough to be a great quarterback. A player like that has value, yes, but I'd rather have a guy who can win the game than a guy who can just not lose it.)

Average ranking this week: 21.75. So I was close.

Power Rankings Compilation, Week 3

After an impressive victory against Carolina, I'd put the 1-2 Vikings around #17 on my personal power rankings -- good enough to be a highly ranked 1-2 team, but not quite enough to crack the top half. A victory this week against Tennessee, which is ranked in the top 5 in most polls, could be enough to vault the Vikings all the way into the top 10.

Not surprisingly, it's all about Gus Frerotte in this week's polls. ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert says:

19. Gus Frerotte is an improvement at quarterback. Now the Vikings have to keep him upright for 14 games.

Fox Sports' Adrian Hasenmayer says:

15. I Gus Frerotte can simply play the part of an NFL QB, this team can hope again. The Vikes won't have to adjust the offense very much with Frerotte, but just having a dependable deep ball should open up lanes for RBs Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor.

Yahoo.com's Michael Silver says:

15. In Gus they trust?

For now, yes.

SportingNews.com's Vinnie Iyer themed his week 4 polls around each team's "old guys," so it's not surprising that he would invoke the name of Gus as well:

19. They have many 10-plus year vets in key roles, including Ryan Longwell, Darren Sharper and Pat Williams. But the spotlight is on the 37-year-old under center, Gus Frerotte, to guide the team into the playoffs.

Because I want to add an eighth poll to my list, here's Ryan Stetson of Covers.com:

18. Next up on Minnesota's shopping list: A legit wide receiver.

We already (supposedly) got one of those. And we just (momentarily) figured out our quarterback situation. One glaring weakness at a time.

And here's the splash of cold water in your face, courtesy of SportsLine's Pete Prisco:

23. The move to Gus Frerotte paid off against Carolina. But let's see how he does against that nasty Tennessee defense.

Pete ranked the Vikings at #22 last week -- they won a game, in commanding fashion, and went down in his rankings. Remember, this is the same guy who thought the Vikings were the 24th best team in the league back in June. And this after we finally got a quarterback, Quarterback, QUARTERBACK to actually contribute to the team.

And here's the unnamed USAToday.com power rankings:

20. Back in the win column as the Gus Frerotte era has begun -- again.

#18 last week. #20 this week. A win ain't what it used to be.

SI.com's Dr. Z says:

18. They beat Carolina by 10 and looka here, seven places lower. Is this fair? [Carolina's #11] Is this just? Now you look! Indy beat the Vikes. Chicago beat Indy. Carolina beat Chicago. In the old days I'd solve this ring around the rosie by setting up ties in the standings, but copouts are not favored by the new administration, which comes armed with cuffs and billy clubs.

Just traversing this argument makes my head hurt. Yes, it makes sense that if Team A beats Team B, Team B beats Team C, and Team C beats Team A, someone has to be ranked lower than a team they beat. I get it.

But seriously...Carolina at #11?

My "WTF of the week" also goes to Dr. Z for ranking the Patriots at #6. He says "Let's not write them off after one weirdie, OK?" and that' s fine. But after barely beating the Chiefs and Jets -- teams that the '07 Patriots would have thrashed by at least 20 points each, they got slammed by the Dolphins. New England's far from the worst team in the league, but they're only borderline top 10 material, and certainly not on the edge of the top five.

The overall Viking average is 18.375 for these eight polls, a little lower than what I'd predicted. Take out Pete "I hate the Vikings" Prisco, and it goes up to 17.7. Not bad, and about what they deserve.

Now, here's hoping Philly loses and Washington beats Dallas so the sportswriters and pollsters can stop wetting themselves over how great the NFC East is.

Power Rankings Compilation, Week 2

My pick for the Vikings: #22. And that was even before Adrian Peterson missed a couple practices and was listed as "questionable" for Sunday's game against the Panthers. *sigh*

(And another thing...why is it so hard to find the NFL weekly injury report? With all the fantasy football players out there, not to mention people just plain interested in how hurt their favorite team's players are, it should be part of the main nav bar on any NFL page. I shouldn't have to dig for it. Is Bill Belichick behind this?)

ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert says:

21. It's already apparent that Tarvaris Jackson isn't the quarterback they should have entrusted with a playoff-caliber team.

SportingNews.com's Vinnie Iyer says:

22. Who can turn the world on with a smile, a juke, a stiff arm and then a 50-yard run? Adrian Peterson, of course. Now he needs his quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson, to show more "spunk."

FoxSports.com's Adrian Hasenmayer says:

19. Give the Vikes a legitimate NFL quarterback, and I give you a Top 5 team. Otherwise with the very raw Tarvaris Jackson, they will lead the league in "almosts" and "near misses." Message to Brad Childress: Stop reading our rankings right now and trade for Jeff Garcia.

CBS SportsLine's Pete Prisco says:

22. Brad Childress hitched his coaching wagon to Tarvaris Jackson. Now it might cost him his job. The Vikings are 0-2. Wow.

Or, in other words (as Pete said last week): quarterback, Quarterback, QUARTERBACK! And you know what? He might be right.

5. (Tennessee) The defense has given up 17 points in two games. If they continue that, does it really matter who plays quarterback?

Well, maybe. Then again, how nice would it be if we'd gotten to play Cincinnati?

USAToday.com writes:

18. QB questions are swirling. Will they stick with Tarvaris Jackson?

USA TODAY's NFL power rankings update on Tuesday evenings every week:

'Nuff said.

Yahoo.com's Michael Silver says:

19. Minnesota Vikings: How can a team with Adrian Peterson fail to reach the end zone against an undersized, Cover 2 defense?

First of all: Congrats, Michael, on not going the obvious "It's the quarterback's fault" in your analysis. My Steeler-loving friend says he can't understand why the Vikings use a zone-blocking scheme -- which relies on quick linemen -- when we have 300+ pound maulers like Steve Hutchinson, Matt Birk, and (usually) Bryant McKinnie. Just another in the brilliant coaching moves of Brad "Holding at 6%" Childress, I suppose.

Then again, maybe it's just the quarterback's fault.

And, the rare positive comment comes from Viking-backer Dr. Z of SI.com:

20. Well hidden star performance in Colts game was turned in by linebacker Chad Greenway, first round draft choice of two years ago. I know, plenty of more serious stuff is happening out there, but I just wanted to get this to you while the memory is fresh.

Chad has looked good in his 18 NFL games. Now, can he throw?

Overall, that's an average of 20.1, better than I would have expected for an 0-2 team with bad quarterbacking, even one that lost two games (to pretty good teams) by a total of 8 points. It could be worse, though; we could be San Diego, which lost its two games by a total of 3 points, and both on the last play of the game, counting the two-point conversion in the Denver game, which San Diego actually won. Sort of.

Meanwhile, the "Huh?" of the week goes to Michael Silver, who rates the Packers at #1 for the second week in a row. Now, I never thought the Packers would collapse when Aaron Rodgers took over for Brett Favre, and they have looked good. That said, I think the Cowboys (my pick for the #1 team in the league) will beat them soundly this week. If not, then by all means, put the Packers at #1, and I'll have some of what Silver's drinking.

Power Rankings Compilation, Week 1

I wasn't going to bring this feature back this year because it was really meaningless in the last few weeks of the season. By the middle point of the season or so, everyone has a pretty good handle on how good every team really is and it's harder to make fun of the dimwits. And what good is this if I can't make fun of people? Still, it's fun for the first few weeks or so and, considering that the Vikings a) were highly touted before the season; and b) laid a major egg in week one, it might still be good for a few chuckles (and angry fist-waving) for at least a month or so. If it becomes staid after that, I might start making fun of the positions of other, non-Viking teams as best I can. Hey, it's a living (figuratively speaking, that is).

I will also, before looking at my various sites and averaging out their rankings for the Vikings, try to give what I think should be the team's ranking this week. Following week one, I'd put the team about at #15 -- still top half and maybe a little higher than they deserve, but losing by five on the road isn't that bad, regardless of how they looked. Put up a similar stinkfest against Indy, though, and I'll change my tune...

Yahoo.com's Michael Silver writes:

12. Minnesota Vikings: Can this built-to-win-now team afford to wait for Tarvaris Jackson to grow into the job?

ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert writes:

16. They have to get more consistency from QB Tarvaris Jackson. (KS)

SportingNews.com's Vinnie Iyer writes:

18. Minnesota Vikings (0-1), down 6. All eyes are on Tarvaris Jackson to deliver for a talented team, but if the same passing struggles continue, should Gus Frerotte be considered? The Vikings still have some work to do to dethrone the Pack.

Not surprisingly, a lot of the entries this week concentrate on the play of Tarvaris Jackson, and rightfully so. I don't think, however, that the team is "waiting for" Jackson to grow into his role -- he should be there already.

And Gus Frerotte is not the answer. Then again, what is?

The Vikings' biggest backer before the season began was SI.com's Dr. Z. In dropping the Vikings all the way from #4 to #18 in his rankings, he says:

18. I never should have fallen for that stuff I read a few months ago about how they were going to the Super Bowl and all that. They can tell me all they want about Tarvaris Jackson's miraculous improvement, but, to me, he still has that deer in the headlights look.

Just before the season, I allowed myself a brief moment of optimism about Jackson after an entire offseason dismissing the guy. I thought maybe his decent (though limited) preseason showing meant something. And maybe, like Dr. Z, I fell into the trap of his so-called "miraculous improvement," but I should have remembered one thing:

Troy Williamson looks good every off-season, too. He had two catches for 11 yards in his Jaguars debut last week.

Fox Sports' Adrian Hasenmayer writes:

16. Yes, watching Tarvaris Jackson at QB during portions of the Packers game was difficult at times. Despite his up-and-down game, the Vikings were one critical third-quarter punt return touchdown allowed away from pulling off the upset against the hated Packers.

That's a salient point, but it's both good and bad. Yes, Jackson played poorly, but so did the special teams and the defense. Despite all of it, though, we still had a chance to win at the end. I'm still debating whether I'm pleased about that whole situation or not.

USAToday.com writes:

13. Colts squad in need of win will invade Metrodome to face 0-1 Vikings.

Er, OK. Care to write about the team you're actually ranking next time?

Finally, that brings us to Pete Prisco of CBS SportsLine.com. Back in June, Prisco ranked the Vikings at #24 and his comments on pretty much every team from #20 down were along the lines of "This team has quarterback issues." Which may have been true, but the other 21 players on the team have some effect, too. So it should be no surprise as to what his comment is for this week:

19. Quarterback, quarterback, quarterback. It's all about how Tarvaris Jackson progresses for the Vikings. He looked good at times Monday, but looked really bad at others against the Packers.

He then goes on to rank teams currently led by Kerry Collins and Kyle Orton at #7 and #8, respectively. Quarterback, quarterback, QUARTERBACK! Also, his "last week" rankings had the Vikings at #13, so they apparently somehow jumped up 11 points in his mind without playing a single game over two months. We may have the new Jason Cole (who doesn't appear to be doing rankings this year, *snif*), people.

All of that evens out to a #16 overall ranking, with very little divergence. Frankly, I'm surprised, and also a little disappointed that I don't have too much to poke fun at. So my "What the hell are you thinking?" category features ESPN.com, which lists San Diego at #3. Yeah, I know they lost on the last play and they probably are still a pretty good team (even without Shawne Merriman). But you can't lose your first game and still be considered a top-three team, can you?

The big question is, if Minnesota beats Indy this week, how many people will still rank the Colts ahead of the Vikings? About half, I'll guess. Quarterback, quarterback, QUARTERBACK!

Power rankings compilation, June edition

Well, why not? Sure, it's not the regular season, but I'll still find a way to disagree with/mock the "experts" who like to rank all 32 NFL teams in May and June. I'm sure they're not just doing it as a way to fill space during the looooooooong off-season (unlike the NBA, which I'm pretty sure has a three-week off-season). To make things a little more interesting, though, I'll not only comment on the Vikings' position, but I'll also get on their case about anything else that seems amiss. Apologies in advance if I offend your team's sensibilities. (Unless you're an Atlanta fan. They're still going to be awful.) After all, just because these guys are paid to give half-educated opinions doesn't mean I can't dole out my half-educated opinions for free.

All rankings were issued from May 1 or later. So yes, they are taking Jared Allen and the draft into account. Here they are, in no particular order

AOL Sports John Schaefer says:

9. Minnesota will continue its upward trend and nose out the Pack in a tight NFC North race. The difference? The Vikings have the best player in the division -- Adrian Peterson.

You mean the best player in the division isn't Rex Grossman? (He ranks the Pack at #10.) My "boner" pick for him, though, is the Saints at #8. You know, the team that went 10-6 two years ago but OMG PRETTY OFFENSE. Yep, they're in the top 25% of NFL teams. Amazing what one slightly above-average year will do for your expectations.

ESPN.com says:

12. If they settle on a QB, the Vikes could become a playoff team. RB Adrian Peterson is at the top of the list for MVP candidates. (JW)

That prediction's turned in by James Walker; five guys in total handled ESPN.com's predictions, including Pat Yasinskas, who puts Seattle at #8. Yeah, I know, we've been predicting the downfall of the Seahawks for years, but nobody in the NFC West has stepped up. Me, I think winning a criminally weak division every year doesn't qualify you as the eighth-best team in the league.

CBS SportsLine's Pete Prisco says:

24. They have the makings of a deep playoff team with one exception: quarterback. Do you believe in Tarvaris Jackson?

Not really, but I believe in the rest of the team well enough not to put this team at #24. I mean, really? 24? Are you sure these aren't the 2007 pre-season rankings? That'd be enough to qualify as the ludicrous pick, but then he puts the Giants at #3. Yes, they won the Super Bowl, yes, they had some great games in the post-season. But they were only 10-6. They won their post-season games by an average of five points each. They're not going to do it again.

SportingNews.com's Vinnie Iyer says:

12. With that Fantastic Four on their defensive front and that Flash in their offensive backfield, watch out.

The D-line is the Fantastic Four? And here I thought Troy Williamson was The Thing, you know "hands of stone" and all. Apart from putting the Giants on top (ugh), Vinnie also has the Bills at #13, just below the Vikings. They were a nice story last year, but they were only second in their division by default.

SI.com's Peter King says:

7. I can hear you all out there saying, "Too soon." Well, here's my question: What year in recent NFL history hasn't a Green Bay (2007), New Orleans (2006), Chicago (2005) or Pittsburgh (2004) jumped from nowheresville to Super-Bowl contention?

The Vikings do have a totally unproven passing game, but they still outscored Philly, Washington and Denver last year with the best running game in the league for about half the season. Minnesota had the biggest (by far) edge in average rushing margin per team last year, rushing for 5.3 yards a tote while surrendering 3.1 yards per carry. And though I don't love the Jared Allen signing for the long haul (too dangerous), I love it for 2008. Allen's quickness on the turf of the Metrodome ... scary. Maybe 20-sack scary.

"Too soon." Probably. I just wouldn't have the guts to put the Vikings this high, not quite yet. And as much as I'd like to see it, there's no way Jared Allen is getting 20 sacks. Meanwhile, he puts the Jets, who I don't see above the #20 spot on anyone else's list so far, at #14, just behind good ol' Buffalo at #13. AFC East: powerhouse division?

There are oodles of other power rankings out there -- just Google "power rankings 2008 NFL" (without quotes, of course) -- but I try to stick to the "professional" sources. And hey, if anyone ever wants to pay me to do this sort of thing, I'm all ears.

And sadly, there's no Jason Cole to kick around just yet. That's almost as fun as the regular season itself.