Fox Sports Week Fourteen NFL Power Rankings: Vikings Move Up One

Fox Sports finally has their Week 14 Power Rankings up and available, and they did actually move the Vikings in the right direction this week (unlike some folks we’ve displayed here thus far). Of course, they still have them right on the edge of being in the bottom quarter of the NFL, but at least they’re trending the right way.

Minnesota was sitting at number 24 in the previous week’s Power Rankings from Fox Sports, and their win over Buffalo has bumped them all the way up to number 23.

Fox was a bit critical of the Vikings. . .but I’m not entirely sure why.

It will be interesting to see how interim head coach Leslie Frazier does the rest of the way. He’s 2-0 at this point since taking over for Brad Childress, but he hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record. His best test will come this week against the visiting Giants.

Well, you know, folks. . .the only teams you can play each week are the ones that the schedule puts in front of you. And, hey. . .one of the teams that the Frazier-led Vikings have beaten was the Washington Redskins. If beating the Redskins is so easy, why couldn’t the Packers or the Bears do it?

As the kids today might put it. . .I’m not sayin’. I’m just sayin’ is all.

Fanhouse Week Fourteen NFL Power Rankings: Vikings Hold Steady

Well, not a lot of movement for the Vikings from the folks at Fanhouse, either. . .but once again, they had the Vikings much higher than most other outlets, so I’m going to cut them a little slack here.

Fanhouse had the Vikings at number 18 in their Power Rankings after last week, and that’s where they remain this week as well. In their commentary, however, they do state what a lot of people are thinking:

The biggest shame in this Vikings season is that they refuse to sit Brett Favre. Somewhere, probably not Minnesota, Tarvaris Jackson will get a shot — and he’ll probably turn out to be pretty good.

And you know something? I’m under the impression that they’re exactly right. But there will be more on that as we continue this week.

National Football Post Week Fourteen NFL Power Rankings: Another Drop? Seriously?

I’m beginning to think that I titled my initial posting incorrectly. See, I guess I simply assumed that the Vikings beating another NFL team by 24 points would be enough to make them rise in the various power rankings throughout the National Football League media, but it turns out that was an incorrect assumption on my part.

The National Football Post is another site that’s managed to drop the Vikings after their performance this week. However, I’m not going to get too bent out of shape about this, as the NFP has the Vikings ranked a whole lot higher than most sites. . .their one-spot drop this week moves Minnesota from number 17 to number 18.

The NFP states the obvious here as well.

Expect plenty of Brett Favre talk this week in Minnesota, but the A.P. and the defense are the reason Leslie Frazier is 2-0 as the interim head coach.

“The” A.P. I wonder if he’s anything like “The” Bruce Dickinson or “The” Ohio State University.

But, even in dropping the Vikings a spot, the National Football Post is far more kind to them than most web sites have been. You have to appreciate that if you’re a Minnesota fan.

CBS Sports Week Fourteen NFL Power Rankings: Hey, The Real Pete Prisco Is Back

You know, last week I thought that noted Vikings’ hater Pete Prisco was starting to soften a little bit in his stance towards the Minnesota Vikings after he moved them up from 27th in the NFL to 23rd following their four-point victory over the Washington Redskins. Maybe this Christmas season, his heart wouldn’t be two sizes two small, as the old story goes.

Boy, did I have the wrong impression. This week, after Minnesota’s 38-14 thumping of the Buffalo Bills, Prisco rewards the Vikings by moving them from number 23. . .BACK DOWN TO NUMBER 27?

And, of course, since Prisco is not only a noted Viking hater, but a noted Favre hater as well, you know what his commentary focused on.

What’s the point of playing Brett Favre even if he can play? Find out about Tarvaris Jackson.

For crying out loud, what in the hell is this guy doing? The only other team that had as big a drop in Prisco’s Power Rankings this week was the Houston Texans, who he dropped from 16 to 20 following their Thursday night loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

For crying out loud, Prisco punished the Vikings more for a 24-point victory than he did the New York Jets. . .a team that went out on national TV in a game against their most hated rivals after running their mouths all week and lost by 42 freaking points. The Jets moved down three spots from number two to number five.

Seriously, it's almost like Prisco got done with his rankings, was getting ready to submit them to the editor, and realized that he just flat out forgot to rank the Vikings at all, so he just stuck them in the rankings wherever.

ESPN Week Fourteen NFL Power Rankings: Things That Make You Go "Hmmmmmmm"

The good folks at ESPN have released their Week 14 Power Rankings for the National Football League, and to say that they’re a bit strange in regards to the NFC North would be a bit of an understatement.

First off, the not quite so unusual part. . .apparently the folks at the four-letter weren’t all that impressed with Minnesota’s victory over Buffalo on Sunday, as they’ve left the Vikings at the same spot they were last week, number 23 overall. They did, however, manage to ignore everything about the team’s performance outside of their favorite Vikings-related subject.

The Brett Favre drama never ends. Only the angles change.

Well, that’s why they’re the Worldwide Leader™, you know.

The stranger part comes at the top of the NFC North, where both the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers won this week. The Bears are a game ahead of Green Bay in the standings, and have beaten them head-to-head this season as well.

So, naturally, ESPN has Green Bay ranked seventh overall. . .one spot ahead of the Bears. They flip-flopped spots, with the Packers moving up after their win over San Francisco and the Bears moving down after their win against Detroit.

Wait. . .that doesn’t really make any sense at all. Unless, of course, you take into consideration the fact that ESPN, along with every other media outlet in America, gave the Packers a bye into the Super Bowl as the NFC’s representative and engraved Aaron Rodgers’ name onto the MVP trophy back in about June. Then it makes perfect sense.

Week Fourteen NFL Power Rankings: Minnesota Vikings Are Movin' On Up

Yes, folks, just like those crazy kids George and Weezy, the Minnesota Vikings are ascending in the NFL Power Rankings in most corners of the league. . .most (we'll get to that in a second). . .now that they're riding a two-game winning streak and are starting to resemble an actual, honest-to-goodness NFL football team under the eye of interim head coach Leslie Frazier.

As always in our tour through the NFL Power Rankings, we'll start with the mothership at SBNation. Last week, if you'll recall, the folks up at the top had the Vikings ranked at 28th in the rankings and, despite having a better record than the Buffalo Bills by two games, trailed the Bills in the Power Rankings. (The Bills were 26th last week.)

Well, unlike some media outlets, at least our folks at SBNation can admit when they were wrong about something. After moving the Vikings up four spots to number 24, they had this to say.

I received an email last week when we had the Bills ranked above the Vikings. The Minnesota fan was wondering if I was out of my mind. I said we can figure out whose right this week when the Vikings meet the Bills. Well, Minnesota beat Buffalo by 24 points so we know who was right.

We most certainly did.