Chris is out today working on his Gangnam Style dance before moving to Korea, so I'm taking over the power rankings round-up today. You guys know the drill: we gather where all the major sites ranked the Vikings in their power rankings all in one place so you don't have to scour the internet yourself.
And guess what? Back-to-back road losses to division opponents don't exactly help a team's standing in the power rankings.
As usual, we'll start with the mothership site, SBNation.com. Surprisingly, they have the Vikings holding steady at #17.
Adrian Peterson is so ridiculous. The 6.2 yards per carry would be one of the highest averages in NFL history. Jim Brown holds the all-time record at 6.4. And AP is doing this off of a torn ACL.
"So ridiculous" is one of the many correct ways to describe AP. "Stupid awesome" and "HOLY SH*T" are among the bevy of other acceptable terms used. We're just glad they decided to focus on the positive. They have the Packers and Bears swapping spots at 7 and 9 respectively while the Lions sank three to the #22 slot.
Since I guilt-tripped Chris into giving me second billing last week and I'M IN CHARGE this week, let's make it a tradition! Over at SB Nation Minnesota, I also have the Vikings 17th, but I dropped them one place compared to last week. Here's what I had to say:
The pitchforks are out in Minnesota after Ponder's awful showing in Green Bay. These next four weeks might have a lot to do with how this team (and coaching staff) look in 2013.
To say that we've had some discussion about Ponder and our coaches on Daily Norseman in the past few days would be a slight understatement. Every time I check the site, the comment threads on most of our stories have doubled. I have the Pack at 7, leapfrogging the Bears who hold steady at 8. I dropped the Lions two more spots after their latest loss to settle at 22.
The folks at ESPN agree with us at SB Nation and also placed the Vikings at #17. They also think Christian Ponder is a polarizing topic of discussion:
However this season turns out, it appears they'll still be asking questions about quarterback in the offseason.
That looks like a very strong possibility right now. They moved the Pack up two to #7, the Bears down two to #8, and the Lions down one to #21.
Next we go to our old pal Brian Billick over at Fox Sports. (You think he'd come back and be our offensive coordinator again? I wouldn't be opposed to it. We could get rid of Musgrave. Plus it would get Billick off game broadcasts! It's a win-win-win!) He has our Vikes all the way down at 19th, down two from his previous post. Once again, AP is the topic of conversation:
To reach 2,000 yards on the ground, Adrian Peterson needs to average more than 138 per game over the next four games. He is currently averaging 157.8 over his last six.
Well, at least we have something to look forward to over the next four weeks, because it doesn't look like the playoffs will be an option. Billick has the Packers 6th (up 3), the Bears 10th (down 3), and the Lions 22nd (down 3).
Over at CBS Sports, Pete Prisco has the Vikings sliding down two notches to #19 as well. (Side note: does anyone else automatically say "Prisco, Prisco" like Dr. Dre says "Frisco, Frisco" in "California Love" every time you read that name? No, it's just me? OK, never mind.) You'll never guess who he brings up:
Christian Ponder just isn't getting it done. Is it time to make a change to Joe Webb?
I can see a third of our readers yelling "YES!", a third of our readers shouting "NO!", and the final third of our readers screaming "NEITHER! WE NEED [insert your favorite possibly available quarterback here]!" Meanwhile, Prisco has the Packers up two spots to #7, the Bears down one to #8, and the Lions down one to #24.
Finally, we have the NFL.com power rankings. Every other site had the Vikings at either 17 or 19; NFL splits the difference and puts us at #18, down a spot from last week.
At 18 lies the slumping Minnesota Vikings, who do have some positives in tow. They have Adrian Peterson.
Apparently there are only two players worth discussing at opposite ends of the playing spectrum this week. Either you're talking about how awesome Adrian Peterson is or how awful Christian Ponder is. If you'd like to discuss those two players, or any other Vikings players, and how they were ranked this week, let us know in the comments.