Minnesota was the big winner in the first installment of ESPN.com's preseason power rankings. Do the voters know something the rest of us don't?
When we last left the power rankings, Chicago was the NFC North's top-ranked team at No. 12. The Vikings ranked second at No. 14 overall, but the pending arrival of quarterback Brett Favre shot the Vikings up to No. 9 overall. The Bears are now No. 13.
I imagine that order will change if Favre remains retired, bringing us to an important note about the power rankings. This year, I am not directly involved in the process. We've reduced the number of voters for better efficiency and consistency. This might enrapture some of you and mortify others, but that's the way it will be this year.
The 2009 electorate includes one NFC blogger and one from the AFC -- Mike Sando and Paul Kuharsky, respectively -- along with ESPN analysts John Clayton and Jeffri Chadiha.
Here is a capsule view of the NFC North's performance in Monday's installment, with previous rankings in parenthesis:
No. 9: Minnesota (14)
No. 13: Chicago (12)
No. 17: Green Bay (17)
No. 32: Detroit (32)
Having two teams in the bottom half of the chart left the NFC North's composite ranking at 17.3, third-worst in the NFL.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Kevin Seifert
Seifert joined ESPN.com in 2008 after covering the Minnesota Vikings for the Minneapolis Star Tribune for eight years. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and daughter.