Peter King has his NFL Power Rankings listed in his latest MMQB article.
So naturally I scanned for the Dallas Cowboys position, hoping to see them in the Top 10, but the King is not as high on the Cowboys as he was last year when he predicted we’d go to the Super Bowl. Nope, we’re towards the middle of the pack according to Pete.
14. Dallas: The Cowboys, post-Parcells, seem like they've just used their Get Out Of Jail Free Card. Bill's structure and rules are gone with let-'em-play Wade Phillips in charge. Be careful what you wish for. The Cowboys are a team on the precipice. They could dominate if Tony Romo is a B-plus quarterback, and they could be .500 if he stumbles. I'm betting it's somewhere between.
We know that King loved Parcells, so just by the fact Parcells was no longer here, the Cowboys would be downgraded in his rankings. No big deal, I’m not sure where the Cowboys should be ranked either, although my sense is that it’s higher than 14th.
But King didn’t just stop with ranking us kind of low, he had to throw a major indignity right into our faces. Located just one spot ahead of us on the list is none other than the Detroit Lions. Oh the humanity! We’re below the Lions, say it isn’t so.
What grave injustice have we inflicted on the King that he must humiliate us so? Is it just the departure of Parcells? It’s the frickin’ Lions. Now I know people will be quick to point out that the Lions beat us last year. True enough, but by that logic we beat the Colts so we should be ranked ahead of them. But who can think logically when we’ve come in behind the Lions!
The King must abdicate his throne, or at least move us ahead of Detroit!
All kidding aside, the Lions could be a much improved team this year. They certainly can score points under Mike Martz and his version of the original West Coast offense, otherwise known as the timing offense, or the "let’s throw it long and use some power running to crush our enemies" offense. Plus, they have the newest high-powered offensive weapon to hit the NFL, the man, the myth, Calvin Johnson.
Still, ranked behind the Lions? Can we sue for libel?
BTW, Sean Yuille runs an outstanding Detroit Lions blog for SB Nation that can be found here.