Picked up the rumors on si.com that the Eagles are putting the franchise tag on Vick, thereby in all likelihood shopping Kolb.  Any thoughts by anyone on whether a. the Vikings should or b. the Vikings will try to pick up Kolb?  I'm not sure I know about him enough, but before MV came out of prison, the Eagles were pretty high on him.  Sounds better to me than recycling McNabb or Young.  It doesn't preclude drafting someone by any means, but it might make the whole thing a better transition forward.

So long, farewell, Patriots. I find myself pondering the transience of NFL success and failure these days.  It was stunning to me in the moments after the NFC Championship that a fantastic season - 2009 - ended in just seconds with an ill-advised interception, and there was nothing to show for all that good vibe of the year. I imagine the Patriots are feeling the same way - 14-2, and one and done.   In just seconds, all that emotional investment of many months is valueless.

But here's the other side of the coin: the wretchedness of the 2010 year for the Vikings is also now gone forever for me. Even the feelings of disbelief are fading (admittedly helped by the better showing of the last six weeks).   Win or lose, by February it's hard to remember why I got so worked up about it all.

So here's the question: why do we care so much during the season when the feelings dissipate so quickly? I can't even remember who won the Super Bowl three years ago without looking it up. All of which is to say, looking at the poll "How do you feel about the Vikings" on the Daily Norseman home page: I feel pretty good. It's 0-0 again, except for the four remaining clubs, and they'll soon be in fading-memory mode.  Would be nice to know who our QB will be, though.  Still, I'm back to hopefulness again, like someone with short-term memory loss.

Now if I can just remember this feeling during the season.  Not terribly likely.

I'm not one who cares terribly about what national media thinks about the Vikings. When I look at Don Banks of SI's week 2 power rankings, I'd argue that it's fair enough that he didn't bump the Vikings up faster until he sees some more about what they're really like. Especially since a lot of teams had a good first weekend. But the Packers still at no. 3? All due respect to a team that is likely going to be a better team this year, Jared Allen has to be salivating at the open door the Packers have at RT called Allen Barbre - Ogunleye was barely touched. (Why didn't they bring back Tauscher anyway?) In fact, the whole O-line seems suspect. And yes, Rodgers had a decent final drive. But SI's got this team way too high until they prove something more than barely beating the Bears, who also were too high week 1. (Amazing that few of the media remembered that Cutler had a losing record as a Bronco while hailing him as the savior.) So let the Vikings earn a higher ranking - fine. But the Packers certainly have not. Ranked above Baltimore, New Orleans and the Giants? 352 yards of offense against the Packers D? Yikes. And keep in mind that even with the Vikings strong defense and AP, he's still only moved them up to 12. Hard to see that kind of optimism the Packers are getting for a team that went 6-10 last year until they, too, prove something. It looks a lot like the college AP where preseason highly ranked teams stay put until they lose. Dr. Z was a little more willing to move teams around, especially after performances. (Speaking of Dr. Z, don't we all miss his input?)