Internet polls are generally not worth the paper they’re not actually printed on. For one thing, people tend to cheat – the Internet sort of inspires that. Ballot-stuffing is not something people usually get to experience outside of a Chicago political race, so they indulge themselves. And for another thing…let’s face it, people are sheep. Most of what they know about anything they get from talk radio, so the poll results end up just reflecting those endlessly regurgitated opinions. Some dude heard Mark Schlereth say something on Mike & Mike – so it’s basically one idiot parroting another (don’t tell Schlereth I called him an idiot).
I say all of this in preface to the following – that ESPN SportsNation is polling the fans on their opinion of the 32 probable starting QBs for the up-coming season, and the Vikes’ very own up-and-comer Tarvaris Jackson is currently running in 32nd place (that’s dead-last for the slow among you). The results so far, courtesy of The Daily Norseman.
"1. Peyton Manning2. Tom Brady3. Drew Brees4. Carson Palmer5. Donovan McNabb6. Matt Hasselbeck7. Brett Favre8. Philip Rivers9. Marc Bulger10. Vince Young11. Ben Roethlisberger12. Steve McNair13. Michael Vick14. Tony Romo15. Chad Pennington16. Jake Delhomme17. Trent Green18. Matt Leinart19. Eli Manning20. Jeff Garcia21. Alex Smith22. Jay Cutler23. Byron Leftwich24. Jon Kitna25. Matt Schaub26. Daunte Culpepper27. Mark Brunell28. JaMarcus Russell29. J.P. Losman30. Rex Grossman31. Charlie Frye32. Tarvaris Jackson"
The poll is of course worthless, for the reasons outlined above and others. Tarvaris could turn out to be fantastic – or he could turn out to stink so abysmally that 32nd among 32 might seem an over-estimation. The only interesting thing about the results is what they say about people’s perceptions of the 32 men that are listed. That Peyton Manning is the best QB in the league is a given (Brady has Gisele though so nah nah Peyton). McNabb and Hasselbeck running 5 and 6 tells me that people either aren’t worried about their injuries or have forgotten that they were injured. Viking fans of course will snicker at Favre being 8 and Daunte Littlehandspepper being 26 – rolling their eyes in knowing bemusement at the first and feeling giddy with validation at the second.
To be honest, there’s nothing particularly unfair about Tarvaris being ranked last – should he really be higher than Charlie Frye or (ha ha) Rex Grossman? Grossman went to the Super Bowl, for gosh sakes. And Charlie Frye – um, he plays for the Browns right? And what about J.P. Losman at 29 – everybody keeps talking this guy up like he’s something, but the fans apparently didn’t get the memo.
As for T-Jack, this poll tells us only what we already knew – that he’s raw and green and still hasn’t put himself on the map. I’d like to boldly predict, as Gonzo does on the Norseman, that Tarvaris will wind up making the haters eat their words, but I’m afraid the jury’s still out on that, and will be for some time.