Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Drew Brees(notes), New Orleans Saints
		Once again, this week features the Brees/Manning flip-flop at the top, with Brees placing his foot squarely on top of Manning's head this week. He did have the one interception where Falcons DB Brett Grimes climbed air to snatch it out of the sky, but Brees spent most of the game being pretty damn brilliant. I'm not predicting 16-0 for the Saints, but if there's one reason they can get there, it's that the play they get from the quarterback position gives them a very big margin for error in every game. Like last night, for example.
2. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Not a great week for Peyton, but his season so far gives him enough juice to keep the top spot. It's kind of funny that the guy can complete 31-of-48 passes for 347 yards, and I'm calling it "not a great week," but that's the level of quarterback play we're being blessed with this year in NFL National Football League. Sorry, I wanted to try that.
3. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		The Vikings outplayed the Packers, but did Brett Favre(notes) outplay Aaron Rodgers? Sort of yes, sort of no. Favre was just about flawless, but the burden on Rodgers was far greater. The Packers had no Adrian Peterson to lean on, they don't have a great defense, and they didn't get to play with a lead. They asked Rodgers to do everything, and he responded with 287 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks. I'm giving the edge to Rodgers based on degree of difficulty. As a side note: You know who has the best quarterback rating in the league right now? It's not Brees, and it's not Manning ... it's Mr. Aaron Rodgers. The top two is dangerously close to being broken up.
4. Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings
		Continuing the Rodgers vs. Favre on Sunday discussion from above, I do have to acknowledge some bias towards Rodgers. I know this, and you know this. I still think a slight edge to Rodgers is the right call. Favre's been amazing, but the Minnesota offense is so perfectly tailored to putting the quarterback in a great position. Obviously, that doesn't mean just anyone could step in and put up the kinds of numbers Favre is putting up, but he doesn't have the weight of an entire offense on his shoulders, either.
5. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		A week off for Pittsburgh, and Roethlisberger stays put in the five-hole.
6. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		Matt Schaub slides a bit this week after a zero touchdown, two interception performance against the Bills. I don't think Schaub will mind, though, because he also got some good news this week: he might soon have a running game, courtesy of Ryan Moats(notes). If the Texans add a consistent ground game to what Schaub and Andre Johnson(notes) are already doing ... sweet sassy molassey, that's going to be quite an offense.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		It's so difficult to hash out the bottom of this list every week, because there's so little separating so many quality quarterbacks, but it seems like Philip Rivers is the one guy who can be counted on for consistency. His QB rating has been 93 or better in his past four games, and he's never been below 84.5 on the year. Thank you, Phil, for making this slightly easier.
8. Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys
		Just 15 minutes and 30 seconds into the Cowboys/Seahawks game, Tony Romo had already hit five different receivers. By the end of the game, 10 different Cowboys had caught passes. I love that stat, because it shows that a quarterback is getting through his progressions, making all kinds of different reads, and isn't relying too heavily on one guy. Three stellar weeks for Romo and counting.
9. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens
		Here's what Flacco accomplished on Sunday: 20-of-25, one touchdown, no interceptions, one win against an undefeated team and one big, sloppy wet kiss from Dan Dierdorf avoided after the game. I like Dierdorf, but he does tend to get carried away at times ... and yet, the unyielding river of verbal lust that he lavished on Flacco on Sunday was completely warranted.
10. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Brady had the week off, so let's talk about the two other guys who were considered for this spot. First, Eli. After reaching as high as number two on this list, he is now completely gone. Sorry. There are too many good quarterbacks here for three bad weeks to be tolerated. Second, Mr. McNabb. Great, great game on Sunday, but you know what I'd like you to do? Have two of them in a row. You've burned me before, sir.
Noses pressed against the glass: Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles; Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals; Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants; Kyle Orton(notes), Denver Broncos; Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears

I didn't include the Green Bay Packers in yesterday's Cry, Whine and Moan feature, because I felt like it was a special kind of loss that deserved its own post.

Not that it was the most painful loss of all-time or anything, but it was certainly unique in how it was painful. Most of us will never see our hero, arguably the best player in the history of our franchise, come back in the colors of our arch-rival and then destroy us, cementing the fact that his new football team is now clearly better than his old one.

That just doesn't happen. Not on this level, with a player of that magnitude, between rivals so bitter.

I feel bad for Packers fans. Not because of who I blame for anything that's happened -- blame doesn't really matter anymore. Blame Brett Favre(notes), Ted Thompson, global warming or Emmanual Lewis if you really want to. No matter who's at fault, Packers fans just suffered a loss that packed some serious sting. Forty-five% say it's the toughest loss Packers fans have ever had to deal with.

Karma failed us. After everything that's happened, all the breathless media reports, all the spin, all the lies, all the hurt feelings ... Brett Favre gets to come out on top, both times? This time, in your own front yard? That is not right. That is not just.

Packers fans deserved to win at least one of those games, and it seems cruel that they didn't get to. All they got was to see Favre leaving their field, with his hands raised high in victory.

I guess "deserve" is a concept that doesn't apply here, though. Things happened the way they did because Minnesota has a better football team. They have a better defense and a better running attack. In this case, that means they win. It sucks, but that's how it works.

The reaction in Green Bay today seems surprisingly pragmatic, though. The Packers blogs are worried about things like their head coach, Aaron Rodgers, Johnny Jolly, and Dom Capers (naughty language alert for that last one). Like pretty much every other team out there. The newspapers are a little more Favre-y, but there's just as much focus on things like Cullen Jenkins roasting Dom Capers, and the differences in the rest of the Green Bay and Minnesota rosters.

I'm sure there's a lot of frustration and anger behind all that, too. You have my sympathies, Packer fans. No group of fans should have to go through that, and then get denied satisfaction twice.

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Aside from the Lambeau boos, and the overcooked storylines, and the "Man O' the People, coming off his tractor to save the NFL" garbage, there was a game to play in Green Bay, and it had some pretty serious division ramifications. Early on, it looked like the Packers forgot about that -- Brett Favre(notes) carved up their pressure-proof defense, and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers(notes) was sacked four times in the first half alone. The Vikings and their Mississippi Queen went to the visitors' locker room at halftime with a 17-3 lead, and pumped it up to 24-3 early in the third quarter when Favre threw his second touchdown pass of the day to Percy Harvin(notes). It looked as if the Pack were going to be overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation.

But Green Bay scored the next 17 points unanswered, as adjustments were made to the protection schemes in order to keep Rodgers upright, and the defense got stronger, and Rodgers started hitting his targets. Greg Jennings(notes) and Donald Driver(notes) combined for 14 catches and 147 yards, and the Pack got within five points late in the fourth quarter, 31-26, after missing a two-point conversion. Favre's Vikings went six-and-out on their next drive, and Green Bay had a chance to pull it out. Didn't happen, Even when Rodgers completed a long pass to Donald Driver under extreme duress and was gifted with an extra 15 yards courtesy of Ray Edwards'(notes) roughing-the-passer penalty with 7:33 left in the game, the home team couldn't capitalize. A sack, an incomplete pass, and a missed field goal followed.

Then, the Vikings proved that they simply had more talent on their roster with their final scoring drive. A quick screen to Adrian Peterson netted 44 yards, down to the Green Bay 15, as no Packers defender had an answer for Peterson's downfield motion. Two plays later, Favre hit Bernard Berrian(notes) for the touchdown that put the game out of reach at 38-26. Rodgers followed with a series of desperate incompletions, and it was over.

Quite simply, the Packers aren't in the Vikings' league. They have major issues along their offensive line, they are incapable of putting together a consistent running game, and their defense, while occasionally dynamic, can be burned by speed and sheer physical talent in a way that elite defenses aren't. It may not seem faithful to the Green Bay faithful that Favre could manipulate the situation and wind up on a ready-made team, but there are more important things to worry about. The Packers have some work to do through the season, and into the offseason, before they can challenge this Vikings team.

Brett Favre(notes) was welcomed back to Green Bay today with open arms ... which were then used to figuratively smack him upside the head.

The Packers legend was roundly booed by fans in his first return to Lambeau Field since the acrimonious split he had with the team (and its fans) last year. While some in the crowd politely applauded Favre when he came out for warm-ups, went to midfield for the coin toss and took his first snaps from under center, the vast majority of fans showered Favre with boos. This only continued, as Favre and his new team, the Minnesota Vikings, jumped out to a 24-3 early in the third quarter. 

Among the best anti-Favre items seen at the game were the Fedro-Favre sign (at right), a t-shirts with "True Legends Don't Wear Purple" written in green, a poster that said "We'll Never Forget You, Brent" and a banner flying behind a plane reading "Retire 4 Good". 

Some fans were conflicted about the return. One told the Associated Press that he was a diehard Packers fan, but wanted Favre to do well. More seemed to be of the thinking that Favre was a traitor ("personally I'm booing while I'm crying").

But other Green Bay fans were being more level-headed about the return:

“It’s like going into church on Sunday and the priest says, `Everybody go home, Jesus has now sided with the devil,”’ [Packers fan Mark Fields, who was wearing a Favre jersey with "JUDAS" written on the back] said.

As long as we're keeping things in perspective, I guess.

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When the Packers lost, 30-23, to the Vikings on October 5 in Minnesota, part of the problem was a defensive game plan that was close to downright timid. Dom Capers' defense focused on spying Adrian Peterson with its inside linebackers, and covering the flats and seams as opposed to blitzing Brett Favre(notes). Favre was not sacked once in the game, and defensive end Aaron Kampman(notes) was the only Green Bay defender to record a single quarterback hit. Favre predictably carved the Green Bay defense up, completing 24 passes in 31 attempts for 271 yards and three touchdowns.

Last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers -- owners of another 3-4 defense with great talent -- did to Favre what they do to just about every quarterback they face: Bring pressure from the perimeter and force the quarterback to adjust. Favre was sacked four times, completed only 33 passes in 50 attempts, threw no touchdowns and a pick, lost a fumble, and looked very much like a quarterback who could be flustered by pressure.

The Packers have only 12 sacks on the season -- compare that to Minnesota's league-leading 25 -- but they're fourth in quarterback rating allowed (64.7) and second in Pass Defense DVOA (first overall in Defensive DVOA). Green Bay doesn't have to back the dogs off Favre in an attempt to focus on Peterson, who gained 55 yards on 25 carries in the last meeting. Perhaps it's more about using their defenders differently. Rookie linebacker Clay Matthews(notes) is still adjusting to his role as an edge-rusher in a 3-4, but he has unusual speed and agility for a guy his size. Why not put Matthews over the middle and have him spy Peterson, and drop back in some zone blitzes, instead of being negated off the edge? When these two teams last played, Matthews caused a second-quarter Peterson fumble, which he then returned for a 42-yard touchdown.

There's no defensive scheme that Favre hasn't seen in his career, but that doesn't mean he can't be upended by a few interesting looks. Emotions will obviously be high in Lambeau, and ol' #4 has a history of using emotion to his advantage. The Packers must upend Favre's reunion tour if they hope to avoid a season sweep.

Have you ever been in a stadium of 70,000 people when it's been dead quiet? It's an odd and off-putting feeling. No one is comfortable.

There are only three reasons it ever happens: 1) A moment of silence for a recent tragic event; 2) An injury that looks to be really, really serious; or 3) An unlikely catastrophe at the end of the game that costs the home team the win, and likely something more, like a chance at a championship.

None of the three feel good. The default setting for a packed stadium is noisy, and when it gets quiet, it's weird. No one likes it.

But it would be, as suggested by JSOnline's Michael Hunt (that link requires a subscription, unfortunately), a tremendous way for Green Bay fans to treat Brett Favre(notes). Here's a snippet:

But there is another way to acknowledge Favre, a middle road, if you will. We're talking about a wholly unrealistic, literally in-a-vacuum welcome back for No. 4, yet a response that would be completely appropriate for the occasion.

And that would be dead and utter silence. [...]

In a sophisticated way, a small town that is not exactly viewed as such by the outside world could emphatically say that the game to follow is bigger than one player.

It might also freak him out.

He's expecting to be booed, and maybe hear some cheers, too: basically, nothing he hasn't heard before in his career. Anything that stays within the boundaries of normal stadium behavior will have no effect on Favre. He's a professional.

He's also sort of disrespecting Packers fans by saying that the game is nothing special to him, there's nothing special about playing in Lambeau, and he won't be the least bit sentimental. Doesn't that make you angry, Packers fans? That Favre sees nothing special at all about his return to Lambeau as a Viking?

If you want to get to him, it's going to take the unexpected. I see only two ways to accomplish this. First would be the usual hate, taken to an ugly, extreme, violent level. I'm talking about throwing things, things that might hurt a man if they hit him, threats, the most boorish, personal and hateful of signs, etc. Obviously, we can't have this, as it's illegal, dangerous and wrong.

The dead silence, though, I think would be equally effective. There's no way that wouldn't jar Favre and everyone else. It would be unlike anything he's experienced in his career, and it would produce a chilling effect in the stadium and on television.

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Shutdown Corner is proud to present the weekly quarterback power rankings. They're just as arbitrarily decided as normal power rankings, except they rank quarterbacks, not whole teams. Rankings are based on play this year alone and meant to represent who is playing the best football at the current moment.

1. Peyton Manning(notes), Indianapolis Colts
		Again, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees(notes) trade spots. What did Peyton do against the Rams? Nothing too special: 235 yards passing, three touchdowns, no interceptions. Nothing that set the world on fire, but nothing to dispel the notion that he's the best quarterback in football, either.
2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
		Besides, it was more about what Brees did than what Manning did. I don't want to send the message that a game-winning second half is outweighed by a horrendous first half, but if you want the top spot, you can't have one touchdown, three interception days. You just can't. He might've even fallen out of the top two if he didn't lead that tremendous comeback.
3. Aaron Rodgers(notes), Green Bay Packers
		Making the biggest jump this week is Aaron Rodgers, who benefits from a week where a lot of the top guys weren't overwhelmingly awesome. Rodgers -- and this is a sick statistic -- has a quarterback rating of over 110 in each of his past four games. And he does this while leading the league in number of times sacked. Incredible.
4. Matt Schaub(notes), Houston Texans
		He leads the league in yards passing, and he leads the league in touchdown passes. Whether or not your brain is ready to accept it, Matt Schaub is one of the NFL's most dangerous offensive weapons. Riding Schaub's arm, the Texans are winners of three of their last four.
5. Ben Roethlisberger(notes), Pittsburgh Steelers
		There is one quarterback in the NFL completing more than 70% of his passes (actually, there are two, but Peyton Manning doesn't count, because I believe he's actually half robot), and his name is Ben Roethlisberger. He slides a tad, because he didn't have a great day against a tough Vikings defense: 14-of-26, 175 yards, one touchdown.
6. Brett Favre(notes), Minnesota Vikings
		Likewise, Favre also slides a bit because he didn't have a great day against a tough Steelers defense. He had a touchdown taken away from him on a phantom leg-whip call, and the interception bounced off of Chester Taylor's(notes) palms, but still, he didn't do enough to win.
7. Philip Rivers(notes), San Diego Chargers
		Rivers jumps back up the list a little bit after a week of feasting on the Chiefs secondary: 268 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Even better news for Rivers is that the Chargers showed some slight signs of maybe doing some things that might help him, like, oh, I don't know ... blocking and having a running game.
8. Eli Manning(notes), New York Giants
		Poor Eli continues to tumble down the list. Giants everywhere are tumbling down all kinds of lists, as we see that maybe their dominant start had something to do with the meatballs on their schedule: Washington, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland to start the season. All the sudden, Eli plays two good defenses, and he has two bad games. Perhaps this is not a coincidence.
9. Tom Brady(notes), New England Patriots
		Handsome Tom drops two spots in the rankings: One for each interception he threw this week. I'm not going to get too down on the guy, though, as he also threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns. He's had big games in the last two weeks against bad defenses, while struggling a bit earlier in the season against some good defenses. He's sort of the anti-Eli, in that way.
10. Joe Flacco(notes), Baltimore Ravens
		I kept going back and forth here between Kyle Orton(notes) and Joe Flacco. Orton's doing a fantastic job with the Broncos this year, but here's the question that decided it for me: If I had to pick one guy to take his team the length of the field in 60 seconds, where there's no time for screens, slants, or dump-offs, who would I take? I take Flacco. Orton's doing great in a take-care-of-the-ball, don't-risk-much offense, but I see Flacco as the more dangerous quarterback.
Noses pressed against the glass: Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Tony Romo(notes), Dallas Cowboys; Carson Palmer(notes), Cincinnati Bengals; Donovan McNabb(notes), Philadelphia Eagles; Matt Ryan(notes), Atlanta Falcons; Jay Cutler(notes), Chicago Bears

1. Michael Turner(notes), Running Back, Atlanta Falcons. A year after scorching through the league, Turner still can't get anything going with the Falcons. The "slow start" phase has passed. Now, he's getting into "just not very good" territory. He's 15th in the league in yards per game, despite being fourth in carries per game. He's getting 3.4 a carry. Meanwhile, Jason Snelling(notes) took seven carries from him on Sunday and turned then into 68 yards. It's a smaller sample size, obviously (19 carries), but Snelling's getting 6.4 a carry. That turns up the heat on Turner a little bit.

2. Matt Cassel(notes), Quarterback, Kansas City Chiefs. Cassel was really bad against the Chargers, but honestly, the bigger question here is how Cassell has managed to not have more games like that. The Kansas City offensive line is brutal. Even after yesterday's performance (10-of-25, 97 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions) against a thus-far weak San Diego defense, Cassel still has an 8-to-5 touchdown to interception ratio on the year. That's actually kind of incredible.

3. Chad Henne(notes), Quarterback, Miami Dolphins. Doug pointed out that the Dolphins got a little pass-happy at odd times in the game yesterday. Whether or not that was a bad decision (and it was), it was still incumbent on Chad Henne to make some throws, and he didn't. The Saints were stacking the line and absolutely daring the Dolphins to throw, and it turned out to be a great strategy. Yes, Ted Ginn not coming up with that ball that turned into an interception by Darren Sharper(notes) hurt the cause, but still, Henne didn't do his job. He went 11-for-26 in the second half, with two interceptions. If he's even decent in the second half, the Fish win that game.

4. Kenny Moore, Wide Receiver, Carolina Panthers. Kenny Moore is the guy who muffed the punt that erased any chance the Panthers had of coming back against the Bills yesterday, but let's be honest: Even if Moore fields it cleanly, the ball eventually ends up in the hands of Jake Delhomme(notes), and he was probably going to turn it over anyway. Don't beat yourself up over it, Kenny Moore.

5. William Gay(notes), cornerback, Pittsburgh Steelers. Gay was a winner yesterday, even though Brett Favre(notes) did abuse him a couple of times. Still, the main purpose of his inclusion here is to show the following video. Ka. Boom.

Well, what we speculated about the pass-heavy game plans of the Steelers and Vikings turned out to be correct -- at least on the Vikings' part. Brett Favre(notes), playing from behind in the second half, threw 32 passes in the final 30 minutes alone (51 total), and several of those were straight-up heaves downfield against Pittsburgh's fast defense. Ben Roethlisberger(notes) matched Favre with 19 passing attempts in the first half, then dialed it down as the Steelers took command of the game -- he attempted only seven passes in the second half. Favre was constantly under siege from Pittsburgh's defense -- there were as many short bailout throws as there were long bombs. He was sacked four times and was on the receiving end of six quarterback hits. When he did hit his receivers, they were punished as well. Percy Harvin(notes) was completely lit up by safety Ryan Clark(notes) on a throw over the middle that Favre probably shouldn't have made.

Still, with all the pressure, the Vikings were in the game down 20-17 until late in the fourth quarter, when linebacker Keyaron Fox(notes) picked off a Favre pass and ran it back 82 yards for a touchdown. That was one of three occurrences that stopped the Vikings from winning the game. The second was Favre's fumble that was returned by linebacker LaMarr Woodley(notes) 77 yards for a touchdown, and the third was a drive that concluded with the Vikings having to settle for a field goal despite the fact that they started their final four downs with first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. On that succession of plays, Adrian Peterson got the ball on first down and Favre threw incompletions on second and third down. Peterson carried the ball only 18 times, and the Vikings still owned time of possession 36:58 to 23:02. And Peterson gave one back to Pittsburgh for the Harvin hit, absolutely destroying cornerback William Gay on one of his carries. Taking the ball out of Peterson's hands was a very questionable decision, and the Vikings will regret it as they contemplate a game they could have won.

The last time the Steelers and Vikings met, it was December 18, 2005, and the Steelers won, 18-3. Current Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was Tampa Bay's secondary coach, current Vikings head coach Brad Childress was Philly's offensive coordinator, and Brett Favre(notes) hadn't even started waffling yet. It was a very different time, as evidenced by the rush/pass totals for both teams. The Steelers were still into smashmouth back then, using power running to protect quarterback Ben Roethlisberger(notes), who threw 15 passes all day. Big Ben came close to having more rushing attempts (six) than completed passes (10). Brad Johnson(notes) threw 30 passes and completed only 16 against the vaunted Pittsburgh defense.

45 passing attempts in a single game? When the Vikings and Steelers face off today, we may see more than that by the end of the first half. Minnesota has gone a bit more pass-happy with Brett Favre in charge -- they average 30.7 attempts per game as opposed to 28.2 with Tarvaris Jackson(notes) in 2008 -- but the balance has to be there with Adrian Peterson in the backfield. It's just not the same Vikings offense that opposing defenses could stack the box against. The Steelers, however, have absolutely switched from Bronko Nagurski to Air Coryell. Only the Colts sling it more often than Pittsburgh's 34.7 attempts per game, and no quarterback has more total passing yards than the Big Ben's 1,887. Roethlisberger isn't just a guy who can take a lot of hits anymore; he's now one of the most efficient and productive quarterbacks in the NFL. His 9.1 yards per attempt is tied with Peyton Manning(notes) for the league lead, and he has completed an astonishing 72.5 percent of his passes. That's why Football Outsiders ranks him third overall in opponent-adjusted efficiency, behind only Drew Brees(notes) and Peyton Manning.

It's a long way from 2005, when the Steelers won the Super Bowl with an incendiary late-season surge despite averaging a league-low 23.7 passing attempts per game. If you need any further evidence that the NFL is moving away from a run-first theory in favor of schemes more in line with the more wide-open offenses of the NCAA, look no further than the Steelers and Vikings airing it out downfield.