Sixteen teams got their Viking Funeral last week in the rankings, and this week they’re joined by four more…including the Vikings.

-Atlanta Falcons – Awards for Matt Ryan and Mike Smith are a bit of solace for getting bounced by the worst playoff team since the Dick Cheney-led Gog Magogs. The Falcons were an illusion all season; a great story can often delude fans and networks to overlook staggering flaws. It’s like when an embattled people finally earn their independence; you feel good about them, but you’re not exactly afraid of getting invaded. The next step will be avoiding a HUGE letdown next year and getting a runstopper of some kind on the defense.

-Indianapolis Colts – The good news is that Peyton Manning isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The bad news is that the Colts’ invincible offensive days are long gone. They need a change in philosophy, kind of like the Broncos made to win a couple Super Bowls. Why not load up on linemen and run defenders and try to play a slowdown game? Oh yeah, bceause you play in a dome.  

-Miami Dolphins – See above. No team benefitted more from a weak schedule than the Fins, who got the NFC West, the Bills in a dome instead of Ralph Wilson, and the Pats after their backup quarterback got injured as well. The upside is that the Dolphins are not a fluke defensively. Adding a big-play receiver and sorting out the Chad Battle (Henne vs Pennington) could keep them in decent standing. Also, Tony Sparano is like the friendly former pedophile that sells candy, but to no one under 30.

-Minnesota Vikings – Everything is in place for the Vikings to be really good, except for a quarterback. If I were Brad Childress, I would seriously consider surrendering the first rounders required to swipe Matt Cassell from the Patriots. If I were Brad Childress, I would know that my job was insanely on the line next year and that the window for this defense to win was going to slam shut any second now. If I were Brad Childress, I’d be a horrible coach.