The Grades Are In!

Due to a handful of sensitive owners, the league hoped they’d put an end to the NFLPA’s report cards on the teams. The NFL succeeded in court to prevent the public release of the grades. The ruling couldn’t stop the NFLPA and the players from continuing to grade the teams. With so many involved in the process, leaks are inevitable. ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler has long been covering the NFLPA’s Report Cards and she collected those leaks. The grades are in!

The top three graded teams are the Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, and Washington Commanders. The bottom three teams are the Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Steelers. Perhaps the most remarkable reveal in the four-year history of the NFLPA’s grades has been the rise of the Commanders. When Josh Harris purchased the team from idiot Daniel Snyder, the Commanders were at the bottom of the team grades. Now, they are a the top. If nothing else, Harris showed that a horribly run team can be flipped. He also showed that it can be done quickly. I can’t imagine Art and Dan Rooney being happy with the way the kids are currently running the Steelers. The senior Rooneys were a couple of the most player-centric owners to ever own an NFL team. They took care of their players from 1933 until Dan Rooney’s passing in 2017. Seeing the Steelers failing at taking care of their players doesn’t feel right. 

The Minnesota Vikings have been crushing these grades. They were at the top in the first year. They’ve been a touch behind the Miami Dolphins each of the last three years. It must be the weather. 

Minnesota Vikings Grades

Treatment of Families: A

Home Game Field: B

Food/Dining: B-

Nutritionist/Dietician: B+

Locker Room: A

Training Room: A-

Training Staff: A-

Weight Room: A-

Strength Coaches: A

Position Coaches: B+

Offensive Coordinator: A-

Defensive Coordinator: B+

Special Teams Coordinator: A-

Team Travel: B+

Head Coach: A

General Manager: A

Team Ownership: A+

Overall Rank: 2

Actually, the difference between the Dolphins might be the weather. Due to their northern location, the Vikings have to play indoors on turf. The Dolphins plush grass field will always grade higher than the Vikings turf. 

The Vikings have always scored in the “B” range in the food/dining and nutritionist/dietician categories. While those would be amazing grades for some teams (Bengals), they shouldn’t be acceptable for the Vikings. They recently changed their dietician and that brought a bit of a bump. A “B-“ in food/dining must be addressed. If a team gets a “B-“ in anything, some players gave it a “C,” or lower. In the amazing, beautiful TCO Performance Center, nothing should be getting lower than a “B.” 

Perhaps the most eye-catching of the Vikings grades is the “A” for general manager. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was fired after the season. While his drafts may have tilted towards unacceptable, it looks like his relationship was terrific with the players he drafted. 

Through the four years of these grades, “Treatment of Families” has emerged as the category that I value the most. It’s easy to focus on the grades for coaches, weight room, training staff, etc. as they might translate into on-the-field success the most. Those grades are certainly important. It shows how much ownership wants to win. How ownership treats the families of their players shows how much they care. When the Bengals get an F-, it shows that Mike Brown does not give a shit about the players or their families. Seriously, how does a free agent ever choose the Bengals? If the Vikings ever get below an “A” for how they treat the families, I’ll be very disappointed.