Alright, let's be honest, coming up with an individual set of power rankings is not exactly an exact science. For most power rankings, you're talking about people voting in a very subjective manner. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's something to keep in mind when assessing these power rankings.
Given the abundance of power rankings on the Internet, I thought it would be fun each week to take a look at what the power rankings are saying about the 49ers. While they might not be scientific, an accumulation of them can at least give us an idea of what folks across the country are thinking about the 49ers. I appreciate diehardoaklandfan22's complete power rankings, but for the purposes of this post, I'm just looking at where the 49ers are. The early rankings are likely to be rather skewed given the small sample size, but it's still worth checking them out.
So, after the jump I'll include a link to the ranking, the current ranking, and the little comment that often comes with the ranking (although not all have comments). Of all the rankings, some might argue The Big Lead is the least "reliable." I included them because I know they watch a whole ton of football, so what makes them any less qualified than a Sports Illustrated columnist? Of course, if that's the argument, what's to stop us from including every single Bleacher Report power ranking out there? I suppose it's just the knowledge I have of The Big Lead, versus some random schmoe.
Feel free to comment on the rankings, but also, post links to other power rankings that you think might be appropriate. I'll add any good suggestions to the weekly post.
ESPN - #18 - Greg Manusky's defense has a chance to rank among the NFL's best this season -- with a little more help from the offense. No style points for this team. (Sando)
Sports Illustrated - #16 - Having 203 yards of offense, just 13 first downs and 21 yards on the ground won't get it done against too many opponents, but the 49ers defense was good enough to make those meager numbers work at Arizona. Step two in San Francisco's return to relevance would be a similar showing this week at home against division rival Seattle. A 2-0 start in the NFC West and we're going to have to take Mike Singletary's club for real.
The Big Lead - #17 - So, the 49er defense, led by the best all-around linebacker in football, went into Arizona and knocked the Cardinals’ decrepit QB around for four quarters, waiting for Shaun Hill to lead them to victory. And, shockingly enough, he did. The 49ers have the look of one of those surprise 11-5 teams.
Fox Sports - #17 - GLASS HALF FULL: How 'bout them Niners! This Mike Singletary experiment seems to be working, as his team is playing with snot flying out of their noses (in football, that's a compliment) with a young, swarming defense.
CBS Sports - #14 - Maybe they're better than expected. That defense did a nice job against Arizona. Shaun Hill is a game manager, but at some point he's going to have to win games. We'll see.
NFL.com (Brandt) - #14
NFL.com (Brooks) - #15
NFL.com (Carucci) - #9
NBC Sports - #18 - Behind Mike Singletary, this team is no longer a soft touch. A win Sunday would put them atop the NFC West
WhatIfSports.com - #18
Average Ranking: 15.6