It's all about expectations

"Ask Vic" will publish on M-W-F through the football season.

Here are my all-important Week 3 power rankings:
1. Ravens -- Blowing out opponents.
2. Seahawks -- Got a little full of themselves.
3. Packers -- Early test in New Orleans.
4. Chiefs -- Showdown in Baltimore.
5. Rams -- Impressive start.
6. Titans -- Defense scorched by Jags.
7. Cardinals -- Murray is a star.
8. Raiders -- On the way up.
9. Patriots -- Looked good in loss.
10. Bills -- Rams will test them.
11. Saints -- On the way down?
12. Steelers -- Run/pass balance.
13. Bears -- Another dog this week.
14. Bucs -- No criticism of Brady this week.
15. 49ers -- They're back.
16. Cowboys -- Energizing win.
17. Jaguars -- Thursday night spotlight.
18. Colts -- Recovered nicely.
19. Browns -- Mayfield comes to life.
20. Chargers -- This time they got unlucky.
21. Texans -- Season could be on the line early.
22. Panthers -- Rebuilding has begun.
23. Broncos -- Injuries taking their toll.
24. Vikings -- Awful!
25. Giants -- Growing pains.
26. Dolphins -- Improvement?
27. Washington -- Back to reality.
28. Bengals -- Arrow pointing up.
29. Eagles -- Collapse.
30. Falcons -- Quinn needs win.
31. Lions -- 0-3 on the way.
32. Jets -- No positives.

Paul from Apalachicola, FL
Well, now that we know Minshew is on the crazy train to Canton (whew!), who wins the AFC South? Tennessee and Indy have the best offensive lines. Is Tannehill better than Rivers today?
Paul, it's only Week 3; no proclamations are necessary. The only thing I can say with certainty at this point in the season is the Texans, the AFC South preseason favorites, are desperate for a win.

Braden from Milwaukee, WI
When coaches and players talk about in-game adjustments, what do they mean?
Mostly, they're describing scheme or technique changes necessitated by circumstances they didn't expect. The opponent's defense may be using a stunt or twist that wasn't on tape from previous games. Maybe the corners are dropping instead of the press coverage that was expected, or maybe the linebackers are taking especially deep drops instead of respecting the run and playing closer to the line of scrimmage. All teams make adjustments. In my opinion, the best adjustments are matchup based.

Aiden from Jacksonville, FL
Do we underestimate natural progressions of teams and players? Three weeks ago, I would have told anyone they are crazy if they thought the Jags could hang with the Titans until the very last minutes in Tennessee.
For some reason unknown to me, fans feel an inexplicable need to create an expectation for what will happen, instead of just letting it happen. If those expectations are high, fans are headed for a fall. In the Jags' case, expectations were so low, the Jags' 1-1 start has fans giddy about their team. Maybe we should all get up in the morning, look into the mirror and say, "I stink." The day has nowhere to go but up.

Jonathan from Poy Sippi, WI
Lots of puffed out chests in Packerland. I'm not going to downplay the importance of two division wins to start the season, but I think the Packers will face their first real test this week at New Orleans against a proven good football team. I think the baloney stops this week. It's not a winning formula to go down two scores to start games, especially against a good team on the road. At least the pumped in noise won't be a factor. I still feel like someone should have a decibel meter on the sidelines, just to make sure. It is the Superdome, after all.
Good work. Poop negative is good preparation for potential dejection.

Paul from Cumming, GA
How does GM Vic handle the running back position in this era of the game?
Draft them late and often.

Dave from Savage, MN
I've been trying to characterize Aaron Jones as a runner and as an athlete, or find a comparable running back from my past. I am struggling.
James Brooks and Greg Pruitt come to mind.

Alan from Albuquerque, NM
Was the Cowboys offense good or the Falcons defense bad?
As I wrote last week, the Cowboys have top talent on offense and a lack of talent on defense. Coach McCarthy will need to play defense with his offense, which means win time of possession as well as score a lot of points. That's a difficult trick.

Robert from Chicago, IL
Fifteen years ago, I went on a mission trip to Edisto Island to help fix up some houses. I'd been on mission trips before, primarily to Florida to help rebuild houses after a hurricane, but Edisto was different. It was clear the problems people were facing were more significant than something a week of naive teenagers putzing around a construction site could solve. For kids from an affluent suburb of Chicago, it was an important exposure to what entrenched, generational poverty looks like. Edisto is a beautiful place and the people we met were kind if not a little guarded but, like many similar communities, they seemed skeptical of outside help since they've been given such little support for so long. Giving places like Edisto Island more support and opportunity is a great example of what people are asking for when they talk about correcting historical injustices.
Two years ago, I helped a friend go house to house to distribute food from an Edisto Island food bank during the holidays season. The experience left me deep in thought.

Stephen from Jacksonville, FL
What do you think about James Robinson’s performance thus far? The Jaguars replaced the No. 4 overall pick with an undrafted rookie free agent and are seemingly getting as much, if not more meaningful production from their run game than they have in several years. Was it a mistake to select Fournette with the fourth overall pick, or was the 2017 run to the AFC championship worth it?
Without going all Tom Lasorda on you, I'll say the reason the Jags couldn't trade Fournette is because players such as Robinson are plentiful. The Steelers got a hundred-yard game from James Conner on Sunday and he was a third-round pick. Benny Snell got a hundred in the opener and he was a fourth-round pick. Aaron Jones is leading the league and he was a fifth-round pick. Unless a back is truly special, No. 4 overall is too high to pick one. Gotta get the big guys and premium-position players early.

Harrison from St. Augustine, FL
Vic, your assessment of Mr. Minshew seems to be a blatant reach, unless there is more context or intended wit. I don't believe we know that much of what he is or what the Jaguars are thinking about here and now. Maybe they'll trade him for players marketable in London rather than Dixie. Reality is he might flash and fizzle like so many before, but there is hope he might pan out.
Yeah, but is he "The Man?" That question must be answered now.

Adam from Wausau, WI
If you think this election is about fear of races, is it safe to say you will experience cognitive dissonance when Trump wins in a landslide with a record amount of the black vote?
If he wins a record amount of the black vote, I'll swim Scott Creek during a jellyfish attack.

Bryant from Shiocton, WI
Does Salk-like mean that it comes along only after things like indoor plumbing and refrigeration have the disease almost eradicated, and then the vaccine is the cause of almost all outbreaks in Africa and India?
You're Scott from Chippewa Falls who really isn't Scott from Chippewa Falls, aren't you?

Christopher from Hagerstown, MD
How great was the piped in booing of Carson Wentz in Philly? Thank heavens for some humor and perspective in these difficult times.
We don't need humor. We need cognitive dissonance.