Using my custom position-by-position Field Impact Counter (FIC), we can safely and accurately rank quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends by an objective statistical measurement. The importance placed on specific positions is far different in football than it is in basketball, baseball, and hockey. Because of this, we have separated salaries by position instead of having a single common pool. Quarterbacks are compared to quarterbacks. Running backs are compared to running backs. Wide receivers are compared to wide receivers. There are only four positions on the football field where we can truly use statistics to rank a player?s performance in the same ways we can for the other three major sports. Intangibles such as how a running back picks up the blitz or how well a wide receiver blocks for his downfield runners do not appear on stat sheets and in order to get a truly objective statistical ranking, these elements are unfortunately overlooked. Players are ranked from highest to lowest by the total FIC for the season, not per game because players only give contribute to a team when they are playing. Beside each player?s actual salary, we slide in raw cap value figures of the position, ranked top to bottom, which determines their ?deserved? salary. The player who has the highest FIC receives the highest ?deserved? salary. The player with the second highest FIC receives the second highest salary. The player with the hundredth highest FIC receives the hundredth highest salary. We then calculate the percentage increase or decrease from the actual and deserved and that figure becomes their Reina Value. The Reina Value is a valuation system that quickly determines how players perform in relation to their contracts or in the case of the NFL, their cap value. - Cutler is 16-21 with two touchdowns and a 136.0 rating when blitzed through the first three games of the season. - Brees has attempted 24% of his passes to a receiver behind the line and only 21% of the attempts have gone more than 11 yards. Not surprisingly, the Saints lead the NFL in yards after the catch with 521, a full 103 yards better than the Cardinals who are second in the category. Reggie Bush accounts for 230 of the 521 yards. - Rivers has a 50.3 QB rating during the 1st quarter of the first three games but a 135.4 rating during the 2nd half. - Rodgers has a 128.2 rating during the 1st half of the first three games but just 78.2 during the 2nd half. - McNabb has thrown for fewer yards as each week has gone by, but his completion rating percentage has gone up. - Romo is 16-28 for a 57.1% success rate in passing for 1st down on 3rd down. - O'Sullivan has a 132.2 rating on 1st down but just 72.5 on 3rd down when the defense is anticipating a pass play. - Russell has a 135.8 rating when in the shotgun, the best in the NFL. - Bush is averaging 4.6 yards per carry on 1st down but running into problems on 2nd and 3rd with averages of 2.3 and 1.8 respectively. He also is much more successful as the lone setback (6.8) than when he carries in the I (1.4). - Gore is averaging 5.6 yards per carry in the 1st half and 4.1 during the 2nd, but he has been more effective as a receiver (13.7 yards per reception) after halftime. - While we all know Barber is a punishing runner who excels in short yardage situations; no back has more runs for 10 or more yards this year than the Cowboys' starter with 11. - Forte's yards per carry has predictably decreased from each preceding week (5.3 to 4.0 to 3.3) as the somewhat flukish nature of the 50-yard gain against the Colts hasn't been duplicated. But he has become better and more comfortable out of the backfield as a receiver, catching seven balls for 66 yards and a TD against Tampa Bay. - Peterson continues to be unable to duplicate his production from last season as a receiver. Against the Panthers on Sunday, he didn't catch a single ball. - Julius Jones' had a 6.4 yards per carry average, his highest total in a game when getting at least 10 carries since he rushed 10 times for 116 yards during Week 14 in 2006 against the Saints. - Ward has rushed for a 1st down in 11 of his 26 carries, which is the best percentage in the NFL. - Tomlinson has rushed for 2.6 yards per carry in each of the past two weeks, his worst output in back-to-back games since Weeks 1 and 2 last season when he rushed for 1.5 YPC against the Bears and 2.4 at New England. He's only rushed for less than 3.0 YPC six times since 2005. - Jennings has 278 of his yards during the 1st half and has yet to catch a pass during the 3rd quarter. - Marshall's 2008 debut against San Diego was the more buzzed about game because of the 18 receptions, but catching three times fewer balls for essentially the same yardage makes the Saints' performance also impressive. - With 150 YAC, Boldin is the current leader among wide receivers in the category. - Bowe has been targeted 34 times, more than any other receiver in the game. - With five drops apiece, Braylon Edwards and Calvin Johnson lead the NFL. - This is the only position where we have little doubt who will finish with the FIC lead, so it will be difficult to speak of Witten's statistical achievements on a weekly basis. This week we instead focus on the excellent block he had against Packers' end Mike Montgomery that initiated the Felix Jones' touchdown. - Gates has now gone eight straight games without reaching 100 yards receiving, his longest streak since early 2006. - Winslow has caught seven balls for 69 yards when lined up off the line, easily his most successful spot. - Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM