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. * More information about the FIC at the bottom of this article. 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. - Kurt Warner has a narrow lead in the overall season FIC lead over Drew Brees, but the MVP race isn't close at all anymore. The Cardinals are 7-3 with a four game lead over the second place 49ers, which means their magic number is one. Their remaining schedule is far from easy, however, with the Giants, Eagles (in Philadelphia), Vikings, and Patriots (in New England) remaining, but Ken Whisenhunt expects to let Warner play out the entire regular season even if their playoff seeding is determined, allowing him to continue to accumulate yards and TD's. - Peyton Manning was 14th when we last checked in here, and he has moved up to 5th, and with his current climb of production, he should be a firm fourth by the end of this week. Those moribund claims early in the season have been swiftly silented after he has thrown for seven touchdowns, no interceptions, and 271 yards per game over their current three-game winning streak. - There has been a lot talk about Matt Cassel getting $9M per year in free agency from a team like Minnesota, Detroit, or San Francisco, and he is, in fact, currently playing to a contract of $9.5M. He is 10th in yards, 15th in passer rating, 8th in completion percentage, and has shown some decent mobility, rushing for 185 yards in 51 attempts. Unlike the Cowboys who proved they could not win without Tony Romo, the Patriots have managed to stay in the playoff picture without Tom Brady, and although he is far from being interchangeable, it's still a reliable measure of his value. - I had a problem with the 'Vince Young just wins football games' crowd that populated many corners of the NFL last season, and the same mistake is being made with Kerry Collins, who is having a fine season but is being judged through the prism of an undefeated season. He is 20th in passer rating (82.0) and 23d in completion percentage (59.0). Young's passer rating was lower in 2007, but it was just 2.8 points behind Eli Manning, and he had a higher completion percentage, not to mention his 395 yards on the ground. The main difference is in the turnover department; Young's interception percentage was a troublesome 4.5%, while Collins has thrown a pick in just 1.5% of his attempts. This has allowed the Titans to lead the NFL in turnover differential with a +10 margin while last season they were dead even. - Reggie Bush was the top back after Week 5, trailed by Frank Gore, and while Bush has been hurt and faded down to 18th, Gore has taken hold of the top slot just ahead of Clinton Portis. Gore is averaging 4.7 yards per carry for 834 yards on the ground and another 325 yards receiving. - Matt Forte leads all running backs in completions with 43 for 322 yards, but unlike Bush, he has gained 777 yards for a 3.8 average on the ground. - Brandon Jacobs leads the NFL in yards per carry with 5.4 among backs with at least 500 yards and also leads all runners in TD's with 11, but he hasn't caught a single ball out of the backfield. - Greg Jennings is still the leader among receivers, but he has done very little since Week 5, catching just under four passes per game and two touchdowns. He hasn't had a 100-yard day since Week 4. - Roddy White leads the NFL with 1st down receptions on 3rd down with 21. - With 111 passes thrown at him, Brandon Marshall has been targeted the most. - Anquan Boldin missed two weeks, but he has 10 TD's and a three TD lead over Calvin Johnson in the category. Boldin also leads the NFL in yards after the catch with 451. - I was fully expecting Jason Witten to lead wire-to-wire among tight ends, but a surge from Tony Gonzalez in which he has caught three touchdowns in the past four week, along with 78 yards per game over his last five, has coincided with Witten's injury and also the injury to Romo. - Gonzalez is the only tight end to catch more first downs than Houston's Owen Daniels (32). - Kellen Winslow followed up his two touchdown, 111 yard night against Denver with just three catches for 40 yards in Cleveland's win at Buffalo. - Tony Scheffler is leading tight ends with average yards per reception with 17.6.