Yeah, yeah ... Drew Brees is great, yada yada. But the strength of this team has become the 5th-ranked running game and a big-play defense that has forced three or more turnovers in a remarkable seven of 10 games.

Yeah, yeah ... Drew Brees is great, yada yada. But the strength of this team has become the 5th-ranked running game and a big-play defense that has forced three or more turnovers in a remarkable seven of 10 games. It's a wonder Brees has broken a sweat this season.
THIS WEEK: vs. Patriots (7-3), Mon.

Indy's cruising along at 19 wins in a row, second only all-time to Brady/Belichick's 21 game-streak from 2006-08. Need more proof that Peyton Manning is the man? The Colts have set an NFL record by becoming the first team to win four consecutive games that they trailed in the fourth quarter of each.

Indy's cruising along at 19 wins in a row, second only all-time to Brady/Belichick's 21 game-streak from 2006-08. Need more proof that Peyton Manning is the man? The Colts have set an NFL record by becoming the first team to win four consecutive games that they trailed in the fourth quarter of each.
THIS WEEK: at Texans (5-5)

Will someone remind Brett Favre that he's actually 40 years old? The guy is leading the NFL in passer rating — better than Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and everyone else. The "Silver Fox" (as dubbed by teammate Jared Allen) completed a career-high 88-percent of his passes vs.

Will someone remind Brett Favre that he's actually 40 years old? The guy is leading the NFL in passer rating — better than Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and everyone else. The "Silver Fox" (as dubbed by teammate Jared Allen) completed a career-high 88-percent of his passes vs. the Seahawks last week. The biggest stat shocker? The gambler has tossed only three INTs all season, easily the best rate in the NFL. For comparison, his career-low is 13 for a full season and he has averaged 21 over his past four seasons.
THIS WEEK: vs. Bears (4-6)

The Patriots machine is hitting cruise control, especially with Tom Brady in automatic when it comes to finding Wes Welker — the guy who truly makes this offense so deadly. But the young defense gets overlooked in New England.

The Patriots machine is hitting cruise control, especially with Tom Brady in automatic when it comes to finding Wes Welker — the guy who truly makes this offense so deadly. But the young defense gets overlooked in New England. There may be no Bruschi, Vrabel, Harrison or Seymour, but the Pats have allowed the second-fewest points and forced 22 turnovers, tied for third in NFL.
THIS WEEK: at Saints (10-0), Mon.

Go ahead and bury the Bengals all you want — but the Raiders are not a gimme when playing in Oakland. Plus their loss had a bit of a "fluke" taste to it. My diagnosis: A perfect time for a little humble pie to remind the striped ones that they have plenty of work to do.

Go ahead and bury the Bengals all you want — but the Raiders are not a gimme when playing in Oakland. Plus their loss had a bit of a "fluke" taste to it. My diagnosis: A perfect time for a little humble pie to remind the striped ones that they have plenty of work to do.
THIS WEEK: vs. Browns (1-9)

Looking for a dramatic difference in the Chargers during their five-game win streak, compared to their 2-3 start? Look no further than LT and the backfield, which was worst in the NFL after five games averaging just 57.6 rushing yards per game.

Looking for a dramatic difference in the Chargers during their five-game win streak, compared to their 2-3 start? Look no further than LT and the backfield, which was worst in the NFL after five games averaging just 57.6 rushing yards per game. They have more than doubled that in the past five games, averaging 118.2 — with 100-plus in four of the five. Funny how that coincides with the return to health of LT.
THIS WEEK: vs. Chiefs (3-7)

Sorry special teams and critical injuries are trying to rob the Steelers of a chance to defend their title belt. After all that lip service of fixing their return coverage, Pittsburgh went out and gave up a game-opening TD at Kansas City.

Sorry special teams and critical injuries are trying to rob the Steelers of a chance to defend their title belt. After all that lip service of fixing their return coverage, Pittsburgh went out and gave up a game-opening TD at Kansas City. But injuries to defensive difference-maker Troy Polamalu and QB Ben Roethlisberger have stamped major question marks on this team.
THIS WEEK: at Ravens (5-5)

The official team slogan for the 2009 Baltimore Ravens should be "Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda." Another week, another tight loss against one of the top teams in the league — and the real shame is that between the 20s the Ravens were better than the Colts.

The official team slogan for the 2009 Baltimore Ravens should be "Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda." Another week, another tight loss against one of the top teams in the league — and the real shame is that between the 20s the Ravens were better than the Colts. But Joe Flacco's late pick and red zone issues kept Baltimore at .500, and now desperate to the point where veteran Ed Reed is making rookie mistakes.
THIS WEEK: vs. Steelers (6-4)

With the way this team has played the past month, and especially with an apparent bottoming out vs. San Diego, the Broncos should have dropped even lower — but there simply aren't any teams worthy enough to hop them in the rankings.

With the way this team has played the past month, and especially with an apparent bottoming out vs. San Diego, the Broncos should have dropped even lower — but there simply aren't any teams worthy enough to hop them in the rankings. Reality has bitten the rookies in Denver very hard, with head coach Josh McDaniels red after his pregame trash talk went wrong vs. the Chargers and RB Knowshon Moreno involved in his first career sideline scuffle with a teammate following his devastating goal-line fumble.
THIS WEEK: vs. Giants (6-4), Thurs.

They may have sneaked out of their palace with a win, but don't be fooled — they were the second-best team on the field Sunday, at home against the 3-7 Redskins. Tony Romo should send Washington kicker Shaun Suisham some chocolates after two missed field goals helped Dallas escape and maintain the NFC East lead.

They may have sneaked out of their palace with a win, but don't be fooled — they were the second-best team on the field Sunday, at home against the 3-7 Redskins. Tony Romo should send Washington kicker Shaun Suisham some chocolates after two missed field goals helped Dallas escape and maintain the NFC East lead.
THIS WEEK: vs. Raiders (3-7), Thurs.

If you needed any more proof of Kurt Warner's importance in Arizona, turn your DVRs back to Sunday's win in St. Louis — where the Cardinals scored 21 in a half with Warner and 0 in a half with backup QB Matt Leinart.

If you needed any more proof of Kurt Warner's importance in Arizona, turn your DVRs back to Sunday's win in St. Louis — where the Cardinals scored 21 in a half with Warner and 0 in a half with backup QB Matt Leinart. Yes, that vaunted Rams defense (ranked 29th in NFL) shut out Leinart in the second half. Ken Whisenhunt should hire a round-the-clock security staff of 20 to follow Warner everywhere he goes.
THIS WEEK: at Titans (4-6)

The Packers would be at No. 10 above Dallas if not for the gruesome postgame news that they will be without two major pieces on defense for the rest of the season: LB Aaron Kampman and CB Al Harris.

The Packers would be at No. 10 above Dallas if not for the gruesome postgame news that they will be without two major pieces on defense for the rest of the season: LB Aaron Kampman and CB Al Harris. They should be fine against Detroit, but after that the Packers face five quality QBs: Joe Flacco, Jay Cutler (if his head is screwed on straight that day), Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Hasselbeck and Kurt Warner.
THIS WEEK: at Lions (2-8), Thurs.

Somehow, some way, the injury-riddled Eagles — with a defense forced to start Jeremiah Trotter at middle linebacker Sunday — avoided ruining their season in Chicago. But this sloppy team sure tried, with plenty more penalties and missed opportunities.

Somehow, some way, the injury-riddled Eagles — with a defense forced to start Jeremiah Trotter at middle linebacker Sunday — avoided ruining their season in Chicago. But this sloppy team sure tried, with plenty more penalties and missed opportunities. This week's game sure smells like a trap game.
THIS WEEK: vs. Redskins (3-7)

Miami's ground machine didn't miss a beat with the resurgent Ricky Williams getting full-time carries last week. Credit the coaching staff with regrouping and winning five of seven games following the season-ending injury to starting QB Chad Pennington.

Miami's ground machine didn't miss a beat with the resurgent Ricky Williams getting full-time carries last week. Credit the coaching staff with regrouping and winning five of seven games following the season-ending injury to starting QB Chad Pennington.
THIS WEEK: at Bills (3-7)

Eli Manning stepped up in a huge way against Atlanta, preventing a catastrophe in the NYC area. Can you imagine the outrage if the Giants would have blown a fourth-quarter 31-17 lead at home to lose their fifth straight and fall to 5-5? Rooting interest aside, it sure woulda been good television.

Eli Manning stepped up in a huge way against Atlanta, preventing a catastrophe in the NYC area. Can you imagine the outrage if the Giants would have blown a fourth-quarter 31-17 lead at home to lose their fifth straight and fall to 5-5? Rooting interest aside, it sure woulda been good television.
THIS WEEK: at Broncos (6-4), Thurs.

The defense picked a bad time to show off the fact that they can't handle the better QBs in this league. After getting shredded by Eli Manning, falling to 5-5 and missing RB Michael Turner, how will second-year QB Matt Ryan react? Will he get anxious, try to do too much and force turnovers? Or will be come of age during his team's most desperate times? THIS WEEK: vs.

The defense picked a bad time to show off the fact that they can't handle the better QBs in this league. After getting shredded by Eli Manning, falling to 5-5 and missing RB Michael Turner, how will second-year QB Matt Ryan react? Will he get anxious, try to do too much and force turnovers? Or will be come of age during his team's most desperate times?
THIS WEEK: vs. Bucs (1-9)

It's not time to jump on the Jags' bandwagon yet (even at 6-4, they've been outscored by 36 points for the season), seeing as they have exactly zero wins against teams with winning records this season and barely escaped in nail-biter wins over the Rams, Chiefs and Bills.

It's not time to jump on the Jags' bandwagon yet (even at 6-4, they've been outscored by 36 points for the season), seeing as they have exactly zero wins against teams with winning records this season and barely escaped in nail-biter wins over the Rams, Chiefs and Bills. But Jack Del Rio should feel good that QB David Garrard is showing some of the clutch qualities he displayed a couple years back when he earned his big-bucks contract.
THIS WEEK: at 49ers (4-6)

Remember everyone chuckling when after the Titans finally won a game, RB Chris Johnson told the media that the team was going to shoot for 10-6? Four down, six more to go and no one's laughing at the Titans — especially the opposition having to deal with the more mature (so far) Vince Young and the NFL's rushing leader Johnson.

Remember everyone chuckling when after the Titans finally won a game, RB Chris Johnson told the media that the team was going to shoot for 10-6? Four down, six more to go and no one's laughing at the Titans — especially the opposition having to deal with the more mature (so far) Vince Young and the NFL's rushing leader Johnson.
THIS WEEK: vs. Cardinals (7-3)

The Texans are the league's biggest tease. They want so hard to make you believe that they are "the one." But after one night of throwing your hard-earned dollars at them, they don't even give you a kiss before slamming the door in your face.

The Texans are the league's biggest tease. They want so hard to make you believe that they are "the one." But after one night of throwing your hard-earned dollars at them, they don't even give you a kiss before slamming the door in your face. With four gut-wrenching losses by a TD or less, Houston is still looking for its first winning team since Warren Moon's Oilers in 1993.
THIS WEEK: vs. Colts (10-0)

The clock struck midnight on the Panthers, who were hoping for a fairy-tale rebound from their ugly 0-3 start. Losing against the Dolphins was a crusher, and Jake Delhomme's INT-less streak is over (albeit on a game-ending Hail Mary heave).

The clock struck midnight on the Panthers, who were hoping for a fairy-tale rebound from their ugly 0-3 start. Losing against the Dolphins was a crusher, and Jake Delhomme's INT-less streak is over (albeit on a game-ending Hail Mary heave). Unfortunately, the Panthers ran into a strong running team when stopping the run is the biggest problem they have. And this week, they face a team that ranks higher than Miami in rushing. Uh oh.
THIS WEEK: at Jets (4-6)

Are Jets fans starting to turn on Mark "Sanchise" already? That would be crazy. After all, he is still just a rookie. But it's understandable in the sense that the Jets have driven their fans crazy for years, and they're doing it again after choking away a 3-0 start by losing six of seven games (including four by a touchdown or less).

Are Jets fans starting to turn on Mark "Sanchise" already? That would be crazy. After all, he is still just a rookie. But it's understandable in the sense that the Jets have driven their fans crazy for years, and they're doing it again after choking away a 3-0 start by losing six of seven games (including four by a touchdown or less).
THIS WEEK: vs. Panthers (4-6)

Like the Jets, the Niners are skidding after a fast start to the season. To their credit, five of their six losses have come vs. teams at .500 or better ... so they're not losing to garbage teams, and they've normally stayed in the game (five of their six losses by a TD or less).

Like the Jets, the Niners are skidding after a fast start to the season. To their credit, five of their six losses have come vs. teams at .500 or better ... so they're not losing to garbage teams, and they've normally stayed in the game (five of their six losses by a TD or less). They just need a little more talent on both sides of the ball. Hey, it's a work in progress.
THIS WEEK: vs. Jaguars (6-4)

The most frustrating loss of the week may have to go to the Bears, who again were THISFREAKINGCLOSE to a win against Philly. The theories on what's wrong with Jay Cutler are flying everywhere: He doesn't have WRs.

The most frustrating loss of the week may have to go to the Bears, who again were THISFREAKINGCLOSE to a win against Philly. The theories on what's wrong with Jay Cutler are flying everywhere: He doesn't have WRs. He's too much of a gambler. He can't throw the touch ball (see the three glaring missed TD throws to wide-open targets vs. the Eagles). It's the diabetes (Cutler firmly denies this is an issue). His expression is lifeless. He parties too much. Another couple losses, and Cutler will get blamed for the Cubs, too.
THIS WEEK: at Vikings (9-1)

Well, at least one person may have been happy Sunday, as with Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB ol' No. 81 got plenty of balls thrown his way. Is T.O. finally ready to build up a QB instead of wreck him? THIS WEEK: vs. Dolphins (5-5)

Well, at least one person may have been happy Sunday, as with Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB ol' No. 81 got plenty of balls thrown his way. Is T.O. finally ready to build up a QB instead of wreck him?
THIS WEEK: vs. Dolphins (5-5)

The way that Seattle got hammered in Minnesota was a big wakeup call on how far they are from contending in this league. The smokescreen should be completely gone now with the locals, as the Seahawks are not just a healthy Matt Hasselbeck away from a playoff run.

The way that Seattle got hammered in Minnesota was a big wakeup call on how far they are from contending in this league. The smokescreen should be completely gone now with the locals, as the Seahawks are not just a healthy Matt Hasselbeck away from a playoff run.
THIS WEEK: at Rams (1-9)

Back to the drawing board for this offense. Hmm, Vinny Cerrato ... maybe Jim Zorn's not the problem with the offense. Maybe, just maybe, there's not enough talent after all on this roster — which would be a "you" problem.

Back to the drawing board for this offense. Hmm, Vinny Cerrato ... maybe Jim Zorn's not the problem with the offense. Maybe, just maybe, there's not enough talent after all on this roster — which would be a "you" problem. Ok, ok, maybe that's also a bit rough considering the 'Skins are now without their top two RBs and Pro Bowl-level tight end.
THIS WEEK: at Eagles (6-4)

Nice to see Todd Haley's bunch get rewarded for battling hard all season long despite their record. Now the Chiefs have something to build on: KC's first two-game winning streak since October 2007. THIS WEEK: vs. Chargers (7-3)

Nice to see Todd Haley's bunch get rewarded for battling hard all season long despite their record. Now the Chiefs have something to build on: KC's first two-game winning streak since October 2007.
THIS WEEK: vs. Chargers (7-3)

Let the Bruce Gradkowski era reign supreme! Joking aside, the Raiders players proved they still have coach Tom Cable's back regardless of any legal issues that may be dogging him off the field.

Let the Bruce Gradkowski era reign supreme! Joking aside, the Raiders players proved they still have coach Tom Cable's back regardless of any legal issues that may be dogging him off the field. How many more will they win this season? Hmm, good luck with a schedule that includes the Cowboys, Steelers, Broncos and Ravens (although all four of those games seem less imposing these days).
THIS WEEK: at Cowboys (7-3), Thurs.

The tough season got tougher with Jay Glazer's news that QB Marc Bulger is out for the next three weeks. Kyle Boller, come on down! Now would be a good time for the Rams to figure out that whole cloning thing for RB Steven Jackson.

The tough season got tougher with Jay Glazer's news that QB Marc Bulger is out for the next three weeks. Kyle Boller, come on down! Now would be a good time for the Rams to figure out that whole cloning thing for RB Steven Jackson.
THIS WEEK: vs. Seahawks (3-7)

Though it may seem like a decade ago, it was merely 2007 that the Lions started 6-2 ... yes, the Lions?!?! That's also the last time the team had multiple wins on its record, until now. Good for gutsy Matthew Stafford and the gritty Motown gang for their comeback against Cleveland.

Though it may seem like a decade ago, it was merely 2007 that the Lions started 6-2 ... yes, the Lions?!?! That's also the last time the team had multiple wins on its record, until now. Good for gutsy Matthew Stafford and the gritty Motown gang for their comeback against Cleveland.
THIS WEEK: vs. Packers (6-4), Thurs.

After two solid outings, rookie QB Josh Freeman got his first true rookie hazing by the Saints last weekend. That's OK fans, give this kid some time and talent and you just may have something here. THIS WEEK: at Falcons (5-5)

After two solid outings, rookie QB Josh Freeman got his first true rookie hazing by the Saints last weekend. That's OK fans, give this kid some time and talent and you just may have something here.
THIS WEEK: at Falcons (5-5)

The team's QBs had combined for three TDs all season long before Brady Quinn threw a trio in the first quarter at Detroit. The Browns score 24 in the first quarter after getting only 23 points in their previous four games combined.

The team's QBs had combined for three TDs all season long before Brady Quinn threw a trio in the first quarter at Detroit. The Browns score 24 in the first quarter after getting only 23 points in their previous four games combined. And of course, they "Mangini-ed" it away ... in epic fashion, too, especially as those final timeouts with :00 on the clock helped a banged-up Matt Stafford to return to the field to throw the game-ending TD pass. Wow, Dawg Pound ... can someone call PETA on Eric Mangini?
THIS WEEK: at Bengals (7-3)