BEST OFFENSIVE ROOKIE
Rams QB Sam Bradford still plays like a rookie, but he is doing enough to make the Rams feel good about making him the No. 1 pick in the draft. In six games, Bradford has completed nearly 57 percent of his passes for 1,357 yards and seven touchdowns. More important, the Rams (3-3) already have two more wins than last season. Bradford's performance Sunday was his best as a pro: 18-of-31 for 198 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions.
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Best defensive rookie
Do you realize that Lions DT Ndamukong Suh has more sacks (4 1/2) than the entire Bucs defense (four)? And as 1010-AM radio host J.P. Peterson points out, Suh has 21 tackles, 10 more than Bucs rookie Ts Gerald McCoy and Brian Price have combined.
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Most exposed team
Not that anyone thought the Bucs were Super Bowl contenders, but we're starting to see now what kind of team they really are. What threw us off was that victory at Cincinnati. Beating what we thought was a decent Bengals team on the road might have convinced some of us that the Bucs were better than they really are. What they are is a team that can beat the league's bad teams, be competitive with the mediocre teams and get waxed by the league's good teams. None of this should be a surprise because this is a franchise that is rebuilding, and we knew that going in, didn't we? There will be more good days this season. And ugly ones, too.
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Weaker conference
Is there any team in the NFC that looks good? I mean, really good? Think about this: The Bucs, at 3-2, are tied for the fewest losses in the entire NFC. At one time or another, the Bears, Eagles, Giants, Falcons, Saints, Redskins and Packers all looked like the cream of the NFC crop, but all of them have suffered losses that make you scratch your head and say, "Huh?" Just this week, the Falcons were throttled by the Eagles, the Packers lost at home to the Dolphins, and the Bears were beaten at home by the Seahawks. You could argue that the Steelers, Colts, Ravens, Patriots and Jets - all AFC teams - are better than any team in the NFC.
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Best quarterback situation
Eagles coach Andy Reid, below, must be getting a sore with all the flip-flopping he is doing these days between Kevin Kolb and Michael Vick as his starting quarterback. Reid says Vick is still his No. 1 guy, but you have to feel bad for Kolb, who deserves better after going 23-of-29 for 326 yards and three touchdowns Sunday. In a league where quarterbacks seem to go down every week, the Eagles might be the team best prepared to handle a quarterback injury.
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Best team
For the first time in a couple of years, the Patriots looked like the Patriots. Trailing a top-notch team with an outstanding defense (Ravens) by 10 in the fourth quarter, the Pats rallied for an impressive 23-20 overtime victory. Still, the best team going is the Steelers. QB Ben Roethlisberger returned from his four-game suspension and looked much sharper than someone should for having been out that long. We already knew the Steelers could run the ball and play defense. Now they can throw, too.
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Worst unit
It's stunning that the Bears are 4-2 with an offensive line this bad. They are 26th in the league in rushing, and that's not even the worst of it. They've allowed a league-high 27 sacks in six games. QB Jay Cutler, right, who has been sacked 23 times and already knocked out of the lineup once this season, won't survive if the Bears can't figure out how to block. And Chicago won't hold on to first place in the suddenly weak NFC Central.
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Biggest shocker
Maybe you didn't buy into the Cowboys having a good shot to become the first team to participate in the Super Bowl played in its home stadium, but no one thought they would be 1-4. Their season appears over. Only 3 percent of teams in NFL history that have started 1-4 have made the playoffs. Hey, at least QB Tony Romo and the Cowboys didn't wait until December this year to hit the skids. Put a fork in this team.
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Biggest whiners
Some folks in Denver are complaining that their Broncos lost because of a bad interference call late in the game. Down three in the closing two minutes and facing fourth and 6, the Jets tried a long pass, and Broncos S Renaldo Hill was called for interference, giving the Jets a first down at the Denver 2. The Jets scored on the next play and won, 24-20. But the replays clearly showed that Hill grabbed the facemask of Jets WR Santonio Holmes while the ball was in the air. Heck, Hill could've been flagged for interference and a facemask. How can anyone possibly have a beef with the call?
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Most disturbing comments
Okay, we all know football is a violent game, but Steelers LB James Harrison, below, truly one of the game's elite defensive players and one of its most devastating hitters, had two borderline illegal helmet-to-helmet hits Sunday. Then he didn't really apologize for knocking two Browns players out of the game.
"I don't want to injure anybody," Harrison said. "There's a big difference between being hurt and being injured. You get hurt, you shake it off and come back the next series or the next game. I try to hurt people."
He tries to hurt people? Certainly, he isn't the only player in the league who thinks that way, but you have to be smart and classy enough not to say it.
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Three noteworthy victories
1. The Dolphins showed some guts winning at Green Bay.
2. The Texans' victory against the Chiefs sent word that they are not going away this season.
3. The Vikings won the loser-go-home game against the Cowboys.
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Three noteworthy losses
1. The Chargers lost to the Rams and (what gives?) fell to 2-4.
2. The Packers looked shaky after losing at home to the Dolphins.
3. If the Broncos were to be a legit team, they had to beat the Jets at home.
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Three intriguing games this weekend
Redskins at Bears. We're not sure either team is for real. The loser will reveal which one definitely isn't.
Cardinals at Seahawks. This is for first place in the better-than-expected NFC West.
Vikings at Packers. It's not the first time, but QB Brett Favre going back to Lambeau should be fun.