I was getting set up for my games Sunday, and I had my head down in the charts and I heard a voice from the TV: "On this day we will triumph!" Oh, another one of those Vince Lombardi voice overs, I figured. Wrong. It was an ad for Spiderman II. It wasn't easy to tell them apart. Am I being irreverent if I say it's enough with the Lombardi stuff already? Or irrelevant? Speaking of irrelevance, guess what's coming?

NFL Power Rankings Rank LW Team 1 1 Pittsburgh Steelers (11-1) If Big Ben is named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, (and I'd say he has a pretty good shot, wouldn't you?) he'd be the first quarterback ever chosen for this honor. Hey, what about Dan Marino in 1983? Nope, the award went to Eric Dickerson, who ran for 1,808 yards. 2 2 New England Patriots (11-1) All I hear when I hit the street is Christmas music and "Wait till the Patriots play the Steelers again, this time with Corey Dillon." OK, I can take orders. I'll wait. But not patiently. 3 3 Philadelphia Eagles (11-1) This was my favorite McNabb quote after the Packers slaughter: "It felt, statistically, like playing a video game." I liked it because, coupled with the vision of Andy Reid having to don tights when he loses his bet with T.O., it immediately conjured up visions of the only video game I was ever any good at -- Frogger. 4 5 San Diego Chargers (9-3) Naturally, I was rooting for them against Denver because I picked them, and there was one guy I could have hugged because all he did was make one big play after another. And it was a player I was only dimly aware of. No. 95, Shaun Phillips, 262-pound rookie linebacker. A situation sub. A pass rusher. Man, was this guy just killing people, or what? Where's he been? 5 6 Indianapolis Colts (9-3) So how do we compare Peyton's 44 TDs, soon to be ???, with Marino's 48 in 1984? Peyton's primary wideouts are Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. Marino had the Marks brothers, Duper and Clayton. Kind of a tossup there. The Markses had 26 TD catches, Harrison and Wayne have 22 and counting. Add nine more by the third wideout, Brandon Stokley, compared to Marino's No. 3, Nat Moore (six), and at least on numbers, you'd have to give the Colts the overall wideout edge. Edgerrin James is a lot better runner than either of Marino's two running backs, Tony Nathan or Woody Bennett, but Nathan was a better receiver, with 61 catches, two for TDs (James' numbers are 38 and zero). Finally the tight ends, Indy's Marcus Pollard and Dallas Clark (41 combined catches, 11 TDs) vs. Miami's Dan Johnson and Bruce Hardy (62 and eight). I'd have to give the edge to the current vintage, on look-ahead. So what does all this prove? Beats me. I just had fun looking all this up. 6 9 New York Jets (9-3) I like the Jets because they're strong up the middle. Two DTs (Robertson and Ferguson) and MLB Jon Vilma on defense, middle three on the offensive line, plus Curtis Martin, when they have the ball. Pittsburgh excels in exactly the same areas. I see a slugfest Sunday. No pushover for the Steelers, as some people suggest. 7 4 Atlanta Falcons (9-3) I think the worst thing going against the Falcons is that there's no sense of urgency. None of their four remaining opponents has a winning record. A win over any one of them gives the Falcons the division title. I predict that they'll go into the playoffs lethargic and get upset right away. Naturally, that prediction is subject to change, maybe more than once. 8 7 Green Bay Packers (7-5) Yeah, they only fell one place after they were massacred by Philly, but who would you stick in this spot? Every team I had at 7-12 last week lost, except for the Jets, and they were duly rewarded. There was one thing I liked about the Packers last weekend, though. Midway through the fourth quarter, Brett Favre was yanked, with no artificial attempt to keep his 36-game TD-pass streak alive. 9 8 Denver Broncos (7-5) They had the Chargers game in the bag. They were about to pound in the winning TD against an exhausted defense. But instead they got a case of the cutes, threw a fade into the end zone, had it deflected and intercepted. And now they're fighting for a wild-card spot, instead of the division championship. A helpful thing came of this, though. It gave me the inspiration for a column on why some quarterbacks should be allowed to call their own game. 10 10 Baltimore Ravens (7-5) Hmm, hmm, as I was walking up a stair, I met a man who wasn't there. This was not a simple peon, 'twas a fella ... name of Deion. Where ya been hiding, bro? Could have used you Sunday. That Palmer kid carved up everyone back there, including the all-everything corner, Chris McAlister. Season's dipping into the twilight without you. 11 11 Minnesota Vikings (7-5) Every time I hear people constantly harping about an "improving defense," I figure that if you have to talk about it, you ain't got it. Giving up 318 yards to the Bears is like giving up 600 to anybody else. 12 12 Jacksonville Jaguars (6-6) My second upset pick last weekend. We'll, ahem, forget about the first one. So I'm rooting, naturally. Make that rooting unnaturally, since it's not natural to talk to the TV set. And as they're about to go ahead late in the game, I'm saying, "Don't score too quickly. Don't give Big Ben too much time." They didn't listen. They gave him too much time. First pass I see him complete on the Steelers' next possession, a 12-yard gimme against a four-man rush and soft zone, I say, "Just leave a little time on the clock when you score." So now they're down on the Jags' 20, letting the clock run before they kick their field goal ... and run ... and run ... all the way down from 1:01 to ... oh my God, I can't watch. Hey Jack Del Rio, Jack of the River, can you hear me? Call time out, Jack. Please. I can't stand this. His head is turned away. He can't hear me. The clock runs down to 0:23. Time out is called. Yeah, great. "Linda, you have any coffee left?" Jags finally get possession with 0:11 left. Even then they manage to complete one pass and try an impossible field goal. What am I missing, Jags fans? Tell me. Am I crazy or what? Andrew ... wait a minute, it's Jimmy this week ... Jimmy, please allow a healthy number of Jacksonville e-mailers to come aboard. 13 16 Cincinnati Bengals (6-6) From Marvin Lewis, after the win over the Ravens, the first out of the last eight tries in Baltimore: "It was important to exorcise another demon here today." What's so hard about that? Start with some sit-ups, then a few push-ups, a few rounds on the heavy bag, then some free weights. We'll get that fat demon in shape. 14 13 Buffalo Bills (6-6) Headline in USA Today: "Surging Bills Rally& " Headline in Mountain Lakes, N.J. & "Surging bills cripple Dr. Z." Gas bill, property tax bill, phone bill, credit card bill & and lots more. 15 17 St. Louis Rams (6-6) A failure at offensive right tackle took Marc Bulger out of commission two years ago. Same thing happened Sunday against the Niners. Bulger is now iffy with a bad shoulder. The guy who gave up the sack, Grant Williams, might line up against the Panthers this week, or it might be Blaine Saipaia. And if you want to know how either one will handle the surging Julius Peppers, the answer is, he won't. It'll be Williams or Sapiaia, plus Brandon Manumaleuna, the 286-pound tight end, against Julie baby. 16 17 Seattle Seahawks (6-6) Note to defensive coach Ray Rhodes: The Cowboys like to run Julius Jones on a counter or a lead, over the left side, on second-and-long or third-and-long. In the second quarter they did it on second and six and picked up seven. Then in the same quarter they did it on third-and-goal from the eight-yard line and picked up eight and the TD. In the fourth quarter, they did it on third-and ... you've gotta be kiddin ... third-and-20 ... and picked up 15, one broken tackle away from a first down. And on their final drive they did it on third-and-eight and picked up 16 yards, down to your 17-yard line, Ray. An incomplete pass on first down, and now it's second-and-10 and guess what's coming? Bingo! Counter over the left side, Jones carrying, for 17 yards and the TD. Don't want to tell you how to coach your defense, but do you think it might be a good idea to get ready for this play, should you meet this team again?

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