THE FINE FIFTEEN

	Linebacker Cato June is a big reason Indianapolis is 9-0. Next week, June and the Colts face the 7-2 Bengals. AP

This week's top 15 teams in the NFL:

1. Indianapolis (9-0). See No. 8. Some real Chad Johnson fun might be about to happen prior to next week's landmine game at Cincinnati.

2. Denver (7-2). I saw Chris Mortensen said on ESPN that he favors the Broncos as Terrell Owens' 2006 landing spot. I favor Dallas, but I like Mort's logic. Like it a lot. One problem: Denver's 2006 cap number as of this month is $117 million. The NFL's cap number figures to be about $90 million. Now, Mike Shanahan can fit anyone into his cap, any year. My only concern is, will he want to screw up his cap (even though Owens won't get rich in 2006) even more than it is for such a risky venture?

3. Carolina (7-2). John Fox's wife hosted actor Will Ferrell, in Charlotte to film a movie, at the 30-3 rout of the Jets. Perhaps Ferrell -- I can't get the scene out of my mind of him running naked down the street in Old School -- could work on Fox's wacky press-conference ways. A gem from Fox after the win over the Jets: "We are 7-2 and the worst we can do is 7-9. That's all I know.'' Tell us more, Mr. Science!

4. Pittsburgh (7-2). All that stuff I wrote up top? Not true. For now.

5. San Diego (5-4). No road trip Sunday. Bye week. And no road trip next week! Buffalo at home. What will the Chargers do if they can't sit on an airplane for six hours twice a weekend? Poor, deprived Chargers.

6. Seattle (7-2). Lofa Tatupu rocks. Learn about him. There aren't five middle linebackers playing any better right now.

7. Dallas (5-3). Bledsoe to Glenn and T.O. in 2006. Cowboy Nation drools. Jim Johnson, Gregg Williams, Tim Lewis sweat.

8. New England (5-4). The sign, the Patriots hope, that things are changing in Pats-land: The first carry of Heath Evans' Patriots career went for 21 yards -- and he wasn't touched by a Dolphins defender until he'd run 16 yards.

9. Cincinnati (7-2). So the Bengals haven't beaten a really good team on their way to 7-2 and Chad Johnson says to me the other day: "I am thinking very seriously of guaranteeing a win against the Colts.'' And what, pray tell, will be the determining factor in that? "I have to talk to Marvin [Lewis] first.'' And I say I can't imagine the coach of the Bengals would want such an incendiary (but, we all know, meaningless) boast on the Colts' bulletin board. "You're probably right," he said. But he'll be checking, and the next big voice you hear out of Cincinnati just might be The Mouth That Roared.

10. Atlanta (6-3). "Now we'll find out what we're made of,'' DT Rod Coleman told me the other day. Not much, perhaps, if we look hard at the 33-25 loss to Green Bay. Now there's Tampa Bay at home, a short week at Detroit and a long week at Carolina.

11. New York Giants (6-3). I feel safe in saying that was the worst special-teams game I've ever seen a team play. And Eli Manning worries me. As good as I think he's going to be, he can be terribly inaccurate.

12. Tampa Bay (6-3). Scoring 36 on Washington, with Chris Simms throwing three touchdown passes ... well, let's just say that's not exactly what I expected from this game.

13. Philadelphia (4-4). You're right. I know. I am sticking with these guys an awful long time. You know why? The Eagles are the winningest team of the century and they've still got most of their guys. Most.

14. Chicago (6-3). Nothing personal, Men of Lovie, but do you guys play the Lake Forest JV every week, or does it just seem that way?

15. Jacksonville (6-3). Nice day for Matt Jones. He looked good running routes.