The Fine Fifteen

	Lance Briggs and the stout Bears defense have given up only 29 points in four games. AP

1. Chicago (4-0). How great would a Lovie Smith-Tony Dungy Super Bowl be? That'd prove nice guys finish first.

2. Indianapolis (4-0). I like the fact that Dungy wasn't satisfied with the win. A road win in a tough venue isn't enough for Dungy, not when his team commits 10 penalties and gives up a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

3. Baltimore (4-0). It's two straight games now that Steve McNair has looked hapless for 57 minutes, then made a bunch of plays to win the game. Imagine if he plays a complete game one of these days. The Ravens would score 156.

4. Philadelphia (2-1). "Donovan McNabb is playing so great right now,'' Runyan told me. "You can't pick any aspect of his game that isn't really good.'' America will see that tonight.

5. Atlanta (3-1). Other than being the Washington Generals last Monday night in New Orleans, the Falcons have been close to flawless so far.

6. San Diego (2-1). Philip Rivers had a rough day, but so did McNair. I wouldn't be too concerned about losing a nailbiter to the Ravens in Baltimore.

7. Denver (2-1). On his bye Sunday, Mike Shanahan watched the Pats-Bengals game and thought: Maybe I shouldn't have traded up in the first round for Jay Cutler last April. Maybe I should have sat right where I was, at number 15, and taken Laurence Maroney, the best running back in the draft.

8. New England (3-1). Mea culpa, mea culpa. Buried these guys last week, stupidly, after six lousy quarters in a row. The win at Cincinnati was a tour de force performance. The defense finally got some meaningful turnovers, and the running game manhandled the Bengals with a 236-yard game.

9. Seattle (3-1). Bad news: the loss in Chicago. Good news: the development of Deion Branch as a viable weapon for Matt Hasselbeck.

10. Carolina (2-2). I worry, a lot, about the ability of Steve Smith to come anywhere near approximating his real ability this year. Those hammies seem to get worse every week.

11. Dallas (2-1). Let the hype begin. The reason the national media are going to pound you over the head the next six days about T.O.'s return to Philly is because they know you're so thirsty for information on the life and times of Mr. Owens.

12. Cincinnati (3-1). It's pretty alarming: With everything to play for and coming home from a huge division road win in Pittsburgh, the Bengals surrendered 38 points to a team struggling badly on offense. Talk about a strange, strange outcome.

13. Pittsburgh (1-2). I hope Ben Roethlisberger had a nice, relaxing bye Sunday. It's the last peace he'll have for a while. The Steelers need Ben to be Ben.

14. New Orleans (3-1). The Saints were in the Carolina game for three hours. I think we all have to get used to what we considered impossible a month ago: The Saints are going to be in the playoff hunt all season.

15. (tie) Washington (2-2). Football is a strange game. Nine days ago I never thought I'd have the 'Skins in the Fine Fifteen, but then Clinton Portis ran all over the Texans and Washington had seven scoring drives against the Jags on Sunday. The Redskins are getting this complex Al Saunders scheme, finally.

15. (tie) Jacksonville (2-2). Funny, I'd heard somewhere that the Jags have a good defense. Maybe I heard wrong. Thirty-six points in 62 minutes tends to tarnish a D's reputation.

The Awards Section

Offensive Player of the Week

Laurence Maroney, RB, New England. Just as Maurice Jones-Drew was the explosive star of Week 3, so Maroney was the star of Week 4. Fifteen carries, 125 yards (98 in the second half) and two touchdowns. You had to see his impact as an edge runner to know that the Patriots have exactly what they wanted when they drafted him in the first round last April. Maroney has the speed and power to be the perfect complement to Corey Dillon.

Defensive Player of the Week

Patrick Kerney, DE, Atlanta. Jim Mora gambled that he could rest bookend DE John Abraham and his ouchy groin against Arizona, which would mean, with the Falcons having a bye next week, that Abraham wouldn't have to play until Oct. 15 against the Giants. Good gamble, thanks to Kerney, who stormed the Arizona pocket all afternoon at the Georgia Dome. Three sacks, four tackles, much terror inflicted on Kurt Warner and Matt Leinart.

Special Teams Player of the Week

Morten Andersen, K, Atlanta. A week after he had a kick blocked in his return to the NFL in New Orleans, he was a perfect five-for-five in Atlanta's 32-10 win over Arizona. Granted, the kicks were borderline gimmes (34, 40, 36, 26, 28), but hey, for Grandpa Andersen, they probably seemed a lot longer.

Coach of the Week

Mike Westhoff, special teams coach, New York Jets. Just look at how the Jets played in the kicking game against the Colts. A 103-yard kickoff return. A 49.0-yard average on three punts. Allowing only 21 yards per kick return to the Colts. Coach Eric Mangini wisely kept Westhoff, a holdover from the Herman Edwards staff, because he realized Westhoff was one of the two or three best special teams coaches in football.

Goat of the Week

Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee. Easiest pick of the year. Haynesworth stomped on the bare forehead of helmetless Dallas center Andre Gurode in the third quarter, opening a wide gash that required 30 stitches to close. Then he was so infuriated after the idiotic play that Titans coach Jeff Fisher almost blew a gasket trying to rein him in. I talked to Fisher a couple of hours afterward, and he was still steamed at Haynesworth for the bush-league ploy. There seems little doubt that either the league or the Titans will suspend him for Sunday's game in Indianapolis.