Who's Hot Who's Not

WHO'S Hot

Giants
Guess who's got the NFL's longest winning streak (including playoffs)? New York heads into a bye week at 3--0, having just pulled out a win with a dramatic pass. Sound familiar, Super Bowl fans? After snaring a 31-yarder near the sidelines to set up a field goal in OT, receiver Amani Toomer (above) said, "I just got as many feet down as I could."

Cutler
My, how he's grown! The Broncos' third-year QB suddenly has a 110.6 rating—it was in the 80s the past two years—and unbeaten Denver has scored an NFL-high 114 points, overcoming its lousy defense. Said Cutler (left, eight TDs, two picks this year) to The Denver Post, "We're living on the edge."

Julius Jones
Julius made a Caesar salad of the wilted Rams defense on Sunday, rushing for 140 yards and a TD. That's two straight games in which he's come, seen and conquered. Said Jones, who blitzed the Niners for 127 yards last week, "We're just starting to come together."

Lilly
A fitting accessory to a fine year: Cubs lefty Ted Lilly has a career-high 16 wins and is 3--0 in his last three starts, and last Saturday he beat the Cardinals to clinch the division for the high-flying North Siders (page 28). Of the season, he said, "Pretty special."

WHO'S Not

Lions
Fall is here, and Detroit is 0--3. The again beleaguered team heads into a bye week with a cumulative score of Other Guys 113, Lions 59. Receiver Roy Williams (above) is second-guessing the offense, QB Jon Kitna hobbled off with a sprained knee on Sunday, and linebacker Ernie Sims says of the start, "It's embarrassing."

Rutgers
My, how they've fallen. College football's darlings of 2006 (first bowl win ever) and winners in '07 are 0--3 for the first time this millennium. And they're getting punchy: QB Mike Teel (right, one TD, six picks this year) took a swing at teammate Glen Lee near the end of last week's loss to Navy.

Romeo Crennel
O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou 0--3? "We're not a very good football team," the Browns' coach explained. Hence a season total of 26 points. Crennel (left) says he's evaluating "all positions" for personnel changes. Management may be evaluating his too.

Silva
He's down, and now he may be out. A year in which Seattle righty Carlos Silva's gone 4--15 with a 6.46 ERA could end early because he's been complaining of a bad back. After signing Silva (left) for $48 million over four years last winter, the M's can complain too.