Nothing good typically comes from protracted litigation against the federal government, especially when the charges arise from allegations of insider trading. Martha Stewart ultimately went to jail due to an insider trading brouhaha -- not because of the insider trading itself, but because of her effort to cover it all up.

Stewart, like Cuban, landed on the wrong end of a civil action aimed at forcing her to fork over the money she saved by acting on inside information regarding a stock she dumped just before the price went south. Eventually, she forked over to the feds the $45,000 she saved by ditching the stock, along with three times that amount as a penalty for using inside information.

Cuban may be approaching his own situation more prudently, getting "lawyered up" before talking to authorities and avoiding saying anything that could get him indicted (so far). Still, the sharp disagreement between Cuban's version of what happened and the government's contentions suggests that the feds aren't buying what Cuban is selling, and Cuban could ultimately face criminal prosecution.

The facts of many insider trading cases display the same Christmas-cookie shape and texture; the only real difference is the price of the dough. Martha Stewart saved $45,000 by dumping ImClone stock after she caught wind that the FDA was going to reject an attempt to gain approval for a new colon cancer treatment. So she sold before the private information became public.

In Cuban's case, the government claims that he acquired inside information regarding a stock offering that would have driven down the value of his position in Mamma.com. He allegedly dumped his holdings before the news became public, saving $750,000.

In any case of this nature, the objective facts are straightforward. The defendant sells a big chunk of stock right before bad news becomes public, and the only question is whether the stockholder told Randolph and Mortimer Duke to "sell, sell, sell!" because of the inside information, or for some other reason that was coincidental.

In Stewart's case, the government discovered an apparent scheme concocted by Stewart and her broker to cover up the real reason for her decision to dump ImClone. In Cuban's case, the complaint filed by the SEC against him seems to be based on information that came directly from the CEO of Mamma.com. Indeed, someone with knowledge of the conversation advised the government that Cuban "flew off the handle" when he learned from the CEO of the coming stock offering.

Like Stewart, Cuban has a story, and so far, he's sticking to it. "I am disappointed that the Commission chose to bring this case based upon its Enforcement staff's win-at-any-cost ambitions," Cuban says on his personal blog. "The staff's process was result-oriented, facts be damned. The government's claims are false, and they will be proven to be so."

There's no middle ground here. Either Cuban is clearly right, or he's clearly wrong. With the prospect of prosecution still looming (the pending case is merely a lawsuit), Cuban had better hope that he can back up his claims.

The smarter course would be to simply cut a check. Even if the SEC wants $750,000 plus three times that amount to settle the claim, the total payout of $3 million equates to less than one tenth of one percent of the $4.7 billion he received when he sold Broadcast.com to Yahoo in 1999.

Unless and until the concept of work release includes allowing the owner of a sports franchise to attend games with a certain piece of GPS-enabled jewelry attached to his leg, shaving off a piece of one's personal fortune is always better than spending several months as an involuntary guest at one of Uncle Sam's various properties that give an entirely different meaning to the term "gated community."

Mike Florio is a legal analyst for Sporting News.

5

1. NFC North logjam continues

Before the season, it appeared that the AFC North could be won by a team with a record of 8-8 or worse. After the first few weeks, the NFC West seemed to be on track to have a .500 team host a playoff game. More recently, the AFC West had that "none of the above" vibe.

But now, the division that has a team with as many wins as losses in first place is the NFC North.

And, in all, it has three of them.

The 5-5 Bears still play the 5-5 Packers and 5-5 Vikings once each; the Packers and Vikings have split their two games. If the home teams win in the two remaining games among those three teams, and if the Packers and Vikings win their upcoming games against the 0-10 Lions, the two primary tiebreakers among those three teams will be even.

The Bears seem to have the easiest schedule the rest of the way, but no team has it truly easy down the stretch.

Bottom line? It's basically a six-game season, and the three contenders knotted up in the NFC North are all 0-0. In the end, the winner could be 8-8.

2. End of the road for McNabb, Reid?

At a time when the Philly faithful already are clamoring for a changing of the guard within the city's football franchise, a season-killing tie against the lowly Bengals will fire up the push for getting rid of coach Andy Reid to new heights.

Plenty of fans might be even more troubled by the post-game comments of quarterback Donovan McNabb, who claims he didn't know an NFL game could end in a tie.

And he was serious.

It's one of the more amazing statements from an NFL player I've ever heard. How can a 10-year veteran -- a quarterback -- not realize that, in a regular-season game, if neither team scores in the overtime period, the game ends in a tie?

SN's WEEK 11 COVERAGE

10-Pack: Logjam in NFC North

Brown: Romo makes a difference

Breer: Titans relentless, resilient

Eichenberger: Big Blue too tough for Ravens

Dillon: Packers poised to repeat in North

Scoreboard: Full Week 11 results

More: RealScouts | TSB | Fantasy Source

Has he never looked at the official standings? Has he not wondered what the "T" in the "W-L-T" formula means?

It also makes me wonder what kinds of conversations McNabb has had with his coaches over the years. If he doesn't know that games can end in ties, what other common knowledge regarding the sport he gets paid millions to play does he not possess?

Does he think the ball is really made from the skin of a pig? Does he believe that, in the old days, a short pass to a running back was actually thrown by the quarterback with a small shovel?

At a time when folks in Philadelphia are searching for hooks on which to hang their anti-McNabb and anti-Reid hats, McNabb's stunning admission might give them all the ammunition they could ever need.

3. Broncos back in the saddle

Many assumed, after a three-game free-fall that dropped them to 4-4, that the Denver Broncos eventually would fall apart and miss the playoffs, possibly paving the way for coach Mike Shanahan's exit after 14 years with the franchise.

Since then, the Broncos have reeled off two straight wins, which has extended their lead in the AFC West to two full games.

The victory at Cleveland two Thursdays ago wasn't much of a surprise, given the Browns' defense is so bad. Sunday's upset of the unexpectedly stout Falcons puts the Broncos back on track to do some potential damage in the playoffs.

Though the defense gave up 364 yards, the 20 points scored by the Falcons represents the lowest amount allowed by the Broncos in seven weeks.

So at a time when it seemed the Chargers would blow by the Broncos and take the division title, Denver has responded. If they can keep it up, Shanahan will surely be back for a 15th season.

And San Diego coach Norv Turner very likely could be tossed.

4. Win gets Cowboys on the right track

The Dallas Cowboys emerged from Washington with a critical 14-10 victory, and coupled with a loss by the Falcons, the 'Boys are back in the thick of the wild-card race.

And things get considerably easier over the next 10 days for Dallas, with a Week 12 visit from the 49ers and a Turkey Day treat featuring stuffed birds from Seattle, who at 2-8 would be playing for pride if they actually had any.

And so the Cowboys should be 8-4 as they head into the final four games of the season. Which is when things will get very interesting.

Over the final month, Dallas plays the Steelers, Giants, Ravens, and Eagles.

Win three, and the playoffs will be a sure thing. Lose three, and it's over. Win two, and maybe they'll make it.

But while the defense showed up against the Redskins, the Cowboys will still need more out of the offense (and, specifically, the passing game) in order to finish the job. Quarterback Tony Romo was so-so on Sunday night, throwing for less than 200 yards and two interceptions. While receiver Terrell Owens likely won't be sniping too much over his five-catch, 38-yard night (especially since he was directly responsible for one of the picks), T.O. likely will be crowing if he doesn't see the ball early and often during the upcoming games against San Fran and the Seahawks.

5. Yo, Adrian?

Last week, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson carried the team to a stirring come-from-behind win with some late-game heroics.

This week at Tampa Bay, the Vikings had two cracks at erasing an identical six-point deficit to the one they faced at home against the Packers seven days previously.

And Peterson was a forgotten man in both instances.

On the first drive, he returned the kickoff, gaining only 16 yards. And then a short pass was thrown to him on second down, but it was incomplete.

The second time around, he didn't see the ball at all.

On neither drive did the Vikings give him a single handoff.

So how can a team that rode Peterson's back against the Packers virtually ignore one of the best players in the league with the game on the line? It made no sense, and it will do nothing to quiet those in the Twin Cities who hope to see coach Brad Childress receive an end-of-season heave ho.

6. Weird finish in Pittsburgh

Sunday's game between the Steelers and the Chargers was decided late, with the home team nailing a 32-yard field goal and taking an 11-10 lead.

But that's when things got crazy.

After the kickoff, the Chargers had a few ticks left on the clock to make something happen. And so quarterback Philip Rivers threw the ball to running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who then tried to lateral the ball to receiver Chris Chambers. Chambers caught the ball, and then ran a few steps and tried to lateral it to another teammate.

But Steelers safety Troy Polamalu intervened, and eventually scooped the ball up and scored.

The booth called for a review, and referee Scott Green determined that the attempted lateral from L.T. to Chambers was actually an illegal forward pass. And so the Steelers declined the penalty and took the touchdown.

But then, as the Steelers were lining up for the extra-point attempt, Green turned his microphone back on and gave a vague explanation, declared the game to be over, appeared to be preparing to make the "touchdown" signal again with his arms, and then instead awkwardly grabbed the bill of his hat with both hands.

The subsequent explanation was that the ball became dead at the moment of the illegal forward pass.

The rule book says otherwise. Per Rule 8, Section 1, Article 1(b), if an illegal forward pass is caught or intercepted, the ball may be advanced and the penalty declined.

In other words, if a Steelers player had picked off the attempted forward lateral by L.T. and returned it for a touchdown, the penalty could have been declined.

Or, as actually happened on the play, if the ball is caught by an offensive player and then later lost by that player, the other team can recover the ball, take it in for a touchdown, and decline the penalty.

After the game, Green admitted his ruling was a mistake, and that the touchdown should have counted. (Apparently, the officials were confused about whether the illegal forward pass or the legal backward pass hit the ground. If the illegal pass had hit the ground, the play would have been over at that moment.)

The strange sequence of events doesn't change the fact the Steelers won. But with the betting line in most legal and illegal gambling establishments having the Steelers favored by more than one and less than seven, the outcome provided the difference between the Steelers covering, and the Chargers with points being the winning play.

It's another reason why the NFL must strive to ensure that game officials get every call right -- even those that don't seem to have an effect on the outcome of a game.

7. Sister-kissing in Cincy

From the Eagles' perspective, a tie game won't help the team make it to the playoffs in an increasingly top-heavy NFC field. For the Bengals, however, the outcome isn't all that bad.

When it comes to making unproven college players multimillionaires at the top of the draft, the Bengals now have an instant tiebreaker as to any other teams that end up with the same number of wins as the one-win franchise from Cincinnati.

While teams used to prefer to draft as highly as possible, the difference between each of the top several picks now translates to millions of dollars over the life of a contract. And given the Bengals' experiences with high first-round busts like David Klinger and Ki-Jana Carter and Peter Warrick and Akili Smith, the lower they pick, the better.

With one win through 10 games, however, they'll still be picking pretty darn high.

8. Don't count out the Ravens.

On the surface, it would be easy to dismiss the Ravens based on the pasting they sustained against the Giants on Sunday.

And that's exactly what the Ravens would like you to do.

After starting 2-0, the Ravens dropped three straight, culminating in a 31-3 spanking against the Colts. Written off by supposedly astute NFL observers at that point, the Ravens went on to win four in a row.

Of course, the schedule isn't exactly a cakewalk down the stretch. But the Ravens seem to play their best when no one expects anything from them.

And, after losing 30-10 in New York on Sunday, no one is expecting very much from them right now.

9. Singletary wins battle of the interims

Two of the NFL's three interim head coaches got together Sunday. Though it's still entirely possible that Mike Singletary of the 49ers nor Jim Haslett of the Rams will keep their jobs beyond the current season, Singletary drove a stake into Haz's chances with that 35-16 thrashing.

At one point, the score was 35-3. And, at that point, it became obvious to me that Haslett won't be back.

For Singletary, the jury is still out. Because despite the goofy antics and the bungling of the closing seconds of the Monday night game at Arizona, winning games will aid Singletary's cause. He finally got one on Sunday -- if he can get more before the end of the year, then maybe he'll be the guy in San Fran for 2009, and beyond.

10. Texans still can't solve the Colts

During a season in which the Indianapolis Colts are as weak as they've ever been since the Texans entered the league in 2002, the table seemed to be set for Houston to win a game against Indy.

Or maybe two. ... Well, maybe next year.

After blowing a 17-point fourth-quarter lead when they hosted the Colts in early October, the Texans went to Indianapolis and gave the suddenly hot Colts another run for their money. With safety Bob Sanders out, rookie running back Steve Slaton ran wild, gaining 156 yards. Slaton's 71-yard scamper midway through the third quarter gave the Texans the lead.

And, once again, they couldn't hold it.

The 33-27 loss dropped Houston to 1-13 all-time against the Colts. More importantly, the Texans now sit at 3-7, which for all practical purposes puts them out of the hunt for the first playoff berth in franchise history.

Mike Florio writes and edits ProFootballTalk.comM and is a regular contributor to Sporting News.

7

As far as they're concerned, it's January.

The Cowboys have, as a practical matter, no margin for error, especially when it comes to Sunday night's game against the Redskins. Because a loss would force the 'Boys to make up three games in the standings over six weeks in order to overcome Washington's ensuing two-game lead and 2-0 record against Dallas for tiebreaker purposes.

Though the 'Boys don't necessarily need to win each of their remaining seven games, that 5-4 record has put them in a deep hole. With three other wild-card contenders at 6-3, even a 4-3 finish by each of them forces the Cowboys to go 5-2 or better -- and to hope they can finagle the tiebreakers.

As to the Bucs, the 'Boys are in good shape, given the 13-9 victory from last month. As to the Falcons, whom Dallas doesn't play this season, Atlanta is 4-3 in the conference, and the Cowboys are 3-4.

And if the Panthers don't win the division and instead enter the wild-card pool, their current conference mark of 4-2 puts them 1.5 games ahead of Dallas in that key head-to-head tiebreaker.

So, basically, 5-2 might not be enough to get to the "real" playoffs. And with games against the Redskins, Steelers, Giants, Ravens, and Eagles, a stretch run of 6-1 might be a bit too much for any team to expect.

That's why so much rides on Sunday's game. Lose, and it's going to be very hard to forge a path to the postseason. Win, and suddenly the Cowboys and the Redskins have identical 6-4 records.

The job will be considerably easier for the Cowboys, given the news that Washington workhorse Clinton Portis (995 rushing yards) isn't expected to play, due to a partially torn MCL. The bigger challenge for Dallas will be to improve on a pass defense that has allowed 12 touchdown passes, but registered only three interceptions. Given, however, that Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell doesn't make many mistakes, this might be the wrong week for the 2008 Cowboys to try to become the 1985 Bears.

Apart from anything the Dallas defense can do to slow down the 'Skins, the strength of this Cowboys team is (or was supposed to be) its own offense. Quarterback Tony Romo returns after a three-game absence, which is great news. That said, the Cowboys generally weren't reaching their full potential even before Romo broke a pinkie, and even a fully healthy Romo can be counted upon to commit a turnover at an inopportune time.

Putting extra pressure on the passing game is a rushing attack that has sputtered at times. Marion Barber's per-carry average has dropped by nearly a yard since last season, falling into Reggie Bush territory at less than 4.0.

That's why the 'Boys miss rookie running back Felix Jones almost as much as they missed Romo. Jones provides a home-run threat from anywhere on the field, as evidenced by his 8.9 average on 30 carries.

Apart from the manner in which these teams match up, the Cowboys suffer from a dearth of leadership and accountability. Gone are the days in which Bill Parcells ruled with an iron fist to the jaw and a steel-toed boot to the buttocks. Though the fumes of the Tuna regime might have helped fuel that 13-3 regular season a year ago, his influence has faded considerably -- and there's not a single man in the locker room who can klunk heads together the way Parcells could, and it shows in the on-field performances.

That's why most league observers regard the departure of coach Wade Phillips after the season as a foregone conclusion. The bigger question is whether owner Jerry Jones will entrust the team to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett once Wade is gone.

Though the buck doesn't yet stop on Garrett's desk, his star surely has faded a bit during the team's recent struggles on offense. If Phillips isn't wired to be the bad cop, then Garrett needs to do it, especially as to the players on the side of the ball for which he's primarily responsible.

In the end, Garrett might be tainted by the stench of Phillips' unfulfilled expectations, and Jones might choose to swing back to trolling for a big name, especially with that billion-dollar stadium set to open.

Whether it comes to that depends in large part whether the Cowboys can get back to the playoffs. If they're going to get it done, they need to accept the reality that the playoffs begin right now.

Mike Florio writes and edits ProFootballTalk.com and is a regular contributor to Sporting News.

3

While Raiders owner Al Davis has made himself an easy target of criticism thanks to a series of misguided decisions that have turned his team into something far funnier than the garden-variety laughingstock, he can take partial solace in that trio of Lombardi Trophies littering his mantle.

Over a much longer period of time, Lions owner William Clay Ford, Sr., has authored his own series of misguided decisions. But in 45 years since Mr. Ford became sole owner of the franchise, the Lions have achieved absolutely nothing of significance.

Sure, the Lions have made the playoffs. Nine times in all. But they've outscored their opponents in only one of 10 postseason games. The nine other times, they've lost.

The good news? That's one win better than the team's current 0-9 record.

Along the way, Mr. Ford has hired a string of coaches who have performed roughly as well as the car named for his father, Edsel. Of the 14 men to whom Mr. Ford has handed the whistle since acquiring the keys to the franchise, only one has won more than half of his total non-exhibition games.

And that was Gary Moeller, who generated a 4-3 record as interim head coach eight years ago, after Bobby Ross reprised the wisest move of running back Barry Sanders' career and abruptly quit.

But perhaps nothing illustrates the problems in Detroit more than the abysmally embarrassing tenure of former CEO Matt Millen. The player-turned-broadcaster with no front-office experience never, ever should have been entrusted with such a critical position.

And it's not entirely Millen's fault; he didn't hire himself. Given his credentials, Millen is no more responsible for his performance than a French poodle that can't figure out how to pop the clutch on an F-150.

The real blame should land in the lap of the person who thought it would be prudent to put Millen in charge, and who then clung to him like a surrogate son even as the losses piled up like the frequent-flier miles Millen earned by commuting to his $5 million-per-year job from Pennsylvania.

Then there's Tom Lewand, a businessman with no football skills who has capitalized on long-standing ties between his family and the Fords to put himself in position to claim credit when (if) anything good ever happens, and to chronically avoid accountability. Even now, in the midst of a legitimate shot at an unprecedented 0-16 campaign and the first two non-sellouts since the well-hyped stadium that Lewand oversees opened seven seasons ago, some league insiders expect Lewand to emerge from the current morass with the title of team president.

At a time when the Falcons (through the hiring of G.M. Thomas Dimitroff) and the Dolphins (through the hiring of V.P. of football operations of Bill Parcells) have proven that the right person can quickly bring dawn to even the darkest night, Mr. Ford should copy the blueprint established by Arthur Blank and Wayne Huizenga.

But that's where wishful think gets replaced by practicality. Though the answer to the problem seems simple (i.e., clean house and hire one man to come in and remake the football side of the business), the person who'll be making the ultimate decision has done nothing of late that would cause an objective outsider to conclude that the right decision will be made at this key moment in the franchise's history.

So as the team's chronically poor performance has prompted some to suggest that the football-watching world should not be required to gag on a Thanksgiving appetizer ensconced in Honolulu Blue, the appropriate response by Mr. Ford shouldn't be to hint that Ford Motor Company would retaliate by reducing the advertising dollars devoted to the NFL. Instead, the fledgling movement to strip the Lions of their Turkey Day entitlement should prompt Mr. Ford to realize, once and for all, that he and his family don't possess the requisite skills to propel a football team toward the highest levels of on-field success.

And once Mr. Ford acknowledges his role as the common denominator in nearly a half-century of performances falling somewhere between mediocre and pathetic, he should move swiftly and decisively to implement meaningful change -- and he and his son, Bill Ford, should stand aside and let a real mechanic install a modern-day engine into their Model T franchise.

22

1. Maybe the Titans really can win 'em all

Folks aren't nearly as obsessed with the question of whether the Tennessee Titans can go 16-0 as they were with the question of whether the Patriots could do it a year ago.

It makes sense. Last season, the Pats became every bit as polarizing as the Raiders of the 1970s and the Cowboys of pretty much any era; they were either beloved or loathed by everyone.

Besides, New England was blowing most teams off the field with a record-setting offensive display. So each game entailed an effort by the Pats to stay on pace, not only to win every game but also to shatter various scoring records.

And since 35 years passed between the last time an NFL team won every regular-season game and New England's run of a year ago, it just doesn't make sense that another team would do it the very next season.

But with the Titans going to Chicago on Sunday and gaining only 20 yards on the ground and still finding a way to win, it's now time to seriously consider whether this Tennessee team can knock off the next seven.

Next up is a trip to Jacksonville, followed by a visit from the Jets. Then the Titans go to Ford Field for a little turkey and a lot of football -- in a game that could match an 11-0 Tennessee team against the 0-11 Lions.

The Titans then finish with games against the Browns, Texans, Steelers, and Colts.

It's still an uphill battle, especially with games against the Jets, Steelers, and Colts. And each game will entail opponents even more motivated to hang the first "L" on the Titans.

Still, when a team so heavily focused on the run game can still prevail by seven points on the road at Soldier Field while rushing for only 20 yards, there's something special going on. And it likely will continue to go on under the radar for at least another week or two.

2. NFC South crashing the NFC East party?

With the Eagles, Redskins, and Cowboys now having lost their most recent games, and the Panthers, Bucs, and Falcons all winning their last times out, the notion that the NFC East will again send three teams to the postseason is in the process of being debunked by the top three teams of the NFC South.

As of right now, the Bucs and Falcons have a one-game lead over the Cowboys and Eagles for the sixth seed in the playoffs. And both of these NFC South teams are tied with the Redskins at 6-3 for the fifth seed.

In fact, a late-season slide by the 'Skins could leave the NFC East with only one ticket to the postseason party.

And the team holding that ticket would benefit greatly from its division foes being left out in the cold. In January, the teams least likely to be intimidated by the Giants will be those who play them twice per year, every year. If the Redskins, Cowboys, or Eagles make it to the playoffs and score a wild-card win, the Giants likely will end up facing in the divisional round a team far better equipped than the Cardinals or the Bears/Packers/Vikings to show up at the Meadowlands and pull off an upset.

With the Giants systematically dismantling each of their rivals during the regular season, and then with the Redskins, Cowboys, and Eagles beating up on each other, there's a chance the Giants will get their wish of heading into January without having to worry about seeing any of them in an elimination game.

Though it's easy to believe the Giants will prevail against any of them because the Giants are meeting their intradivision challenges in convincing fashion, there's always a chance that the Giants will lay an egg like the one we saw several weeks ago against the Browns. In the playoffs, it's more likely to have that happen against a team that knows the Giants better than the others in the postseason field.

3. Brees for MVP? No way

Through nine games, Saints quarterback Drew Brees is only 15 passing yards short of 3,000. He's on pace for 5,306 yards for the season, which would shatter Dan Marino's 24-year-old single-season mark of 5,084.

The performance is prompting many to presume Brees will win the league MVP award in a near-unanimous vote.

But the Saints have won only four of those nine games, and they continue to blog from the basement of the NFC South.

If the Saints don't turn it around and make the playoffs, Brees shouldn't get a single vote for MVP. Because this title means that the Player judged to be the Most Valuable actually pushed his team toward an enviable outcome to its season.

Since the merger, only one MVP award went to a player whose team didn't qualify for the postseason. The exception came in 1973, when O.J. Simpson rushed for a then-record 2,003 yards.

But at least the '73 Bills were on the right side of .500, with nine wins and five losses. The Saints need to finish 5-2 or better to support Brees' candidacy with a winning record.

Based on their inability to win five of their first nine, it's not likely they'll win five of their last seven. And thus Brees shouldn't win the MVP award, even if he throws for 6,000 yards while simultaneously curing polio.

4. Arizona could go 5-11 and still win NFC West

The Arizona Cardinals currently have won five and lost three. The record isn't stellar, but it's good enough for a three-game lead over San Francisco, and based on Sunday's losses by Seattle and St. Louis, a whopping 3.5 game margin over the two current basement dwellers.

But with the Niners, Seahawks, and Rams on pace for four wins, it's fairly safe to say the Cardinals would win the division and head to the postseason even if the Cards don't win another game.

Though it's unlikely the Cardinals will drop their next eight, or that if they do one of the other teams won't catch them, a record of 3-5 or worse down the stretch by Arizona likely would result in a team winning the division with a record of .500 or lower.

For the NFL's sake, here's hoping that doesn't happen.

5. Haslett's magic is disappearing

Three weeks ago, Jim Haslett was one of the hottest coaches in the NFL. Inheriting a talented 0-4 team that seemed at times to not even be trying, Haslett changed the culture and propelled the Rams to unlikely wins against the Redskins and Cowboys.

And with the NFL rejecting the Rams' attempt to promise the permanent gig to Haslett if he leads the team to at least six total victories, Haslett was poised to become the belle of the ball once the annual game of musical chairs commences after the regular season ends.

He would have been free to take any job, with any team, and he would have been on everyone's "A" list.

Since then, however, the Rams have fallen apart.

It started with a loss in New England, during which the Rams blew a fourth-quarter lead over the Patriots.

Then came a St. Louis showdown with the Cardinals, which could have vaulted the Rams into the race for the NFC West crown. Instead, the Rams ended up on the wrong side of a 34-13 score.

Now, the Rams have returned to their pre-Haslett form, with a 47-3 blowout loss against the Jets.

At 2-7 and fading fast, Haslett has gone from presumptive choice for the head-coaching job to a guy who'll have to change the culture once again in order to regain the mojo that made him the favorite for the gig. And unless Haslett turns things around quickly, he might not be able to find a seat anywhere when the music stops in January.

6. Chillyball continues

I've been routinely criticizing Vikings coach Brad Childress for his habit of keeping games close and hoping for a late break.

Four of his team's five wins involved a victory margin of seven points or less. Each of those four wins could have gone the other way.

The same can be said for three of the team's four losses.

On Sunday, a last-minute drive fueled by a possessed Adrian Peterson delivered a one-point lead, which then would have turned into a two-point loss if Mason Crosby hadn't missed a 52-yard field goal try.

And so Chillyball continues to be a recipe for .500 football, barring a run of luck equal to flipping a coin and having it come up heads several times in a row.

The other problem that nearly transformed a victory into a defeat on Sunday was an apparent desire by Childress to exact a little revenge on the franchise that accused him of tampering with Brett Favre. Leading 21-10, Childress should have been content to pound Peterson and Chester Taylor into the line of scrimmage, to throw only short passes to wide-open receivers, and to rely on a ferocious front seven to continue to pound Aaron Rodgers.

Instead, a pick-six from Gus Frerotte on a mid-range pass to a wide-open Nick Collins turned around a game that felt like it was on the verge of becoming a blowout. Then, the ongoing inability of the Minnesota punt team to tackle Will Blackmon put the Vikings behind -- and simultaneously sucked the air out of the Metrodome's Jiffy Pop roof.

At times it seems like this Vikings team isn't winning games because of the collective efforts of the players and the coaches, but in spite of them. With a pair of Florida road games coming up (at Tampa and at Jacksonville), Minnesota needs to find ways to build and hold a lead, or it could be time for the coin to come up tails a couple of times.

7. Ravens are driving fantasy owners nuts

The big news for the Baltimore Ravens is that, after losing heartbreakers against the Steelers and Titans and then being blown out by the Colts, the Ravens have sucked it up and won four in a row.

But they're doing it with little or no predictability in the running game.

Last week, starting tailback Willis McGahee was expected to be part of the rotation with Le'Ron McClain and Ray Rice. Instead, Rice was the workhorse, gaining 154 yards on 21 carries.

McGahee didn't touch the ball once.

This week, Rice was expected to carry the load again. And, you guessed it, McGahee got 25 carries, gained 112 yards, and scored twice. Rice, in contrast, had seven carries for 17 yards.

The formula is working for the Ravens, who are now tied with the Steelers atop the AFC North. To any of the fantasy owners out there (and, let's face it, there are millions), the smart move is to unload any Baltimore backs.

8. Will Detroit try to hold down Daunte's numbers?

With Charley Casserly of CBS reporting that Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper needs to throw only five touchdown passes and participate in five percent of the total offensive snaps for the year to earn a $1-million incentive payment, it's hard not to wonder whether the Lions might try to keep him from reaching that threshold.

The first hint of this possible dynamic came on Sunday, when the Lions inexplicably asked Drew Stanton to make his NFL debut in an early goal-line situation.

Stanton threw a touchdown pass, which if it had been thrown by Culpepper would have amounted to 20 percent of the total amount of touchdown passes that he needs to throw in order to pocket the million bucks.

Stanton handled three other drives in the second half, after Culpepper was injured. A cynical mind might be tempted to ponder whether the Lions are considering going with Stanton in order to keep Culpepper under the five-percent threshold. After all, Stanton generated a passer rating of 153.1.

Not long ago, offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said Stanton would embarrass himself if he played. Any quarterback would love to be so embarrassed.

9. More bad calls

In a season in which more than 97 percent of the calls made by officials are accurate, more than two percent aren't.

And the Chargers almost got burned again by one of those two percent of the bad calls Sunday.

Leading the Chiefs by seven and with Kansas City driving, the officials called an extremely questionable (and that's being as kind as possible) pass interference penalty against San Diego defensive back Clinton Hart, who seemed to hit Tony Gonzalez simultaneously as the ball struck the All-Pro tight end's hands.

Three plays later, the Chiefs scored a touchdown, forcing Chargers coach Norv Turner to once again sweat out a two-point conversion try made possible by a gift from the men in black (and white) to the other team.

This time around, the Chargers kept their opponents from pulling out the late win. But those events only highlight the fact San Diego should be 5-4 and occupying first place in the AFC West in front of the 4-5 Broncos.

Instead, it's the other way around, thanks to a horrendous Week 2 call from Ed Hochuli, which hovers over this season almost as thickly as the Spygate haze of a season ago.

10. AFC East showdown coming, but maybe not to your house

Until NFL Network becomes more widely available to football fans, the objective for the slate of games televised on the league-owned station should be to provide good matchups.

But not too good.

The limited availability of great games only places more pressure on the league to make the games more broadly available. Last year, the NFL felt the heat for a late November matchup between the Packers and the Cowboys. A month later, the league allowed Patriots-Giants I to be shown on NBC and CBS, too.

This season, the second NFLN game features a showdown between the 6-3 Jets and the 6-3 Patriots for first place in the AFC East. Though the absence of Tom Brady makes the game a bit less sexy, the Belichick-Mangini feud and the involvement of Brett Favre and Randy Moss make this a must-see contest.

For folks who don't have access to NFLN, it will be a won't-see affair.

Mike Florio writes and edits ProFootballTalk.comM and is a regular contributor to Sporting News.

18