The NFL Third-Quarer Report: The A Teams

The Colts and Saints have created quite a curve to the NFL's team grading system. With three quarters of 4-0 football each, can there be any other A teams?

Drew Brees, as the elite QB without a ring, has the most to gain as he leads the Saints toward their greatest season ever.

They ain't the 'Aints no more.

Their defense has fallen off from their frantic pace but injuries to both of your starting cornerbacks will do that to you. Reggie Bush has been in and out of the lineup and that has revealed the myriad of other weapons that the Saints offense has.

The talk is can the Saints win a 13-10 playoff game. If they play the NFC Title Game in N'Orleans then they might never score under 30.

And that includes a trip to Miami.

The talk with the Colts is how is that defense, that has lost Bob Sanders and seen Dwight Freeney limited, holding up. It's the next man up philosophy started by Tony Dungy and continued by Jim Caldwell that is the true backbone of the defense.

Obviously, the next man up in place of Peyton Manning (Jim Sorgi) would be a problem. Good thing that Peyton never gets hurt. He loses Anthony Gonzalez to injury and Pierre Garcon steps up. The Colts don't re-sign Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne moves over to the number one receiver slot. Donald Brown gets hurt and Mike Hart steps into the back-up running back spot, pushing Joseph Addai for carries.

Can these two teams meet in the Super Bowl with matching records? 18-0 would be real nice, better than 17-1 each.

The Vikings look like the best of the B teams. They did get beaten by the Cardinals, another B team, to finish each of their third quarters. Those two teams both have old gunslinging QB's and right now, I trust Kurt Warner to hold together more than Brett Favre. This is the point in the season last year when Favre ran out of gas and he just had his first bad game.

The Eagles and Cowboys are tied for the NFC East lead but does anyone take the Cowboys seriously? They have an average coach in Wade Phillips so they are not getting better at this point in the season. The Eagles are battling injuries but they are to the point in the season when they start to play their best ball. That is why Andy Reid just signed another contract extension.

The Chargers and Broncos have both been through rough spots and are playing well as they both head into the fourth quarter of the season. Philip Rivers is another elite level QB that needs to win a ring to be mentioned in the Brady/Manning class.

The Patriots and Bengals are both on top of their divisions. The Patriots expect to be there but the Bengals have been a real surprise. I said that they had no chance to make the Super Bowl or even the AFC Championship Game but they might prove me wrong about the AFC Championship Game.

I wonder if Bill Belichick is ruining the Patriots season by trying to show everyone he is still a genius. The NFL in this age is all about ball control. Punting and field goals are used to gain field position and put points on the board. Belichick is showing that he is thinking out of the box in going for these fourth downs but it has led to losses against Indy and Miami.

The Packers improved when their offensive line started playing better. Aaron Rodgers has proved to be worthy of following the icon that preceded him in Green Bay.

Jacksonville and the New York Giants are the B- teams. They have really not impressed but are above .500 so they are doing something right.

The C teams are still in playoff contention but due to their inconsistent play, led by the Steelers, they have all created uphill climbs.

The Jets started 3-0 and the Dolphins started 0-3 but they are both average teams so now they are both 6-6. Same with the Ravens and the Falcons.

There are a few C- teams with 5-7 records: Houston, San Francisco and the Vince Young led Tennessee Titans.

The other 5-7 teams, for no reason other than the way I am grading them, are D teams. The Bears have Jay Cutler but they need some better receivers. The Panthers have a real QB mess to since they gave Jake Delhomme a pay raise and found out he might be done with his career.

The Seahawks have battled through injuries to struggle. Speaking of QB's and struggling, JaMarcus Russell was finally benched and the Raiders have risen up to become 4-8 and a D team.

If you are worse than the Raiders then you are an F team and other than Washington blowing that game to the Saints, there is no need to mention you.