The 15-Play Drive

15 thoughts on week-9 in the NFL...

1. If Tom Brady never sees the Giants again it won't be soon enough. Brady was as outwardly frustrated as I can remember seeing him during Sunday's 24-20 loss. He was pressured, beat up, and looked confused at times. The blueprint is out on how to beat the Pats, who are as vulnerable as they've ever been with a healthy Brady under center.

2. Let me end the argument right now...Eli Manning, who I've always considered a top-10 QB, is playing like an elite quarterback this season. Case closed.

3. Maybe he was thrown off by setting the clocks back, but Steelers safety Ryan Clark was about an hour late, and took a terrible angle on that game winning TD pass from Joe Flacco to Torrey Smith Sunday night.

4. In their first 3-home games this season, the Bills scored 38, 34 and 31. Sunday, the Jets held Buffalo to just 11-points. Jets all pro cornerback Darrelle Revis told me and Steve Torre on The Sunday Drive: "We just tried to disguise some things to get Ryan Fitzpatrick confused, and you could see that." I should say so...Fitzpatrick was just 15 of 31-passing for 191-yards with a garbage time touchdown and 2-interceptions.

5. Somebody tell Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers to take off the Ryan Leaf mask, because Halloween is over. Rivers has now thrown more interceptions this season than he did all of last year. He was picked off 3-times by the Packers, who returned 2 of them for touchdowns. I'm not sure if he's injured or just trying to do too much, but 14-INT's through 8-games is pitiful.

6. It took until his third start, but the Broncos finally figured out how put together a game plan for Tim Tebow. They used a heavy dose of read option against the Raiders, and Tebow was far more effective than he had been up until Sunday. He threw for 124-yards with 2-TD's, and ran for 118-yards in Denver's 38-24 win at Oakland.

7. Where's your brain Aaron Curry? The Raiders linebacker shoved a scrambling Tim Tebow when he was already out of bounds Sunday to pick up an unnecessary roughness penalty early in the 4th quarter. What made the boneheaded play even worse...it was on 3rd and 20!

8. And then there was one...The Dolphins victory over the Chiefs Sunday left the Colts as the only winless team in football. Unlike Miami though, Indianapolis seems to be getting further away from claiming its first win of the season. The Colts have lost their last 3-games by an average of 32-points. I know they're not intentionally trying to "suck for Luck", but Indy hasn't shown a pulse since week-6.

9. I realize it's only early November, but the NFC West race is over. Not only are the 7-1 49ers going to win the division, there's a good chance they'll end up with a first round bye in the playoffs. So what's led to their stunning turnaround under first year head coach Jim Harbaugh?

Defense: San Francisco is allowing a league low 14.8-points per game and NFL best 70.8-yards rushing.

Frank Gore: He's the first running back in Niners history to rush for as least 100-yards in 5-consecutive games.

Alex Smith: Considered an absolute bust coming into the season, Smith has avoided mistakes with 10-touchdowns and just 2-interceptions while completing 64.1% of his passes.

10. He hasn't gotten the attention of fellow rookies Cam Newton or Andy Dalton, but Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson is having a major impact in his first NFL season. Peterson's 99-yard punt return for a touchdown to beat the Rams in overtime made him the first player in league history have 3-punt returns for touchdowns in his first 8-games.

11. Every time Bears running back Matt Forte touches the ball, the price goes up. Forte is averaging nearly 5.5-yards per carry, and over 10-yards per reception. He's now rushed for more than 100-yards in 4 of 5-games, including Monday night's 133-yard performance against the Eagles. Yet with a base salary of $555,000, Forte makes less than the likes of fellow running backs Donald Brown, Danny Ware, and Derrick Ward. If Chicago doesn't pay him, I can think of a number of other teams that will. Think he might look good in a Patriots or Lions uniform?

12. A little precision goes a long way Michael Vick. With the Eagles trailing the Bears 30-24 and under 2-minutes to go in the 4th quarter Monday night, Vick's 4th and 10 pass to a wide open Jeremy Maclin was too high. Maclin made a terrific leaping catch, but fell to the ground afterwards causing him come up 1-yard short of a first down. Game over.

13. The Todd Collins award of the week goes to Colts QB Curtis Painter. In Sunday's 31-7 loss to the Falcons, Painter completed just 13 of 27-passes for 98-yards with 0-TD's and 1-INT before being replaced by Dan Orlovsky.

14. Is Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan still willing to stake his reputation on John Beck and Rex Grossman? Through 8-games, the two have combined for 8-touchdowns, 13-interceptions and a completion percentage of 57.9. This is a quarterbacks league, and it's obvious to everyone except for Shanahan that the Redskins don't have one.

15. Any team that doesn't take the Bengals seriously at this point does so at its own peril. To me, Cincinnatti is San Francisco North. Like the Niners, the Bengals defense has been the key to their turnaround. Cincy is ranked 2nd in total-D, 2nd in rush defense, and they're allowing just 17.5-points per game. However, unlike the 49ers, the Bengals play in a quality division, and they'll be severely tested the next 2-weeks when they host the Steelers and visit the Ravens.