Around the NFL

A good place to start this week would be with the Atlanta Falcons, so let's do that.

As I said in my column today, Sunday's 20-16 win over the San Francisco 49ers was a trash win. I'm not saying any win is bad, because it's not. All I'm saying is that it would be nice for the Falcons to win against a good team and actually have mostly everything go right. There were concerns Sunday, namely Joey Harrington's ineffectiveness and an inability to completely put the game away. Some say that it's a product of Bobby Petrino's play calling, and I would have to agree. It has been questionable at times, and I think it's because he doesn't fully realize that he can't run his style of offense well with the current personnel. And, again, let's go back to Harrington.

I was sitting up in the press box Sunday with sports editor Daniel Shirley and Harrington delivered a pass in the red zone that missed his receiver and skipped into the hands of a defensive back. Daniel said to me, "Boy, it's a good thing he doesn't have any arm strength. That would have been an interception." And it was true. If Harrington could put anything on a pass, Petrino's offense would be a lot more effective. The spread offense relies heavily on a quarterback who can gun it downfield and keep the defense guessing and on its toes. That's why the Falcons saw so much success when Byron Leftwich was in during the loss to New Orleans. Now, there are plenty of Harrington haters and Harrington supporters, and the numbers are about the same for Leftwich. Neither one could run for office, let's just put it that way. But Leftwich's arm strength is undeniably better than Harrington's, and that allows the offense to be much more effective in Bobby Petrino's playbook.

Go ahead and make the point that no one can do anything with this offense with the state of the offensive line. It's a valid point. But we're talking purely about quarterbacks here, and Harrington was well protected against the 49ers. Petrino's offense is obviously capable of putting up big points. We saw that at Louisville. But at Louisville, Petrino had the types of quarterbacks who could spread the field on arm strength alone. Harrington doesn't have that, which drastically lengthens the field for the offense and shortens it for opposing defenses.

In other news, the Falcons travel to Carolina for another NFC South matchup with the Panthers. This is a different Panthers team than we saw just a few weeks ago at the Georgia Dome, most notably at the quarterback position. David Carr got sacked seven times against a very good defensive front in the Tennessee Titans. If the Falcons can put that kind of pressure on him, much like they did with Alex Smith, they can easily win this game. And that would make the Falcons and the division race so much more interesting.

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The obvious place to move on to is what was billed as the Super Bowl before the Super Bowl. Of course, the matchup between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts was epic. We all knew it was going to be. But I'm really impressed with the way the Colts' defense hung in there all game against the NFL's top offense. If you remember back a few years, the Colts' defense was a huge concern while the offense would just roll over opponents. That ended up hurting them in the playoffs. But the Colts' front office has done a great job of solidifying that defense and making the unit one to seriously contend with.

But the Colts did blow a sizable lead with just minutes to go in the fourth quarter, which only really shows just how good and dangerous the Patriots can be. As far as 16-0 goes, I'm not buying it. The Pats still have a tough couple games left in the schedule. If any teams have a change of knocking the Pats off, I think the Buffalo Bills have a darn good shot at it two weeks from now and I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are more than capable of keeping up with Tom Brady and the gang. Let's not anoint the Pats as the second coming of the '72 Dolphins just yet. There's still a lot of football left to be played.

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Adrian Peterson is unbelievable. I received a lot of guff when I drafted him early in one of my fantasy leagues, but no one's laughing at me now. Seriously, can you imagine the Minnesota Vikings with a quarterback and some decent receivers? That team would be unstoppable. For Peterson to rush for 296 in a game, and against a not-too-shabby San Diego Chargers defense, is definitely a sign of things to come from the rookie. I was on board with him before the season, and now I'm definitely riding the bandwagon until the wheels fall off. Best running back in the league right now? You betcha.

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Are there two more dangerous teams in the NFL right now than the Buffalo Bills and the New Orleans Saints? The Bills got off to an 0-3 start, a span during which the team had to place around nine players on season-ending injured reserve. And a good number of those players were starters. The Bills almost show up the Cowboys on Monday Night Football, then whip off three straight on their way to being 4-4 right now and behind the Patriots in a very, very weak AFC East. The Bills are coming along offensively, and if not for Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch would have a darn good shot at being rookie of the year. The Bills can beat the Patriots? Sure, if the Patriots overlook the Bills. And now that game has been moved to primetime on Sunday Nov. 18, and the Bills always play well in primetime.

The Saints are just amazing. I received a lot of e-mails earlier this season about the Saints and why people keep hanging on to them as a good team in the NFL. Well, this is why. The Saints are on a four-game winning streak against some very, very good teams, and Reggie Bush is finally starting to pick up the pace behind the line. And let's not forget to mention Drew Brees' 400-plus-yard performance against a tough Jacksonville defense on Sunday. The Saints are coming around and a playoff berth is not out of the question just yet.

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My hot list:
New England
Indy
Dallas
Green Bay
Pittsburgh
Cleveland
Buffalo
New Orleans
Detroit

My not list:
San Diego
Baltimore
Houston
Miami
St. Louis
San Francisco
Atlanta
Oakland
Cincinnati
Philadelphia
Arizona
Chicago