$.01--Twelve games in and we still have two undefeated teams. And for the first time in at least a month, the Colts have a legit argument that they are the best team and not the Saints. Indy successfully blunted all of the Titans? momentum, getting out quickly and never really being threatened on their way to 12-0. Meanwhile, the Saints needed some fluky luck and a crazy overtime to beat the lowly but game Redskins. If not for Robert Meacham?s spectacular strip TD after an interception and late-game TD reception, the perfect season would be lost. This begs the question--can either of these teams go 16-0? We?re to the point now where the opponents almost don?t matter, as the Redskins proved on Sunday. It?s all about the Colts and Saints and if they can handle the adversity, the bulls-eyes on their backs, the pressure to stay perfect. Even though they had very different Sundays, I think both teams got exactly what they needed in Week 13. Indy needed to come out and flash the real greatness against a very good opponent, proving they can turn it up if needed, while the Saints needed a close shave to keep them focused, and to let them realize just how precarious any game can be. So will either team go unbeaten heading into the playoffs? I say yes. I think the Saints will pull it off, in part because they must keep winning to hold off the Vikings for the #1 seed in the NFC, even with Arizona beating them Sunday night. The Colts can wrap up the #1 seed in the AFC next week (if Cincy and SD lose, and both will be underdogs), and Coach Caldwell has already said he?ll follow former coach Tony Dungy?s philosophy of resting down the stretch instead of going full bore into the playoffs. I find that to be a colossal mistake, but sometimes people just have to learn that for themselves. $.02--The Pittsburgh Steelers are most certainly not playing like defending Super Bowl champs, and this week?s loss to the Raiders almost ensures there will be no repeat. In dropping their fourth in a row, Pittsburgh once again blew a late lead to a team with no business hanging around so closely. A lot of fingers, some of them of the middle variety, will be pointed in Pittsburgh, but it?s pretty easy to diagnose what ails the Steelers. They are simply not a playoff-caliber defense without Troy Polamalu, and their offense is too heavily reliant on big plays and not able to reliably grind out long drives. They?ll bounce back Thursday against the hopeless Browns, but will almost certainly have to sweep their final three games to have any shot at the playoffs. The final two games are against Baltimore and Miami, two of the teams they are fighting with to catch Denver and Jacksonville (yes, you read that right) for the Wild Card spots. I would point out that since long-time national broadcaster and die-hard Steelers fan Papa Joe Chevalier?s radio show in Las Vegas was pulled off the air, Pittsburgh has yet to win. I was a regular guest on the show and it was always great fun, with Papa Joe a consummate pro and a genial talent. He deserves a radio presence, if only to snap his beloved Steelers out of their funk. $.03--That giant sigh you heard about 7:40 PM Eastern on Sunday was Cowboys fans seeing d?j? vu all over again. If it?s December, it?s time to talk about the Cowboys collapsing, and true to the calendar, Dallas is well on their way to another monumental choke job. The Giants have never been more beatable in the Coughlin era, with a shaky OL and a shakier secondary, but both had strong games against a Dallas team that was rolling heading into the game. The sense of inevitable failure was tangible in the body language of Tony Romo and some others late in the game, not a good sign for Cowboys fans. The remaining schedule is also not a good sign--San Diego, at New Orleans, at rival Washington, and the finale against the Eagles. Honestly, I thought this team just might have the gumption to break the dubious string of seven consecutive Decembers with a losing record, but this loss wipes that hope away. This is a team that clearly doesn?t believe in itself and just doesn?t mesh well enough in too many places. Here?s a stat that Jerry Jones will not tolerate: since Dallas last won a playoff game, every team in the NFC except the Detroit Lions has won at least two playoff games, and all but those two and the Redskins have won at least two in the same season. $.04--I have no rooting interest in either team, but I must say I found myself very happy for how well Ken Whisenhunt?s Cardinals played in the Sunday nighter against the Vikings. For years (decades?) the book on the Cardinals has been that they fold their pocket queens as soon as an ace gets flopped. Minnesota came in playing with pocket aces in their hand every week, but Arizona didn?t flinch a bit. Kurt Warner looked comfortable, Larry Fitzgerald looked unstoppable, the defense looked confident and physical, and the whole team appeared to very much believe they belong in the NFC elite. That represents a major cultural change in Arizona, and it gives hope to those of us long-suffering Lions fans that it can be done. Trust me, nobody wants to play Arizona in the playoffs. $.05--5 quickies: 1. I was genuinely happy for Michael Vick having a strong game in his return to Atlanta. The man made some tragic mistakes but paid his price with humility and maturity. He deserved a nice taste of personal redemptive success, and he got it. Too often people confuse a good person making a bad decision with a bad person. 2. Gary Kubiak of the Texans officially took over the role of ?hottest seat? on the coaching carousel with their flat loss to the Jaguars that all but ends their playoff aspirations. 3. Class move by LaDanian Tomlinson to salute Jim Brown in the Browns/Chargers game. Classy response from Mr. Brown too, which is something you never know if you?ll get from him. 4. I know Jim Schwartz wants his Lions to win and I know Matt Stafford wants (and needs) the experience, but Detroit is better off sitting him down for a week or two and letting him heal. With Gosder Cherilus at RT apparently the latest 1st round flop, there is no sense in risking further injury to the future of the franchise. 5. A wise little birdie tells me that toasts were exchanged when the barely half-full stadium in Jacksonville was shown on certain television screens in Los Angeles. Stay tuned... $.06--The slumping Patriots are tough to get a read on right now. In their losses to New Orleans and Miami, it seems that those opponents figured out what the Patriots plan of attack was going to be and devised countermeasures that worked. The New England pass rush has not been good, which exposes a secondary that is young and doesn?t yet have much cohesiveness or quickness in coverage. Running back is another problem area. Teams know that Laurence Maroney is going to sprint as fast as he can to the B-gap, almost always on the right side. Teams know that Kevin Faulk is going to chip and release, and if he goes in motion he runs curls and quick outs. Sammy Morris has decent vision but little wiggle. Fred Taylor is out of rhythm, perhaps permanently. With the offensive line not great, teams aren?t respecting the run as much as needed, and that means the safety help closes down Wes Welker and Randy Moss. Tom Brady hasn?t been sharp, forcing balls like he hasn?t since he couldn?t beat out Brian Griese at Michigan all those years ago. Will they snap out of it? Hard to bet against them, but the deficiencies are legitimate and there?s only so many fingers to fit in the leaky dyke. Expect them to win three of their last four and make the playoffs, but the ongoing road woes won?t go away once postseason starts. Much like USC in the college ranks, even the mighty Patriots need a retooling year every so often. It just so happens that, like the Trojans, their ?off? year is still good enough to make most teams green with envy. $.07--5 college quickies: 1. The Pittsburgh/Cincinnati game was one of the best college football games I?ve ever seen. It also underscores the importance of having veteran leadership and great special teams. When they?re provided by the same guy, as Mardy Gilyard did for the Bearcats, it makes for a great story. Without Gilyard, the Panthers win by at least two touchdowns. Of course if Pittsburgh could have snapped the ball properly on the extra point (must be something in one of the three rivers!), the Panthers still might have pulled it out. 2. Hypothetical debate in my head late Saturday night: Had Nebraska held on to beat Texas, which big loser on Saturday would have fallen further, Texas or Florida? Alabama?s complete undressing of the Gators confirmed my suspicion that Florida?s cakewalk schedule--which needed help from refs that got suspended for incompetence in handing them not one but two victories--made them a faux power. Texas is the better team, even if they would have lost to the Cornhuskers. 3. The fantastic finish to the Fresno State/Illinois game deserves the ?highlight of the week?, normally reserved for the NFL. 350+ pound lineman Devan Cunningham?s stab of a desperation chuck, deflected back from the end zone and into his meaty hands, is every lineman?s dream. It also helped Fresno?s bowl outlook and further proved Ron Zook is one of the least-effective coaches in the country. 4. Ndamukong Suh?s absolutely stunning dominance against Texas should cement his standing as the best player in the country and atop every draft board. He deserves a trip to NYC for the Heisman finalists, with Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow, Mark Ingram, and Toby Gerhart. 5. Kudos to Notre Dame for voting to not go bowling after a season that was such an embarrassment that Charlie Weis was fired. Special tip of the hat to Weis, not noted as the most humble or gracious guy, for handling the firing with class. Now about all those ?reporters? spreading falsehoods about the next coach... $.08: Non-football thought of the week--A couple of NBA stories caught my attention this past week. The New Jersey Nets set a record for futility by starting the season with 18 consecutive losses, then finally broke through for a win. I can only imagine the humbling experience of being on such a non-competitive team; it must just break the spirit and erode the confidence. One guy who has a lot of experience with teams like that also made the news last week. Zydrunas Ilgauskas became the Cavaliers all-time leader in games played. I make no secret of my lifelong love of the Cavs, and Big Z is my favorite Cavalier of all time. It would have been very easy for him to throw in the towel after so many painful surgeries to his feet and all those seasons missed, but Z stayed strong and never gave up. He was there in the pre-Lebron doldrums, where one of those teams lost 18 in a row and 32 of 35. Z never let it affect his play, never demanded a trade, never sat out a game to rest his weary feet. He?s the perfect athletic representation of my home city, a hard-working, fundamentally sound, quietly but fiercely proud, woefully underappreciated player who deserves better than so many ?winners? that have no clue. Remember that when you?re hearing all the noise about LeBron leaving his two-bit hometown. $.09--The Denver Broncos made a statement against the Chiefs, one that likely has lasting repercussions for both teams. Denver reestablished their run game, getting almost six yards per carry on 45 attempts; just six of those 45 went for less than three yards, one of those a 2-yard TD by Knowshon Moreno, who looked fresh and hungry. The Broncos defense was flying all over the field, treating the KC O-line like my daughter treats her diaper and blanketing the Chiefs receivers all day. In short, Denver looked very much like a legit playoff team, even given the weak competition. Ah yes, that competition. Kansas City got blown out for the second week in a row, but this one is particularly troubling. Matt Cassel looked shell-shocked from his opening two passes, both of which were dropped and both of which resulted in Cassel looking for his mouthpiece. The Chiefs made a major investment in Cassel, yet for the second time this year he rightfully got yanked, then watched Brodie Croyle step in and run the same plays much better. Their last two first round draft picks, Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey on the D-line, were routinely blown backwards off the line--many times in one-on-one blocking in Jackson?s case. Dorsey did recover two fumbles and provided sporadic pass rush, but Jackson looks overwhelmed and not all that concerned about it, a lethal package that scuttled the similar Courtney Brown. There is less building-block talent on this roster than any other, and the two centerpieces of the rebuild, Cassel and Jackson, both consistently fail to impress. $.10: Scouting Report--Jon Asamoah, G, Illinois. 6?4.5?, 305, 40 time est. 4.95. Positives: Very strong natural base strength. Powerful drive blocker with great upper body strength and strong hands. Long arms and he extends them quickly and sturdily. Has the nastiness most teams want from their guards. Great feet for a taller blocker, quick enough to make short steps to adjust and reset capably. Fires off the snap and dictates the action in the run game. Gets out to the second level and locates targets well, engages in space with power and balance. Faster than most guards. Plays to the whistle on every snap. Has the athleticism to play either side and could potentially slide outside to tackle. Smart student, had the highest GPA of any Illini player two years in a row. Well-liked leader with good maturity. Negatives: Not a natural knee bender, though he generally gets low. Had trouble run blocking shorter, stouter defensive tackles, gets caught with his pads too high. Not as aware of blitzes and stunts as he could be. Better in space than in tight quarters in pass protect, which could be to his advantage if moved to tackle. Forecast: Scouts I?ve talked to increasingly see Asamoah as an NFL left tackle with his quickness and long arms. He?s shorter than ideal for a tackle, but he stylistically fits with a power-based/play-action offense on the blind side. Late 1st-early 2nd if he insists on sticking at guard, where he could start right away for many teams, but could sneak into the top 20 if he shows he is willing and able to slide outside. Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com