$.01 -- It's time to start believing in the Tennessee Titans. Winners of five in a row after their abysmal 0-6 start, they bagged a huge pelt Sunday with their last-second touchdown to steal a comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals. This one was especially huge because this was the kind of game they couldn't win early in the year. The Titans controlled the action much of the day, racking up 550 yards of offense, but gave up a long kick return for a touchdown and had to start the final drive from their own 1-yard line. Arizona took away Chris Johnson on the final drive but to no avail. What we're witnessing here is the remarkable metamorphosis of Vince Young from a selfish, apathetic flop into a commanding, poised, confident leader. It took a lot longer than most Titans fans, or his coaches and teammates, ever expected, but Young is finally living up to his hype and draft status. I give Young a great deal of credit for learning some hard lessons and making a conscious decision to not throw in a towel that many (myself included) already assumed was at the bottom of the laundry basket. Give Jeff Fisher some credit too, because he refused to let his team give up on the season, and he did so not by getting all fire and brimstone, but rather lightening up the atmosphere and wiping the slate clean. There's a great lesson in management and leadership there too, one that transcends football. $.02 -- The Baltimore/Pittsburgh overtime battle was everything you expect from two bitter rivals fighting for the same playoff spot. As so often happens, an unheralded player winds up being the savior, and in this game it was Ravens rookie Paul Kruger. The Utah product, playing only because Terrell Suggs was out with an injury, intercepted Dennis Dixon and set up the game-winning field goal. It was a thrilling back-and-forth affair featuring great defensive hits, big plays at key junctures, crafty runs, blown calls, and sweet redemption for Billy Cundiff, who nailed the game winner after just missing a last-second kick in regulation. Both teams are now 6-5, with almost no chance of catching the Bengals for the AFC North (tangential note: I typed "Central" three times). With Denver a game up and the Titans rising fast, this sets up the repeat game in Week 16 as a winner-take-all for a Wild Card berth. A quick perusal of the schedules makes it seem pretty likely that both teams can win each of their next three games. Jacksonville, Houston, and Miami are all still in the hunt, but realistically the Ravens and Steelers are in for an epic stretch run. If Big Ben and Troy Polamalu aren't back quickly, bet on purple. $.03 -- For as much consternation as there was over the summer, it's all been well worth it for the Minnesota Vikings and Brett Favre. Aside from the gaudy record, one of the more pleasant developments has been Favre's influence on the growth of several young players. Sidney Rice has blossomed into a game-breaking talent at wide receiver. Visanthe Shiancoe is now known just as much for being a stud tight end as he is for being a stud in the locker room on Fox postgame interviews. Even the man he usurped at quarterback, Tarvaris Jackson, has made "light years of progress" from observing and absorbing Favre, according to a teammate I texted with this week. One of the things that struck me when I talked to some Vikings just before the season started, a couple of weeks after Favre joined the team, was how they raved about how different practice was with Favre. The intensity, the precision, the communication, the drive to make everything perfect stunned these guys, and it was the kick in the pants that the players needed. Even if the Vikings fall short this year, the overall talent has vastly improved in his wake, and that means the team shouldn't experience much fallback when he retires. If that day ever comes... $.04 -- For all the hype given to the New York Giants' offensive and defensive lines over the summer and the early part of the season, they are now clearly the reason why the G-Men are in the tank. The vaunted D-line is not getting much pass rush and is too easy to block. The extraordinarily overrated O-line can't sustain blocks and seems slow to identify and react to opposing blitzes and stunts. Some of it can be attributed to injuries, but there also appears to be little internal adjustment to addressing the issues. The lines used to be good enough to cover for a suspect secondary and a decidedly average quarterback, but not anymore. If the Giants are going to turn it around -- and they still can -- it will come from the guys up front, not the guys outside, which seem to be where most of the fan venom is directed. $.05 -- Highlight of the week goes to Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, for his worm-like two-point conversion that gave the Eagles the win over a pesky Redskins team. With Brain Westbrook already out and DeSean Jackson gone with a concussion, Philly needed a playmaker. The rookie McCoy stepped up, somehow not touching the ground despite never being more than about 18 inches above it for the entire three yards of his conversion catch and run. The Eagles desperately needed a win to stay one game back of the Cowboys and in control of their own playoff destiny, and with their defense struggling, McCoy's 101 total yards were the boost they needed. Now Philly can all but seal up a playoff berth by winning their next two games -- at Atlanta and at the Giants, both 6-5 and the only realistic competition for the second Wild Card berth in the NFC. It won't be easy, but with McCoy's rapid development and increasing confidence, it can be done. $.06 -- 5 NFL Quickies: 1. Atlanta squeaked by Tampa Bay on a last-minute, fourth-and-goal touchdown catch by Roddy White. What the highlights didn't show you is that White was very nearly the goat for dropping an easy throw right between the numbers on first down. A lot of teams would have gone away from someone in that spot, but the Falcons gave him a shot at redemption. Nice job, Coach Mike Smith! 2. For all the crap he took about being the problem in Dallas, and Philly, and San Francisco, Terrell Owens has been a consummate professional in a very bad situation in Buffalo. His great 51-yard touchdown catch iced the Dolphins, and Owens went out of his way to help quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick correctly read the coverage switches as the game progressed. 3. This is the second week in a row where the bottom feeders have put up respectable showings. St. Louis and Tampa Bay were both very close to wins, Cleveland frustrated Cincinnati all day, Buffalo pulled off the upset over Miami, and even the Lions showed some positives in their Thursday loss to Green Bay. There is a common denominator with all those teams: they haven't quit. That was not true last year of the very bad teams in Detroit, Cleveland, or St. Louis. 4. According to the Vikings radio feed, the Bears became just the second team in the last 20 years to fail to net even one first down via the run in Sunday's blowout loss to Minnesota (Detroit failed to do so against Arizona in the infamous loss of 2007). Da Bears fans are going to pillory Jay Cutler for his interceptions, but I thought Cutler played his best game since the win over Pittsburgh. They are the easiest team in the league to prepare for, something that has not changed for quite awhile. In most organizations that would lead to change, but the McCaskey's have never been willing to eat the kind of dough they still owe Lovie Smith. 5. For as much as Aaron Rodgers gets slammed for holding onto the ball too long, I wonder why Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan get passes for the same cardinal sin. There's a real fine line between standing tall and extending the play and holding the ball too long, and that line is apparently quite subjective. $.07 -- 5 College Quickies: 1. On a weekend rife with upsets, none was more stunning than Oklahoma's shellacking of Oklahoma State. The worst Oklahoma team of this century took arguably the best Cowboys team since Coach Gundy was the starting quarterback behind the woodshed, costing OSU millions in bowl allotment. Big brother still has some pride. 2. Two of the teams that have reached out to Charlie Weis to run their offenses next season: Cleveland and St. Louis. I confirmed that with two different sources on opposite sides of the Weis coin. What is interesting with those two is that they will have top-five draft picks and need a new quarterback. Could Weis and Jimmy Claussen be a package deal? 3. My beloved alma mater, Ohio University, pasted Temple to win the MAC East and advance to the MAC title game this Friday. If you find yourself in Detroit Friday night, come to Ford Field wearing green and white and say hi. 4. Mount Union won their second-round playoff game in D-III by a score of 62-14. The Purple Raiders have lost just four times in the last seven seasons and have won 190 of their last 204, often with squads that could win playoff games in D-II. It's the best dynasty you've probably never heard of, and Larry Kehres & Co. deserve more recognition for what they've done in Alliance. 5. If I'm Jim Harbaugh I don't even consider leaving Stanford for any school this offseason. There is a lot of young talent on that team, and USC is showing signs of declining just a little. With Andrew Luck back at quarterback and an even higher recruiting profile, Harbaugh could very realistically win BCS bowl games in the next couple of seasons. That is not true of Notre Dame or any other potential opening. $.08 -- Non-football Thought Of The Week: I've become an Amazing Race junkie over the last few seasons; it's the only reality TV, and pretty much the only non-sports programming on network TV, that I watch. The Harlem Globetrotters were eliminated this week, but Flight Time and Big Easy made a big impression on me. Time after time, season after season, teams facing adversity turn on one another and scuttle their chances of winning by wasting time dwelling on what's going wrong. Not these two. Their relentless optimism and pervasive positivity towards one another -- even when it clearly wasn't merited -- was refreshing and invigorating. I've never been a big Globetrotters fan; I saw them at Madison Square Garden when I was five or six and was not impressed. But the way these two represented themselves and reminded me that it's better to offer a hand, and not a foot, when someone screws up makes me want to go see them again. It also makes me much more aware of how to guide my son as he learns to play sports. Thanks to Big Easy and Flight Time for making me a better parent. $.09 -- Colt McCoy ran away with my mythical Heisman vote on his long touchdown scamper that helped propel Texas over a stubborn Texas A&M unit, keeping the Longhorns in line for a perfect season and a chance to play the Alabama/Florida winner in the BCS title game. And for those draftniks who question McCoy's skill set and how it translates to the NFL, he's a better passer than Vince Young or Alex Smith ever was in the same offense, and he's obviously not lacking for speed or vision. Regardless of the ups and (mostly) downs of their pro careers, you cannot tell me that a team in need of a quarterback (say, Washington or Seattle or Buffalo) lets a guy with that much obvious talent and winning history fall out of the top 10. He might not rate that highly (he's #14 on my current top 103, to be released shortly), but that often matters not when quarterbacks are concerned. $.10 -- Scouting Report: Barry Church, S, Toledo. 6'1.5", 220 pounds, 4.55ish 40. Positives: Hybrid safety/linebacker (Toledo often plays a 4-2-5) who hits like a linebacker. Great natural instincts against the run, quickly diagnoses the path and takes strong pursuit angles. Has some pop in his hits, but is a sound fundamental tackler as well. Exceptional football IQ. Has a great nose for the ball and really goes after it, creates lots of fumbles. Good closing burst, keeps his head up. Rarely fooled by play action or misdirection. Gets off blocks well. Outstanding special teams player, holds the school record for blocked kicks. Started from Day One of his freshman year and has been a positive vocal leader. Will be a four-time All-MAC player. Has decent hands and good timing when making plays on the ball in coverage. Extremely respected by opponents for his great play but also his demeanor and attitude. Negatives: Is still much more an undersized linebacker than a real safety at this point. Needs to improve his backpedal and footwork in coverage. Stiff hips. Clearly not comfortable playing deep center field. Not as fast as most safeties. Not real fluid when changing direction, though he's not unathletic in that regard. Has been asked to do everything with a middling supporting cast, and it might take some adjustment to fit him into a smaller square peg. Not a great leaper, has given up completions to taller receivers because he couldn?t get high enough. NFL Comparison: Adam Archuleta (the Ram), Abram Elam, Haruki Makamura Forecast: Low-risk, low-ceiling/high-floor fourth/fifth rounder who will contribute heavily on special teams and be a valuable third safety. Could have some potential as a nickel linebacker. --Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com