The Good, the Bad and the Sometimes Ugly

Maybe this will be a nice format for a rundown of the weekend. Each team gets a plus, a minus, and an occasional quirk. Arranged by division, or just press Ctrl + F to search for whatever I am calling your team this week.

AFC
North

Cincy:
The Good: The Bungles are inching closer to Chris Henry's return.
The Bad: The can't play defense, as shown by being the first team this year to allow LJ to be a factor.
The Ugly: Unless they get hot right now, the playoffs are an impossibility, as 9-7 won't cut it in the AFC.

Cleveland
The Good: Derek Anderson is delaying Brady Quinn's appearance long enough to let him learn the pro game, much as Jon Kitna did for Carson Palmer.
The Bad: The defense let Cleo Lemon score four TDs, two in the air and two on the

The Burgh
The Good: A bye lets their receiving corps heal. Plus, Big Ben stays healthy while not actually on the field.
The Bad: They might forget all the great defense they have been playing.

Baltimore
The Good: The defense is back to its old ways, holding opponents to 10 points total in the last two weeks.
The Bad: The offense is once again stagnant, Kyle Boller has yet to truly emerge or bomb out.

South

Indy
The Good: A bye weeks lets some of their injured starters heal.
The Bad: Their starters' return might actually bring down their level of play.
The Ugly: The Colts do not have an easy game until November 22 (@JAX, @CAR, NE, @SD, KC) when they play the Falcon on a short week.

Tennessee
The Good: Kerry Collins is an experienced veteran who can direct the offense and the defense is stingy.
The Bad: Vince Young is hurt, and the offense revolves around him.
The Pretty: The modern-day Titans have much better uniforms than the NY Titans did.

Jack-a-lax
The Good: The know how to run the football, and they do it well.
The Bad: They play Indy and then have a three-game road trip to TB, NO and TEN.

Houston
The Good: Kevin Walter is emerging as a legitimate second WR to complement Andre Johnson
The Bad: Andre Johnson is still injured.

East

Patriots
The Good: Football in New England has rarely been better.
The Bad: As October races into November, temperature will plummet, making it harder to catch the football. It might be the only thing that can stop this team.
The Ugly: Laurence Maroney is out and Sammy Morris is the ground attack, and it still looks fantastic.

Miami
The Good: Cleo Lemon scored four TDs in a loss.
The Bad: The loss was to the Cleveland Browns, and the Miami D allowed Derek Anderson to throw 3 TDs

Buffalo
The Good: Bye Week! Not a heartbreaking loss!
The Bad: Their only win is against the Jets.
The Ugly: They have the second fewest points scored, 65 (SF has 63).

J-E-T-S
The Good: Thomas Jones loves to run.
The Bad: Thomas Jones has to run, because the Jets are afraid of Pennington's throwing.

West

San Diego
The Good: Helloooo LDT! Good to have you back, unless you are playing me in fantasy (crud).
The Bad: The pass game is still struggling to support the run.

Oakland
The Good: Scoring a defensive TD is good for this team.
The Bad: You can't pick off LDT, and it's pretty hard to make him fumble, too.
The Ugly: The Black Hole is just waiting for Culpepper to fail miserably (which he has amazingly yet to do) so they can start chanting JaMarcus Russell's name.

KC
The Good: Damon had a nice game and LJ finally got it in gear. Jared Allen also went off.
The Bad: The defense can't count on the offense just yet and they can't control the game on their own.
Good Job: Tony Gonzales deserves the TE TD record. But don't think that people are not already calculating how long it is before Antonio Gates breaks it.

Denver Broncos
The Good: Javon Walker's Knee gets an extra week to heal.
The Bad: The pass offense stinks. Come to think of it, so does the run game. They need to pull it together if they want their wildcard.


NFC
North

Da Bears
The Good: Griese had two picks and a lost fumble, and still played better football than Rex Grossman
The Bad: The once-powerful defense lets in 34 points - to the Vikes
The Hester: By far the most valuable, dazzling and versatile player on the team. If only he played QB.

Vikes
The Good: Adrian Peterson is looking like the next great back.
The Bad: They need a QB. Jackson is not the answer until his football skills can mature.

Pack
The Good: Brett Favre carries this team, and sometimes they can carry him.
The Bad: Aaron Rodgers is stewing.

Detwa
The Good: Jon Kitna is putting up big numbers and Matt Millen's insistence on drafting WRs has finally paid off.
The Bad: The defense is still not good enough to challenge for a divisional title.
10-Win watch: They are on pace, assuming they win Week 17 at Green Bay.

South

Carolina Panthers
The Good: Julius Peppers shows up, DeAngelo Hall breaks off a big one and the defense plays well in support of a precise Vinny Testaverde.
The Bad: Kris Jenkins is sill jumping offsides. Drew Carter absolutely refuses to catch the ball.

Tampa Bay
The Good: The prove they can win an ugly slugfest.
The Bad: they need a running back something awful. Might we see a trade for Michael Turner?

Atlanta
The Good: Playing on MNF, the stands still look fairly full.
The Bad: The defense consistently underachieves, and Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich simply will not get you deep into the playoffs.

New Orleans
The Good: A win, finally. Reggie Bush is starting to become an every-down back, so the running game will not suffer from the loss of Deuce.
The Bad: They only have one win on the season, and Drew Brees is not connecting deep down the field as often as he did last season.

East

Philly
The Good: They get another win, staying viable in the duke-it-out division.
The Bad: Their run game needs work, again.

Skins
The Good: Jason Campbell continues to mature in the offense and Chris Cooley is a dependable utility player.
The Bad: Injuries continue to hurt this team and their offense is sputtering as a result.

Giants
The Good: When he stays healthy, Amani Toomer is a great complement to Plax (leads the NFL in TD receptions) and Shockey.
The Bad: They are still chasing the 5-1 Cowboys for the division crown.

Cowboys
The Good: Even against the might Pats, they can put up points.
The Bad: The pass defense can't keep up with true firepower. I want them to make Marion Barber III their primary back and only use Julius Jones as a change of pace.

West

San Fran
The Good: A week off to regroup from all the blows delivered by the Ravens' defense.
The Bad: Trent Dilfer cannot, will not get it done. They are kicking themselves for not grabbing Vinny Testaverde to tutor the young Alex Smith. Smith needs to get good or else he will be the next Kyle Boller.

St. Louis
The Good: Torry Holt is healthy. So is Will Witherspoon.
The Bad: The only winless team in the NFC. Gus Ferrote inspires neither fear nor awe.

Seattle
The Good: Hass is playing well. A weak division keeps then in hunt.
The Bad: Shaun Alexander looks like Tiki Barber. Neither is playing much football.

Arizona
The Good: They have a cast of recognizable names, including starter turned backup turned starter turned injured Kurt Warner, and standout safety Adrian Wilson.
The Bad: Tim Rattay is now the starting QB, he joined the team midweek.

Overview
LDT finally gives fantasy owners and San Diego faithful something to cheer about. The Patriots appear dominant once again, an absolutely abysmal division is not helping the rest of the league. Panthers maintain pace with Tampa Bay each with a 4-2 record to lead the NFC South.