Oshiomogho (to prevent a hernia, just call him “O.J.”) Atogwe is on quite the tear.

The St. Louis Rams safety, originally from Windsor, Ontario, is tied for the league lead with four interceptions, and has 11 picks in his last 14 games.

Atogwe has recorded at least one interception in all but one game since week 3. The only pick-less game? Week 6, when Atogwe forced and recovered a fumble, taking it 75 yards for a touchdown to help St. Louis upset the Washington Redskins.

That was enough to take home the NFC’s defensive player of the week award, the first notable achievement for the 66^th player taken in the 2005 draft.

(Atogwe was the fourth safety taken that year, behind Brodney Pool, Josh Bullocks and Nick Collins. The Browns, Saints, Packers and Rams have to feel good; those four players already have a combined 34 interceptions since coming into the league.)

But since the start of last season, no ball-hawking safety has produced results like Atogwe, which makes you wonder how he was snubbed from a trip to Hawaii in 2007. Sean Taylor made the NFC Pro Bowl team posthumously, but Roy Williams played in his stead. Ken Hamlin started at free safety.

On paper, Atogwe should have been a lock. Williams had only two picks, five passes defended, 73 tackles and a plethora of botched plays. Hamlin had five picks, 15 passes defended and only 62 tackles. Atogwe had eight picks, 12 passes defended and 75 tackles.

But as Atogwe continues to put fear in opposing quarterbacks, the bigger question is this: Is the man who’s bringing credibility back to the name “O.J.” the best Canadian NFL player of all time?

Unlike some “Canadians” who have come through the NFL over the years, Atogwe was born and raised north of the border. After graduating from W.F. Herman Secondary School in Windsor, he moved on to Stanford (yeah, that Stanford), where he recorded nine interceptions.

At 27, and with 16 career interceptions already under his belt, there’s a lot of time for Atogwe to continue to build his status as one of the greatest Canadians to play NFL football.

Here’s a look at a few other notable Canadians currently playing in the league:

Brett Romberg, Rams -- Atogwe and Romberg share a team and a hometown (both hail from Windsor). Although he starts for St. Louis, the climax of Romberg’s career came in college, when the Miami Hurricane was known as one of the nation’s top centres.

Nick Kaczur, Patriots -- The Brantford, Ontario native is the most important cog on one of the league’s best offensive lines.

Dan Federkeil, Colts -- The 24-year-old is a rare CIS product playing a big role in the NFL. He’s a starting guard in Indy only three years after graduating from the University of Calgary.

Rob Meier, Jaguars -- The Jags felt highly enough of the defensive tackle from Vancouver that they traded Marcus Stroud in the offseason, making Meier a starter.

Nate Burleson, Seahawks -- Still the biggest name on the list, Burleson was born in Calgary but grew up in the U.S. Regardless, the wide receiver has gone on record saying he still wants to be referred to be as a Canadian.

Jason David, Saints -- Canadians might rather the rest of the world not know that David, who was likely the worst starting corner in the league last year, was born in Edmonton.

Looking at that list, there’s little doubt Atogwe has become the best active Canadian in the NFL. But what about the best ever? The competition isn’t exactly fierce:

Rueben Mayes -- The Saskatchewanian was the 1986 offensive rookie of the year and went to two Pro Bowls before injuries shortened his career. Still, Mayes ran for 1,353 yards (fourth-best in the league) in ’86 and followed that up with an All-Pro 1987 season, despite averaging only 3.8 yards per carry.

Mark Rypien -- The Super Bowl XXVI MVP had 115 career touchdown passes in 78 starts. He also tossed 88 interceptions and had a mediocre passer rating of 78.9.

Mike Vanderjagt -- It’s hard to rank a kicker atop the all-time list, even if he was/is the most accurate in NFL history.

Tony Mandarich -- Sure, he’s known as a bust. But the second-overall pick in the 1989 draft still graced the cover of Sports Illustrated behind the moniker “The Incredible Bulk,” before eventually fading off into oblivion. We promise we’re not just throwing his name out there because he’s a former employee of The Score.

Divide 17 by 2 and you get 8.5. If there’s a midway point of the NFL season, it’s right in between the eighth and ninth week. Coincidentally, that’s where we’re at today, which makes it all the more fitting that we bring you our midseason awards.

MVP: Albert Haynesworth, Titans

How smart do the Titans look for not giving Haynesworth a long-term contract in the offseason? They know the big guy plays best with fire in his belly, and now a guy who makes his money stuffing the run is seventh in the league with six sacks.

Offensive Player of the Year: Drew Brees, Saints

Despite New Orleans’ struggles, it’s hard to ignore the fact that, midway through the season, Brees is on pace to break Dan Marino’s all-time single-season passing yards record.

Defensive Player of the Year: Haynesworth

Joey Porter’s putting up a fight, with 10.5 sacks already, but unless Porter breaks Michael Strahan’s record, Haynesworth’s the guy.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Chris Johnson, Titans

One year ago, Johnson was leading the East Carolina Pirates in rushing. Now, he’s a backup running back on the Titans. That’s what makes it all the more amazing that he leads the AFC in rushing.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: (tie) Jerod Mayo, Patriots; Brandon Flowers, Chiefs

It’s been hard to find a real impact defensive rookie this year. Chris Long has four sacks, Chris Horton has three picks. But Mayo is playing a featured role in New England’s defence, leading the team and all rookies with 48 tackles. Flowers had two big picks against the Jets this past week and has been a prime contributor to the Chiefs’ defence.

Coach of the Year: Jim Zorn, Redskins

Zorn’s team has been the most efficient group in the NFL so far. The ‘Skins are yet to throw an interception and are sticking with the Giants in the NFC East despite injuries to Shawn Springs, Carlos Rogers, LaRon Landry and Jason Taylor.

Comeback Player of the Year: Jake Delhomme, Panthers

After playing in only three games last year before undergoing Tommy John surgery, Delhomme’s back to his old self in 2008.

Play of the Year: Booker/Wayne/Holt/Parrish/Clayton

We couldn’t pick just one, so we’ll call it a five-way tie between Marty Booker’s one-handed piece of art in week 5, Reggie Wayne’s Velcro grab in that same week, Torry Holt playing the bounces in week 1, Roscoe Parrish’s can’t-touch-me return in week 1 and that picturesque Joe Flacco-Derrick Mason-Mark Clayton double reverse, also in week 1.

We move from the best of the first half … to the best of the first half. Here are the 10 best teams in the NFL right now.

1. Tennessee Titans
Last week: 2

Finally ripping the monkey that was Peyton Manning off their back was enough to move the Titans into the top spot.

2. New York Giants
Last week: 1

The Giants only helped Tennessee’s cause with a sloppy performance in Pittsburgh. A win’s a win, unless we’re talking about power rankings.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers
Last week: 3

Would you believe that the Steelers, not the Titans or the Ravens, have the league’s highest ranked defence? We’ve said time and time again that Pittsburgh is the most balanced team in the league, and, for once, we’ve been right.

4. Washington Redskins
Last week: 4

In addition to the efficiency on offence we discuss above, Clinton Portis has become a full-fledged stud this season. That’s five straight games with over 120 yards.

5. Carolina Panthers
Last week: 9

We keep saying they aren’t for real, but it’s time we face facts: Carolina is a force to be reckoned with. It isn’t easy to find a weak spot on this team.

6. New England Patriots
Last week: 10

Unbelievably, not having Tom Brady has probably only cost the Pats one game thus far, two max -- proof that the system, the coach and the other 52 guys played somewhat of a role in helping the Pats go 18-1 last year.

7. Buffalo Bills
Last week: 6

A loss to the Jets at home would put the Bills into all-out emergency mode, especially in a division with four strong teams.

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Last week: 5

Tough loss in Dallas. The defence battled, but the running game can’t disappear like that. Jeff Garcia was on an island Sunday with a population of one.

9. Philadelphia Eagles
Last week: Unranked

They got a lucky break with that controversial call late in the Falcons game, but the Eagles are back on track with Brian Westbrook healthy. The NFC East race is going to be fun as the season wears on.

10. Baltimore Ravens
Last week: Unranked

You have to like how they’ve responded after losing three straight to Pittsburgh, Tennessee and Indy.

Two and a half years after they let him leave for New Orleans, the San Diego Chargers got an up-close look at Drew Brees Sunday. With Brees dominating the league (and the Chargers), you’d have to think the team’s thinking twice about their decision.

Three years ago, after the 2005 season, things were finally starting to come together for the San Diego Chargers. LaDainian Tomlinson was the best offensive player in football, Shawne Merriman was the defensive rookie of the year, and Drew Brees was a young and exciting quarterback who could lob balls towards Antonio Gates – the best tight end in the game.

Problem was, the Chargers had used a first-round draft pick on a new, highly-touted quarterback two years prior, and they weren’t about to let Philip Rivers waste away on the sidelines.

The rest is history. To summarize: Brees wasn’t re-signed in the offseason, partly because Rivers was waiting in the wings and partly due to what was considered to be a serious should injury, suffered in the final week of the regular season.

Brees went to New Orleans, where he’s become one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the game. Rivers helped the Chargers to a 14-win season in 2006, making his only Pro Bowl in the process.

The two met Sunday, at a neutral site (London, England), and here’s what went down:

Brees: 30-for-41, 339 YDS, 3 TD
Rivers: 25-for-40, 341 YDS, 3 TD, INT

Brees had the edge, and his team got the win.

So, you have to wonder if the Chargers’ brass was watching this one thinking, What if?

What if San Diego had Brees under centre in the ’06 playoffs, rather than Rivers, who completed only 14 of 32 passes as the Chargers were upset by the Patriots?

What if the Chargers had used a more-experienced Brees that year, or in 2007, when they once again fell short against the Pats in the postseason?

Maybe Marty Schottenheimer, who was fired following the team’s 14-2 ’06 season, would still have a job. Maybe the Chargers would have a Super Bowl appearance or two under their belts.

Maybe. We’ll never know.

In hindsight, San Diego might’ve been better off trading Rivers, who was an extremely valuable commodity, strengthening a need (maybe wide receiver?) and keeping Brees, whose “prime” coincided with Tomlinson’s.

Now we’re watching Brees dominate, week in and week out, without a lot of support in New Orleans, where the defence is suspect and offensive contributors have been dropping like flies.

Brees is only 29 – two years older than Rivers. He’s on pace to break Dan Marino’s all-time single-season passing yards record.

This isn’t to downplay the positive things Rivers has done. He continues to be a top-end NFL quarterback. But sometimes too much stock is put into top draft picks. Brees gave the Chargers their best chance to win then, and he probably still would now.

But that ship has sailed. The Chargers can’t worry about Brees anymore. They had their look at him Sunday, and lost for the third time in four games.

You’d imagine that for at least a few moments, they sat back and thought … what if?

Week 8 one-liners

• One week after we questioned whether he was done, Tomlinson had his best game of the year.

• If he were the Patriots’ quarterback last season, we’re confident that Brees would have put up numbers equal to or better than those of Tom Brady.

• Think the Chargers aren’t missing Merriman? They haven’t registered a sack in nine quarters.

• Since the game in London was technically a Saints’ home game, the Chargers won’t play in New Orleans until 2016. That will mark the first game they’ve played there since 1997 – a 19-year hiatus from The Big Easy.

• The Raiders’ running game is lost without Darren McFadden.

• Random player we’d never heard of until this week: Chaz Schilens, who led all Oakland receivers Sunday, and who immediately reminded us of Will Ferrell’s character from Wedding Crashers.

• Joe Flacco is sneaky athletic.

• Tim Hightower, the apparent future of the Cardinals’ running game, is averaging 2.7 yards per carry. The onus is squarely on you, Kurt Warner.

• Don’t look for help from the defence, either. The Cardinals are averaging 25 points per game in losses this season.

• Once a touchdown king, Marion Barber has only one rushing touchdown since week 3.

• Sam Paulescu had the biggest tackle of the day for the Cowboys. Paulescu is the punter.

• The Buccaneers didn’t score a touchdown Sunday. That hadn’t happened since the first week of the 2006 season.

• Not sure what sounds worse: The Lions have now lost eight straight or the Lions have now lost 14 out of 15.

• Only once this season has Chad Pennington posted a single-game passer rating of less than 80. He’s gone over 100 in four of his seven games.

• Being a good fourth-quarter team isn’t always enough. Eventually, you’ll have a bad final frame and you’ll pay. That happened to the Bills Sunday.

• Donnie Avery is going to be an absolute star.

• Roddy White and Ted Ginn won’t be far behind.

• The difference in the Rams-Pats game: St. Louis was flagged for nine penalties; New England, zero.

• We never would have expected the Giants and Steelers to play that sloppy a game.

• Looking back, Sunday’s performance against the Giants was likely the worst game of Ben Roethlisberger’s career.

• David Garrard is back to his old self. That’s 151 pass attempts without an interception. He and Jason Campbell are the safest quarterbacks in football.

• Andre Johnson has pushed Terrell Owens and Randy Moss aside to become the best wide receiver in the NFL.

• Where the hell did that come from, Leonard Weaver?

• We’ve been saying all along that Shaun Hill is the better option in San Francisco. Finally, after half a season of embarrassment, the 49ers are realizing it, too.

• The Seahawks are back in the winner’s circle. Great news, right? It comes in teaspoons for Seattle fans, who are now hoping Lofa Tatupu won’t miss extended time.

Blatant overreaction of the week

“The Chargers are done!”

Yeah, it’s been a rough first half and, sure, the defence can’t stop anyone. But the Chargers are lucky to be in a division that is still winnable. The Broncos have their own defensive problems, while the Raiders and Chiefs just aren’t in the race. Amazingly, San Diego is only a game and a half out in the AFC West.

Why the (Carolina Panthers) will win Super Bowl XLIII

They’re an annual fad pick ever since losing to the Patriots in the Super Bowl a few years back, but they never deliver. But, at 6-2, it’s time to start recognizing that with Jake Delhomme healthy, the defence solid as always, and the running game hot, these guys could play deep into January.

And, as always, it’s important to remember that they’ve been there before.

Why the (Buffalo Bills) won’t win Super Bowl XLIII

Are the Bills this year’s early-season flame that is now being doused (think: ’07 Lions)? It’s possible. Marshawn Lynch continues to have a mediocre season, while Trent Edwards is one of the slowest starters in the league. It won’t be easy to keep up in the AFC.

Team of the week: New York Giants

It wasn’t pretty, but a big win in Pittsburgh helps the Giants keep a leg up on the rest of the NFC. This defence knows how to step up when needed; five more sacks on Sunday were proof of that. It wouldn’t be out of line to call the Giants one of the best road teams in NFL history.

Player of the week: Mathias Kiwanuka

It’s hard not to give this to Brian Westbrook, who got the Eagles back on track in his return to the lineup against the Titans, but Kiwanuka keyed a great performance from the Giants’ defence, sacking Roethlisberger three times. Kiwanuka, who also had three pressures on Roethlisberger, picked up two of his sacks in the fourth quarter and forced a fumble. Who needs Osi Umenyiora?

Setting the pace

• Brees is on pace to pass for 5,126 yards, breaking Dan Marino’s single-season record.

• Heading into tonight’s game, LenDale White is on pace to score 21 touchdowns.

• If Andre Johnson keeps doing the average of what he’s done the last four weeks for the remainder of the season, he’ll catch an NFL-record 148 passes for an NFL-record 2,106 yards.

• Joey Porter is on pace to register 24 sacks, breaking Michael Strahan’s single-season record.

MVP watch

We’ll be watching Albert Haynesworth closely tonight, but in the meantime, we’ll give the MVP to Brees, who leads the league in passing yards (he’s almost 500 yards ahead of the next-best guy). His 101.6 passer rating helps. Our only concern at this point: Brees’ seven interceptions.

Rookie of the Year watch

As of right now, your offensive rookie of the year is Titans running back Chris Johnson, who’ll try to bolster his hold on the award tonight. Your defensive rookie of the year is Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers, who broke out with two big picks and a touchdown against the Jets.

Ray Edwards single-season sack record watch

Edwards, the little-known Vikings defensive end, said in the offseason he planned on breaking Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record of 22.5. We’ll track his progress here each week.

The Vikes were off this week. Tune in next week to see if Edwards can pick up his first full sack of the season.

It was starting to feel as though the best division in football was losing its lustre, and then we were reminded why the NFC East is so damn good. We start with that in our trip around the league.

Buccaneers @ Cowboys

The Cowboys’ win against Tampa might have come at a cost. Losing Tony Romo and Felix Jones hurts, but losing Jason Witten kills. Witten, who’s been the team’s offensive MVP thus far, left the game in the first half with a rib injury and didn’t return. If Witten misses time, this team will be in big trouble, especially with Dallas on the slate for next weekend.

Redskins @ Lions

Same old story for Washington. Once again, Jason Campbell was mistake-free and Clinton Portis carried the offence with another 100-yard day as the Redskins hung on for a victory in Detroit. With these guys, it’s never overly pretty, but a win’s a win. The ‘Skins are the most methodical team in the NFL.

Falcons @ Eagles

We mentioned in the Sunday Preview that Matt Ryan would be befuddled by the Eagles’ confusing and vicious blitz packages, and while Ryan was only sacked twice today, he was rushed into two interceptions and converted on barely over 50 percent of his passes. With Brian Westbrook back, Philly has a new swagger.

Giants @ Steelers

Pittsburgh had so many opportunities to take hold of this game, and failed to deliver time and time again. Sure, the Giants probably could have made the same excuse had they lost after being stuffed at the goal line early in the game, but the Steelers now become yet another strong AFC team to lose to a strong NFC team. It’s a growing trend -- something we’ll take a look at in Rear-View Monday.

Raiders @ Ravens

Without Darren McFadden, the Raiders’ running game that we figured would be one of the best in the league this year sputtered against the Ravens. Justin Fargas and Michael Bush took a combined 17 handoffs for only 32 yards. Thanks in part to that, the Ravens were once again able to dominate in time of possession (they lead the league in that category) and control the game.

Cardinals @ Panthers

As we anticipated, the Cardinals hung around with the Panthers on the road, which is a good sign, but winning in Carolina isn’t easy. Their chances might have been better if the Cards had any semblance of a running game. While DeAngelo Williams tore it up for the Panthers, Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower combined for 13 carries and only 20 yards. The Arizona offence is simply becoming too predictable. What’s scary, though, is that the Cards are still scoring a lot of points.

Bills @ Dolphins

The Dolphins have become one of the most fun teams to watch in the league. Sometimes, the Wildcat flash doesn’t really produce the results the team wants, but it almost always makes for good entertainment. In the first quarter today, Ricky Williams took a handoff, ran backwards for a while, they sprinted around the near end of the field before finally being brought down. Williams ran about 50 yards on the play, but lost five yards on paper.

Rams @ Patriots

If I’m a New England fan, I’m not thrilled right now. Sure the Rams have been playing extremely well, and sure the Pats have now won back-to-back games, but it’s not a good sign that St. Louis stuck around throughout this game, on the road.

Chargers @ Saints

How can you not be blown away by Drew Brees? The guy has gone out week after week, without his top offensive weapons on the field, but continues to put up MVP-type numbers. Although Philip Rivers is a great quarterback, you’d have to think the Chargers’ brass watched this one wondering how their team would look with Brees still under centre.

Chiefs @ Jets

We’re trying to figure out what’s wrong with the Jets. They haven’t played well since they pounded Arizona in week 4, and almost lost at home today to a team that’s being considered the worst in football. How do the Titans pummel the Chiefs in Kansas City one week before the Jets almost succumb to the Chiefs in New Jersey?

Browns @ Jaguars

Another week, another poor performance from Derek Anderson. We’ve realized that last year was a fluke; why can’t the Browns? Unfortunately, Anderson has remained the starter after worse performances, and since the Browns pulled out a win today, don’t look for a change to be made anytime soon.

Seahawks @ 49ers

Seneca Wallace was actually pretty decent against San Francisco, which could make it easier for the Seahawks to shut Matt Hasselbeck down for the year or could lead the team to believe it’s still in the race in the division. We’re betting the team rushes Hasselbeck back now, because with the Cards, Rams and Niners losing today, the Seahawks are still alive.

Bengals @ Texans

Part of it had to do with the fact he was playing the Bengals, who are a disaster. Part of it had to do with the fact he has the hottest and scariest offensive weapon in the league right now in Andre Johnson. Part of it has to do with the fact the Texans are always stellar at home. Regardless, Matt Schaub had a career day today in Houston’s pounding of Cincinnati.

As we approach the midway point of the NFL season, we’re trying to figure out where we are in terms of the big picture.

The Major League Baseball season has distinct points. April and May don’t matter, June and July are the dog days, and August and September make up the home stretch.

But the NFL season is so short that there really aren’t any dog days. Instead, we jump straight from the honeymoon segment to the home stretch. Looking at schedules from seasons past, we figure that transition takes place at around week 9, maybe week 10. Essentially, once every team has had its bye, the dash for the finish line begins.

But we think we’re hitting the home stretch a touch early this year, mainly because it’s been hard to find any really good teams, leaving almost everybody, save for Cincinnati, Detroit and Kansas City, in contention for a playoff spot.

Yeah, there are still 12 teams waiting to have their byes (Chicago, Denver, Green Bay and Minnesota are taking week 8 hikes), but as of right now, every single team in the AFC except the Bengals and Chiefs is within one game of a playoff spot.

To help increase the intensity, week 8 is jam-packed with ridiculously good matchups, including Tampa Bay-Dallas, Buffalo-Miami, St. Louis-New England, San Diego-New Orleans, Atlanta-Philadelphia, Cleveland-Jacksonville, New York Giants-Pittsburgh and Indianapolis-Tennessee.

We just listed all but five games, and we’re pretty sure no one would have a problem with any of the above games in primetime.

That says a lot.

Let’s make some picks…

Last week: 8-6 (4-8-2 against the spread -- this is getting ugly)
Season record: 61-41 (42-47-13 against the spread)

The banged-up Ravens are lucky to be hosting the Raiders, who probably can’t do on the road what they were able to do against the Jets at home last weekend. With that said, Baltimore will have trouble pulling away with so many injuries on both sides of the ball. We expect it to stay within a score… Baltimore 17, Oakland 13

The Cardinals, one of the worst road teams in football, are in Carolina to play the Panthers, one of the strongest home teams in the league. Arizona has to prove itself by getting a big win on the road, but we wouldn’t bet on that happening this week, even with Anquan Boldin possibly returning in a limited role. The Panthers are still expected to be short a couple starting offensive linemen, so we expect this one to stay close… Carolina 27, Arizona 24

If this Dallas team can’t keep up with St. Louis, how can we expect them to beat the Buccaneers? We don’t, but at home, Dallas will stick around longer than it did last week. Expect a low-scoring game, with both defences stepping up to make up for injuries on offence… Tampa Bay 16, Dallas 14

We don’t care if Clinton Portis, Shawn Springs, Jason Taylor, LaRon Landry and Chris Horton are either hobbling or out for the Redskins, there’s no way the Lions are within a touchdown against Washington on Sunday, despite what Vegas seems to think… Washington 27, Detroit 10

So, the Wildcat has been exposed. Can the still extremely healthy Dolphins get back on track in the division with a home game against the Bills, who are without Aaron Schobel? Don’t count on it. Buffalo has won seven of its last eight games against Miami, and the Fins have already lost two of their three home games this year. The defence just won’t be able to keep it close enough… Buffalo 27, Miami 17

In the Rams-Patriots game we see two teams that have been as high as Amy Winehouse and as low as the Dow Jones. It’s smart to favour the home team, but the Rams are coming off two big wins (at Washington and vs. Dallas). We expect them to keep it close against a New England team that’s down to its fourth-string running back… New England 24, St. Louis 17

The Saints are a team in peril, and even though they’re calling the London, England matchup with the Chargers a home game for New Orleans, it obviously won’t have that feel. San Diego is looking to finally hit its stride, and the Chargers could be on a warpath after that tough loss in Buffalo. Look for the Chargers to capitalize on the Saints’ sudden lack of offensive weapons… San Diego 26, New Orleans 17

The Jets will easily move past the Chiefs at home, but can they cover a 14-point spread after letting Oakland pull off the upset only a week prior? Brett Favre has been lights out in New Jersey, so we’ll bet that a Kansas City team without its best player in Larry Johnson doesn’t stick around… New York Jets 38, Kansas City 20

Things have been peachy six games in for Matt Ryan and the Falcons. But the rookie quarterback has yet to run into a defence that can do as much damage with the blitz as Jim Johnson and the Eagles. Watch for Ryan to spend most of the day confused, and the rest of it face-first on the field in Philly. With Brian Westbrook back, the Eagles are primed to make a statement… Philadelphia 38, Atlanta 13

The Browns are simply dealing with too much internal controversy right now. Kellen Winslow won’t go for Cleveland against the Jaguars following Staphgate, and you’d have to think Derek Anderson’s approval rating is approaching George W. Bush territory. Watch for Jacksonville, which is pretty much injury-free, to take advantage with a big home win… Jacksonville 26, Cleveland 13

It’s tough finding an edge in the game of the week between the Giants and Steelers. After all, the G-men are as good on the road as most teams are at home. Eli Manning has slowed down, but the Steelers won’t have their top rushing threat. Not having Santonio Holmes won’t hurt Pittsburgh much because Nate Washington can step in and do as good a job. We’ll stick with the Steelers at home, but wouldn’t touch this game with a 10-foot pole… Pittsburgh 23, New York Giants 20

Who has worse problems: The Seattle Seahawks, who haven’t won in three weeks and won’t have their starting quarterback and top receiver yet again, or the San Francisco 49ers, who are sticking with arguably the worst quarterback in the league in J.T. O’Sullivan? We’ll find out this weekend. We’re going to stick with the Niners at home, but it won’t be pretty… San Francisco 17, Seattle 14

The Texans have quietly become one of the best home teams in the NFL, and Vegas has taken notice by posting Houston as a nine-point favourite against the Bengals. The Texans, who are dealing with pretty much no injuries, will make it seven wins in eight home games and finally cover a monster spread… Houston 30, Cincinnati 18

The Titans defence is rolling, while the Colts offence is struggling to find its usual rhythm. These teams have split the last two season series, so we don’t feel good about Indy keeping it close on the road, against the unbeaten and red-hot Titans, and in primetime. Until the Colts get Bob Sanders back, we aren’t taking them to win any big games or pull off any upsets… Tennessee 26, Indianapolis 17