Super Bowl Action

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts would define perfection as winning a Super Bowl title. Anything more would be a bonus.

But with five weeks left in the regular season, the Colts' three-decade quest to return to the Super Bowl now carries an added burden - trying to join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only unbeaten teams in NFL history.

The big question now is whether anyone can beat this team. Coach Tony Dungy wants everyone to keep things in perspective.

"Hopefully we win the next two because that means we will wrap up the division," he said Tuesday. "If we win them, we know there will be a lot of talk about, 'Can you go undefeated?' But that's never really been our goal."

Steelers

Hours after Pittsburgh's worst loss in more than two years, there were no apologies from coach Bill Cowher.

There was no mea culpa for the failed onside kick at the start of the second half that the unbeaten Colts quickly converted into a touchdown and a 16-point lead en route to their 26-7 win Monday night- the Steelers' second straight loss.

"The call was made to try to get us a spark and get us another possession," Cowher said. "That's my decision. If it works, it's a good play. If it doesn't, you're open to second guessing, which is the nature of this business."

Rams

Coach Mike Martz wants to return to the field after missing the past six games with a heart ailment.

Martz said he would ask his doctor for permission to return. The Rams are 3-3 under interim coach Joe Vitt since Martz stepped down.

Seahawks

The NFL denies telling the Seahawks that officials erred when they ruled two Giants touchdown receptions complete in Seattle's 24-21 overtime win.

Eagles

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) backed off a threat to have a Senate subcommittee investigate if the NFL and the Eagles violated antitrust laws in their handling of Terrell Owens.

Buccaneers

Tampa Bay kicker Matt Bryant's status for this week's game against New Orleans is uncertain because of a sore right hamstring, prompting the Buccaneers to sign Todd France to the practice squad.

Jaguars

Jacksonville placed backup linebacker Jamie Winborn on injured reserve because of a knee injury.

Raiders


Oakland claimed cornerback Lenny Walls off waivers from the Broncos and placed safety Reggie Tongue on injured reserve.

Bengals

Nate Webster was activated off the physically unable to perform list. .

I'm gonna jump the gun here a bit. By about three months. I've figured out who the NFL's MVP is this season and I'm going to be the first one into the water on this. You ready?

Tom Brady, come on down and pick up your hardware.

Too early? Too bad. I've sat around and watched Brady get stiffed in the MVP balloting the past two years and I'm determined not to let it happen again. So I'm throwing all my considerable clout into this campaign and calling in all my markers. Both of 'em.

I happen to be one of the Associated Press MVP electors and I intend to vote Brady. Early and often.

Be it just three weeks into the season or playing it by the book and waiting three more months, it won't make a difference. Brady has been the NFL's most valuable player (no capital letters needed) for three years running and it's high time we all recognized him for it.

What exactly are we waiting for people? To make sure he's not a fluke? OK, that made sense in those heady days of 2001, but what about the rest of Brady's historic run? When will we have seen enough to realize we're watching the best there is at the game's most critical position? Better than Peyton Manning and Steve McNair, who have earned the past two MVPs. Better than the revered Brett Favre, or the prolific Daunte Culpepper, or the far-too-one-dimensional Michael Vick. Better than the proven Donovan McNabb and the proficient Ben Roethlisberger, the last two guys he out-dueled last season.

I've had it with the fantasy football approach to the MVP award: Who has the best numbers?

Brady loses out every year because he doesn't have eye-popping statistics, but in truth he has numbers galore; they're just not the kind that fall into one calendar year and win you MVP votes. A 9-0 record as a playoff starter; 18 wins when the Pats were either tied or trailing in the fourth quarter; a 7-0 mark in overtime; a record of 59-15 (.797) as a starter, the best mark of any quarterback in the Super Bowl era; going an entire season (2003) without throwing an interception at home.

Oh, yeah, and then there are those three Super Bowl rings he won before his 28th birthday. Those seven other quarterbacks I mentioned earlier? They own a combined one Super Bowl ring between them.

Consider that Roethlisberger has lost exactly two games in his meteoric NFL career, and, coincidentally, both have come when Brady was the opposing quarterback. Manning? Besides not being able to beat Brady head-to-head, he can only dream of doing what Brady has done three times over -- leading a team to a Super Bowl title.

As I write this, the silence surrounding the National Football League is deafening.

The stadiums are calm, with only the echoes of past conquests reverberating through the corridors. The talk radio lines are full of the excited whispers of eager fans. There is no clamoring for the backup. There are no coaches blowing gaskets in media sessions. And the talking heads are nearly out of stupid questions (for now).

Hope.

It's like Christmas Eve, New Year's Day, and that 15 minutes after Confession rolled into one. Right now everyone's record is perfect. There have no blown assignments or missed calls. No one has dropped a pass or mismanaged the clock during a two-minute drill.

Hope.

At this moment, endless possibility is coursing through the veins of all 32 teams in the NFL. Right now, players and fans across the nation are sitting somewhere thinking, "This is our year" or "Why not us?" Anyone can be the next Warner or Roethlisberger or Brady. Anyone can be a champion.

Hope.

But it won't last. It can't. Come Monday morning it will all have changed. The menacing vibrations will have overwhelmed the silence. Pride and desperation will sink in, and so many people will be wretched back into reality. Nature will take its course, and the fittest will survive.