The opinions came from everywhere this week, with lots of thoughts on the defenses from Indianapolis and Denver and plenty of shots at Tony Kornheiser:

INDY-DENVER THOUGHTS ("Anything but 'Super'", Oct. 29, 2006)

We all know the cliché, "Defense wins championships." Your article had more of an "I have to write an article tonight" feel than one that was well supported with facts and opinions or even one where you firmly believed what you wrote. The bottom line is that the game was a close, exciting matchup and the better team found a way to win. If the Colts don't make it to and/or win the Super Bowl, I highly doubt it will be because of their inability to stop the run. It's more likely the lack of "killer instinct" that doomed Indy which the Patriots indeed had in their run of three out of four championships.

Trevin Lingren
Costa Mesa, Calif.

Trevin, I thought I put a bunch of facts in that story to support my contention that there was little, if any, defense played in that game. As

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The season is halfway over, but the most daunting question for the NFL's top team remains a long way from being answered: What's going to happen to the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs?

The Colts are 8-0 for the second consecutive year, making them only the second team in NFL history to accomplish that feat. Beyond that, the Colts have essentially won 29 consecutive regular-season games which have mattered in the standings.

The issue, as the Colts know all too well, is that they must go from being part of a great trivia question to being a great piece of history.

"We know that people are going to be [asking] for the rest of the season, 'Can they win in the playoffs?'" quarterback Peyton Manning said after leading the Colts to a 27-20 victory at New England on Sunday night.

That victory gave Indianapolis a two-game lead on the rest of the AFC and essentially a three-game lead over the Patriots and Denver, whom the Colts have defeated in consecutive weeks. Like last

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The Indianapolis Colts’ defense wants the world to know that it isn't very good.

Despite coming up with five turnovers to key a 27-20 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night, the Indy defense wants to embrace its reputation for being bad.

At least that was the take from linebacker Cato June, who came up with two of the career-high-tying four interceptions thrown by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. The five takeaways marked the most against New England since Oct. 28, 2001.

"That's good," June said, when asked about the criticism Indy's D took after giving up 227 yards rushing in the win at Denver last week. "Keep criticizing. We like that. Keep writing, 'They can't stop the run and that's why they won't win in the playoffs.' "

Or as defensive end Dwight Freeney put it: "Stats lie. You guys write all that stuff about how we can't stop the run, how we're no good. … What we understand is that whatever we had to do to get the ball back for our offense,

The one-game suspension issued to Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones this week might not only serve as a precursor to Jones having to return some of the signing bonus he received last year as the No. 6 overall pick. It could also be the precursor to coach Jeff Fisher winning the battle over general manager Floyd Reese as to who stays with the organization.

Over the past three years, there has been an increasingly hostile relationship developing between Fisher and Reese over the direction the team has taken in terms of personnel, according to a source within the franchise. After reaching the Super Bowl following the 1999 season, the Titans have steadily gone downhill and it is Fisher's belief that Reese's management of personnel has been the problem.

The conflicts have been constant, starting with Reese trying to get Fisher fired after the 2003 season, according to the source. The most recent rift was over the decision to draft quarterback Vince Young (Fisher wanted to get

A lighter load of letters (OK, I'll stop the alliteration right now) this week. Away we go:

ABOUT DREW AND THE 'BOYS ("Right call," Oct. 26, 2006)

No question, just some observations. I am a long-time Dallas Cowboys fan (since 1966). Until the offensive line develops and can actually protect a quarterback, it won't matter who is calling the signals. The line was atrocious in the game against the Giants. Yes, Tony Romo is more mobile, but plays like the safety on Drew Bledsoe against the Giants show that no quarterback can survive until the line gets better. Why would the Cowboys use a right tackle (Marc Colombo) that couldn't make the Bears when they were terrible? Their right guard (Marco Rivera) is ready for the retirement home. Get some mean, nasty young guys like Nate Newton and Mark Tuinei of the Super Bowl years. I know these guys are hard to find but maybe we should have used the money spent on wide receiver Terrell Owens to find them and stood status quo with our wideouts.

DENVER – Wearing a Yankees cap as he made his way to the team bus, Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney is talking hardball. As in the methods that opponents are using to keep him from getting anywhere close to the quarterback. Double teams are routine. Triple teams are not unheard of.

That might explain why Freeney is mired in one of the worst slumps since Dodger Gil Hodges had New Yorkers fretting in the 1950s.

"It's bad, man," Freeney said, his accent thick with disappointment. "It's a stat position, I know that. But sometimes you don't get the stats and everybody is wondering why, asking all the time, 'What's wrong?'"

Through seven games, Freeney has a half sack and a paltry nine tackles. He got the partial sack Sunday during the Colts' dramatic win at Denver and it came at a key time. Freeney and linebacker Gary Brackett combined to get to Denver quarterback Jake Plummer and forced a fumble early in the third quarter. That was the only turnover of the game and set up a

DENVER – The NFL's marquee matchup between the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos had a decidedly different feel to it Sunday.

The Colts' 34-31 win was great fun, in all the ways that make the NBA All-Star game a joy to watch. It was fast and furious, as the teams combined for more than 800 yards of offense.

It was exciting as Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri's 37-yard field goal with two seconds remaining decided the outcome, adding another big kick to his lengthy résumé.

Finally, there was absolutely no defense to be had.

Indianapolis and Denver combined to score on 12 of 17 possessions, including all five series in the fourth quarter. In fact, the Colts essentially scored on seven straight possessions (a kneel-down just before halftime was the lone exception).

Indy's passing game (quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 345 yards and wide receiver Reggie Wayne had 138 yards and three touchdowns) went arm-to-leg with the Broncos' running game (227 yards rushing, including 136 from backup

NEW ORLEANS – The Dallas Cowboys find themselves in an undesirable position: Good enough to compete for a playoff spot, but clearly not good enough to do any damage if they actually reached the postseason.

That's why the decision to bench Drew Bledsoe in favor of Tony Romo for Sunday's game against Carolina – and possibly the rest of the year – is the right move. As both New England and Buffalo found out before, there is no future with Bledsoe.

That point was underscored in the first half of Monday night's 36-22 loss to the Giants as Bledsoe struggled for the third time this season against a quality defense.

This kind of decision was brutally difficult and potentially divisive. On Tuesday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was at the NFL owners meeting and talked about the pending decision. His tone favored playing Bledsoe, but it was a tepid endorsement.

"I guess this is therapy to be here [Tuesday] to talk to nine or 10 others who had a rough Sunday," Jones said a day after his quarterbacks