'07 rankings: Flip-flopping five

TOP 12

Cole: Indianapolis slides up a spot after the victory over Jacksonville. Most important, the one thing that is becoming clear is there are really only two teams that have a shot to beat New England: the Colts and Dallas. The Colts seem like a bit of a stretch without wide receiver Marvin Harrison or defensive end Dwight Freeney, especially since they’ll have to go to New England, in all likelihood in the playoffs. Green Bay could still give Dallas some problems in the NFC Championship game if those teams meet again. The problem is even if Green Bay makes it to the Super Bowl, it doesn’t have a good enough secondary, even with Charles Woodson, to hang with New England’s passing attack. … Cleveland may have slipped farther than it should have after a loss to Arizona, but the Cardinals are a much better team than I have given them credit for this season.

Robinson: Say what you want about the Patriots pulling out a win Monday night. Surrendering 52 points over the last two weeks isn't a fluke. It's a perfect record built with an imperfect defense. … If the Cowboys don't win the NFC, it will be a travesty. And Terrell Owens is on the verge of surpassing Cris Carter as the No. 2 all-time leader in receiving touchdowns. … Indianapolis is getting healthier and diversifying its offense without Marvin Harrison, but for the sake of balance, Joseph Addai has to get back on track before the playoffs. … Here's an amazing tale of soft scheduling: Tampa Bay could finish the season with 12 wins, and have only one victory come over a team that finishes with a winning record (Tennessee). … Bank on it: Shawne Merriman is back, and so are the Chargers.

MUDDLED MIDDLE

Cole: The Cardinals and Vikings could be really interesting teams to watch during the playoffs if they can keep this momentum going. Arizona has a crucial game at Seattle, which could make the NFC West race a lot more interesting. As for the Vikings, their three-game winning streak combined by Detroit's return to reality puts Minnesota firmly in the playoff picture. When Adrian Peterson went down, few people could have pictured that happening. Big props to Brad Childress and crew.

Robinson: The success in Minnesota is holding off a mutiny against Brad Childress, who still hasn't won over all the veterans in his locker room. And yes, Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the NFL – right now. … Arizona tight end Leonard Pope wins this year's Owen Daniels award with five of his 19 receptions this season going for touchdowns. … Don't be shocked if Mike Martz is shown the door in Detroit after this season. He's too erratic as a play-caller, and it shows in his inconsistent offense. … The league's best running back outside of Peterson this season? He's playing in Philadelphia – not San Diego. … Rex Grossman has strung together three solid games in a row. He hasn't secured a contract extension in Chicago yet, but he's giving the Bears something to ponder.

BOTTOM OF THE PACK

Cole: Wow, is Miami putrid or what? It’s one thing to have a really bad season. It’s another to be so bad that it appears you’re trying to get your coach fired. That’s what it looks like from a distance as the Dolphins fell to 0-12 under first-year coach Cam Cameron. Earlier this season, many players were unfavorably comparing Cameron to former coach Dave Wannstedt. After giving up 40 to the Jets, the Wannstedt comparisons will continue. … Congrats to Oakland for simultaneously escaping the bottom 10 and sending archrival Denver to it. Really, how can Denver go from looking like a competitive team with only a few minutes remaining against Chicago to playing like this? Amazing!

Robinson: With the first 12 games of the season in the fold, Kansas City defensive end Jared Allen (league-leader in sacks: 11½) looks more worthy of $30 million in guaranteed money than Carolina's Julius Peppers. … The Ravens may have botched their win over New England down the stretch, but at least Kyle Boller showed some mettle. If he can repeat that performance over the last month of the season, he deserves one more shot as a starter in 2008. … St. Louis' Isaac Bruce just keeps going and going and going. He'll surpass 14,000 receiving yards in the next two weeks, and take over the No. 3 all-time spot behind Jerry Rice and Tim Brown by the end of the season. … LaMont Jordan is making the big paycheck, but make no mistake, Justin Fargas is Oakland's lead running back going into next season. … Atlanta's Roddy White is quietly living up to the reputation that made him a first-round pick. … Stick a fork in Miami – 0-16 is a lock after the blowout loss to the Jets.