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Go ahead and phone the guys with the straitjackets and padded ambulance because, as was the case in the "Tip Sheet" on Friday, we are about to suggest a sleeper candidate for league most valuable player honors. Only a few days ago, we nominated St. Louis wide receiver Torry Holt, who on Sunday remained barely on pace to break the single-season record for most receiving yards. Holt's brilliant season aside, even a few of my closest friends wondered if I was suffering from Tryptophan overdose when I typed those words.

Game ball
Little Leonard Little, Rams DE Overlooked by the volume of points tallied in the Edwards Jones Dome on Sunday, as St. Louis tailback Marshall Faulk rushed for three scores, may have been the contribution of the Rams' defense. Not to be ignored in examining the standout performance of the unit, however, was the play of end Leonard Little. Returning to the field after missing a month with a torn pectoral muscle, the six-year veteran vanquished the right side of the Vikings' offensive line, collecting six tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles. Notable was that hard-hitting strong safety Adam Archuleta had 11 tackles and a couple sacks as well. But the Rams have been missing the speed-rush element and Little, who beat Minnesota right tackle Mike Rosenthal for at least two of his sacks, brought that back. Little is, very aptly, one of the smaller strong-side ends in the league. But when he is able to pin his ears back, to all but ignore the run and just concentrate on breaking down the pocket, he is a real force. His return will only make the Rams that much stronger over the final month.
Scout's take
Comments elicited from an AFC pro scout and an NFC personnel director: Vick "There were only a couple times when it looked like (Michael) Vick was having any second thoughts on Sunday about his ankle. You could just see the energy level of the Falcons pick up when he went into the huddle. I guess this puts to rest the notion that many people had, right, that Vick wouldn't play this year. The guy had to play, or else risk losing some respect in the locker room, from what I hear. And you think the league isn't going to try to protect him? There was one play where he ran out of bounds and (side judge) Carl Cheffers couldn't get over to him fast enough to make sure he was OK." "No disrespect intended, believe me, but it's been seven weeks now since Dante Hall returned a punt or kickoff for a touchdown, and no one has mentioned it. I guess maybe that's a testimony to how incredible he was in those first five games, huh?" "Ask me, if I had my choice of any player on the Houston Texans roster, who I would choose. Go ahead. You know what? It might be (punter) Chad Stanley. I was just looking at this guy's numbers and they are amazing. Since the start of last season, he has 66 punts inside the (opponent's) 20-yard line and just eight touchbacks. The guy is a weapon and Charley Casserly (general manager) was smart to sign him to an extension." "If you want to see how well (New England's) Bill Belichick can coach a guy up, take a look at (linebacker) Mike Vrabel. He couldn't even get on the field that much in Pittsburgh. For the Patriots, he's a starter and he had two sacks Sunday and a forced fumble. If you've got just a shred of ability, let me tell you, Belichick will find a way to use it." "Funny that (corner) Antoine Winfield didn't get into much trouble for ripping Bills offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride last week. I guess that's because most people realize most of the stuff he said was pretty much on-target." "At this point in time, I'm not sure that Phillip Buchanon isn't a better cover player than his Oakland teammate, Charles Woodson. I mean, Woodson just seems disinterested sometimes. Put a gun to my head and I just might take Buchanon." "The people who keep saying that Eli Manning has a lot stronger arm than Peyton don't know what they're talking about. From what I have been able to gauge, Eli looks pretty much like Peyton did as a senior, with maybe a foot or two less on his fastball." "You look at (Jake) Plummer's numbers and they're OK, you know what I mean? But watch him play and something is missing. (Mike) Shanahan can't afford to miss with this guy, not after wasting all that money on (Brian) Griese.
Heard in the pressbox
Davis Although the Cleveland Browns rushed for just 47 yards on 16 carries Sunday, it is hardly a slam-dunk that coach Butch Davis is going to welcome tailback William Green back with open arms. Especially now that the Browns are 4-8 and out of the playoff picture. Green is eligible to return Monday. There are a few dissenters in the organization who don't want him back and would just as soon be rid of him altogether. ... If Jacksonville decides to trade second-year quarterback David Garrard in the offseason, Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden could be interested. He really likes Garrard, his arm strength and his athleticism, and feels he would be an upgrade over (current No. 2) Shaun King, while Chris Simms is still growing into the top backup spot. ... (Eagles backup quarterback) A.J. Feeley really wants out of Philadelphia badly. What he can't figure out is why no team made a big play for him in a trade last offseason. ... Now that it's a given that Jim Fassel won't be back with the Giants in 2004, don't be surprised if he is resurrected in Arizona, where he was once an assistant. The thing is, he's making about $2.7 million (per year) on his New York contract, and the Cardinals might not want to dig that deep for a new coach. ... If the Bills dismiss Gregg Williams, he will be a very popular guy for teams seeking a new defensive coordinator. And Bills general manager and club president Tom Donahoe could be under pressure to bring in an experienced replacement. ... There are a couple teams keeping a watchful eye on Oakland running back Tyrone Wheatley. The feeling is the Raiders will cast him off as part of their youth movement and some clubs feel he still has something left as an experienced No. 2 tailback. ... The Broncos, who will seek to recoup the $5 million signing bonus they gave defensive tackle Daryl Gardener this summer, will have a tough time getting their money. It's pretty hard to prove that Gardener was "dogging" it in games, since effort is a pretty subjective thing. ... Left tackle Todd Steussie is having a tough year for the Panthers and some feel that the team might flip right tackle Jordan Gross to that side in 2004. The Panthers' first-round pick this year, Gross largely played left tackle in college.

So, hey, if you loved the Torry Holt citation, try this one on for size: Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna.

Uh, stop laughing, would ya? If the Bengals, a team Kitna has guided from the morose to the meteoric in the first season of the Marvin Lewis Era, qualify for their first playoff berth since 1990, Kitna could be a very deserving possibility. Provided, of course, he and the Bengals don't revert to their bungling ways next Sunday, when they head to Baltimore for a showdown (OK, a strictly relative term, at least when used in reference to the pitiful AFC North) with the bombastic Ravens.

That the Bengals have rallied from an 0-3 start, and won four straight games and six of their last seven contests, is due in big part to Lewis. But Kitna merits some due as well. Especially after Sunday when, in a game the old Bengals would simply have surrendered after Pittsburgh grabbed the lead with 1:05 remaining, demonstrated some newfound gumption. The man force-feeding some guts into the team's collective innards was Kitna, who in a past life would have thrown an interception into the end zone after driving Cincinnati to the Steelers 18-yard line. But this is a new day in Cincinnati, and Kitna is a new man, and so he instead found tight end Matt Schobel for the winning score, culminating a lightning-quick, four-play series.

It isn't as if Kitna hasn't enjoyed big days against the porous Pittsburgh secondary in the past. He threw for nearly 400 yards versus Pittsburgh in a 2001 overtime victory. But all that win meant for the Bengals is that they finished at six victories instead of five. Sunday's victory at Heinz Field counted for something more than personal pride. It kept Cincinnati's playoffs hopes alive and at a time when you could almost hear all of those longsuffering Bengals fans mumbling: "Same old Bengals." (Or something else, rather unprintable here, that has the acronym SOBs.) Rather than fold after Hines Ward's 13th catch of the day boosted Pittsburgh into a 20-17 edge, Kitna energized the troops.

In the Bengals' seven victories, he has 18 touchdown passes and just one interception. This is the same Kitna who fumbled about as often as he breathed and who entered this season with more pickoffs (83) than scoring passes (77). So go ahead, skeptics, and scoff if you will. Sure, we know that Steve McNair or Peyton Manning figures to claim the MVP hardware when the ballots are tabulated at season's end. But if the Bengals snap their long playoff drought, someone besides the coaching staff deserves credit, and Kitna has morphed from loser to leader in 2003.

As for Schobel, well, it was a big day for the clan from TCU. In addition to Matt Schobel's winning touchdown catch, brother Aaron Schobel notched five tackles, three sacks and a fumble recovery from his defensive end spot with the Buffalo Bills. And little cousin Bo Schobel, a senior defensive end from TCU, figures to be chosen in the middle rounds of the 2004 draft. A finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award, he has 48 tackles and 13 sacks for the Horned Frogs. Some pretty good bloodlines there, huh?

Saints marching
Following the Sunday afternoon games, and awaiting the kickoff of the prime time tilt, we pondered this question: Which of the NFC's three teams at 6-6 had the best shot to run the table, finish at 10-6, and maybe steal a wild-card spot? Ooops, what's that you say? The NFC ("No Freakin' Clue") only has two .500 teams? Uh, yeah, we had posted a "W" for the Tampa Bay Bucs, rather prematurely, as it turns out. OK, so same question, but with a field now down to the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints.

As much as we love Brett Favre, the loss at Detroit last Thursday revealed how limited he seems to be on some throws because of his thumb. This isn't a Green Bay offense, at least not in its current state, capable of putting up 30 points on a whim. It has less dimension, given the plight of its wounded quarterback, than most of its predecessors. It has to stop opponents with its defense, something it did last Thursday, but not consistently well enough.

So that leaves us with the Saints and, yes, we know the history of December collapses over the past two years. But, honestly, is there anyone playing better in the league now than Saints tailback Deuce McAllister. On a near-weekly basis, the guy is simply willing his team to victory. On Sunday, for a third consecutive week, he registered over 190 yards in total offense from scrimmage. The guy has nine straight 100-yard games. While there may be better pure runners in the league (and not many at that), the NFL doesn't possess very many backs who combine McAllister's size, grace, power and big-play components.

So, yeah, for a second item in a row, call the funny farm brigade. Maybe the Saints will flop again under Jim Haslett, rumored to have an "out" clause in his contract that would permit him to shuffle off to Buffalo if the Bills want him, but we're gambling that this is the year they get on another kind of December streak. Take a look at the schedule and see if you aren't at least a little tempted to agree.

Not hibernating yet
Don't look now but the Chicago Bears, those Muddlers of the Midway, are just two games out of first place in the NFC North after Sunday's win over Arizona. That's as much attributable to the implosion taking place in Minnesota, where the Vikings have now dropped five of their last seven, as it is to Chicago's mini-surge. But the energy with which the Bears have played in recent weeks, even as the rumors swirl around head coach Dick Jauron and his dubious job security, is pretty admirable.

The odds are that Jauron, who just two years ago led to Bears to a 13-3 mark, will not survive. Of course, there is always a disclaimer, and here is one: The once-banished Michael McCaskey is making a comeback in the Chicago front office, it seems, and the determination of Jauron's fate may not rest solely with general manager Jerry Angelo.

Whoever is coaching the Bears in 2004, though, will benefit from the apprenticeship many of Chicago's young players served this season. The Bears are playing a bunch of kids, with the one exception being first-round quarterback Rex Grossman, who really does need to get some snaps this year. For the most part, it's youngsters leading the late-season rally, and that was the case again on Sunday. A pair of rookies, tailback Brock Forsey (134 yards and a touchdown on 27 rushes) and wide receiver Justin Gage (four catches, 100 yards), came up big again for a Bears team being built around callow cubbies.

This isn't the most talented bunch but, at a time when it would have been easy to just mail things in, Chicago is putting out for a head coach who is likely to be booted out in another month. And here's a touch of irony: While the Bears are still trying, the team they played Sunday afternoon, Arizona, is dead in the water. So where's the irony? Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis, not Jauron, was supposed to be the top man in Chicago right now. Remember, the organization opted for McGinnis in 1999, but he removed himself from consideration when the club prepared a press release announcing his hiring, but before a contract was agreed upon. The release was leaked, McGinnis was piqued, and he subsequently turned down the position.

Looking up in Jacksonville
Speaking of young teams playing hard, it was intriguing to watch on Sunday night as the peach-faced Jacksonville Jaguars continued to mature, by all but eliminating Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay from the 2003 playoff derby. Rookie head coach Jack Del Rio has suffered his critics in his inaugural season, and we were among those who ripped him for the silly ax incident, but there is no denying Jacksonville has grown up over the past month.

That is especially true on the defensive side of the ball, where tackles Marcus Stroud and John Henderson are beginning to collapse the interior, and venerable end Hugh Douglas has climbed off the recliner and started to pressure the quarterback. Even an hour after the game, I'm still not sure if Del Rio was daring or simply daft at the end of the game, throwing the ball around the field instead of forcing the Counterfeit Bucs to burn their timeouts.

But the end result was another victory and the continuation of a month-long streak in which Jacksonville has played everyone tough. Give some credit to Del Rio for realizing that not everything he was doing was right, admitting so publicly, and vowing to change. As noted Friday, the Jags will shuffle some assistant coaches in the offseason, and will dump a few players as well (strong safety Donovin Darius likely won't be back, for starters). Three victories still isn't the most solid foundation, and Del Rio and owner Wayne Weaver have to come to a meeting of the minds as to the direction of the roster and the franchise, but Jacksonville has at least stirred from its hibernation now. Maybe the experiences of his maiden voyage, his run-ins with the media and a lack of communication with players at times, will eventually serve Del Rio well.

Bump in the road

	Parcells

Here's hoping it isn't the case, since we love the job Bill Parcells has done in Dallas, but the collapse of the Cowboys' top-rated defense against Miami last week may well have been the moment The Tuna feared. Against a Miami attack that demonstrated more diversity and verticality than it had all season -- beyond the return of Jay Fiedler, coach Dave Wannstedt must have reminded coordinator Norv Turner that their jobs are on the line, and convinced him to open the throttle -- the undersized Cowboys front seven had all the consistency of Thanksgiving cranberry sauce.

The Dolphins gashed the Cowboys on the ground, ripping open big creases for Ricky Williams, and then went up top when Dallas tried to play eight in the box. And now, as Dallas prepares for Philadelphia next Sunday in a game that could settle the division race, one has to wonder: Has the lack of size finally caught up to the Cowboys, who are about 12 pounds lighter per man upfront than any previous Parcells unit, and is the defense starting to erode?

This is the time of year when everyone is playing hurt and big-bodied defenders tend to hold up better. It's a time, too, when defenses that have succeeded early in the season with smoke and mirrors, are burned by the fatigue factor. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has done a truly remarkable job in Dallas, but there is a reason Parcells has always favored all of those 300-pound slobberknockers in his front four, and stouter linebackers than the Cowboys can put on the field. Noticeable in Thursday's loss was that middle linebacker and human tackling machine Dat Nguyen was making a lot more stops four yards up the field than at the line of scrimmage.

Again, hopefully, we're wrong. But unless the Cowboys defense can catch its second wind, Dallas might yet be blown right out of the playoffs. A footnote to the Dolphins' victory: Maybe the game signaled the coming out of Miami wideout Chris Chambers, whose flashes of brilliance haven't yet turned into consistency. It has been convenient to attribute Chambers' roller coaster ride to lack of stability at the key quarterback spot. Time, though, now for Chambers to build on his three-touchdown performance of Thanksgiving, and prove he is more talent than turkey.

Kicking themselves

	Johnson

Shame on somebody in Indianapolis -- special teams coach Russ Purnell, coach Tony Dungy, whoever -- for what transpired at the end of the first half at the RCA Dome on Sunday afternoon. There is no way in heck the Colts should have kicked the ball to New England speedster Bethel Johnson with just seconds remaining, and Indianapolis having rallied from a 17-0 deficit, and pulled to within one touchdown.

And then, when the Colts tied the game at 31-all, they compounded the blunder by kicking to Johnson again. And he burned them for a second time. Peyton Manning left the field pounding himself on the helmet after the Colts failed to nudge the ball into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line and 15 seconds remaining. Somebody ought to take a sledgehammer to the noggin of somebody on the Indianapolis staff. What's the old saying that concludes: "Fool me twice, shame on me"? Well, the Colts twice looked like fools in kicking the ball to Johnson, who is simply one of the fastest players to come into the league in a long time.

A lot of teams thought about drafting Johnson before New England snatched him in the second round, but wavered, given his long medical history and several operations for intestinal problems. The Pats, loaded with extra choices, jumped all over him. It is just another reminder of how Bill Belichick has become the NFL's premier head coach in terms of the draft and assessing talent. Give the Pats' young receiving corps -- guys like Deion Branch, Johnson, and David Givens -- a couple more seasons. Then look for them to have emerged as one of the NFL's most dangerous groups.

Punts

	Matt Hasselbeck

The Hasselbeck Clan got a split decision on Sunday, with Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck earning a win, and younger sibling Tim Hasselbeck of the Washington Redskins losing to the Saints in his first regular-season start. The pair combined to hit on 48 of 77 attempts for 559 yards, with three touchdown passes and two interceptions, good for a tag-team efficiency rating of 86.4.

Personal peeve to football analysts at every level: Please, enough of the too-frequent use of the terms "young rookie" and "young freshman." It's only notable if a rookie or a freshman isn't young, OK? I mean, by definition, aren't about 99.9 percent of rookies and freshman young?

Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis had an incredible 18 tackles, along with an interception that he returned for a touchdown, in Sunday's victory over the 49ers.

Buffalo finally scored a road touchdown Sunday, having gone since Sept. 14 without one.

The defeat by the Giants represents the first four-game losing streak of Jim Fassel's career. He had been the lone active coach without such a skein.

Redskins return specialist Chad Morton finally paid some dividends on that $2.5 million signing bonus owner Daniel Snyder gave him as a restricted free agent. Morton, who hadn't had a return longer than 44 yards all year, ripped off a 94-yarder for a touchdown.

Stat for the weak: Kansas City cornerback Dexter McCleon, one of the best bargains in the 2003 free-agent market, has six interceptions. And on those six thefts, his total return yardage is minus-3 yards.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Click here to send Len a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.