Here’s our latest set of rankings going into week 13 of the season…  Feel free to respond in the comment thread.

Top Shelf Contenders

1. Indianapolis (11-0)

Another week, another close win for the Colts. They’re the epitome of the word team in every sense.

2. New Orleans (11-0)

Their offense is unstoppable right now and if they get healthy on defense, a trip to Miami may be in their reach.

3. Minnesota (10-1)

Every week the Vikings find a new way to dominate, and with Favre at the helm, they’re as good as anyone else.

4. San Diego (8-3)

The Chargers have been on a wicked roll as of late, with their offense leading the way to six straight wins.

5. New England (7-4)

The Pats offense can score on anyone, but until they find a way to play defense, they won’t be able to win in January.

6. Cincinnati (8-3)

Cincinnati has been too inconsistent as of late to move up, but a sweep of the division is still pretty impressive.

7. Arizona (7-4)

It’s hard to fault the Cards for losing in Tennessee, seeing as everyone else has been doing the exact same thing.

8. Dallas (8-3)

They finally found a way to score on Thanksgiving, but I’m still not impressed as it was against a terrible Raiders team.

9. Green Bay (7-4)

Aaron Rodgers is playing incredibly well these days, thanks in large part to a revamped O-line.

10. Philadelphia (7-4)

Sneaking away with a win against the Redskins isn’t a good sign, but at the end of the day they’ll take it.

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6.05 pm – In his press conference earlier today, Haley stated pretty clearly that the Chiefs are not one of the six to have contacted Weis about a possible job as offensive coordinator (H/T to Arrowhead Pride).

While this doesn’t rule out a possible marriage between Weis and KC in the future, it does make things a bit more interesting as the Chiefs were definitely one of the most promising suitors. As always, we’ll keep you posted.

1:45 pm – This isn’t exactly an NFL story per se, but seeing as it has major ramifications for teams in need of a new offensive coordinator, I wanted to get a head start on the discussion.

Fox Sports is reporting that Charlie Weis has indeed been fired as the head coach of the storied program, and will not coach his team in a bowl game should the Irish be invited to one. Notre Dame officials have not yet made any public statements with regard to Weis and the team, but a source inside the coaching staff has confirmed the reports.

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Tue 4:40 pm – Pierce expects to make a complete recovery and that he’ll be playing in New York when he hits the field next September.

Mon 5:30 pm - Giants LB Antonio Pierce has been stalwart for New York’s defense over the past five seasons, averaging close to 75 tackles a year from his middle linebacker position, and honorably wearing the badge of captain for his team each week.

But a bulging disc in his neck has pushed him out of the Giants’ plans this season, and could possibly derail the remainder of his career, according to Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.

Pierce was first diagnosed with the condition two weeks ago, and was hopeful that he could make a comeback later on this season to help the Giants make a run through the playoffs. After undergoing further testing this week though, his doctors found no improvement to the disc and New York placed him on the injured reserve list as a result.

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The Falcons got good news today, receiving word from their medical staff that the injury suffered by QB Matt Ryan in yesterday’s win over Tampa Bay was turf toe, and not something more serious, according to Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer.

Ryan will apparently see a specialist to address the issue, but at this point he’s only scheduled to miss one game; this week’s contest against the Philadelphia Eagles. Backup QB Chris Redman, who threw the game winning touchdown on Sunday, will get the majority of the reps at the position in practice this week, with Ryan resting until further notice.

Mon 2:55 pm – The Chargers have confirmed Weddle’s injury and expect him to miss at least two weeks, maybe more. The plan right now is for him to be back and playing by December 20th against the Bengals.

Sun 9:45 pm – In the midst of a six game winning streak and their second straight blowout win over the Chiefs, San Diego was understandably excited about the path their season has taken as of late.

But their joy may be tempered somewhat after finding out that safety Eric Weddle sprained his medial collateral ligament early on in the game, and will likely miss several weeks as a result. Weddle plays a key role in the Chargers secondary and his loss could spell trouble for their pass defense headed down the stretch.

Weddle will probably undergo an MRI early on next week to make sure there is not any further damage to the ligament. As always, we’ll keep you posted when more information becomes available.

Mon 1:55 pm – Browns head coach Eric Mangini has confirmed Rogers will be out the rest of the season on the team’s Twitter feed. He’ll have surgery and go on the injured reserve list later on this week.

Sun 9:30 pm – Just when the Browns thought their season couldn’t get any worse, they received word that the injury suffered by DT Shaun Rogers today against the Bengals is bad enough to keep him out for the remainder of the season (H/T to PFT).

According to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, the exact nature of Rogers’ injury is not known as of yet, but his ankle or Achilles tendon are suspected to be the issue. Cabot cited a league source in claiming Rogers will be lost for the last five weeks of the year, but the team has not yet released any information regarding the injury.

Rogers was seen hobbling through the Browns locker room after the game on crutches and was visibly shaken by his injury.

12:30 pm – Manning believes he’ll be fine to play out the rest of the Giants season and that he won’t need post-season surgery to correct the issue in his foot. Could be posturing on his part, but for now we’ll take him at his word.

11:20 am – This season has been a trying one to say the least for both the Giants and their quarterback Eli Manning, but things may get even uglier fairly soon, as Manning may have to be shut down for the remainder of the season.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Manning is apparently suffering from a stress reaction in the cuboid bone of his right foot, thanks in large part to the plantar fasciatis that he’s been dealing with all season long. That reaction could have major implications for Manning headed down the stretch towards the end of the season, as it could lead to a stress fracture in his foot that would definitely end his 2009 campaign.

For their part, the Giants have done what they can to educate themselves on Manning’s injury and have tried to keep him off his feet whenever possible, outside of practices and games that is. But that may not be enough to prevent the issue from becoming a much more troublesome one, as Manning is not likely to sit by idly while his team is in the middle of a playoff run.

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Much has been made as of late of Charlie Weis’ future as the head coach at Notre Dame, and while he still has a hold on his job (however tenous that may be), it’s beginning to look more and more likely that his days in South Bend are numbered.

If he is in fact fired from his position, you can expect his name to come up in a hurry for numerous coaching positions around the NFL, in light of what he accomplished during his tenure earlier in the decade as the Patriots offensive coordinator. One of the jobs that would make sense is the offensive coordinator gig in Kansas City, where head coach Todd Haley has taken it upon himself to call the plays this season.

Weis already has a solid working relationship with both Haley and Chiefs GM Scott Pioli, as he has worked with each at some point in his coaching career. Haley and Weis share a similar offensive philosophy that relies heavily on the passing game. The move also makes some sense as Weis will want to take a position where he can potentially resurrect his career relatively quick, and the Chiefs could provide that with enough talent already in place to make a run next season.

Matt Conner at Arrowhead Pride posted an excellent breakdown earlier today of what Weis would bring to the table in Kansas City, and while it certainly won’t be an easy for Weis to turn around a Chiefs offense that has struggled immensely at times this season, he won’t be going at it alone as Haley will almost certainly continue to take an active interest in what’s happening on that side of the ball.

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NFL coaches are known for their bravado, for standing tall in the face of pressure if you will.

Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin took that to a whole new level during his press conference after last night’s disappointing 20-17 loss to the Ravens in overtime, slamming the door shut on any speculation that the Steelers have lost the will to fight for a playoff spot this season.

“We will not go gently. We will unleash hell in December because we have to. We won’t go in a shell. We’ll go into attack mode because that’s what’s required.”

- Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin

If that doesn’t say it all about how upset Tomlin was after his team lost a crucial road game in Baltimore, then nothing will. Not known for being a fiery tempered coach, Tomlin’s tirade will definitely make waves in a Steelers locker room that may be in the middle of a turf war very soon, with WR Hines Ward criticizing QB Ben Roethlisberger for not playing last night in an interview with NBC’s Bob Costas.

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After watching a trio of games on Thanksgiving that quickly turned into routs, I had hopes that yesterday’s set would bring a few nail biters to the front, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Week 12 of the season was chock full of frantic finishes, with Indianapolis, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Tennessee all going down to the wire to get a win. We also were privy to some of the worst football played this season, with the Chiefs and the Bears both finding new ways to give away a game on the road to a division opponent.

So with that in mind, I bring back the old question… does parity still exist in the NFL?

For my money, the answer is a resounding yes. For every final score of 40-14 we have a 20-17. Amazing rebound teams like the Titans would never happen in a league without parity, and while there are certainly several franchises that seem to be stuck in a perpetual state of disaster (that would be you Cleveland), they’re outnumbered by the teams that have successfully gone from rags to riches in just a few seasons.

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This season has been a frustrating one for sure for the Chicago Bears and their fans, and while head coach Lovie Smith seems to be safe for the time being, his assistant coaches are most certainly not. That has led to a recent storm of rumors taking hold in the Windy City, with former Rams head coach Mike Martz sitting firmly in the center, as a possible replacement for offensive coordinator Ron Turner, who is all but assured a one way ticket out of town at the end of the year.

Chicago Tribune beat writer Dan Pompei took the discussion to a whole new level this morning, with a piece on what the Bears would need to do to ensure success under Martz and his “Greatest Show on Turf” style of offense. Pompei believes that the most important part of Martz’s offense is solid blocking from the tackle positions and while the current duo in Chicago is okay, neither Orlando Pace or Chris Williams has proven themselves capable of playing at the high level that Martz will demand.

So where to turn for help on that front? It will most likely have to come from the draft, as free agency is a notoriously difficult place to find quality tackles, given their immense value to a franchise. But with a recent first round pick invested in Williams, and several picks gone from this year’s class to pay off the remainder of the balanced on the Jay Cutler deal, it’s going to be hard to find the caliber of player the Bears need in the spot they’re drafting.

It’s obvious that Martz is going to push himself as a head coach in the league first this off-season, hoping to land one of several positions that are certain to be open. But if he’s unsuccessful in that endeavor, you can bet he’ll be very receptive to an offer from Chicago, given his close relationship with Smith and an opportunity to work with a talented QB in Cutler. With good blocking and better weapons around him, Cutler could thrive in Martz’s style of play, as he is fully capable of making any throw asked of him.

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For 11 seasons, Jim Kelly was the man everyone turned to in Buffalo for answers, guiding the team to four straight Super Bowl appearances before he retired for good in 1996, bound for a permanent place in Canton at the Hall of Fame.

But after watching the Bills struggle for so long since his departure, Kelly has come back to offer up his thoughts on what ails the franchise, and unlike the rest of the rumors we’ve been focusing on as of late, they have nothing to do with who the next head coach will be.

According to Jim Corbett of USA Today, Kelly feels very strongly that Buffalo needs to scrap it’s current crop of QBs and focus on drafting one of the top three quarterbacks available in next year’s draft. Kelly even went so far as to mention Florida QB Tim Tebow by name, setting the stage for the Bills to potentially pick the uber-athletic quarterback in spite of other pressing concerns.

Obviously, Kelly does not hold an actual position within the organization and therefore his opinions are just that. But given his god-like status in Western New York and his stated desire to be a part of a new ownership group that takes the reins from the aging Ralph Wilson, you can bet that his thoughts are definitely considered by the current front office crew.

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