Mike Zimmer was coaching with mirrors in Dallas in his debut as an NFL defensive coordinator at the start of this decade. The Cowboys weren't very good then -- but Zimmer found a way to make a bunch of no-names competitive on defense.
His defense finished fourth in the NFL in 2001 despite the team's finishing 5-11. Then Zimmer took the Cowboys all the way to No. 1 in 2003 in Bill Parcells' first year as head coach, a playoff season.
Zimmer is working his mirror trick again, his time in Cincinnati. Marvin Lewis hired Zimmer out of desperation in 2008. The Bengals finished 27th in the NFL in defense in 2007, and Lewis needed a quick fix.
Zimmer gave it to him, propelling the Bengals up the defensive rankings to No. 12 despite the absence of a pass rush. But Cincinnati was still a lousy team, finishing 4-12.
Suddenly the Bengals are a quality team. They are 6-2 and take a share of the AFC North lead into Pittsburgh on Sunday for a showdown with the defending league champion Steelers.
Zimmer's defense is a huge reason the Bengals find themselves atop the standings. Cincinnati ranks second in the NFL in run defense and fifth in scoring defense.
"We've got a bunch of solid guys who play hard," Zimmer said. "They remind me a lot of the guys I had early on in Dallas -- (Dexter) Coakley, Dat Nguyen, Brandon Noble . . . guys that no one really knew about but played well together."
There's another common denominator between that 2003 Cowboys unit that ranked third in the NFL in run defense and this Cincinnati unit that ranks second: safety Roy Williams.
Williams went to his first Pro Bowl with the Cowboys in 2003 and signed with the Bengals as a free agent in 2009. Run out of Dallas because of his inadequacies in pass coverage, Williams found a home in a Cincinnati defense that needed a thumper.
"Roy Williams has added a physicalness to us," Zimmer said. "We've got Roy in the right place. We've got him down (low) in coverage. He's not isolated. He's hitting people and knocking them around -- the things he does well."
Williams lost 18 pounds in the off-season and is down to his college weight -- 222. He collected 30 tackles in the opening month of the season before a forearm injury knocked him from the lineup. In his absence, Cleveland's Jerome Harrison turned in the only 100-yard game of the season against the Bengals.
"Roy looks great," Zimmer said. "I know what his deficiencies are. I also know what his strengths are. I can call a game and feel confident I can put him and others in favorable situations."
The Bengals also signed Cowboys discard Tank Johnson in free agency last off-season, and he also has played well in the belly of that run defense at tackle. Linebacker Rey Maualuga, a second-round draft pick from Southern Cal, gives Zimmer a thumper on the defense's second level.
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THE CENTERPIECE
Back pains
Losses in the secondary have left Colts exposed heading into matchup vs. Brady
The unbeaten Indianapolis Colts have been eagerly awaiting their annual November showdown with the New England Patriots. But the Colts are a little less eager now than they were on Halloween.
Since the end of October, the Colts have lost four defensive starters, include three in the secondary, because of injuries. That's not where you want to be light heading into a shootout with Tom Brady.
The Colts and Patriots rank 1-2 in the NFL in passing, and Brady has been on fire of late with three consecutive 300-yard passing games and nine touchdowns in that stretch.
But instead of facing a veteran secondary that won a Super Bowl -- Kelvin Hayden and Marlin Jackson at corner and Bob Sanders and Antoine Bethea at safety -- Brady will see rookies Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey at corner and Melvin Bullitt and Bethea at safety Sunday. Also missing is linebacker Tyjuan Hagler, who went on injured reserve two weeks ago with a ruptured biceps.
The Colts have already lost 25 games by starters because of injury this season. With Hagler, Jackson and Sanders all on injured reserve, that's a minimum of 24 more games the Colts will lose because of injury. That's 49 games if the Colts stay completely healthy the rest of the way. Indianapolis lost 50 games by starters because of injury all of last season.
Injuries have affected much of the league. The 4-4 Chicago Bears are not playing the slam-the-door-shut defense their fans have come to expect. They rank 15th in the NFL in defense and 21st against the run. But the Bears have been without Pro Bowl middle linebacker Brian Urlacher since opening day because of a dislocated wrist.
The Washington Redskins can't run the ball or protect quarterback Jason Campbell. Little wonder: Two starting offensive linemen are on injured reserve, guard Randy Thomas and tackle Chris Samuels.
The Seattle Seahawks are 3-5 without Pro Bowlers on both sides of the ball. Middle Linebacker Lofa Tatupu and left offensive tackle Walter Jones are gone for the season with injuries.
Done for the year
A lineup of players who will finish the 2009 season on injured reserve. All started games this season except for three:
HB Leon Washington, who was part of a two-running back rotation with the Jets; CB Walt Harris, who tore up his knee during San Francisco's off-season program; and G Shawn Andrews, whose back flared up in training camp.
OFFENSE
Pos. . . . Player ...............Team .....Pro Bowls
QB.....Chad Pennington ....Miami ......0
HB......Leon Washington ...NY Jets ....1
FB.......Heath Evans .....New Orleans ....0
WR......Laurent Robinson ....St. Louis ....0
WR.......Troy Williamson .....Jacksonville ....0
TE.........Owen Daniels ..........Tennessee .....1
OT.........Chris Samuels .........Washington .....6
OT...........Walter Jones ............Seattle ........9
G.........Shawn Andrews ........Philadelphia .....2
G.........Chester Pitts ...............Houston .......0
C..........Jason Spitz ................Green Bay ......0
DEFENSE
DE........Aaron Smith ...................Pittsburgh .....1
DE.......Antwan Odom..................Cincinnati .....0
NT........Jamal Williams ..................San Diego ....3
DT.........Kris Jenkins .....................NY Jets .....4
LB...........Lofa Tatupu .....................Seattle .....3
LB..........Brian Urlacher ...................Chicago .....6
LB..........Thomas Davis ....................Carolina .....0
CB...........Walt Harris ..................San Francisco ....1
CB.........Marlin Jackson .................Indianapolis .....0
S.........Kenny Phillips ....................NY Giants ......0
S ...........Bob Sanders ...................Indianapolis .......2
SPECIAL TEAMS
P............Craig Hentrich .....................Tennessee ......2
KR...........Ellis Hobbs .......................Philadelphia .....0
ST..........Brendon Ayanbadejo..............Baltimore ......2
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FROM the observation deck
Familiar foe
Wide receiver Chris Chambers will play the Oakland Raiders for the second time in three games and the third time this season on Sunday. Chambers opened the season with the San Diego Chargers and played against the Raiders in Weeks 1 and 7. He didn't have a catch on opening day in a 24-20 victory at Oakland, then chipped in one reception for 20 yards in a 24-16 victory over the Raiders in San Diego on
Nov. 1. But the Chargers waived Chambers after that game and he was claimed by the Chiefs. He caught two touchdown passes in his Kansas City debut last Sunday, and now it's back to Oakland for a rare third game against the same team in the same season. Two of his 18 career 100-yard games have come against the Raiders.
Seahawks' long road
The NFL assigned just two three-game road trips this season, and the Seattle Seahawks embark on theirs on Sunday. The Seahawks play their next three games at Arizona, Minnesota and St. Louis. It is Seattle's first such trip since 2000. The New York Giants also were scheduled a three-game trip earlier this season and swept Dallas, Tampa Bay and Kansas City in Weeks 2-4. There have been 101 three-game trips in the NFL since 1990, and the Giants were only the eighth team to return 3-0. The overwhelming majority of teams taking those three-game trips lose more than they win. Sixty-six of the 101 travelers lost at least two games on those trips. That doesn't bode well for the Seahawks, who hit the road on the fringe of playoff contention with a 3-5 record.
Strange but true
Colts TE Dallas Clark has caught 22 passes in November. That's more catches in two weeks than veteran wideouts Isaac Bruce, Ted Ginn, Roy Williams and Deion Branch have all season.
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AROUND the NFL
NFC
The Philadelphia Eagles are in a bind. They trail the Cowboys by a game in the NFC East and visit red hot San Diego on Sunday. The Chargers polished off the Giants in New Jersey last weekend and have won three straight. The 5-3 Eagles play back-to-back road games (next stop: Chicago) and must win to keep pace with the Cowboys. Eagles QB Donovan McNabb said the next two games are "very big for us. Just in the maturation of this team, as well as guys understanding each week that you have to be ready to go. The first half of the season is over. Put that behind you and now you move forward and try to correct the mistakes you've made in the first eight weeks. We've been in this situation before and we've been worse. It's time for us to go play San Diego, play our solid football, have fun doing it and do whatever it takes to win."
The New York Giants also are in a hole in the NFC East and have a bye week to start digging themselves out. The Giants threw away a 5-0 start with a four-game losing streak. They sit 1 1/2 games back of the Cowboys with a home game remaining against Dallas. Giants coach Tom Coughlin says he believes New York can still get where it wants to go this season. "I believe we have the players," Coughlin said. "We have the staff. We have the know-how. And there isn't any doubt. You can 'should have, would have, could have' for the last month and I can give you a bunch of answers. But they don't mean anything. The facts are the facts."
Coughlin says the bye came at the right time for his team. He said he wanted his players to "go have three or four days with their families and reflect on our situation, then come back here with greater purpose and greater desire to get this righted. Historically it can be done." The Giants also will be a bit healthier when they return to the field Nov. 22 against Atlanta. Cornerback Aaron Ross is back on the practice field. He hasn't played since training camp because of a hamstring injury.
This is the first time in the 33-year history of the New Orleans Saints that they entered November unbeaten. This season marked only the fifth time the Saints entered October unbeaten. The Saints are 8-0, and you can pencil them in for 9-0 on Sunday when they visit the 1-7 St. Louis Rams. The best previous start by New Orleans was 7-0 in 1991. The Saints wound up winning the NFC West with an 11-5 record.
AFC
Sunday marks the fourth time in five years that the Indianapolis Colts take a perfect record into a game against New England. The Colts were 7-0 in 2005, 2006 and 2007. They are 8-0 heading into Sunday's game. The 2005 and 2006 games were both at New England, and the Colts prevailed both times. Indianapolis went on to start 13-0 in 2005 and 9-0 in 2006. The 2007 game was played at Indianapolis and the Colts lost. The 2009 game also is at Indianapolis. The game pits the NFL's top two passing offenses and two quarterbacks with Super Bowl rings -- Tom Brady of the Patriots and Peyton Manning of the Colts. "It's a great rivalry for a lot of reasons," Brady said. "It's usually the same cast of characters over there and they're having a great year.
It's a fun game for the players, there's no mistaking that." Also a fun game for the fans and the television networks. NBC is broadcasting this game in prime time. . . . The Denver Broncos are struggling with a two-game losing streak after a 6-0 start. Trace the problem to Denver's inability to run the ball of late. Through six weeks, the Broncos ranked seventh in the NFL in rushing with an average of 132 yards per game and 4.3 yards per carry. The success on the ground allowed QB Kyle Orton to have success in the play-action passing game. But in the last two outings, the Broncos were held to 66 yards rushing by Baltimore and 27 yards by Pittsburgh. If the Broncos can't run the ball, defenses can tee off on Orton -- which they have done. Orton has four sacks, three interceptions and no TD passes in the two-game losing streak. "We are playing physical teams," Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said. "We've got to do better at the point of attack. We haven't lost our ability to run the football or play good offense. But we've got to get back to work and do better." The Broncos visit Washington on Sunday to play another physical team. The Redskins rank sixth in the NFL in defense despite their 2-6 record.
In a scheduling quirk, the NFL gave the Baltimore Ravens the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts on back-to-back weekends. The Ravens visit Cleveland on Monday night and then are home against the Colts. Expect large, emotional crowds for both games. Clevelanders hate the Ravens because Art Modell moved the original Browns to Baltimore -- and Baltimoreans hate the Colts because that franchise left Maryland for Indianapolis.
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UPSET OF THE WEEK
The New England Patriots were out of sync early as QB Tom Brady was finding his legs after a year's absence from the field. Then Pro Bowl WR Wes Welker missed a couple of games in September with a knee injury. But one of the NFL's best passing attacks was able to work out its kinks in October and came flying into November. Brady has thrown nine touchdown passes in his last three games. The Patriots visit the unbeaten Colts on Sunday. Indianapolis is a three-point favorite but without three starters in the defensive backfield. Two rookie corners loom as a mismatch against Brady. Go with the Patriots in the upset.
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