Best stories of the 1st half -- Chad #4

[124]

Best storyof the first half? That's easy -- and it's big

Nov. 8, 2006

By Clark Judge

CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer

The Indianapolis Colts are unbeaten, but nobody is off to a better start this season than New Orleans.

The Saints aren't just winning; they're on top of their division. Surprising? No. It's stunning, with the Saints doing what no one -- and I mean no one -- expected. Sure, I know there are eight games left, but tell me who had these guys ticketed for six wins all year?

Yeah. Me neither.

New Orleans isn't the only feel-good story of the season. There are others, and Peyton Manning, buckle your chinstrap. You're in the on-deck circle. Here are my five choices for Best Story from the first half of the 2006 season:

1. New Orleans

Nobody has done a better job of coaching this fall than Sean Payton. It wasn't enough that he had to resurrect a football team. He had to do it in a city where hope and redemption sometimes are hard to find. Yet, Payton has done the improbable. The Saints aren't just 6-2, with twice as many wins as all of last season; they're on top of a division that was supposed to belong to Carolina.

I don't care if New Orleans wins another game. The Saints regained the legitimacy and respect that once belonged to this organization. They're fun. They're exciting. And they're good. What's more, they have a Rookie of the Year candidate, and, no, it's not Reggie Bush. It's Hofstra's Marques Colston. They also have an MVP candidate in quarterback Drew Brees, whom the Saints signed after everyone else would not.

Maybe the city is struggling to get back on its feet, but its pro football team is not. Congratulations, Sean Payton, and do you have a minute? FEMA would like your advice.

2. Damon Huard and the Chiefs

When starting quarterback Trent Green bowed out in the season opener, the Chiefs' future looked about as bright as winter in Anchorage. But we forgot something here: Coach Herm Edwards has experience in this department. In fact, he went through five quarterbacks last season in New York. The difference there is that Herm was 4-12 in 2005; now he's 5-3, winning five of his last six with Damon Huard. You heard me: Damon Huard.

All Huard has done is throw for 11 touchdowns with one interception and rank second to Manning in passer rating. Now, the talk isn't about when Green will return; it's about keeping Huard in the lineup and the potential for a quarterback controversy when Green is, in fact, ready to suit up.

Kansas City fans like what's happening to their team, and they should. The Chiefs knocked off, in order, San Diego, Seattle and St. Louis; Larry Johnson looks like himself again, stringing together three straight 100-yard performances; and the quarterback position is one of strength. What's more, the Chiefs are only a game off the AFC West lead. Herm Edwards bashers, take a seat.

3. Indianapolis

OK, admit it: When Pittsburgh drilled Indianapolis in last year's playoffs, you scratched the Colts from Super Bowl XLI because, you reasoned, they couldn't have a more perfect setup than the home-field advantage they blew in 2005.

Well, don't look now, but they're on schedule for an encore. I mean, check out what they just accomplished with their last two victories. By defeating Denver and New England they're in perfect position to gain the home-field advantage again. Not only are they two games up on the Broncos and Patriots; they have the edge in head-to-head play, too, essentially increasing their lead to three games.

Oh, yeah, I almost forgot: They're 8-0 for the second straight season, and the reason there's not more buzz is because of last year's experience. Everyone is waiting to be disappointed again. Maybe it happens. Maybe it doesn't. All I know is these guys are where few expected them to be again ... and good for Manning and Tony Dungy. Nice guys should finish first.

4. Chad Pennington

After the Jets quarterback underwent a second surgery within a year to his right shoulder, I figured I wouldn't see him this season. And I wasn't sure I'd see him again. Apparently, the Jets were right there with me, otherwise why would they trade for Patrick Ramsey and spend a second-round draft pick on Kellen Clemens?

Anyway, when I saw Pennington in training camp he looked remarkably sharp and, more important, seemed upbeat and confident about the season that was about to unfold. He must've known something we didn't. And he did. It's not that Pennington's having a Manning season that's worth celebrating; it's that he's having a season at all. And, yes, that calls for a standing O.

Pennington is one of the class guys in this business, and you'd like to see him succeed. Well, he's doing just that, leading the Jets -- who looked like the worst team in football three months ago -- to an improbable 4-4 record despite an absence of playmakers. That's a credit to Pennington and new coach Eric Mangini, who has the Jets -- yes, the Jets -- second in the AFC East.

5. Chicago

The Bears would've been a bigger story had they managed to beat Miami, but that loss -- plus the near-escape in Arizona -- has me wondering if there's not a pratfall out there waiting to happen to these guys. If there is, it doesn't affect what they accomplished in the first half. And what they accomplished was to lap a division they should nail down in weeks and to produce one of the most unforgettable comebacks we've seen in years.

This is a team that's easy to like. The Bears run. They hit. They tackle. And they pass. And it's that passing that makes this year's team different from the outfit that won the NFC North last season. Rex Grossman has two or more TD passes in half of his eight starts, and that's what you like to see from your quarterback.

But this is not: In two of his last three games he produced 10 turnovers, including seven interceptions, and tell me Brian Griese hasn't been put on notice to stay loose in the bullpen. The Bears are monsters, all right, only they better be careful: They could be hazardous to themselves.

Honorable mention: Rivers and Chargers offense

I was one of those who didn't understand how the Chargers could let Brees go. Then I got a load of Philip Rivers. He's accurate. He's poised. He's confident. In short, he's everything Brees was ... and is.

Hey, I admit it: I didn't like the Chargers turning over their offense to someone who hadn't taken a snap. Why should I? But look where they are now: tied for first in their division and ahead of everyone in scoring. Moreover, Rivers is rated fifth in the NFL's passer rating and second in fourth-quarter passing.

Of course, having someone like LaDainian Tomlinson in your backfield doesn't hurt. All he's done the past four games is score 11 times and throw for a 12th TD. Now he's on schedule to tie Shaun Alexander's record for most touchdowns in one season.

The Bolts are a legitimate threat to Indianapolis, and the Colts better hope they don't see them in the playoffs. San Diego should've beaten them in Indianapolis two years ago and did beat them there last season, ending the team's 13-game run. The Bolts are armed, and they're dangerous.

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

Anyway to make him the one of the best stories of the first 1/4 vs 1/2?