Buffalo Bills—Marv Levy—Hero.  Yes, I know he retired/resigned/whatever after only 2 seasons as GM, but this guy took a lot of heat for the complete overhaul of the Bills organization during his tenure.  He oversaw the drafting of Trent Edwards, Donte Whitner, Marshawn Lynch, Paul Posluszny, Kyle Williams and Ashton Youboty, among others, and hand-picked Dick Jauron to coach these young players.  The payoff appears to be happening before our eyes and Levy is a hero once again in upstate New York.

New England Patriots—Rodney Harrison—Hero.  You don’t have to like his personality or how he plays the game, but we all have to admit Rodney is still playing at an extremely high level.  He will turn 36 by the end of the season but is still hitting like a 25-year old.

Miami Dolphins—Guys whose names end in a vowel—Heroes.  Sparano.  Fasano.  Camarillo.  Ayodele.  Ndukwe.  Satele.  Wow.  Where did the Fins find all of these guys with funny names?  Now, if they can just get Henne in there at QB …………….. well, maybe not.

New York Jets—Eric Mangini—Zero.  High draft picks.  High-priced free agents.  Big Trades.  There is a LOT of talent on this roster and the Jets are the most underachieving team in the league right now.  Mangini is going to be the fall-guy for this and for good reason.

Baltimore Ravens—Rex Ryan—Hero.  There is a feeling of optimism in Baltimore.  After last season, it was time for a change in Baltimore, but it was also the right decision to keep Ryan on staff as the D-coordinator.  He has his unit playing like it’s 2000.

Pittsburgh Steelers—James Harrison—Hero.  After making the most of his first shot at starting last year, Harrison seems to be even better this year.  He is anchoring a defense that is one of the best in the league thus far.

Cincinnati Bengals—Chad Ocho Cinco—Zero.  We’re looking at another Randy Moss situation here.  The Bengals should have gotten rid of Ocho in the off-season.  Now, they’re stuck with a clubhouse cancer who doesn’t want to be there and the Bengals are going nowhere fast.

Cleveland Browns—Romeo Crennel—Zero.  It’s the same problems year in and year out for this team.  Crennel has talent but he still can’t get production out of his defensive front 7 and, as a group, they remain one of the worst in the league.  Now, his offensive line is underachieving and he has a QB controversy.   Romeo must go.

Tennessee Titans—Jim Schwartz—Hero.  This long-time Fisher assistant is doing the finest coaching of his career.  The Titans defense boasts very few superstars but plays some of the best team defense you will ever witness.

Indianapolis Colts—Tony Dungy—Zero.  As much as it pains me to say it, because I think Tony Dungy is a great human being, Tony is doing a poor job of coaching this season.  There has been confusion on the sidelines, questionable play-calling, off-field problems, and a lack of enthusiasm on this team.  All of this comes back to Dungy and you have to wonder where his head is right now.

Houston Texans—Matt Schaub—Zero.  What happened to this guy?  He looked like he might finally give the Texans some stability at QB last year, but this year he’s making poor decisions and seems lost.  He’s putting his defense in some bad situations and the Texans aren’t good enough to absorb Schaub’s mistakes.  They need him to be better than this.  They gave up a lot for this kid.

Jacksonville Jaguars—Reggie Williams—Zero.  Every off-season, we hear about how great Williams looks and how ‘this’ is going to be his break-out year.  Yet, when the season begins, he mysteriously disappears.  Maybe he gets performance anxiety.  I don’t know, but whatever he gets paid by the Jags, it’s too much.

Denver Broncos—Jay Cutler—Hero.  This was an easy choice.  Cutler is making great progress and seems to have learned a lot in his short time in the league.  It doesn’t seem to matter who he’s throwing the ball to.  He’s finding the open man and his throws are on the money.

Oakland Raiders—Al Davis’s Doctor—Zero.  I thought it was a mistake to fire Art Shell after only one season.  Now, Davis is trying to get rid of Kiffin after only one season when there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel for the first time in a long time for this organization.  Al Davis’s Doctor needs to get Davis on some heavy meds and quickly.

Kansas City Chiefs—Derrick Johnson—Zero.  This guy ‘should’ be the leader of this defense on and off the field.  The young players on this team need some veteran leadership and there appears to be none on the Chiefs roster.  Johnson is playing poorly ON the field and does not appear to be leading this young defense towards anything except a winless season.

San Diego Chargers—Phillip Rivers—Hero.  The running game is sputtering and the defense is now one of the worst in the league.  Yet, Rivers’ strong play is keeping this team competitive.  He’s throwing the ball well and making good decisions.  He is clearly the MVP of this team to this point.

Dallas Cowboys—Ken Hamlin—Hero.  After playing next to Roy Williams last year and realizing he was partnered up with the most over-hyped player in the league, Hamlin spent the off-season figuring out how to play both safety positions at one time.   Fortunately for him, Roy got hurt, but Hamlin has been playing spectacularly against the run and the pass and he is one of the main reasons the Cowboys are looking good.

Philadelphia Eagles—Donovan McNabb—Hero.  Donovan says he feels better than he has felt in years and it shows on the field.  He has a spring in his step and appears to be having fun.  He’s doing a good job of spreading the ball around and is using his experience to his advantage.

Washington Redskins—Jim Zorn—Hero.  The Redskins.  You remember, don’t you?  That ‘other’ NFC East team.  Faced with the daunting task of making something out of 2008 when all the talk is about the Cowboys, Eagles, and Giants, Jim Zorn has done a magnificent job of keeping his players focused and hungry.

New York Giants—Justin Tuck—Hero.  The retirement of Strahan meant that someone needed to step up for the G-men on their D-line.  Tuck has been up to the challenge thus far, creating match-up problems for offensive lines and even returning an INT for a touchdown.

Minnesota Vikings—E.J. Henderson—Hero.  I’m not sure why this guy doesn’t get more run than he does but he has the ability to take over games, as he did last week to help secure the Vikings 1^st win of the season.  He is the heart and soul of a good defense and if the Vikings are going to do anything this year, Henderson will be a big part of it.

Green Bay Packers—Aaron Rodgers—Hero.  The pressure of taking over for one of the all-time greats is enormous.  Thus far, Rodgers has handled it well.  He has been calm and is making good decisions.  I predicted that the pressure would be too much for Rodgers to handle.  So far, he’s proven me wrong.

Detroit Lions—William Clay Ford—Zero.  Yes, still a Zero.  Too many disaster drafts have taken their toll on this organization.  Ford’s inability to see what the real problems were and make the necessary changes quicker have doomed this franchise for the foreseeable future.

Chicago Bears—John St. Clair—Hero.  The new Bears left tackle has done a good job along with his fellow offensive lineman, of quickly developing chemistry.  The Bears have been protecting Orton, allowing him to be as efficient as he can be.  Along with great run blocking week in and week out, the Bears are actually putting some points up (imagine that).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers—Barrett Ruud—Hero.  On a defense that isn’t quite what it used to be, Ruud is a bright spot.  He is in the prime of his career now and it shows.  He will be a key factor in determining how far the Bucs can go this year.

New Orleans Saints—Drew Brees—Hero.  Without Drew Brees, where would this team be?  Seriously, the defense is still bad and the running game is sputtering, yet Brees is finding ways to get the ball into his playmaker’s hands and keep his team in ball games. 

Atlanta Falcons—Michael Turner—Hero.  I have to admit it.  He’s proving me wrong.  I thought Turner was nothing more than a rotational guy but he has taken the ball and he is running in Atlanta.

Carolina Panthers—Jon Beason—Hero.  The offense is sputtering.  The defense has very few playmakers left.  But Jon Beason is keeping this team in ball games.  I’m not expecting much out of this team this year but Beason is looking like he will be a fixture in the league for many years.

St. Louis Rams—Scott Linehan—Zero.  Um, is it hard to believe that Steven Jackson, Orlando Pace, and Torry Holt are all still on this team?  They appear to have NO talent at all.  Except they do.  And they should be playing better than they are.  Linehan has done a horrible job.  Not poor.  Not mediocre.  HORRIBLE.

Seattle Seahawks—Julius Jones—Hero.  Shaking off the hurt from not being welcomed back to the Cowboys, Jones has been running with a lot of heart.  He is hungry to prove people wrong and is one of the few bright spots this year for the Seahawks.

San Francisco 49ers—J.T. O’Sullivan—Hero.  What a story this guy is.  A career back-up in addition to stints in NFL Europe and on NFL practice squads, JTO floated around to 7 different teams and never started an NFL game.  And then, boom goes the dynamite, he lands the starting position for week 1 of this season.  And he has made the most of it.  JTO is making good decisions and seems to be getting more comfortable each week.