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FALLING

1. Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks coach. Coaches lose credibility with their players over time when they risk defeat with imprudent decisions. Carroll handled the quarterback situation questionably against Cincinnati on Sunday. He clearly botched the sequence when the first-half clock ran out, preventing the Seahawks from getting points. He did not stop the team from calling another option running play for quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, even though Jackson was still playing with an injury stemming from the last time Seattle called such a play. Making mistakes is bad enough. Refusing to correct them is worse. Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times recently ran through some of the other questionable decisions from Carroll. The Seahawks deserve better for their $35 million investment.

2. Russ Grimm, Arizona Cardinals assistant head coach/offensive line. Grimm's Hall of Fame pedigree and long-established reputation as a top offensive line coach have largely buffered him from criticism. That should change given where the Cardinals' line stands five seasons into Grimm's tenure with Arizona. Grimm hasn't been able to turn a top-five draft choice, Levi Brown, into even an average starting NFL tackle. Quarterback Kevin Kolb, though largely to blame for holding the ball too long, nonetheless needs better protection than the Cardinals' line has afforded him.

3. Charlie Whitehurst, Seahawks QB. Carroll's patience with Whitehurst finally ran out against the Bengals. Whitehurst is likely finished in Seattle unless an injury forces him into the lineup and he suddenly performs at a high level for an extended stretch. The team needed to find out about Whitehurst this season. Carroll made it clear he's seen enough when he benched Whitehurst after only seven pass attempts Sunday. Whitehurst took two sacks during his brief time on the field. He appeared unsettled by the rush and unsure what to do.

RISING

1. Steven Jackson, Rams RB. Jackson is the Rams' emotional leader, but that leadership had its limits when a quadriceps injury was preventing Jackson from performing at high level. Jackson has shown over the past two games an ability to run with abandon. Jackson carried 25 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns in the Rams' 31-21 upset of New Orleans. He now has 28 career 100-yard rushing performances with the Rams, one more than Marshall Faulk. Only Eric Dickerson (38) has more in franchise history. Jackson's four receptions tied him with Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch for sixth on the Rams' career list (343 catches). Jackson also moved past Faulk for third on the Rams' list for most yards from scrimmage.

2. Chris Long, Rams DE. Long's three-sack performance against Drew Brees and the Saints came after a quiet week for Long and the Rams' defense at Dallas. This was a breakout game in every way. Long had one sack in each of the Rams' first three games this season. He then went three games without one before breaking through against Saints right tackle Charles Brown. Long next faces an Arizona team that has juggled personnel at right tackle, switching between Brandon Keith and Jeremy Bridges. Long's rise could continue.

3. Robert Quinn, Rams DE. A few unestablished young players in the division qualified for consideration in this spot. Richard Sherman, Greg Salas, Sam Acho and O'Brien Schofield come to mind. Patrick Peterson was another consideration, but his punt return for a touchdown wasn't his first of the season, and the Cardinals ultimately lost. The San Francisco 49ers' collective stock has already surged, making it tough to pinpoint one player from that team following a routine victory over Cleveland. I went with Quinn because his stock had sagged quite a bit early in the season. He wasn't even active for the opener. But with a sack and blocked punt against New Orleans, the rookie first-round draft choice played an important role in the Rams' first victory of the season.

Andy Robustelli's passing this week focused attention on the New York Giants teams he helped turn into champions.

Rightfully so.

I also wondered whatever would compel the Los Angeles Rams to trade such an outstanding player months after Robustelli helped them reach the 1955 championship game. The answer, that Robustelli wanted to be closer to his Connecticut roots, contrasted with current NFL norms. The world is much smaller in the age of easy communication and 6-hour flights between New York and Los Angeles.

Differences between then and now came into sharper focus Wednesday when I reached out to one of Robustelli's teammates on that 1955 Rams team.

Ron Waller, 78, went to the Pro Bowl as a rookie running back, although he was much more than that in an era of 33-man rosters and 12-game seasons.

Waller rushed for 716 yards and seven touchdowns, caught 24 passes, returned 14 punts and averaged better than 27 yards on his 17 kick returns. He went to camp as a running back, then left for three weeks to play defensive back under Curly Lambeau in the College All-Star Game (his team beat the pros). Upon returning to the Rams, Waller opened the season at receiver, only to switch back to running back when Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch came out of retirement. Tom Fears was another Hall of Fame receiver on that team.

The smaller rosters of that era favored versatility over the specialization of the current NFL game.

Robustelli was one of the Rams' best defensive players back then. The defense fell off statistically once the Rams traded him to the Giants before the 1956 season.

"It was a great loss for us at that position," Waller said.

Blaming the Rams' slide from 8-3-1 with Robustelli in 1955 to 4-8 without him the next season, however convenient, would miss the bigger story. Quarterback Norm Van Brocklin clashed with coach Sid Gillman over which man would call the plays. Gillman benched Van Brocklin for most of the 1956 season. The Rams weren't the same.

"Van Brocklin, who has been known to run the same unsuccessful play three times simply to prove that it can work, does not take kindly to the strict sideline direction of the Paul Brown school of coaching," Tex Maule wrote for Sports Illustrated in 1958, "and often Gillman's messages, via shuttling linemen, only irritated Van Brocklin."

Robustelli got out of Los Angeles at just the right time. He was 30 years old and would win six conference titles with the Giants by the time he played his final game at age 39.

Waller, much younger, didn't fare so well with Rams management. Attempts to parlay his early success into a better contract went nowhere.

"I went in to management -- we didn't have agents back in those days -- and told them I wanted $15,000 for my second-year contract," said Waller, who had earned $8,000 in salary with a $1,000 bonus as the 15th player chosen in the 1955 draft. "And the general manager, who was Pete Rozelle, believe it or not, said, 'Son, you gotta be in the league a long time before you ever make $15,000."

What key event significantly changed the fortunes of the Rams -- for better or worse? Give us your take and we’ll give you our definitive moment on May 19.

Long before Kurt Warner was directing the Greatest Show on Turf, Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin were connecting with Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch and Tom Fears for the Los Angeles Rams of the 1950s. They won a championship, too.

The Rams' 1951 title team sustained an 11-year stretch without a losing season. The Rams would remain successful for years under Sid Gillman, George Allen, Chuck Knox and Ray Malavasi, but none of those teams would win a championship.

The biggest trade in franchise history also earned a spot on the ballot. This swap involved owners, not players. The Rams and Colts traded ownership in 1972. Carroll Rosenbloom's death in 1979 left the Rams to his wife, Georgia Frontiere, who would later move the franchise to her native St. Louis. Her passing in 2008 precipitated the team's latest ownership change.

The Rams' 16 seasons in St. Louis have been eventful. Hiring Dick Vermeil, drafting Orlando Pace, acquiring Marshall Faulk and turning to Warner could all earn spots on the ballot. These were among the defining moments as the Rams brought a championship to St. Louis.

The drama associated with quarterback Trent Green's 1999 preseason injury and Mike Jones' Super Bowl tackle conferred special status to those two events. Green's injury was supposed to doom the Rams' season, but Warner intervened. And when Jones brought down Tennessee Titans receiver Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line on the final play of Super Bowl XXXIV, the Rams were champions again.

If you vote Other, give us your suggestion in the comments area below.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- As a general rule, if you're going to give up 512 yards to the Giants, it's best to have DeSean Jackson on your roster. The Eagles' wide receiver has been turning heads for two seasons, but on Sunday night he showed the nation why he's become the most explosive player in the league.

He's the ultimate X-factor on a team that is once again peaking at the right time. And this season, the Eagles may even leave themselves some breathing room. With a 45-38 win in their final trip to Giants Stadium, Philadelphia took sole possession of first place in the NFC East. The Eagles almost seemed to be toying with the Giants before finally pulling away in the fourth quarter.

And in the biggest game of the season to this point, Jackson was by far the best player on the field. Even the stoic Andy Reid can't suppress a smile when he's asked about his precocious star. Jackson isn't much for sideline decorum, so he's often in Reid's ear offering up helpful suggestions such as, "They can't cover me, coach!"

On this night, Jackson scored on a 72-yard punt return and a 60-yard reception. He averaged 44.8 yards on his first five touches of the game and the Giants' defensive backs looked even more helpless than usual. It seemed appropriate that Jackson tied a record for most touchdowns in a season of 50 yards or more (with eight). Jackson is now one of three players to hold the record; the other two are the Bears’ Devin Hester ('07) and former Los Angeles Rams great Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch ('51). Jackson does everything with a flair, so it's about time we give him his own catchy nickname.

When it appeared the Giants had settled things down in the second quarter, Jackson fielded a punt at his 28-yard line and immediately retreated several yards to his right. Giants special-teams aces Domenik Hixon and Bryan Kehl converged on Jackson, but they left him a tiny escape route along the sideline and he raced 72 yards to the end zone. There's a gear that Jackson has that pretty much eliminates any angle a defender might have.

"That return was disgusting," said Eagles tight end Brent Celek, who added his seventh touchdown of the season Sunday. "There's no player like him in the league. There are some great receivers out there, but no one's as quick and fast as him."

Before the game, word spread through the Eagles' locker room that the Cowboys had lost to the Chargers. Several players admitted the good news gave them an extra spark in jumping out to a 14-0 lead during the first six minutes. But unlike the Eagles' win at the Linc last month, the Giants refused to go away in Sunday's game. With 5:12 left in the third quarter, Hixon got loose for a 61-yard touchdown to give the Giants a 31-30 lead. On the sideline, Reid said that Jackson was "bugging" him about wanting the ball.

On the next play from scrimmage, quarterback Donovan McNabb dropped back in the pocket and had an eternity to survey the field. With each passing moment, everyone's eyes looked for Jackson, who was in the process of running away from Giants safety Aaron Ross. McNabb delivered a perfect pass and Ross' dive came up empty. Jackson punctuated the 60-yard touchdown by running the final 10 yards backward.

"I feel like I'm kind of the big play, the go-to receiver at crucial moments," said Jackson after the game. "So I went to Donovan, coach Reid and Marty Mornhinweg and I told them, 'Just put the ball in my hands.' They were doing some single coverage a couple times and I was like, 'There's no way they can single coverage me.' "

Jackson missed last week's win over Atlanta while recovering from a concussion, but he said he felt fine leading up to Sunday's game. Reid still marvels at how calm Jackson seems to be in big games.

"New York's a pretty big venue," said Reid. "But [with Jackson], it's like we're playing in the backyard. He loves playing the game."

» NFC: D. Jackson (PHI) | S. Jackson (STL) | P. Harvin (MIN) | D. Williams (CAR)
» AFC: R. Brown (MIA) | D. Sproles (SD) | J. Cribbs (CLE) | C. Johnson (TEN)

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

A look at the players opposing teams hate to see with the ball in their hands in the open field.

I believe that DeSean Jackson is the most dangerous player in the NFL right now. He's not the best receiver or the best punt returner -- but his ability to strike from anywhere on the field makes him one of the most potent weapons we've seen in years. Wide receivers such as the Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald and the Texans' Andre Johnson are going to make a ton of plays, but Jackson's the type player who only needs a couple of touches to change the course of a game.

	Win McNamee/Getty Images
	DeSean Jackson has six touchdowns this season that have covered at least 50 yards.

Two weeks ago against the Redskins, Jackson took an end around 67 yards for a touchdown on the Eagles' first possession. Later, he raced through the Skins' secondary for a 57-yard touchdown and then danced an Irish jig in the end zone. With Jackson in the lineup, the Eagles don't have to rely on dinking and dunking the ball down the field. There's not a single player in the league who can cover Jackson one-on-one. The Bucs held him to one catch for 1 yard by using a cornerback and a safety over the top to bracket the second-year receiver.

That opened things up for Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to connect with rookie wide receiver Jeremy Maclin for a couple of touchdowns. Last season, he finally hit the rookie wall in December and didn't even register a catch in a Dec. 7 game against the Giants. But he elevated his game during the '08 playoffs and became one of McNabb's favorite targets.

One longtime NFC pro personnel scout told me recently that it's Jackson's ability to stutter-step and then be at full speed within about four strides that separates him from most receivers in the league. Asked recently if he'd coached a weapon as potent as Jackson, Eagles coach Andy Reid referenced Terrell Owens and Brian Westbrook. But he quickly returned to Jackson.

"I won't take anything away from [Jackson]," Reid said. "That kid's explosive. He's exciting to watch, and most of all he loves to play the game. He loves to play."

Jackson already has six touchdowns this season of 50 or more yards. If he can score two more times from that distance, he'll tie the record that Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch set in 1951 while with the Los Angeles Rams. He's scored four times through the air, once on a punt return and once on the end around against the Redskins.

Watching him race down the sideline against the Skins was remarkable in that he completely erased the angles that LaRon Landry and DeAngelo Hall had on him. The only fear with Jackson is his slight frame. He's not built to take a heavy pounding -- but he may not have to when you consider that he's normally running wide open behind another team's secondary.

"I'm just being put in some great positions to go out there and, I guess, score over 50 yards," Jackson said after Sunday's game. "But whatever we need to do to make it work, man, that's what we're going to do."

Last Sunday, the Giants trimmed the Eagles' lead to 16-7 late in the first half. It looked like the Giants might finally have gained a little momentum. But on the next play from scrimmage, Jackson sold Giants safety C.C. Brown on a subtle fake to the inside, caught a pass from McNabb and then raced up the field for a 54-yard touchdown. The Giants were completely deflated by the play and never recovered.

Jackson gives the Eagles more margin for error than they've had in years. When a player makes 60-yard touchdowns seem commonplace, it takes pressure off the rest of the offense. I know the Cowboys will probably try to cover Jackson on Sunday with veteran cornerback Terence Newman and then shade one of the safeties to Jackson's side. That's the type of respect the most dangerous player in the game deserves these days.