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Brad Childress gets Brett Favre and quickly ends up with a hefty contract extension. Lovie Smith gets Jay Cutler and finds people wondering if he'll soon be unemployed. Some guys have all the luck. Nevertheless, the Bears enter Sunday's showdown against the Eagles just one game off the wild-card pace, despite losing their past two. And Cutler's old team in Denver has lost three in a row and may be without Kyle Orton against the Chargers this week. One SportsNation blogger thinks Cutler is still the right guy for the Bears, but does his new team or his old team need a win more this week?

• "Cutler has the ability to win games for his team; an ability that was overly praised when Brett Favre was in Green Bay but is now largely overlooked in evaluating today's quarterbacks (for some reason, people have fallen in love with "guys who just know how to win," forgetting that those guys have either rock solid defenses or unstoppable running games). But don't ask me, ask any of the many quarterback-starved teams in the league if they would give up exactly what the Bears gave up to get Cutler to begin with right now." Read afjumpfan23's full post.

Cincinnati was getting so close to the top of the football world, you just knew the city's football karma would find a way to catch up with it.

The Cincinnati Bearcats beat West Virginia Friday to remain perfect on the season, and while Ohio State may be headed for the Rose Bowl, 64 percent of SportsNation thinks the state's best college team resides southwest of Columbus. Add to that the Bengals, who knocked off the Steelers Sunday to complete a season sweep against their AFC North rivals and leave coach Marvin Lewis with a season-best 92 percent approval rating.

So yeah, clearly the perfect guy to add to such gridiron harmony is Larry Johnson. The disgruntled former Chiefs running back is reportedly close to signing with the Bengals as insurance for Cedric Benson, who left the game against the Steelers with a hip injury.

• Before the news broke, 70 percent of Ohio didn't want Johnson on their team.

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SportsNation would rather have Peyton Manning than Tom Brady dating their sister, but the roles are reversed if a wingman is called for. Maybe it's time to have the quarterback beauty contest settled on the field.

In the other big rivalry game of the week (no, not Chiefs-Raiders), Chad Ochocinco is winning the PR war (and food fight) for the Bengals, but fans favor the Steelers.

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The NFL regular season is already at the halfway point, but if you expected the first half to offer enough clues to give away the ending, you've been spending too much time reading Dan Brown novels. Even when it comes to the Saints, undefeated and scoring at will, SportsNation can't decide if their late bursts are evidence of a great closer or a vulnerable starter. A pair of bloggers took opposite sides in discussing their Power Rankings.

• "Survived yet another scare on Sunday against Carolina. I told you that game would be close. Three straight games now they have trailed and had some amazing [resurgence] in the 4th quarter. The amount they outscore teams in the 4th is huge. This team didn't trail at all prior to three weeks ago. The team is changing, and if victories are pulled off like this, your team is going to start believing they are unbeatable." -- Read Feldman9000's full post.
• "In terms of their chances to go 16-0, I rank the Saints 2nd because eventually they are going to spot a 17-0 lead that they can't recover from. And well, I guess I'm not as much a believer in this team over the long haul, though they will be a tough out if/when they get home field throughout the NFC Playoffs." Read JoeRevs300's full post.

And you can see how SportsNation's Power Rankings have shifted from the start of the season through the quarter mark and now the halfway mark.

It's been nearly two months, and if you listen closely, you can still hear Gus Johnson's call lingering in the air. Brandon Stokley's miracle catch and touchdown run handed the Broncos a Week 1 win against the Bengals. At the time, it seemed like it might be the last we heard from either team. Instead, it's the play that continues shaping the AFC race behind the unbeaten Colts.

But after the Broncos tumbled to a second consecutive defeat against one of the Bengals' AFC North rivals, this time the Steelers on Monday Night Football, there are four conference teams at 6-2. Are the recipients of that opening week miracle the weakest of the bunch?

Here's how SportsNation has called the AFC West race at various points this season.

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What does Tony Romo have to do to catch a break? Wait, poor choice of words. Romo should be breathing easy these days. Criticized heavily during the Cowboys' slow start -- he had slipped all the way to No. 17 in SportsNation's quarterback rankings as recently as Oct. 12 -- Romo bounced back with three great games in a row. By Monday, he was back up to the cusp of the top 10 at the position in SportsNation's eyes. Enter Roy Williams, who managed the seemingly impossible feat of handing a popularity contest to Terrell Owens.

SportsNation says Romo isn't a leader, but one blogger is ready to follow him to a win against the Eagles.

• "I will believe, for now, that 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions in the last 3 games is not coincidence or a streak. I will believe that the stench of the T.O. signing and leaving has finally left us. Romo is reaching more receivers -- to include the backs. Romo is tucking and running more than I've probably ever seen him do, and I'll take that & Just don't get hurt & Because our back-up QB is [Jon] Kitna. Why is all of this happening? Because T.O. is not crying for the ball. Because the show that is T.O. is not the looming and ominous cloud hanging over Romo anymore." Read MoAz2213's full post.

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Hidden beneath the layers of Shakespearean drama involved in Brett Favre's return to Lambeau Field to face the boos and settle scores with Ted Thompson, there's a reasonably important division game on tap Sunday in Green Bay. With the Bears skidding and the Lions, well, still the Lions, the Vikings could put the kind of distance normally reserved for month-old Limburger between themselves and the Cheeseheads. SportsNation is picking the visitors to get it done, and one blogger thinks this could be the beginning of the end.

• "The Packers are above average on both sides of the ball. They are a solid team. The defense is giving up only 16 PPG, and only 96 total this season. They're in the top ten in most offensive and defensive categories. Their only losses? Cincinnati and Minnesota. Sounds legit right? Unfortunately not. 3 of 4 wins have come against bottom tier opponents and based on the look of the rest of the schedule, which consists of Minnesota again this week, Dallas, San Francisco, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, another trip to Chicago, and Arizona, doesn't look good. Final Prediction: 7-9 Verdict: Pretender " Read Feldman9000's full post.

• Your Power Rankings: How far do the Eagles drop in your top 10?
• Vote: Get an early start picking Week 7 games, including the Steelers at the Vikings.
• Chat: NFL expert Len Pasquarelli, 11 a.m. ET.

You know that old adage about "The bigger they are, the harder they fall"? In our athletic experience, it's usually been "the bigger they are, the more it hurts when they tackle you", but sometimes, the old sayings actually hold true. Defensive stars Kris Jenkins (of the Jets) and Antwan Odom (of the Bengals) are out for the season, which can't be good news for either of their squads. It's already been a tough week for the Jets; not only did they fall to the lowly Bills, but 60 percent of SportsNation thinks they're frauds. Cincinnati isn't faring much better. Most of SportsNation sees the 4-2 team playing golf once playoff time comes around.

In happier news, the Broncos remain undefeated, and can rest on their 6-0 (!) record happily during their bye week. Or, they can steam over the following bulletin board material: out of all the unbeaten teams, they're the ones that get no respect.

It only took a couple of wins for fans like MSJC36 to accept Josh McDaniels. The other fan bloggers (if you ignore the Broncos' true rivals) are grudgingly coming around, too.

On the spectrum opposite the undefeated, 0-5 despair translated to draft dreams.

Rush Limbaugh's role in a bid for the Rams drew spirited response (click through below if you think there's still something to add to this debate), Terrell Owens trade rumors involved multiple teams and the UFL even got a cursory look from fans.

These are the best NFL fan blogs posted on ESPN.com this week. Click through to respond to win-starved fans or a post about your favorite team.

Week 6 predictions: Jbreaux2 | Feldman9000

Team Blogs Bengals: sharar09 | Browns: Carmentrout56 | Enochdawg | Chiefs: WarrioroftheChiefsGridiron | Sports Page Network | Cowboys: MoAz2213 | Dolphins: I am Ron Burgandy | Giants: Aquaman8888 | Jets: Goldbrick4 | Patriots: llittlewoz81 | Raiders: JaRader Hater2 | Redskins: Aquaman8888 | Steelers: JoeRevs300 | Titans: ChrisLo26

More Apology to Brett Favre: 6burghsteelers1 | Fantasy: Dargo7777 | Hall of Fame: partofwhatswrong | October the best month: owenjs33 | Rush Limbaugh: adam_keefe_fan | jschreier18 | benrey23 | Eyvonne1953 | Terrell Owens trade rumors: mikeywhtsox1 | JCorreia08 | Trash talk: Goldbrick4 | Twitter: gweitz11 | UFL: mikeywhtsox1 | Willie Parker: JoeRevs300

Week 5 reaction Tomahawk27488 | orionben666 | cjmeares

Neither Michelle Beadle nor Colin Cowherd will be traded by the "SportsNation" TV producers before next week's deadline.

Argue the hot topics of the day and vote on the biggest stories from the world of sports. The show airs on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. and midnight ET.

Note: Broadcast voting results as of this afternoon (ET).

Is there any downside to Adrian Peterson saying he wants "all the records"?
It's not like defenses don't have his number circled. The Vikings RB already has 481 yards and seven TDs this season (3,582 and 29 for his career).

Is Jimmy Clausen a legitimate Heisman candidate?
The Notre Dame quarterback has thrown for more than 300 yards in all but one game this season and 12 TDs to only two interceptions.

If all were interested, which coach would you most want to hire?
Bill Cowher, Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden and Mike Shanahan all have rings. Would one of them turn around your woeful franchise or take your team to a title?

Are you offended by ads featuring scantily clad women?
Montreal Canadiens enforcer Georges Laraque has apologized for an alcohol ad in which he appears playing street hockey.

Should the Bears have gotten more out of Kyle Orton and Cedric Benson?
The ex-Bears quarterback is 5-0 in Denver. The ex-Bears RB leads the league in rushing. Does their success reflect poorly on their former team?

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