There's an argument to be made that the Chiefs are the worst team since the 0-16 Detroit Lions in 2008. There's an even trickier argument to be made that these Chiefs are worse.

All of Dallas' biggest problems are self-inflicted: Communication errors, game-management problems, penalties, sloppy mistakes, not having enough players on the field. This isn't a disciplined football team.

Sean Payton's agent is probably thankful to Payton's staff for making his client look like a genius.

Somehow, the Jaguars' offense remains the worst in the league.

It's remarkable that the Eagles are lucky to be 3-5. Firing defensive coordinator Juan Castillo was an admission of failure on one of Reid's biggest choices, and the defense has only grown worse since.

The defense has actually been a little better of late, but Rivera too often coaches not to lose.

Gailey has proven he doesn't know how to hire a defensive staff or improve defensive performance. The plan changes every year.

There aren't many teams we'd trust less with a huge lead. That has to come back to the coaching staff eventually.

Munchak is lucky to have three wins, considering five of Tennessee's six losses came by 21 points or more. He's yet to show he's a difference-maker as a coach.

No one throws more perplexing challenge flags than Lewis. The Bengals have taken an expected step back this year.

Considering the injuries to Darrelle Revis and Santonio Holmes, Rex actually isn't doing that bad a job. The Jets just aren't that talented.

His in-game decisions drive us crazy. Still, Shurmur has done a decent job with a young quarterback and a very young offense. The Browns are a tough out, despite their 2-7 record.

Schwartz has struggled to take his talented Lions to the next level, but they have quietly righted the ship. Detroit might still be a factor.

We didn't expect the Raiders to be in so many shootouts. It's a very strange team, but Oakland is playing to its talent level and has cut down on the franchise's signature mental mistakes.

On balance, 4-5 is overachieving for this Cardinals team.

We give him a break because the Shanahans have done a very nice job shepherding Robert Griffin III into the league and that's their first priority.

The offense looked stale at times early in the season and McCarthy has never been the best in-game manager. Still, he's a steady leader and great offensive mind.

Tomlin has a way of steering the Steelers through rocky times.

Denver's defense has steadily improved, but we can't give Fox too much credit when Peyton Manning coaches the offense.

The Vikings have overachieved overall, but the team still doesn't know how to solve its passing woes.

Before the game in London, the Rams did a nice job of battling hard every week. Fisher dramatically improved the team's defense.

The Bucs have an identity on offense and fly around the ball on defense. It's looking like a great first draft class for Schiano.

The secondary breakdowns won't go away and there have been more situational football problems than normal, but the Patriots remain very tough to prepare for. Josh McDaniels just needs to stop getting so cute.

The Ravens are 6-2, seemingly just because of ingrained institutional memory. They're able to win many different styles of games.

Seattle's defensive schemes are very creative. That's all Carroll. His gamble to roll with Russell Wilson has paid off with weekly improvements from the rookie quarterback.

Kubiak deserves a lot of credit for handling the transition from a team that hopes to be good to a team that expects to be good.

If every regular season ended at midseason, Coughlin might be more respected than another former Giants employee: Vince Lombardi.

This might be Smith's best defense yet in Chicago, which is saying a lot. He gets knocked slightly for the erratic offense.

The 49ers might be the hardest team to prepare for in football. That says a lot about the coaching staff.

This was expected by many to be the worst team in football. Instead, the Dolphins are probably better than their 4-4 record indicates.

The Falcons do everything you expect of well-coached teams. They win the turnover margin, they avoid penalties, they play great situational football. They are greater than the sum of their parts.

Coaching is about maximizing talent. No team has squeezed more magical moments out of a thinner roster than the Indianapolis Colts. Arians treated Andrew Luck like a veteran from Day 1 and it's paid off.