Notes: Who's making the grade after three quarters?

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It's the three-quarter point of the season, which means it's time for the quarterly report.

So here goes.

MVP: Peyton Manning. He has the better numbers and the victory over Steve McNair. That's enough to get the edge. That could change by next week, though, if the Titans beat the Colts. For now, Manning gets it as he moves toward another 4,000-yard passing season.

Best offensive player: Rams receiver Torry Holt is on pace to break the league record for receiving yards in a season. Holt has 1,387 after 12 games, a pace that would put him at 1,849, one more than the record held by Jerry Rice.

Best defensive player: It's time to go back to Ray Lewis. He is coming off an 18-tackle, interception game against the 49ers. He's back at the top of his profession.

Best offensive rookie: Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin has cooled down some since his fast start, but he still has 70 catches for 1,032 yards and six touchdowns.

Best defensive rookie: Dallas cornerback Terence Newman has been beaten in coverage at times, but that will happen with a lot of man coverage without help. He's a big reason why the Cowboys can use that type of coverage. Green Bay linebacker Nick Barnett and Seattle corner Marcus Trufant were just behind.

Biggest rookie disappointment: The Cardinals used the 17th overall pick on receiver Bryant Johnson, but he has done little and has been outplayed by Boldin, who was selected in the second round.

Biggest draft steal: The Texans have the back of the future in Domanick Davis, who they took in the fourth round last April. He has 825 yards and five touchdowns.

Coach of the year: It's hard to overlook what Marvin Lewis has done in Cincinnati with the Bengals, but Bill Belichick has to be the pick right now. His team has won eight consecutive games, despite dealing with an abundance of injuries. He is the best in football right now.

Best offensive assistant: Tom Moore doesn't get the attention he deserves, but he has that Colts offense ranked second in the league although it has played without a lot of key people for much of the year.

Best defensive assistant: Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has the top-ranked defense, even after a bad showing last week against the Dolphins.

Coach on the hottest seat: Jim Fassel because he coaches in New York, but he has plenty of others right there with him.

Most improved player: Lions cornerback Dre' Bly was considered a big overpay when he was signed by the team, including in this space. But he has played some good football.

Player on the downside: Hard to say he's on the downside since he might already be on the bottom. But has any player fallen as hard as Rich Gannon has in one year? Health issues aside, he stunk.

Biggest team disappointment: We'll go with a tie between Tampa Bay and Oakland, although the latter has had it worse. But both Super Bowl teams from last season have been major disappointments.

Surprise team: It has to be the Bengals. They are in the division race in December. Enough said.

Dre' Bly (6 interceptions) has turned out to be a solid addition for the Lions.(AP)

Best game: The Colts-Bucs came from the first quarter of the season is a classic, but for the sake of change we'll go with the Ravens-Seahawks game from two weeks ago. Baltimore, with Anthony Wright playing quarterback, rallied from 17 down late to win in overtime. At least the Colts had Manning leading their comeback.

Best moment: It happened in the second week, but it's hard to top Jamal Lewis rushing for 295 yards to break the single-game rushing mark.

Worst moment: Michael Vick getting hurt in the preseason. Losing stars like that for any extended period of time is not a good thing for the league.

Best trend: We're seeing more big runs, which is a by-product of offenses spreading out defenses.

Worst trend: We're sticking with an old standby: poor situational coaching. Time and time again, coaches get lost when trying to figure out what they should do in certain situations. Follow the rules, guys.

Around the league

• Any team interested in making a play for Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp after the season might want to take a close look at the Jacksonville-Tampa Bay tape. Jacksonville rookie guard Vince Manuwai dominated Sapp. On one play, Manuwai drove Sapp 10 yards off the ball. Sapp managed to get to Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich one time, and that was as Leftwich was throwing. He did not get a sack and had just two tackles. Manuwai is a good player and will be a Pro Bowl guard, but his dominance really stood out. Another thing that stood out from that tape was seeing Tampa Bay Pro Bowl defensive end Simeon Rice cower from a potential chip-block from running back Fred Taylor. On one play, Taylor knocked Rice down. Then later in the game, Taylor got him near the rib area as he prepared to rush against Mike Pearson. Later, Taylor went toward Rice and he stopped and did a little two-step to avoid being hit by Taylor. If you want to slow down Rice, it might be wise to chip him. He obviously doesn't take to it.
• Another pass-rushing defensive end that is having problems is Carolina's Julius Peppers. He has two sacks and everyone is wondering what has happened to him after he was so impressive as a rookie. "He's not playing instinctively," said one NFC personnel director. "He's just trying to rely on his athletic ability. He doesn't look like a football player." Peppers was handled by Eagles right tackle Jon Runyan last week in Philly's victory over the Panthers. Runyan said he singled him nearly the entire game. "You'll see tight ends single-blocking him, too," said the personnel director. Peppers needs to be more of a force in the final month.
• There is some talk around the league that if Tampa Bay general manager Rich McKay leaves to go to another team, such as Atlanta, then the Bucs might look at Oakland Raiders personnel executive Mike Lombardi to handle personnel matters. It's quite clear Jon Gruden is now the de facto GM anyway, making final decisions, so he would need somebody to guide him through the legwork of making those decisions. Lombardi is a respected football mind, a guy who does his homework on players. Those types of guys usually end up as valuable assets to coaches who assume the GM role. Plus, Lombardi and Gruden worked together in Philadelphia (when Gruden was offensive coordinator) and in Oakland.
• Words of advice to any team trying to defend Peyton Manning: Hope like heck he doesn't have the ball at the end of the half. Among his many impressive stats this year, one that stands out is his success in the last two minutes of the first half. Manning is 50 of 69 for 618 yards and a 72.5 completion percentage in those two minutes. He has also thrown six touchdowns and two interceptions in that span.
• There is an assumption that Tom Coughlin to the Giants will be a done deal after the season when Fassel is let go. Keep an eye on Coughlin to Buffalo when Gregg Williams is not retained. Coughlin grew up in upstate New York and it would seem that the small-town feel of the Buffalo area is more to his liking than the metropolis of New York. The one drawback could be money. The Bills don't pay their coaches over $1 million. But Coughlin will be paid $2.6 million by the Jaguars next season anyway, so if the Bills paid him $1.5 million or so, the Jaguars would have to make up the difference. The Bills seem to have the foundation in place for a good defense and need to rev up the offense some, which Coughlin can do. The one question might be whether he can work under Tom Donahoe but the word is the two could co-exist.
• The Falcons got a good corner when they claimed Derek Ross off waivers Wednesday. Ross showed star potential as a rookie in 2002 but somehow found his way into Bill Parcells' doghouse early this summer. Parcells didn't like Ross' hot-dog ways and eventually decided to let him go when it became apparent that he had some off-field issues. Ross came out of Ohio State with some legal problems -- traffic citations aplenty -- that led some teams to back away. But the Cowboys have told teams he wasn't a major problem. With cornerback issues, the Falcons made a good move claiming him. If he doesn't work out, it will be up to the next regime to worry about him since Dan Reeves and his staff likely won't be around in 2002.
• With Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer sticking with Doug Flutie, it might be an indication that the Chargers will use their first-round pick next April, maybe first overall, on a quarterback. That would mean either Mississippi's Eli Manning or maybe Miami of Ohio's Ben Roethlisberger, if he opts to enter the draft. There is no other reason to explain how the team would play a 41-year-old quarterback and not let Drew Brees play to see if he is their passer of the future. Perhaps that has already been decided, which is why Flutie is still in.
• Kudos to the NFL for fining referee Tom White $2,600 for failing to restart the clock at the end of the Seattle-Baltimore game, a mistake that cost Seattle a victory. But that's no consolation to the Seahawks. They lost that game and are now one game behind the Rams in the NFC West. If Seattle flops down the stretch and doesn't make the playoffs -- they play three of four on the road -- the NFL might have a big mess on its hands since it admitted the mistake publicly.
• If ever a team needed a bunch of good free-agent corners on the market, it's the Steelers. With Chad Scott and Dewayne Washington both major flops after signing their free-agent deals, the Steelers need to find a way to shore up that area. They have high hopes for rookie Ivan Taylor, but they still need a veteran star. But the Steelers might not have the money to go out and pursue a Charles Woodson. Why is that? They overspent badly in the summer of 2002 to give Scott and Washington contract extensions. Bad move.