I am The Rabbi, again, editor of On The Sportslines. While I am doing my bowl bonanza preview, we are gonna try something different for our NFL column this week. I will focus on one issue in the world of football and try to give my thoughts on it. This week: it's the undefeated.

Is it really that hard to go 19-0?

The pursuit of perfection. The last few years, it hasn't seem that hard to at least start. We saw the 05 Colts start their season 13-0 (no Super Bowl or playoff win), the 08 Tennessee Titans start 10-0 (no Super Bowl or playoff win), and of course the 07 New England Patriots begin their campaign 18-0 (and as well all know victim number 16, the Giants rose up to stop the 19-0 bid).

It's almost a burden to be an undefeated team going into December. ESPN starts devoting whole sections of their show to YOUR team, everybody who has seen their teams fail starts to hitch their wagon to you (or go totally against you and wish you failed), all the moves you do get scrutinized, and that's even before you go to the playoffs and try to get the elusive wins number 17, 18, and 19 (and again, just look at New England 2 years ago).

It is 2009, and we only have 16 days until Christmas. Yet, the NFC and AFC each have their own little ratings present. Both teams by the way won a grand total of ZERO playoff games a year ago.

Let's start with the NFC and the New Orleans Saints. 3 years ago, they were the darlings of the NFL going from a 2 win team to a team that was close to a Super Bowl appearance in Miami. Now, the New Orleans Saints are a powerhouse, with a high powered offense that's as good as that team, they are on a pace we haven't seen since the St. Louis Rams and the greatest show on turf a decade ago. The Saints and Drew Brees spread the ball out like no other team has almost ever had in NFL history. There are SIX players on this team with 28 catches or more. That's amazing. Add to that Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell leading a solid running attack, and both could reach the 800 yard level on the ground this season. However, it's the opportunistic defense that makes the Saints what they are right now. They have 23 INT's, that's the most in football. Their give/take number is +15, second in the NFL. They may have a defense that only ranks 18th in giving up yards per game, but that one mistake you make, they take advantage. That's what makes a championship team. They may have had a ton of close games (they've had 4 that could have gone either way), but all of them went in the W column, that's all that matters.

Then there's Indianapolis. The Colts are lead by America's QB Peyton Manning, but America's coach Tony Dungy is gone. Why has this team clicked on all cylinders? I honestly have no idea. Every single year though, the Colts get on a run, whether it be the 9 in row they had to end in 2008, or the 12 in a row they had to begin this season. The Colts have played great games (that Sunday Night Football game at Arizona), and have played close games (Week 1 vs. the Jaguars, Week 2 At The Dolphins, Week 8 vs San Francisco...you get the picture). This team only has 1 true #1 wide receiver, a rookie #2 wide receiver in Pierre Gason (who? yeah.), and a semi-decent rushing attack. What do they do in the end though? They win. They win ugly but they win nevertheless.

Neither of this team is gonna even come close to the stats or the swagger of the 07 Patriots, but why can't they go undefeated. When you see things like the Saints did Sunday against the Redskins, or what happened with the Colts when they hosted the Patriots back in Week 10, the only question I can come up with is...why not? We don't have to have a powerhouse 19-0 team, the Saints may not have the championship defense, the Colts may not have the consistency, but they both have QB's who can win in the end, and personnel that's been there before.

So when you think that it's impossible to go 19-0, talk to me in about 1 month and a half, when we could be preparing for the 18-0 Saints taking on the 18-0 Colts.

THE FRUSTRATION OF BEING A STEELER FAN

Jay from "On The Sportslines" here. Those of you who know me or regularly watch the show know that I am a DIE-HARD Pittsburgh Steeler fan. What you may not know, unless you too are a Steeler fan, is just how frustrating that can be.

Now I know you're looking at me the same way my boy AP does when I say that. AP is a LOOOOOOOONG suffering Cleveland Browns fan, so he can't fathom that a fan of the team with the most Lombardi trophies would have anything to complain about. As he so often reminds me, "Dude, at least your team WINS."

Yes, the Black and Gold do win. Only the Patriots and Colts have more regular season wins in this decade coming into the season. Only the Patriots have more playoff wins and Super Bowls wins this decade than the Steelers.

When you root for a team that ALWAYS loses, you get numb to it. AP's passion for the Browns is no less than mine for the Steelers, but he's so used them playing badly and losing that his emotional investment isn't what it used to be. A Steeler fan's emotional investment would break the Richter Scale.

Spend a day like I did today (and like I do on a decent portion of the 16 football days that the Steelers play) in a Steeler bar filled from stem to stern with rabid fans in Black and Gold and you might begin to understand.

Yes, the Steelers do win more than they lose, but they NEVER do either the easy way. They don't get blown out nor do they blow their opponents out. In their 6 wins, their average margin of victory is 10.33 points, but most of that has happened in the second half or fourth quarter which means that us fans spend anywhere from 30-45 minutes riding a roller coaster of exhilaration and frustration before we can exhale a HUGE sigh of relief.

In their 4 loses, their average margin of defeat is 3.75 points and in all of them, the Steelers were ahead or had a chance to win but lost in the fourth quarter, thus subjecting their fans to pretty much an ENTIRE game on that same roller coaster before we collectively spew forth a stream of expletive-deleted invective. Today's overtime loss on the road at Kansas City was a prime exhibit.

The Steelers allowed the opening kick-off to be returned for a touchdown (they seem to allow special teams returns for TD's every week). Coaster going down. They followed that with a dominant 17 point second quarter giving them a 10 point lead at the half. Coaster going up. The third quarter was all Chiefs. Outscoring the Steelers 10-0 largely due to a pair of Ben Roethlisberger interceptions. Coaster going down. The high of the go-ahead touchdown was followed by the low of KC once again tying the game with a TD which ultimately sent the game into OT.

The Steelers won the toss and drove down the field, but just as they reached the outer edge of Jeff Reed's FG range, they INEXPLICABLY ran a sweep that lost 2 yards, knocking them out of FG range instead of just running it straight up the middle. They then elected to punt which resulted in a touchback (does ANYONE know how to execute a Coffin Corner punt anymore?). The Steelers then did the other thing they seem to do every week: give up a HUGE pass play that leads to a score. Matt Cassel to Chris Chambers, 61 yards. One chip shot FG later and the Steelers had their second 2-game losing streak of the season.

Every time the Steelers got a big run or pass play; every time they sacked Cassel; every time they stuffed the Chiefs, the bar was in ecstasy. Every time Ben was sacked or threw a pick; every time the Steelers were unable to convert a third down; every time the Chiefs scored, the entire bar was in agony. When it was all over and the Steelers had lost, there was absolute silence. You'd have thought someone had died.

I know, I know, a lot of you reading this will have ABSOLUTELY no sympathy for me and that's fine. But don't tell me that all you long suffering Browns, Jets, Lions and Raiders fans (I know that I'm leaving some others out, my apologies for the oversight and your suffering) wouldn't sell your football souls to go through the whiplash-inducing change-on-a-dime emotional roller coaster that just flat out drains Steeler fans every week - win or lose - especially if it meant you had a better than 50-50 chance to make the playoffs practically every season.

Steelers have done a lot of winning in my lifetime, including all 6 of those Super Bowls. Cheering them on to victory has been joyous as all heaven. It's also been frustrating as all hell.

ARTISTRY IN INDY

Jay from "On The Sportslines" here. Before I get into this post, I have to give one last congratulatory missive to my BFF (aka "The Other Half of My Brain") and host of our show, Nisa Cirulnick, on her engagement. Congrats Nisa Marie (you too AP)!

Those of you who regularly watch our little television program know that I have - on occasion - invoked William Shakespeare in my closings. Ever wonder what it was like to watch his genius unfold live at the Globe Theatre in London? Or what it must have been like to actually watch Michelangelo paint the Sistine Chapel; or hear Beethoven's 5th the first time it was ever played?

No? Well, I did as I watched Peyton Manning and Tom Brady Sunday night. There have been other QB's in NFL history who have had great overlapping careers, but few like these two. Set the Super Bowls, MVPs, Pro Bowls and even stats aside (yes, I know, that sounds crazy coming from me) and just simply watch these two play the position.

Both the Patriots and the Colts play what I call "Fast Break Football", a phrase I first coined back when Jim Kelly and the Bills were running roughshod over the NFL back in the '90s with their "K-Gun" offense.

"Fast Break Football" is now referred to as the "Spread Offense" and is run in various forms by practically all football teams, both college and NFL. But I dare anyone to tell me (sorry Mr. Brees) that any QB runs this wide-open, high-flying, 85-yard-TD drives-in-93 seconds offense better than Brady and Manning.

When they go head to head you just know that no matter what the score is at any point in the game, somehow it will come down to whichever one of them has the ball last. These two are an ESPN "Top Plays" segment unto themselves.

Defense is irrelevant in Patriots-Colts games. Defensive Coordinators might as well take the approach to stopping Manning and Brady that opposing NBA coaches took when playing Michael Jordan in his prime: "You can't stop him, you can only HOPE to contain him". Most of the time they couldn't. Just like most of the time no defensive scheme can contain Manning or Brady.

They've had solid running games behind them and no running games behind them. They've done it with no-name WR's and with BIG NAME WR's. It just doesn't matter, Manning and Brady just carve up defenses with the skill and yes, artistry of a master craftsman plying his trade at a level others can only aspire to.

Manning, gesticulating wildly before every play, moving his chess pieces around before the snap with definite method to what seems to be madness. Brady, calm and cool, calling the cadence while looking over the defense, zeroing in on the match-up that will result in a big play.

They both threw for over 300 yards and at least 3 TDs Sunday night - okay, so I couldn't keep the stats COMPLETELY out - and it did come down to who had the ball last (I won't get into Belichick's decision to go for it on 4th down - I'll leave that to the Rabbi). This time Peyton walked away the winner in the latest chapter of this ongoing, Canton-esque duel.

An AFC Championship Game match-up is possible (which sadly will mean that somewhere along the post-season way, my Defending Super Bowl Champion Steelers were knocked out), as the 9-0 Colts and 6-3 Patriots are far and away the class of their respective divisions. AGAIN.

I feel sorry for the NFC Champion. I highly doubt that they will be able to provide the winner of Manning- Brady, 2009 Part Deux (and the rest of us) with the same high drama and QB artistry in the Super Bowl.

Thus I'm hoping that the New Orleans Saints do manage to come marching into Miami on February 7, 2010. Drew Brees is the only other QB who has a chance to match Manning or Brady throw for throw, TD for TD. Patriots-Saints or Colts-Saints could be a very entertaining game, but for this former QB, nothing in the NFL right now tops Patriots-Colts, or more to the point, Brady-Manning.

Artistry, thy name is Quarterback. Quarterback, thy name is Manning or Brady. All others are mere mortals.

Hey, my name is The Rabbi, and this is the first official post of the On The Sportslines blog. On The Sportslines is a bi-weekly show that can be seen live every other Thursday's at 9 in the Manhattan area on Time Warner Cable on Ch. 36 or can be seen that weekend on youtube.com/onthesportslines.

I and others will try to contribute here, starting with this (hopefully) regular feature I will post every weekend during the football season, titled 10 things we learned. 10 things that highlighted the Sunday slate of games in the National Football league. Here goes nothing....(by the way, the list is not a Top 10 list, so it's just going from 1 to 10).

Each week I will try to have a theme. This week, a show on ESPN2 called Sportsnation inspired me for this list. This upcoming Monday they plan to do a show where they will break the World's record for mentioning Brett Favre's name the most number of times in an hour. So, I will try to break the world's record for a blog post and not mention Favre's name from NOW till the end of the blog. So here we go.....

10 Things We Learned from Sunday In Week 4- The NON #4 edition

1. Donavan McNabb is not alone.

Sure I can mention the exciting Battle of Ohio that went down today between the Browns and Bengals (where Cincy won 23-20), but I really don't wanna talk about that. I'd rather tell you about this quote from the guy who was color commentator for the game, former NFL QB Rich Gannon. Here's the situation, it's overtime, and we're down to the final :7, when Bengal coach Marvin Lewis calls a timeout in order to have time to set up a field goal inside the Brown 20. Gannon immediately criticizes the decision, saying you're giving Cleveland's return man Joshua Cribbs time to return the ball for a Touchdown if Bengal Kicker Shayne Graham makes the FG. Apparently Gannon had a slip of the toungue considering the GAME would END if Graham nailed the kick. Unlike McNabb though, Gannon apologized immediately and realized what he did was just a slip of the toungue (see McNabb said after a game, ironically against the Bengals last year, that he didn't know regular season NFL games end in ties.) This makes the Browns not be the most embarassing thing about a Browns game on this day.

2. Despite a win however, Jim Zorn is still very much alone.

Yes, the Skins may be 2-2 after taking out the Bucs, AT HOME, 16-13. Problem is, when your team:

A. Get sacked twice and lose a fumble first two minutes of the game AND
B. Let a QB making his first NFL start throw a TD first PLAY on offense AND
C. Win the game only due to a blown coverage by Buc CB Aqib Telib, who did have 3 INT's in the game.

I don't think Redskin fans are doing cartwheels in the streets. Two wins at home, by 5 points total, over 2 winless teams, does not bode well for the future. Luckily for the Skins they get another winless team next week, in Carolina. Which leads me to #3...

3. It could be worse for the Skins, they could be the 0-4 Tennessee Titans.

Now, I can be real nice and put the focus on the Jaguars, a team who has won 2 straight and was 2 points away from beating the undefeated Colts in Indy....

But I'm being negative, so let's focus on the losers.

Tennessee is done. Their Defense, a rock a year ago, has basically let them down in key spots this year. Whether it be giving up every lead known to mankind to Houston, or letting a stagnant offense in the first half like the Jets look like world beaters in the 2nd half, to today's 323 yard, 3 TD performance from David Gerrard, it's looking a lot like the Titans are THE disappointment of 2009 in the NFL. The Pass defense is 29th in the NFL in yards allowed, and the Titans just don't have a good enough Offense to match up to that D. Oh and that 323 yd-3TD performance was BEFORE a Sunday night death sentence scheduled next week at home against Peyton Manning. Manning is the biggest QB star in the league. NO QB gets mentioned more than he does. (Except.....nevermind)

4. Speaking of Peyton, is he bored yet?

Remember those close first 2 games he had against Jacksonville and Miami? Yeah, neither does he, cause the last 2 weeks Indy has essentially took advantage of the strong NFC West by beating the preseason picked Top 2 teams in the league, Seattle and Arizona, 65-27. 6 Touchdowns also in that span. Next 3 weeks for Indy they play the aforementioned winless Titans, they get their bye, and then play the dreaded St. Louis Rams on the road. Wake them up in Week 8, when they play the NFC West leaders, San Francisco, who may be bored with the NFC West by then too, after the drubbing they put on the Rams today, 35- Nil. (Remember that one loss that San Fran had last week? Remember the final seconds of that game? That catch by Greg Lewis! Incredible! Let's not talk about the pass though....)

5. Speaking of teams who are bored....

You get the feeling the Giants are bored right now? Dominating win versus Tampa Bay last week, ho hum victory versus KC today (where the game STARTED with a fumbled kick off), a game against the 1-3 Raiders next week, where they may or may not need QB Eli Manning, who left the game early in the 4th with a bruised right heel. Maybe Oakland keeps it close, but you gotta feel like the game is a warm-up almost for the possible NFC Game of the Year: Giants at Saints in 2 weeks at the Superdome. (And no, i'm not counting tomorrow's game.....)

6. Speaking of the Saints, who is this team?

OK, you take the Week 2 drubbing of Philly by the Saints as typical New Orleans offense overpowering a down Philly team. You take Week 3's quiet performance by Drew Brees as a way for the Saints to show off their running attack. However, today the Saints made Jet QB Marc Sanchez not look just like a rookie to the NFL, but to a rookie of all of football, by exploiting every one of his mistakes. Two of his mistakes (a fumble in the end zone and a 99 yd TD returned), accounted for the margin in the game. The Saints DEFENSE (yes DEFENSE), was the reason they won today. Almost reminds me of when the Colts weren't great defensively 3 years ago, but they forced turnovers like you wouldn't believe. With another +3 turnover margin today, I'd say the Saints are well on their way to staking a claim to best in the NFL.

7. The Jets aren't easily gonna go back to their winning ways next week.

That's cause they're at Miami next Monday night. In the year when being a Michigan QB is cool again (thank you Tate Forcier), Chad Henne won his first start in the NFL. (You know what QB did that in his first start? Matt Ryan and countless others!) He did that thanks in part to a rushing attack for 250 yards (200 from the combo of Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown). The Dolphins looked completely dominant today against a team that they were actually underdogs against, which makes me wonder if the Dolphins have enough tricks up their sleeves to make a run at it aginst the Jets next week. Now THAT will be a Monday night game i won't get sick of.

8. I know you're sick of running, so let's talk some wide recievers!

OK, you give me one guy who I want as my wide reciever at crunch time, give me Brandon Marshall. No, I'm serious, I'll take Brandon Marshall over anyone else. I'm gonna give you 5 reasons why this is the case:

a. Did you SEE that catch he made versus the Cowboys in the final 2 minutes today?

b. He makes Kyle Orton not just respectable as a QB, but above average at times.

c. His catches mean something, almost every time.

d. He's playing cool in the clutch, even though he hates his coach (reportedly, through what we heard every 4 seconds in preseason)

e. Seriously, did you SEE that run after that catch! He basically burned an entire secondary with it!

Denver's defense may be playing like a Top 5 one in the league, but if you're gonna go undefeated, you have to have an offense with it. Mission accomplished just cause of Marshall.

9. Rashard Mendenhall and Brandon Marshall have something in common.

Both have made their coaches unhappy this year, but both have come back in Week 4 to have some spectacular peformances. But seriouslty, WHERE DID MENENDHALL'S PERFORMANCE COME FROM? Lost in the 38-28 shootout in which the Steelers beat the Chargers for the 3rd time in 11 months (which for about half the 4th quarter was a game where Steelers fans put their hearts in their throats), Mendenhall became the first back to go from no playing time due to a horrible week of practice one week, to starting, 168 yards, and 3 Touchdowns the next week. A nice way for the Steelers to perform in a game where they almost HAD to win in order to get back in the AFC North race. Speaking of the Broncos, the Chargers are now 2 games behind them in the AFC West. Yup, just as all had predicted to start the season.

10. We learned something from the OTHER AFC Game of the Week.

Actually 2 things: Baltimore is...almost there and New England is not dead yet, especially when you play them at home. Despite not trailing for most of the game, you never got the feeling the Pats would dominate the Ravens and 2nd year QB Joe Flacco like the may have in the days when they won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years. Tom Brady had an efficient 258 yards and a TD (with no running attack, but when you play Baltimore what's new), but the Ravens made Brady earn every yard. Joe Flacco was almost as efficient (264 yards- 2 TD's - 1 INT), and he would have probably been a winner had Wide Reciever Marc Clayton not dropped a SURE first down on the Pats 10 with under 30 seconds to go. The Pats are hard to beat at home, even in a time when they've thoroghly been unimpressive in their wins, but the Ravens almost got them. Now there are only 5 unbeaten teams left in football: the Colts, Broncos, Giants, Saints, and Vikings (with #4 Brett Favre leading the way into their showdown Monday night).

Damnit. I guess it's ALMOST a Favre free list. See you next Sunday night.