There is track speed and there is football speed, both of which are defined by the ability to move at a higher rate of speed than nearly everyone else on the field, the most defining trait of a playmaker. Many of the game's best showed up in Week 8.

Witness Ted Ginn, who still must prove he is more than a track athlete playing receiver, returning two kickoffs 100-plus yards and accounting for nearly half of the Dolphins' scoring output in what was an otherwise very solid outing for the Jets. The Jets won two of three phases in the game and shut down the Dolphins' offense, holding them to a mere 104 total yards, but the inability of the Jets' kickoff coverage to contain Ginn, who was responsible for nearly twice as many yards by himself, turned out to be the single greatest factor in the game. With too many inconsistencies showing up as a receiver, including some easy drops in critical situations this season, Ginn provides the most impact for the Dolphins when he is allowed to focus on the return game, where his ability to flip the field clearly can change games. Allowing Ginn to focus on the return game and occasionally inserting him into the offense as a vertical threat could prove to be a fine move for the Dolphins.

• Titans RB Chris Johnson ripped off two 50-plus-yard runs against the Jaguars in the second half, including an 89-yarder when he ran through Jaguars S Brian Russell and outraced all to the endzone behind the solid downfield blocking of rookie WR Kenny Britt. With 228 yards on the day and 824 for the season, Johnson now leads the league in rushing and is turning out to be even more of a big-play threat than a young LaDainian Tomlinson, of whom Johnson reminded some NFL evaluators when he was coming out of East Carolina wearing a similar No. 5 purple jersey as L.T. wore at TCU. With Vince Young providing a serious threat on the ground, the Titans could string together a series of victories if they can continue to dice through defenses the way they did through Jacksonville's on the ground. Having multiple playmakers on the field at the same time is more difficult to defend.

• Eagles WR DeSean Jackson, who had racked up five 50-plus yard plays in six games heading into the Giants contest, added another with an explosive 56-yard TD catch that exploited Giants SS C.C. Brown, who too frequently has been targeted by offenses since Kenny Phillips was shelved with a season-ending knee injury. Field-fast rookie WR Jeremy Maclin also grabbed a TD catch and has been coming on in recent weeks, giving Donovan McNabb a pair of explosive game-breakers the likes he has never had before, well positioning an Eagles' offense for the second half of the season.

• Multi-talented rookie performer Percy Harvin set up the Vikings' first TD with a 77-yard kickoff return and early in the second half exploded out of the slot, beating a peeking Charles Woodson and easily escaping the grasp of three colliding defensive backs misplaying the ball to race into the endzone for a 51-yard TD. The combination of Harvin and Adrian Peterson has been very difficult for anyone to stop.

• Teams that struggled were without its playmakers or production from them, as WR Calvin Johnson's absence crippled the Lions' offense, Broncos WRs Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall were contained against Baltimore and Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick could not get the ball enough to underrated big-play threat Lee Evans.

• Despite being revered as a great defensive mind, Bill Belichick does not get enough credit for his ability to develop and coach the QB position. Neither Romeo Crennel nor Eric Mangini has been able to correct QB deficiencies in Cleveland that have helped Josh McDaniels and Charlie Weis enjoy some success, especially early in their tenures. As Mangini continues to stroll Derek Anderson out in the starting lineup and Anderson continues to make bad decisions, turn over the ball and lose games, inside sources say pressure is mounting for Mangini to show some sign of improvement. Mangini's overly complex and intellectually demanding game plans sucked the fun out of the game for players and paralyze them on the field to the point where they are overthinking instead of instantly reacting. Despite reports that Randy Lerner is on the hook for some $30 million to the previous regime, inside sources say the number is considerably less and that Lerner is more quickly coming to the realization that it took Jets owner Woody Johnson three years to figure out after Mangini had more initial success in New York.

• Ravens CB Lardarius Webb, who clocked times in the mid-4.3s at the Combine last year, returned a kickoff 95 yards in his first action of the season and served as a key turning point against a defense that had only been allowing an average of 1.7 points in the second half entering the contest.

• Brett Favre made a major statement by knocking off the Packers for the second time this season and allowing his Vikings to maintain firm control of the NFC North. His arm looks every bit as potent as it did early in his career, still capable of throwing Nolan Ryan-esque 100-mile-per-hour fastballs. The greatest challenge for Brad Childress will be to keep Favre focused as the season begins to take its toll on everyone and wears down players in the second half of the season, when the cold comes and fatigue begins to set in.

• When Kurt Warner is on, he can be unstoppable, like he looked several weeks ago against Seattle. When he is off, he is way off, and he had an off day against Carolina, accounting for six turnovers (five interceptions, one fumble) that dug a hole that was too difficult for the Cardinals to overcome in the second half.

• Few NFL observers might be familiar with 49ers FS Dashon Goldson, but the third-year safety has exceeded expectations on the back end for the Niners, while also capability supporting the run.

• As a general rule, it takes three years to fully evaluate whether talent has panned out, sometimes more and sometimes less, depending on how many variables have affected the development of players, such as revolving coaches and schemes that often slow impede development. The last three years, Al Davis has spent three top-10 picks on a new set of triplets — JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden and Darrius Heyward-Bey. Through eight weeks, the Raiders are getting less production out of the three of them than any other group in the league for what has been arguably the league's most inept offense, with a tip of the hat to St. Louis.

• WR Steve Smith helped the Panthers open up a two-TD lead early against the Cardinals after CB Dominique Cromartie-Rodgers bit on a stop-and-go route and could not recover. Getting the ball into the hands of Smith and RB DeAngelo Williams is key to the Panthers' offense running efficiently and critical to John Fox's efforts to turn around the season.

• Once again the Niners showed how narrow the margin of victory in the NFL is week in and week out, playing very competitively and nearly knocking off another undefeated team few expected them to compete with, as they did against Minnesota earlier in the season. A typically average Niners' pass rush had its way with a marginal Colts' O-line that made Peyton Manning look more human in what has been a superhuman performance the first half of he season, where he has produced six 300-hundred yard passing games already.

• Evaluators who have studied the Eagles closely have been particularly impressed with the aggressive temperament of its defense, but were reserving judgment on first-year defensive coordinator Sean McDermott until he faced some better competition, with the last four offenses they faced — Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Oakland and Washington — ranking among the league's worst. Against the Giants, McDermott's troops did not let up, continuing to bring heavy pressure against Eli Manning and disrupting the rhythm of New York's passing game. Manning has slipped into a funk since Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams provided a blueprint for how to attack the Giants three weeks ago.

• Broncos RB Knowshon Moreno needs to learn to take better care of the football. He might be on the books for only one fumble this season, but he has put it on the ground far more often, as he did when he was clocked by a steam-built Ed Reed rolling fast downhill to fill the alley in the first quarter. The Ravens established a very physical presence early in the game, with OLB Jarret Johnson setting the tempo when he was not accounted for in the Broncos' protection on the opening snap, ORT Ryan Harris blocked down, and Johnson came free to drill an unsuspecting Orton, who never saw the front-side pressure coming.

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