There is the Bill Parcells way of rebuilding — players must be big, strong, smart and tough enough to endure an NFL season that is viewed as a 16-round heavyweight fight. The team that is best built to survive in November and December is the team that is most likely to hear the final bell in February.

Size and power are sought up front in the trenches with the goal of dominating the line of scrimmage and wearing down opponents in the fourth quarter with a strong ground-control attack that alleviates pressure from the all-important QB position.

Bill Belichick's philosophy is rooted in Parcells' personnel principles, although Belichick is so adept at understanding the abilities of talent that he could take any roster in the NFL, similar to the one he inherited in New England, and maximize its talents while at the same time concealing its shortcomings. For as good of a roster as Belichick has built, his greatest strength is coaching his coaches, developing talent and adapting to his personnel.  

In contrast to the bigger-is-better theory, Colts GM Bill Polian has taken a different approach, placing the highest premium on speed. Playing indoors on a fast carpet half of the season, Polian built a roster that is quick and explosive, even if it is undersized and more prone to injury.

But make no mistake, the reason Belichick and Polian have fielded two of the most successful franchises in football has been directly tied to the performance at quarterback, with none better than Peyton Manning or Tom Brady.

Polian, who drafted Jim Kelly in Buffalo and selected Manning over Ryan Leaf in Indianapolis, holds a distinction few general managers do, not only because he is one of the few NFL general managers who have managed to build teams in different cities — no other NFL GM holds the distinction of having held the same capacity for another organization, as most GMs come up through the ranks — but because few can say they have drafted two Hall of Fame passers, with Manning guaranteed to be a first ballot entrant upon his retirement. 

Despite being depleted of some of its star power, with Bob Sanders and Marlin Jackson already on injured reserve and the secondary being a considerable vulnerability against the likes of Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker, the Colts have fared very well against New England in recent years, winning four of the last five — a sharp change from the beginning of the decade when Belichick owned the blueprint for beating Manning, knocking the Colts off six consecutive times with a flurry of pressure. The past three meetings have all come in Indianapolis, and playing on a fast carpet definitely plays to the favor of the Colts. The Patriots' edges will require a lot of extra help with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis flying off the corners

• It became very clear to evaluators during pre-draft interviews than Josh Freeman was going to require a learning curve and would not be ready out of the gate, and he still has a long way to go, but the 72-yard scoring drive he directed late in the fourth quarter to beat Green Bay was not characteristic of a rookie. The Bucs finally might have a reason to be excited about the future. 

• The Packers need to be careful about destroying the confidence of Aaron Rodgers. Any quarterback that gets hit as much as he has this season tends to begin dropping his eyes, looking for the rush, instead of continuing to keep scanning the field. Rodgers has handled the pressure very well considering the swinging gate on the edges, but it has destroyed many quarterbacks, such as David Carr and Marc Bulger in recent years.

• The Jaguars do not have the personnel to run a "30" front, lacking the size up front desired to stack the run and set the edges, let alone strong take-on linebackers who can get off blocks, but that did not stop Jack Del Rio from tinkering with the scheme early this season. After moving back to the "40" front against Kansas City, Del Rio was able to create more pressure, kill more drives and control the clock. Conversely, the Chiefs' defense, still in its first year operating out of the 3-4, struggled to create pressure on David Garrard, as Mike Vrabel's legs are not as youthful as they once were.

• In two starts, Vince Young is 2-0 and well on his way to his third consecutive win with a battered Buffalo squad coming to Nashville next week. Young could not have entered the Titans' lineup at a better time for his psyche and confidence to build.

• With the Bears getting blown out the way they did against Arizona and Cincinnati this season, not appearing to have any answers for Kurt Warner or Carson Palmer defensively, pressure will continue to mount on a defense that is beginning to look like it might need a philosophical overhaul. The ejection of Tommie Harris early in the game for punching OG Deuce Lutui did not help the Bears' cause, nor Harris' long-term future with the franchise, as the 26-year-old former Pro Bowl player has continued to disappoint since earning a major payday, but it was the Bears' inability to adjust defensively that was more troubling. 

• Saints DE Will Smith has been playing big this season, helping Gregg Williams create pressure with the front four without blitzing against Carolina, when Smith continually rag-dolled Jordan Gross. He has played much better this season after enduring a sports hernia injury that he played through all of last season, when he did not look as powerful.

• Tragedy has a way of uniting football teams, and the Bengals, whose defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer unexpectedly lost his wife earlier this season, are playing with a sense of purpose they have not shown in any season previously under Marvin Lewis. Cedric Benson has been an unexpected surprise, carrying the offense, but it has been the stellar play of the Bengals' defense, that did not allow a point until the fourth quarter against Cam Cameron's high-powered Ravens offense, that made the biggest difference in the game. The Bengals have to be considered a legitimate contender after rolling over the Ravens twice and standing at 4-0 in the division. 

• Falcons second-year MLB Curtis Lofton really has emerged in his second season and is staking his claim as one of the league's top linebackers. He has a great nose for the ball and always seems to be around it.

• Tony Romo's ability to limit mistakes and costly turnovers has made a sharp difference in the Cowboys' fortunes the second quarter of the season, as has the emergence of Miles Austin, who is proving he is more than a flash in the pan with the great rapport he has developed with Romo.