The following quotes are from NFL scouts, coaches and front-office personnel, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

• "Everyone says the Patriots should have punted — Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi both ripped Bill Belichick's decision to go for it (on fourth down against Indianapolis). But I have two thoughts on it: One, when has Belichick ever played the odds? If you go down that road, this is the guy who benched his starting veteran quarterback (Drew ­Bledsoe) when he returned from injury. He is short on safeties so he plays (LB) Don Davis there. Everyone said, 'You can't do that.' Belichick did — in a Super Bowl! He was short on cornerbacks, so he lined up a veteran receiver (Troy Brown) in the slot. 'You can't do that.' He didn't have a fullback so he had (OG) Russ Hochstein go play fullback. He has never been a conformist. My only question — he already lost (OLB Rob) Ninkovich and (OLB Tully) Banta-Cain, so he knew he was not going to get a rush on (Peyton) Manning. They went to an empty backfield on the final play. If this is the Colts' defense of 2008, that would have been a linebacker covering (Kevin) Faulk, not a safety. And you can go back and study it, but the Colts probably played press coverage 5 percent of the time under Ron Meeks. I don't think Belichick expected that coverage when he went to an empty set. I think he expected man-off and thought Faulk would have been covered by a linebacker. My question is: Did he get the matchup he was expecting? I don't think he did."

• "If Green Bay does not win this year, they can clean that place out. I don't think they would, but they are looking for any reason right now with all the success Brett (Favre) is having. He is putting up some big numbers for a 40-year-old man. You can't tell me he was healthy in Week Eight last year — he could not throw the ball. It was a poor decision by the Jets to let him keep rolling with that magnitude of an injury. This is the NFL — you have to make tough decisions. Throw his (consecutive start) record out the door. They could not function offensively because everyone knew he could not throw the ball down the field. Some of the throws he has made this year have been incredible. (Minnesota) is the place he wanted to play all along. The only reason he went to New York is because that is the only trade that Green Bay would OK — they knew they would be in trouble if he were in the division. ... Aaron Rodgers has no (internal) clock. He sits back there and is mesmerized."

• "When you have a defensive head coach who is also the defensive coordinator and he does not know what he is doing, you've got problems. The way the Bears' defense played against Cincinnati and Arizona was embarrassing. Their defense is pathetic. Lovie Smith is in trouble."

• "The problem with a lot of coaching staffs and NFL hires — the guys they often hire are their buddies, but then they realize that their buddies are not that good. There are too many coaches that cannot correct technical flaws because they are X's-and-O's guys. You would never have a hitting or pitching coach who never hit or pitched. How could you correct the mechanics? Throwing motions are learned from the time kids are 8 or 9 years old. A lot of times, you can't change them. You can try all you want, but you are not going to be able to alter the long deliveries of Danny Wuerffel or Byron Leftwich. They are what they are. If you don't like the motion, don't buy the player. Players know who can coach. Believe me when I tell you that. They will start tuning coaches out if they don't trust their ability to coach. That's what happened with Larry Johnson. They lost him (in Kansas City). He questioned the coach's background. He is the only guy who voiced the complaint, but don't think others don't feel the same way."

• "Baltimore's offense is coming back down to earth. The O-line is crumbling. Joe Flacco's eyes are not staying down the field as much when he feels that rush. Cleveland was hitting him hard, and he was tucking the ball."

• "The Chiefs paid their quarterback a lot of money. They need to address the O-line, O-line, O-line. They have to correct it in free agency. They need a runner too, but even with an elite running back, you need to have holes for him to run in. They've got to build that offensive line."

PFW has launched its brand-new NFL Draft Newsletter series, with the second issue being released later this month. Produced by PFW's player personnel department under the direction of Nolan Nawrocki, the series consists of four information-packed issues. For more info or to subscribe — click here for PDF e-pub or here for print format.