Dirty dozen

The top six and bottom six teams in the NFL based on current level of play:

1. New England (7-0). Now Richard Seymour is back.

2. Indianapolis (7-0). Impressive in Jacksonville, usually a tough spot.

3. Dallas (6-1). Big game in the Meadowlands in two weeks.

4. New York Giants (5-2). League’s best pass rush and Tiki Barber’s retirement have unified the locker room.

5. Pittsburgh (4-2). Was the loss in Denver a blip or a trend?

6. Green Bay (5-1). Not as solid as earlier. But not a lot of good teams around.

27. Philadelphia (2-4). No offense, and defense wilted under pressure last week.

28. Oakland (2-4). Better than last year, but still weak on offense.

29. New York Jets (1-6). Sticking with Pennington doesn’t make much sense.

30. Atlanta (1-6). Losing and internal bickering could get them to the bottom if Dolphins or Rams ever win.

31. St. Louis (0-7). Steven Jackson may be back, but all sorts of other problems abound.

32. Miami (0-7). Other than Jason Taylor, good players are hurt or gone.

Dave Goldberg, Associated Press