THE STEELERS, THE NFL, AND THE BYE WEEK

With the bye week upon us and the Steelers granted some time off from Coach Tomlin, I thought now would be a good time to look back at what's happened to the near-midpoint in the season and what could happen the rest of the way. And in a truly rare moment, I will remove my Pittsburgh-only bias and -gasp- talk about the rest of the league. It's a groundbreaking concept. Anyway, to the bullet points:In the "team" category: these aren't knee-jerk power rankings per se, but more of a long-term look at the league and how I see each team's chances to win it all.Super Bowl Contenders: the top 5 (in no particular order)Pittsburgh - If healthy and focused, they're always in the discussion.Minnesota - Brett Favre's durability will be a question mark as the season goes on.New Orleans - As I always point out, Drew Brees has won one playoff game in his career.Indianapolis - Hot starts are nothing new for this team; hot finishes have been tougher to come by in In...