Approaching the mid-point of the 2011 NFL Regular Season, it should come as no surprise that the teams with the most successful quarterbacks are riding high, while those with problems in the passing position are trailing the field.

Sitting atop the passer rankings after Week 8 were four QBs with ratings above 100. By no coincidence, all four play for teams at the head of their divisions.

After just three and a half seasons of signal calling for the Green Bay offense, Aaron Rogers already has cheese heads thinking “Brett who?” His passer rating going into Packers’ bye week was 125.7, including 20 touchdowns versus just three interceptions.

There’s no doubt that Rogers’ success is the reason his team has started the season 7-0 to lead the NFC East. His arm should be well rested as he travels to the left coast to see if he can keep the Pack perfect in San Diego in Week 9.

In contrast, New England’s Tom Brady is not having his best year. After seven games, he’s been intercepted eight times. In 2010, he gave up only four picks all season and ended up ranked #1 overall.

But even when he’s off, the Patriot’s quarterback is still phenomenal. With a 104.4 passer rating, Brady has tossed his team to a record of 5-2, currently tied for the lead with Buffalo in the AFC East.

Sporting a 102.1 rating, New York’s Eli Manning is ranked #3 in the league. His 5-2 Giants are comfortably ahead of the other three teams in the NFC East, none of which has a top rated aerial attack. (Tony Romo in Dallas comes closest in the low 90s.)

Still negotiating a new contract in New Orleans, Drew Brees has been showing Saints fans that he’s worth every penny he wants. His 100.6 passer rating includes 2,746 yards in the air, more than any other quarterback in the league at this stage. The 5-3 Saints are clinging to a slim lead over the Falcons and the Buccaneers in the NFC South.

On the other end of the standings are the NFL’s two winless teams, Miami (0-7) and Indianapolis (0-8). The Dolphins have choked in the air with Chad Henne (79.0) and Matt Moore (65.3). The Colts, of course, were devastated by the loss of injured Peyton Manning; his replacement, Curtis Painter, has a passer rating of just 75.1.

Ironically, having Manning off the roster simply proves why giving the Hall-of-Fame-bound QB the recent contract extension he wanted was worth $90 million. More than any other component of play, passing wins games. And that’s a stat you can bet on.

It wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was downright ugly. But on October 29, 2011, Penn State delivered victory #409 to their 84-year-old leader Joe Paterno, making him the coach with the most wins in NCAA Division I football history.

Ranked #19 prior to kickoff and playing at home, 7-1 PSU was heavily favored over unranked Big Ten rival Illinois, who were 6-2 coming into Happy Valley. But by all accounts, it was a miserable game for both teams till the last few minutes.

On Saturday, one of the worst blizzards in history came upon the Northeast. Beaver Stadium was draped in heavy wet snow. Pre-game, the grounds crew did their best to clear the turf, but the white stuff kept falling and left the surface slushy and slick.

Penn State fumbled the ball six times, losing two of them plus an interception to the Fighting Illini, who led 7-0 going into the fourth quarter. With seven minutes left, Anthony Fera’s 30-yard field goal put the Nittany Lions within four. Then, with just 1:08 to go, sophomore RB Silas Redd lugged the slippery pigskin three yards to the endzone for a 10-7 lead.

But the game wasn’t quite over. On the next possession, Illinois started in its own 17 and drove all the way down to the Penn State 25. That gave kicker Derek Dimke an opportunity to tie it with a 42-yarder, but as time expired his attempt bounced off the right upright, giving Paterno the historic win.

Just how awesome is his record? Florida State’s Bobby Bowden won 377 times prior to retirement, while Alabama’s Bear Bryant got only 323 wins. Woody Hayes never even reached 250 at Denison, Miami and Ohio State combined. The man JoePa left in second at 408 victories was Grambling’s Eddie Robinson, whose feat was once thought to be unbeatable.

En route to this amazing accomplishment, the Brooklyn native, who played both quarterback and cornerback for Brown University in 1946-49 before serving 15 years as a PSU assistant coach, guided Penn State through 46 seasons. He got his team to two national championships and five undefeated, untied seasons—more than any coach in NCAA football history.

Paterno well deserves the accolades he has received, as well as the short rest that next week’s bye will afford him. Win #410 is not going to come easily.  The Nittany Lions face #10 Nebraska next, followed by Ohio State and then #20 Wisconsin to close their 2011 regular season.

Should Penn State win the Leaders Division, as expected, they will face the best team in the Legends Division for the first ever Big Ten Conference Championship game. That will take place in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 3, 2011.

Many say that could be the maestro’s last concert. It would certainly be a fitting way to end a glorious career if it ended in one more triumph—a final feather to add to JoePa’s war bonnet and one more victory beyond what any other coach in Division I has ever accomplished.

Hats off to JoePa!

Most bettors subscribe to either of two theories about how well NFL teams perform after their annual bye weeks. One camp says they come back rested and ready to win, while the other claims that a week off robs them of momentum.

The NFL instituted its current system of one bye week for each team in 1990. In the two decades since then, the overall post-bye records of all teams is just about 52%, suggesting that the bye may provide an advantage, albeit a slight one at best.

One can argue that the chance to recuperate is the main benefit of having no game on one Sunday. Assuming that’s true, then teams taking their bye later in the season, say week 9 or 10 when they are likely to be banged up and needing to heal ahead of the playoffs, might get more out of it than those resting in weeks 4 or 5.

On the other hand, the bye week gives a coaching staff more time to get ready for coming opponents. It is also an opportunity to make strategic adjustments, which have more impact when made earlier in the season. A team that has lost six or seven games before its week away probably can’t change enough to save the season.

When it comes to handicapping, some factors to consider about bye-week teams are whether they enter the bye after a win or a loss, at home or away, and whether the next match-up will be on the road. A long stint with family and friends and sleeping in one’s own bed can do a lot for individual morale as well as team spirit.

Also, it’s a good idea to examine which other teams are taking their byes during the same week, especially if they are in the same division. In 2011, for example, three of the four AFC West teams (San Diego, Kansas City and Denver) all got the same Sunday off in Week 6, so theoretically it should not favor any of them more than the other.

Bye weeks can wreak havoc on fantasy football line-ups, of course. They can cool down hot players just as easily as they can give roughed up ones a chance to mend. Some teams, like the Philadelphia Eagles under Andy Reid, tend to roar back into play, while others look like they are almost “too rested” and find it difficult to get back into rhythm playing at full speed.

Perhaps the biggest benefit of the bye week system is the one that NFL bettors get—17 weeks of regular season action instead of just 16. That one extra weekend of wagering at sportsbooks can make the difference between a winning or losing bankroll going into the all-important post-season, so use it wisely.