MVN: Most Valuable Network

We've got three risers and three fallers on the MVN NFL Stock Market!

Risers

Player:  RB Marion Barber, Dallaws Cowboys

Barber has had a very effective four year career, no doubt, but the one thing he had yet to accomplish was that he could run on the Washington Redskins.  In a game that the Cowboys would absolutely not have won without his efforts, Barber led the Cowboys from behind, capitalizing on a Tony Romo TD pass, and doing his best to run out the clock, which was more than enough.  The Cowboys get a reprieve now, and should they get to 8-4 with two home games against San Francisco and Seattle, the Cowboys will be officially back in the playoff hunt, and all thanks to the efforts of MB III.

Team: The New York Jets

While I agree with anyone who argues that the 7-3 record is flat out misleading thanks to the softest schedule in quite some time in the NFL, the Jets have finally put themselves in significantly better position to win the AFC East than at any point during the Bill Belichick-era in New England, and that includes 2002 when the Jets won the division on the last day of the season.  Now, all they have to do is find a way to beat the Miami Dolphins head to head on the last day of the year.  The Dolphins have the softest remaining schedule, and I see both teams heading into the Week 17 showdown at 10-5, or perhaps 9-6 in the Jets case.  Either way, if the Jets win, they're in as AFC East Champs!

Prospect:  DE Brian Orakpo, Texas

Thanks to a down year from USF's George Selvie, this 6'4" 260 lb. monster is primed to be the first DE selected in the NFL draft.  It's absolutely well deserved.  Orakpo's a pass rusher first, and he can absolutely hold his place at the point of attack against the run.  When evaluating teams in the top five, the strength of Texas' defense is often flat out ignored.  Well, I'm paying attention, and I think Orakpo has a good chance to go in the top ten.

Fallers

Player: QB Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles

I don't care that DMac didn't know that ties are an NFL rule.  You're in an absolute must win game to save your season, possibly your JOB in Philadelphia, and you turn the ball over four, and nearly five times, and in doing so, can't even find the urgency to put up more than 13 points on the Bengals in FIVE quarters?!  Say what you want about Andy Reid's lack of balance as a coach, but if he wants to continue to win by throwing the ball 75% of the time, he needs a different quarterback.  This isn't just a Philly talk-radio knee jerk reaction.  Reid has been one of the "Genius" coaches in the NFL for a long time now, but his best days in the last four years have come when McNabb wasn't on the field screwing things up.  I think it's officially time to see what Kevin Kolb can do.  If Kolb's not ready, you at least have to take the game out of McNabb's hands.  Overall, he's having a good year, but not good enough to warrant the play-calling being so skewed towards the pass.  He's NOT Tom Brady, he's NOT Peyton Manning, he's Donovan McNabb, and it's about time the Eagles started playing like such.

Team:  The Washington Redskins

The Redskins have played some sloppy offense lately thanks to the Quarterback and Receivers being on the wrong page, and also some incredibly porous OL play.  But something that didn't hurt the Redskins at all last year, and not at all in the first five games of this season is the thing that's hurting the Redskins' defense: the big pass play.  You could always get that throw at the sticks against Fred Smoot, but what's with old-man Terrell Owens running free over the middle in the secondary?  What's with LaRon Landry's inexcusable lack of range back there at FS?  The Redskins started 6-2 and can still salvage their season easily, but there are issues on both sides of the ball that need attention, and teams that go deep in the playoffs usually aren't saying that in November.

Prospect:  QB Cam Sexton, North Carolina

Ugly, ugly loss at Maryland for the Tarheels, and considering how well their defense has played all year, this one's falling on the offense and Quarterback Cam Sexton, who might have blown his NFL prospect status.  If he loses his job to T.J. Yates, he has no chance of being drafted.