Have you noticed a common theme that has developed heading into Week 8? Everyone seems to be talking about one of two things:

• What are the chances of the Patriots going undefeated?
• What are the chances of the Dolphins or Rams going winless?

What some people have failed to realize is that the records really shouldn't be headlining the top stories as we approach the mid-way point of the season, because only a few things matter at the end of the season, depending on the type of team you are: a top-tier team, or a team that's at the bottom of the barrel.

Top-Tier Teams

• Did you win your conference?
• Did you advance to the Super Bowl?

Current Cases: New England, Indianapolis, Dallas, Green Bay

Sure, going undefeated is exciting to think about, and would likely ensure the No. 1 seed in the AFC. However, the Patriots will be more focused on getting past the Indianapolis Colts in two weeks. Chances are that the showdown between the teams will guarantee the top seed in the AFC, because even if the teams end up finishing with the same record, the winning team will hold the advantage.

Right now, no one is even considering the fact that either the Cowboys or the Packers could even finish the season with a better record than the Colts or Patriots. Everyone knows that the NFC is a weaker conference overall, which plays to the advantage of the stronger teams in the conference. Like the AFC, the biggest game of the season for the Cowboys and Packers will be when they meet each other on November 29.

Establishing home-field advantage based on these single games will mean a lot more to the franchise than the chase for a near-perfect record.

Bottom of the Barrel

• What draft position do you have?
• Were you able to develop some of the younger players?

Current Cases: Miami, St. Louis, NYJ, Atlanta

Contrasting to the teams with a chance to go undefeated, the Dolphins and Rams are trying to avoid a winless season. Neither of them have done much of anything this season, but besides being bad football teams, they've been hampered by injuries to the "nth" degree. The Dolphins have loss their top players at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver for the season. Meanwhile, the Rams' quarterback has either played injured or sat out, their running back has been out for more than half of the season, and their second- and third-receivers have been out with injuries as well. That doesn't even factor in all of the injuries they've had to deal with on the offensive line.

Going winless? Possible, yes. Likely? No. Only one team has ever lost every single game, and there's a reason for that: any given Sunday. The Dolphins still have two games against an up-and-down Bills team, and one game against a Jets team they nearly defeated. Meanwhile, the Rams still have the 49ers and Falcons on their schedule. One of these weeks, the Rams' high-powered offense is bound to break out (sorry Randy McMichael, I don't see it being this week against the Cleveland Browns).

Glance at This Week

• The Bills did the right thing in naming Trent Edwards as their new starting quarterback. The "official" decision had to be made since J.P. Losman could have returned from injury. It's a tough break for Losman, who showed a lot of progress last year by throwing 19 touchdowns to only 14 interceptions. He got off to a slow start this year though before suffering an injury at the start of the third game of the season, not throwing a single touchdown in his first two games.

Apparently though, statistics don't matter much on the surface, because Edwards has thrown only one touchdown compared to four interceptions in his three games as the starting quarterback. The difference? The Bills are 2-1 under Edwards, and would be 3-0 had they not collapsed to the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago. Momentum is extremely important in the NFL, and it wasn't worth throwing that out the window by starting Losman. Besides, Edwards is the Bills' starting quarterback of the future.

• Too sad with the amount of material and emotional damages caused by the California fires. The San Diego Chargers were scheduled to have a home game this week, but Qualcomm Stadium is being used as an evacuation center for more than 10,000 people affected by the disaster. The chances of playing a game there Sunday are unlikely. According to the league, the two most likely locations for the game will be at Arizona State's Sun Devil Stadium, Texas Stadium, the Houston Texans' Reliant Stadium, or somewhere in Los Angeles. While it hasn't been confirmed, admission to the game would probably be free, or there would be a minimal charge in attempt to draw as many fans as possible.

• I agree with the changes made for this April's draft. Day 1 of the draft will now begin at 3:00 p.m., and the first round will only allow ten minutes per selection. In the second round, teams will only have seven minutes to make their picks. Under the old schedule, this is how long the first two rounds could have potentially taken:

First Round (Then): 8 hours
Second Round (Then): 5 hours, 20 minutes

First Round (Now): 5 hours, 20 minutes
Second Round (Now): 3 hours, 44 minutes.

Rather than stalling for too long, ten minutes is plenty of time to make a first-round selection, at least from a fan's perspective. Other changes include the third round of the draft being moved to Sunday, and Sunday's start time beginning one hour earlier at 10:00 a.m. instead of 11:00 a.m.

News and Nuggets

Here are my quick hitters for Week 8...

• Even if it is the Dolphins having to represent part of the NFL in Europe, I'm excited to see the swarm of overseas fans at the game. Not that I agree with taking away a team's home game, but at least this season, it was by chance done to a team with no hope.

• Randy McMichael guaranteed a win for the St. Louis Rams over the Cleveland Browns. It's amazing the confidence some of these NFL players have, isn't it? When you're Tom Brady or Peyton Manning you have a right to be confident; not when you haven't made a single impact on an 0-7 team.

• I think the Washington Redskins will have a near-tie score with the Patriots this week at halftime, only to fall off after that.

• The Saints have a chance to win their third straight this week against a 49ers team that can't move the football. With the Panthers and Buccaneers facing tough AFC South opponents this week, there's a chance that Reggie Bush and company will find themselves one game out of first heading into Week 9.

• Tom Brady has been a fantasy football god. I drafted him in the second round of my primary fantasy league, and he has single-handedly compensated for the injuries to my top two running backs, Rudi Johnson and Ahman Green.

• Priest Holmes should be used several series per game after the Chiefs' bye week.

• The Bears are facing the Lions? Again? So soon? Only three opponents separated the last time Chicago played them, where the Lions scored the most points in history during a fourth quarter of a game.

• Wouldn't you rather see Vinny Testaverde start for the Panthers than David Carr?

• Moving Byron Leftwich seemed like a good move for the Jaguars. Now that David Garrard is out 3-4 weeks with an injury, wouldn't it be nice to have Leftwich backing him up? What's that you say? Leftwich also suffered an injury last week that will keep him out 3-4 weeks? Ironic, isn't it?

• Teams are calling for Drew Bledsoe. The latest team to ring was the Jaguars. Any chance that Jake Plummer would suddenly show up one of these days?

• Kelly Holcomb didn't light it up during his string of starts, but he'll get another chance this week with the injury to Tarvaris Jackson. If the Vikings want to maintain a shot at contending this season, Holcomb should remain the starter.

• Devin Hester can single-handedly win a few games for the Chicago Bears this year, but it'll have to be as a wildcard team.

• The Titans survived Week 7 without Vince Young, but they should have him back and ready to play.

• Kenton Keith is going to continue seeing an expanded role behind Joseph Addai in Indianapolis. It won't be as balanced as Rhodes/Addai, but having someone else to rely on is important.

• I think the Cincinnati Bengals have a shot to upset the Pittsburgh Steelers this week. Don't take that as being my official prediction though.

• If you're the Packers, possibly bringing Samkon Gado back would seem like a possible thought if Vernand Morency's injuries continue to hamper him.

• I have a weekly fantasy game I play with a buddy of mine. Last week, I chose to select Rob Bironas as my kicker. That paid off, didn't it? I wish I would've picked him up in my primary fantasy league, even though I didn't need him to come away with a victory.

• Ever heard of Sports Blogs Nation? If you have a specific NFL team you're crazy about, you won't believe the type of coverage they provide.

• I like the Red Sox over the Rockies in four games. The American League and National League are completely different leagues. The Indians vs. the Red Sox felt like the real World Series.

Coming Up

Our very own Ian Hetherington will be attending the Giants vs. Dolphins contest in London and will have an exclusive editorial on his experience next week. Tomorrow, I'll have the PFCritics Week 8 Power Rankings, followed by my Week 8 predictions this Friday.