After six weeks, quarterback efficiency is changing the way the game is being played. It's an offensive game. Scoring is up from 40 points a game a year ago to 42.3 this season. The biggest surprise is how completion percentages have risen. Quarterbacks in 2007 are completing 61.99 percent of their passes, the best total in 20 years. Tom Brady is at 72.5 percent. Peyton Manning is at 69.7. Matt Schaub off the Texans is at 69.1. In fact, total offense is having one of its better increases in recent years. The average NFL team features 657.7 yards of combined offense. That's 27.7 more per game than last year. Passing is up significantly in that improvement. Quarterbacks are combining for a whopping 433.2 yards a game, 28.4 more than last year.

The interesting breakdown on the passing offenses is that yards per attempt is up, but yards per completions are down. The Competition Committee was concerned a year ago with yards per attempt, a good figure in deciding if teams are going downfield. In 2006, the figure was 5.9, the worst in three years and one of the worst in the past 20. This year, yards per attempt have jumped to 6.2. That plays to the completion percentage. More quarterbacks are completing more passes and they seem to be hitting them in zone. You notice fewer running backs are in the top 50 in receiving. Even though yards per attempt has improved, yards per completion dropped from 11.4 to 11.3.

One of the theories for the offensive improvement is the fact officials aren't calling as many holding penalties, giving quarterbacks better down opportunities and maybe buying a half second to throw the ball. Give a quarterback such as Manning or Brady an extra half second to do something, and watch the magic grow.

The downside for the improved offensive numbers is how hard it is for defensive players to get sacks. Sacks are way down league-wide. After 89 regular season games, there have been only 385 sacks, roughly 4.32 a game or 2.16 per team a game. Compare that to a year ago. At this time last year, there were 414 quarterback sacks and that was for 87 games. Basically, sacks are almost down a half a sack per game. The last time there was this type of a drop was in 2003 when there were only 363 sacks after six weeks. That's only 4.125 per game.

Fine reprieve: Patriots tight end Ben Watson suffered a bad ankle injury on a tackle made by Cowboys safety Roy Williams last week. From the replays, there appeared to be the possibility of the tackle being considered a horse-collar tackle. Apparently, the league didn't agree. A league look at the tackle determined Williams would not be fined. Williams was fined $15,000 a week ago for a horse-collar tackle. Had he been found guilty of another, the fine would have been more substantial.

Hot under the collar: Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson wasn't fined for a hit he made on Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, but that hasn't stopped the organization from being mad. They feel Wilson is being called for too many personal foul penalties when they believe there shouldn't be any flags. Four games ago, Wilson received an unnecessary roughness penalty for a hit he made on tight end Todd Heap. The league reviewed the hit and determined there was no finable offense. Last week, his hit on Smith was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but once again there was no fine. The Cardinals believe those flags are unnecessary after further review.