Here are five orbs of well-gleaned knowledge regarding the most important folks on the field not in uniform...

1. In the National Football League, everyone knows it pays to fall from the Bill Belichick Tree of coaching.

Six of Belichick's assistant coaches have joined the ranks of NFL head coaching-dom. But, consider this: Aside from Josh McDaniels' blisteringly fast 5-0 start (that no conventional wisdom can explain) in his rookie head coaching career, Belichick's highly coveted fruit have all but spoiled. Here's a look…

* Romeo Crennel, Cleveland Browns (2005–2008): Sure the man has five Super Bowl rings (three with the New England Patriots, two with the New York Giants), but Crennel is 24-40 lifetime as a head coach.

* Al Groh, New York Jets (2000): Promoted from linebackers coach after B'Chick's own vanishing act, Groh narrowly missed a playoff spot with the Jets after going 9-7, but longed for his college days and quickly resigned to coach at his alma mater Virginia.

* Eric Mangini, New York Jets (2006–2008), Cleveland Browns (2009–present): Managed a mediocre record of 23-25 (0-1 post-season) with the Jets, and has the Browns at 1-4 currently.

* Nick Saban, Miami Dolphins (2005–2006): "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach," he said. Hypocrisy aside, Saban couldn't have escaped back to college ball faster after going 15-17 as the Fins head coach.

* Jim Schwartz, Detroit Lions (2009–present): Detroit is certainly not the easiest town to make a head oaching debut, especially when a 1-4 record is an improvement.

2. The key to Josh McDaniels success at Denver is buried in the cerebellum of his former underachieving signal caller.

In 2008, Kyle Orton threw 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, with a passer rating of 79.6. Flash-forward to the 2009 Broncos and Orton already has seven TDs with only one INT and a rating of 97.4 through five games.

Meanwhile, the previous heir to Mile High Stadium, Jay Cutler, has managed to throw five interceptions and amass an 89.3 QB rating with his new-look Chicago Bears club.

McDaniels was heavily criticized for his handling of Cutler in the off-season, but it seems the second youngest coach in the NFL has more up his sleeve than an old Belichick playbook. Against his old mentor, McDaniels certainly played like he had been there before, with a calculated ground game that led to a make-able field-goal in overtime. No rookie nerves here folks.

3. CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte = Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Steve Avery?

Joe Girardi may take a page from the book of Bobby Cox and use three-man rotation against the Angels. Certainly praiseworthy if it succeeds, but just as damnable if it fails.

CC would get three days of rest between Game 1 on Friday and Game 4 on Tuesday, with Burnett and Pettitte each getting four for Games 5 & 6 (if necessary). If this record-setting Halo's offense is able to click and the series stretches to seven games, CC would still get four days before the final game.

Sabathia has proven that he can perform on short rest, too, going 3-1 with a 1.01 ERA on three days and 78-46 with a 3.66 ERA on four.

The last time a MLB team used a three-man rotation in the postseason was Cox's 2005 Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series against the Houston Astros. It was a losing effort, however, with Tim Hudson, John Smoltz and Jorge Sosa sharing the mound.

In fact, Cox tried the feat nine times in the World Series, only winning three of those games. The last team to even make the World Series with only three rounds in the chamber was the 1998 San Diego Padres (Kevin Brown, Andy Ashby and Sterling Hitchock), which went on to lose to, you guessed it, the New York Yankees.

4. Can the "Ultimate Zen Master" coach the "Ultimate Distraction?"

Phil Jackson will certainly have his hands full with his newest Laker - Ron Artest. Although it's not Phil's first rumble with "troubled" players (see Dennis Rodman, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal), Artest's transition might different. While Rodman's free-throw and three-point percentages don't match up with Artest's, his defensive numbers may have helped Phil Jackson ignore his antics:

Dennis Rodman's Chicago Bulls Averages
Off: 5.57; Def: 9.77; RPG: 15.33; APG: 8.5

Ron Artest's Career Averages
Off: 1.2; Def. 3.9; RPG: 5.1; APG: 3.2

Speaking of the Big Ohioan (Shaq), the proclaimed Professor of Panic, Stan Van Gundy, will have his mettle severely tested after losing a critical piece of his Orlando Magic puzzle, Hedo Turkoglu. While most of his offense parked at the three-point line, occasionally feeding man-beast Dwight Howard, Turkoglu seemed to relish the dirty work – driving the lane, posting-up or running the base-line. Turk's "replacement," Vince Carter, is more attuned to the rest of Van Gundy's ride-the-three-ball offense. Still, Van Gundy has a chance to turn the tables on the Shaq-togenarian if Howard can continue bursting out of phone booths.

5. The New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, and Denver Broncos are the five NFL teams after week five to remain unbeaten.

However, only three are represented in this week's Top 5 NFL Head Coaches poll:

* Jim Caldwell (Colts): Taking the reigns from Tony Dungy seamlessly. Six straight seasons with 12 or more wins and Indianapolis is on cloud 9.

* Tony Sparano (Dolphins): To out-coach Bill Belichick in a must-have game overshadows the 2-3 record this week. Suddenly the Wildcat isn't looking so tame.

* Tom Coughlin (Giants): No trap games with the Cough-man. He runs a tight, "Big-Blue" ship and still has enough tricks up his sleeve for NO on Sunday.

* Josh McDaniels (Broncos): The team (yes, that includes Brandon Marshall) is playing like they're Kobe beef. Who will be the first to take a bite and yell, "Chicken!"

* Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals): Lewis seems to be making all the right moves. His offense put up great numbers on the ground against the vaunted Baltimore Ravens D. If he can find a way to keep his own Bengals' defense motivated the AFC North goes through Cincy.