One of the highlights of the 2012 season continues to be the play of rookie quarterbacks throughout the league. Andrew Luck of the Colts and Robert Griffin III are the most highly publicized, and both continued helping their respective teams toward turnarounds on Sunday and Monday night.

But Russell Wilson also had another career-defining moment, helping the Seahawks to a comeback win over Chicago. In a year without Luck and Griffin, Wilson himself might be in consideration for the Rookie of the Year award.

Brandon Weeden continued his improvement in Cleveland’s win over Oakland. And while Ryan Tannehill and Nick Foles, who showed dramatic improvement Sunday night over what he looked like during the first game against Dallas a month ago, also have had moments.

The game Sunday wasn’t Luck’s best, but he got the job done, particularly when it mattered. The surprising Colts are 8-4. Griffin pulled the Redskins to within a game of the first-place Giants and evened Washington’s record at 6-6. It’s been years before this team has been relevant in December.

Of the league’s 32 teams, six are starting rookies and another seven are starting second-year guys right now. We’ve started some research on how these guys look at this point. We’ve got a ways to go before we’re ready to put anything out, but as guys like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees (still three of the top five or six in the game) continue aging, it does appear as though the league is in good hands in its search for the stars of tomorrow.

Jets are a joke: Even in victory, if you can call it that, the New York Jets look clownish. Mark Sanchez continues to play worse now in his fourth season than he did when he got to the NFL. The team needed Greg McElroy – yes, THE Greg McElroy – to come off the bench to rescue the team from what likely otherwise would have been a 6-0 loss to Arizona.

Now the owner, Woody Johnson, who basically ordered an offseason trade for mediocre signal caller Tim Tebow, is calling for McElroy to replace Sanchez as the starter. With Tebow hurt and the season largely lost, coach Rex Ryan can’t seem to make up his mind on a starter for the upcoming game against Jacksonville.

Even Braylon Edwards thinks the team is a joke. “Blame the idiots calling the shots,” he said according to multiple media reports.

This is a team that needs a complete makeover.

Maybe the AFC isn’t so bad?: Early in the season the “experts” were saying the NFC is much stronger than the AFC this year. And maybe they are right. But who are the hottest teams in the NFL right now?

Denver has won seven in a row and New England and Houston have each won six in a row. Those teams sit, respectively, at 9-3, 11-1 and 9-3 and in control of their own destinies as far as the playoffs go.

There are plenty of teams in the NFC who could make it the Super Bowl this season. And the AFC may be a bit top-heavy in some divisions, but I’d if someone forced me to put a bet down on any one game, I’d be looking at those three teams pretty strongly. Veteran star quarterback play has the Patriots and the Broncos at the top. Matt Schaub is also good, but Houston is winning as much with its defense, which has allowed the fewest points in the AFC.

This is going to be a fairer fight than many people predicted early on.

Bucs run into tough stretch: It looked for awhile like my prediction that the Bucs would make the playoffs might come through. But after a four-game win streak, Tampa ran into a couple teams whose strengths matched up with the biggest weakness they still have – an inability to defend the pass.

Tampa almost stole a game from now 11-1 Atlanta, but they ultimately fell by a point. Denver and Peyton Manning took last weekend’s game by eight. And it doesn’t get any easier. After what should be a winnable game with Philadelphia this Sunday, Tampa faces Drew Brees and the Saints in New Orleans in week 15.

I still like where the Bucs are headed, but I think I might have been a year off in predicting a playoff spot.

Young is young and dumb: So, just how in the doghouse is Titus Young? The Lions are down Ryan Broyles and Nate Burleson for the rest of the season and they still don’t want the talented-yet-obviously-stupid Young around. Hard to blame them too, if the reports of him intentionally lining up in the wrong place on the field are true.

Still, just how dumb is he? Sure, he might not have been getting the looks he wanted earlier in the season. But he plays next to the best wide receiver in the game in Calvin Johnson, who is on pace to annihilate Jerry Rice’s single-season receiving record. Had Young stuck around, worked hard and bided his time, his opportunities would have come. Now he’s sitting at home watching as the team likely breaks in Mike Thomas and some practice squad grocery bagger. One has to wonder if, given his alleged transgressions, he’ll even get another shot once the Lions cut ties.

What a moron.

Dumbest rule in sports: I know I’m more than a week late to the table on this one but I didn’t quite get a Notebook out after Thanksgiving. I would like to be on the record, however, saying that the rule preventing refs from reviewing the touchdown Justin Forsett scored – err, didn’t score — because Detroit coach Jim Schwartz threw a challenge flag is the dumbest rule in sports.

If there is a dumber one I want to know about it. What difference does it make if he throws the flag? Why is it unsportsmanlike? I’d have been angry in the heat of battle if a call that crappy was made against my squad and I’d be throwing the flag too.

And why, on top of a 15 yard penalty, would you then not review the play? Who even thought of that as a rule?

That rule may or may not have cost the Lions the Thanksgiving game against Houston. But it easily jumped to the top of the list of rules that should be changed. And if they aren’t going to change it before the season ends, then the referees should ignore it.

Because it’s stupid.

Just.

Frickin.

Stupid.