Scott Van Pelt believes a playoff berth is no longer a dream for the Raiders, but something that is bound to happen this season. (2:20)

Topics this week include Tom Brady's amazing 2016 season; the man behind the Raiders' rebuild; and three Class of 2004 quarterbacks joining elite company

The man behind the Raiders' revival

While the Oakland Raiders enjoy a bye week, the man who assembled the roster that has led the revival of a once-storied franchise continues to plow ahead with the personnel duties that are never-ceasing and wisely suggest, "Work in progress."

At least Reggie McKenzie, the Raiders' general manager, has the tools that have equipped him for the job.

Ron Wolf, the Hall of Fame general manager associated with restoring the Green Bay Packers' prominence, saw it coming after he hired McKenzie as a pro personnel assistant in 1994. McKenzie remained with the Packers in the player personnel department until he was selected as the Raiders' GM in 2012, less than a year after Al Davis died. Wolf recommended McKenzie to Raiders owner Mark Davis without hesitation.

"I thought he was exceptional at what he did -- that is, to evaluate talent," Wolf said. "He had a rare feel for evaluating players properly. He really was a cut above. I think that came from him being a player. He was smart, he was tough, he was strong and he understood the game. I hate to say this, but maybe the best thing for pro football is that he got hurt, couldn't play anymore, and he went into talent evaluation."

Wolf was a mainstay in personnel under Davis when Raiders selected McKenzie, a linebacker for the University of Tennessee, in the 10th round of the 1984 NFL draft. That season, he started all 16 games and was named to the all-rookie team after the Raiders went 12-4.

McKenzie played next to Matt Millen, an All-Pro linebacker -- yes, that Matt Millen, the former general manager of the Detroit Lions.

"I tried to hire Reggie in Detroit but he stayed put," Millen said. "The thing you valued is he thinks like Ron did. Ron trained him and Reggie was a great student, which if you know Reggie's background, he was always a great student in high school and college. Reggie has his own instincts, like Ron. He has his own unique way of looking at things, but he also is grounded in the fundamentals of the job."

Among those fundamentals, Wolf and Millen both agree, is finding a franchise quarterback. Wolf succeeded when he landed Brett Favre. Millen landed Joey Harrington.

"The bottom line is if you don't find that quarterback, then you don't have much a chance to go where you want to go," Millen said.

McKenzie spent his first two years in Oakland with few draft picks and a bloated payroll that led to massive salary-cap cuts of established players who were on the down side, before he pounced on Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr in the second round of the 2014 draft. McKenzie also scored big that year in the first round when he took University of Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack.

"Reggie found the quarterback, he found a dynamic pass-rusher and he is using all the tools available to build through the draft, free agency, the trade market if necessary," Wolf said. "Just look at the offensive line. It's one of the best in football. He's used free agency and the draft to build it pretty quickly. If you don't have five of those guys up front, your quarterback won't have a chance to display those skills.

"The exciting part is that Reggie has built a strong personnel department, and because of his own skills, what he is doing is very sustainable. He weathered the storm of those first two years. I'm just delighted for him. It's exciting. It's exciting for the Raiders. It's exciting for the NFL."

-- Chris Mortensen

Age looks good on Tom Brady

Now that his bye week is over and his second-half run is about to commence, Brady is taking dead aim at the rest of the league -- and history.

At 39 years, 151 days old on the final day of the regular season, the New England Patriots quarterback will be vying to become the second-oldest MVP winner in any of the four major sports and the oldest ever in football.

Tom Brady has thrown 12 touchdowns with no interceptions and has a total QBR of 92.9 so far this season. AP Photo/Adrian Kraus

Barry Bonds won the National League MVP award in 2004 at 40 years, 71 days old. New York Giants quarterback Charlie Conerly was the oldest player to win the NFL's Most Outstanding Player Award in 1959 -- the league's MVP award didn't start until 1961 -- when he was 38 years, 85 days old. Former Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning became the oldest player ever to win the NFL's MVP award in 2013, when he was 37 years, 280 days old.

But now Brady is vying to beat Manning, again, and do something no other NFL player has done before -- and might never again. No one this old has been this good. It is why when Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly visited ESPN headquarters last week, he called Brady "the greatest quarterback to ever play the game." Kelly said there wasn't even a question about it. Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, they were great -- but Brady, in Kelly's opinion, is at an all-time level.

"I don't mind saying that," Kelly told ESPN's Chris Berman on Monday Night Countdown. "The consistency, every single year he does it. And he doesn't have, all time, the greatest players around him. A lot of times they are in and out -- [Wes] Welker is gone, a couple other guys are gone. He does have a great one in [Rob] Gronkowski, but the thing is, he makes it work and it doesn't matter what it is."

What Brady is doing is not only incredible, it's unprecedented. There has never been an NFL player this old producing at this level. Through four games, Brady has thrown 12 touchdowns, no interceptions and has a total QBR of 92.9 -- nearly double the QBR that Manning had in 2015, when he was the same age as Brady is now, and almost double the QBR that Brett Favre had in 2008, when he too was the same age that Brady is now.

As old as Brady gets, he hasn't started to play that way.

-- Adam Schefter

Keeping up with the Joshes

This is an actual conversation that occurred within the NFL this season:

Question: "What's going on with Josh?"

Answer: "Which Josh are you talking about?"

No namesake has been through more challenging times this season than the Joshes.

Kicker Josh Brown was placed on commissioner's exempt list, then released by the Giants after documents showed he acknowledged physical, verbal and emotional abuse against his former wife, Molly Brown.

Wide receiver Josh Gordon was suspended four games before entering rehab, while still waiting to hear from commissioner Roger Goodell whether he'll be reinstated.

Wide receiver Josh Huff was released by the Eagles last week, two days after he was arrested and charged with possessing an unloaded 9 mm handgun without a permit, a magazine that had six hollow-point bullets, and marijuana.

Josh Norman was fined $10,000 for a celebrating after intercepting Cody Kessler in Week 4. Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports

And cornerback Josh Norman was fined $25,000 for criticizing an official and another $10,000 for using an imaginary bow and arrow as a way to celebrate a fourth-quarter interception against the Browns.

This is not Joshing: No players with any other first name have created as many headlines as the Joshes.

This cannot bode well for Browns quarterback Josh McCown, Bears guard Josh Sitton, 49ers guard Josh Garnett or Giants quarterback Josh Johnson. And so when someone asks, "What's going on with Josh?" the inquirer must be more specific. There are a lot of Joshes to track.

-- Adam Schefter

Class of 2004 QBs joining elite company

There always has been an appreciation for the quarterback draft class of 2004, specifically Eli Manning of the Giants, Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It's very possible, if not likely, that Rivers and Roethlisberger will hit career milestones Sunday when their names will be mentioned in the same sentence as a pair of quarterback legends, John Elway and Johnny Unitas.

Rivers (298) needs two TD passes to reach 300, which would tie Elway for No. 8 on the all-time passing touchdowns list. Roethlisberger (289) needs one TD pass to tie Unitas for 11th place.

Manning hit the 300 mark earlier in the season and now stands at 306. He has thrown his 306 touchdowns in 193 regular-season games, compared to 178 games for Roethlisberger and 174 for Rivers.

None of them started the first game of their 2004 rookie season. (Take note, Jared Goff.) Roethlisberger was first to get a start in Week 3 after an injury to starter Tommy Maddox. Manning got his first start in Week 9, replacing Kurt Warner. Rivers had to wait two full seasons to make his first start in 2006, when an injured Drew Brees tested free agency following a shoulder injury in Week 16 the year before.

Neither Manning nor Rivers has missed a start since. Manning (191) is third on the all-time rankings for consecutive starts by a quarterback and Rivers is fourth (169).

Both Manning and Rivers are classic pocket passers. Roethlisberger is the most physically gifted of the three quarterbacks, and while his mobility has been celebrated it hasn't always been a healthy asset.

Manning has played through his share of injuries, most notably a shoulder separation that the team doctor believed would sideline him a month during the 2007 season.

Rivers played an AFC title game against the then-undefeated Patriots on the same week he had an arthroscopic procedure on an injured knee. Even more remarkably, as we soon learned, he also played that Patriots game with a torn ACL.

Roethlisberger's history of playing injured is well-documented. He has missed some starts, but not nearly as many as doctors expected.

Manning and Roethlisberger are always going to get an edge in the "best of '04 class" debate because each has won two Super Bowls.

Rivers has zero Super Bowl rings, which happens to be the same amount his franchise has won, but few people doubt that one day he will join Manning and Roethlisberger in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

-- Chris Mortensen

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers needs two touchdown passes to reach 300 for his career. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Great O-line expectations

There's usually a correlation between the teams with the best offensive lines in the league -- Dallas, Oakland, Atlanta -- and the worst.

And as the season heads into its second half, the spotlight will shine on undrafted free-agent left tackles who have a disproportionate amount of pressure on them as they try to protect their quarterback's blind side.

In Washington, starting left tackle Trent Williams -- who some NFL coaches believe is the best unsung tackle in the league -- will start a four-game suspension Sunday, leaving the Redskins to rely on Ty Nsekhe, an undrafted free agent from Texas State who now is on his fourth NFL team.

In Arizona, starting left tackle Jared Veldheer is out for the year with a torn triceps, leaving the Cardinals to start John Wetzel, an undrafted free agent from Boston College who also is on his fourth team.

Seattle is already starting left tackle George Fant, who played college basketball at Western Kentucky into 2015.

And Pittsburgh is starting left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, an undrafted free agent from Army who is on his second NFL team.

At a time when many people around the league believe offensive line play never has been shoddier, teams trying to make their playoff push will be relying on castoffs who have engendered confidence in their teams. But the health and success of Kirk Cousins, Carson Palmer, Russell Wilson and Ben Roethlisberger depend on tackles who have been tossed aside by teams, but not defensive ends.

-- Adam Schefter

Marijuana on the docket?

While the NFL and NFL Players Association already had embarked on independent studies to determine the merits of medical marijuana as it relates to pain management, a more liberal allowance for cannabis testing and lesser penalties has been a backroom discussion among a handful of influential owners.

Why some owners? Follow the money.

Marijuana is on a menu of dissolvable items that a few owners have discussed among themselves, in hope of creating incentive for the NFLPA to commence early talks on a possible extension of the collective bargaining agreement that is set to expire in 2020.

Just to be clear, support for a blanket removal of marijuana from the banned substance list has little support.

"Not testing for it at all is one way of simplifying the issue, but there are bigger things in play," said one owner, who requested anonymity. "You could argue that from a PR standpoint, it's not a good look when we're taking players off the field for multiple positive tests for marijuana. But PR-wise, we need some boundaries. What's the message you're sending to colleges and the youth population?

"You also can talk about three more states legalizing recreational use of marijuana, but it's still illegal in the majority of states and it's not legal by federal law. And you have to deal with congressional reaction. There are other ways to go on this deal that maybe we can ease, but that has to be part of our next [CBA] negotiation."

And, thus, the hook. Just don't expect the union to take a serious bite until the bait is attached with plenty of cash.

-- Chris Mortensen

Emptying out the notebook

Despite the disappointing season in San Francisco, those close to Chip Kelly insist that the 49ers head coach is not just paying lip service to the idea that he is not interested in returning to his former Oregon coaching job, or one at any college, even amid the growing speculation to the contrary.

They say he is staying with San Francisco, through the thick and thin of this challenging season. Colleges that have privately made overtures to Kelly's representatives have been told in no uncertain terms that Kelly is not interested in going back to school.

Last month, the Oregonian speculated that if there were an opening at Oregon, Kelly could wind up going back. Even billionaire Oregon booster Phil Knight recently attended a 49ers game as Kelly's guest. But when asked about the Oregon opening recently, Kelly said: "No. I'm the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. So, not looking at anything else. I'm here."

Those who know and have spoken with Kelly backed up his words and say he is not going anywhere.

Yes, the Saints' No. 1 pass offense faces the Broncos' No. 1 pass defense Sunday, but Saints coach Sean Payton has made a bigger statement on the ground with Tim Hightower and Mark Ingram the past two weeks. In an effort to not only help his defense but instill physicality, Payton has had the Saints at almost an exact 50-50 split on pass-run plays the past two games versus the Seahawks (35 passes, 35 rushes) and the 49ers (39 passes, 42 rushes).

There is no worse time to play an Andy Reid-coached team than after the bye. For the third straight season under Reid, the Chiefs have won at least four consecutive games following their bye week.

The AFC North isn't what it used to be: Heading into Thursday's game between Cleveland and Baltimore, there wasn't a team in the division that had a winning record.

Chiefs outside linebacker Justin Houston is right on schedule with his recovery from ACL surgery last season, but his return will be on a limited, situational basis. The situations, of course, would be on passing downs and it will be interesting to see how creative Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton gets with his sub packages now that Dee Ford has finally emerged with nine sacks. If Houston does get anywhere close to his pre-ACL surgery form, remember that he registered 22 sacks in his last full season (2014).

Five-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning will be honored with the Sportsman of the Year Award by the March of Dimes Greater New York Market at its 33rd Annual Sports Luncheon, on Nov. 30 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York.

Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor's performance in a losing effort Monday night on the road in Seattle was just one of several games in recent weeks that has earned him praise from football executives and coaches. Those good words also have been placed at the feet of offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn -- who replaced Greg Roman in that stunning Week 3 firing -- as well as veteran quarterbacks coach David Lee, a relentless teacher of fundamentals.

-- Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen