PITTSBURGH — There's a whole lot of yapping going on in the AFC North, often the NFL's loudest division if not always the most competitive.

Remarkably, not all the jabbering is coming from Chad Johnson, the wide receiver with the frequently wide-open mouth. He legally changed his last name to Ocho Cinco but, given his lack of production for the one-win Bengals, perhaps he should have considered 'Grande Cero' — as in Big Zero.

In Cleveland, weeks of talk show complaints preceded the disappointing Browns' decision to bench QB Derek Anderson for Brady Quinn — at least temporarily quieting the oh-so-public feud between tight end Kellen Winslow and management.

Not surprisingly, the Ravens and Steelers are tussling verbally following Terrell Suggs' on-air disclosure that Baltimore put bounties on Rashard Mendenhall and Hines Ward before a 23-20 overtime loss in Pittsburgh on Sept 29. The rivals must wait until Dec. 14 in Baltimore to, ahem, air their differences on the field.

Guess who else is talking? A Steelers team leading the division in the standings and in fines.

Complaints by Ward, Troy Polamalu and coach Mike Tomlin that the NFL was overly aggressive in fining Steelers players led the league to take the usual step of sending a vice president to Pittsburgh for a sit-down discussion about player safety and punishment.

For all the talking, not much has changed at midseason — the Steelers are in first place, and everybody else is chasing one of only two NFL teams that hasn't lost in its division or conference.

Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2)

Willie Parker has missed half the season, Ben Roethlisberger has a separated shoulder, the offensive line is scarily inconsistent, and the Steelers were beaten by the Giants because — believe it or not — their long snapper got hurt.

They've already had enough injuries to last a season, yet the Steelers have the AFC's second-best record and, with James Harrison, James Farrior, LaMarr Woodley and Polamalu enjoying big seasons, maybe the best defense.

How have they done it? They've been resilient and creative, a testimony to second-year coach Tomlin's team-is-all-that-matters mentality. To some veteran Steelers fans, it's almost as if Chuck Noll — the Hall of Fame coach who always expected his backups to perform as if they were starters — is walking the sidelines again.

If the offensive line settles down and the injury list shrinks, it will be interesting to see how good the resourceful Steelers can be. Even with Byron Leftwich running the offense during the second half Monday night, the Steelers were good enough to dominate the Redskins (6-3) in a 23-6 victory in Washington.

Grade: A-minus.

Baltimore Ravens (5-3)

New coach John Harbaugh has restored Baltimore's personality and edge and, yes, the defense's nastiness (Welcome back, Ray Lewis). Their injury-filled game in Pittsburgh might have been the AFC's most physical all season.

Surprisingly down only one game in the standings, the Ravens still have the Steelers to play in Baltimore.

Now, if only they could throw the ball.

Joe Flacco has the on-field awareness and confidence to be an excellent NFL quarterback, especially for a rookie, but he must lower his interception count and throw more touchdowns. The Ravens have three quality running backs in Willis McGahee, Ray Rice and Le'Ron McClain, yet any game in which they fall behind becomes a big worry because of an inconsistent and unpolished passing game.

A suggestion: Put in a bounty for touchdown catches, not Steelers players injured.

Grade: B.

Cleveland Browns (3-5)

Every season, a supposedly on-the-rise team is rewarded with a number of attractive TV dates, only to stumble. Meet the not-ready-for-prime-time Browns, who must win seven of their final eight merely to match last season's 10-6 record.

Jamal Lewis is a force again at running back, but Anderson's inconsistency and 49.8 completion percentage — and, perhaps, the fans' season-long complaining — forced a hurried switch to Quinn.

In Cleveland, cloudy and in the 40s isn't only a typical early November day, but Anderson's second-half forecast and his completion percentage.

Not that coach Romeo Crennel is giving Quinn much time to settle in — the Browns have all of one practice day before playing the Broncos in a Thursday night game.

A panic move? Perhaps, but this is a team badly in need of a kick in the rear. Maybe it will come from Quinn or a second-half resurgence by underachieving WR Braylon Edwards.

Remember Edwards' pledge to score twice as many touchdowns as buddy Michael Phelps won swimming gold medals in Beijing? The scorecard so far: Phelps 8 golds, Edwards 3 TDs.

Talk about getting swamped.

Grade: D.

Cincinnati Bengals (1-8)

Their grade is I, as in incomplete — Ryan Fitzpatrick throws incomplete to his left, to his right and down the middle. This team badly misses QB Carson Palmer and Johnson, his top target.

Wait, hasn't Johnson been playing? Who could tell?

The Bengals, arguably the NFL's most underachieving team, aren't getting much from No. 85, even if he caught two TD passes in their first win of the season Sunday. Of course, beating Jacksonville served only to break Cincinnati out of a tie with Detroit in the NFL's worst-team competition.

These Bengals never seem to change their stripes, or their surly attitude, which must be why on-the-hot-seat coach Marvin Lewis gets nervous whenever the phone rings.

This might be the only NFL team whose second half highlight promises to be its bye week.

Grade: I.