The best defense is a cheap Quarterback

Or, As the Opportunity Cost Turns;

Of the 12 teams currently in position to make the playoffs, eight rank in the bottom half of the league for quarterback salaries. Conversely, of the top 15 highest-paid quarterbacks, only four are on track to make the playoffs.

Neither Colin Kaepernick (San Francisco) nor Russell Wilson (Seattle) are even the highest paid QB on their own teams. Their back ups are paid more.

On one play Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kaepernick, the team's 28th highest-paid player, showed the long-reaching impact of the expensive players around him. It was the first play of a drive that started on San Francisco 38-yard line.

Kaepernick took a snap and quickly faked a throw to $5 million receiver Michael Crabtree to keep the defense off balance. From there, $6.5 million running back Frank Gore took the handoff and saw plenty of daylight, thanks to a key block from the highest-paid player on the team, tight end Vernon Davis.

Similarly, there are other highly paid players on the defense who can be afforded only because of the bargain basement salary of Kaepernick ($1.3 million). Russell Wilson earns even less ($650K) for Seattle--and his team is two games better than San Francisco in the standings.