TigerJ

I don't think the Bills had hit their stride when they played Baltimore. I think the results might have been different had the game been played later, as they would have for the Jaguars game, the Raiders, and the first Jets game

I agree, he wants Palmer to be healthy and accepts his role as a backup. And he also knows what happened to Josh McCown and Jeff Garcia las Sunday.

Much as I'd love for Miami to beat NE, I just can't see it happening. The good news is that the Steelers have not been impressive of late. The look like they peaked several weeks ago, and if Buffalo can give a good effort, cutting down on early mistakes, I think they are beatable even if they have something at state in the final game.

Schottenheimer is almost as much of a lock for coach of the year as Roethlisberger is for rookie of the year. It must be the year of long German names when it comes to individual awards in the NFL this year. Who takes MVP and how many syllables in his last name? I'm very happy with Mularkey though, and glad to say I was among those who said Buffalo should not hire Coughlin.

I'm not a guy who's usually on Drew's back, but most of Drew's errant throws were in the direction of Eric Moulds, and they were not situations where Moulds was double covered. Mould's dropped a number of passes that were a little off target, but catchable just the same. They share the blame. I'm not sure if Ryan Neufeld was in the game. He was virtually invisible, but he looked good catching a pass last week after Campbell went down. Rod Trafford looked good catching the only pass that came his way yesterday. Whether the relative lack of involvement of the tight ends in yesterday's game was by design, or Drew's tendency to stick only with guys he knows, I'm not sure. It took Drew a long time to figure out he has a great young receiver in Lee Evans because he wouldn't throw to him for a long time.

It was obvious early on that the Browns had to have turnovers putting them in point blank range to have any chance to score. I just didn't think the Bills offence was going to continue to be so inept and turn over the ball. The game ultimately was not as close as the score indicated. When you win 37-7 that's saying something.

Yup, that's the way I have it figured. I'll go one step further. I think next week's game at Green Bay is Jacksonville's best chance to lose, though Houston can be a feisty opponent too. Baltimore should lose to Indianapolis. A few weeks ago, I would have said Pittsburgh would be a guaranteed loss for Baltimore, but Pittsburgh is hanging on to their winning streak by the skin of their teeth. They are beatable right now, and I just hope they have enough gas in the tank to put Baltimore down in a couple weeks. Although I think Miami is improving, I don't think they have enough to knock off Baltimore. I think Denver loses the final game of the season against Indianapolis. They probably beat Tennessee the week before that. The game at KC will be the crucial one in determining whether or not they will finish out ahead of Buffalo. Finally, I think the Jets will lose to New England, so the big question is can the leader in the NFC West start acting lilke a division leader. Of the four teams ahead of us in the wild card chase, three of them are playing games that will go a long way toward determining Buffalo's chances.

I beat you to Santana Moss. Therefore, I must be faster than you. Oh, and while Bryson is fast for a guy the size of a fullback (even though he probably plays more RB now, he's not in the league's elite. He runs the 40 in the neighborhood of 4.37.

Now that Charlie Weis is going to be coaching Notre Dame, Bill Belichick needs to hire an offensive coordinator. Whether or not he wants our advice, I think we should offer it. So, who do you think we should recommend he hire? How about Kevin Gilbride?

A. It gives Pittsburgh a chance to guarantee themselves homefiled throughout the playoffs before they ever take the field against Buffalo. B. I'm counting on Cincinnati getting overconfident and having a let down game when Buffalo heads to Cincinnati.

I think Joey Galloway has lost a step. Lee Evans is in the low 4.3s somewhere around 4.33. He might not be the fastest Bill, nor might McGee. If I was to bet, my money would be on Jabari Greer. Shawn Springs wouldn't be on my list. A couple who would be are Santana Moss, and Chad Morton.

For a commuter vehicle, I might get a Toyota Echo or a low end Saturn. Or I might go a little higher and get a Honda Civic hybrid. The nice thing about a hybrid, asside from the great gas mileage is the fact there is little or no drop off in gas mileage from highway to city driving.

Pittsburgh is going to beat the Jets. We can take another look at this next week when they are 9-4 and Buffalo is 7-6.

If Buffalo were to make the playoffs, they would obviously have the toughest path through the playoffs of any team in the playoffs. he AFC has a bunch of great teams in contrast to the NFC. If Buffalo won the their wild card game and the next one after that, then I would say the odds brighten considerably after that.

I'm rooting for Cincinnati. Buffalo has to win out, and Cincinnati is Buffalo's next game after Cleveland. I don't think a Cincinnati win against the Patriots would make them any more difficult to beat next week, and if we beat them, they are eliminated. A NE loss works in Buffalo's favor by possibly making Pittsburgh's final game against Buffalo unnecessary for them. They could conceivably wrap up home field throughout without a win against Buffalo if NE loses a game over the next three weeks. The Cincinnati game is as good a place as any to start.

A Cincinnati win is not my prediction, but I don't think it's anywhere near impossible. A number of reasons have been cited already, Palmer's coming of age, the ability of the Cincinnati defense to pressure the QB among others. There is also the possible distraction value of Notre Dame's interest in Charlie Weis. That's probably no begger deal for NE than it seems to be for the Bills and Clements, but you never know.

Current prediction for Orchard Park from weather.com is for 36 degrees at kickoff and cloudy skies with winds just under 20. Some time, Sunday afternoon or night, a cold front is going to go through. That will change wind directions, drop temps and could bring precip, rain or snow.

I'm rooting for Cincinnati this week. That's good for Buffalo. Cincinnati beats NE and Pittsburgh wins their next three, then common sense dictates Pittsburgh will rest a bunch of starters for their final game agains . . . Buffalo. The heck with wnating all the starters there to make it a great game. I want the circumstances that give the Bills the best chance o win.

My assumption that the initial announcement about Clements going to ND would come from ND, unless there is a simultaneous news conference scheduled in South Bend.

I'm in a pick'em group and this week for the first time, I picked the favorite in every single game. I just couldn't see any game where I thought there would be an upset.

Charlie Weis is 48? If you were stand him next to Tom Clements, who's 51 would you really believe he's three years younger than Clements?

If they'd put the game at 4 o'clock, I'd go.

I'd be thrilled if they did. That could make the final game against Pittsburgh a little easier. It would warn the Bills to take them seriously, plus it could turn the game a week from Sunday with the Bills into a classic letdown game. All good.