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There have to be at least 30,000 fans in the stands--including some of the ladies--who could have caught the ball Edwards dropped. God Almighty! They should make a Braylon Edwards Bobblehands doll.

The solution here is obvious. Rather than trying to select the "lucky jersey," wear all five, layered. That way, if there is a lucky one among them, it will have its mojo working. There is still the question of which one to wear on top, but I would play that by ear. Start with the Aikman garb exposed. If the Cowboys take a lead, stick with Troy; if they fall behind, bring in a fresh horse. If the game is tight, keep rotating them until you find the one with the stongest vibes.

Do you feel the excitement building? No? Neither do I. This is the least interesting game on the docket, and I may go grocery shopping during the contest. The Bengals have been flat since Chris Henry died. Carson Palmer has looked more like Jordan Palmer. He and Sanchez will duel to see can throw for over 100 yards. Whoever wins this clash on the ground will play at Waterloo next week. I foresee Jets 20 Bengals 13 in a snoozer. A Jets defensive TD is the winning margin.

As we know, the improbable can happen in the playoffs. Any of the 12 playoff teams could reach the Big One, just as AZ surprised the world last year. Of all the possible Super Bowl pairings, which one would you most like to see and which would you least like to see? Although there are many intriguing possibilities, I would most enjoy watching MN-IND, a matchup which pits two future HOF QBs against one another. The game could be a genuine shootout between two teams that deserve to be in it. The Super Bowl I most dread is PHI-NYJ. Sanchez and the Jets do not yet belong in that rarified atmosphere. And when PHI tanks, it really tanks, so if the Eagles showed up without their mojo, the confrontation could do down as the Futility Bowl.

Who is the best quarterback in the NFL? a) Jake Delhomme Jamarcus Russell c) Kerry Collins d) Derek Anderson

I don't think it's going to happen, for several reasons: 1) Martz helped to build the Greatest Show on Turf, not the Greatest Show on Snow. His pass-happy offense may be a well-oiled machine in the domes of St Louis and Detroit, or in the balmy climes of California, but it would sputter like a snow blower with an old sparkplug on days when the winds swirl the snowflakes in Soldiers Field; 2) Lovie is a friend of Mike's--so Lovie knows the size of Martz's ego. Lovie may have enjoyed coaching under Martz, but he knows he won't enjoy coaching under Martz in Chicago, since Martz would be the supposed underling; 3) Cutler is a fiery type who might not take kindly to Martz's exacting style. Martz is more the architect of offenses than the mentor of young QBs per se. Somebody like Fassel would be better. Martz could help somebody, but not Lovie. If Mike were did not have the reputation for being hgih-maintenance, he would already be an OC somewhere.

CIN-NYJ--Cinci embarrassed itself on national TV last weekend. I think they played too many starters. I also think the loss of Chris Henry is affecting their play. MN struggled when Stringer died. TN's poor start was partly due to the McNair tragedy. The Bengals will not get far in the playoffs, especially if Palmer can't find his mojo. That said, I believe the Bengals will win this one. If they can put up points early and force Sanchez to fill the air with footballs, the INTs will be there like ripe fruit waiting to be picked. CIN 34 NYJ 10 BALT-NE--Everybody's down on the Ravens, but they will dominate with their run game while stuffing Maroney and the other riff-raff Belichick tries to get by with. CAR showed the way a few weeks ago, and that was before Welker went down. BALT 20 NE 13 in the closest of the four games. GB-AZ--Rodgers and Warner are great QBs, but Warner will be without a healthy Boldin. Rodgers is impervious to pressure and is a more consistent QB than Warner. I foresee turnovers aplenty for the GB D. GB 30 AZ 21 DAL-PHI--Philly dropped a meaningful game to DAL by a wide margin last weekend. That bodes ill for the Eagles. DAL pitches another shutout, stunning observers and bringing joy to Playoff FF players who chose the Dallas D. DAL 38 PHI 0

Wow! Seven total yards of first-half offense? The Bengals fans will be livid with management for playing some of the starters.

Looks like your kid's indoor soccer team will put up more points than the Eagles. You chose your Sunday afternoon entertainment correctly.

Goodell has just announced that the NFL's Competition Committee will "look into" the practice of teams resting their starters after they've clinched. He says this is in response to the howl set up by fans following the Colts-Jets game. Of course, the Giants have been outscored 85-16 in their last two games, so I hope the Committee will also demand to know why Coughlin played those starters.

Well, a big tip o' the hat to the Pats for having a Sense of History. They played their starters so they would be remembered as a team that went 11-5 instead of 10-6--although it looks like 11-6 is where the wheel stops.

When an executive is brought in to take the helm of a new company, he typically cleans house. He wants to work with how own people, and even capable underlings will be shown the door. Mangini has done nothing to distinguish himself, instead making desperate changes in an attempt to keep his leaky ship afloat. Once Holmgren settles into an office decorated and furnished to his taste, the first person to sit at the desk in the chair across from Mike will be Eric. Bye Eric.

Millen selected Kevin Jones in the first round of the 2004 draft. Perhaps he is amnesic about the whole Lions experience. I wonder if he remembers being Detroit's team President.

You can't exactly plan on getting 234 yards, and SEA defensive strategy is made easier because they know what the Titans want to do. I think Johnson gets his 128 and becomes a 2000-yard rusher, but I don't think he surpasses Dickerson. I'll bet the day's longest run will belong to Vince Young.

There's no question that AP is a major bobblehands. However, I don't see how the loss can be blamed on any Vikings offensive player. The defense allowed 36 points to an offense that has struggled all season. You don't win many games in the NFL by "holding" your opponent to 36. The MN defense needs to get it together in a hurry. MN will face a motivated NY team next Sunday. That motivation will rapidly dissipate if the Norsemen can open up a big lead, but if the defense can't hold it, the Vikings could go down again. The offense, despite its mistakes, played well enough to beat the Bears.

Yes, indeed. I read it. That's the source of my bewilderment.

I honestly can't see why people are heaping scorn on the Colts. Resting your regulars once you've clinched all there is to clinch is a time-honored strategy, because it's common sense. There are arguments the other way, of course, but it's ridiculous to call IND not just wrong but stupid. Some fans and journalists are worked up because they think it would be oh-so-cool to be the second team in history to go 16-0--and maybe the second to go 18-0 before going down in the Super Bowl. There will be no movies about the Pats' "perfect season" because it wasn't perfect. It would have to be called "The Big Fold: From 18 & O to 19 & No." I think Caldwell was right to play Manning et al for awhile. Maybe they could have taken a big lead that the scrubs could have held. They also didn't want to be accused of greasing the skids too much for the Jets and their long-shot playoff hopes, especially since Santa will likely visit the Jets again next Sunday. However, the journalists who are reviling Caldwell now would really be braying and bawling if Peyton's 3rd-quarter broken fibula had left them entering the playoffs with Painter, or a hastily signed Garcia. Or Jeff George. Manning's early exit from the game cost me a FF championship, so my view, even if wrong, isn't self-serving. Observers can disagree with Colts management, but I can't see castigating them for spurning a Date with Destiny. The team's goal is to win the Super Bowl. Nothing else matters much. If you didn't start Curtis Painter in your playoffs, don't expect the Colts to risk starting him in theirs. "Paint It, Black," that movie would be called.

I will win unless Johnny Knox outscores AP by more than 5 pts. AP's been a bit of a stiff lately, so I have not cleared room for the trophy on the mantel yet. I worry that Knox will have 2 recpetions for 12 yds and 2 TDs. I lost my other Super Bowls resoundingly, so this is my last chance to enter the New Year feeling that Life is indeed worth living.

F.U. Caldwell for folding your tent, and F.U. Peyton for going along with it. There are all kinds of headlines saying "Jets End Colts' Win Streak" but the Jets didn't end it; the Colts did by inserting their scrubs. Hey, guys, when you conceded your game, you conceded mine too. And if Eli and Archie are reading this, F.U. too. F.U. Sims-Walker for coming up small when you needed to come up big. You want to avoid blackouts in your area? Tell the team to stop blacking out at crucial moments. And F.U. Fanball "Experts" for telling me to sit Celek for Finley. You bunch of shizoid geeks! Next year, I listen to Gil Brandt and only Gil Brandt! And a final F.U. to Hasselbeck for the a$$-coring you gave every owner who drafted you. I didn't start you today--thank God--but I started you too many times. And once is too many times.

In my main league, I started out 6-1 and then lost 6 straight, backing into the last playoff spot with a 6-7 record. I had terrible luck, seeming always to face teams when they recorded their yearly high point totals. I then lost my seventh straight before winning a game in the "no-consolation" bracket. My efforts unrewarded and my usual good luck apparently exhausted, I was begininng to sour on the FF experience. But I had two other teams. I had been going to bench Peyton for Team A, but I forgot the game was a Thursday nighter and didn't remember it until too late. A Christmas Miracle resulted, Manning gifting me with 4 TDs. I then felt that the Big Commish upstairs was going to compensate me for the undeserved ill luck of my regular season. I felt blessed. When I saw the notice that Warner was losing a TD pass, my heart leapt--another Miracle. My Team B had lost 80-77 to the Warner owner, and a scoring change would bestow the playoff victory upon me. "Good tidings of great joy!" as was said in another context. Now I learn that I belong to one of the few leagues on the planet that will not make the change. I tell you frankly that I have lost my religious faith, and on Christmas too. I don't think God cares if I win or lose, to tell you the truth. I'm not even going to tinker with my line-up for my remaining playoff game. I mean, what's the point? I guess I'll just kill some time with my family.

It also says that CBS free and premium leagues have a rule that no scoring changes will be accepted after Tuesday morning--which means that I lose because my opponent gets to keep the phantom TD pass. What a downer. And what an outrage. I may contact my U.S. representative and ask him to call for Congressional hearings into FF scoring practices, so that travesties like this will never occur again. Or I may just get with the Christmas holiday and forget about it.

Team B can circle the W right now. With only a 5% margin of error, I can project that the final score will be Team B 124 Team A 86 Congratulations to B on a great season! And Happy Holidays to you both! See you next year!

NFL.com hasn't made a statistical correction to their Sportsline-powered fantasy stats--yet. The change hasn't appeared on Yahoo yet either. Some owners are in for a shock when they log on to set their lineups for the Big One only to find that they're now playing in the Little One. I feel their pain.

My opponent in the Semis won by three pts with Warner as his starting QB. If NFL.com makes the scoring change in its fantasy leagues, I will go to the Finals. I have a classic case of mixed feelings about this. A few weeks ago, I won a big game by .5 pts. Several days after I had thanked Allah for his bounty and circled the W, I awoke to find that a scoring change had turned my victory into a half-point loss. That reversal was hard to take. I can understand why the fanball leagues use the official stats. It would also be a downer to lose games because of scoring inaccuracies. However, there must be a better way to handle these matters than to correct them days after the fact. It's like learning that last week's 15% gain in your brokerage account was a software error and having to watch the values adjusted downward. I suppose I sort of hope that the correction propels me to victory; at the same time, I hate to see my opponent go through what I did. When Manningham scored a late, superfluous TD on Monday night, I lost and my opponent won--or thinks he did.

I don't think the Colts know what they're going to do. Their hope will be to run up a big lead and sit Manning in the second half so Painter can get some work. However, I don't think they'll pull Manning out of a close one. He's second to Favre in durability, so the risk is slight and he'd have three weeks to rest if he gets hurt. I don't think going undefeated is their priority--nor should it be--but I don't think they want to throw a rookie QB out there to blow the undefeated season by chucking four picks. I don't know what I'm going to do either. I have Eli and Vince Young stashed and may go with one of them. I think Peyton will play longer than Clark or Wayne--although I'd rather have Clark for one quarter than, say, Kleinsasser for four games.