NFL Observations

1. Thursday night football, Jets vs Bills, was a showdown of the two worst starting quarterbacks in the league. As bad as Mark Sanchez and Ryan Fitzpatrick are, Kellen Clemens is worse. The Jets would be a clear-cut playoff team if they had a quarterback.

2. Paul Posluszny is a nice young player when he’s not injured.

3. Matt Millen is a damn good color commentator. He seems to know everything about everything. You can see how he became Detroit’s GM, but you can’t see why he sucked so badly at that position.

4. In a meaningless game against the Rams, Jay Cutler played one of his best games of the season. He was kept on a short leash.

5. Meanwhile, opposing quarterback Kyle Boller played one of the worst games any quarterback has played this season.

6. I thought Tennessee's 4th down fade play to Kenny Britt was one of the worst calls of the season. They called a timeout to think it over, too. You have Vince Young's legs, you have Chris Johnson, you have capable tight ends, and you call a static finesse pass play from Young to a rookie wide receiver. Made no sense.

7. The Chiefs have at least one good player in their front seven, 26 year-old DE Tamba Hali. He had ten tackles and three sacks against the Broncos.

8. Oakland's win in Pittsburgh, the biggest upset of the season, was not a fluke. The Raiders didn't get lucky. Oakland's last drive had a few wild plays, but overall it was an even game. The Raiders with Bruce Gradkowski are just not that bad a team. All season long the Raiders were better than the truly horrid dregs of the league in every area, but their quarterback kept letting them down. Quarterback is no longer a huge weakness for the Raiders - and they are no longer a punchline.

9. Shane Lechler is overrated. His finesse punting is nothing special.

10. Ben Roethlisberger has cost the Steelers a couple games with Cutler-like bad decisions in the red zone.

11. The Saints winning in Washington, on the other hand, was one of the flukiest wins of the year (unless you are a Redskins fan and saw this one coming the whole game). The Redskins had

* a dropped interception,
* a punt hitting a blocker which was recovered by the Saints for a turnover
* a missed 23 yard field goal,
* and this - the wildest play of the season

If any of these things don't happen, the Redskins likely win the game.

12. With Fred Davis and Chris Cooley, the Skins will be a little too rich and redundant at tight end in 2010. The Skins should trade Cooley in the offseason for an offensive lineman or draft pick(s).

13. Sign me up for Devin Thomas in fantasy 2010.

14. I've always felt Sammy Morris is New England's best runner. When he's healthy, he breaks more tackles than Laurence Maroney or Kevin Faulk.

15. Davone Bess is one of my favorite players, because his game is all about smarts and hard work. Physically, he is one of the least gifted wide receivers on an NFL roster. He is neither large nor fast. But he has good balance, runs great routes, and catches most everything thrown his way. The Dolphins are in a weird situation with their wide receivers. They have four young guys with different skill sets - Bess, Ted Ginn, Brian Hartline, and Patrick Turner. Greg Camarillo is also in the mix. The problem is, none of these guys are gamechangers and it doesn't appear any of them ever will be. The Dolphins have found ways to use all these guys, but they will never be a top-flight offense without a legitimate WR.

16. Miami's management of the clock is shaky. I am leaning Sean Payton over Tony Sparano for Coach of the Year.

17. Jacksonville's crowd is officially the worst in the NFL.

18. The 7-5 Jaguars have not beaten a team with a winning record this season and have a scoring differential of -48 on the season.

19. Rex Grossman has attempted only nine passes on the season, but those were enough to cost the Texans a must-win game they should have had in Jacksonville. He could also cost Gary Kubiak his job.

20. Houston just keeps inventing new ways to lose critical games in gutwrenching fashion. A Chris Brown INT in the end zone was the latest culprit. Chris/Kris Brown have cost the Texans 2-4 games.