NFL tidbits, goodies and predictions

At the three quarter pole of the NFL regular season and the beginning of many folks fantasy playoffs the Clarion Content has a few NFL tidbits, goodies and predictions for you.

How cooked is Romeo Crennel's goose in Cleveland? Well it was surely done before last week's pathetic six point showing against the banged up Colts defense. But how about now that both of the Browns top two quarterbacks are out for the year? Brady Quinn had finger surgery and Derek Anderson tore up his knee, that means the Browns are heading into this week's match-up with 11 and 1 Tennessee starting Ken Dorsey from the U. Despite the fact that the last good quarterback to come out of the U, Bernie Kosar, enjoyed great success in Cleveland, Ken Dorsey has to make Browns fans a little anxious. The more interesting question is who will the Browns pull off the street as the back-up QB for the game. Doug Flutie? Jared Lorenzen? Tim Couch?

While hope has faded to black in Cleveland, this note from ESPN's NFL Power Rankings correspondent Kevin Seifert, may offer a glimmer to the winless Lions, "An 0-12 Lions team beat the Vikings at home in 2001. Guess who this week's opponent is?"

And how did we originally miss this? Raiders interim coach, Tom Cable, of University of Idaho fame, ran an option pitch play to 275 lb kicker Sebastian Janikowski as a running back on a fake field goal? So for the record, that's one running play for Janikowski this season and one missed 76 yard field goal attempt. And you wonder why the Clarion Content divorced the Raiders and Al Davis in approximately 1990.

Now for a few quick playoff predictions. The Dallas Cowboys will steal the last NFC Wild Card spot away from the amazingly resurgent Atlanta Falcons and rookie of the year to be Matt Ryan. (The Clarion Content completely underestimated Ryan. We never thought he would do what he has done.) Brett Farve and the New York Jets will not win the AFC East. Less heralded rookie QB, Joe Flacco, will lead the Baltimore Ravens to the playoffs. The eventual AFC West winner will be no more than 8-8, sorry Oakland you can't even get to 8 and 8. Check back in the coming weeks to see just how wrong we were.