by Gerald Udowiczenko

Well due to lack of sleep over Gen Con and not having enough holiday to take today (Monday) off as a holiday to recover this will probably be a little short than normal.

Thanks to Darren, Graham & Brucey, for this weeks contributions.

BB (8-2, W1) @ NE (7-3, W5) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (16 - 31)
Gerald : No Comment.
Darren : Patriots by 1.
SPLATT : Buffalo by 7.

MD (7-3, W1) @ NY (5-5, W2) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (14 - 23)
Gerald : Well last time around the Jets surprise us all and won on the road. I've a funny feeling that they might just be able to do the double. Jets by 1.
Darren : Dolphins by 4.
SPLATT : Miami by 6.

CL (9-1, W4) @ TT (5-5, L2) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (28 - 21)
Gerald : A must win for the Titans, as they are 3 games behind the Browns (who are leading the division) and a couple of games off the pace in the wildcard race. If they can start games, like they finish, then they could become a real force in the AFC. Their losses to both the Bills last week and the Browns the week before, due to bad starts will give them a lot to think about, but I think the Browns will be just too strong. Browns by 5.
Darren : No Comment.
SPLATT : Cleveland by 8.

PS (7-3, W2) @ CI (1-9, L6) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (31 - 9)
Gerald : Well the last time out it was very one-sided and I really can't see that changing, as the Bengals just don't seem to be able to play error free football. Steelers by 21.
Darren : Steelers by 14.
SPLATT : Pittsburgh by 5.

SD (6-4, L1) @ OR (3-7, L3) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (27 - 21)
Gerald : The Chargers need the win to keep a nice cushion between them and the others in the West. I think they'll struggle out of their division, so divisional wins will be doubly important. The Raiders only just lost out to the Browns last week and have been on the wrong end of some close games. And I think that will be the same again this week, thought I don't think it will be as high scoring. Chargers by 3.
Darren : Chargers by 3.
SPLATT : San Diego by 3.

KC (2-8, L1) @ SS (1-9, L10) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (26 - 6)
Gerald : The Hawks seem destined to battle for the top draft pick which should give the Chiefs a good opportunity to find their winning way, though I think it's a little too late. But saying that, they are only 3 games behind their divisional leader and the West is a weak division, so who knows? Chiefs by 17.
Darren : Chiefs by 10.
SPLATT : Kansas City by 1.

PE (6-4, W2) @ AC (0-10, L38) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (34 - 7)
Gerald : Unfortunately the Cards are another team that seem destined to keep their losing ways. The Eagles on the other hand are coming off a good win against the Lions and while it wasn't a good performance, it was a good result. So they should be up to improve on their first encounter from week 8. Eagles by 28.
Darren : Eagles by 21.
SPLATT : Philadelphia by 14.

WR (6-4, L1) @ DC (5-5, W1) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (24 - 21)
Gerald : A much needed win didn't come last week and gives the Skins only a 1 game lead over the Eagles and a 2 game lead over the Boyz. So this will be an important game to win. The Boyz come into his game off a great result and know that a win here will help their shot at the divisional crown. They will also want to avenge their close lost last time to the Skins, which will make for great football. Tough one to call, but I've a feeling that the Boyz can just do it. Boyz by 3.
Darren : Cowboys by 1.
SPLATT : Dallas by 1.

MV (7-3, W3) @ DL (5-5, L2) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (52 - 14)
Gerald : A really important game for both teams as they are in real danger of being left for dead by the Bears, if they lose too many more games. Tough one to call, as the Vikes seem to have found their form of last season and the Lions 'D' on their day can stop anyone. However the Lions will want revenge after that drumming they got last time and if they can cut out the errors, then they've got a real good chance of winning. Lions by 1.
Darren : Vikings by 7.
SPLATT : Minnesota by 9.

TB (0-10, L10) @ CB (9-1, W7) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (7 - 40)
Gerald : The Buccs really do look like they're in free fall. They seemed to do enough last week against the Falcs to win their first game, but just couldn't convert yardage and possession in points. I can't see anything they do this week being enough to beat the Bears and while they should have learnt a few things after their first meeting, I can't see them shocking us (though it would be nice to be wrong (). Bears by 10.
Darren : Bears by 21.
SPLATT : Chicago by 8.

SR (3-7, W1) @ NS (9-1, L1) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (6 - 27)
Gerald : I wouldn't want to be in Graham's shoes for this game. After losing their unbeaten record last week, I think the Saints will want to punish someone and on their current form and after their performance the first time, I fear this could really be a drumming. Saints by 21.
Darren : Saints by 10.
SPLATT : New Orleans by 12.

SF (5-5, L1) @ AF (4-6, W1) Last time : wk 8, 2005 (17 - 2)
Gerald : With both teams being 4 games behind the Saints, neither really has a chance to win the NFC West. However a wildcard is a different matter, as they are only a few games off. But whoever losing this week will be playing for pride for the remainder of the season. I think revenge will just win . Falcs by 1.
Darren : 49ers by 6.
SPLATT : San Francisco by 2.

by Graham Canwell (Week 9)

	Offence	New England	A fairly straightforward choice, on the back of 500+ yards and 30+ first downs. Miami racked up big numbers too but it was against that dodgy Bengal D. And the Raiders and Browns get the Shootout of the Week Award, if not an actual Rammy.
	Defence	Miami	Aided I know by a great offensive performance but the numbers racked up were just too good, holding Cincy to just 138 total yards and 7 first downs. Honourable mentions this week to Seattle and Pittsburgh, who played out a very un-AFC like defensive duel.
	Coach	Udowiczenko (NE)	The week went pretty much by the formbook but of the winners Gerald's Pats put in what I felt to be the best all-round display, against a division leader (albeit in the West).
	Offence	Dallas	Put it all together with a great display of balanced offence against the 49ers. The competition was a little thin as NFC defences took the dominant role (as usual).
	Defence	Detroit	The Lions D was pretty mean to the Eagles, holding them to under 100 yards both rushing and passing. Unfortunately for them, and in a flashback to all those other recent Detroit seasons, their bungling offence still managed to cost them the game. Doh!
	Coach	Whitfield (MV)	Three in a row for Tim as he managed to end the league's last 100% record with a sensational second half comeback against the Saints (who will, of course, now be extra mad and fired-up going into their week 10 meeting with my Rams. Doh! again).
	The Diddley	Philadelphia	Considered the Falcons, Browns and Steelers, but Philly's offensive effort just gave it to them. Ok, Jon I know you forced 3 turnovers and gave up none, but I don't often get the chance to give you a Diddley and I ain't missing this one.

Graham to Gerald : Well, I can confirm that Warner isn't Drew. Stubble, yes, but no black stripes under his eyes. He does, however, have black stripes in front of his eyes, which would explain quite a lot come to think of it . . . Makes Drew actually look pretty tempting (now you've got me thinking).

Graham to All : You might have noticed this, but all my three wins have come against teams with losing records and two of those have no wins whatsoever. Whichabout sums it up really!

Gerald to Richard : Good luck for the rematch, may the best team win (or if that isn't the case, hope its me )

Gerald to Brucey : I think you'd better start finding long trips to go on until the end of the season, as you seem to be suffering a bit without them.

Gerald to Troy : Commiserations on losing the last unbeaten record, I was hoping to do that when we meet in Wk.13. :o)

Gerald to Troy : The "Once Unbeatable" line is more of a dig at Graham, then yourself.

Gerald to Tim : Well done on a great performance against the Saints last week, seems you've found your form from last season?

The Titans by Darren Birtchnell

So far so OK - the Titans season so far I started out the season with hopes of making the playoffs, even though most had me down to finish bottom of the AFC Central. But I was happy with the squad as it had no real weaknesses so I was confident of a winning season and hopefully getting to the post-season. Week one saw a matchup with a familiar foe from another league - I've come up against Stuart Guard a few times in NFLBF, and managed to win each time. Tennessee just about had the edge statistically but gave up 3 big TD plays and that cost them the game. All of those TD's came when I called BZ, so I've now completely removed that call from my gameplan! Week two saw a trip to Pittsburgh and we got a very good victory against a quality team. That's probably the best all-round performance since I took over as coach. We had another comfortable win the following week against San Diego, although its fair to say they've improved a lot as the season has gone on. The week four game with New England was a real nail-biter but we just managed to hold on for the win against another very good team. We almost had a shutout in week five against the Bengals, winning 26-7. They scored a TD on the last play of the game, but at least it wasn't the old familiar combination of D DL vs WC! A feature of these four straight wins was the offense playing steady football and not turning it over, while defensively we weren't giving up many big plays. But all that changed in a big way with the week six visit of New Orleans. We turned the ball over 5 times in the first half alone and this, combined with some big pass plays from the Saints, gave them an easy 31-0 win, a defeat which tied my worst ever loss in Gameplan - cheers Troy! We bounced back well in week seven against the Jets, whilst we struggled offensively we didn't turn the ball over and the defense had another good game and basically won it for us. But the next three games were going to see what the team was really made of - two games against the Browns and a visit to Orchard Park to play Buffalo.

The Cleveland game started off the same as the New Orleans match, and before we knew it we were 21-0 down inside 14 minutes. But we gradually dragged ourselves back into it and managed to tie the game with three minutes left as my hurry-up offense worked for once. But almost straight away the Browns were back in the lead courtesy of a 42 yard TD. But something that really annoyed me was the play before the TD they had a 3rd and 19, only for Tennessee to be called for pass interference and give them a new set of downs. While being disappointed to have lost in such a way there were still a few things I felt I could take into the week ten rematch. The game with Buffalo followed a similar pattern as I dropped 14-0 behind early in the second quarter. But again we managed to fight our way back into it & tied the game with just over a minute to play on a 51 yard field goal. So it went to overtime, but again a turnover was to be our undoing as a fumble was returned to our 5 yard line and it was game over. During the three defeats the opposite was true to our winning run - the offense was struggling and turning the ball over and the defense was giving up big plays. Having said that we're still in it, but this weeks re-match with Cleveland is our biggest game yet. I feel that it is make or break time for Tennessee, as a loss could well leave us three games behind in the wildcard race. If we win this week I think we'll make the playoffs as, with no disrespect to our upcoming opponents, we have an easier schedule the rest of the way. But even if we do miss out we've shown we can play the best teams close and the teams we've lost to are all 7-2 or 8-1, so I can't really complain. It all bodes well for next season though, when I should have the roster pretty much how I want it and I'll have the right amount of training on the plays I use, something which has caused problems this season. So while this year we were hoping to make the playoffs, next year we expect to.

Once Unbeatable! (Or History of NFL Team Nicknames)
	In 1936, Cleveland's new AFL franchise decided to take its name from one of the top collegiate teams of the era, the Fordham Rams. The Rams name stuck with eventual moves to Los Angeles (1946) and St. Louis (1995).
	The New Orleans NFL franchise was awarded on All Saints Day (Nov. 1) in 1966. Plus, the song "When the Saints Go Marchin' In" in often associated with the city of New Orleans.

Web Sites

Don't forget to visit the following sites :
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/gameplan

www.endzone1.co.uk
brucey.net/nflab/

Well that's all for this week and just a reminder that the NFL season will be kicking off soon, Thursday in fact, as the 49ers take on the Giants. So here's hoping the Current Champions (The Patriots) can get off to winning ways against the Steelers on Monday Night Football.