by Gerald Udowiczenko

Well this is a very important week for a lot of coaches (me included), who by winning this week either ensure they get to the Play-Offs, or keep that dream alive.

All but two of the divisions (both in the East) have been decided after 14 weeks and congratulations to those coaches. The NFC East is the closest it has been for a long time. Usually it's between the Eagles & the Skins to see who wins the division. But this season it looks to be a three-way fight. As only one game separates 3 teams (and two of those teams play each other this week), so its very likely that it will go down to the wire.

In the AFC, the Bills hold a two game lead, but with two potentially difficult games they could leave the door open for us to sneak in? But I fear that we will come up short, as I think they'll win at least one of their remaining games.

Thanks to Graham, Stuart & Brucey for their invaluable contributions.

SD (10-4, W5) @ BB (11-3, W3) Last time : wk 15, 2004 (20 - 35)
Gerald : Tough one to call, but I think the Bills will slip-up (and give us hope for the divisional crown). Chargers by 3.
Graham : BB by 3.
SPLATT : Buffalo by 11.

KC (2-12, L6) @ MD (7-7, L5) Last time : wk 11, 2004 (13 - 21)
Gerald : One of these teams has got to break their appalling losing streak and I think the Fish are most likely to do that (but saying that perhaps they'll tie the game?). Fish by 10.
Graham : MD by 14.
SPLATT : Miami by 16.

CL (13-1, W9) @ NY (7-7, L2) Last time : wk 13, 2004 (42 - 10)
Gerald : The crap (their words) Browns Carry on Winning (with Sid James as the QB?). Browns by 17.
Graham : CL by 13.
SPLATT : Cleveland by 4.

PS (9-5, L1) @ NE (9-5, W1) Last time : wk 9, 2004 (16 - 13)
Gerald : No Comment.
Graham : NE by 3.
SPLATT : New England by 1.

SS (1-13, L4) @ CI (1-13, L11) Last time : wk 11, 2004 (14 - 21)
Gerald : An important game to lose for both teams, as a win could put them out of the top 4 draft picks. Bengals by 10 (but only cos they've a new coach. Nothing to do with his skill what-so-ever).
Graham : CI by 10.
SPLATT : Cincinnati by 7.

OR (5-9, W2) @ TT (9-5, W4) Last time : wk 1, 2004 (38 - 12)
Gerald : An important game for the Titans to win, as a loss could be the end of their season. Titans by 10.
Graham : TN by 7.
SPLATT : Tennessee by 3.

SR (6-8, W2) @ PE (8-6, L1) Last time : wk 13, 2004 (12 - 28)
Gerald : A very important game for the Eagles to win. But I've a feeling that Randy will cost them the game (as he's probably done during the season) and as the Rams only have pride to play for, this could be the end of the road for the Eagles? Rams by 3.
Graham : PE by 7.
SPLATT : Philadelphia by 10.

SF (6-8, L2) @ WR (9-5, W1) Last time : wk 13, 2004 (3 - 18)
Gerald : The Skins need the win, as their point difference is worse than the Eagles, the Boyz or the Vikes. But they're at home and have shown some good offence of late. Skins by 7.
Graham : WR by 7.
SPLATT : Washington by 5.

MV (8-6, L1) @ DC (8-6, W3) Last time : wk 13, 2004 (51 - 13)
Gerald : Game of the Week. Whoever loses will probably be out of contention for the Play-Offs. But nothing will be known for sure until next week and even a loss, may not be a lost course (one hell of a finish to the season the NFC has put on). Boyz by 2.
Graham : DC by 1.
SPLATT : Minnesota by 1.

TB (1-13, L2) @ AC (0-14, L43) Last time : wk 4, 2004 (27 - 24)
Gerald : This is their best last hope to break that streak and unfortunately I can't see it happening. But I don't think it will be a walk over either. Buccs by 1.
Graham : TB by 10.
SPLATT : Tampa Bay by 1.

AF (6-8, L1) @ CB (11-3, W1) Last time : wk 9, 2004 (31 - 27)
Gerald : Neither team has much to play for, as homefield is out of reach for the Bears, as is the Play-Offs for the Falcs. But saying that, depending on other results (and they would have to be massive point scoring games), each may have a mathematical chance. So it could be a very interesting game. Bears by 10.
Graham : CH by 10.
SPLATT : Chicago by 10.

NS (13-1, W5) @ DL (8-6, W1) Last time : wk 15, 2004 (28 - 7)
Gerald : The Lions need the win and may even play-up? Where as the Saints only need to win one of their two remaining games to ensure homefield. If the Lions 'D' can shine, then they have a real chance, as they have finally found an 'O'. especially as they are at home. Lions by 1.
Graham : NS by 14.
SPLATT : New Orleans by 11.

by Graham Canwell (Week 14)

	Offence	Tennessee	OK, they committed 5 turnovers - but they were productive enough (462 yards, 26 first downs) to overcome that and, especially given the importance of the game, that was good enough for me. Best of the Rest this week were Cleveland and San Diego, but (surprise, surprise) they were playing Cincy and Seattle respectively. So no award for them.
	Defence	Buffalo	Held a decent Jets offence to just 14 points, forced 4 turnovers, recorded 5 sacks, and knocked QB Chad Pennington out of the game. Honourable mentions to the Titans and Raiders (in the latter case against that bizarrely erratic KC offence).
	Coach	Birtchnell (TN)	In the race for an AFC wildcard spot this was an absolutely crucial game, and the Titans responded magnificently to keep themselves right in the hunt. Gerald and Richard deserve a mention too in the oh-so-tough AFC East.
	Offence	Dallas	A remarkable performance under any circumstances, but against the famed Philly D it was particularly so. Great balance. Philly's offence deserves a mention for managing two 90+ yard touchdown passes in one game but sadly for them those two plays were exceedingly untypical of the rest of their offensive performance. New Orleans were in their usual magnificent form too, this week against the Niners. And, closer-to-home, much-maligned Kurt only threw one interception this week, which was absolutely phenomenal by the fantastically low standards he has set this season.
	Defence	Chicago	The Bears offence is pretty solid but it's the D that are the real stars of the show, this week getting to grips with a potentially explosive Minnesota offence and enabling them to reinforce their divisional superiority with a hard-earned victory.
	Coach	Appleby (DC)	If the Cowboys were to make the playoffs defeat was not an option here, and they sure produced the goods. Another huge game against the Vikes this week and another must-win situation. Can they do it again?
	The Diddley	New England	Last years Diddley kings haven't featured much here this year but they got the habit back his week as they recorded a flattering-looking 30-17 win over the accident-prone Fish despite being outgained by about 10 yards and not even winning the turnover battle.

Gerald to Paul Macguire : Well done on winning the division.

Gerald to Richard : Here's hoping you choke with your last two games :o)

Gerald to Darren : Here's to both of us getting those wildcard places, as it would really be unfair for an uncoached team to get there. Assuming he (Mark) really has gone ?

Gerald to NFC East : Looks like a real battle brewing there :o)

Gerald to Graham : Here's hoping to meeting in next season schedule :o)

Graham to Jon : Hey, I did you a favour by beating the Skins and now you're whingeing about me coming into form. Would you rather I beat them or you? (doesn't seem likely we'll manage both - in fact after the last couple of weeks another interception avalanche is probably due to bury us this week)

Graham to Stuart : Have you upset any gypsies this year by any chance???

	The Dolphins
	by Stuart Guard
Well the season has all but come to a slow an painful end for the Dolphins, and I think anyone would be hard pushed to match the style in which they have crashed out of the playoff race. After the first 7 weeks of the season Miami looked odds on for playoff honours with a 6-1 record under their belt. The next 7 games though have seen a complete reversal in fortunes and we now find ourselves at 7-7, and missing out on the playoffs. Surely something has fallen badly out of place in this time? Well the answer I'm afraid is probably not as the records show that in most areas the Dolphins have improved. The offence was ranked 4th after week 7, and it is now ranked 2nd. The defence was ranked 14th after week 7, and now ranks 8th. It seems the only thing to suffer has been the turnaround in results. It's very difficult now to pick the team up and try and salvage something from the season. We can look to build for next season, but after that start to the season there are no additional losing points to spend. It's been a real drag this time around for the Dolphins, and the strong AFC East really had punished them in the second half of the season. Not sure what the future holds for us yet, but good luck to all who make the playoffs. We'll be looking at the draft list closely when it comes out, and wandering what to spend our mid-round picks on.

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, I'm sure you know where to send stuff for inclusion? If not, what have you been doing with this newsletter?