The New England Patriots received a jewel of a schedule last April when they were slated to play the Denver Broncos at Investco Field at Mile High in Denver for the first Monday in November. Maybe at a first glance this would have looked like a mini death sentence. I mean, come on, let's face it: No game is more difficult than Denver in Denver. It doesn't get any harder than that, and head coach Bill Belichick has been saying it all week.

But let's look at the positive. Even last April we knew Brian Griese would not be the starter, and would most likely be released on June 1 to go off and play for his father's team, Miami (he was released and Miami did sign Griese who is in decent contention to keep the starting job he picked up off a Jay Fielder injury), and most likely we'd see either, a. newly signed Jake Plummer formerly of Arizona, or b. veteran back up Steve Beuerlein who was serious contemplating retirement.

Well, here we are in Week 9. Plummer started off very hot, then broke his foot and will be out another couple of weeks. Beuerlein came in for relief, broke his thumb and was placed on injured reserve, so he is done for the year, maybe for good. Enter third stringer Danny Kanell, who just a month a go was coaching high school football. He's also been out of the league for three years, last stop was five games in Atlanta in 2000. And if his name sounds familiar, he started all 16 games for the Giants in 1997. The backup to him is Jarious Jackson and the third guy is Rod Smith, a wide receiver.

Feeling better about your Patriots' chances?

Well, hold on a second. The Broncos are number one on defense on third down. They basically force teams into short or unsuccessful yardage on first and second downs and get offenses into a third and long. They also have dynamite on offense, with Shannon Sharpe, Ed McCaffery and Clinton Portis. So regardless of the quarterback, if the QB can get the back into someone's hands, it won't matter when the last time he played a professional down.

The Broncos started very hot, but are hobbling at 5-3. Not much different from the Patriots being 6-2. And Denver has the home field - and home air advantage. Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan and his staff have been very successful in pulling out wins. And it is Monday Night, and the last time our Patriots played on Monday night in Denver was 2001 with a very big Tom Brady intercepted loss.

Not that history has to repeat itself entirely. But the thought of going into the bye at 7-2 is intriguing. It seems when a team gets a record like 7-2, 7-1, it puts you in a whole other category. And the difference between being 6-3 and 7-2 is a bug leap, especially when Miami and the Jets lost this weekend.

Time for the Patriots to do their own Cowboy Upping, or maybe ought to think of it as 2001ing instead.

Colts (7-1) 23, DOLPHINS (5-3) 17 - FINAL: HALLELUIAH! The Fish suck at home! Big road win for Peyton and Co. who showed Brian Griese he was still junior, no matter where he plays.

Giants (4-4) 31, JETS (2-6) 28 - FINAL/OT: This is a huge "road" win for the Giants. Chad Pennington go his first start of the season, threw 4 TDs, but also threw 2 INTs. Nearing the close of OT, the Giants slam one home.

BEARS (3-5) 20, Chargers (1-7) 7 - FINAL: The wild fires of southern California are burning all the desire out of the Chargers. Da Bears get a nice big win at home.

TEXANS (3-5) 14, Panthers (6-2) 10 - FINAL: Wow! The Texans got themselves a nice home win over the former hot Panthers. And they did it with the back up quaterback.

Saints (4-5) 17, BUCCANEERS (4-4) 14 - FINAL: The Bucs were getting blanked for a while during this one, and still came up short. Could the reigning Champs get blanked for the playoffs? The way the GrudenMen are playing, yeah, they probably won't make the playoffs.

RAVENS (5-3) 24, Jaguars (1-7) 17 - FINAL: Poor Jacksonville. They can't get Jack Del Rio a good win to save their lives - or his job. And how about Murderin Ray Lewis: 13 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.

LIONS (2-6) 23, Raiders (2-6) 13 - FINAL: Speaking of Super Bowl XXXVII teams, Oakland just stinks. Their number two quarterback went down and former second overall pick Rick Mirer had to start. No magic happened.

CARDINALS (3-5) 17, Bengals (3-5) 14 - FINAL: Ok, Cinci may have more wins now than they had last year, but losing to Arizona isn't going to get you much. And neither is a win over Cinci.

SEAHAWKS (6-2) 23, Steelers (2-6) 16 - FINAL: Bill Cowher has been the head coach in Pittsburgh for 11 seasons, the longest of all active coaches in a tenure, but this very well may be his last. And in an ironic twist, what could have been Mike Holmgren's last anywhere is looking much better this first half of the season.

49ERS (3-5) 30, Rams (5-2) 10 - FINAL: I heard part of this game on the radio broadcast during the fourth quarter. First they said it was the 49ers way ahead, then later it sounded like the Rams were way ahead, and I believed that because it sounded more real. I still can't believe this final.

COWBOYS (6-2) 21, Redskins (3-4) 14 - FINAL: I think it is time not only for Steve Spurrier to leave the NFL quietly, but also Skins owner Daniel Snyder, who undoubtedly went ballistic over this loss (he's a bit of a baby, plus he passionately hates Dallas). He also walked out on an owner's meeting this week after learning that the Super Bowl in 2008 was awarded to Arizona and not his stadium in Maryland.

Eagles (5-3) 23, FALCONS (1-7) 16 - FINAL: Yeah, when Mike Vick finally does come back, there is a very good chance Dan Reeves will not be a factor at head coach.

Packers (4-4) 30, VIKINGS (6-2) 27 - FINAL: Brett Favre was 2-9 at the Metrodome going into this game, and the Vikes should have taken that to heart. Instead they ended up with a loss that could have been avoided.

Open date: Buffalo, Cleveland, Kansas City, Tennessee

Chicago (3-5) at Detroit (2-6), 1 PM. NFC North battle for the cellar. Loser gets the cellar.

Tampa Bay (4-4) at Carolina (6-2), 1 PM. NFC South matchup, both coming off an embarrassing loss.

Buffalo (4-4) at Dallas (6-2), 4:15 PM. Drew Bledsoe and Lawyer Milloy (plus Sam Gash) meet former coach Bill Parcells and teammate Terry Glenn. Not as big as some, but we'll see if Drew can school the Tuna.

Open date: Denver, New England, New Orleans, San Francisco

1. The Patriots on Monday Night. Showcase game of the week.

2. One team to watch is the Ravens. They have quietly taken control of the AFC North and no one seems to be that excited - yet.

3. The Colts are a vastly different team from the past few years. The defense has improved with Tony Dungy but that offense is just wicked.

4. There are going to b a number of coaching slots opening up after this season, and it might be led by the Redskins. I just can't see how Steve Spurrier can stay employed after this season. He looks to have given up.

5. That Battle for New Jersey game was classic. Right down to the overtime wire. And the Giants, after missing a previous field goal, finally got one to win the game - only a yard shorter than the missed one.

6. At 5-3, it is really hard to think of the Eagles as the lack-luster team they were in September.

7. The Tommy Maddox experiment is officially a bust.

8. And with Chris Chandler winning in Chicago, so is the Kordell Stewart Experiment. Ironic, huh?

9. There are a number of backup quarterbacks playing: Marc Bulger, Byron Leftwich, Chris Chandler, Tim Ratty and some are winning. I think it might be time for coaches to look at the guy under center and make better decisions.

10. I am still in disbelief over Dallas. I am hoping that their next couple of games - Buffalo and at New England with turn the Tuna Fishing Boat back into dark and deep waters.

ejh