Let Us Give Thanks

He won't need his name on his helmet to be recognized for much longer .

As I think about the upcoming game against the Bills, I stop to give thanks for several things:

(1) The Owens/Smith Matchup. Since the Bills brass decided that the season is a loss and canned that previous guy who was the head coach, interim head guy Perry Fewell seems to have remembered that they have one of the best receivers in the history of the game wearing their colors. Owens had a mammoth game last week, and there's no reason to think the Bills offense won't try to get the ball into his hands even more. Which brings up Sean Smith. The kid is a beast and he's getting better week after week. Getting the chance to see these two guys square off should be great. I think Smith can actually handle the task. He's strong enough to counter Owens' power and definitely fast enough to keep up with him. It just remains to be seen if Smith can avoid getting turned around or caught out of position.

Pennington has been pleased with Henne's intuitive understanding of both football and the finer points of string theory.

(2) That Guy Taking the Snaps in Miami. Chad Henne still hasn't really been receiving any national notice, but that's fine. As a starter, he's 5-2 with 6 TDs, 4 INTs and a completion percentage in the mid-50% range. Not world-beating, but very good for a 24-year old in his first year as a starter. He keeps getting better and, as the Dolphins continue to cement their identity with him as their QB (notice the overall lack of Wildcat formations in Carolina?), I have no reason to think his improvement is going to stop, despite the fact that Buffalo's pass defense is actually quite respectable: 200.8 yards per game, only 8 TDs surrendered, and 17 picks. The reason I think Henne will be fine brings me to my final thing to be thankful for...



(3) Number 34. I won't get into this too much. Why? Because if Ricky has another game like he did against the Panthers, I plan on writing quite a missive about the man after the weekend. I began to get a warm feeling when I checked on the Bills' rushing defensive numbers: ranked 31st in the league, giving up 166 yards per game and 15 TDs in their ten games. While he may not have to carry the full load due to contributions by the bruising Lex Hilliard, my favorite yoga practitioner could very well log his third consecutive 100-yard game (the first time since 2003). I have no doubt that Ricky will summon past auras from his incarnation as an Argonaut in the geographically proximate Toronto to continue his rebirth.

Enjoy the football and the family, everyone. Love to all except the city of Buffalo.