The AFC The Buddy Nix Jay Skurski of Buffalo News: “At least for the short term, running back CJ Spiller has a new position on the Buffalo Bills. Spiller, the Bills’ first-round pick in the 2010 draft, played wide receiver in Sunday’s 27-24 loss to the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. That’s where he’ll stay for now, according to coach Chan Gailey.” The Jeff Ireland The South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “The Miami Dolphins running game was one of the lone bright spots in Monday night's game against the Jets. Tailback Reggie Bush entered Monday night averaging 3 yards per carry but increased that with a productive first quarter against the Jets.” The Jonathan Kraft Richard Hill of Pats Pulpit: “Sunday marked the 16th time in the regular season a former Patriots coach under Bill Belichick has returned to face their old team as either a lead coordinator or a head coach. Some names are familiar, such as Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, and Josh McDaniels.” The Mike Tannenbaum Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News: “If anybody was frightened by Brandon Marshall's vow to play like a monster, it wasn't Darrelle Revis. The Jets' cornerback embraced the challenge of playing opposite the self-proclaimed beast, and then robbed his Halloween candy.” The Ozzie Newsome Baltimore Beatdown: “There is something about playing your former team. From Pop Warner on up to the NFL there is nothing sweeter than sticking it to the guys that thought they could go on with out you. Bernard Pollard and Vonta Leach did just that on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.” The Mike Brown Ryan Harper of Cincy Jungle: “After six games the Bengals have already matched their win total from last season. They are riding a three-game win streak and currently trail the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. Andy Dalton and A.J. Green have both made relatively smooth transitions from college to professional football and overall the team has been performing well against their opponents. Everything seems to be falling into place, right?” The Tom Heckert Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature: “There's the panic button! I admit that I was ready to hit it when I did not see running back Peyton Hillis in the game during the second and third quarters yesterday. It seemed like a mystery, and because the cameras showed Hillis standing on the sideline with his helmet in hand, I thought that something had happened between he and head coach Pat Shurmur that put him in the doghouse.” The Kevin Colbert Neal Coolong of Behind The Steel Curtain: “Steelers veteran and captain Hines Ward was on The Jungle on the Jim Rome Show this afternoon. He gave some Hines-like positive sentiment and provided plenty of reasons why Steeler Nation has cheered for him harder and longer than perhaps any other player on the roster. He did admit this contract will be his last. Ward doesn't have any plans to continue playing after his contract expires.” The Rick Smith Battle Red Blog: “The Ravens may end up having one of the better defenses in recent NFL history this season, the Texans played without Andre Johnson or Mario Williams, and a win on the road against a formidable foe would have changed the way people around the NFL see the Texans.” The Chris Polian Stampede Blue: “Before we start clamoring to blow up the team, let's slow down and take a deep breath. Adam Schefter's idea that the Colts should trade Mathis and Wayne is in keeping with the wildly overstated purported demise of the franchise and the panicked nature surrounding the organization.” The Gene Smith Alfie Crow of Big Cat Country: “The Jacksonville Jaguars are the worst passing team in the NFL. They're second to last in the NFL in points per game. Outside of the running game with Maurice Jones-Drew, the Jaguars offense is... well, awful.” The Mike Reinfeldt Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean: “The Titans aren’t sure if Texans receiver Andre Johnson will be back for Sunday’s game at LP Field, but they learned a lesson from their 38-17 loss to the Steelers. “After all the talk about who might play and might not play for the Steelers, whoever lines up we have to be ready,” safety Michael Griffin said. “It doesn’t matter who is playing.” The Steelers were without several starters but whipped the Titans on Oct. 9.” The Brian Xanders Sayre Bedinger of Mile High Report: “It's the beginning of the beginning for the Denver Broncos, and while the timing isn't conventional, they are letting the team know that it's time to step up or you are not going to be part of the future.” The Scott Pioli Joel Thorman of Arrowhead Pride: “It's Oakland Raiders week for the Kansas City Chiefs and, even though both teams have struggled in recent years, it's still a heck of a rivalry, one that still gets us pumped up. It's even better this year now that both teams are (somewhat) competitive and in a meaningful AFC West race.” The Al Davis Rich Langford of Silver And Black Pride: “There is no particular reason to post this, other than the fact I resent Michael Crabtree for laughing when the Raiders selected Darrius Heyward-Bey over him. Well, that and the fact that the selection was widely panned.” The Dean Spanos Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune: “A strained calf and a concussion slowed their assault on the record book, but Chargers running backs Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert returned to practice Monday and, seemingly fully healthy, are still on track to cover more ground through the air than any running back tandem in NFL history.” The NFC The Stephen Jones Blogging The Boys: “Coming into the 2011 season, most Cowboys fans believed the star-studded offense would have to carry the team. The defense was atrocious in 2010 and would also need time to learn the new Rob Ryan scheme.” The Jerry Reese Ebenezer Samuel of The New York Daily News: “We all knew Hakeem Nicks was off to a good start this season. How good? The bye gave us some chance to crunch some numbers. And with 508 receiving yards in six games, the third-year receiver is on pace to finish with 1,354 yards. That would break Amani Toomer's nine-year-old single-season team record for receiving yards (1,343).” The Howie Roseman Bleeding Green Nation: “When the Eagles shuffled Todd Herremans over to LT and started Winston Justice at RT, it looked like a recipe for disaster. As it turned out, it was anything but. In fact, you might even say it was the best performance we've seen from the line all season. When you consider that it was against such a good defensive front, it's all the more impressive.” The Bruce Allen Mike Jones of The Washington Post: “Washington Redskins inside linebacker and defensive captain London Fletcher expects his team to rebound from Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and put together a strong performance against the Carolina Panthers this weekend.” The Jerry Angelo Dan Pompei of The Chicago Tribune: “On the 32 plays when Jay Cutler either dropped back or lined up in shotgun Sunday against the Vikings, the Bears protected him with six or more blockers 75 percent of the time.” The Martin Mayhew Sean Yuille of Pride Of Detroit: “The reason the news about Jahvid Best's latest concussion didn't come until early Monday morning is because he didn't actually experience any symptoms until after the 49ers game, according to Jim Schwartz.” The Mark Murphy Acme Packing Company: “One topic discussed was the game by LB Clay Matthews. I read a couple of "Clay is back" articles on Monday. He was able to tip multiple passes, but I've seen him with a few near deflections this season. He recorded one sack, but that was a coverage sack. He was getting pressure on the quarterback, but he's been doing that over the past few games anyway. Was this his best game of the season, or just another strong game?” The Mark Wilf Shari L. Gross of The Star Tribune: “Jared Allen says when your team is as bad as the Vikings, things have to change and Brian Robison has a special message for players already looking ahead to the 2012 season.” The Thomas Dimitroff D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “After another poor showing on third down, the Falcons defense slipped into last place in the league in third-down efficiency. Teams are converting 49 percent of their third downs against the Falcons.” The Marty Hurney Cat Scratch Reader: “I would have to agree the Panthers were missing some basic fundamentals in stopping [Michael] Turner on those stretch plays to the outside. The DE's were getting sealed off and the LB's were a step too slow to the edge. Throw in a failure to wrap up and you have Run Stopping 101 rules being violated just about every running play.” The Mickey Loomis John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune: “If the lesson learned by the New Orleans Saints from Sunday is that they don't wear flame-retardant uniforms, then falling into second place in the NFC South might have been worth it.” The Mark Dominik Bucs Nation: “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had won 13 of 21 games over the past year and a half before coming into yesterday's contest against the New Orleans Saints. Amazingly of those 13 wins, only one came against a team that finished the season with a winning record, or that had a winning record going into the game.” The Rod Graves Revenge Of The Birds: “I am sick of hearing the Cardinals are done and garbage and have no chance to win. All these "They suck posts" are really pissing me off. I have been watching the Cardinals football for a long while and at some times it was hard to call it football but some of these fans are ridiculous. "Fire Whisenhunt,” "Kevin Kolb sucks,” "Switch back to a 4-3" and "Start Trading Away Guys" is what I am hearing. I won't begin to dismantle these statements instead here is how the Cardinals can beat the Steelers.” The Billy Devaney Jim Thomas of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “The newest Rams wide receiver, Brandon Lloyd, had 1,448 yards receiving and 11 TDs in just one season — 2010. So, yes, in acquiring Lloyd from the Denver Broncos on Monday, the Rams added much-needed experience and play-making potential to their youthful receiver corps.” The Trent Baalke The San Francisco Chronicle: “One day later, in keeping with NFL custom, the 49ers reflected. They relished their spirited pass rush Sunday in Detroit, savored their game-winning touchdown, bemoaned their barrage of penalties - and vowed (sort of) to work on the post-game handshake.” The John Schneider The Field Gulls: “A couple of weeks ago, some VMAC reporters were asking Pete Carroll about how the NFL has changed in terms of the growth of the passing game since his time in New England. Pete last coached in New England in 1999, sandwiched in between the reigns of Parcells and Belichick. I would be lying to you if I didn't wonder sometimes if Pete's unique philosophies will work in the modern NFL.”