4. I think this is what I didn't like about Week 15:

a. The halftime press-box hot dog at Gillette Stadium.

b. Herman Edwards' constant references to injuries. Doesn't help, coach. We all know you're beat up. Why keep giving your team that excuse?

c. So you live in New York, the biggest city in the world. And with San Diego-Indy and Pittsburgh-Minnesota on at 1 p.m. Sunday, what does the biggest city in the world get on TV? Jets-Miami and Carolina-New Orleans. Disgraceful. I understand why, but it's still absurd that two of the biggest games of this season require you to either have a dish or to go to a sports bar to watch. As I did.

d. The Chiefs. Crummy tackling, turnovers in the clutch, another horse-dung road performance.

e. Nice short-arm job, Lee Evans. You know what I'm talking about.

f. Sheesh. Know the rules, Mike Tirico. Twice he questioned Bills coach Mike Mularkey on the ESPN telecast Saturday night for not challenging the Rod Smith touchdown catch with 43 seconds left in the first half. Only after the second one did Sterling Sharpe correct him -- after the two-minute warning of each half, the replay booth is in control of all replay reviews.

g. Can every Detroit Lion say this morning he actually tried very hard in the 41-17 loss to Cincinnati?

h. If you're a Raiders fan right now, how do you take it? I mean, really.

5. I think if that was your last game in Nashville, Steve McNair. You've had a really good run.

6. I think one of the best things on TV all weekend was FOX showing what hasn't been shown to this point -- Bill Belichick's locker-room welcome-back to Tedy Bruschi when he returned to the team in midseason. "Isn't it great to have Tedy back?'' he told the team. Very human.

7. I think I get this question on talk shows almost weekly: So why can't Shaun Alexander and Edgerrin James get paid? The answer is easy: Adrian Peterson and Samkon Gado. You can find good -- and inexpensive -- backs down the line in drafts. And there's no position that's easier to plug a new guy into.

A great running back in college, regardless of when or if he's drafted, can transition into the NFL much more predictably than, say, a great pass-rusher. And while first-rounders like Alexander, James and LaDainian Tomlinson are all playing well for playoff contenders, two-thirds of NFL teams started non-first-round picks last week at running back.

The shelf life of a running back is short. Why spend a first-round pick, plus $7 million a year, on a guy whose expiration date might be two or three years down the road?

Running backs wear down, too, and this year is no exception. In Week 10, Jacksonville starter Fred Taylor, a constant injury drain on the Jags, gave way to Greg Jones, a second-round pick in 2004. Jones' 106 rushing yards paved the way for the Jags' 30-3 win over Baltimore.

In Chicago, Peterson, a 2002 sixth-rounder who is third on the Bear depth chart, played due to injuries, ran 24 times for 120 clock-eating yards against the Niners. Beset by injuries, the Packers used Gado, their fifth starting back this year, and he scored three touchdowns at Atlanta and ran for 171 yards to help beat Detroit last week.

"Running back is one position where instinct is everything,'' said Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome. "You're doing the same thing you did in high school and then in college -- lining up seven yards deep, taking a handoff, and looking for daylight. Look at a guy like Greg Jones. He was a top back coming out of high school, then played great at Florida State. Why wouldn't he be a great pro?''

Why is it sacrilegious to think Colts backup Dominic Rhodes (350 career carries, 4.6 yards per rush), or some 2006 draftee, could approximate James' production? I love James as a player. Who wouldn't? But to think the Colts would suffer massively playing Rhodes is silly. It happens all the time.

"You pay elite players you think will be very hard to replace,'' said Newsome.