5. I think the league saw nothing in the London game that would make owners think they shouldn't go full-speed ahead with the plan to play two regular-season games outside the United States for each of the next five years, beginning in 2008. "You can be confident of that,'' Mark Waller, the NFL's senior VP of marketing, sales and international, told me Sunday night.

6. I think what Chris Chambers adds to the Chargers was on display Sunday against Houston, and it's a great thing for Antonio Gates. You can see the defensive attention being deflected from Gates onto Chambers, giving the athletic tight end more room to operate. It looks as if the Chargers would have to play two road games to get to the Super Bowl, and they'd be heavy 'dogs in both, but they wouldn't be easy to beat.

7. I think this is what I liked about Week 8:

a. The more I see of Braylon Edwards, the more I think he's the NFL's next great wide receiver. The way he goes up and gets the ball in traffic is Cris Carteresque, and he's got difference-making separation ability downfield.

b. What a great, great catch by Ted Ginn Jr.

c. Want to see a brilliant series against the Colts? Get a tape of Vinny Testaverde's game-opening, 18-play, 80-yard, 11-minute touchdown drive Sunday. It included a six-yard Vinny sneak, terrific play-clock bleeding, and 12 rushes for 37 yards.

d. Beautiful throw from Donovan McNabb to Greg Lewis down the seam in Minnesota. In fact, he made three or four of the best throws he's made in a long time and looked like his vintage self against the Vikes.

e. The Eagles and Lions did a good job not letting Devin Hester beat them. He's had three returns in the last two weeks, with teams obviously preferring to kick the ball out of bounds or sky-high to limit his impact. "You can either give it to us on the 40, or you can pitch to Barry Bonds,'' Hester said. Cocky, but true.

f. Hines Ward kills the Bengals. They can't deal with his physicality.

g. Dick Jauron's doing a heck of a job. Three and four with that beat-up team?

8. I think this is what I didn't like about Week 8:

a. Peyton Manning had six passing yards in the first 21 minutes at Charlotte. When's the last time he was anything like 1 of 6 a third of the way into a game?

b. Carolina return man Ryne Robinson committed the mortal sin of the return game. Deep in his own territory, he tried to field a bouncing, skittering punt with the Colts punt team bearing down on him. Of course he muffed it and the Colts recovered and converted it into a gimme field goal.

c. The 49ers are regressing. With Frank Gore playing hurt, there's nothing on that offense that scares any defensive coordinator.

d. Houston's made too much progress to play as bad as it did in San Diego.

9. I think Detroit might have turned a corner in Chicago. That's the best all-around game the Lions have played in a long time.

10. I think these are my non-NFL thoughts of the week:

a. Congrats, Monmouth Park. Even in the driving rain of Friday and Saturday, you looked great, and hosted some scintillating Breeders Cup races. I love Monmouth Park. There can't be many better ways to spend a sunny afternoon at the Jersey shore than at Monmouth.

b. What a nice, livable city Charlotte is. Maybe I caught it on the right weekend, but downtown was hopping -- in a good way -- Saturday night. The restaurant scene is good.

c. We, as a society, need to leave Britney Spears alone. It's pathetic the way the paparazzi chases her the way dogs chase cars. Let this woman have a prayer to have a life with her two children.

d. Dog of the year: Red Sox fan, and Chargers president, Jim Steeg has a Golden Retriever puppy named Fenway P. Steeg.

e. Personal memo/plea to Theo Epstein: Do not let Mike Lowell leave. He is everything you can ask for in a baseball player and has been since the day he arrived on campus. He's more important to keep than Johnny Damon was. Far more.

f. Imagine if Grady Little had had the stones to lift Pedro in Game 7 of the ALCS. There's a good chance it'd be three titles in five years, not two in four.

g. A-Rod belongs in Anaheim, but I hear the owner there won't pay the freight.

h. Lead of the Week: From the New York Post's story about Yankee fan extraordinaire and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani saying he was rooting for the Red Sox to win the World Series: "Call him Judas Giuliani.''

i. Thought one from a relatively sedate Game 2 of the World Series at Fenway Park: How sad it is that the real fans get shut out from tickets while the following eight people in our third-base section paid no attention to the game except on the 10 or 12 occasions when it got loud and they had to think there must be a sports event going on here: the 38ish man and his 22ish girlfriend, oblivious to the game as they mostly groped each other and necked; the four business folks who talked shop the entire night, including the Big Boss, who arrived in freshly pressed khakis and a new $175 World Series jacket in the bottom of the second inning and left in the top of the eighth; and the two tanked Boston College coeds, who seemed to like the between-innings music and the Sam Adams Octoberfest quite a bit.

j. Thought two: At this time of year, I feel for any team that hasn't had to play the number of highly competitive games the Red Sox have had to play. Every guy on the Red Sox has played before a full house at every home game for four years. Add the intensity of 19 draining games against the Yankees and emotional road games against virtually every contender, and I'd say the core of the Red Sox (Ortiz, Ramirez, Lowell, Varitek, Beckett, Schilling, Papelbon), entering this World Series, had been in 250 fever-pitch regular- and post-season games over the past three years and the Rockies maybe 15. World Series at-bats to Varitek and World Series at-bats to Brad Hawpe are really, really big things. I'd be shocked if that didn't contribute to Colorado looking so average in games one and two.

k. When's the last time a baseball team started two rookies atop the lineup (Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia) in a World Series game ... and can you imagine them combining to go seven-for-10, as they did in Game 3?

l. You are killing me with the crowd shots, Fox. Murdering me.

m. Love Joe Buck's perspective.

n. Coffeenerdness: Strange scene at Dunkin Donuts on the Mass Pike late Thursday afternoon, caffeining up on the way to Game 2. At a walk-up window on a nice fall New England day, as I left with my large-coffee-cream-and-no-sugar, the guy next in line -- slim, 35ish, well-dressed -- said to the counter guy: "Medium coffee, cream, eight sugars.'' The counter guy said, "Eight? Eight?'' Thirty-fivish guy said: "Eight.'' Gagging as I walked away, I thought: "What's he ordering -- coffee syrup, or coffee?''

o. How dumb was it for the NHL to schedule the first game of the New Jersey Devils in their new home -- the Prudential Center in Newark -- on the same night, Saturday, that the Rangers, eight miles away, were at home, and the Islanders, 26 miles away, were also at home? Three teams, same huge market, all with 7 p.m. starts, all at home. Just stupid. (Full disclosure policy: I did not attend the game, but I am in a Devils season-ticket consortium.)

p. Good luck, Rick Reilly. Pleasure to share the masthead with you over the years.

q. Congratulations on your obviously joyous nuptials Saturday night, my neighbors on the 22nd floor of the Charlotte Westin. Incredibly joyous, obviously, because you were still sharing the joy with all of us non-invitees Sunday morning at 7:45. Ahhhhh, to be young with a bottomless pit for beer.

Who I Like Tonight, and I Mean Tony Kornheiser

What a weird year the Broncos are having. Only offensive powers New England, Dallas, Indianapolis and Cincinnati entered Sunday averaging more yards per game, yet offensive weaklings like Minnesota, Oakland and the Jets were outscoring them through seven weeks. This, to me, is the sign of a young quarterback learning on the job.

Jay Cutler is doing some good things (averaging 66.3 percent passing) and some just-OK things (seven touchdowns, eight interceptions). You have to accept that with a first-full-year quarterback -- he's going to have some great days, some adequate days and some bad days. This night, against a team allowing only 17.8 points per game, will be a combination of all three. Cutler will lead a few good drives, but he'll also get chased all over Invesco Field by Aaron Kampman and Cullen Jenkins. This is going to be a very good game, and Cutler will make one more drive than Brett Favre when it counts. Denver 21, Green Bay 20.