NFL

If the Dolphins had been able to march into Foxborough Sunday and find a way to beat the vaunted New England Patriots Sunday, the AFC East would have been quite the muddled division. Even the Buffalo Bills would have been within striking distance, while the Jets and Dolphins would have trailed the Pats by a single game with eight to play.

After a Ronnie Brown touchdown pass -- which was surely a flashback to last year's Wildcat-fest in New England -- the Patriots found themselves facing a 17-16 deficit with 4:51 left in the third quarter, and the Dolphins appeared on the verge of the critical road upset.

But Tom Brady, Randy Moss and company weren't having that.

With a bevy of big name coaches likely ready-for-hire heading into the 2010 season, in addition to a lot of really poor NFL teams in 2009, we can expect rumors to be swirling all over the place for the rest of this season and on into the offseason. Thus, it's not surprising to see Mike Holmgren mentioned as a possibility. Of course, most thought he'd have to at least wait until next season to get involved.

According to Adam Shefter of ESPN, Holmgren may not have to wait. Shefter reports that the Browns want to hire Holmgren as their vice president of football operations -- similar to the role Bill Parcells has with Miami -- and that the job is immediately Holmgren's for the taking.

ATLANTA -- When the NFL schedule came out at the beginning of the year, the Washington Redskins game at the Atlanta Falcons wasn't necessarily a matchup you expected to be volatile. But DeAngelo Hall sure did.

Hall, who spent the first four seasons of his career playing in Atlanta, did a lot of trash-talking this week. He claimed that Falcons general manager Thomas Dmitroff lied to him on multiple occasions regarding roster issues, and he dared the Falcons to make him a target this week -- since he knew they probably would anyway.

Was there any doubt that if a skirmish broke out between the two teams that Hall would be involved?

Though most had the Minnesota Vikings as the favorites to win the NFC North heading into the season, nearly everyone agreed that either the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers -- or both -- would at least pose a challenge to the Vikes' second straight division crown. Instead, we're taking this division race off life support and putting it to rest after Week 9. The 2009 NFC North champions will be the Vikings. They can now focus on securing home-field advantage in the playoffs.

The reason for the above sentiment is that both the Bears and Packers were abysmal, in different circumstances, Sunday afternoon. The Pack went into Tampa Bay and lost to the formerly winless Buccaneers, while the Bears were absolutely manhandled for the majority of the afternoon by a fickle Arizona squad.

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As if the slumping Redskins needed any more bad news, running back Clinton Portis left Washington's game in the first quarter after suffering a concussion.

Portis took a couple of hard shots on a running play, with Atlanta's Chevis Jackson and Thomas DeCoud each landing blows -- at least one of which appeared to be helmet-to-helmet. No penalty was called on the play.

Portis stayed down on the field at the end of the play, then walked unsteadily to the sideline. He sat on the Redskins' sideline with a towel over his head while backup running back Ladell Betts replaced him. Jason Campbell threw an interception on the next play that was returned by the Falcons' Tye Hill for a touchdown.

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Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris was ejected from Sunday's Chicago-Arizona game after throwing a punch to the face of Cardinals guard Deuce Lutui.

The incident occurred just four plays into the contest -- Lutui, who was blocking Harris on a running play, was lying face down on the Soldier Field turf when Harris grabbed him, lifted him slightly and landed an uppercut to Lutui's facemask.

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It's week 9 in the 2009 NFL season, and we've got some big games ahead of us.

Can the Baltimore Ravens stay in the AFC North race by winning on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals? Can the Indianapolis Colts effectively end the AFC South race by winning at home against the Houston Texans? Will anyone show up in Jacksonville to watch the Jaguars face the Chiefs?

For all of that and more follow along below or follow me on Twitter @MichaelDavSmith.

Anquan Boldin, Calvin Johnson, Roddy White, Devin Hester, Antonio Bryant. All questionable, meaning a huge majority of our readership is likely pessimistically cursing his/her options at receiver this week. Luckily, most of those guys have 1:00 PM ET start times, so we'll know the proper course of action before the first kickoff of the day.

Come join us at 10:30 AM ET and stay through kickoff. We'll help you deal with those WR conundrums, plus answer any lineup, trade, or free-agent questions you may have. We'll also tackle anything else fantasy football related that's on your mind. We do answer all your questions, but it's essential to stay patient while we handle them, because multiple submissions of the same question just slows up the process for everyone.

Relax, kick back, and get ready for some fantasy football!

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When the Eagles and Cowboys step on the same field, you know you're in for a battle. This will be the 100th meeting in the series, with the Cowboys entering the fay with a 55-44 lead in the previous 99 games. The Eagles have the leg up in recent years though, culminating in a Week 17 beatdown last year that wound up earning Philly a playoff berth over Dallas. (Not that Tony Romo would have done much had he made the playoffs anyway.)

Both teams are 5-2, and with the Giants losing to both these foes in recent weeks, this game will determine who has the inside track at winning the NFC East. So if you though this would be just another regular ol' 100th meeting between hated rivals, think again.

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The NFL FanHouse team is putting its prediction skills to the test with a little friendly survivor pick 'em league. Each week, every competitor will choose one NFL winner, keeping in mind that you can't pick the same team more than once during the year. But it's a dangerous game: Get one wrong, and you're out.

The NFL season is half over and every team is, at the very least, still in existence. The Survivor Pick 'Em season is also half over, but only three writers remain.

You tell me which is the more dangerous game, Malcolm Gladwell.