By Pat Archibald

As we move past the half way point in the season there are some areas that start to make one see signs of things to come. Portents of the future perhaps. Here are a few observations that may come to pass.

Coaching Changes: Common sense tells me that this will be Andy Reid's last hurrah in Philadelphia. He has had his well documented family horrors played out on a public national stage. Like him or not, it would take a stone cold heart not to feel badly for what he is going through. Short of an untimely death in the family, the legal problems and addictions that his sons are embroiled in are a parent's worst nightmare. Certainly these issues did not just crop up with the recent arrests. However, it is one thing to deal with personal crises in the privacy of your own life but quite another to have them front page news. Couple that with the sometimes mean spirited approach that Philadelphia takes with their sports leaders and it makes you wonder how he copes at all.

Reid has taken enough lumps in this town. His team is underachieving to some degree, Donovan McNabb has lost the support of many and the joy is gone from the town that somehow became linked to brotherly love. Whoever dreamed up that moniker deserves the spin doctor award for a lifetime. Add it all up and I think this will be the end of Reid's tenure in Philly. Surprisingly enough I heard Bill Parcell's say he loves the atmosphere there. Nah....no way he wanders in there. You think?

I suspect that we will see John Fox and Joe Gibbs leave Carolina and Washington respectively. Fox will take the brunt of the hit for perceived underachieving mediocrity after their surprise visit to the Super Bowl. In Washington, Joe is loved and has escaped negative scrutiny. But his game management especially around time issues has generally been atrocious. His stint in Washington has to be over and perhaps he will step down gracefully and be remembered as a great coach.

Finally Tom Coughlin, the Houdini of escape artists, may be gone as well. Anything short of a Super Bowl appearance will not allow him to survive which probably is unfair. But he looks like he is just not quite right. Sort of odd. Like waking up and drinking coffee that turns out to be detergent. Just a poor start to the day.

So... with four anticipated openings which one will Bill Cowher take? I say the Giants.

Rule Changes:  This will never happen, but can you imagine if the clock stopped after every play in the final two minutes? For those who watch the CFL and its final three minutes with clock stoppages they know what would happen. It would be tremendous. No more kneel-downs. Game point totals would rise by seven, minimum.  It would probably cause seizures to long-time NFL bettors but, hey... that's why we have home resuscitation units. Oh yeah....change that time-out rule on field goals. Play fair you guys.

Law of Averages: Is there such a thing? And who wrote it? If we do believe it exists, and I do, then Green Bay will take a nose dive. I cannot fathom the number of plays that they have made, or more precisely that Brett Favre has made, that have had some form of divine intervention attached to it. It's like they've reinvented the post-it note. I say it comes to an end and their run slows to a walk. On the other hand, short of a Tom Brady injury, it is not difficult to see New England carry on. That said, I do believe that Pittsburgh will give them a scare regardless of their loss last week. The Steelers should not be a scared team going into this one and Roethlisberger is very capable of one of those games that take the steam out of the Patriots sails. Without doubt, as long as they remain healthy, I will be leaning to Pittsburgh with the anticipated touchdown plus points in that one.

Cleveland: It wouldn't surprise me if the Browns become a top tier team starting right now. What will be interesting is what they do with Brady Quinn. He's been slated to become their savior but it seems like they have found their man in Derek Anderson. And to think that the Ravens let him go. This is a very unusual situation as teams generally can't keep two young quarterbacks satisfied or paid. Tough call. But if I'm the Minnesota Vikings I'm on the phone every day trying to get one of them. If I'm Cleveland I'd move Brady Quinn and hold my breath and hope not to die.

See you next week.

Last week: Houston came through with a good solid victory over New Orleans last week to give me the win. I was all ready to write up a Grey Cup pick but with QB Glenn out for Winnipeg the game feels somewhat marginalized for me. Maybe Winnipeg can pull out the old adage about teams pulling together for one game when the star goes down. We'll see ...but it's too bad. Love the Grey Cup but this injury sure puts a damper on things.

Seattle at St. Louis: This is an early body clock game for Seattle and the Hawks are susceptible to bad performances in such situations. Holmgren has all but abandoned the running attack and is relying on Hasselback to throw them to victory. We'll see how they do on the road in a noisy dome. St. Louis is rounding into some form after a horrible, injury riddled start. They can be a powerful team and Steven Jackson is a force. I look for the Rams to pound on a small defense and for Bulger to take advantage going deep periodically. St. Louis has been a 5-2 home dog heading into this troubled year and I like them to keep their modest win streak going.

I'll take St. Louis with the points.

Houston at Cleveland: Both teams are ascending in the ranks of the AFC.  While the players may not still harbor grudges the town certainly despises Baltimore for stealing their team. I suspect that they will be slapping the backs of the Browns all week. These are two similar teams in many ways. However I do see one difference, that being Houston has the better defense. They are fresher, with Cleveland having played two tough divisional games on the road. Houston has proven they can win when traveling, having beaten Carolina before their slide and then Oakland with a severely injured squad. Getting more than a field goal is enough for me as I see the visitors as being very capable of the upset here.

I'll take Houston with the points.

Last week: 1-0

Season: 9-7-2