My football-watching brain is friiiiiiiiiiiied, so this may end up being another short one. Let's face it: if this game really mattered and went down the way it did, we may never stop talking about it.

For those of you who missed the in-game break-in, President Bush was giving his farewell speech from Iraq this afternoon (American time) when an Iraqi reporter took off his shoe and fired it at Bush. The president ducked, an in came shoe No. 2. You see, throwing a shoe at someone is considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture. I say this because I've had several conversations since the Bills game ended in which someone has said;

"Would someone toss a shoe or two at Dick Jauron?"

Here we go...

— Why in the world were they passing on 2nd-and-5 with just over two minutes to play and the lead? That was easily the dumbest play call of the year. Bar none. I want you all to send me emails about dumber play calls and I will tell you why this one was worse. Horrible, horrible, horrible.

— I can't say enough about Marshawn Lynch. After coming out and — as Duke Preston admitted — getting his line riled up by taking the blame for a tough year, he goes straight "Beast Mode" for 60 minutes. In the wake of his "hit-and-run" issues — something that admittedly still rubs me the wrong way — he's been a very fun player to watch.

— The Bills didn't have a single three-and-out on offense. They did have a one-and-interception, two-and-interception and four-and-touchdown... but no three-and-outs.

— How about the Bills defense on that play-action naked bootleg? Everyone fell for it. Everyone. I'm not even mad. I'm impressed.

— Good on Steve Johnson for getting his first career touchdown. He's a keeper, but think about the receivers under contract next year: Evans, Reed, Parrish, Hardy, Johnson. Then there's Jenkins as a relatively important special teamer. Don't be surprised if the Bills don't snag a wide-out in the offseason.

-- Also on Johnson... great, if unoriginal, touchdown celebration. The "football's-stuck-on-my-hand" is almost always funny.

— James Hardy was carted off with a knee injury. It's a shame, because he was due for a big catch.

— Brett Favre had a very similar game to Losman in terms of numbers, turnovers and accuracy, yet Dan Dierdorf hailed Favre as gutsy, and Losman as wild. I love Favre as much as any football fan, but that was tough to endure.

— I am liking Derek Schouman and Derek Fine as tight ends. Not saying they're my idea of a No. 1, but I'm not sure what that would look like in this style Bills jersey. When Jay Riemersma and Pete Metzelaars are the two best tight ends during your time as a Bills fan, you should probably question your allegiance... or tell the Bills to draft more tight ends with hard-to-pronounce last names. Maybe Devin Frischknecht of Washington State?

(Note: It'll be interesting to see where blocking tight end, and local boy, Dan Gronkowski of Maryland ends up).

— So, here's the drill: In my dismay during the past few weeks, I neglected to start by Bills MVP competition on time. So we're going to make this more "fan interactive." We'll go from 16 to 8 this week, eight to four after the Broncos game, and then four to two after the Patriots finale. After that, i'll put a web poll up with the final two players. It'll be "fun."

Here were the match-ups heading into this week:**

No. 1 Marshawn Lynch vs. No. 16 Chris Kelsay
No. 2 Lee Evans vs. No. 15 Roscoe Parrish
No. 3 Fred Jackson vs. No. 14 Bryan Scott
No. 4 Josh Reed vs. No. 13 Kawika Mitchell
No. 5 Marcus Stroud vs. No. 12 Paul Posluszny
No. 6 Leodis McKelvin vs. No. 11 Terrence McGee
No. 7 Langston Walker vs. No. 10 Ryan Denney
No. 8 Jabari Greer vs. No. 9 Darian Barnes*

*The reason Darian Barnes is No. 9 is because I wanted Jabari Greer into the next round, and because they cut him when they were 4-0, so.... if you really have a problem with it, I'll bump Barnes into Round Two.

**Apologies to Brian Moorman and Kyle Williams. Didn't really consider anyone else.

The round-up:
- Lynch over Kelsay. The reigning champ wins, with no explanation needed.

- Evans over Parrish. Roscoe is explosive, but what he's thinking when deciding whether or not to field a punt is beyond me.

- Jackson over Scott. Good to see Fred finally get a touchdown, and it was a beast of a run.

- Reed over Mitchell. Reed had another gutsy game, even if he did make a couple boners. Mitchell looked awful on a Favre pump fake in the third quarter.

- Posluszny over Stroud. Stroud's been better all year, but Posluszny had important tackles and a pick against the Jets.

- McGee over McKelvin. Terrence was just McBetter today, even if Leodis' growth will be pivotal to next year and beyond. Like the Posluszny/Stroud match-up, McKelvin would've won the year-long battle.

- Walker over Denney. Paul Hamilton would say I'm crazy, but I think the two most-unheralded seasons belong to these two. Denney absolutely over-performed as someone who should be a situational rusher, batting down a ton of passes.

- Greer over Barnes. Again, if you have issues, email me: nick@wgr550.com

ROUND TWO:
No. 1 Lynch vs. No. 12 Posluszny
No. 2 Evans vs. No. 11 McGee
No. 3 Jackson vs. No. 8 Greer
No. 4 Reed vs. No. 7 Walker

(I can't believe five offensive players move on, but I had to go with my gut).

Stat line I enjoyed:
Lynch, 21 carries, 127 yards; three receptions, 13 yards
— Sensational.

Stat line I didn't enjoy:
Losman, 24-of-39, 148 yards, three sacks, 1 TD, 3 INT, one fumble lost.

(Bills) Game ball:
Lynch.
— Unquestionably, with a nod to the run-blocking of the line.

Lastly...
I really like the way Thomas Vanek has reshaped his game.

Next week:
Thank goodness the Broncos won't need the game. I vote for Denver 27, Buffalo 20.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

(WGR 550) -- For those Sabres fans staring at the Eastern Conference standings, with the number 8 sitting next to Buffalo, and wondering what the team's next move will be, ponder this:

Where would they be without No. 26?

As Thomas Vanek continues to lead the team in almost every important offensive category, the Sabres continue their fight to stay above .500. Where's the league's leading goal scorer in all this? Backchecking, blocking shots and, on Monday in Pittsburgh, shoulder-to-the-goal-post, attempting a save.

Another thing: He's 24 years-old.
Lindy Ruff has asked his left winger to be better, and Vanek has complied, while Ruff continues to call Vanek's play to be "just the tip of the iceberg."

Somewhere in that tip, there's now leadership by example.

Throughout the course of last year's roller-coaster ride to a long summer, Vanek was always available in the locker room after games, understanding his responsibility as a $49 million man in Buffalo. Throw-in an extremely rocky start to that campaign -- he didn't score his 20th goal until Feb. 12 in Ottawa -- and a new baby, and Vanek had a lot of growing up to do.

Recording four hat-tricks in the last 27 games of 2007-08, Ruff then asked his star to do what any other head coach would: backcheck and penalty kill. Right.

While some would have doubted the idea, Vanek has responded by being one of only two regular skaters with a positive plus/minus ratio and pacing the league's third best penalty kill. He's also second in the NHL in shorthanded goals (2), game-winning goals (3) and power-play goals (8). By the way, he's only missed one regular season game in his career -- April 3, 2006 -- and has suited up in 198 consecutive games.

This year, the team is 3-7-1 when he doesn't register a point. (He also leads Austrian-born NHL players with 18:34 of ice-time per game. Take that, Andreas Nodl).

All this with team goaltending that, statistically, has been in the middle of the pack, 14th in goals-against average (2.81) and 18th in save percentage (.900).

So, let's ask again: Where would the Sabres be without No. 26?

At some point, we might want to talk about thanking Kevin Lowe. (Not really).

Email: nick@wgr550.com