It's easy to pick on the Buffalo Bills' foray into Canada.

The venture understandably makes Bills fans antsy about the long-term future of the team.

The move cuts into the sense of patriotism some Canadians feel about the Canadian Football

League.

Nevertheless, the Bills' game against the Jets on Thursday night was another step forward

in making the relationship a success.

The atmosphere in the Rogers Centre was much better than last year for the game against

Miami. The Rogers Centre looks and feels like a first-class football venue. The configuration,

lighting, signage — it all makes it a good-looking, big league setting for a football

game.

More importantly, the crowd was into it. Not even close to as into it as at Ralph Wilson

Stadium. But they were supporting the Bills. And you could tell the fans like the NFL product,

if it's anywhere close to decent. The first half was entertaining. There was a buzz in the

crowd.

Let's also not forget the fact it's a dome. If the Bills can put a better product up there,

the place will be loud. The fans don't have to get as loud as at The Ralph for the building to

be jumping, because it's indoors. So that's a good thing for the Bills.

There is no doubt the Bills can build a home-field advantage in Toronto, based on what we

saw versus the Jets.

There obviously still is a lot of work to be done to make the arrangement better. The fact

there's no tailgating outside the dome is always going to be a negative. The pregame event

outside the stadium flopped. But the pregame concert in the concourse was really good.

The bottom line is making this thing work in Toronto is in the Bills' best long-term

interests. Getting more than double the one-game revenue with a game in Toronto is important

to the Bills' bottom line.

It's common sense that the revenue the Bills gain from this series is going to make the

franchise more attractive — in Buffalo — to someone who wants to buy the team and

keep it in Western New York. Does that guarantee that a mogul who wants to keep the team in

Buffalo will win the bid whenever the team goes up for sale? No. But it helps.

The Bills already have seen an increase in season-ticket holders from Southern Ontario for

games at Ralph Wilson Stadium. That's one reason the Bills were able to increase season

tickets to 55,000 this year. That's good for the long-term viability of the team in Buffalo,

as well.

Bills evaluating

Expect the coaching search news on the Bills to be relatively quiet for the next week or

maybe two. The Bills are likely to spend more time evaluating candidates for both the front

office and head coaching positions.

Mike Shanahan, the man the Bills would like to hire the most, appears determined to wait

until the end of the season and see what opportunities are available to him. And who could

blame him for that? His next job is almost surely the last one he's ever going to have in pro

football.

The Bills are going to do their due diligence in studying the backgrounds of prospective

hires who would overhaul their football department.

Peterson fumbles

Adrian Peterson's fumbling problem has not gone away. The Vikings' stud back fumbled two

more times last week. He now has six fumbles and has lost five. In 41 career games over 831

carries, he has 19 fumbles and 12 lost.

San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson also has lost 12 fumbles in his career. However, Tomlinson

has played 136 career games, more than three times as many as A.P. L.T. has 2,805 career

carries. L.T. has lost a fumble once every 233.8 carries. Peterson has lost one every 69.3

carries. Who would have guessed Peterson would have more turnovers (five) than Brett Favre

(four)?

Action Jackson

Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson suffered a concussion last week against Washington and won't

play today. But he's a key to the Eagles' playoff hopes.

Five of Jackson's six TD catches have been on plays of 48 yards or more. Of his 44 catches,

seven have gone for 40 or more yards. He's averaging 15.6 yards per carry on eight rushing

attempts, including a 67-yard touchdown run. The touchdown he scored on a punt return was 85

yards.

Colts versus C.J.

Titans running back Chris Johnson was held to just 34 yards on nine carries in the first

meeting with Indianapolis. It was the second lowest yardage output and the fewest carries in

his 26-game career.

The speedy Johnson tried hard to get wide on the Colts in that game. But the Indianapolis

defense is built for speed and corralled him. Titans coach Jeff Fisher wanted Johnson to

follow his blocks better and keep his runs inside the tackles more, which is one reason why

Johnson got only nine carries.

It will be interesting to see if the Titans can gash the Colts between the tackles this

week. Johnson is on a roll, with six straight games of 125 rushing yards or more. He has 1,396

yards, a pace that would give him 2,030 for the season.

Colts star pass rusher Dwight Freeney has been battling an abdominal injury. He's one of

many Colts who could sit out the season finale in Buffalo, even if the Colts are 15-0 and

playing for a perfect regular season.

The Colts can win their 21st consecutive regular-season game, which would tie New England's

NFL record. The Colts are home next week against Denver.

With 104 rushing yards today, Johnson will become only the fifth player to reach 1,500

yards in his team's first 12 games. Hall of Famer Walter Payton is the only player to

accomplish the feat in 11 games, in 1977.

O.J. Simpson and Jim Brown both did it twice. Simpson did it in 1973 and '75.

Lewis history

Jamal Lewis went on the injured reserve list this week, marking the end of an excellent

career. Presuming he follows through on his plan to retire, Lewis will end his playing days

No. 21 on the all-time NFL rushing list with 10,607 yards.

Like many pro athletes, the final year was a tough one, as Lewis' skills diminished and his

team struggled. Lewis ran 143 times for 500 yards. Lewis has fumed all year under coach Eric

Mangini, who is on very thin ice in Cleveland.

During one week earlier this month, Lewis questioned whether the Browns knew how to win,

criticized Mangini's harsh training camp and long practices, said, "I'm not a baby sitter,"

and then said the media made too much of it after having a meeting with Mangini. The next

week, Mangini played former CFL back Chris Jennings ahead of Lewis.

Weis, Haley

The speculation is strong in Kansas City that the Chiefs might pursue fired Notre Dame

coach Charlie Weis to be offensive coordinator. K.C. head coach Todd Haley has handled the

offensive coordinator duties since firing Chan Gailey before the season.

Of course, Weis has worked with Chiefs GM Scott Pioli in New England. He also worked with

Haley when they shared an 8-by-8 office for three years as assistants with the New York Jets

in the late 1990s.

"I know Charlie," Haley said, "about as up close and personal as you can know him."

Onside kicks

Favre will play in his 283rd consecutive regular-season game tonight. He will pass

Vikings legend Jim Marshall for the longest such streak in NFL history by a non-kicker.

With a win, Tennessee can become only the fifth team in NFL history to record a six-

game win streak and a six-game losing streak in the same season. The last time it happened was

1994 by the Giants, who finished 9-7.

The Browns have scored seven or fewer points in seven of 11 games this season.

Dallas is going to need to play at a high level the last month. The Cowboys have the

toughest schedule of the NFC playoff contenders. The games: at Giants (6-5), home vs. San

Diego (8-3), at New Orleans (11-0), at Washington (3-8), home vs. Philadelphia (7-4).

The Lions promoted Williamsville native Dan Gronkowski, the Maryland product, from

the practice squad to the 53-man roster. Gronkowski takes the tight end spot of first-round

pick Brandon Pettigrew, who had 30 catches before injuring his knee.

Detroit had a 24-game road losing streak from 2001 to '03. Now they're on a 17-game

road skid heading into today's game at Cincinnati.

The Giants put linebacker Antonio Pierce on injured reserve because of a bulging

disk in his neck. That could be the end of Pierce's career in New York. He's 31.

Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will be inspired for a big game when he

returns to Washington today. The Redskins passed over Williams 23 months ago when they hired

Jim Zorn as coach.