Don't forget your thank yous

There is plenty for which to be thankful around the NFL as we head into the final weekend before being forced once again to fall asleep watching the stinking Lions on Thanksgiving Day.

Bill Belichick is thankful there's a blogosphere in which some people actually think going for it on fourth-and-2 at your own 28-yard line while leading by six points with 2:08 left is mathematically a jim-dandy of an idea. How'd that one work out for ya, guys?

Bud Adams is thankful he doesn't have a third middle finger since waving the two he has cost him $250,000.

JaMarcus Russell is thankful for guaranteed money. Ditto for Jay Cutler.

Brad Childress is thankful for the pay bump. Buying a house in Los Angeles won't be cheap in 2012.

The Lions are thankful the Browns are unbelievably bad enough to be 3 1/2-point underdogs at Ford Field. The Browns are thankful the game will be blacked out in Detroit, shut out of 30 other NFL cities and tuned out in Cleveland.

Here are some other thanks being given around the league:

SEA +10 1/2 at MV: Vikings by 7.

If things work out as well as they did with the Lakers, Los Angeles will be thankful for Minnesota's NFL team, too.

CLE +3 1/2 at DET: Lions by 10.

FIFA is thankful the NFL finally has a matchup that promises to be more boring than soccer.

BUF +9 at JAC: Jaguars by 3.

Ralph Wilson is thankful the current millennium wasn't considered during his Hall of Fame discussion.

PIT -10 at KC: Steelers by 14.

Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe, suspended under the NFL's policy against performance-enhancing substances, would be thankful ... if he lived in Minnesota.

ARI -10 at STL: Cardinals by 10.

Kurt Warner is thankful to be playing in the Edward Jones Dome. He's even more thankful to be playing the Rams.

ATL +6 1/2 at NYG: Giants by 9

SF +6 1/2 at GB: Packers by 7.

The Packers are more thankful than the 49ers when it comes to drafting a quarterback in the first round in 2005.

WAS +11 at DAL: Cowboys by 7.

Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth is thankful he didn't break his foot while stomping on Cowboys center Andre Gurode's forehead the last time they met three years ago.

NO -11 1/2 at TB: Saints by 7.

The Brett Favre 4 MVP committee is thankful Drew Brees has throw seven interceptions and lost three fumbles in his past four games.

NYJ +10 1/2 at NE: Patriots by 21.

Belichick is thankful he has three Lombardi trophies and one 16-0 record to lean on in tough times.

CIN -9 1/2 at OAK: Bengals by 6.

The Bengals are thankful to be visiting the "House that Al Built, Left, Returned To and Then Of Course Ruined" as they try for a franchise-record fifth consecutive road win.

SD off at DEN: Chargers by 7.

Using Gopher Nation mathematics, the Broncos are thankful they're actually 9-0 in Year 3 of the post-Brewster Era.

PHI -3 at CHI: Eagles by 7.

Cutler is thankful for the kind of job security that apparently doesn't require any one team in particular catching his forward passes.

TEN +4 1/2 at HOU: Texans by 7.

Adams, the former Oilers owner, returns to Houston obviously thankful that his Titans are No. 1. Wait. Wrong finger.