In Buffalo, Mark Gaughan reported there is "a good chance the Bills are going to work to get out" of the Bills in Toronto Series. After six years of the series, "not one bit of progress has been made in making Rogers Centre any kind of home-field advantage" for the Bills, "despite the efforts" of the team and Rogers Communications. The deal "has to be a big money loser for Rogers" as well (BUFFALO NEWS, 12/8). ESPN BOSTON's Mike Reiss wrote one way to improve the series "could be playing the game earlier in the year." Four of the six Toronto games "have been in December, when the Bills are pretty much out of the playoff hunt" (ESPNBOSTON.com, 12/8).
JET-LAGGED? In N.Y., Manish Mehta writes Jets coach Rex Ryan's "seat is seemingly simmering," but team Owner Woody Johnson yesterday "relayed a measured and smart approach in his first public comments in six weeks." Johnson "didn't make any definitive declarations about Ryan's future, but sounded like a guy who has an open mind about giving his head coach every opportunity to salvage his job" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/9). Mehta wrote Jets GM John Idzik has "fallen silent as the Jets season has just about slid off the playoff map, showing no accountability at a time when it is needed most." But Idzik "owes it to the Jets fan base to be accountable" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/7).
HOT IN CLEVELAND: ESPN BOSTON's Reiss wrote Browns GM Mike Lombardi has "transitioned from a visible media role at NFL Network in which he was regularly conducting insightful radio interviews to 'undercover' Browns general manager." Lombardi has "essentially disappeared from a media perspective after being ever-so-visible." It could be because Lombardi is "a lightning-rod of sorts in Cleveland from his previous tenure with the team, and this is part of a go-undercover-to-help-rebuild-the-image approach" (ESPNBOSTON.com, 12/8).
CANDLE IN THE WIND: In S.F., Carl Nolte wrote 49ers fans "should be angry, mad as hell that the 49ers are moving out" of the city. The fans "should be on their feet, shaking their fists up at the luxury boxes where the York family, the team's owners, and their millionaire pals gaze down on the ordinary folks who have supported" the 49ers for 57 years (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/8).
