PETER KING'S THINGS I THINK

1. I think it's not often you can say the Bengals and their perpetually embattled owner, Mike Brown, made a great decision. But taking Andy Dalton and not chasing after Carson Palmer has turned out to be one of the best calls any team made in the off-season. Cincinnati's 4--2 record is proof.

2. I think I'm glad we can hold off on the farewell cards for Andy Reid, with the win at Washington and the bye this week. You fire a coach when his message doesn't get heard anymore. That's not the case with Reid.

3. I think it may be too much to ask: San Francisco versus Green Bay at Lambeau in the NFC title game. Alex Smith, picked first in '05 by San Francisco when Mike McCarthy was offensive coordinator, versus Aaron Rodgers, passed over by the Niners and taken 24th by Green Bay that year, with McCarthy now his coach. It's not impossible.

PHOTO

JOHN BIEVER (DALTON)