Q: On Dec. 9^th, can the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the New England Patriots? — Steve L., Pittsburgh

Sure they can. In fact, the Patriots have as good a chance of losing to the Steelers as any team they will face between now and the Super Bowl. But the Steelers can’t win unless they play better than they have the last few weeks. The Patriots are not untouchable. They have areas opponents can exploit, as the Eagles demonstrated last week. And at some point they might just have an off day.

Q: What direction do you see Chris Simms career going? — John Klopfer, Ocala, Fla.

Assuming he will be able to overcome his health issues, I could see Simms resurrecting his career if he ends up in the right situation. I think he needs to get out of Tampa and away from Jon Gruden and start over. He needs to go to an organization that will offer him stability, patience and modest expectations. He needs good coaches and a system that will take advantage of what he does best, and a good complement of blockers and offensive skill position players. In other words, he needs a lot of things to go his way in order to succeed. He’s not unlike a lot of other NFL quarterbacks in that regard. But I’ve always liked Simms and thought he could be a good NFL player.

Q: If you’re 5-6 in the NFC, is it time to start preparing for next year by giving your younger players more playing time? — William Yang, Chicago

Absolutely not. If you are 5-6 in the NFC, you have a chance of making the playoffs if you can win four of your last five and you get a little luck. Only six NFC teams have a better record than 5-6 and there are five playoff spots in the conference. Of those six teams who are better than 5-6, the Lions and Bucs are looking shaky, and the Giants and Seahawks are far from sure things. There are only two teams in the NFC that you’d say probably don’t have to worry about missing the playoffs — the Cowboys and Packers. After that, it’s all up for grabs.

Q: Last year it looked like Philip Rivers was ready to become franchise QB. Now he looks lost, and appears to have regressed considerably. What do you think caused this, a new offensive system, sophomore jinx, or was he just over-rated last year? — Frank A. Alvarez, Highland, Calif.

The Chargers are playing the same offensive system they played a year ago, so that can’t be the issue. You might make the argument that play calling is an issue, but if you look at Norv Turner’s history as a play caller you will see he usually gets pretty good results from his quarterbacks. I would attribute Rivers play more to an entire team being a little out of sync. The Chargers’ running game has not worked the way it did a year ago, so defenses have been able to concern themselves more with the pass. The Chargers have had fewer first downs, so his opportunities have been limited. Last year Rivers was very efficient, but he was not often put in position where he had to win games. This year, more has been demanded of him because the Chargers have struggled in other phases. You have to remember this is only his second year as a starter. He is going to have some inconsistencies in his play like any young quarterback. But he is a good one. The Chargers need to stick with him, and they will.

MORE FROM NFL

NFL Section Front

Brady vs. Manning — who has the edge? Cimini: Patriots-Colts greatest NFL rivalry of 2000s   Slideshow: Peyton vs. Brady through the years   Video: Playing 'what if?' with Peyton's career Report: Raiders want to fire coach Tom Cable Eagles-Bears matchup will remain Sunday night game PFT: Rest of league is catching up to Broncos PFT: Tomlinson hints at retiring after this season PFT: Ex-Packer Brown rips McCArthy PFT: Quinn reportedly will start for Browns again   NFL Section Front   Add NFL headlines to your news reader: