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At a time when out-of-work coaches have been stiff-arming the Buffalo Bills, and the one coach who has accommodated isn't believed to be truly enamored, it's significant when we learn of a notable coach who's actually interested.

A league source informs me former St. Louis Rams head coach and longtime offensive coordinator Mike Martz would be thrilled to become the Bills' next coach.

Martz won a Super Bowl ring as the Rams' offensive coordinator in 1999. He was head coach when they went 14-2 and won the NFC championship in 2001.

There's a widespread belief Buffalo's quarterback situation will deter most candidates, but the source said Martz isn't turned off by Trent Edwards or Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Martz, an offensive guru known for helping salvage Kurt Warner's career, drafted Fitzpatrick out of Harvard in 2005 as head coach of the Rams. The source also said Martz was a fan of Edwards when he left Stanford in 2007.

Another dynamic that could be appealing to the Bills is the fact Martz has worked with interim coach Perry Fewell before. If the Bills want to keep Fewell around, bringing in somebody he's familiar with and has worked under could make a difference. Fewell was the Rams' secondary coach for two seasons under Martz.

Martz fired Bills special teams coordinator Bobby April after three seasons in St. Louis. But there has been some speculation around the Bills that April won't be back next year anyway because they passed him over for the interim head coach job despite holding the title of assistant head coach.

Martz gave Bills linebackers coach Matt Sheldon his first NFL job with the Rams in 2001. Sheldon worked with Martz for five seasons.

Bills rookie safety Jairus Byrd, the NFL's interceptions leader, also knows Martz. Byrd's father, Gill Byrd, was a defensive assistant for three years in St. Louis.

ESPN analyst Steve Young gives his thoughts on Monday night's anticipated showdown between the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints in the Superdome.

It's hard to debate Wembley Stadium not being a road game. The New England Patriots had to fly 3,200 miles to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who were considered the "home team" in London. The Patriots frolicked, 35-7.

But when the Patriots have played on another team's home field this year, they have flopped.

The Patriots are 0-3 and are getting outscored, 50-10, after halftime in true road games.

That's a disturbing trend for a team venturing into one of the NFL's most festive settings Monday night. The Patriots will play the undefeated New Orleans Saints in the Superdome. It might get loud in there.

Every time the Patriots have played in their opponents' digs, they have faced an unbeaten team, led at halftime and lost.

• Week 2 at the Meadowlands, the 1-0 New York Jets outscored them 10-0 in the second half and won by seven points.
• Week 5 at Mile High Stadium, the 4-0 Denver Broncos outscored them 10-0 in the second half and won with a field goal in sudden death.
• Week 10 in Lucas Oil Stadium, the 8-0 Indianapolis Colts outscored them 21-10 in the second half and won by a point.

"Playing 60 minutes of football," quarterback Tom Brady said at his news conference Wednesday, "I think that's what every team is looking to do in the league -- to play consistently over the course of every play, every series, every punt, every kickoff, every offensive series, four-minute, two-minute, the situations.

"You have to be sharp. You have to be on it."

So what has been the difference?

Brady's a wise place to start. As a point of reference, he ranks fifth in the league with a 100.4 passer rating.

In the first half of his three true road games, he completed 61.5 percent of his attempts for 539 yards, four touchdowns and one interception for a 102.0 passer rating.

In the second half of those games he completed 54.3 percent of his passes for 261 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a 65.0 passer rating.

"The momentum changes can happen very quickly," Brady said. "Once you lose the momentum, it's like playing a different team the next time you go back out the next series. It's important when you have a team that's reeling. You have to keep piling it on so that they don't have an opportunity to come back, like we did against Tennessee. We just kept scoring and scoring.

"We've just had some games this year where we haven't done that and the other team has gotten back into the game, and we're the ones trying to claw back at the end. Believe me, it's something we're all focusing on, something that has been brought to our attention on a daily basis by our coach."

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports the Buffalo Bills met with coaching candidate Mike Shanahan for seven hours Monday night and Tuesday morning in Denver.

The report suggests Bills chief operating officer Russ Brandon interviewed for Shanahan rather than vice versa.

"We had an excellent meeting," Shanahan told Schefter on Wednesday. "I was really impressed with Russ Brandon and everything he had to say. We're going to stay in touch and see what develops."

The Bills are expected to take their time in making a hire and will interview several more candidates before they find the permanent replacement for Dick Jauron, who was fired last week and replaced with defensive coordinator Perry Fewell on an interim basis.

Almost all of the top-tier candidates have rebuffed the Bills' attempts to talk about the job. Substantive reports have stated Jon Gruden, Bill Cowher and Mike Holmgren have turned them down.

The next wave of candidates might include the likes of Brian Billick, Jim Fassel, Mike Martz and Jim Haslett, but the Bills seem hot for an offensive-minded coach, which could work against Haslett, a former Bills linebacker.

Billick had an 80-64 career record and won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. Defense was the foundation of those Ravens teams, but Billick is a lifelong offensive coach who had a star quarterback only once in his nine seasons there. Billick won 13 games with Steve McNair in 2006.

Fassel went 58-53 as head coach of the New York Giants and won an NFC title. Bills fans might note some similarities between their team and the one Fassel took over in 1997. The Giants went 6-10 the year before, but Fassel guided them to a 10-5-1 record and the NFC East championship with Danny Kannel and Dave Brown as his quarterbacks.

Martz coached The Greatest Show on Turf with the St. Louis Rams for six seasons. He went 53-32 and won an NFC title. His offense ranked No. 1 in the NFL in 2000 and 2001 with such stars as Kurt Warner, Torry Holt and Marshall Faulk.

Another offensive-oriented coach who has been mentioned is longtime NFL offensive coordinator Marc Trestman, who has been tearing up the Canadian Football League as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes.

But one major hang-ups the Bills will have is their quarterback situation. They have no obvious starting quarterback on their roster. The organization apparently has given up on Trent Edwards, and Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't held in high regard. Newly acquired third-stringer Brian Brohm is a project.

Many coaches' names will be associated with the opening. Expect some surprises along the way.

This post was not inspired by former Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Matt Roth.

But he'll be a big part of it once I explain what I'm up to.

While flying from Buffalo to Boston early Saturday morning I couldn't sleep because the armrest jockey next to me had sharpened elbows like Bill Laimbeer. And wouldn't you know it, I didn't bring a darn thing to read. So there, in the seatback pocket, were the safety card, a barf bag and the SkyMall catalog.

After reading and re-reading the safety card and barf bag, somewhere near Schenectady I had no choice but to grab the catalog. Within those pages, at least the ones not stuck together by some stealthy passenger's discarded Freedent, are the objects of American excess.

A canine genealogy kit (page 24). A marshmallow bazooka (Page 39). A foot tanning machine to remove sock lines (Page 67). A largemouth bass to mount on your trailer hitch (Page 72).

But what struck me was the 8-by-10 facsimile autographed photo of 31 available NFL players, complete with your choice of greeting -- My #1 Fan, Best Wishes, Be the Best -- and personalized for your gift-giving pleasure (Page 49). All for the discount price of $27.99.

I don't know what's worse for a kid: unwrapping the gift and knowing immediately that Tom Brady never touched it, or realizing after months -- or years -- that Uncle Larry hadn't actually run into Brady at Knotsberry Farm and thought of you after all.

With that in mind and the holiday shopping season upon us, I decided to begin a seasonal feature called "Stuff You Don't Need," a periodic service to let you know about merchandise that truly exists.

And that's where we come back to Roth, whom the Dolphins waived Tuesday.

When making my rounds on the Internet recently, I stumbled across Roth's official site, MattRoth98.com. Guess who has merchandise.

After reviewing all of the items for purchase, my recommendation is the MattRoth98 mousepad for $20.99. This thing is lifelike. Your mouse will roll all over it.

Check back for more frivolous shopping suggestions. If you have ideas you want to share, please drop a line in the AFC East mailbag or the comments section below.

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan selected safety Kerry Rhodes to be one of the team's rotating captains three games ago.

Rhodes' status apparently has plummeted.

ESPN's Adam Schefter and Fox Sports' Jay Glazer report Rhodes has lost his starting job to backup Eric Smith.

Rhodes has started all 74 of his NFL games since he came out of Louisville as a fourth-round draft choice in 2005.

Schefter, citing a Jets official, said Rhodes won't be on the field in some of the Jets' defensive packages.

Rhodes was considered one of Ryan's best playmakers coming into the season. He's also one of the team's biggest talkers.

But he hasn't backed up his reputation or his words. He has no interceptions, sacks, forced fumbles or recoveries. His 48 tackles are fifth on the team and third among defensive backs. He has five passes defensed and one tackle for loss.

Rhodes was excited about getting back to being the type of ball-hawking defender he was before former Jets coach Eric Mangini asked him to play center field in 2008.

"When I make plays, I help this team," Rhodes told me in July at the Jets' training camp in SUNY-Cortland. "That's been true since I've been here. Not being able to make as many plays as I wanted to, I was frustrated.

"You never want to see a coach get fired. That wasn't ever in my plan. But knowing the work Rex has done before and seeing the type of players he's had and made them do in his system ... I know I'm that type of player that will get it done in those opportunities. He's going to give me opportunities."

Rhodes amassed formidable stats in 2007 and 2008. He recorded 160 tackles, seven sacks, nine interceptions, 16 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and two recoveries -- one for a touchdown.

Last year was considered an aberration. He led the Jets with 81 tackles, but he had one sack, two interceptions, five passes defensed, zero forced fumbles and two recoveries.

"I just want Kerry to be part of a great unit and not put the pressure on himself," Ryan said in July. "I don't want to put any pressure on Kerry saying I think he'll get 10 interceptions. He may very well get 10 interceptions, but I want him to be part of this unit.

"The individual claims you guys will see. Playmakers make plays, and I'm sure Kerry will end up making a lot of plays."

ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen doubts Mike Shanahan will go to Buffalo but also says that Bills owner Ralph Wilson has never gone after big-name coaches like this. Plus, Mortensen talks about concussions in the NFL and says Gary Kubiak may be on the hot seat in Houston.

To preview Monday night's game between the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints, ESPN's Tedy Bruschi gives an inside look into the psychology of staying undefeated deep into the season.

Throughout the season, New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma has been sharing his thoughts about upcoming opponents on his Playmaker Mobile page.

Watson

Baker

He has been previewing Monday night's monster showdown against New England Patriots in the Superdome. In discussing all the damage Tom Brady, Randy Moss and Wes Welker can do to a defense, Vilma mentioned two under-the-radar players he insists the Saints should be wary of.

"Brady gets the ball out quickly, knows in three seconds he can throw it, and Moss will jump up and win the jump ball. In two seconds he can dump it off to Wes Welker. He's got weapons. And nobody talks about their tight ends, but they have two great tight ends. Ben Watson and Chris Baker. You can't sleep on New England's tight ends.

"Ben Watson is one of the most underrated guys in the league, but, of course, he doesn't get the spotlight playing behind Moss and Welker. Those guys, of course, are huge names, and we'll have to play fast and well on defense to keep 'em in check. We are ready for the New England Patriots, and we know we're going to have to EARN the right to go 11-0."

Tight end hasn't been a highly productive position for the Patriots this year.

Watson had two touchdowns on opening night, but he has been quiet lately. He has one catch for 36 yards in New England's past two games and hasn't scored in a month. He has 20 receptions for 307 yards and four touchdowns.

Baker has 10 receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown this year.

Tim Graham analyzes the state of the Patriots, Bills, Jets and Dolphins