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POSTED 9:56 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

MOSS SAYS "F--K ANDREW"

As television cameras and microphones continue to capture all sorts of interesting words before, during, and after NFL broadcasts, Raiders receiver Randy Moss let the phrase "F--k Andrew" fly on NBC after a first-half interception.

The words couldn't be heard, but it doesn't take Marlee Matlin to figure out what Moss was saying based on the movement of his mouth.

The "Andrew" to whom Moss was referring is quarterback Andrew Walter, who sailed a ball beyond Randy's reach -- and right into the arms of Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, killing a drive during which Moss had made a long catch.

NBC's Andrea Kremer also made general reference to the exchange at the start of the second half, without getting into the words that Moss was saying.

Missed it? Never fear. Our guess is that the images will be shown on ESPN several times over the next few days. And that'll give us a little time to figure out our response when Florio Jr. inevitably asks, "What's he saying, Dad?"

POSTED 7:26 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

EAGLES GETTING CALLS ABOUT JEAN-GILLES

A league source tells us that the Eagles are receiving phone calls from teams interested in trading for rookie guard Max Jean-Gilles.

Jean-Gilles, a fourth-round pick in the 2006 draft, appears on the team's depth chart as the No. 2 man at left guard.

It's unlikely that the Eagles will move him, unless someone offers something that would represent a major upgrade on paper over a fourth-round selection. As one league insider remarked, "Andy Reid likes to have a lot of guys around who are his size."

Reid's objective isn't to minimize his own girth by surrounding himself with other men of ample proportion, but to ensure that he always has enough offensive and defensive linemen around. The game, as Reid believes, is won in the trenches.

And Jean-Gilles can fill up a trench or two at six-foot-three, and 358 pounds.

Even though Jean-Gilles is a rookie, the rules permit him to be traded. Only unsigned rookies cannot be traded beyond a certain point following the draft.

ALEXANDER AT LEAST TWO WEEKS AWAY

Peter King of NBC reports on Football Night in America (Although They Really Want People In China To Watch It, Too) that Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander won't return to the field for at least two weeks.

The 2005 MVP is nursing a broken bone in his foot. He has skipped two games with the condition, even though he initially believed that the power of prayer would allow him not to miss a beat.

Alexander's replacement, Maurice Morris, had 74 yards on 23 carries in a come-from-behind win over the Rams. He coughed up a key fumble that allowed the Rams to re-take a late lead. Next Sunday, the 'Hawks host the Vikings.

POSTED 6:08 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

JOHNSON PULLS TAZ'S TAIL

In a development that's rich with irony, Chiefs running back Larry Johnson dragged down Steelers safety Troy Polamalu.

By the hair.

A week ago, Johnson was the victim of a vicious face mask pull from Cardinals cornerback Antrel Rolle, who yanked Johnson to the ground while Johnson headed for the end zone with a screen pass from Damon Huard. Johnson was injured on the play.

This time around, Polamalu was on his way to the end zone after intercepting a Huard pass. But Johnson dove and grabbed Polamalu's flowing, kinky mane. Polamalu suffered no apparent injury.

Johnson was flagged on the play for unsportsmanlike conduct. CBS reported during the Chiefs-Steelers broadcast that the flag was for taunting after the play was over, and not for pulling the hair. (But James Brown of CBS said during an update in the Chargers-49ers game that the flag was related to the hair pull.)

So just as there's no rule in the CBA that allows a team to tell a player to get a haircut, there's no rule that prevents another player from using the hair in order to get a guy who has the ball down to the ground.

POSTED 4:28 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

WINLESS TEAMS WAKE UP

Entering Sunday's action, there were four winless teams in the NFL.

Now, there is only one.

The previously 0-5 Lions, the previously 0-5 Titans and the previously 0-4 Buccaneers each eked out narrow wins, leaving only the Raiders as the only team without a win.

The Lions held off the Bills at home, 20-17. The Titans rallied from a 14-3 deficit to take a 25-22 win over the Redskins on the road. And the Bucs came from behind late to knock off the Bengals, 14-13.

In the Tampa game, Shane Graham of the Bengals tried a 62-yard field goal as time expired, but it missed badly.

POSTED 4:07 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

MAKE THAT THREE T.D.'S FOR T.O.

His presence on a football team might entail a sideshow more compelling than the dog-faced boy, the bearded lady, and the man with bosoms (oh, wait -- they already have that in Dallas). Regardless, receiver Terrell Owens will from time to time display the physical skills that made him one of the best receivers in the NFL.

On Sunday against the Texans, Owens has hauled in three touchdown passes.

Owens last caught three touchdown passes exactly 23 months ago, when the Eagles throttled the Cowboys during a Monday night game, which began with Owens' infamous Desperate Housewives skit.

POSTED 3:21 p.m. EDT October 15, 2006

TWO T.D.'S FOR T.O.

After another quiet first half, receiver Terrell Owens has exploded for two touchdowns in the third quarter of the Cowboys' home game against the Texans, pushing Dallas to a 17-6 lead.

The three-yard and 21-yard receptions came less than seven minutes apart, with the first score capping the opening drive after the second-half kickoff.

It was a far cry from the first two quarters, during which the Cowboys sputtered to only three points -- and chants of "Romo" erupted on a couple of occasions.

POSTED 2:57 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

AIR McNAIR GROUNDED

Ravens quarterback Steve McNair has been knocked out of Sunday's home game against the Panthers after suffering a concussion and a neck strain.

McNair suffered the injuries on a sack by Carolina defensive end Mike Rucker and linebacker Chris Draft.

McNair had completed two of four passes for four yards an an interception. His replacement is former starter Kyle Boller.

POSTED 12:53 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

TUNA-T.O. ULTIMATUM COMING?

We've been saying it for weeks. In our view, a day will arrive in which Cowboys coach Bill Parcells tells owner Jerry Jones that Jones has a choice to make -- player or coach; T.O. or Tuna.

ESPN's Ed Werder reports that they day could be coming. Citing a source close to Parcells and familiar with the Tuna's thinking, Werder says that an ultimatum could arise if the problems with Owens continue.

And the players, as we've reported, are getting fed up. One player told Werder that Owens is like a "bucket with a hole in it," and that "no matter how much you put in, you can never fill it up."

The key to the situation continues to be Jones, who has been T.O.'s chief enabler. Werder says that, when Jones was asked about whether there would be any discipline arising from Owens' recent dust-up with receivers coach Todd Haley, Jones angrily said, "Yeah, against Haley. This is not a reflection on T.O."

Holy crap.

Meanwhile, Jeff Lurie and Joe Banner and Andy Reid and Tom Heckert and Brad Childress and Donovan McNabb and thousands of Eagles fans are laughing their asses off.

POSTED 12:39 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

CHAOS COMING FOR THE CARDS?

Jay Glazer of FOX reports that there was chaos this week in the Cardinals organization. Per Glazer, two players walked out of a defensive meeting, and safety Robert Griffith had to be pulled away from defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast.

Glazer says that coach Dennis Green wasn't even aware of the incidents.

Though the team isn't as high-profile as the Cowboys and none of the players involved have the notoriety of a guy named T.O., it's a very troubling sign for an organization that was supposed to be turning it around, and a head coach whose seat might be hotter than he realizes. Green is in his third season, and that's 50 percent of the longest tenure of any head coach in the franchise's 87-year history.

POSTED 12:09 p.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

FIRE SALE COMING FOR BUCS?

Jay Glazer of FOX NFL Sunday reports that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are engaging in a potential "fire sale," with players such as defensive tackle Booger McFarland and cornerback Brian Kelly being offered.

"They said we can take a look at their roster and aside from first-day picks the last couple of years, guys like Cadillac [Williams], everyone else they're open to talking about," one team's G.M. told Glazer. "They can't trade certain guys like Derrick Brooks or Ronde Barber but we got the impression they were open to everybody else."

Although the 2007 cap consequences of trading any of the current Bucs are presently unclear, the 2006 cap hit is clear -- there would be none.

Under the new CBA, trading a guy after June 1 has the same cap consequence as cutting him after June 1. Specifically, the allocation of any signing bonus for the year stays on the books, and the remainder of the allocation is charged against the 2007 salary cap. Under the old CBA, the entire unallocated portion of any signing bonus money accelerated into the cap year in which the trade was made.

Frankly, we're surprised that the Bucs would risk creating the impression that they're giving up on a season that still has 12 games to go. But because the trading deadline is so early, the front office and coach Jon Gruden had to make a tough decision to try to get some help for 2007 and beyond by possibly giving up some players who could have been the difference down the stretch if the Bucs can get it going in the right direction under rookie Bruce Gradkowski.

It's just another reason why the trading deadline should be moved into the middle of November. If the Bucs were to win their next four games, they might not be as interested in moving some of the guys who are currently on the block.

CLEMENTS ON THE BLOCK

Glazer also reports that players on the trading block include Bills cornerback Nate Clements, Jets running back Derrick Blaylock, Rams defensive end Anthony Hargove, and Cardinals offensive lineman Leonard Davis.

Glazer reports that the Cardinals are looking for "a pick or a player," and one G.M. got the impression that the Cardinals are simply trying to unload him.

SPECIOUS REASONING FROM BEARS ON MANNING

Regarding the planned meeting between Bears cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. and the league office regarding possible sanctions under the Personal Conduct Policy for Manning's no contest plea to charges of felony assault, FOX's Jay Glazer reports that Manning's teammates and coach Lovie Smith are engaged in what we believe to be some very disingenuous excuse-making for Manning.

Glazer says that FOXSports.com phoned "several Bears players" and Smith regarding the allegations that Manning made anti-Semitic slurs to the person whom Manning pleaded no contest to beating the crap out of. Says Glazer: "All said that Manning denies saying anything about the victim being Jewish and insisted that the person he allegedly assaulted was not Jewish in the first place."

Let's get this straight. If a guy says "Are you a f--king Jew?" to someone who isn't Jewish, that makes it okay? We know that Glazer (who is Jewish) isn't at liberty to inject editorial commentary into his reports, so we'll do it for him.

That is, in our opinion, one of the most ridiculous excuses we've ever heard, even in a sport littered with cover-ups and shoulder shrugs and a constant stream of "boys will be boys" bullsh-t. Also, Glazer's report omits reference to allegations that Manning also made multiple homophobic comments to the victim.

We wonder whether any members of the Bears have done research into whether the guy Manning allegedly kicked down low is actually on the down low.

POSTED 10:03 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 11:23 a.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

OWENS FRACTURING LOCKER ROOM

A league source tells us that the ongoing antics of Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens, coupled with the failure of the organization to do anything about it, is creating a schism in the team's locker room.

Per the source, many players think that Owens is a "f--king asshole" and that "his bullsh-t is screwing up what promised to be a playoff season." However, Owens is surrounding himself with teammates who support him, and they're buying into his "us against the world" mentality.

So there's a pro-T.O. camp, and an anti-T.O. camp in the locker room. It's not the best way, in our view, to get 53 guys on the same page.

Regarding the guy at the center of the latest T.O.-driven brouhaha, receivers coach Todd Haley, the players generally regard him as a "good guy" who "goes to bat for the receivers." The source said that Owens' suggestion that Haley can't be trusted "is bullshit," and that "Owens is acting like he's never been yelled at."

We're also told that some players believe that owner Jerry Jones knows he made a mistake in signing Owens, but that Jones' "ego is too f--king big to get rid of him."

PETERSON UNDOUBTEDLY COMING OUT

With Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson's collar bone busting as he fell/dove/showboated into the end zone during a fourth-quarter touchdown run on Saturday, it's a no-brainer that he'll give up his final year of eligibility and head into the NFL draft in 2007.

And don't buy any chatter that the injury might affect his draft status. Broken collar bones heal. It's knees and ankles and hips that make scouts nervous about whether a running back is damaged goods.

Finally, we agree (for a change) with the opinions expressed by CFT's Joe Collegio regarding the Peterson situation. First, there was no need to put Peterson at risk while the Sooners had the game in hand with less than seven minutes to play. Second, there's been waaaaaaay too much sympathy thrown toward Peterson's father, who hadn't been able to see his son play college football before Saturday because he'd been in jail.

Look, folks, one of the reasons that people get locked up is to deter the rest of us from committing crimes. For citizens who have children, the deterrent includes missing things like school plays and graduations and first dates and, yes, football games.

If anything, Peterson's pop should be happy that his crime didn't keep him behind bars so long that he missed what likely will be the last college football game of his son's career.

TRIO OF STINKERS AT 4:15 p.m. EDT

In a Week Six with six teams sitting out, the schedule for Sunday sports an uninspiring trio of 4:15 p.m. EDT games on CBS.

Chiefs at Steelers, Dolphins at Jets, and Chargers at 49ers.

Yeccch.

Then again, it's not as if there are many other more compelling matchups that CBS could have asked the league to move. But with all of the controversy surrounding the Cowboys, it would have made sense to make Houston at Dallas the primary late game on CBS.

In the next television contract, we think that the networks with the Sunday afternoon packages should lobby for flexible scheduling in every week after September. It's a concept that has been applied at times to the second half of the Sunday afternoon doubleheader, but with no real degree of certainty or predictability.

We believe that, in every week, the network with the late game should have the ability to pick the best of its early games and move it to 4:15.

After all, isn't one of the justifications for spending all that money on football the fact that it helps to pump up the ratings for the network's Sunday evening schedule? If so, we can't think of any better way to make that happen than to let the networks use the most compelling games each week as a prelude to the shows that we never watch because there's always another football game on.

SUNDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

John Clayton of ESPN predicts that Cowboys coach Bill Parcells will want to get rid of T.O. in a couple of weeks. (But, John, the Tuna never wanted him.)

John Clayton reports that Eagles RB Brian Westbrook (knee) will be a game-time decision, and that Redskins CB Shawn Springs (abdomen/groin) will play for the first time this year.

Ed Werder of ESPN says that Eagles WR Donte' Stallworth will miss another game with a bad hamstring.

Werder also says that Saints RB Reggie Bush thinks he should score a touchdown every week (so do all of the fantasy owners who have him on their teams).

Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that a lot of Chargers players were angry this week because coach Marty Schottenheimer tore into them on Wednesday in front of the media.

Kornholio already is trying to convince folks that Monday night's game is over, before it even begins.

Ron Jaworski says that the Fins made a mistake by putting QB Daunte Culpepper on the field before he was healthy (but not as bad as the mistake Jaws makes every day when he puts those glasses on his head).

Bob Holtzman of ESPN reports that Falcons coach Jim Mora didn't appreciate the flippant remark made by Giants special teamer David Tyree regarding his performance as Mike Vick on the Giants' scout team.

POSTED 9:41 a.m. EDT, October 15, 2006

PORTER SUSPENSION LIKELY TO DRAW GRIEVANCE

The decision of the Oakland Raiders to suspend receiver Jerry Porter for four games without pay following four games in which Porter was deactivated with pay most likely will draw a grievance from Porter and the NFLPA.

And not just because Porter reportedly was suspended for making an off-hand remark at the conclusion of a practice that lasted more than two hours.

The extension to the Collective Bargaining Agreement (which still hasn't been reduced to a new, integrated document) restricts the ability of a team to deactivate a player for disciplinary reasons, even if the player is still getting paid.

The "Term Sheet" specifically states that the "[m]aximum discipline of suspension without pay up to four weeks to apply to club decision to 'deactivate' a player for disciplinary reasons (i.e., reversal of TO decision)."

In this case, Porter was deactivated for four games to open the season, and it undoubtedly wasn't due to skill or injury. Instead, the events came after Porter demanded a trade, wore a T-shirt to practice with the image of a hand giving the middle finger, and parked his car in the private space of owner Al Davis.

So with Porter already deactivated for disciplinary reasons for four games, Porter and the NFLPA likely were poised to file a grievance requesting Porter's outright release if he were to be deactivated with pay for a fifth straight game to open the season.

Thus, the Raiders by all appearances have taken the impasse to another level, imposing a four-game suspension without pay on Porter for alleged conduct detrimental to the team. The primary battleground for the grievance will be whether the penalty was too harsh, and whether Porter should be paid for one or more of the additional games he missed.

As we learned in connection with last season's T.O. fiasco, the discipline imposed on the player must be consistent with discipline imposed on other players who have engaged in similar conduct. In T.O.'s case, his conduct was unique and unprecedented within the Eagles organization. In Porter's case, there are plenty of other bellyaching Silver-and-Black-ers who haven't been suspended for four games.

For example, Randy Moss has been sounding off regularly regarding the team, beginning with a bizarre "walking on eggshells" remark two days before the season started and culminating most recently with statements suggesting that he's not taking football seriously and that he wants out of Oakland.

Also, a report from Nancy Gay and David White of the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday's incident that got Porter suspended indicates that Porter wasn't the only guy complaining.

But we suspect that the NFLPA will attack both the suspension and the deactivations, arguing that the Raiders have pulled a reverse T.O., sitting him with pay for four games before suspending him for four games without pay. And since the Term Sheet is expressly intended to overturn the T.O. decision, which allowed the Eagles to put him on ice for the balance of the season after serving a four-game suspension with pay, we wouldn't be surprised at all if an arbitrator finds that the Raiders are required to release Porter.

The move by the Raiders also might be an effort to squeeze Porter into paying back a big chunk of his signing bonus (the team reportedly wants $4 million) so that he can be traded. Though there's no evidence that Porter's reluctance to pay back that much money is the only thing preventing a potential deal from getting done, the reality is that, if he wants to get out of Oakland and play for someone else in the next four weeks, he needs to work out a comprehensive resolution to all issues between himself and the team.

Regardless of where the process goes from here, there's no denying that both the team and the player are at fault on this one. The organization, which was in a pretty good position to know that Porter is just another pass-catching prima donna, nevertheless gave him an eight-figure signing bonus only days before trading for Randy Moss. From Porter's perspective, he gladly took the money -- but he's shown little gratitude for it, focusing more on getting out of town than on helping his team.

POSTED 8:07 a.m. EDT, October 14, 2006

OWENS WON'T TALK TO HALEY

Although some Cowboys fans are trying to downplay reports of the Wednesday blowup between receiver Terrell Owens and receivers coach Todd Haley by pointing out that arguments between players and coaches are common, T.O. took the thing a step farther by using his weekly radio hour with his newest enabler, Dan LeBa(s)tard, to piss and moan about the situation.

Owens said during his Friday night appearance on 790 The Ticket in Miami that "there will be nothing else, no dialogue" between him and Haley.

"There will be no more friendly nothing because I don't trust anybody like that," Owens said. "I will go out and practice hard. I will respect him as a coach, and he should respect me as a player. Anything outside of that I am not going to be able to deal with. Right now, we are merely co-workers, and that's it."

According to Owens, the problem started when he showed up late to the practice field on Wednesday because he had some sort of a stomach problem. "By the time I step on the field, Todd starts cursing at me, this and that, and I'm like, 'Dude, I was in the restroom,"' Owens said. "He said, 'I don't [care] what you were doing. Everybody else is out here.'"

Later, they got into an argument during a meeting. "I was venting, he was venting," Owens said. "I felt it stayed behind closed doors."

And that seems to be Owens' biggest beef with the situation -- his assumption that ESPN's Ed Werder got his information about the incident from Haley. Even if it was Haley who blabbed (and not, for example, someone who overheard the two men shouting at each other), isn't it a little odd that Owens would get on his high horse because he thinks his position coach told someone that Owens yelled at him?

One thing that the modern player seems to have forgotten is that coaches and players aren't equals in the overall hierarchy of a team. The coaches, even when earning a fraction of the "reasons to live" that the player is paid, are still entitled to respect and, more importantly, deference from the players on the team.

So when Owens shows up late, Haley has the right to give him grief about it. Especially since Haley is sure to catch hell from his boss, Bill Parcells, about the fact that Haley doesn't have his guys on the field on time. And it's Owens' job in those circumstances to take the heat and move on.

Instead, it's another explanation ("I had to poopy") coupled with a failure to accept responsibility for his actions ("I was frustrated") and blame hurled at another ("Haley told someone else that I yelled at him"). It's the same tired formula that Owens applies whenever he finds himself in some type of controversy.

And he always caps off the process by talking about the whole thing somewhere, somehow.

Our current assessent of the situation is that Owens is making himself look like a bigger fool every time he opens his mouth, and the Cowboys' failure to take any action about it is in turn making owner Jerry Jones and coach Bill Parcells look like complete and total nincompoops, too.

JOHNSON'S NECK INJURY TRACES TO BAD FUNDAMENTALS?

A reader who viewed the video of Antrel Rolle's "grabbed and pulled and hurt my neck in 2006" routine on Larry Johnson has raised an excellent point with us.

The head-twisting injury that Johnson suffered when Rolle dragged him down from behind by the facemask on his helmet was, indirectly, Johnson's own fault.

How dare we say that? Well, it all comes down to fundamentals. Or, as the case may be, a lack of fundamentals at the highest level of the sport.

The most important function of anyone who carries the ball is to protect it from being taken away by the other team. For a running back who has the ball near a sideline, it's common knowledge that the guy should switch the ball to his outside arm. If he does, and if the ball is then punched out, it's more likely to end up out of bounds before it can be recovered by the other team.

Last week, for example, Eagles running back Brian Westbrook fumbled during the first drive of Philly's game against the Cowboys. He caught the ball near the middle of the field and tucked it into his left arm as he moved for the right sideline. So when the ball came out, it went back toward the middle of the field and was easily recovered by Dallas.

In Johnson's case, he released late from the backfield, caught a screen pass, and sprinted (with an awkward knock-kneed gait) down the left sideline. The ball was in his right arm the entire time.

So when Rolle approached as Johnson began to run out of steam, Johnson didn't have a free inside arm that he could use to try to fight him off.

It's just another reason why guys have got to switch the ball to the outside arm. For plenty of players, it's second nature. For others, it almost never happens. And of all the things that a football player does on the field, we can't think of anything easier to learn.

WEEK SIX FANTASY PICKS AND PUNKS

Another week, another collection of guys we like and guys we don't for the coming slate of games. With a whopping six teams on their annual bye, Charch of Fanball.com helped guide us through the hidden gems and junk for the coming weekend.

First, our picks:

Drew Bledsoe, quarterback, Cowboys: Though we think he should have been benched during or after playing like a "stature" against the Eagles, Drew gets a chance to get right against a very bad defense. The only caveat? If Bledsoe struggles early, it would be a great opportunity to commence the Romo Era.

J.P. Losman, quarterback, Bills: Losman isn't tearing up the league, but he's playing a Detroit defense that's banged up and ineffective.

Maurice Morris, running back, Seahawks: Written off by many after a poor start against the Bears, he's playing a defense that allowed Noah Herron (who?) to gain more than 100 yards last week.

Marion Barber, running back Cowboys: Sure, he's not the No. 1 guy on the Cowboys' depth chart, but he has scored in three straight games and is getting more work at the stripe.

Eric Parker, wide receiver, Chargers: His gradually increasing production peaked last week with five catches for 86 yards against the Steelers. This week, it's the slightly more porous 49ers defense.

Randy McMichael, tight end, Dolphins: McMichael has played well against the Jets in the past, and the switch from Daunte Culpepper to Joey Harrington at quarterback resulted in 84 yards receiving last week against New England, McMichael's best showing of the season.

Now, the punks:

Mike Vick, quarterback, Falcons: He has yet to throw for more than 200 yards this season, and the Giants have allowed only one quarterback rushing touchdown in their last 25 games.

Eli Manning, quarterback, Giants: Eli tends to struggle on the road, and the Falcons have yet to allow a single passing touchdown.

Edgerrin James, running back, Cardinals: With Larry Fitzgerald out, the offensive line a mess, and Edge not breaking 100 yards against five teams that aren't the Bears, don't expect much from him this week.

Frank Gore, running back, 49ers: The NFL's leading rusher faces the top rushing defense, and he yields to Michael Robinson at the goal line.

Tiki Barber, running back, Giants: Another New Yorker who can make it there but nowhere else, Barber has one one touchdown in his last nine road games, and the Falcons are the No. 2 defense against the run.

Hines Ward, receiver, Steelers: Sit this guy down, perhaps for the rest of the season.

Steve Smith, receiver Panthers: Though Smith can't be benched, high expectations aren't justified this weekend at Baltimore.

Heath Miller, tight end, Steelers: This year, the Chiefs have allowed only 37 receiving yards and no touchdowns to opposing tight ends.

KORDOZA LINE UPDATE

It's become a weekly staple of our "there ain't much news on Saturday mornings so we need filler" weekend coverage -- an update of the starting quarterbacks who currently fall on the wrong side of the 70.7 career passer rating of quarterback Kordell Stewart.

Otherwise known as the "Kordoza Line."

Here are the current members of the club: Mike Vick, Falcons (69.8); Charlie Frye, Browns (67.5); Drew Bledsoe, Cowboys (63.6); Jake Plummer, Broncos (60.9); Joey Harrington, Dolphins (58.2); Vince Young, Titans (46.6); Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers (41.7); and Andrew Walter, Raiders (38.5).

Graduating from the list were Tampa's Bruce Gradkowski and Arizona's Matt Leinart. New arrivals include Plummer, Harrington, and Frye.

SATURDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

Eagles RB Brian Westbrook (knee) missed practiced on Friday and remains questionable for Sunday.

Seattle's most recent newcomer at receiver will start in front of Seattle's second most recent newcomer at receiver.

Cardinals CB Antrel Rolle isn't talking to the media. (Man, what will the media ever do without him?)

The Packers coaching staff knows that Lord Favre would never allow the team to bench him in order to see whether Aaron Rodgers can play.

The "blame it on the receivers" campaign is in full gear in Pittsburgh.

The foot of Steelers G Kendall Simmons has something in common with the head of Ted Williams.

Redskins CB Shawn Springs might finally get back to the field.

Rams K Jeff Wilkins is on pace to kick 58 field goals, only 18 more than the single-season record.

Another day, another NFL player who thinks what he did three years ago actually means something now.

Says Raiders DT Warren Sapp regarding teammate Randy Moss: "I have no idea what Randy's got going."

For all of the latest NFL news and information, check out the exclusive PFT Fantasy Mill, powered by Fanball.com.

POSTED 4:59 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 8:35 p.m. EDT, October 13, 2006

T.O., POSITION COACH ARGUED ON WEDNESDAY

In a development that conjures memories of his Philly brouhaha with former Eagles offensive coordinator Brad Childress, receiver Terrell Owens recently got into a "heated argument" with Cowboys receivers coach Todd Haley.

The report, from ESPN's Ed Werder, is light on details but heavy in significance, in our view. On Wednesday, Owens and Haley ended a meeting by shouting "don't disrespect me like that" to each other.

Werder reports that, despite the outburst, Owens will play on Sunday and will be a major part of the team's game plan on offense. In contrast, Owens' August 2005 episode with Childress got him a one-week vacation from training camp.

The real question, as we see it, is how much coach Bill Parcells and owner Jerry Jones will endure?

Based on recent comments to Michael Silver of Sports Illustrated, Jones seems to revel in having high-profile players in Dallas, even if they're turds. Still, no one benefits from an atmosphere in which players can engage in such belligerent acts with members of the coaching staff. At some point, Jones will look like a bigger buffoon for keeping Owens than he would if he decides to cut Owens loose with 40 percent of his reasons to be alive in his pockets.

Previously, Haley's biggest claim to fame was that Parcells shoved him during a game, as Haley was attempting to argue with an official. Lately, Haley has served as the buffer between Owens and Parcells.

At some point, Parcells will risk tarnishing his legacy if he doesn't do something about Owens. There have been suggestions that Parcells most recent contract extension included an extra $2 million as an inducement to put up with Owens.

Still, every man has his limits. And $2 million isn't nearly enough, in our view, to persuade Parcells to allow himself to be made to look impotent when it comes to running his team. At a certain point, the Tuna needs to give Jones his whistle and say, "Here, Mr. Cowboy, you deal with the guy. I'm too old for this sh-t."

FRIDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

Seahawks WR Bobby Engram is out indefinitely with a thyroid condition.

The Titans have placed TE Erron Kinney on IR with a knee injury.

Titans RB LenDale White (flu) will make the trip to Washington but might not play.

Bengals QB Anthony Wright (appendectomy) will miss Sunday's game, and possibly more.

Rams coach Scott Linehan is doing his best Lou Holtz impression (without, we assume, talking like Sylvester the Cat).

Former Falcons OT Bob Whitfield is still pissed off at Falcons G.M. Rich McKay.

The Cowboys have waived S Marcus Coleman, who had come off of a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Left tackles are finally getting some attention to go along with all that money.

Cars parking at Arrowhead Stadium will pay an extra $3.50 per vehicle to help fund renovations.

Steelers LB Joey Porter (hamstring) won't play on Sunday.

Cards QB Kurt (sniff) Warner (honk) says that the criticism he has (sniff) faced makes retirement a greater (fart) possibility.

Did the Colts quit paying DT Corey Simon simply because they felt like it?

The promotion of WR Devale Ellis to the Lions' 53-man roster could mean even less opportunities for Mike Williams.

Former Seahawks LB Isaiah Kacyvenski is spilling his guts to the Rams.

As of Friday morning, no one had called the Raiders about a trade for WR Randy Moss.

Rams DT Claude Wroten has a sack dance ready if/when he ever gets one. (Maybe he'll pretend to roll a doobie?)

Packers LB Nick Barnett is selling his Green Bay nightclub but he insists he's not looking to leave.

POSTED 11:34 a.m. EDT, October 13, 2006

CARDS START SPENDING CAP ROOM

The Arizona Cardinals have commenced the process of burning up cap room by signing defensive tackle Darnell Dockett to a five-year extension with $7 million in bonuses paid between now and March 2007. Per a league source, the contract has recently been completed and will be formally announced in the near future.

In order to chew up some remaining 2006 cap space, Dockett gets a roster bonus of $3.5 million within the next few days. He gets another $3.5 million roster bonus on the first day of the 2007 league year.

Under the new contract, Dockett also is scheduled to receive salaries of $510,000 in 2007, $3.25 million in 2008, $3.5 million in 2009, $3.75 million in 2010, and $4 million in 2011. His salary for 2006 of $425,000 is unchanged by the new contract.

The total value of the contract is $22 million over five years.

Dockett was a third-round draft pick of the Cardinals in 2004. He signed a three-year rookie contract, and would have been a restricted free agent in March. Assuming that the Cardinals would have given him the first-round tender of $1.8 million, which would have required a new team signing him to a long-term deal to give up a first-round draft pick in exchange, Dockett's deal is worth $20.2 million over five years in additional money.

We're also hearing that the Cardinals are in the process of extending more of their current players, in an effort to use up their current cap space. Under the new CBA, both the salary cap and the salary floor have gone up considerably, and past published reports have indicated that the Cardinals will have a huge cap surplus for 2007.

POSTED 9:26 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 10:00 a.m. EDT, October 13, 2006

PROPOSAL TO MOVE TRADE DEADLINE GATHERING SOME STEAM

A league source tells us that our proposal regarding a change in the rules regarding the trading deadline has quickly gained some footing. Whether it results in an adjustment to the current mid-October expiration date remains to be seen.

The problem, as we explained on Thursday, is that no one has championed the cause at the various meetings at which such matters are discussed. Usually, rules changes occur because someone has pushed aggressively for the move, often over a course of years.

And, typically, the team advocating modification is hoping in some way to better its own position.

For example, the Chiefs, who have narrowly missed the playoffs on several occasions this decade, have become proponents of expanding the playoff field. To date, the move has not passed. (If it ever does, it likely would be in conjunction with a new round of broadcast rights contracts, since the NFL would be able to leverage the extra postseason games into even more money from the networks -- unless, of course, the league decides to air the additional playoff games on NFLN.)

Likewise, the Colts are thought to be responsible for driving the renewed emphasis on the rules regarding illegal contact with receivers after what the Colts regarded as a repeated mugging of their pass-catchers by the Pats in an AFC playoff game.

As to the postponement of the trading deadline, there's no specific team that would gain an actual or perceived advantage, so as a practical matter there's no specific team that would be willing to expend any political capital by pushing the thing. Instead, this specific rule falls into the "for the good of the game" category, and it's something that the owners need to conclude makes sense absent someone with an agenda trying to persuade them to do so.

POISON PILL STAYS PUT

John Clayton of ESPN.com reports (via the pay-only Insider service) that negotiations between the NFL and the NFLPA to remove the "poison pill" loophole from the CBA have been unsuccessful.

As a result, teams will retain the right to include within offer sheets terms such as those utilized by the Vikings and the Seahawks in a tit-for-tat raid on otherwise restricted players during the offseason.

The Seahawks had placed the "transition" tag on guard Steve Hutchinson, which gave them the ability to match any offers made to the otherwise unrestricted free agent. In the past, the thinking was that it made no sense to try to sign guys wearing the transition tag, because in most cases the current team would merely match the terms of the offer sheet.

But the Vikings thought outside of the box on this one. Although an offer sheet can't require the current team to pay the player more than he would receive if the offer sheet isn't matched, there's nothing in the CBA that precludes the terms of the offer sheet from becoming fully guaranteed if the current team matches the deal, but not fully guaranteed if the new team gets the guy.

The Vikes pulled it off by including in Hutchinson's offer sheet a provision that made the entire seven-year, $49 million contract fully guaranteed if he wasn't the highest paid offensive lineman on the team. In Seattle, he wasn't; in Minnesota, he was (and, even after the contract extension signed by left tackle Bryant McKinnie, still is). A grievance followed, along with a clumsy, eleventh-hour effort by the Seahawks to reduce the average value of left tackle Walter Jones' contract. In the end, the Vikings' move was upheld.

The Seahawks returned the favor by extending an offer sheet to receiver Nate Burleson that pushed the envelope even farther, making the contract fully guaranteed if Burleson played at least five home games in the state of Minnesota. The Vikings opted not to match, and received a third-round draft choice in exchange.

At subsequent league meetings, all parties received a dressing down for failing to work and play well with others. And it's our understanding that the teams generally were told not to try to pull any more of this stuff moving forward.

The problem, however, is that the 32 teams can't agree among themselves to not take advantage of a rule that otherwise would promote player movement. Such an informal understanding amounts to collusion.

We'd previously reported that talks regarding the removal of the poison pill loophole would have resulted in a spike in the restricted free agent tenders. Regardless of what the trade-off would have been, the league determined that the price tag was too high.

Though we suspect that the union will be monitoring future developments very carefully in order to determine whether collusion is occurring, the practical consequence is that no one will use the transition tag (especially since the transition tenders are now fully guaranteed if signed) and that more and more teams will insist on all draft picks signing four-year contracts, which prevents them from ever becoming restricted free agents.

As to any current players with rookie deals of three years in length, they'll likely get higher restricted free agent tenders from their original teams in an effort to preclude a poison pill power play. For example, Falcons quarterback Matt Schaub -- arguably the crown jewel of the 2007 restricted free agency class -- will most likely be tendered at the highest possible level, which will give the Falcons a first-round pick and a third-round pick as compensation if they don't match the offer sheet that Schaub signs, which based on the poison pill rule should include a term that says that the deal is fully guaranteed if he's not the highest-paid quarterback on the roster and/or if he plays at least five games in the state of Georgia. (And/or if the owner of his team has a porn-star moustache. And/or if the coach of his team had his eyebrows burned off in an oven-cleaning accident.)

Since such terms make it much harder for a team to justify matching the offer sheet, look for the NFLPA to balk if any offer sheet in the future doesn't contain such a provision.

In our opinion, the poison pill makes a mockery of the process, and it's not a term that the union specifically sought or engineered as part of the collective bargaining process. But now that the Vikings and Seahawks have discovered it, the only way to get rid of it is for the league to make a concession to the union.

As practical matter, however, the refusal of the NFLPA to give up the poison pill likely guarantees that incoming rookies will be "forced" (as Jason Chayut might say) to sign four-year deals, since that's the only way to avoid losing them via restricted free agency. And for guys like Matt Schaub, the difference in fourth-year pay without a shot at restricted free agency could be very significant.

Finally, we've got a feeling that some of the teams would have appreciated knowing that the poison pill was here to stay when negotiating with its 2006 draft class. A total of 65 players drafted in rounds three through seven signed only three-year contracts; if the teams had known that it would now be much harder to retain their rights as restricted free agents, that number surely would have been a lot smaller.

SPRINT NFL FAN DAYS CONTINUE

Sprint, the primary sponsor of this here site, has extended its NFL Fan Day promotion, through October. So today, and on every other Friday this month, customers in selected areas can obtain a $50 service credit on a voice plan when activating a Sprint phone. Fans also can take advantage of exclusive NFL-themed offers.

Sprint NFL Fan Days are available at Sprint stores, Sprint-branded authorized retailers, and Sprint kiosks in the following markets: all NFL cities; Los Angeles; Columbus, Ohio; Louisville/Lexington, Kentucky; Evansville, Indiana; Youngstown, Ohio; Canton/Akron, Ohio; Providence, Rhode Island; Western Michigan; Northern New Jersey; Central New Jersey; Long Island; Southern and Northern Connecticut.

For October, the program has been expanded to include Sprint stores, Sprint-branded authorized retailers, and Sprint kiosks in Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, Austin (Texas), San Antonio, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Orlando, and Birmingham (Alabama).

Dante hopes to eventually visit Sprint Stores in each of the cities from the above list that he has in some way denigrated during a PFT PodCast, so that he can be beaten with a shoe. But, unfortunately, there aren't enough Fridays in October. Or November. Or December.

ANTREL'S BANKROLL A LITTLE LIGHTER

Jay Glazer of FSN's Pro Football Preview reports that the NFL has fined Cardinals cornerback Antrel Rolle $12,500 for a wicked facemask tackle of Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, which nearly enabled Johnson to reprise one of the most compelling scenes from The Exorcist. (This is the closest thing we could find to it on YouTube.)

On the play, Johnson was running toward the end zone when Rolle grabbed the mask and dragged him down, without releasing it. YouTube has some video of the play.

In our view, the stiff fine was imposed to prevent defensive players from using a similar move as a strategic means for breaking up a touchdown. Like a badly burned corner who lunges at a wide-open receiver in order to prevent him from catching the ball and then running untouched to paydirt, there's no real downside to doing whatever it takes to stop a guy who otherwise is going to score -- especially when the penalty is, due to the "half-the-distance" rule, only a few extra yards beyond the spot of the tackle.

POSTED 9:46 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 11:17 p.m. EDT, October 12, 2006

STEELERS INTERESTED IN PORTER, MOSS

A league source tells us that the Pittsburgh Steelers are interested in trading for Raiders receivers Jerry Porter and Randy Moss.

We're told that the Steelers prefer Porter, primarily because he would come with a lower salary and less of a media circus.

Due to a contract that was heavy on bonus money, Porter's salary is only $1 million per year through 2009. Published reports indicate that the Raiders want Porter to refund $4 million of his eight-figure signing bonus in exchange for his freedom.

Moss is signed through 2008, at salaries of $9.75 million and $11.25 million, respectively, in each of the next two seasons.

Per the source, the Steelers believe that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's poor start has more to do with a less-than-impressive receiving corps than his June 12 trampoline routine off of a Chrysler. Hines Ward has a bad hamstring, Santurdio is inexperienced, Nate Washington is still growing into his role, and Cedrick Wilson is regarded within the building as soft.

So can a trade go down by the league's October 17 deadline? A lot would have to happen. But with the Steelers interested in either guy, they might be in the best position to get one of them.

And although the prevailing thinking is that any deal would involve one or more draft picks flowing out of Pittsburgh, we wouldn't be surprised to hear the name "Joey Porter" arise in any eventual trade talks. Porter has been unhappy with his salary, and there's a growing school of thought that Porter's desire to get paid has prompted him to abandon any genuine efforts to be a team leader.

THURSDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

The Steelers have re-signed LB Chad Brown. (Brown spurned a chance to join the Steelers in 2005 because he thought he had a better shot at winning a Super Bowl with the Patriots. "Doh!" Brown said on several occasions in January and February.)

Eagles RB Brian Westbrook (knee) hopes to play on Sunday against the Saints.

The Bills have cut S Troy Vincent, but are still on the hook for the balance of his $2.6 million salary, even if he signs with someone else. (Though Vincent is bitching about the move, the Bills did him a favor by cutting him now; if they'd dumped him next Wednesday or later, he would have had to pass through waivers -- and could have been claimed by, say, the Raiders or the Titans.)

Chiefs WR/KR Dante Hall (hip) might not be able to play on Sunday against the Steelers.

Does anyone else see the irony that two of the most important games in college football will be played this year at a stadium named for a "school" that the bricks-and-mortar universities regard with contempt?

The Pats have signed C Dan Koppen to a five-year extension.

All games are sold out for a record six straight weeks; homeowners in Detroit are making plans to watch three hours of the Weather Channel.

Bengals (West) LB Steve Foley has been charged with DUI.

A contract extension has been given to a guy who should be spending some of the money on shortening his name.

Big Ben says that, in his mind, the Steelers are 0-0. (But, of course, is his mind the Povertyneck Hillbillies also don't completely suck.)

Giants receiver Michael Jennings and special-teamer David Tyree are pretending to be Mike Vick in practice this week; QB Jared Lorenzen asked Tyree if he can throw and Tyree said, "As good as Mike Vick."

Fins QB Daunte Culpepper wants to "play like Daunte Culpepper." (Dude, you should aim a little higher than that.)

Pats DT Vince Wilfork thinks that his best stat is that the team hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher; "Here in New England, we two-gap," Wilfork said. "To play here, you have to be a man." (Suzy Kolber says, "Where do I sign up?")

The Cardinals are open to the possibility of trading OL Leonard Davis. (That makes a lot of sense -- trading away an offensive lineman; that'll open more holes for Edgerrin James.)

POSTED 7:31 p.m. EDT, October 12, 2006

WARNER WOULD OWE $2 MILLION

A league source tells us that, if Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner makes good on his current musing that he might retire after the 2006 season because (sniff) he's no longer the starting quarterback in Arizona, he'll likely owe the team $2 million.

The figure is based on the $3 million signing bonus Warner received as part of the three-year contract he signed in the offseason, as well as the presumption that the contract contains language requiring him to refund the balance of the unallocated portion of the signing bonus if he voluntarily retires before the expiration of the deal.

And the more we think about Warner's comments, the more we believe he's sounding off merely because he's unhappy that he was sent to the bench. Even if he'd started every game this season, the Cardinals were 99.99 percent certain to make Matt Leinart the starter in 2007. So why wasn't Warner making noise about retiring then?

Here's why, in our view. He's happy as long as he's "the guy"; when he's demoted into a subordinate role, issues that weren't issues suddenly become issues. So please pass Kurt the tissues.

POSTED 4:08 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 4:28 p.m. EDT, October 12, 2006

CARTHON IN HOT WATER

Over the past several weeks, we've been pestering a league source with knowledge of the current dynamics in Cleveland regarding scattered rumors we've heard that Browns offensive coordinator Maurice Carthon is in danger of getting poop-canned.

Previously, the source told us that the rumors were unfounded. The source now tells us that there is a "big push" within the organization to dump Carthon if the unit performs badly when the Browns return from the bye week with an October 22 home game against the Broncos.

One of the real-world factors working against a termination of Carthon is that, because he was hired by head coach Romeo Crennel after Crennel got the gig in early 2005, a relatively quick decision that Carthon can't cut it would be an admission that Crennel made a bad decision.

Sooner or later, however, the chronic ineptitude of the team requires some action to be taken, or Crennel (and others, such as G.M. Phil Savage) could find himself in jeopardy, too.

The Browns are 31st in the league in total offense, leading only the Raiders. Cleveland is averaging 261.2 yards per game.

KURT BOO-HOOS ABOUT BENCHING

Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner doesn't like the fact that he's been benched (again). So now he might just decide to pack it in after the 2006 season.

"How can you not [think about retiring]?" Warner said on Wednesday.

You might want to think it through very carefully, Kurt. You received a signing bonus as part of that three-year deal you signed earlier this year, and voluntary retirement is one of the few remaining ways that a team can force a guy to pay back the unallocated portion of the advance payment for future services.

Besides, where else can a pro athlete earn a couple million bucks a year to hold a clipboard and to be merely "ready" to play? Guys like Randall Cunningham milked it for every penny, and guys like Kordell Stewart would love to be someone's No. 3.

But Warner recently told Sports Illustrated: "I really don't know if I could be comfortable as a backup quarterback or if I'd go crazy in that role."

In our opinion, it's just Kurt's way of being a turd without really being a turd. He never crosses the line, but whenever things aren't going his way he finds something to cry about.

Here's our suggestion, Kurt -- cry to Yoko.

POSTED 9:04 a.m. EDT, October 12, 2006

NFL NEEDS TO MOVE BACK TRADE DEADLINE

It's a common theme that we mention almost every year at this time, and since we need a good lead for the morning update today's a good day to throw it out there once again.

The NFL trading deadline comes too early in the year.

Next Tuesday, October 17, NFL teams must finalize any deals that would send one or more players and/or one or more draft picks to a new team in exchange for one or more players and/or one or more draft picks. The problem is that, with teams only having five or six games in the books, no one (except maybe the Raiders and the Lions) can risk making the kind of move that would send a big-name player to a new team in exchange for some high-round draft picks in April.

Yeah, the Bucs are 0-4. But so were the Chargers in 1992. And they made it to the playoffs.

And the Dolphins, Browns, and Cardinals are 1-4. But so were the Packers in 2004, the Jets and the Titans in 2002, and the pre-Titans in 1993. And all made the playoffs.

So why would a team like Tampa consider, for example, a trade of Joey Galloway to a team like the Patriots? The message to the ticket-and-jersey-buying fan base would be "Okay, folks -- we're folding up the tents for this season. See you next year."

But, as one league source explained to us earlier in the week, trades can be spun in different ways. If, for example, the Raiders were able to move receiver Randy Moss for a first-round draft pick when, in reality, his long-term future with the team is clearly in doubt, it will help the franchise to build for the future.

For teams in the thick of things for a division title, the options are grossly limited if a key injury arises in mid-October or thereafter. What if, for example, the Saints lose Drew Brees to an ACL in the first game after the trading deadline? They'd surely be interested in adding a veteran quarterback, preferably one who can help them to, you know, keep winning games. And with Kurt Warner now rotting on the bench in Arizona, maybe Dennis Green would decide to dangle him for a third-round draft pick. Or an offensive lineman. (Or five of them.)

Although many agree that moving back the deadline a month or so would be a good idea, it's our understanding that none of the 32 teams has ever taken up the cause. Every year, for example, the Chiefs can be counted on to push to expand the playoff field. Unless and until someone brings the concept of moving the trade deadline to the table before the Competition Committee or at an owner's meeting, it won't be acted upon.

We can't think of any strong arguments for keeping the deadline where it is. Some teams might fear that they would be "ganged up on" by collusive deals. But we doubt that teams would give players away simply as a favor to another franchise, especially when the local media would be prepared to roll out the big guns if/when there ever was a perception that the home team was engaged in a fire sale. The fact that there's a higher-than-ever salary cap -- and a higher-than-ever salary floor -- makes it even harder for a team to simply dump salaries, and it thus makes inequitable trades even less likely.

And unlike baseball, where a big bat picked up for the stretch run can make a huge difference, a new player on a football team can only do so much. It's already a major challenge to get a guy up to speed with the benefit of a full offseason of minicamps, training camps, and exhibition games. So the later in the year a new guy joins the team, the less likely it will be that he'll have a significant impact.

We're not saying the deadline should be moved into December. At some point, a team has to go forward with the guys it currently has, plus any free agents who are still on the shelf. But with so few teams in a position by the middle of October to conclude that the time has reasonably come to get value now for a guy who'll be a free agent after the season, it makes sense to give every team the ability, if two or more of them so choose, to swap property a month or so longer than they currently can.

FEW TEARS SHED FOR DALTON

The slurp job that ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli performed on former Chiefs defensive tackle Lional Dalton has prompted several of our readers to question whether Dalton is represented by Len's bestest buddy, Joel Segal. (Actually, Dalton is represented by Rick Smith, who isn't generally regarded as a member of the Pasquarelli pack.)

But despite Len's explanation that Dalton didn't fit into the Herm Edwards "one-gap" defensive scheme and the suggestion that Dalton will be a "hot property" on the market, the chatter we're hearing out of Kansas City is that some teammates regarded Dalton as a royal pain in the butt.

Moreover, coach Herm Edwards said in August that new players wouldn't be necessary as the team moves from a two-gap to a one-gap system. And we're not so sure that Dalton isn't a fit for a one-gap system, since the team actually used a one-gap system in 2004, the season in which Dalton first joined the team.

For those of you out there who glaze over when the terms "one-gap" or "two-gap" are used, it has nothing to do with Michael Strahan's teeth. Instead, it refers to the number of gaps in the offensive line for which the linemen are responsible. For example, a nose tackle in a two-gap system lines up hat-to-hat with the center, and is responsible for the space between the center and the left guard, and the center and the right guard. In a one-gap system, the defenders have only one opening in the line for which they are responsible, and the linemen usually put their bodies in that space prior to the snap.

With that said, we're not saying that Dalton won't find a home. But given that he was playing for the ninth-year minimum salary ($710,000), it's a safe bet that the Chiefs tried to trade him before cutting him loose. And if there were multiple teams interested in the guy, we have a feeling that someone would have offered up, say, a seventh-round draft pick in order to get dibs on him.

POSTED 9:08 p.m. EDT, October 11, 2006

T.O. REITERATES: "WHY AM I HERE?"

Rather than denying or avoiding questions regarding whether he declared "Why am I here?" during and after the Cowboys 38-24 loss to the Eagles on Sunday, receiver Terrell Owens acknowledges that he uttered those words -- by uttering them again.

He's specifically troubled, he says, by the team's 2-2 record and his relatively small role in the offense.

"I do have a problem when I don't feel like I'm involved enough," he said. "I know I can make a difference. That's not me being arrogant. I just know what I bring to the table. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here. . . . I want to win. I came here to help this team win."

And did we mention he's frustrated?

"It's frustrating. It's frustrating just to go [through] what I have been going through since training camp. I've had the hamstring. Then I break my hand. Then I go to the hospital. Then personal stuff.

"My way of venting is going out there on Sunday, trying to win ballgames. Now it's added frustration, especially when I know we have a good team. And the team we lost to, they know they should have lost. We made too many mistakes to win. We are stopping ourselves."

POSTED 6:40 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 8:47 p.m. EDT, October 11, 2006

CAVITY SAM DONE FOR THE YEAR

Broncos defensive end Courtney "Cavity Sam" Brown, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2000 draft whose career has been marred by injuries, is out for the 2006 season due to a knee injury that will require surgery. Brown was inactive for the team's first four games, and on Wednesday was placed on injured reserve.

Brown will be replaced on the roster by Kenny Peterson, who was signed by the team on Wednesday.

Despite missing lots of time during his first five NFL seasons with the Browns, Brown played in 14 games last year, his first in Denver.

MID-WEEK INJURY UPDATE

Here's a quick peek at the key players who might not be playing this week.

OUT: Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams (ankle); Raiders QB Aaron Brooks (shoulder); Titans WR David Givens (hand)

DOUBTFUL: Eagles WR Donte' Stallworth (hamstring); Giants WR Sinorice Moss (quadricep); Dolphins WR Marty Booker (chest); Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald (hamstring).

QUESTIONABLE: Eagles RB Brian Westbrook (knee); Steelers LB Joey Porter (hamstring); Seahawks WR Bobby Engram (illness); Falcons RB Jerious Norwood (shoulder); Bills CB Nate Clements (quadricep); Bucs DE Simeon Rice (shoulder); Titans WR Drew Bennett (ankle); Titans RB LenDale White (stomach); Redskins CB Shawn Springs (groin); Jets WR Laveranues Coles (calf).

Also, Chiefs RB Larry Johnson is probable with a neck injury, despite being nearly decapitated by an Antrel Rolle facemask grab.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

God is taking His old sweet time in healing RB Shaun Alexander.

Fins QB Daunte Culpepper apparently has realized that it's not a good idea to knock nuts with the Nicktator.

Jets coach Eric Mangini says that there's no timetable for the return of RB Curtis Martin (oh yeah there is -- it'll happen at the same time Napolian apologizes for roughing up a team employee).

Colts QB Peyton Manning has missed the first practice of his NFL career.

Farewell again, Hamburglar.

Lions OL Damien Woody is out for the season with a foot injury.

Falcons DE John Abraham (groin) hopes to play for the first time since Week One.

Brothers Thomas and Julius Jones have the exact same rushing yards -- 388.

49ers RB Frank Gore, Eagles WR Lito Sheppard, and Saints RB/KR Reggie Bush are the NFC Offensive, Defensive, and Special Teams POWs.

In the AFC, it's Chiefs QB Damon Huard, Chargers DT Jamal Williams, and Chiefs K Lawrence Tynes.

There has yet to be a single blackout through five weeks of the NFL season -- it's the first time in any season with five total blackout-free weekends.

If the Tuna beats the Texans on Sunday, he'll join Tony Dungy and Coach Kevlar as the only coaches to have defeated each of the 32 NFL franchises.

Great point from NFLN's Adam Schefter -- the Titans aren't likely to trade RB Chris Brown because they'll likely get a better compensatory draft pick if he leaves via free agency than they'd get by dealing him.

Cards QB Matt Leinart is looking forward to his first start on Monday night (he might feel differently once the game against the Bears actually begins).

The Tuna hasn't decided between Patrick Watkins and Keith Davis at free safety.

In case you're wondering, someone has compiled a list of athletes who met their doom in plane crashes.

Here's a shock -- guys who need to go to the ER are inclined to wait until after the game is over.

Chargers LB Steve Foley still isn't able to walk.

We'd pay good money to watch Randy Moss use his face to beat the hell out of Howie Long's fists.

Jerome Bettis offered up this gem regarding Sunday night's "when does flexible scheduling start?" matchup involving the Raiders: "Really, this is their time and if they are going to have a time, it's going to be now." (Jerome, it's really not too late to come out of retirement.)

POSTED 3:45 p.m. EDT, October 11, 2006

MORGAN'S PANTHER DAYS DONE?

The Associated Press reports that Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan won't play again in 2006, due to his most recent concussion.

"He did meet with the medical people and they felt it was in his best interest not to play the remainder of the season," coach John Fox said Wednesday, confirming in a roundabout way our report from Tuesday night that Morgan was likely headed to injured reserve after being advised by a specialist not to return in the near future.

Moving forward, the question becomes whether Morgan will ever play again for the Panthers. A league source tells us that Morgan is due to receive a $2 million roster bonus on the first day of the 2007 league year. Under his current contract, Morgan also is scheduled to earn $500,000 upon reporting to training camp and a 2007 base salary of $750,000.

Future salaries under the contract are as follows: $2.85 million in 2008; $4.25 million in 2009; and 5.38 million in 2010.

Morgan was the eleventh overall selection in the 2001 draft. He reportedly has suffered four concussions in the NFL, and one in college.

POSTED 6:31 a.m. EDT, October 11, 2006

BILL FORD JR. CAN'T GET TO MILLEN

We've gathered some more information regarding rumors making their way around the league that Lions CEO Matt Millen will soon get the boot, and we're hearing that, although Bill Ford Jr. is putting out the word that he doesn't care for Millen and would like to get rid of him, Ford Jr.'s father "loves" Millen and will not get rid of him this season.

As one source told us, William Clay Ford Sr. possibly would make a change in the offseason if the Lions were to go 0-16. But Ford Sr. won't bow to pressure from anyone to get rid of Millen during the season -- especially not from Ford Sr.'s son, who apparently has no influence in the matter, or in any other significant issue relating to the team.

As we see it, it's a Gladiator-style conflict, with the Emperor preferring his general to his son. The perception is that Ford Sr. and Ford Jr. have a strained relationship, and that Millen has forged a strong bond with the dad.

And one thing to keep in mind here is that the Lions are William Clay Ford Sr.'s baby. Regarded as a black sheep of sorts within the Ford family, the son of Edsel Ford got his own thing going many years back when he bought the Lions. Thus, the Lions likely have become part of Ford Sr.'s identity, and it's anticipated that he will not cede any authority over the team to his son while Ford Sr. is alive and competent.

But an increasing number of folks are convinced that Ford Jr.'s first order of business, if his 81-year-old father were to no longer be in charge of the team, would be to dump Millen. So the thinking is that Ford Jr. is doing the next best thing -- undermining Millen by creating the impression that he's a dead man walking.

Meanwhile, we continue to hear that Millen's poor tenure has been influenced by decisions made by Ford Sr., and that Millen has refused to throw Ford Sr. under the minivan by pointing to the owner as, for example, the guy who insisted on drafting Joey Harrington, hiring Marty Morningsomething, and hiring Steve Mariucci. The belief is that, out of either a sense of duty or affection for the old man (or both), Millen has accepted the blame for the moves in stride.

If true, it makes the decision of Ford Sr. to keep Millen even more understandable. But, as we explain in our most recent PFT Ten-Pack, it also reinforces the conclusion that the chronic crappiness of the team traces directly to the extended tenure of Ford Sr. as the owner of the team.

In the end, then, the best thing for Lions fans would be for Ford Jr. to sell the team once he inherits the thing.

POSTED 8:00 p.m. EDT, October 10, 2006

MORGAN HEADED TO IR?

A few days back, we reported that Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan could be headed back to the field following a concussion that has kept him out of action. Morgan's return hinged, as we'd heard, upon a visit with a specialist.

We're now told that Morgan has seen the specialist, and the specialist has advised him to continue to wait.

How long? At this point, the placement of Morgan on the injured reserve list is a distinct possibility.

Stay tuned.

POSTED 2:30 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 2:44 p.m. EDT, October 10, 2006

BRONCOS BOOT SAUERBRUN

The Denver Broncos have welcomed punter Todd Sauerbrun back from his four-game suspension . . . by cutting him.

Sauerbrun's agent, David Canter, told the AP that the team is sticking with Paul Ernster, who has handled the duties in Sauerbrun's absence.

"If it had to do with winning football games, they would've kept him on the roster," Canter said. (We're not quite sure what that means.) "He's one of the best. He's disappointed. He feels he could've been a catalyst on the team."

Sauerbrun's suspension resulted from a positive test for ephedra, a banned supplement intended to accelerate weight loss.

During Monday night's broadcast (which is chronicled via our Live Blog), ESPN's Danny DeTirico suggested that Ernster actually had a chance to keep the job after Sauerbrun returned -- and we dissed him for it.

We apologize to Mr. DeTirico for assuming that he didn't know what in the hell he was talking about. Given the company he keeps, it's easy to understand why we came to that conclusion.

POSTED 11:26 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 12:55 p.m. EDT, October 10, 2006

EDGE SHOULD "SHUT UP"

Folks around the league aren't shedding many/any tears for Cardinals running back Edgerrin James. The former Colt, who grabbed a big-bucks contract from the Arizona "Oh Crap They Just Raised The Salary Floor -- We'd Better Find Someone To Give All This Money To" Cardinals in the offseason, is unhappy with the team's offense, which in his view didn't run the ball enough down the stretch in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs.

Said one source: "Shut the f--k up."

The argument is that Edge knew exactly what he was getting himself into when he jumped to a chronically bad franchise in order to get paid handsomely.

Meanwhile, the Colts are doing pretty well without him. Though Indy isn't exactly lighting up the scoreboard, Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai have done a competent job in James' place.

The point here isn't that James shouldn't have gone for the money. It's that when making a money grab and, in so doing, landing with a team that traditionally enjoys a stress-free January, the guy can't credibly complain that he's on a bad team.

RADIO UPDATE

We forgot to mention on Monday that we'd be on AOL's Sports Bloggers Live; we were sangwiched between baseball Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter and NBA All-Star Tony Parker on the show, which can be heard right here. Also on Monday we did our weekly spot with our paisan Dino Costa in Colorado, and we closed out the day by visiting with our pals Tony Caridi, the excellent WVU radio play-by-play guy, and Travis Jones, the equally excellent WVU stadium P.A. announcer, on the West Virginia Statewide Sportsline.

On Tuesday, it's on to Charlotte for a 2:25 p.m. EDT spot on WFNZ, where we always find a way to goad Mac into playing the "move on or move out" sound bite. At 5:15 p.m. EDT, we visit with the Big Dog Steve Duemig on WDAE in Tampa. At 10:25 p.m. EDT, we'll do our weekly spot with Todd Wright on Sporting News Radio. We'll finish it up at 10:40 p.m. on WIP in Philly with Glen Macnow, if we can get a Ten-Pack written and posted by then. (UPDATE: We've moved the WIP thing to Wednesday night.)

TUESDAY EARLY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams has only a sprained ankle; the injury initially was feared to be more severe.

Vikes coach Brad Childress basically thinks QB Tarvaris Jackson is a wuss.

Redskins RB. T.J. Duckett isn't looking for a trade.

Pats G Stephen Neal says he isn't planning to take up Ultimate Fighting.

Pats QB Tom Brady and QB Matt Cassel are apparently flirting with each other.

Bill Belichick is bitching about the condition of Gillette Field -- but does he secretly want a sloppy surface?

Is the Linc haunted? (Perhaps the spirit that previously inhabited ESPN's Rachel Nichols is residing there. Oh wait, we saw her on TV last night. Maybe it's a different demon.)

Jets defender Eric Barton hadn't heard of the "dip-and-whip"; Marv Albert is stopping by his house tonight to demonstrate.

Bengals S Dexter Jackson could be back this weekend after spraining an ankle in Week Two.

Giants DE Michael Strahan will soon break L.T.'s franchise sack record. (Maybe he can celebrate by canoodling with Lord Favre.)

"I'd better go. Ian is gonna get jealous."

Colts coach Tony Dungy says his run defense has been a little soft.

RB Chris Brown is the odd man out for now in the Titans' backfield rotation.

Bears WR Rashied Davis has been drafted by the New Orleans VooDoo of the Arena League.

Could Browns offensive coordinator Mo Carthon be getting a pink slip?

It's the bye week in Minnesota -- anyone wanna go for a boat ride?

POSTED 8:19 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 9:47 a.m. EDT, October 10, 2006

END IS NEAR FOR MILLEN

There's increasing talk in league circles that the Lions will be firing CEO Matt Millen sooner rather than later.

Millen, who was hired after the 2000 season by the moribund Motown franchise, has been dreadful in his time with the team, presiding over arguably the worst string of first-round picks in NFL history.

In 2002, the Lions took quarterback Joey Harrington with the third pick in the draft. In 2003, Millen and company selected receiver Charles Rogers with the second overall selection. In 2004, the team used the seventh overall choice on receiver Roy Williams. In 2005, the Lions pounced on free-falling receiver Mike Williams.

Of the quartet, only Roy Williams has panned out, but he's hardly a star. Harrington and Rogers are long gone, and Mike Williams looks to be the next man out.

Although Millen apparently has a Waylon Smithers-type hold on 80-something owner William Clay Ford, word is that owner-in-waiting Bill Ford Jr. has turned in his official Matt Millen fan club secret draft bust decoder ring, and that the younger Ford's departure as CEO from the quaint little motor carriage company that bears the family name will give him greater influence over the football team that the Fords gradually have driven into the ground over the years.

The most intriguing aspect of Millen's seemingly inevitable fate is that the guy signed a contract extension that became effective at the end of the 2005 season. As Millen came under heavy fire last year, there were conflicting reports as to whether the extension is guaranteed. At the end of the day, the real story seemed to be that the money is guaranteed, but that Millen wouldn't accept it if he's fired.

Here's hoping that he's reminded of those words when the Turk makes his long overdue visit to Millen's office. The guy already has gotten far more money than he deserves, and it's time for him to go back to the television booth, where he can spend the garbage time of games explaining the bases for the worst string of personnel moves we can ever remember.

MOSS TRADE STILL A POSSIBILITY

Although many things would have to fall into place before Raiders receiver Randy Moss would be traded out of Oakland, it's our understanding that the Raiders aren't dead-set against moving him.

There has been speculation that owner Al Davis might balk at moving Moss out of town, since to do so would be tantamount to letting Moss "get his way."

And it's becoming clearer that Moss wants out. As he said during a weekly FOX Sports Radio segment on Monday, "If they're not going to use me right or if I'm not, depending upon what they want as far as what they're paying me, then trade me or get rid of me at end of [the] season or during the season. It might be good for me to go elsewhere."

There's no indication at this point, however, as to what the Raiders would want for Moss. And the feeling in league circles continues to be that the team is more likely to move disgruntled receiver Jerry Porter before the October 17 trade deadline.

Meanwhile, we've confirmed via various discussions with league insiders that the Chicago Bears would have zero interest in adding Moss, despite the fact that the receiver position is one of their only weaknesses.

And as to the growing throng of Vikings fans hoping for a return of Randy to the Metrodome, don't count on it. The new regime in Minnesota wants nothing to do with Moss. Coach Brad Childress got a belly full of a prima donna wideout in 2005 with T.O., and even though Moss has never been quite as disruptive as Owens, Randy causes just enough problems in a sly, subtle way to make him too much of a potential liability for a team that is trying to set a new tone.

So we continue to believe that the most likely landing spot for Moss, if any, is the Jaguars -- unless Jerry Jones proposes to Bill Parcells a compromise to the T.O. problem that includes dumping Owens and trading for Moss.

We were kidding at first about the Moss-Owens switcheroo, but the more we think about it the more sense it makes.

SABAN FACING MEDIA FEEDING FRENZY?

One of the dynamics on which we're keeping an eye is the extent to which the South Florida media will soon be pouncing on Dolphins coach Nick Saban.

A league insider with knowledge of the situation believes that the beat writers, columnists, and television guys in the Miami area have been waiting patiently for the Saban regime to falter ever since he arrived as head coach and put a vise on access to assistant coaches and other members of the organization. And now that the wheels are starting to come off, there's an expectation that Saban will receive little if any sympathy in the press.

We're also hearing more and more rumblings that the players aren't happy, and that they believe that Saban works them too much like a college team during the season.

The reality is that, while a team is winning, folks won't gripe about that kind of stuff. But with the Fins at 1-4 and fading fast in a season that had sky-high expectations (including a Sports Illustrated Super Bowl prediction), few will be holding their tongues.

TUESDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

Fins coach Nick Saban says that QB Daunte Culpepper will be out until he regains his "explosion"; in response, Culpepper commenced consuming copious quantities of chili.

Jags LB Mike Peterson is out for the year with a torn pectoral muscle.

Bills rookie DT John McCargo has a broken foot.

Cards WR Larry Fitzgerald is out 2-5 weeks with a pulled hamstring; Troy Walters could leapfrog Bryant Johnson into Fitzgerald's starting spot.

Redskins K John Hall is out with a strained groin and thigh.

The Texans have dumped TE Bennie Joppru, a second-round pick in 2003.

Plenty of Lions got busted up in Minnesota on Sunday.

Rams DE Leonard Little has five sacks in five games -- and not a single DUI.

The Broncos have filed a grievance against WR Ashley Lelie for more than $1 million in fines and bonus money, and Lelie has filed a grievance against the Broncos for forcing him to sign a statement acknowledging that he owes the money before he would be traded. (In the document, which was drafted by Coach Kevlar, Lelie also concedes that he is a "poo-poo head.")

Jets coach Eric Mangini says that WR Laveranues Coles got less playing time on Sunday because the team was trying to use all five receivers.

The Tuna isn't making a switch to Tony Romo. Yet.

K-Rob wants the NFL to delay the hearing on his one-year suspension until criminal charges in Minnesota are resolved; curiously, the folks in Washington didn't wait for the charges to be wrapped up before finding that the glug-glug-vroom-vroom incident was a violation of Robinson's probation.

Maybe the U.S. Senate should worry less about NFL revenue sharing and more about the proliferation of criminals in pro football.

Rams defensive coordinator Jim Haslett says that CB Jerametrius Butler isn't in the doghouse.

Raider G Kevin Boothe went to the ER after Sunday's game due to a nose that wouldn't stop bleeding.

POSTED 7:42 p.m. EDT, October 9, 2006

ANOTHER BOLT GETS BUSTED

Earlier today, we thought to ourselves, "You know, PFT, it's been almost a week since an NFL player has been arrested."

Time to re-set the clock to zero.

Chargers cornerback Markus Curry, who was released on September 30 and then signed to the team's practice squad, was arrested Monday on suspicion of domestic violence.

He was arrested on similar charges five years ago, while at the University of Michigan.

To their credit, the Chargers have dumped him. We wonder if they would have done the same if the guy arrested had been Quentin Jammer?

POSTED 2:05 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 2:29 p.m. EDT, October 9, 2006

PATS DO SOME TURD SHUFFLING

The New England Patriots have pulled the plug on the Johnathan Sullivan experiment, according to Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe. Sullivan, a defensive tackle, was the sixth overall selection in the 2003 draft. He came to New England in an offseason trade with the Saints. The Pats gave up underachieving receiver Bethel Johnson in order to get Sullivan, and Johnson was cut by New Orleans before the start of the season.

The Pats replaced Sullivan with receiver Jabar Gaffney, another underachiever who jumped from the Texans to the Eagles via free agency. He was arrested over the summer on weapons possession charges, and was cut by the Eagles before making the 53-man roster.

Gaffney, Charles Rogers, and Kevin Johnson worked out for New England on Friday.

The Patriots also parted ways (again) with cornerback Hank Poteat. (If nothing else, the team should install a revolving door at the practice facility and name it after the former Pitt cornerback, who has been signed and released by the team multiple times.)

The moves leave the 4-1 Patriots with an open roster spot as they enter their bye week.

CALLING ALL AGENTS

Attention, any of you guys (and girls) out there who have negotiated from time to time with Colts president Bill Polian. In the wake of Sunday's report from Jay Glazer of FOX that Napolian went WWF (or is it WWE? . . . ah, WFC . . . .) on a Jets employee during the October 1 game at the Meadowlands, we're hearing more anecdotes (Bill Maas asks, "Did someone take poison?") regarding Polian and his temper.

So it's been suggested to us by a league insider that we put out a call to the folks who have dealt with Napolian in the inherently adversarial (at times) process of hammering out player contracts for examples of any outbursts, lapel grabs, etc.

The source(s) of any info provided will, as always, be held in strict confidence. If you've got something, let us know.

POSTED 11:35 a.m. EDT, October 9, 2006

T.O. SAYS: "WHY THE F--K AM I HERE?"

Howard Eskin of WIP radio and NBC 10 in Philly reports, by way of Tom Curran of NBCSports.com, that Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens entered the Dallas locker room after the team's 38-24 loss to the Eagles and yelled, "Why did you guys bring me here? Why the f--k am I here?"

Owens had only three catches for 45 yards. Unofficially, 11 balls were thrown his way, he dropped three, and two were intercepted.

The fact that the Cowboys didn't showcase Owens in his return to Philly could be interpreted as a not-so-subtle message from coach Bill Parcells to Owens and, indirectly, to owner Jerry Jones that, as long as the whistle still dangles from the Tuna's cleavage, he's the guy who's calling the shots on game day.

For us, the move conjures memories of former Cowboys running back Eddie George, who was signed by Jones without Parcells' involvement, and who then languished on the bench for most of his one year in Big D.

It's no secret in league circles that Parcells didn't want Owens. And we continue to hear that, indeed, Parcells wanted to cut him in early September. Though some naysayers have dismissed our report by pointing to Owens' "$15 million" signing bonus, he received only $5 million up front. Cutting him would have actually created $5 million in 2006 cap space, and would have triggered a mere $3.33 million in dead money for 2007.

Besides, Parcells is notorious for picking his roster irrespective (or, as Bill Maas would say, irregardless) of pedigree.

Sure, Owens drew double coverage from time to time on Sunday, which opened up the field for other guys. But T.O. didn't come to town to be a high-priced decoy; he wants to be a (the) "star among stars."

So the Eagles won Round One with Owens. Whether he's even on the roster for the return match on Christmas Day in Dallas is, at this point, an open question.

POSTED 8:34 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 10:10 a.m. EDT, October 9, 2006

CULPEPPER, SABAN CAUGHT IN A CATFIGHT

With both of the high-profile players that the Minnesota Vikings traded out of town within a 13-month period now officially in the "disgruntled" category in their new environments, the Vikes unofficially have been vindicated for moving them both out of town.

Last week, it was receiver Randy Moss. This week, it's quarterback Daunte Culpepper.

Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald reports that Dolphins coach Nick Saban and quarterback Daunte Culpepper got into a "heated argument" during Friday's practice. Though there are scant details available, it's likely that the controversy is linked to the decision of Saban to shut Culpepper down for Sunday's game, due ostensibly to a shoulder injury. We initially speculated that the move was in reality a benching, and Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported over the weekend that, indeed, the move was a test drive for No. 2 quarterback Joey Harrington.

Defensive end Kevin Carter warned after Sunday's loss to the Patriots that a schism between coach and quarterback could hurt the team. "I think it can [fracture a locker room] if it's not handled the right way," Carter said.

Although Culpepper managed to whine his way out of Minnesota by sending e-mail messages to the media and making unreasonable salary demands, he's met his match with Saban, who'll put his butt on the bench and make him watch Joey Harrington for the rest of the season, if that's what it takes for Culpepper to get the message that it's not about him.

EDGE IS GETTING UPSET

After generating 71 yards on 24 carries against the Chiefs on Sunday, running back Edgerrin James sounded off about the lack of touches in crunch time.

"We just got away from the run," James said. "That's the stupidest thing. You have to be able to finish the game. You got to give us a chance, you know."

James was particularly upset by the fact that the team threw four straight passes while leading by three with nine minutes and change remaining in the game. "That's like something new to me," James said. " I thought we played to win the game. You sit back and you wait and you say, 'OK, this is when my opportunity will come, this is when we're gong to wear them down and we're go to play to win the game.' But it's like we're doing the opposite."

Coach Dennis Green responded by, basically, taking a backhanded slap at James. "We've got a certain amount of confidence in our passing attack," Green said. "I don't know if that's misplaced or not. And we don't have as much confidence in the running game, and I don't know if that's misplaced or not, to be honest with you. When you're 1-4, you're not sure of anything."

We've said it before and we'll say it again. In lieu of dropping a boatload of money into James' pockets, the Cardinals would have been better off beefing up the offensive line. Solid running backs are readily available in free agency and the draft, and in hindsight the Colts knew exactly what they were doing when they let James walk.

For the season, James is producing 3.1 yards per carry, more than a yard below his career average.

MONDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

The Giants are complaining that the Redskins are dirty.

Here's a great quote from Giants RB Brandon Jacobs regarding Redskins S Sean Taylor: "He throws his whole body out there like he's got another one in the closet."

Steelers KR Willie Reid suffered a "significant" mid-foot sprain in his NFL debut.

Giants TE Jeremy Shockey didn't have much to say after a subpar performance on Sunday.

Surgery currently isn't in the picture for Eagles RB Brian Westbrook.

K-Rob didn't do anything to dispute reports that he's facing a one-year suspension.

Colts WR Brandon Stokley returned after a two-game absence, and then suffered a sprained knee.

Is it just us, or is Danny DeTirico the first MNF play-by-play guy to give print interviews every . . . single . . . week?

No interceptions for Lord Favre on Sunday, but he had a key fumble. (Joey Sunshine blames it on the center.)

Giants LaVar Arrington apparently wasn't feeling well on Sunday.

Lions WR Mike Williams was yanked after dropping the only pass thrown his way.

Did the crappy turf at Gillette Stadium play a role in the Fins' loss?

Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams left Sunday's game in the second quarter with a leg injury; it's not known whether he'll miss any time.

Is Panthers WR Steve Smith missing his higher gears?

Based on the amount of anger that Panthers CB Ken Lucas had for Browns WR Braylon Edwards on Sunday, we're starting to wonder whether Edwards was misquoted by one letter last week when he said about Lucas, "He's a guy."

49ers CB Walt Harris hauled in three interceptions on Sunday.

Raiders RB Justin Fargas is starting to eat into LaMont Jordan's touches.

Fins coach Nick Saban tried his best to avoid getting a fine for criticizing the refs after a bad pass interference call on Sunday: "If it was a good call, we've got bad rules. . . . Look, my wife spends a lot of money. She buys a lot of cabinets. I don't need to be sending money to the league."

Vikings QB Brad Johnson might have been the only guy in the building on Sunday to not realize that the team's offense is barely a shadow of what it used to be.

Jags LB Mike Peterson might be out for a while after straining a pectoral muscle on Sunday.

Browns coach Romeo Crennel borrowed from the Nicktator when explaining an ill-advised fullback option pass: "It wasn't a good play because it didn't work. If it works, it's good. If it doesn't work, it's not good."

POSTED 11:27 p.m. EDT, October 8, 2006

COLES NOT HAPPY WITH PLAYING TIME

Jets receiver Laveranues Coles, who was the AFC offensive player of the month in September, isn't happy with the amount of opportunities that he received in his team's second game of October.

"I pretty much have no comment on things," Coles said after the 41-0 loss to the Jaguars, the team's worst loss in 20 years. "I can only speak about what I did. I didn't play a lot of plays. I played very few plays and that's all I can say. I started the game, then I sat the second quarter, some of the third quarter and the majority of the fourth quarter.

"I don't know why. That's something you have to ask the coaches. I don't know. I just work here. Am I frustrated by it? Any time I'm not on the field, I'm frustrated. It's just something they have to deal with. It's not me."

Through the first four games of the season, Coles had 30 receptions for 412 yards. On Sunday, he caught three passes for 19 yards.

It's not as if there were that many other balls to go around. Quarterback Chad Pennington completed only 10 passes for 71 yards.

For the Jags, the shutout should address some of the questions that arose when the team gave up 36 points last weekend against the Redskins. But at 3-2 Jackonville is still two games behind the NFC South leaders, the Colts.

SUNDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

Cards WR Larry Fitzgerald has a hamstring injury that "look[s] fairly serious."

Chiefs RB Larry Johnson sustained a neck injury after having his facemask yanked; he'll undergo an MRI on Monday.

Uncle Rico almost pulled off a shocker in Indy against a Colts team that suddenly can't stop the run.

Ricky Williams Jr. had his first two NFL touchdowns during a dismantling of the Bills.

Saints rookie RB Reggie Bush scored on a punt return, but his rushing and receiving numbers continue to be less-than-stellar.

Colts WR Marvin Harrison has set a record that only the pointiest of Poindexters would track.

POSTED 12:26 p.m. EDT, October 8, 2006

NAPOLIAN JACKED UP A JETS EMPLOYEE

Jay Glazer of FOX reports that Colts president Bill Polian, already under fire for his team's decision to put defensive tackle on the non-football illness list and not pay him, assaulted a Jets employee during last weekend's game at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

The incident occurred after Polian was upset because speakers were too close to the field. While discussing the matter with a Jets employee, Polian grabbed him by the lapels and threw him against a wall.

The Jets employee was "shaken up" by the exchange, and G.M. Mike Tannenbaum has raised the issue with the league office.

"You should have the right to a safe workplace without worrying that somebody is going to put his hands on you," a Jets source told Glazer.

The issue could prompt more league insiders to speak out regarding Polian, who has a less-than-stellar reputation in some circles. Glazer's report seems to confirm what others have believed for a long time -- that the guy is a bully.

ROBINSON SUSPENDED FOR A YEAR

Jay Glazer of FOX reports that Packers receiver Koren Robinson has been notified of a one-year suspension by the NFL. The punishment is pending an appeal, but our guess is that Robinson's chances at prevailing are slim.

He served a four-game suspension in 2004, and was still in Stage 3 of the league's substance abuse program. Although his August 15 arrest for felony fleeing, DUI, and reckless driving was not, standing alone, a violation of the policy, it most likely was a violation of his treatment plan, indirectly triggering a "strike" under the policy -- and the one-year suspension.

The suspension also would give the Minnesota Vikings a strong argument regarding Robinson's grievance for a "significant" amount of the remainder of his three-year, $12.7 million contract. If Robinson is out for a year, he necessarily could not and would not have earned many of the paychecks that he now wants from the Vikings.

Robinson will be permitted to keep playing while the appeal is processed.

POSTED 12:09 p.m. EDT, October 8, 2006

FOX'S SOUNDPROOFING ISN'T FOOLPROOF

Though coordinator producer of FOX's pregame show Scott Ackerson wouldn't elaborate on the strategies to be employed in order to ensure that any bad words don't make their way from the mouths of the assembled throng of Philly fans to the ears of the viewers of the FCC-regulated network, FOX has installed a transparent screen behind the set of the sock puppets, which appears to be dulling the noise.

It's possible that they've been using this screen in the past, we just hadn't had the occasion to notice.

And although the sound from the crowd does indeed seem to be lower in volume than in past weeks, we've distinctly heard the "Dallas sucks" chant early in the broadcast, whenever former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson was talking.

It remains to be seen whether any of George Carlin's seven dirty words make it through.

POSTED 10:40 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 11:47 a.m. EDT, October 8, 2006

THE BI-POLAR EXPRESS IS ROLLING

It starts.

From the first live report, courtesy of ESPN's Sal Paolantonio at 10:36 a.m. EDT, it's obvious to us that the Philly faithful will be reveling today in the return of T.O.

Chanting a song containing only the lyrics "O" and "D", a throng of fans assembled behind Paolantonio were the focal point of our attention as the potential misbehavior of the mob potentially overtakes the performance of the teams.

Stay tuned. We'll be updating on this one all day.

RUMORS PERSIST THAT SIMON HAS PAINKILLER ADDICTION

Despite media reports that Colts defensive tackle Corey Simon is suffering from polyarthritis, there is rampant talk in league circles that he developed a dependency on painkillers following arthroscopic surgery in August.

And if this is true (and we're not reporting that it is) it would explain why the Colts are so sensitive about the situation. Several years back, it was disclosed that Colts owner Jim Irsay had been struggling with painkiller addiction.

Meanwhile, we're also hearing that Simon insists that he has no non-football illness that would prevent him from playing, and that he's simply having trouble with his knee.

So regardless of whether Simon is struggling with painkillers (and again we're not saying that he is), it's increasingly obvious that this polyarthritis nonsense is a pretext for a case of buyer's remorse.

MORE ON K-ROB GRIEVANCE

We've tracked down some more details regarding the grievance filed by receiver Koren Robinson against the Minnesota Vikings.

First, we're hearing that, although Robinson lawyer David Cornwell has told Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that the claim seeks a "significant" amount of the balance of Robinson's three-year, $12.7 million contract with the Vikings, the grievance doesn't specify an amount. This has prompted some folks in league circles to conclude that Robinson and the NFLPA pursued the grievance as a pre-emptive strike against any efforts by the Vikings to seek recovery of a $1 million roster bonus paid to Robinson not long after the contract was signed.

Second, the Robinson case could be a precedent-setter as to whether teams can terminate players based on personal conduct. The standard player release form contains multiple boxes that a team can check, one of which says that the player has engaged in conduct that was detrimental to the team (or words to that effect). The fact that the official form contains this option suggests that teams retain the ability to choose to cut a guy who does something that reflects poorly on himself, or on the franchise.

Of course, the Cowboys likely believed that Quincy Carter's four-game suspension for violation of the substance abuse policy reflected poorly on himself and/or on the team, but it didn't stop Carter from grieving the decision to cut him. (As far as we can tell, the Carter grievance is still pending.) The difference could be that, because the substance abuse policy sets forth the exclusive procedure for dealing with players who demonstrate difficulties with drugs, teams can't do anything else to them if/when discipline is imposed.

But, as we see it, the undisputed fact that a player was driving at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour in an effort to avoid getting busted for DUI should be enough for a team to decide that a player's services are no longer desired, especially since the ability of a team to send a guy home with pay has been greatly diminished by the new CBA.

We're also hearing that the Vikings were waiting to decide whether to pursue recovery of the $1 million roster bonus paid to Robinson in March until learning whether Robinson would pursue a grievance in connection with the decision to release him. The Vikings' ability to pursue the bonus will turn on the specific language of his contract, but if the trigger for any bonus recovery was Robinson's August 15 arrest, the 45-day deadline has expired.

It could be that the Vikings recognize they opted to cut Robinson before the league stepped in and took action against him; thus, there might have been no actual default under the contract, which triggers the repayment obligation. Though it's likely that the wheels are in motion to impose discipline on Robinson for violation of his treatment plan, the Vikings would have been in better position to recover the bonus money if they'd kept him until the league acted.

Meanwhile, we're also hearing that the Vikings explored all sorts of options for handling Robinson, including the placement of the 2005 Pro Bowler on the non-football injury/illness list based on his alcoholism, without pay. The concern, as we understand it, is that there would have been a grievance as to the question of whether alcoholism is a condition that prevents him from playing.

And, to the extent that Robinson was in the midst of a relapse, the team's best argument could be the one that we initially thought was the weakest -- that Robinson's play justified his release. Maybe he really wasn't performing well in practice before the arrest, and maybe it's because he'd fallen off of the wagon. Indeed, we're hearing that the team is paying close attention to Robinson's efforts with the Packers as possible evidence to support a claim that his abilities have indeed diminished.

Finally, if the grievance proceeds, look for some embarrassing evidence to come to light regarding Robinson's history of violations. Though the process is entirely confidential, things like this have a way of getting out -- and folks like us will be trying our best to bring them to light.

As always, stay tuned.

SUNDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

Eagles fans broke out a chant of "Dallas sucks" during a Sunday NFL Countdown report from ESPN's Sal Paolantonio from the Linc.

ESPN's Ed Werder says that T.O. believes more pressure is on Eagles QB Donovan McNabb, because of the question of whether he has the support of the locker room.

Werder also says that T.O. has passed out T-shirts in the locker room with the image of Terry Glenn and Owens and the phrase "Go Deep."

Perhaps inspired by the presence of Al Jazeera reporters at the Linc, the Eagles fans are burning T.O. jerseys in the parking lot.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen says that the Titans might take back DT Albert Haynesworth due to his World Remorse Tour, which has included everything but an appearance on Oprah.

Mort also says that the Raiders won't be trading WR Randy Moss, but that WR Jerry Porter could be shipped out by the October 17 trade deadline.

Mort reports that QB Joey Harrington will start on Sunday for the Dolphins, and Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press confirms our suspicion that it really is a veiled benching of QB Daunte Culpepper, who'll be No. 3 on the depth chart.

In hindsight, it makes sense that a guy who was called a "faggot" would be the first one to rip a guy who allegedly called someone else a "faggot."

Even when he has time to plan his words, Joey Sunshine is still an idiot; he offered up this gem during a Sunday morning canned promo for MNF: "They're like no-hitters in football, except in this one there's gonna be a lot of hitting."

Tom Jackson's timeline is a bit off -- Randy Moss said "I play when I wanna play" in November 2001, not within a month after signing his big-money extension in July 2001.

Ron Jaworski says that WR Randy Moss doesn't deserve to be a captain of the Raiders; Jaws' opinion would carry a little more credence if he'd shed the ladies glasses.

Mike Ditka says that Randy Moss would have been different if Ditka had drafted him in April 1998 when he was the coach of the Saints -- yeah, and the guy Ditka drafted that year has never been a problem.

Holy crap -- there's a report about baseball on the ESPN pregame show. What's next? Will they start interviewing celebrities during the second quarter of Monday night games.

Hey Daunte Culpepper -- a suit and tie and big-ass headphones don't mix.

Hey Mike Irvin -- the word is "trickle" not "twinkle."

Security has been beefed up at the Linc for Sunday's return of T.O.

Mort says Matt Leinart has more mobility than Kurt Warner. So does Johnny Unitas. In his present condition.

POSTED 2:08 p.m. EDT, October 7, 2006

PATS GO TURD SHOPPING

Maybe the idea of Randy Moss being traded to the Pats isn't so far-fetched. After all, the team is sufficiently desperate at the receiver position that they brought in Charles Rogers for a look-see on Friday, according to Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe.

The Pats also eyeballed Kevin Johnson and Jabar Gaffney, who was arrested during the offseason on gun charges. Johnson was once waived by the Browns in the middle of a season, only a week after being benched.

Rogers admitted this week that his four-game suspension in 2005 was the result of smoking marijuana. A urine sample from Rogers was deemed positive at the 2004 scouting combine because the sample was diluted.

It didn't stop the Lions from using the No. 2 overall pick in the draft on Rogers, who missed most of his first two seasons due to injury. He was ineffective in 2005, missing four games due to the suspension and being deactivated in many others.

But the Pats need bodies at perhaps the only position that is a glaring weakness on the roster. And although they wouldn't have to give up any picks or players to get Rogers, the fact that they'd consider him tells us that they'd also consider Moss, a far more accomplished talent.

Whether they actually acquire either of them, however, is a far different issue.

POSTED 11:30 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 1:55 p.m. EDT, October 7, 2006

POLIAN GETTING RIPPED IN LEAGUE CIRCLES

Multiple league sources have sounded off to us regarding the manner in which the Indianapolis Colts (and, more specifically, president Bill Polian) have handled the situation regarding defensive tackle Corey Simon.

Some folks are pointing all the way back to the decision to sign Simon after the Eagles removed the franchise tag from him. "People around the league are laughing their asses off," said one source. "No one wanted Simon long term because he was considered a turd at Philadelphia. The Colts overpaid him and were only bidding against themselves."

Opined another league source in the wake of the decision to put Simon on the non-football injury/illness list and not pay him the rest of his 2006 salary, "He seems to be the biggest asshole in the league, but no one talks about him. . . . [H]e thinks he's the Commissioner of the NFL. They are bitching about the substitution rule as if those [really bad word that even we can't find a good way to partially block] are free of manipulation of the rules. The fat ass of all time D-line coach [John Teerlinck] teaches to go low at quarterbacks to more easily get them off their game and if they get hurt in the process so be it. They pump noise into their stadium and when the opponents have the ball so their midget defensive ends can get a better jump."

It's prompted some in league circles to refer to Polian as "Nepolian."

Not bad. We didn't come up with it, but we're happy to start using it.

K-ROB CASE COULD RESULT IN MORE SCRUTINY OF CROOKS

At a time when folks in the media gradually are beginning to wake up to the burgeoning problem of criminals in the NFL, receiver Koren Robinson and lawyer David Cornwell might unwittingly help to get more people up in arms regarding the coddling of crooks.

Robinson and Cornwell are seeking to force the Vikings to pay Robinson a "significant portion" of his three-year, $12.7 million contract that was terminated not long after Robinson's August 15 arrest for felony fleeing from police, reckless driving, and DUI.

"[H]is release was a punitive act, undertaken in violation of the collective bargaining agreement," Cornwell told Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "The team punished him by waiving him for his arrest, and Koren's conduct is subject to discipline, if appropriate, under the NFL's personal conduct penalty. So the Vikings invaded the exclusive jurisdiction of the commissioner."

Cornwell says that the team cited two reasons for the termination of Robinson's contract: "In the judgment of the club, your skill or performance has been unsatisfactory as compared with that of other players competing for positions on the club's roster" and "You have engaged in personal conduct which, in the reasonable judgment of the club, adversely affects or reflects on the club."

Said Cornwell: "We believe it's a difficult decision to justify even on skill and conduct, based on comments the club made on Koren's significance to the team. Our view is, they simply were punishing him."

Though we agree that the decision surely had nothing to do with his skill (and we think the Vikings should not have even tried to hang their horn-hat on that peg), we don't understand Cornwell's belief that Robinson's conduct didn't justify dumping him. Punishing Robinson would be sitting him down for four games for conduct detrimental to the team, or sending him home without pay (which NFL teams now are prevented from doing, based on the most recent CBA negotiations).

Cutting Robinson put him on the open market, and allowed him to sign with the Green Bay Packers -- a border-war rival that the Vikings play twice per year.

In contrast, consider the T.O. case from last season. The Eagles wanted to "punish" him by shutting him down, and by keeping him from playing for anyone else. So if it was punishment, the Vikings also punished themselves by dumping a 2005 Pro Bowler and handing him over to another NFC North team.

It wasn't punishment, in our view. It was a decision by the team to rid itself of a player who has had umpteen second chances, and who still can't learn how to conduct himself properly. He's a turd. He's a waste of talent. And now he's surrounded by yet another apologist/enabler who will allow Robinson to blame someone other than himself for the predicament in which he now finds himself.

If any franchise needed to clean out a guy who was running from the cops on Minnesota roads at more than 100 miles per hour, it's the Vikings. Hell, the Love Boat fiasco was unpleasant and embarrassing, but no one's life was in jeopardy. Robinson could have killed someone on August 15, and if he can't be fired for it then we should all say f--k pro football and spend our time, money, and attention on other things.

And, please, don't send any e-mails explaining that the legal system needs to run it course. He did it. He hasn't denied it. He put his life and the lives of others at risk by driving like a madman because he knew that if he got pulled over the cops might figure out that the man who was praised the night before by Joey Sunshine for being "proactive" is in reality a liar and a fraud.

So, in the end, let's not forget what this really is. It's an effort by a chronic drunk to bite one of the only hands that was willing to feed him after he drank his way out of Seattle. And it's a damn shame.

How in the world can this guy ever get over his "disease" if he's not going to accept the fact that it's his fault, and no one else's, that he got cut by the Vikings?

WEEK FIVE FANTASY PICKS AND PUNKS

Another week, another look at the sleepers and the slobs for the coming slate of NFL games, courtesy (in part) of our good buddy Charch of Fanball.com. (Not to be confused with Fanballcuzzi.com.)

Here's who we like this week. Actually, we pretty much don't like anyone. But here's who we'd consider using on our fantasy team:

Byron Leftwich, quarterback, Jags: The Jets defense is a little porous, despite the presence of Eric Mangini, and the Jags need a big home win after dropping two in a row on the road. Though Matt Jones is out with a groin injury, Reggie Williams and Ernest Wilford could be motivated by rumors that assistant coach Mike Tice wants to make a play for Randy Moss.

Brad Johnson, quarterback, Vikings: With a softer-than-expected Detroit defense facing a Minnesota team that needs to make a statement on offense, it could be time for Johnson to help the offense bust out of its funk.

DeShaun Foster, running back, Panthers: Foster could run wild against a Browns defense that would have allowed LaMont Sanford to gain 100 yards against it last week versus the Raiders.

Dominic Rhodes/Joseph Addai, running backs, Colts: Sure, they split touches. But they're playing the Titans, who are in disarray.

Terry Glenn, receiver, Cowboys: T.O. might not like being a decoy, but the best way for the 'Boys to beat the Eagles will be to take what Philly gives them. And the Eagles will be doing anything to take Owens out of the game.

Isaac Bruce, receiver, Rams: The fact that Ahmad Carroll was in the lineup for the Packers six days ago means that the guys behind him aren't any better. Torry Holt draws Al Harris -- and Ike Bruce runs free against an overrated Charles Woodson.

Now for the punks:

Ben Roethlisbeger, quarterback, Steelers: Maybe his football mojo was buried in those teeth he lost, or in his appendix. Either way, we don't look for Big Ben to get right against the suffocating Chargers defense.

Daunte Culpepper, quarterback, Dolphins: He might fare better this weekend in total points if he doesn't play.

Steve McNair, quarterback, Ravens: Yeah, the Ravens are winning games. But they're not generating yards, and the points will be scarce in Denver on Monday night.

Willis McGahee, running back, Bills: One-time can't-miss prospect could be finally hitting his stride, but not in Chicago.

Julius Jones, running back, Cowboys: Look for a swarming Eagles front seven to force the Cowboys into passing mode, quickly.

Lee Evans, receiver, Bills: The Chicago factor turns us against a guy whom we'd otherwise like.

Larry Fitzgerald/Anquan Boldin, Cardinals: Chiefs defense is looking good, and passing game will take a step back with Matt Leinart -- at least for now.

KORDOZA CLUB UPDATE

Every Saturday, we take a look at the starting quarterbacks currently beneath the "Kordoza Lines" -- the 70.7 career passing rating of quarterback Kordell Stewart.

Through four weeks, here are the current starters who would be eligible for the official K-Club pin, and a kiss from Bill Cowher: Mike Vick, 69.8; Jake Plummer, 60.6; Vince Young, 51.5; Bruce Gradkowski, 43,8; Matt Leinart, 40.1; Ben Roethlisberger, 34.3; Andrew Walter 29.2.

SPECIAL LIVE BLOG COMING SUNDAY

Don't forget that we'll be whipping out a special edition of the Monday Night Live Blog for Sunday afternoon's showdown between the Cowboys and the Eagles from the City of Fratricide.

Join us for the 4:15 p.m. EDT kickoff -- we'll have folks giving us updates regarding the insanity in the stands, smart-ass comments from ourselves and our readers, and we might also mention a thing or two about the football game.

POSTED 10:52 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 11:10 a.m. EDT, October 7, 2006

MIKE WILLIAMS TO SEE "SIGNIFICANT" PLAYING TIME ON SUNDAY

A source with knowledge of the situation tells us that Lions receiver Mike Williams will have "significant" playing time on Sunday against the Vikings.

Williams has been working his way out of the proverbial (or, as the case may be, perverbial) doghouse in Detroit. On Thursday, the Detroit Free Press reported that coach Rod Marinelli recently said Williams is "practicing very well." Fellow receiver Roy Williams has been lobbying for the 10th overall pick in the 2005 draft to see more playing time.

Williams' resurgence could be tied to renewed concerns that CEO Matt Millen is again facing a firestorm of local criticism. Those who want to see Millen out of Motown point directly to the decision to piss away top-ten picks on guys like Charles Rogers and Williams, a well-hyped wideout who sat out the 2004 season after declaring for the draft in the wake of the initial ruling in the Maurice Clarett case, being prevented from entering the NFL when the Clarett case was reversed on appeal, and losing his eligibility at USC due to the fact that he retained an agent in connection with his preparations for the draft.

Indeed, Millen's only remaining hope could be tied to Williams' ability to fulfill his potential. Soon.

Williams had 29 catches for 350 yards and one touchdown in 14 games last season, and he has no receptions in only one appearance this season.

MORGAN COULD BE BACK SOON

Despite four concussions, the most recent of which has knocked him out of the lineup for three of the team's four games this season and will make him miss Sunday's contest with the Browns, we're hearing that linebacker Dan Morgan could be back as soon as next Sunday, when the Panthers travel to Baltimore.

The only remaining hurdle, as we understand it, is a thumb's up from a specialist that Morgan will be visiting early this week.

With all that said, we'd be very, very careful about this if we were Morgan. The cumulative effect of concussions can create long-term issues with dizziness and confusion and headaches, and at a certain point the guy has to ask himself whether playing more football is worth making the rest of his life less enjoyable.

POSTED 9:16 a.m. EDT, October 7, 2006

MORE ON MOSS-TO-JAX RUMORS

We're continuing to hear that the Jacksonville Jaguars, due in large part to the lobbying of assistant head coach Mike "Meathead" Tice, are looking at the possibility of swinging a trade for disgruntled Raiders receiver Randy Moss.

Still, there are plenty of planets that would need to line up before the guy who admitted last year to smoking pot "once in a blue moon" is playing in Florida.

The biggest questions, in our view, are whether the Raiders would move Moss -- and what the Raiders would want in return.

Although Al Davis has been known to keep an unhappy guy around despite the impact on the team, there's a strong financial benefit to trading Moss. Based on the new CBA rules regarding the salary cap ramifications of trades made after June 1, there would be no additional acceleration in 2006. (We must have been smoking some of Randy's stash the other day when we suggested there would be a cap hit.) And the Raiders would avoid the potential necessity of cutting Moss in the offseason due to his eight-figure cap number for 2007.

Per numbers that have been obtained by Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune (and which we separately have confirmed, not because we don't trust Jerry but because it makes us look like we know what we're doing), the Raiders would take a $4 .04 million cap charge in 2007. The $2.02 million bonus allocation already on the books for Moss this season would be unchanged.

If, in contrast, the Raiders keep Moss, they're facing cap numbers of $11.77 million in 2007, and $13.27 million in 2007.

So it might make sense to get something for him now, because the only alternative for the franchise might be to dump his salary after the season. Whether the Raiders will be forced to deal with Randy's cap number after the season depends in large part on the rest of the cap room that they have.

Any team that takes Moss would have to absorb his prorated salary, which currently is at roughly $6 million. A league source tells us that the Jaguars have $10 million in cap space, so they could do it if they choose to do so.

As to the compensation that the Raiders would want, we're thinking it would take at least a first-round pick. If, after all Deion Branch is worth a one, so is Moss. (Hell, under that standard Moss might be worth two of them.)

Our gut feeling is that the Raiders would take a one and a three, if they decide to try to move him.

And if anything is going to happen, it needs to happen soon. The trading deadline is October 17.

We've been asked by several readers whether other teams might be in the mix. We've heard nothing specific, but that never stops us from speculating.

The Dolphins are a possibility, given the mutual roots of coach Nick Saban and Moss. Saban surely believes he knows how to coax the best performance out of him, and Moss might be less likely to make those stray comments that reflect dissatisfaction if the captain of the ship is a fellow West Virginian. Besides, Saban could use a little excitement to fill the seats, and to distract the fans from the reality that sky-high preseason predictions have been to date unrealized.

Plus, the move would reunite Moss with quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Though there was a little weirdness between them when Moss was moved out of Minnesota, we're thinking that both might be realizing that they need each other in order to be successful.

The Jets are an intriguing candidate, since it would bring Moss back together with quarterback Chad Pennington, with whom Moss played at Marshall. But Laveranues Coles is back to his old form and Jerricho Cotchery is emerging as a legitimate threat; the Jets simply don't need him.

The Chiefs are a team that in theory might be interested in adding a guy who once was (and still might be) a game-changer, but there's no way the Raiders would trade him to an arch-rival. (And trading Moss now might be more attractive to the Raiders based simply on the fact that, if the Raiders are eventually forced to cut him, he could make a beeline for K.C.)

The Eagles still have needs at the position, but there's no way they take another chance with a pass-catching diva.

The Bears could use him, but they're gonna go deep into January with or without him.

Rams coach Scott Linehan could be interested in the guy who played for him when Linehan was the offensive coordinator in Minnesota, but it would be very hard from a P.R. standpoint to suddenly supplant Isaac Bruce. Moss, as we see it, would be more likely to land with the Rams after 2006, if he's released by the Raiders.

The one team that readers have asked about the most is the Patriots. Though Moss doesn't fit with the team's whole no-turd approach, neither did Corey Dillon. And, in our view, it was the presence of guys like Dillon in 2004 and Rodney Harrison in 2003 -- seasoned veterans desperate for a ring -- that helped the Pats avoid complacency and win the Lombardi in both seasons. Warts and all, Moss is fiercely competitive, and we've got a feeling that, between coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, he could be controlled.

It's still a long shot, we think. Heck, any trade is a remote possibility. Too much has to happen, and it has to happen in 10 days or less.

But with no one getting arrested in the last 24 hours, we had to talk about something.

POSTED 6:19 p.m. EDT, October 6, 2006

SABAN TRYING TO PIPP PEP?

In response to the news that Dolphins quarterback Daunte Culpepper might miss Sunday's game due to a shoulder injury, we're suspicious. A little.

Could it be that coach Nick Saban is looking for a way to give backup Joey Harrington a try without actually benching Culpepper?

Think about it. Culpepper is playing like crap. Harrington perhaps was the victim of bad coaching in Detroit. So with a season of high expectations sliding down the tubes, maybe it's time to see if Harrington can turn the thing around.

If he can't, then Culpepper's "injury" is healed. If Harrington can, then maybe Culpepper is a modern day Wally Pipp.

POSTED 3:54 p.m. EDT, October 6, 2006

TITANS WANT $300,000 FROM HAYNESWORTH

The Nashville Tennessean reports that the Tennessee Titans want defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to return to the team $300,000 in bonus money paid to him in connection with his rookie contract.

Haynesworth was a first-round selection of the Titans in 2002, and his rookie deal runs through 2007.

The $300,000 apparently reflected the prorated portion of his total bonus money for the five games that he will miss due to his suspension for stomping on the face of Cowboys center Andre Gurode.

Prior to March, a team's ability to recover bonus money was a subject of individual contract negotiations, and teams frequently included forfeiture provisions based on retirement, suspensions, etc. Whether the Titans can recover anything from Haynesworth depends on the language in his deal. We've seen other contracts that would have required Haynesworth to pay back much more than $300,000, requiring him instead to refund an amount equivalent to the entire bonus allocation for 2006 and 2007.

Meanwhile, it's looking increasingly unlikely that Haynesworth will ever play for the Titans again. Said G.M. Floyd Reese, "Ultimately that is [owner Bud] Adams' decision. I think it has been pretty well documented on what this has done to Albert and the league. It has been a tremendous embarrassment to everyone involved.’"

POSTED 3:26 p.m. EDT, October 6, 2006

COLTS NOT PAYING SIMON

A league source tells us that the Indianapolis Colts are not paying defensive tackle Corey Simon during his stay on the league's non-football injury/illness list.

The disclosure shouldn't come as a surprise, since the team could have instead placed Simon on the injured reserve list, which would have guaranteed his pay for the 2006 season.

Meanwhile, ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that the NFLPA will challenge the decision, and that Simon has been diagnosed with a condition known as polyarthritis (which should not be confused with Simon's other malady, known technically as "polly-want-a-cracker . . . and-a-fried-turkey-itis").

POSTED 3:09 p.m. EDT, October 6, 2006

HENRY SUSPENDED TWO GAMES

Finally, Bengals receiver Chris Henry has realized a real consequence for his misconduct.

Henry has been suspended for two games by the NFL for violations of the Personal Conduct Policy and the substance abuse policy. He also has been fined $20,000.

Our guess is that Henry was suspended one game for his guilty plea to marijuana possession charges in Kentucky (under the substance abuse policy) and one game for his guilty plea to weapons charges in Florida (under the Personal Conduct Policy).

Henry was deactivated by coach Marvin Lewis on Sunday against the Patriots, presumably for his role in the September 25 incident that resulted in the arrest of linebacker Odell Thurman on DUI charges. Thurman has since been suspended by the league for the balance of the season. Henry reportedly was vomiting out of the window of the vehicle that Thurman was driving, and Thurman told police that he was behind the wheel because the other guys in the car had more to drink than him.

Henry also faces issues regarding his probation in Kentucky and in Florida, as well as the fact that he's free on bond in connection with charges that he gave alcohol to an underage person. In such cases, it's typically a requirement that the person avoid alcohol. Thus, Henry eventually could land in jail.

POSTED 2:50 p.m. EDT, October 6, 2006

KENOY GET KEBUSTED

Here's a shocker -- a guy with the last name of "Kennedy" is in trouble due to alcohol.

Lions safety Kenoy Kennedy was arrested for DUI on Friday morning. He has been released on bond.

On a brighter note for Lions fans (and unlike other members of the Lions . . . and other folks named Kennedy), Kenoy was fully clothed at the time of his arrest.

We've been thinking about creating a feature that automatically displays the number of days since the last arrest of an NFL player. We're starting to think that we might not need two digits.

POSTED 8:39 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 12:05 p.m. EDT, October 6, 2006

SPECULATION SWIRLS ON SIMON

With the Colts abruptly placing defensive tackle Corey Simon on the non-football injury/illness list on Thursday, ending his season and allowing the team not to pay him any more of his $2.5 million base salary this season, the absence of any hard facts regarding the events that led to the decision is resulting in plenty of talk and speculation in league circles.

We initially heard scuttlebutt that Simon developed an infection in his knee after arthroscopic surgery. If, however, the infection arose due to knee surgery for a football injury, how can it be a non-football illness? If the player didn't use team physicians for the surgery, the Colts might be able to argue (with a straight face) that the resulting condition was not related to football. If a team physician did the cutting that resulted in the infection, there's no way (as we see it) that the Colts could call this anything other than a football-related condition.

We're now hearing speculation (and it's only speculation) that the "illness" is either Simon's obesity -- NFLN's Adam Schefter reports that Simon is tipping the scales (and breaking them) at 370 pounds -- or a dependency on painkillers.

If Simon developed an addiction to pain medication due to his knee surgery, we still don't see how it's not football related. Dependency on pain medication post-surgery is as common a complication as a staph infection. Absent proof of a pre-existing dependency, Simon was only in position to be taking pain medicine because he needed surgery for a football injury.

Schefter reports that the Colts and Simon are trying to work out an agreement of some sort, and that the NFLPA is prepared to get involved. Schefter also says that the Colts are very sensitive about the issue. And for good reason; the appearance to a neutral observer is that the Colts are having buyer's remorse as to the five-year, $30 million contract they handed to Simon in 2005, and that they're simply looking for a way to get out from under it.

Such conduct, if true, fits with the general reputation of Colts president Bill Polian in league circles. He's regarded as a guy who insists on getting his way, even if it means bending a few rules and/or flat-out ignoring them.

Stay tuned. We have a feeling that this one is far from over.

DANTE GETS A SPRINT PHONE

Finally, amazingly, surprisingly . . . Dante has gotten his Sprint phone. (And within a month or so he'll begin to figure out how to actually use it.)

Specially, Dante has picked up the LG Fusic phone, with a built-in mp3 player (he now can upload his entire Culture Club collection).

It's the same model phone that was purchased two weeks ago for Florio Jr. as a 10th birthday present. So, as a result, Dante believes (as he explained in the most recent PFT PodCast) that he has a children's phone. Though we tried to get him to understand that owning a phone that a child also owns doesn't make it a children's phone, he doesn't quite understand . . . which is understandable, because he really doesn't understand many things.

Meanwhile, if you haven't gotten yourself a Sprint phone, what are you waiting for? Any real NFL fan needs to have NFL Mobile, a free feature that is available only to folks who have select Sprint phones.

SPRINT EXTENDS, EXPANDS NFL FAN DAYS

Every Friday in September was a Sprint NFL Fan Day. And we're now told that the promotion will continue through October. So today, and on every other Friday this month, customers in selected areas can obtain a $50 service credit on a voice plan when activating a Sprint phone. Fans also can take advantage of exclusive NFL-themed offers.

We're ironing out details of an arrangement to have Dante make a series of appearances at Sprint stores in the Philadelphia area, so that fans can beat him with a shoe after buying their Sprint phones.

LET THE "SUNSHINE" IN

The nickname, by all appearances, is gaining momentum.

For a year or so, we've been referring to Joe Theismann of ESPN as "Joey Sunshine." Finally, it's catching on.

Writes Christopher Harris of Yahoo! Sports.com:

"I have officially reached Annoyance Level: 'Mute Button' with the ESPN broadcast. It's not so much that Tony Kornheiser is bad; he just makes no difference. The problem is Joe Theismann. ProFootballTalk.com refers to him as 'Joey Sunshine,' and with good reason. Everything is the best thing Theismann has ever seen. Every player he met with this week is the smartest, humblest person ever. Every coaching decision is a good one. Every effort is top-notch. One has the sense if Joey Sunshine had been doing the Titans/Cowboys game last week, he'd have been praising Albert Haynesworth for the great progress he's made on his 'Riverdance' lessons."

Excellent. Now, let's see who else let's the "Sunshine" in.

FRIDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

Man, you know you're in bad shape when you're getting advice on how to comply with the law from Ray Lewis.

Ravens KR B.J. Sams won't say whether he's subject to a suspension for his most recent DUI arrest, his second in 14 months.

Chris Simms says that it occurred to him late in the September 24 game against the Panthers that he might be bleeding internally (which immediately makes him more qualified than the team's training staff and medical staff).

We've never heard a guy sound so happy about going to jail.

(This is a doctored photo . . . we think.)

Steelers CB Ricardo Colclough will no longer return kickoffs or punts.

Fins QB Daunte Culpepper missed part of practice with a sore shoulder on Thursday, and is listed as probable for Sunday (that news is pretty much irrelevant to most fantasy owners, since no one owns the guy anymore).

49ers OL Larry Allen has returned to practice and could play next week against the Chargers.

The Commish will be attending the 49ers-Raiders game on Sunday. (He might be the only guy there.)

Vikings CB Antoine Winfield missed practice on Thursday with a partially torn quad, but he expects to play on Sunday.

When Pats coach Bill Belichick called Junior Seau about joining the team, Seau thought his brother was messing with him.

The league has clarified the niceties of the no-huddle rules.

How does a guy who left practice in college after a fight and returned with a metal pole still get drafted in the first round?

Jags DT Marcus Stroud's streak of 84 straight games will end on Sunday.

Jags WR Matt Jones (groin) won't play on Sunday.

Chiefs LT Crazy Joe Davola (misadventures with cherry Binaca) won't play on Sunday.

Danny DeTirico has apologized to the folks in Philly for thinking that William Penn was Ben Franklin; the folks in Philly might or might not apologize after repeatedly kicking him in the crotch when DeTirico returns for a Monday nighter in December.

POSTED 7:41 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 8:18 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2006

COLTS SCREWING SIMON?

The Indianapolis Colts have placed defensive tackle Corey Simon on the non-football injury/illness list. The designation means that Simon will not play this season. And there's already confusion as to the reason for the decision -- and whether it truly is a non-football condition.

"It is not football related," Colts president Bill Polian said. "Fortunately, we are told it is not life-threatening, but it has severely limited Corey's ability to condition, practice or play and has been debilitating for him."

Simon's agent, Roosevelt Barnes, isn't aware of any injury or illness other than the August knee injury that has kept him out of practice since August. "Corey had surgery on the knee and had been rehabbing, getting ready to play," Barnes said on Thursday. "That's my understanding as to what kept him off the field."

The discrepancy has prompted some league insiders to conclude that the Colts could be overstating the situation in an effort to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with Simon's failure to return from the knee condition, which was repaired by arthroscopic surgery.

One league source speculated that Simon might have contracted a staph infection during the surgery. The question, however, of whether an infection arising from surgery due to a football injury is truly not related to football would be open to hot debate, since a player who lands on injured reserve gets his full salary. A player with a non-football illness is entitled to no further pay.

Another possibility (and we're only speculating at this point) in this regard is that Simon is suffering from a mental or emotional condition, such as clinical depression. Dolphins defensive tackle Manny Wright is on the N-F/I list due to depression, and there is a belief in league circles that last week's "I'm happy, y'all" press conference from receiver Terrell Owens was intended to prevent a conclusion by the Cowboys that he suffers from a non-football illness that would justify shutting him down for the season -- and not paying him.

Look for a swift grievance to be filed by the NFLPA. The issue will turn on the testimony of doctors, and Simon's $2.5 million salary hangs in the balance.

The Colts signed Simon in 2005, after the Eagles rescinded the franchise tag. He received $13 million in bonuses as part of a five-year, $30 million deal, and he is due to earn base salaries of $3.955 million in 2007, $5 million in 2008, and $5 million in 2009. Though reporting a lot puffier than usual, Simon played in 13 games last year.

TONY BRUNO DOESN'T LIKE US

We've heard from several readers over the past couple of weeks that Tony Bruno of Sporting News Radio has criticized us on the air, basically saying that the site is a joke and that we're never right about anything.

Apparently, Bruno most recently repeated his disdain for us on a Comcast program aired in Philly on Thursday night, when he was asked about our report that Cowboys coach Bill Parcells wanted to cut Terrell Owens in early September.

Look, we're not going to launch a war with Bruno -- at least not until we actually hear some of his comments. If he thinks we're never right, then it shows he knows nothing about us. (Heck, we nail it at least once out of every ten tries.)

Besides, we do a weekly spot on Sporting News Radio, and we enjoy a good relationship with the network. So it wouldn't be fair for us to gratuitously call Bruno a bunch of unflattering names. Yet.

But we'd be remiss if we didn't at least rattle the sword. A little.

The guy is actually proud of this picture, and others like it:

Dude, Yul Brynner called. His wife wants her shoes back. (And, by the way, the chick on the right isn't laughing at you, she's laughing near you.)

POSTED 5:20 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2006

GURODE WON'T PRESS CHARGES . . . OR WILL HE?

Cowboys center Andre Gurode reportedly has decided not to pursue criminal charges against Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Based on quotes from his agent, however, we're not so sure that a final decision has been made.

"He's agonized and he's deliberated back and forth on this, and he has no desire to pursue any criminal charges at this time," said his agent, Kennard McGuire. "But I think in going forward this young man just wants answers."

(We're not sure how many specific "answers" Gurode is looking for, but we can only think of one "question": "Albert, why did you try to rip the flesh from my skull with your shoes?")

We think that the key phrase in McGuire's quote is "at this time." We don't know what the statute (or is it statue?) of limitations is in Tennessee for bringing criminal charges of assault, but it's possible that Gurode has decided to lay low until he signs his next NFL contract.

And even if the statute (or is it stature?) of limitations on the charges that Gurode would pursue is only six months, that gives him until early April to make a final decision. Since the free agency period launches in March, he'll most likely have his new deal (either with the Cowboys or someone else) by then.

Besides, we still think that the Nashville D.A. should pursue the matter even without a formal complaint from Gurode. There's video evidence of the crime, and there's video and audio evidence of Haynesworth admitting it. Even if, as we've previously argued, the end result is probation, it'll make it easier the next time Haynesworth attacks someone (if there is a next time) to put him behind bars.

POSTED 4:13 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2006

TITANS TO DUMP HAYNESWORTH?

In an interview with Michael Silver of SI.com, Titans coach Jeff Fisher sure doesn't sound like a guy who'll be welcoming defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth with arms wide open after his five-game suspension ends next month.

"There have been and there will continue to be discussions about Albert's future with this organization," Fisher said. "That's all I'm going to say right now."

Technically, the Titans are not permitted to cut Haynesworth as discipline for stomping on the face of center Andre Gurode. Discipline for such matters is within the exclusive province of the league.

Then again, if the player doesn't file a grievance the club's decision won't be challenged. Former Vikings receiver Koren Robinson, for example, didn't try to fight the team's decision to dump him after he was arrested on August 15 for felony fleeing from police, DUI, and reckless driving.

In 2004, quarterback Quincy Carter filed a grievance against the Cowboys, who cut him on the heels of the disclosure that he'd be suspended four games for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

Haynesworth has opted not to fight the league's decision to suspend him without pay for five games. Whether this means that he'd fight a decision by the Titans to essentially fire him remains to be seen.

Even if he makes it through the 2006 season, the chances of a return in 2007 are slim; his base salary is due to balloon from roughly $650,000 to more than $5.5 million. Even if he hadn't blown a gasket on Sunday, Haynesworth likely was a long shot to ever see that kind of coin next year.

POSTED 3:09 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2006

MEATHEAD WANTS MOSS?

There are strong indications coming out of Jacksonville that assistant coach Mike "Meathead" Tice is lobbying aggressively for the team to make a trade with the Raiders for receiver Randy Moss.

Moss openly mused this week on FOX Sports Radio about the possibility of playing for another team, and he told host Chris Myers that he'd be willing to accept a trade.

V.P. of player personnel James "Shack" Harris is warming to the idea, we hear, but word is that owner Wayne Weaver and right-hand man Paul Vance are reluctant to bring a high-profile malcontent to the team.

There's also some concern about the price tag to get Moss away from Oakland. The Raiders gave up the No. 7 overall draft pick, a seventh-round choice, and linebacker Napoleon Harris in the March 2005 deal with the Vikings. Surely, the Raiders would have to justify their prior package by getting something close to it now.

Although the Raiders would take a cap hit by moving Moss, it would be spread over two seasons. Via a series of restructurings, most of his 2005 salary and some of his 2006 salary was converted to a bonus payment. (To the extent we suggested otherwise on Tuesday, we were wr-wr-wr-wr-confused.)

Also complicating matters is the basic notion that Raiders owner Al Davis might be reluctant to allow Moss to get his way. Davis owns the receiver's rights through 2008, and Davis might decide to force Moss to rot for two-plus seasons in Oakland in lieu of landing with a contending team (see Allen, Marcus).

A reunion of Moss and the Meathead would be awkward at first, since Tice was the coach of the Vikings when Moss was traded away. But, assuming Moss still has some of the stuff that made him one of the most feared wideouts in the league from 1998 through 2005 (and some question whether he really does), he'll make that offense a lot better -- instantly.

To get Moss, the Jags likely would be willing to give up a member of their trio of young receivers who have been good but not great to date: Reggie Williams, Ernest Wilford, and Matt Jones. As we hear it, Wilford would be the most likely to be dangled.

Stay tuned.

POSTED 12:24 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 1:00 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2006

FOX TAKING PRECAUTIONS FOR PHILLY PREGAME SHOW

Given the degree of venom that the folks in Philly possess regarding the Dallas Cowboys and former Eagles/current Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens, FOX plans to take precautions aimed at preventing any FCC-prohibited images and/or words from being broadcast via the public background to the network's on-site pregame show.

Scott Ackerson, the coordinator producer of the FOX pregame show, tells us that steps will be taken in this regard, but he has declined to divulge any of the specific strategies that are under consideration.

Fan involvement at pregame broadcasts is becoming more common as FOX and ESPN take their shows on the road. With Joe Buck now the host of the FOX effort, the one-hour show is aired from outside the stadium in which the game Buck is calling will be played. For ESPN, the desk with the four talking heads is parked inside the venue.

Both scenarios involve, if not encourage, public participation. And we've recently noticed some signs and some chants that could eventually be problematic, from the FCC's perspective. When the Giants traveled to Seattle, the Seahawks fans were chanting "Giants suck!" and one fan displayed a signing urging the Seahawks to "give [New York tight end Jeremy] Shockey the shocker."

Of course, that paled in comparison to the stuff that was being chanted by Eagles fans on Monday night, whenever Michael Irvin would try to speak.

So we're glad that FOX is planning to try to keep kids like Florio Jr. from being subjected to the kinds of things that the Eagles fans will be saying (although part of me would loooove to hear it all). Thus, we'll be watching with great interest on Sunday as to how it will all play out.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

As it turns out, K-Rob has to start his 90-day prison stay by February 28, not finish it by then.

Folks are starting to notice that no one is noticing that the NFL continues to employ chronic criminals.

Packers CB Ahmad Carroll was a "popular teammate"; that only tells us that more of those guys in the Green Bay locker room need to go.

Steelers WR Hines Wards says his hamstring won't be back at 100 percent this season.

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette describes Big Ben's performance this season as "Kordellian."

Pats CB Ellis Hobbs underwent surgery last week on a broken left wrist, but still might play Sunday.

Colts coach Tony Dungy is whining that the Jets made substitutions while using the no-huddle offense; he now plans to do the same with his offense goes into hurry-up mode.

Farewell, Hamburglar.

Rams LT Orlando Pace (concussion) might play against the Packers on Sunday.

The NFC player of the week honors are headlined by Morthuselah Andersen.

The AFC winners were all POW virgins.

No Maas again this week.

The Broncos are last in the league in both kick returns and punt returns.

POSTED 10:36 a.m. EDT, October 5, 2006

"UNPRECEDENTED" SCENE COMING IN PHILLY

Since the official NFL-licensed buzzword as to the Albert Haynesworth suspension is "unprecedented," we're going to borrow it for a moment (and, hopefully, we won't have to pay a rights fee).

On Sunday, an "unprecedented" scene will unfold in Philadelphia.

Whether it's regarded as beautiful or hideous will be in the eye (or ear) of the beholder (or behearer . . . yeah, it ain't a word but wtf).

Regardless, it will be "unprecedented."

We did a spot earlier this morning with our friends at WIP radio regarding our "Tuna wanted to cut T.O. in September" story, and it's obvious to us that Eagles fans are gearing up for a display aimed at so thoroughly unnerving Owens in the hopes that he'll ultimately do something that will prompt coach Bill Parcells to cut him in October.

Also, we suggest that the folks with the Guinness Book of World Records get to Philly right now, because on Sunday we'll see a new standard set for the most people ever to simultaneously chant profane and/or obscene words.

"T.O. swallows!" appears to be a popular sentiment, but our money is on a repeated mantra of "F--k you, T.O!" whenever he catches a pass, drops a pass, and/or takes a breath.

Given that the folks at the FCC got their knickers in a knot over a half-second glimpse of Janet Jackson's right breast during halftime of the Super Bowl, we wonder what they'll have to say about the language that will be broadcast nationally on Sunday, if FOX doesn't take appropriate precautions to block it?

On one hand, the network can argue that it has no control over what members of the public say and do. On the other hand, the network reasonably can foresee that steps need to be taken to insulate viewers from having to hear that stuff.

In our view, FOX is on notice that salty language will be peppered throughout the game, so FOX should be taking steps to ensure that the audience isn't subjected to it. Whether that means leaving the field microphones in the truck or installing soundproofing in the booth from which Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will call the game is something that the folks at FOX will have to decide.

Then there's the FOX pregame show, during which we're convinced that there will be a few creative signs and a few compelling chants from the open-air throng of folks in the background, who'll surely be reprising some of the phrases heard during the ESPN pregame and postgame on Monday night in Philly, especially since former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson is one of the members of the FOX cast.

As to the folks who'll actually be at the game on Sunday, we strongly advise leaving anyone under 14 at home. In addition to the new vocabulary words that Junior might learn (then again, if he's gone to other Eagles games he already knows them), pills and pill bottles and all sorts of other stuff will be flying through the air. Plus, we believe that there's a legitimate risk of fans storming the field and/or various fights and riots throughout the stands.

As one league insider mentioned to us this morning, the dumbest move of all was the decision of the schedule makers to make the game a 4:15 p.m. EDT affair, giving folks an extra three hours to get lubricated in the lot before kickoff.

And because this promises to be one of the biggest regular-season NFL spectacles we can ever recall, we'll be breaking from our Monday night routine and we'll be charting every second of the broadcast, with smart-ass comments from us and from our readers, via a special edition of the PFT Live Blog.

POSTED 8:28 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 9:15 a.m. EDT, October 5, 2006

TUNA WANTED TO CUT T.O.

It's no secret in league circles that Cowboys coach Bill Parcells didn't want receiver Terrell Owens on his team. Like some of the other moves that have occurred since Parcells became the head coach in Dallas, the acquisition of T.O. occurred without regard to the Tuna's input.

We're now hearing that Parcells actually wanted to include Owens in the final cuts made on September 2, as the 53-man roster was being finalized.

The move would have avoided $5 million in salary owed to Owens for the 2006 season. And it would have made sense at the time, in light of Owens' chronic preseason hamstring issues that now seem like distant memories in the wake of more recent events.

The move also would have saved the team from the fiasco that unfolded last week regarding T.O.'s accidentally intentional drug overdose. And it almost certainly means that at least one of the two will be gone from the organization before next season.

If Owens creates any further distractions, we wouldn't be surprised by an in-season he-goes-or-I-go ultimatum from Parcells to Jones. At some point, Parcells' image and legacy will be tarnished by continuing to put up with the nonsense -- and at some point his legend will forever be cemented if he stands up and says, "I signed on to be the coach of this team, not the guy who carries the shovel behind the elephant."

T.O. SAYS HE DIDN'T GET McNABB TEXT MESSAGE

At a point in the Monday night broadcast when they weren't giving Packers quarterback Brett Favre a ballcuzzi, our pals Danny DeTirico, Joey Sunshine, and Kornholio of ESPN were talking about a text message that Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb sent last week to former teammate Terrell Owens.

Now, Owens says he never got it. Asked if it was possible that McNabb sent the message to an old number, Owens said: "Look, I'm not trying to start anything. He's a smart guy. If he wanted my number, he could've gotten it."

Also, Owens was wearing on Wednesday a T-shirt bearing the phrase "funny little football person," a dig at the statement made by the president of the Dallas Police Association last week after publicist Kim Etheredge suggested that officers had essentially included multiple lies in the report generated from Owens' accidentally intentional drug overdose.

CULPEPPER HAVING TROUBLE WITH HIS READS

As league observers try to figure out why Miami quarterback Daunte Culpepper has looked so bad through four games with the Dolphins, one league source tells us that the root of the problem is that Culpepper is having trouble getting through his progression of receivers.

On all passing plays, quarterbacks go through a step-by-step process of looking for open pass-catchers. So if the primary receiver on a given play isn't open, the quarterback looks for the secondary receiver, then the next guy (we once heard some pointy-headed coach use the term "tertiary" in reference to the third guy in the progression), and then the next guy.

Before his knee was shredded last October in Charlotte, Culpepper could insert another option into his progression -- pulling the ball down and running.

Though not gifted with the same speed and moves as Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, Culpepper was fast enough to elude the guys in the front seven and big enough to overpower the defensive backs.

Now with a rebuilt knee that had been blown apart during one of his pull-it-down-and-go routines, Culpepper is forced to look for open receivers -- and as a result he's holding the ball too long.

The fact that the Dolphins' offensive line can't give him more than a couple of Mississippis before his effort to look for the next guy in the pattern is distracted by an attempt to avoid getting clobbered is likely complicating matters. Regardless, it's not working -- and the next question for Fins coach Nick Saban is how much time Culpepper gets to turn it around before Joey Harrington gets a chance to show that his piss-poor performances in Motown were the product of something other than the fact that he's not very good.

POSTED 8:55 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 9:19 p.m. EDT, October 4, 2006

FINALLY, SOMEONE GETS SENT TO JAIL

We were beginning to wonder when or if any of the various NFL players who can't manage to comply with the rules that govern a civilized society ever would receive an invitation to contemplate their willingness to do so in the future by spending some time in a small room with bars where the door otherwise would be.

Finally, it's happening.

Packers receiver Koren Robinson has been sentenced to 90 days in prison for violating the terms of his probation when leading police on a triple-digit car chase in Minnesota during training camp.

Robinson must serve the time by March 1, and he is permitted to spend up to half of it on work release.

As a practical matter, it's impossible for Robinson to fulfill the sentence without being incarcerated during the season. Also, because the order was imposed by a Washington court, it's unclear whether Robinson will be permitted to satisfy the work-release portion of the sentence in Wisconsin.

Even if he can, there's a broader question at work here. Do the Packers want a guy on the roster who finishes practice with a shower, shampoo, shave -- and short trip to the hoosegow.

Of course, this raises the question of why in the world the Packers signed him in the first place. It was (or should have been) obvious when he was arrested for felony fleeing, DUI, and reckless driving while on probation for DUI charges in Washington that Robinson wouldn't get yet another second chance, especially after he showed up for his 24-hour stint in jail last year with a healthy buzz on.

Somewhere, Vince Lombardi is wondering what the hell's going on around here.

HAYNESWORTH GETS PAID FOR THE BYE WEEK

On Tuesday, we surmised that Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth's five-game suspension will result in the forfeiture of six game checks, since the team's bye occurs during his absence.

We've been advised by Brian McCarthy of the league office that Haynesworth will indeed receive a game check for the bye week.

For Haynesworth, it's an extra $38,015 that he'll earn this year.

BUCS' O-LINE TAKES ANOTHER HIT

With a porous offensive line making offensive guru Jon Gruden look like Tom Walsh this season, the challenge is getting a little stiffer in Tampa Bay with the news (as revealed by our friends at PewterReport.com) that right tackle Kenyatta Walker has been placed on injured reserve after undergoing knee surgery during the bye week.

Rookie Jeremy Trueblood will start in Walker's place.

Walker is the senior member of the team's offensive line, a 2001 draft pick who has weathered an up-and-down tenure in Tampa.

When rookie guard Davin Joseph returns from a knee injury, the right side of the line will be made up of rookies.

On a somewhat related note, maybe Chris Simms shouldn't push all that hard to return this season.

GURODE STILL MIGHT PRESS CHARGES

Despite reports that Cowboys center Andre Gurode has opted not to pursue charges against Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, Gurode told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that no decision has been made.

We say that Gurode should go for it.

The guy has seven lacerations on his face. Seven. And they took 30 stitches to close.

Gurode has been contacted by the Nashville Police Department regarding the matter, and he said he wants to wait and discuss the matter with his family and his agent before making a final decision.

As we've previously suggested, Gurode might be concerned about the possibility of being blackballed by the various NFL teams if he chooses to take the matter to a court of law. His contract expires after the 2006 season, and his long-term financial interests will be tied directly to the contract offer(s) he receives from the Cowboys before March, or from another team thereafter.

Then again, it's not as if Gurode will be igniting a three-ring circus if he decides to seek prosecution. Between the video of the incident and of Haynesworth's apology for it, our guess is that a quick plea deal would be negotiated.

And although it's unlikely that Haynesworth would be spending time with K-Rob once he cops a plea, being placed on probation for a couple of years might be good for Haynesworth -- especially if he gets himself in any more trouble.

That's the key here, as we see it. Giving Haynesworth a pass now only delays his ultimate day of reckoning, if he truly hasn't learned his lesson. Adding the incident to his rap sheet might help to get him put in jail the next time he loses his cool, instead of getting him a slap on the wrist.

POSTED 3:00 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 4:44 p.m. EDT, October 4, 2006

SHERMAN THE ONLY ONE TO BLAME FOR HORRENDOUS DRAFTS?

It's becoming fashionable in the land of cheese and Lord Favre apologists to blame the team's track record of poor drafts during the Mike Sherman era on the guy who served for a period of time as both head coach and general manager.

But, the last time we checked, Sherman wasn't the only front-office employee when guys like cornerback Ahmad Carroll were selected. Carroll, the team's first-round pick in the 2004 draft, was cut on Tuesday after being burned more thoroughly than a freckle-faced teenager who fell asleep in a tanning bed.

If anything, Sherman might have had too much talent in the building. From "personnel analyst to the general manager" John Schneider (is that anything like assistant to the traveling secretary?) to director of pro personnel Reggie McKenzie to director of college scouting John Dorsey to the late Mark Hatley, the Packers were perceived as a Pro Bowl personnel department during Sherman's time as the poobah.

During his tenure as G.M., there were whispers that Sherman didn't rely sufficiently on his lieutenants. But based on the stuff we've gleaned during five years of following the NFL as closely as a hungry dog watching its master eat a bag of beef jerky, someone had to set the table for Sherman when he picked guys like Carroll.

The compilation of a team's draft board is a collaborative process, and there typically isn't much winging it that goes on while the picks are being made. Teams routinely labor for weeks over a ranking of all players, and a ranking of the players at each position.

It's highly unlikely, then, that Sherman caught a wild hair after the Rams took Steven Jackson with the 24th pick and decided out of the blue that Carroll was the right call at No. 25. We can only assume, then, that the brain trust in Green Bay previously had determined that, between Carroll and Chris Gamble (who'd be drafted by the Panthers a few spots later), Carroll is the better player. And as history has demonstrated, he isn't.

A similar argument can be made for every other failed Sherman pick.

And if the truth is that Sherman had a goofball approach to the draft, ignoring the painstaking research that had been done and opting instead to throw darts or flip coins, our guess is that one of the capable and talented men working in the front office would have said something about it to someone in a moment of exasperation.

But all we've ever heard is that Sherman didn't do a good job of delegating. Surely, he didn't build the board on his own. Surely, others had input in the mistakes that were made.

We mention all of this for one reason. Though to the casual cheesehead some solace can be had in the notion that Sherman is out of the building, the more discerning Packer backer realizes that there are still many common threads between the regime that presided over some bad drafts -- and the one that currently is in power.

WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

They're still talking about that stoopid play call on the game-deciding two-point conversion attempt.

Steelers CB Ricardo Colclough might miss Sunday night's game due to a neck injury incurred during the bye week. (It must have happened as he was trying to get his head out of his ass after a key punt muff in the loss to the Bengals.)

Kornholio's new shtick? He's fretting over not being a big enough prick. ("There, that'll keep 'em from noticing that, when it comes to football, I do not know what in the f--k I'm talking about.")

Based on Albert Haynesworth's recent episode, Chiefs DE Jared Allen apparently has realized the potential personal gain to be realized by issuing an apology -- regardless of whether it's sincere.

Panthers C Justin Hartwig is expected to practice soon.

Is Randy Moss feigning indifference simply because he's lost his kavorka?

POSTED 9:18 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 10:09 a.m. EDT, October 4, 2006

NOLAN DENIES OUR REPORT ON DAVIS

On Monday, we reported on strengthening rumors that 49ers coach Mike Nolan could fire defensive coordinator Billy Davis at the end of the 2006 season, if not sooner.

Confronted with our report, Nolan denied it.

The issue has gotten plenty of attention over the past 24 hours, and most of the news accounts actually mention this here site by name.

In response to Nolan's official position that the rumors are off the mark, we continue to hear that Davis is on the hot seat.

So why would Nolan deny it? Well, you see, Nolan is the guy who saw fit to hire Davis. So if Davis is unfit to run a defense, then it might be that Nolan is unfit to pick a guy to run a defense.

And there's plenty of evidence that Davis wasn't ready to be a defensive coordinator. He spent the prior season as the linebackers coach with the Giants, and we've heard that some players believed that coordinator Tim Lewis was the guy who was actually calling the shots with respect to the linebacking corps, leaving the troops to wonder what Davis's job really was.

We're also hearing that the presumptive replacement for Davis, assistant head coach/defense Mike Singletary, already has a big role in the defense. The fact, however, that Nolan has gone on record to declare that Davis won't be fired virtually guarantees that Davis will stay on board through 2006.

And maybe Nolan then will hope that, if/when Singletary gets a head coaching job in 2007, he'll invite Davis to go with him.

ARE WE IN DANGER OF GOING MAINSTREAM?

As the insidious virus known as PFT continues to spread through the football and media world, we're gradually getting more overt recognition.

And we're not quite sure how we feel about that.

Numerous readers have advised us that, early in the broadcast of Sunday's 49ers-Chiefs game on FOX (i.e., long before anyone quit watching the 41-0 thrashing that K.C. dished out), analyst JC Pearson made reference to PFT as his source for regular updates on the T.O. turmoil from last week.

Meanwhile, John Nalbone of the Trenton Times threw us an elephant femur with this one from Monday's edition: "According to Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat and spread throughout the Internet by the highly acclaimed Website profootballtalk.com, the NFL has acknowledged at least three critical officiating mistakes that went against the San Francisco 49ers during last week's 38-24 Eagles victory at Monster Park."

(John, we appreciate your remarks. You must not know us very well. We hope it stays that way.)

Finally, Nancy Gay of the San Francisco Chronicle might have put her own employment at risk (we're kidding, we think) by recognizing that the 600-pound elephant in the NFL media's living room might not be as big and smelly and offensive as some members of the old-guard newspaper industry might think.

Nancy writes: "Based on Sunday's 41-0 loss at Kansas City, there was indeed plenty of NFL chatter and later, a posting on the Web site profootballtalk.com -- which gets it right a lot more than it gets it wrong -- that Nolan was poised to fire 49ers defensive coordinator Billy Davis and replace him with Mike Singletary."

So thanks much to Nancy and John and JC and anyone else out there who is willing to let their own audience supplement their overall NFL knowledge by letting them know that we're out here with all sorts of stuff --a lot of which simply isn't available elsewhere.

TIRICO MIGHT GET THE T.O. TREATMENT

When the ESPN crew returns to Philly on December 4 for a Monday nighter between the Panthers and the Eagles, it might be a good idea for play-by-plan man Mike Tirico a/k/a Danny DeTirico to stay in Bristol and chase secretaries around the desk.

Why? We've received a flood of e-mails from irate individuals in the Illadelph (man, are we down or what?) regarding DeTirico's failure to properly identify the statue (or, as the case may be, stature) that adorns the top of City Hall.

Mike/Danny said that it's Ben Franklin. It's not. And if DeTirico had merely thought to give John Madden a call, the big guy could have told him who it really is.

"It's Brett Favre," Madden would have said. "And when everyone goes to sleep at night, the statue plays football up there."

POSTED 8:52 a.m. EDT, October 4, 2006

ANOTHER TURD EMERGES

The offseason used to be the primary playground for the NFL's ever-growing assortment of turds. The thinking is that, during the months in which football practices and games are occurring, men who otherwise might be tempted to do things they know in their hearts they shouldn't will be more focused and disciplined.

Man, have times changed.

Just ask Jared Allen and Chris Henry and Odell Thurman and Terrence Kiel.

The latest? Ravens return specialist B.J. Sams, who has the second-best kick return average in the league, was arrested early Tuesday for driving under the influence. It's his second DUI arrest in 14 months.

Police stopped Sams on I-695 in Baltimore after his car was swerving and nearly struck another vehicle.

His prior DUI arrest came in the same general area, where he was busted while driving 89 miles per hour in a 55 zone.

The potential consequences to Sams' employment are unclear. As to DUI arrests, the league's substance abuse policy is less structured and formulaic than it is when players either generate positive tests or fail to comply with testing. Convictions for alcohol-related offenses are covered by a different aspect of the policy. If, however, Sams was subject to a treatment plan that required him to avoid alcohol at all times, then a DUI conviction would be proof of, in essence, a "strike" under the policy's normal system of progressive discipline.

It's possible, then, that Sams will face a suspension for his actions.

And given that the Ravens' offense still isn't generating significant yardage, the field position that Sams' efforts have been giving the team would be missed if he's forced to miss any time.

POSTED 12:13 a.m. EDT, October 4, 2006

MANNING DENIES ANTI-SEMITIC, HOMOPHOBIC SLURS

Though the "real" media hasn't paid much attention to the troubling contents of a probation/police report obtained by NBCSports.com and recently acknowledged by Tom Curran of NBCSports.com regarding the April incident in which Bears cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. and others allegedly beat the Shiite out of Soroush Sabzi at a Westwood Denny's, Manning's agent apparently is trying to get out in front of a potential firestorm.

Agent James Ivler released by e-mail on Tuesday night a statement from Manning (which we're certain Manning wrote all by himself) in which Manning denies that he called Sabzi a "f--king Jew" or a "faggot" at some point before or during the point in the exchange in which Manning and others allegedly assaulted him.

"I want to make it perfectly clear that I did not make any derogatory racial, ethnic or homophobic statements at any time," Manning said. "The hateful words that have been reported in this case have no place in our society and it is important to me that everybody understands that I did not, nor would I ever, say them."

Manning's statement also explains his belief that, if he had indeed made those statements, the judge would not have been permitted by law to accept Manning's plea of no contest to felony assault charges.

"At the time of my sentencing," Manning said, "the judge made it perfectly clear to me and all other people present in court on that day that, under California law, had there been any evidence whatsoever that I made these statements, the judge, as a matter of law, would not have been able to accept my plea in this case. The District Attorney acknowledged to the judge in open court on the day I was sentenced that there was no evidence at all that I made these statements.

"The only person who claims I made these derogatory statements is the attorney for the man who filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against me days after this unfortunate incident occurred."

Fine. Great. It all sounds good, when read in isolation. But it doesn't quite mesh with the allegations contained in the report.

First of all, the guy cited in the report isn't the lawyer for the victim but, you know, the victim himself. So Manning's contention that the only person claiming that Manning made the statements is the lawyer is incorrect.

Moreover, the substance of the police/probation report conflicts with the details of Manning's denial.

"He stated that [Manning] stood next to him, looked him up and down, stared at him while he was seated," the report states. "He added that he asked [Manning], 'What's your problem?['] and [Manning] reportedly responded, 'Are you a fagot [sic]?' . . . The victim then stated that he responded to [Manning], "I'm not a fagot [sic], you're a fagot [sic], you are staring at me.'

"The police report indicates that the victim positively identified [Manning] as definitely being the person who stood next to him, called him a 'f--king Jew' or 'ugly f--king Jew' and struck him on the face, nose, and back of head."

So when Manning says, "The police reports in this case clearly establish that it was other people at the Denny's restaurant that evening who have been accused of saying these things, not me," Manning's contention is just not accurate. If anything, the police report clearly establishes that Manning is the one who said these things.

As to Manning's contention that the District Attorney and the judge both acknowledged in open court that there was no evidence that Manning called Sabzi a "f--king Jew" or a "faggot," we'll believe it when Manning or his agent release a certified copy of the transcript of the proceedings.

Even if the District Attorney made such a representation and the judge accepted it, we suspect it wouldn't be the first time that a prosecutor said what needed to be said on the record in order to effect a plea deal that the prosecutor believed was justified, but that the judge might have rejected if the whole truth had been told.

And thanks to our reader who works as a prosecutor in California, we think we understand why the District Attorney in Manning's case decided to put the ix-nay on the ew-Jay and aggot-fay talk. Section 422.75 of the California Penal Code contains a sentence enhancement for felonies that also are hate crimes. Under Section 422.55 of the California Penal Code, a criminal act committed in whole or in part due to the actual or perceived religion or sexual orientation of the victim is a hate crime.

Our take on this? Manning's lawyer and the D.A. successfully minimized the content of the police report, even though it plainly attributed comments like "f--king Jew" and "faggot" to Manning, in order to push through the terms of the deal that they negotiated. And now, in our opinion, Manning is relying on the fact that the lawyers pulled the wool over the judge's eyes in order to avoid public and media scrutiny for saying the things that the victim of the crime to which Manning pleaded no contest claims that he said.

Ricky, you can't have it both ways. You pleaded no contest to allegations of violent conduct. Subsumed in those allegations of violent conduct are allegations of hateful speech. How can any reasonable person conclude that Manning is somehow innocent as to any of these accusations when he opted to oppose none of them?

We also think that Ivler released Manning's statement in an effort to persuade the "real" media to continue to ignore Manning's Mel Gibson moment. If, after all, the judge who accepted the representation that there was no evidence to support the notion that Manning called Sabzi a "f--king Jew" or a "faggot" catches wind that there's more to the story, someone might have some 'splainin' to do.

And Manning might have some time to serve.

POSTED 9:59 p.m. EDT, October 3, 2006

HAYNESWORTH'S LOSSES? HARD TO SAY

With Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth announcing that he won't be appealing the NFL's decision to suspend him for five games without pay, there's still plenty of misinformation regarding the total financial losses that Haynesworth will realize.

Some have reported that the suspension will cost Haynesworth a half million bucks, which struck us a little high (but not as high as it should have been).

The official announcement from the league calls it a five-game game suspension without pay. So given a base salary for Haynesworth of $646,251 for 2006, five game checks equals $190,074. That's the number that many other media outlets have reported.

But the Titans have a bye week during the suspension. Since players receive 17 checks during the regular season, and given that Haynesworth's team will have its bye during the term of his suspension, he'll also lose another $38,015, pushing the total cost of the suspension to $228,089.

Then there's the possibility of a partial bonus forfeiture. We've yet to get our eyes on Haynesworth's contract, but it's likely that his deal includes language requiring him to cough up a portion of his $3.7 million signing bonus due to the suspension. Depending on the language of the contract, Haynesworth might have to refund to the Titans anywhere from $600,000 to $1.2 million in money that he pocketed in 2002, on top of the lost 2006 base salary.

Finally, it's worth nothing that Haynesworth enters the final year of his rookie deal in 2007, with his base salary spiking to more than $5.5 million. Though the league office didn't fire Haynesworth, our guess is that he'll be cut by the Titans after the 2006 season.

And it'd be nice if the other 31 teams decided not to employ him, either.

POSTED 8:55 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 9:03 p.m. EDT, October 3, 2006

WE TOLD YOU SO -- MOSS WANTS OUT OF OAKLAND

We've seen it coming for a while, even as Raiders fans called us crazy. But it's now obvious that receiver Randy Moss is no longer committed to excellence, and just wants to leave, baby.

In a radio interview with Chris Myers of FOX, Moss conceded that he'd welcome a trade out of Oakland.

"I'm not concerned about football right now," Moss said. "I'm loving life."

A lengthy excerpt from the interview was aired Tuesday on NFLN's Total Access. Moss comes off as apathetic, and he perked up in our estimation only when Myers suggested based on Randy's responses that a ticket out of town might be the only tonic.

And although Moss didn't demand a trade, he came pretty close to doing it.

As a practical matter, however, a trade is impossible. The cap hit would be disastrous, even with the new CBA tweak that allows the acceleration to be spread over two years for a post-June 1 deal.

The bigger issue, as we see it, will come in the offseason, when an extension will be the only way to get his cap number under control. Though Al Davis might be tempted to pull a Marcus Allen with Randy, keeping him around against his wishes but parking him on the sidelines, it's a luxury that no team can afford in the cap era.

Still, Randy needs to be careful. If he makes his wishes too well known, Davis will try his best to find a way to force him to stay.

With that said, Davis can keep him through 2008 only. That's the season in which his big-money 2001 extension will expire.

Traded to Oakland in March 2005, Moss said in his introductory press conference, "I'm in love right now. . . . Who wouldn't want to be in the Silver and Black? I'm committed to excellence and I just want to win, baby.

The first hint of trouble came in the offseason, as Randy mused about his desire to be traded to Baltimore or Atlanta when he was being shipped out of Minnesota. Then, just before the start of the season, Moss talked vaguely about problems in Oakland.

Both times, we pointed to the words as evidence of an eventual divorce. Both times, we were shouted down by Black Holers who insisted that Randy loves Art Shell.

If Moss loves Art, we'd hate to hear what he'd be saying if he didn't.

TEABAGGING THE TEN-PACK

It's become a staple of our regular-season coverage. The Ten-Pack. A series of observations about the game and the folks who cover it (and sometimes the commercials that are shown).

This week, we delve into pressing issues such as the decision of NBC to display on multiple occasions the image of a sign that said, "Put your sack on Hasselbeck." We set forth some ideas for related signs that hopefully wouldn't make it onto FCC-regulated airwaves:

"Put your bag on Brady."

"Put your crotch on Culpepper."

"Hang your chub on Chad."

"Put your loins on Losman."

"Hell," we write, "that's just the AFC East. We didn't even get to possibilities like 'Put your naked-butt-and-rectum on Peyton' or 'Put your johnson on Johnson' or 'Don't touch Vick or you'll get the herpes.'"

POSTED 8:26 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 10:28 a.m. EDT, October 3, 2006

OWENS UPSET WITH ROSENHAUS?

There's talk in league circles that Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens is not happy with agent Drew Rosenhaus, due to the decision of Rosenhaus to assume a low profile during last week's bizarre events involving an accidental drug overdose, a bona fide suicide attempt, or something in between.

The usually loquacious Rosenhaus, who took the time last week to offer up some favorable sound bites regarding Eagles defensive end Jevon Kearse's knee surgery, has made like Claude Rains regarding the Owens situation.

As we surmised last week, Drew likely has kept out of the spotlight because he suspects that nothing good could come out of attaching his voice and/or likeness to incidents like the train wreck that unfolded last week when T.O. came off as curiously chipper despite erroneous, worldwide news reports that he'd tried to kill himself the night before -- and when Owens' publicist came off as an illiterate moron who thinks that money is the secret to human happiness.

Most league insiders and observers agree that Kim Etheredge's ill-advised "25 million reasons why he should be alive" line wasn't something that she came up with on the spot. Some think that Etheredge might have picked up that talking point from discussions with Drew, since reference by him to the "25 million reasons" would have been a not-so-subtle pat on the back for the contract that he was able to finagle despite the fact that no other team was genuinely interested in Owens, and that the Cowboys were essentially bidding only against themselves.

Though we haven't heard that Owens intends to part ways with Rosenhaus, such a move wouldn't surprise us. Owens abruptly dumped his personal trainer last week after the trainer disclosed to the media that Owens' fiancee' recently broke up with him, and Owens thereafter bemoaned to SI.com the fact that his former fiancee' hadn't reached out to him during his accident/suicide attempt/accidental suicide attempt.

So it's hardly a reach for Owens to be miffed that Rosenhaus has offered him no public support, especially in light of Drew's past efforts to blow the horn for T.O. and other clients. But if Owens would make a change, the new guy wouldn't get paid a dime under T.O.'s current contract; those fees go exclusively to Rosenhaus.

Unless and until Owens is back on the free-agent market. And that could come by March, if not earlier.

PFT READERS (SNIFF) ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Even though the wind currently is blowing away from a prosecution of Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, we're reiterating our call to all readers to make their voices heard.

Why? Because it's working.

Consider this quote from Sam Farmer in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times: "Beginning in the early-morning hours Monday — and coinciding with the website profootballtalk.com posting the phone number — the district attorney general's office in Nashville began receiving phone messages from NFL fans around the country demanding that legal action be taken against Haynesworth."

Though a representative of the district attorney's office says that call volume won't influence the final decision, the reality is that the district attorney is an elected official who serves at the will and pleasure of the people (voters). If enough people (voters) make their wishes known, the law is more likely to be enforced.

It's not as if there's a risk that the resources will be wasted on an acquittal. As a prosecutor who reads this site told us on Monday in response to the news that charges are unlikely because the victim, Cowboys center Andre Gurode, doesn't want to pursue the matter: "Who cares if the victim doesn't want to prosecute? It was a felony assault committed in broad daylight. Caught on tape. When we have felony assaults committed, the only question is how good the witnesses are. If it is a 'he said, she said' case, it might make prosecution difficult, and that will go into the case evaluation. That isn't the case here. Heck, you don't even have to call Gurode as a witness, just roll the tape. Had this occurred anywhere other than during a pro football game, there would have been a prosecution, willing witness or not."

And why aren't the authorities taking into consideration the fact that Gurode's decision not to press charges might have been influenced by the unspoken "we take care of our own house" culture that permeates many organizations? The image-obsessed NFL surely doesn't want another one of its players to be prosecuted; since Rae Carruth, Ray Lewis, and Mark Chmura were all tried within the course of a year more than five years ago, there has been no high-profile criminal trial of an NFL player in the half-decade since.

Also, let's not overlook the fact that ignoring this matter will make it harder to properly punish Haynesworth if he ever commits another violent act, possibly against someone other than a fellow football player. Even if he's only put on probation for a couple of years as a result of a quick and simple plea deal, he'll think twice (in theory) before kicking in the crotch someone who cuts in front of him at the Kwik-E-Mart.

So, please, keep up the pressure. Here's the contact information:

Victor S. (Torry) Johnson III
District Attorney General

Washington Square, Suite 500
222 2nd Avenue North
Nashville, Tennessee 37201-1649
Phone (615) 862-5500
Fax (615) 862-5599

We urge our friends in Tennessee (and specifically in Nashville) to make the call, and demand that justice be done. Not just for Gurode, but for anyone else who has to share the same roads, sidewalks, aisles, and rooms with Haynesworth.

A LAWSUIT IS POSSIBLE, TOO

In addition to the criminal justice system, Cowboys center Andre Gurode has the option of pursuing Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth through a civil claim for battery. In such an action, Gurode would be entitled to recover any out-of-pocket losses due to the injury, compensation for pain and suffering, and a fair and just amount for any scarring or disfigurement of his forehead and/or face. Punitive damages, aimed at sending a message to Haynesworth and others that this kind of stuff won't be tolerated, are also a possibility.

As we see it, though, the apparent decision of Gurode not to press charges suggests that he won't sue Haynesworth (assuming, of course, that it's truly Gurode's decision not to pursue prosecution). In many cases involving civil liability that also constitutes criminal liability, the first step is the criminal prosecution, because it makes the civil claim easier to pursue if there's a criminal conviction or guilty plea -- and because the existence of the criminal charges can be used as a practical matter to leverage a better civil settlement, given that prosecutors are often influenced by the wishes of the victim.

Gurode likely would have two years under Tennessee law to file suit. If we were representing him, we'd tell him to get his injuries fully healed and then assess the scarring, etc. before deciding how to proceed. To the extent he's feeling any pressure (subtle or otherwise) from the Cowboys to let it go, we'd allow more time to pass.

And since he's in the final year of his contract (at a $1 million base salary), it would make sense for Gurode to put any possible civil claims on the back burner until after he signs his next deal, because we wouldn't rule out the possibility that NFL teams might regard him as less marketable if he doesn't allow the ugly incident to quickly scab over and heal.

MNF DOUBLEHEADER BLOCKED BY FOX?

An industry source tells us that, if the October 8 game between the Lions and Vikings is moved to Monday night due to a conflict with the baseball playoffs, the game would start at the same time as the currently-scheduled Monday night contest involving the Ravens at the Broncos.

Per the source, FOX has objected to giving ESPN an opportunity to dominate the ratings with another back-to-back Monday night extravaganza. ESPN opened the season with a doubleheader. It drew excellent ratings (by ESPN's standards) and was well received by the fans.

FOX has a voice in this matter because, if the game is bumped from Sunday, it will deplete FOX's slate of games. Though we're not privy to the specific language of the broadcast contracts regarding situations of this nature, the obvious outcome is that FOX would be losing a game for which it paid, and ESPN would be picking one up. Whether the powers-that-be took such complications into account is an open issue, and it could be that there's no clear formula for handling this one -- and that the NFL is trying a broker a deal aimed at keeping everyone happy at best, or not completely pissed off at worst.

In the past, games moved to Monday night started at the same time as the regularly-scheduled MNF contest, and were aired regionally and on DirecTV.

In 2003, wildfires forced the Miami at San Diego game to Arizona, where it was played on a Monday night. In 1997, a game between the Bears and Dolphins landed on Monday night due to the baseball postseason. In 1987, a game between the Broncos and Vikings was moved to Monday night, again due to baseball.

TUESDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

Some of Jeremy Shockey's teammates are giving him the shocker.

Cowboys DE Greg Ellis, who is the team's NFLPA rep, thinks that C Andre Gurode should receive some type of compensation for the injuries he sustained due to Albert Haynesworth's foot.

Ravens G Edwin Mulitalo is out for the season; Jason Brown is the next man up.

The 4-0 Ravens are 28th in total offense, even with Kyle Boller on the sidelines scanning the stands for hotties.

Packers WR Robert Ferguson thinks he might have broken foot.

At what point does the sorry state of the Fins' offensive line get pinned on the Nicktator?

Eagles CB Lito Sheppard and Rod Hood missed Monday night's game.

Paul Smith of the Rams and Frank Davis of the Lions both went to the hospital after colliding with each other on Sunday -- and they ended up sharing a room. ("Yo, Apollo, did you give me your best?")

Raiders QB Aaron Brooks (torn pectoral muscle) might miss another game. (Said Brooks when informed of the news, "Yesssss.")

Man, that Albert Haynesworth thing must have really put a damper on Pacman's birthday party:

(Copy editing services courtesy of Kim Etheredge.)

POSTED 12:49 a.m. EDT, October 3, 2006

MNF DOUBLEHEADER COMING NEXT WEEK?

The AP reports that Sunday's game between the Lions and the Vikings will be moved to Monday, October 9 if the ALDS series involving the Minnesota Twins is extended to a fifth game.

Game Five would be played on Sunday, and there would be a conflict, since both sports are played in the same building.

It remains to be seen whether the Lions-Vikings game would be broadcast simultaneously with Ravens-Broncos , or whether ESPN would televise both games as a doubleheader.

If the games ultimately are played at the same time, one could be shown on ESPN and the other could be televised on ESPN2.

Another possibility would be to stagger the starting times, like the league did with the 2005 Week Two Giants at Saints at Giants game, which was relocated to New Jersey after Hurricane Katrina and which was bumped to Monday due to the fact that the Jets had a Sunday game at the same venue. The regularly-scheduled Monday night game began at 9:00, and the Giants at Saints at Giants contest started roughly 90 minutes earlier.

We've previously heard that ESPN is considering three scenarios in which a doubleheader is possible due to conflicts with the baseball postseason. Two Raiders games would potentially conflict with the World Series, if the Oakland A's are one of the participants.

On at least two occasions in the past, baseball forced football games to Monday night. In 1997, the Bears at the Dolphins was bounced by the Marlins. In 1987, a game between the Broncos and Vikings ended up on Monday night due to a Twins appearance in the Fall Classic.

POSTED 8:22 p.m. EDT, October 2, 2006

PROSECUTION OF HAYNESWORTH "UNLIKELY"

In a statement released on Monday, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said that prosecution of Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth for his assault on Cowboys center Andre Gurode is unlikely.

Said the statement: "The Metropolitan Police Dept. has received word from the Dallas Cowboys organization that Andre Gurode is presently not interested in pursuing criminal action against Albert Haynesworth. Given the victim's reported position, prosecution of Haynesworth at this time is unlikely."

Interesting. What if Gurode were Mrs. Haynesworth and Albert had opened up a 30-stitch gash on her face but didn't want to prosecute? Would the authorities back off?

This is a cop out by the cops and, more importantly, by the publicly-elected district attorney who likely decided that the only thing that would come out of such a prosecution is controversy. And controversy can kill a political career quickly.

So we're asking all of our readers in Tennessee to put the pressure on the powers-that-be to show some sack and take a stand.

POSTED 4:44 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 5:39 p.m. EDT, October 2, 2006

HAYNESWORTH SUSPENDED FIVE GAMES

We're being told by multiple readers listening to talk radio in Tennessee that the NFL has suspended Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth five games without pay for Sunday's assault on Cowboys center Andre Gurode.

Though the suspension is the largest ever in league history for on-field conduct, it doesn't go far enough. When a guy like Ricky Williams gets a full year off due to his ongoing love affair with a Mexican girl named Mary Jane, which generally is a victimless crime, how does Haynesworth not at least get that much?

In our view, the league missed out on an opportunity to send a strong message to the players. Unfortunately, we're certain that the league will have plenty of additional opportunities to do so.

FACE STOMP NOT HAYNESWORTH'S FIRST OFFENSE

For those of you who were not familiar with Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth prior to his well-publicized actions of Sunday, don't be fooled by the images and the sounds of a contrite Haynesworth expressing "disgust" with his conduct and conceding that his behavior denigrates his last name.

The guy is, was, and always will be a turd.

As a rookie in 2002, Haynesworth started a training camp brawl by kicking center Justin Hartwig. The following season, Haynesworth started another practice field brouhaha by hitting tackle Matt Martin in the back of the head after the duo exchanged words. Coach Jeff Fisher deactivated Haynesworth for one game following the incident.

Earlier this year, Haynesworth was charged with reckless endangerment after being accused of trying to run a car off of the highway. The charges were later dropped.

The only positive thing we can recall about Haynesworth is that in 2005 he refused to call cornerback Adam Jones "Pacman" until the rookie earned the right to be referred to by something other than his given name.

Ironically, Haynesworth has earned that very right. Instead of Albert, we'll now call him "Asshole."

STILL NO MANNING OUTRAGE

Although we find the actions of Asshole Haynesworth to be far more troubling than the slurs reportedly directed by Bears cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. to a fellow patron at a Westwood Denny's in April -- before Manning and others proceeded to beat and kick the crap out of him -- we're still amazed by the dearth of attention that has been paid to a probation report indicating that Manning called the victim a "f--king Jew" and a "faggot."

The only publications that have to date acknowledged the statements are the Chicago Tribune and the New York Post. There was no mention of it during Sunday night's NBC broadcast, and there has been precious little discussion of the incident elsewhere.

Indeed, ESPN Radio's Eric Kuselias and Mike Golic were oblivious as to the quotes in the police report, which were raised by of all people Dick Vitale during his weekly "Take A Breath . . . And A Fistful Of Valium" appearance on Mike & Mike in the Morning.

We rarely post entire e-mails that we get from readers (with the exception of guys like Chris Havel), but we think that this message aptly summarizes the reaction we've received:

"I hadn't read about Manning's comments until I logged on today -- which also happens to be Yom Kippur -- the holiest Jewish day of the year -- the day we're supposed to ask for our atonement for our sins. I know -- as a Jew, what am I doing reading your site today of all days? Then I made matters worse by logging onto Peter King's Monday Morning QB to see if he, unlike his NBC brethren, had made mention of Manning's statements. Nope.

"I'm disappointed that Manning's statements aren't getting any play but his play (those interceptions last night) are. I'm also disappointed in King, who I know you are a fan of, who should have at least raised the issue in his column. I wonder how many of the owners (many of whom are Jewish -- like Al Davis, Randy Lerner, Robert Kraft, Triple Word Score Wilf, Malcolm Glazer, etc.) know about these statements and if so, what their reaction is. I wonder if the NFL has a no-racism, no-xenophobia, no anti-Semitism policy -- especially since the NFL has already played games in Europe, Mexico, and Asia.

"If not, why not? They are the highest profile sport in our nation and what their players and executives say unfortunately influences people at every socio-economic strata. What can we do to out Manning's statements and get them more exposure? If we don't, high profile folks, be they Mel Gibson or Ricky Manning, Jr. , will continue to utter these stupid statements and influence a sector of the populace who doesn't know any better and will perpetuate these ridiculous beliefs."

Well said. Frankly, we don't know else we can do. Our pal Peter King is a busy man these days, and our guess is that he hasn't been apprised of Manning's remarks -- especially since only two newspapers and one rinky-dink web site are talking about them.

Many readers have asked us to publish the e-mail addresses of league, union, and team officials so that their voices can be heard on the issue, but it wouldn't be appropriate for us to disclose that information and expose our contacts to hundreds of messages raising the same subject.

So we'll do only what we can -- we'll continue to make our thoughts on this and other matters like it right here, and we'll comment on it when given the opportunity to do so in a radio spot.

If all else fails, we'll let Dante weigh in during the next PFT PodCast, during which we think the word "turd" will be uttered more times than the word "the".

POSTED 3:28 p.m. EDT, October 2, 2006

SEVERE PENALTY COMING FOR HAYNESWORTH

Don Banks of SI.com reports that the NFL will be imposing an "unprecedented punishment" on Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth in response to his actions from Sunday, which involved stomping twice on the face of Cowboys center Andre Gurode.

The punishment is expected to include a multi-game suspension and a large fine.

"This goes beyond the club disciplining one player,'' a league source told Banks. "This is a league matter and will be handled by the league on both ends. Given the egregious nature of the incident, it's a fair assumption to make that it'll be an unprecedented [punishment]. I'm not sure there is a precedent for a transgression of this nature. I don't think we've seen anything like this in the NFL.

"[Y]ou're talking about a player who almost had his eye gouged out. If this were NHL hockey in Canada, you could have had charges pressed against [Haynesworth]. That's happened up there in the past few years or so. This was pretty gruesome. The hammer is going to come down."

"The importance of player safety is clear,'' the source added. "But this is not just about players strictly abiding by the rules of the game. It gets to issues of common decency and sportsmanship. Barbaric is a good word for this incident. This was that kind of event.''

Okay, that was the news. Now we'll provide our analysis of it.

FIRE THE SON OF A BITCH.

How many of us would still be employed after engaging in "barbaric" acts in the workplace? And what's up with the source's presumption that they only prosecute sports goons in Canada? Haynesworth committed a criminal act, and should be punished for it accordingly.

We've received several e-mails from readers who seem to think that Haynesworth's workplace violence wasn't as brutal as it would have been in a "normal" workplace because, in the NFL, employees hit each other by definition. But this really was different. Though we're not sure where the line is between unnecessary roughness and assault and battery, Haynesworth was clearly over it.

His actions came after the play was finished. He forcibly removed Gurode's helmet.

And then Haynesworth stepped on his face. Twice.

It's not "boys being boys" and it's not a question of whether Haynesworth led with his helmet when hitting the quarterback. It was a criminal act performed by a guy in football pads, and it's no different than any other criminal act that routinely draws prosecution when the perpetrator is wearing a ski mask.

So even though the league seems poised to make a strong statement, we fear that it's not going to be strong enough. And we also are concerned that the prosecutor won't touch it the matter -- unless and until there's a strong outcry for it locally.

But we're going to keep up the heat, as to Haynesworth and Ricky Manning and Jared Allen and Chris Henry and every other guy who is simultaneously living the dream, and killing it. The game yours truly has followed with the enthusiasm of an 8-year-old throughout the 32 years since eight gave way to nine is in deeper trouble than the folks presently running it realize, and making Haynesworth stay home for a few weeks before he can then resume the privilege of playing in the NFL isn't going to send a strong enough message to those who will continue to engage in other wrongful acts.

The players in the NFL need to know that the tide has turned, and Haynesworth is the player who needs to be expelled from the sport and/or sent to jail in order to get all of the other turds out there (and you know who you are -- and so do we) to start figuring out that there are consequences for bad behavior, regardless of how fast you can run, how high you can jump, or how hard you can push someone around.

POSTED 10:47 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 1:47 p.m. EDT, October 2, 2006

FISHER, FLOYD "NOT COMMUNICATING"

A league source tells us that the situation is Tennessee is getting downright ugly -- and we're not talking about the aftermath of Albert Haynesworth's decision to stomp on the face of Cowboys center Andre Gurode.

Per the source, coach Jeff Fisher and G.M. Floyd Reese, both of whom are in the final years of their respective contracts, are "not communicating."

The popular sentiment is that one will stay and one will go. It's possible, as we see it, that both will go if neither can handle the inherently stressful situation properly. Fisher recently showed an uncharacteristic lack of poise when accusing former quarterback (and presumptive 2006 opening-day starter) Billy Volek of being a liar after Volek was traded to the Chargers. Last week, Fisher threatened the local media with closing practice if anyone were to report that quarterback Vince Young would be starting on Sunday against the Cowboys (it's a good thing Fisher kept it quiet, or that 45-14 outcome might have been 59-3).

Reese has been less visible, though arguably more culpable for the current state of the franchise. It was Reese, per published reports, who pushed for cornerback Pacman Jones with the sixth pick in the 2005 draft; Fisher wanted Antrel Rolle. And we've got a feeling that Fisher was pushing for Reese to sign quarterback Kerry Collins weeks if not months before the acquisition was made. In the end, the move came far too late for Collins to be ready to play.

Reese also has presided over a bloodletting of epic proportions, due in part to chronic salary cap mismanagement. Quality players like receiver Derrick Mason and cornerback Samari Rolle were released due to money not talent, and a chronic decision to nudge former franchise quarterback Steve McNair's pay into future years left the team handcuffed for much of the offseason -- and forced an ugly showdown when the Titans refused to let McNair work out in the facility for fear of owing him his full salary if he suffered a season-ending injury.

And someone has to be responsible for the decision to bring Haynesworth into the fold. Though it might be difficult to reconstruct who pulled the trigger on Haynesworth with a first-round pick in 2002, our guess is that someone in the front office should be able to remember whether Haynesworth was a Fisher guy or a Floyd guy.

In our opinion, Reese should go and the new G.M. should have a chance to decide whether to keep Fisher, who has been a solid if not spectacular coach. Because, however, the contracts for both men expire in the same offseason it will be impossible for the new G.M. to have a fair shot at evaluating Fisher without Fisher getting a new deal.

So, under the circumstances, we think the only move for the Titans is to start from scratch. Hire a new G.M., give him a five-year deal, and let him hire a new coach, who'll get a three-year deal.

And the lesson to be learned by every other pro sports franchise is to never, ever allow both the G.M. and the head coach's contract to expire in the same year.

RADIO MONDAY, AND TUESDAY

For any of you out in the great state of Colorado (and for the rest of you who have Internet access), the Poobah will be on the air with Dino Costa on Monday at 2:15 p.m. EDT, 12:15 p.m. MDT.

Coming on Tuesday, it'll be time for our weekly visit with WFNZ in Charlotte (2:25 p.m. EDT), WDAE in Tampa (5:15 p.m. EDT), Sporting News Radio (10:25 p.m. EDT), and WIP in Philly (10:40 p.m. EDT) for a look at our forthcoming Ten-Pack of takes on Week Four of the 2006 regular season.

POSTED 9:14 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 10:24 a.m. EDT, October 2, 2006

FINS GRUMBLING ABOUT MULARKEY

With the Miami Dolphins staggering to a 1-3 start -- and losing Sunday on the road to the lowly Houston Texans -- we're told that some players on the team are beginning to grouse about the offseason decision to hire former Bills coach Mike Mularkey to be the team's offensive coordinator.

The Fins are averaging 284.5 yards per game, seventh from the bottom of the league. The only teams with lower output are the Titans, Ravens, Texans, Browns, Bucs, and Raiders, who at a paltry 177 yards per game are nearly 60 yards per game behind the No. 31 offense.

But at least the Raiders have an "excuse" -- their offensive coordinator, Tom Walsh, is trying to get reacquainted with the game of football after seven years out of the sport and more than a decade out of the NFL. Mularkey, on the other hand, was the head coach of the Bills for the past two seasons.

And although Mularkey was a respected offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers before getting the top job in Buffalo, something isn't working in Miami. Maybe the effort to use the offense that Scott Linehan installed in 2005 with a different set of quarterbacks and a new coordinator is the problem. We're firm believers in designing an offense each year to fit the specific strengths (and hide the weaknesses) of the players who'll be executing it. A playbook, in our view, is a fluid, dynamic thing, which should be changed on the fly as necessary. The job for the coaches is to understand what the personnel can and can't do, and instead of trying to get the players to do things they can't the coaching staff should put together an attack that highlights the things they can.

Of course, this presumes that a team has acquired players who have sufficient talent to block, run, etc. at an NFL level.

In Miami's case, we don't get the feeling that the offense was designed with sufficient consideration given to how it will all come together -- including most importantly whether Mularkey knows enough about the players and the schemes to craft the right game plan each week and to call the right plays at the right time.

Publicly, however, the players are accepting the blame. Said defensive end Jason Taylor after Sunday's loss to the Texans: "I'm going to tell you like this," Taylor said. "Some people might not believe what I'm about to say. Some might not agree, some might agree. And quite frankly, I really don't care what they think. We are not a very good football team. You could take that, print it. Bold print. We're not a very good football team. Whatever people want to say is the worst team in the league, that's us. That's how we're playing."

Still, despite Taylor's focus on the players and not on the rest of the structure, it's hard not to put some blame on the people who brought the team together -- and on those who are charged with getting it ready to play.

And sooner or later the folks in Miami (ownership of the team included) are going to wonder whether the man hired to turn the thing around, Nick Saban, is really making any progress. We personally like the guy and he provides some great sound bites but this explanation of a goofy halfback quasi-reverse option pass on a potential game-tying two-point conversion sounds like something a two-bit high school coach would offer up: "It's like every other play," Saban said. "When it works, it's a good play and very innovative. When it doesn't work, it's a bad play. So it was a bad play because it didn't work."

No, it was a bad play because Ronnie Brown isn't a quarterback and because the notion of a halfback pass is far more appropriate when there's open field behind the defense into which a receiver can streak after the secondary commits to stopping the run. Giving Brown the ball and providing him with a pass option from the two generates, in our view, no real benefit. It's far better to keep the ball in the quarterback's hands and put four or five guys into the end zone, maybe holding a tight end or a running back in to block at first before sliding into an open space. The run option is there for the signal-caller, too -- and even the still-gimpy Daunte Culpepper should be able to cover the ground if the linebackers and defensive backs are focusing too much on the receivers.

Then again, maybe the fact that Saban took the ball out of Culpepper's hands at such a critical time tells us everything we need to know about the current state of the franchise, and of the big-name quarterback it swiped (or so we thought) from the Vikings for a second-round draft pick. Really, if Saban won't let Culpepper try to be the one to tie the game with less than two minutes to go, we don't think it'll be much longer before Saban decides to go with the other formerly high-profile quarterback whom he acquired from an NFC North team.

NOLAN TO DUMP DAVIS?

In the wake of a 41-0 trouncing by the Kansas City Chiefs, talk is intensifying in league circles that Niners defensive coordinator Billy Davis will be fired at the end of the season, if not sooner.

Davis was hired by Mike Nolan in February 2005, after Nolan was named the 49ers' new head coach.

We've previously reported that players have been getting mixed signals from Davis and Nolan (a former defensive coordinator) regarding the team's attack, which at times has been a 3-4 and at times has been a 4-3.

If Davis is dumped during the season, Mike Singletary (the team's assistant head coach/defense) possibly would team with Nolan to handle the coordinator duties. It would be a good learning experience for Singletary, who widely is regarded as a guy who'll be a head coach in the NFL before too long.

PAYTON NOT FLUSTERED OVER LOSS

Word out of the Bayou in the wake of the Saints' first loss of the season, coming at Carolina to the Panthers, is that coach Sean Payton was very positive with the team despite the defeat.

The Saints led the game 10-7 in the fourth quarter before the Panthers put together two long touchdown drives (12 plays, 91 yards and 7 plays, 73 yards) down the stretch.

Moving forward, the Saints still have plenty of other opportunities to show that they deserve consideration among the elite teams in the NFC. Upcoming opponents include the Bengals, Ravens, Steelers, Eagles, Cowboys, Redskins, Giants.

And while we think it's wise for Payton not to blow a gasket over one fourth-quarter collapse, it's important to fix whatever happened down the stretch, in order to ensure that hard-fought leads against other quality teams will be preserved.

POSTED 12:32 a.m. EDT, October 2, 2006

OUTRAGE BUILDS OVER HAYNESWORTH HOP

We've received a flood of e-mails this evening from readers who were astounded by the gross display of criminal violence that played out on LP Field Sunday afternoon.

For those of you who missed it, Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth stomped on the face of Cowboys center Andre Gurode, opening a gash that per published reports required 30 stitches to close. We've finally seen the entire video -- despite reports that Gurode's helmet came off, it's clear the Haynesworth had a role in forcibly removing it. And then Haynesworth put his cleats on Gurode's head not once but twice.

It's possible that Gurode had been holding Haynesworth all afternoon or, as we've heard about other centers, grabbing Haynesworth's frank and beans during and/or after plays. Regardless, Haynesworth's actions were beyond anything that should occur on a football field, and he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

In order to ensure that this one doesn't get brushed under the rug by the powers-that-be in Tennessee, we encourage all concerned readers to make your voices heard.

How, you aks? By contacting the chief law enforcement official directly:

Victor S. (Torry) Johnson III
District Attorney General

Washington Square, Suite 500
222 2nd Avenue North
Nashville, Tennessee 37201-1649
Phone (615) 862-5500
Fax (615) 862-5599

We'll post the text of the letter we send. Ideally, readers in Nashville (i.e., voters) will send in their own.

UPDATE: Thanks to a reader who explored the web site a bit more carefully than we did, there's a page that allows a crime to be reported. Why don't we all fill the thing out and send it in? (We just did.)

Meanwhile, we've found something in the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy that, in theory, permits the league to jettison Haynesworth, if it so chooses. In a provision addressing "Persons Engaged in Violent Activity in the Workplace," the Policy states that "[c]riminal conduct in the workplace or against other employees is prohibited," and that "[a]ny Covered Person who commits or threatens violent acts against co-workers, regardless of whether an arrest is made or criminal charges are brought, shall be subject to evaluation, counseling and discipline, including termination from employment."

Including termination from employment.

Think about it. If you stand up right now and go over to the guy who makes that weird sound when he sips his coffee, throw him to the ground, and jam your shoe repeatedly on his face until he has a 30-stitch gash, your ass would be fired before they even start cleaning the blood off of the carpet.

So why should Haynesworth get a pass? Violence is violence. "Losing it" on a football field is no different than "losing it" in a factory. And if a guy loses it in that manner, he should lose his job -- just like your or I would.

He also should go to jail. Just like you or I would.

To the new Commissioner, we say that this is a prime opportunity to put your own thumbprint on the league just as plainly as your signature is on the official game ball. Don't call Paul Tagliabue and ask him what he would have done. This atmosphere of tolerance festered on his watch.

Instead, you should set your jaw, clench your teeth, and fire Albert Haynesworth.

Will the union make a fuss? If they do, who cares? If they want to come off as soft on such serious issues at a time when the league is becoming a spin-off of America's Most Wanted, let 'em.

Besides, as Gene Upshaw and company wrestle with advocating the rights of a guy who'd already be a license plate specialist but for his God-given size and skills, what about the rights of Andre Gurode?

It's easy for other players to side with their union brothers in disputes against "the man." In this specific case, however, the players are more likely to identify with the victim than with the perpetrator.

And the one thing we can guarantee is that, if Haynesworth isn't fired, something like what he did on Sunday eventually will happen again.

POSTED 10:10 p.m. EDT, October 1, 2006

FISHER TO DEAL WITH HAYNESWORTH IF LEAGUE DOESN'T

Earlier on Sunday, we suggested that pro football is becoming a circus, since many of the performers belong in cages.

In the early games, one of the performers pulled a Siegfried and Roy when Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth stomped on the face of Cowboys center Andre Gurode, opening a 30-stitch gash.

Gurode's helmet had come off during a play in which Cowboys running back Julius Jones scored a touchdown. Haynesworth responded by stomping on Gurode's exposed head with his right foot.

Haynesworth was angered by the fact that a flag was thrown, and he took off his own helmet (unfortunately, no one stomped on his face) and threw it to the ground, drawing another flag. He then was ejected.

Peter King of NBC reports that Titans coach Jeff Fisher told Cowboys coach Bill Parcells after the game that, if the league doesn't take care of the situation appropriately, Fisher will take matters into his own hands. The CBA permits a four-game suspension without pay for conduct detrimental to the team.

After King suggested that the league will fine Haynesworth $25,000 for the incident, Cris Collinsworth intervened, arguing that the incident should be treated as a crime.

We agree. Why shouldn't Gurode file a criminal complaint against Haynesworth? If one fan had stomped on another fan's face in the stands at LP Field, he'd be prosecuted. Haynesworth should be, too.

And it's all further evidence, as a league insider told us on Saturday, that the league is in danger of rotting from the inside out. With 100-plus Division I programs pushing out 10-20 seniors every year, there are more than enough capable and competent football players to fill up the ranks of pro football. Thus, the guys who can't or won't comply with the rules that the rest of us honor each and every day need to be dealt with swiftly and harshly.

Otherwise, folks will start following other sports. Including us.

POSTED 8:35 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 9:44 p.m. EDT, October 1, 2006

BENGAL IMPLOSION BEGINNING?

One week after that fateful post-victory incident in which Odell Thurman lost his license and Chris Henry lost his lunch, the Bengals suffered a major ass-whupping at home against the Patriots.

It was a game in which the Bengals were supposed to let the AFC know that there's a new sheriff in town. (And his name is Reggie Hammond.) Instead, the Pats reminded all of us what a team with inferior talent on paper can accomplish when focused and ready and driven and not distracted by the misdeeds of turds like Thurman and Henry.

Of course, it's impossible to attribute the loss to the antics of Thurman and Henry, which has been to date the most troubling (and recent) of a string of arrests and incidents dating back to late 2005. And before Sunday the Bengals looked to be the class of the conference, sprinting to a 3-0 start and reasserting themselves as the kings of the AFC North by beating on the road the team that finished second in the division (but first in the league) last season.

With two weeks until the Bengals' next game, the real question as we see is it how they will deal with adversity. Chad Johnson boasted in the preseason that he'd set the single-season touchdown reception record; he's on pace to fall 18 short. How long before he blows his stack like he did during halftime of the January playoff loss to the Steelers?

When teams are winning, it's easy to ignore that pile of dog poop perched under the dining room table. But when the losses begin to pile up -- especially in games a team is "supposed" to win -- the stink from the stool begins to infest the whole house.

We're not about to declare that the Bengals are poised to crumble. With the exception of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, everyone loses a game. But how the Bengals respond will be critical. They travel to Tampa after the bye, which should help the effort to get back on track. Then comes two straight home games against the Panthers and Falcons before heading to Baltimore for a showdown with the currently 4-0 Ravens.

Apart from any distractions being created by the team's turmoil outside the lines, the Bengals also need to start doing a better job of stopping the run. Rookie Laurence Maroney rolled up 125 yards on only 15 carries, and former Bengal Corey Dillon added 67 stripes on 17 tries. Last week, the Steelers rolled up 170 yards on the ground.

The Bengals gave up 113 yards and 57 yards to the Chiefs and Browns, respectively, to start the season. So someone has figured out something in the past two games, and it's very important, as we see it, for the Bengals to re-take control of the line on the defensive side of the ball.

MORE ON RICKY MANNING

We've gotten e-mails from several readers in response to our reference of this afternoon to Phil Mushnick's item in the New York Post regarding the "real" media's decision not to focus on some troubling statements allegedly made by Bears cornerback Ricky Manning in connection with the April incident at a Westwood Denny's that recently resulted in Manning pleading no contest to felony assault charges.

The police report, which per the Post was obtained by NBCSports.com, says that a group including Manning and Jags running back Maurice Jones-Drew (who initially was charged but later was exonerated) began bullying 25-year-old student Soroush Sabzi, "a Swedish citizen of Persian descent." After Sabzi asked to be left alone, the insults began.

Niceties like "Are you a faggot?" and "You f--king Jew" were hurled at Sabzi. When he asked restaurant management to intervene, Manning stood over the seated Sabzi and called him "an ugly f--king Jew" and a "faggot."

So why has this one been ignored? Is it because Manning is not named "Mel Gibson"? Or is it because the victim is from the area formerly known as Persia and presently known as Iran?

What if, as Mushnick ponders, Manning were white and the victim were black and the word "f--king" were followed by the queen mother of racial slurs?

And because NBCSports.com obtained the police report, we're watching the NBC broadcast of the first Bears game since Manning copped his plea to see if the incident is even mentioned by play-by-play man Al Michaels, who is Jewish.

As one league insider explained to us on Sunday, it'll also be interesting to see how the situation is handled by the firm that represents Manning, which is headed up by Alan Herman, who is also Jewish.

UPDATE: After a Ricky Manning interception, Michaels made only a general reference to the guilty plea, with no mention of anti-Semitic or homophobic statements. Sideline reporter Andrea Kremer provided a follow-up in which she steered clear of his controversial (if anyone would notice them) comments. She also parroted his inordinately lame explanation that he pleaded no contest in order to avoid the possibility of losing at trial.

FURTHER UPDATE: Another pick by Manning, and still no reference of any kind to his slurs. Maybe the new TV deals contain a Playmakers clause that prevents the sock puppets from being too candid about the criminal element in the NFL.

LIVE BLOG COMING MONDAY

It's quickly become one of the most popular features on the site. And we still don't know why.

Regardless, we like doing the Live Blog on Monday nights, and you apparently like reading it.

So we'll do it again tomorrow night, with the Packers and Lord Favre heading to Philly.

And the question of the day is who'll be the unwanted celebrity to show up in the second quarter to visit with Joey Sunshine, Kornholio, and Danny DeTirico?

The possibilities, as we see it: (1) Sly Stallone; (2) Will Smith; (3) Bill Cosby; (4) Vince Papale; (5) Jim McGreevey; and (6) Soroush Sabzi.

POSTED 1:10 p.m. EDT, October 1, 2006

FISHER THREATENED NASHVILLE MEDIA ON UNCLE RICO

An industry source tells us that the local media in Nashville was well aware that the Titans would make a switch to quarterback Vince "Uncle Rico" Young.

But coach Jeff Fisher threatened the local media to close practice, perhaps for the rest of the season, if the story were to appear on any newspaper, web site, television report, or radio station.

After Jay Glazer of FOX broke the story on Saturday afternoon, the local media was finally given the green light.

Our take? It's a bunch of crap. Fisher has no right dictating what can and can't be reported, and we're disappointed that no one in the Nashville media had the sack to call his bluff.

We're not aiming this criticism at the individuals reporters, since like the rest of us they work for a living. Indeed, it's our understanding that both Terry McCormick of the Nashville City Paper and Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean have publicly disclosed Fisher's ruse after the fact, which possibly could get them in the cross hairs for retaliation. Our guess is that the powers-that-be at the individual media outlets made the ultimate decision to comply with Fisher's unreasonable and unfair edict, which for at least one week reduced the local journalists to little more than cheerleaders to the bigger cause of helping the Titans to a win.

And of commencing the process of saving Fisher's job.

POSTED 12:18 p.m. EDT, October 1, 2006

NEW DEAL FOR UPSHAW

Jay Glazer of FOX reports that NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw is close to an agreement that would continue his tenure by five more years.

The years and the dollars have been negotiated, and the deal awaits final approval of NFLPA president Troy Vincent and the union's executive committee.

The new contract runs through 2010, replacing a prior agreement that would have expired after the 2008 season. So, in the end, it's a two-year extension.

But it covers a critical two-year period. Under a little-publicized provision of the CBA worked out in March, either the league or the union can reopen the current deal by giving the other side notice as early as November 2008, which means that Upshaw will be on the job if either side opts to scuttle the CBA a full two years prematurely.

We've previously heard that, while the NFL Management Council does not want to exercise the option to shorten the current CBA, a sufficient number of owners might vote to do so, due to lingering hostilities regarding supplemental revenue sharing and the perception that the union scuh-rewed the NFL on a variety of noneconomic terms, including for example the ability to deactivate a player indefinitely for disciplinary reasons.

All things considered, it's a positive development for long-term peace. One of the big fears in the wake of the current CBA negotiations was that the next round of negotiations could involve two personalities with no knowledge of each other and no history. Goodell and Upshaw are well acquainted, and there won't be the same risk of posturing and other ego-driven distractions when the time comes for Goodell and Upshaw to get down to business that there would have been if an outsider had been hired to be the Commissioner -- and if the union had a new chief.

GREEN STILL FOUR WEEKS AWAY FROM PLAYING

FOX's Jay Glazer also reports that Chiefs quarterback Trent Green is still at least four weeks from returning to the field in the wake of a wicked Week One hit that sent him to the hospital with a concussion.

"There is no timetable with this," Green told Glazer. "It's hard to tell you anything exact and for me that's been really frustrating."

Green is no longer suffering from headaches, but still has some sensitivity to light.

"They still have to clear me just to practice," Green said. "Then when they clear me to practice they'll probably want me to practice for a week or two before playing."

Our take? We'd pack it in. With concussions, one plus one often can equal five. Even if Green has never previously had a concussion before September 10, the severe reaction to his first one could make the consequences of the next one even more serious.

SOUP NAZI REMINDS PLAYERS OF PROTOCOL

For Giants coach Tom Coughlin, talking publicly about the head coach is almost as bad as asking for a piece of bread with your crab bisque.

Per Jay Glazer of FOX, the coach we affectionately (or not) call the Soup Nazi read to the team league rules regarding the things that players can't say about coaches, the team, the front office, and the league office. Such comments can be deemed "conduct detrimental to the team."

Under the CBA, a player can be suspended without pay for up to four weeks for conduct detrimental to the team.

As we've previously explained in our current Ten-Pack of observations from Week Three, we think the guy responsible for putting together this group of mismatched personalities is G.M. Ernie Accorsi, and yet he never, ever gets blamed for the failure of the players and the coaching staff consistently to come together as a "team".

SUNDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post makes some great points regarding the "real" media's failure to report on the fact that Bears CB Ricky Manning called his victim a "f--king Jew" and a "faggot."

Speaking of the "real" media, we're starting to think that maybe there has been precious little criticism of the NFL's decision to get in bed with the University of Phoenix because of all those University of Phoenix ads that appear on the web sites maintained by various "real" media outlets.

Charley Casserly of CBS confirms our prior informed speculation that the prompt suspension of Bengals LB Odell Thurman resulted from an agreement by Thurman that one more false move would result in a one-year banishment.

POSTED 9:37 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 11:50 a.m. EDT, October 1, 2006

GOODELL'S CHALLENGE? "MAKING SURE WE DON'T ROT FROM THE INSIDE OUT"

We've gotten some more reaction to the recent DUI arrest of Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen (his second this year), and the news has pushed one league source over the edge.

"The crap in this league is getting embarrassing," the source said. "[Roger] Goodell's biggest challenge may be keeping the league from becoming a f--king joke. [We] should be spending as much money making sure we don't rot from the inside out as trying to sell T-shirts in Europe and China."

In the offseason, it's not a surprise that from time to time the stories about the turds overtake the football stuff, since there's less football stuff to talk about. But it's nearly a month into the regular season and there are still an abundance of issues unrelated to the game. A post-practice drug bust in San Diego that could engulf other players. A suicide attempt that was or wasn't a suicide attempt that became a media event rivaling the run up to the Super Bowl. A couple of guys with plenty of issues driving around drunk after a game. Another guy spending his bye week adding another line to an embarrassingly long rap sheet.

And the problem is that, for every turd in the toilet bowl, there's a team willing to pluck if out, polish it off, and hope that it can reverse its nature long enough to make a difference.

"Once a turd, always a turd," our own in-house turd Dante Aligeri once proclaimed in a PFT Podcast. And how right he is.

And how wrong the NFL is for continuing to embrace these guys.

It's time for drastic action, in our view. If the league really wants to make itself into an organization in which Playmakers is an exaggeration and not an understatement, the NFL and the NFLPA need to come together to craft some mandatory rules for permanent banishment from the game based upon a set number of criminal convictions, guilty pleas, or pleas of no contest.

Here's our suggestion. If a guy has two felonies or four misdemeanors on his record before applying for a job in the NFL, his entry is delayed for three years -- and he has to remain on the right side of the law for the entire time. For any subsequent conviction or plea of guilty or no contest, the clock re-sets to zero. If/when the guy hits three felonies or six misdemeanors, he never gets in.

And once a guy is in the league, a conviction or a plea of guilty or no contest for a misdemeanor results in an automatic five-game suspension, plus one game for every prior misdemeanor conviction or plea of guilty or no contest.

For a felony conviction or plea of guilty or no contest once a guy is in the league, he's gone for a year. And once a guy gets to three lifetime felony convictions, he's gone forever.

Currently, the league employs a relatively clear and generally strict system of progressive discipline for players who use drugs or steroids. But the so-called "Personal Conduct Policy," which encompasses all other forms of illegal conduct, is vague and murky -- and rarely results in anything more than a fine or a minimal suspension.

Take the case of Bears cornerback Ricky Manning. He pleaded no contest this week to felony assault charges. And league insiders expect him to be suspended for a couple of games.

Let's put this in perspective, folks. If any of us with "real" jobs were to plead guilty or no contest to felony charges, the over/under on the deactivation of our company e-mail account would be 34.5 minutes.

Regardless of whether the number of criminals in pro football is consistent with the number of criminals in other walks of life (and to anyone who actually believes that, we suggest that you avoid using sharp objects at all times), the NFL seems to have a far higher degree of tolerance for criminals than other private employers.

Only a few days before he was puking out of the window of an SUV while his teammate was being busted for DUI, Bengals receiver Chris Henry seemed to understand the message that had been imparted to his troubled team by the new Commissioner: "I was really thinking in there that he said he had been in the league 25 years and was making it clear it's a big privilege to be even around the NFL, no matter what your job is in it," Henry said.

Roger, the best long-term contribution you can make to the sport that you love (and that we love, too) is to show guys like Chris Henry and Odell Thurman and Terrence Kiel and Jared Allen and Koren Robinson that your words have teeth. It's time to get with the union and convince Gene Upshaw that the golden goose needs to start ferreting out the bad eggs before folks start deciding that they aren't interested in following a sport that really is becoming a circus -- because far too many of the performers belong in cages.

HOW TO FIX THE STEELERS' SPECIAL TEAMS

A league source who closely follows the Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh Steelers has offered up five suggestions for improving the performance of the Steelers' special teams:

1. Safety Mike Logan: If he can't run anymore, then he can't cover kicks.

2. Defensive end Rodney Bailey: Shouldn't be in the NFL at all, and thus shouldn't be on special teams.

3. Cornerback Ricardo Colclough: Doesn't give a sh-t, so he should be benched. Or shot.

4. Running back Duce Staley: Though he doesn't play special teams, he's taking up the spot of a guy who could. His salary is guaranteed, so he should just be cut.

5. Linebacker Rian Wallace: Who in the hell is Rian Wallace?

The advice from the source to Coach Chin? "Cut these guys and hire some goons just like you were when you played."

NO GUARANTEE KEARSE'S PCL WILL HEAL

We've talked to several league insiders and knee experts over the past couple of days since word broke that Eagles defensive end Jevon Kearse's knee wasn't as badly damaged as initially feared. The ultimate reason for that belief flowed from the fact that Dr. John Uribe was not required to reconstruct Kearse's MCL or PCL.

But the reality here is that Uribe merely looked at the two ligaments during the arthroscopic procedure, and concluded that they were starting to heal on their own.

Whether the PCL sufficiently heals on its own is, as we understand it, a wide-open question.

Unlike the ACL, a fairly common injury that is now repaired routinely (despite a relatively arduous rehab process), far less is known about how to properly fix a torn PCL. Will it repair itself? Will it still provide stability to the knee?

The more we learn about the knee, the more we're convinced that some Entity designed the human body -- and that we'll never be smart enough to figure out how to fully and completely fix every aspect of it.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT OUR POWER RANKINGS

One of our weekly features is the PFT Power Rankings. And it's not just a list of teams with a quick five-word statement about the last game or the next. It's more of the same smart-alecky zingers that appear in this space from time to time.

Some examples from Week Three:

1. Colts (3-0): Peyton Manning's "naked bootleg" against the Jags actually appears in the playbook as a "naked-butt-and-rectum-leg."

6. Seahawks (3-0): Taking a cue from the MVP's belief that prayer healed his broken foot, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck keeps checking his scalp for buds.

8. Saints (3-0): Reggie Bush might have to trade in his gold cleats for ruby slippers in order to find the end zone.

15. Rams (2-1): Cornerback Brown's momma has told Bills Maas to go Fakhir himself.

32. Raiders (0-2): In an effort to modernize the offense, the quarterback will now use toothpicks instead of twigs when diagramming plays in the dirt.

Click here for the full list of the Week Three rankings.

SUNDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

ESPN reports that Redskins QB Mark Brunell (elbow) will start on Sunday.

ESPN's Ed Werder reports that Uncle Rico has known since Tuesday that he would be starting this week.

ESPN's Sal Paolantonio reports that Colts K Adam Vinatieri is still questionable.

ESPN's Rachel Nichols still scares the bejeepers out of us.

Pats S Eugene Wilson and CB Ellis Hobbs are out for Sunday against the Bengals.

Eagles WR Donte' Stallworth (hamstring) practiced Saturday but his availability for Monday is still up in the air.

Despite being listed as doubtful this week, Eagles CB Lito Sheppard practiced on Saturday.

ESPN's Ed Werder says that T.O. will start on Sunday against the Texans.

Jaws is still wearing his ladies glasses.

Coach Ditka insists that the Cowboys should get rid of T.O. right now.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports that the NFL might look into T.O.'s use of prescription medication and supplements.

Mort explains that the Cards decided to stick with QB Kurt Warner due in part to the fact that the Falcons lost on Monday night at New Orleans, making them even more motivated to beat the Cardinals on Sunday.

Mort says that Bucs QB Chris Simms believes he suffered a ruptured spleen in the first quarter of last Sunday's game, which raises again the question of why team doctors didn't spot the problem; a total of three pints of blood were pumped out of Simms' abdomen during surgery.

Mort says that Bengals WR Chris Henry is likely to be deactivated for Sunday, for disciplinary reasons.

Finally, Mort points out that Titan QB Vince Young will earn a $4.1 million bonus if he participates in 35 percent of the team's offensive snaps this season; he gets this if he achieves that threshold in any year of his contract -- and one of the only guys who didn't have such a rollover provision was Browns TE Kellen Winslow, who didn't make it to 35 percent as a rookie.

ESPN's Sal Paolantonio now says that Colts K Adam Vinatieri won't kick on Sunday, due in large part to concerns that rain will make the FieldTurf slick. (Where's Joey Sunshine when we need him to opine on the integrity of a surface on which he never played?)

Great observation from a reader -- ESPN should tell Kornholio to shave off his combover because when they do the canned spots with the three-man crew from the game location Tony "looks like he just rolled right out of the nursing home."

Update -- Rachel Nichols still scares the bejeepers out of us.

Looking for more of the best NFL news, information, and analysis? Then click here for more than four years of rumor archives. (Or you can continue to try to figure out exactly when Pink became a dude.)

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