SanLuisObispo.com: Football

Jaguar shooting suspect attends pretrial hearing

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:11 PST

A man accused of shooting Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Richard Collier 14 times appeared Monday at a pretrial hearing, only to have another pretrial hearing set next week.

At the brief hearing, Assistant Public Defender Ann Finnell, who is representing Tyrone Romaroo Hartsfied, asked for a hearing on a motion she had filed seeking addresses of Collier and several other witnesses.

Duval Circuit Judge Hugh Carithers scheduled a Dec. 11 hearing.

Johnson's TD gives Texans a 10-0 lead over Jaguars

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:46 PST

By By CHRIS DUNCAN -- Sage Rosenfels threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson, Kris Brown kicked a 38-yard field goal and the Houston Texans led the Jacksonville Jaguars 10-0 after the first quarter on Monday night.

Rosenfels made his fourth consecutive start in place of Matt Schaub, who's been out with a left knee injury but was active for the game.

The Texans took the opening kickoff and Rosenfels found Johnson for a 12-yard gain on Houston's first play from scrimmage. Johnson, third in the NFL in receiving yards, has caught a pass in 46 consecutive games.

Schaub active, Rosenfels starts for Texans

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:51 PST

Matt Schaub was active for the Houston Texans on Monday night, but backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels was the starter against Jacksonville.

Schaub has missed the last three games with a left knee injury. He returned to practice last week and coach Gary Kubiak said he would consider playing Schaub against Jacksonville.

Rosenfels has completed 60 of 88 passes for 761 yards in Houston's last three games. He's thrown two touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Agent: Jackson could learn result of appeal

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:46 PST

By By CHARLES ODUM -- Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jackson and several other players could learn on Tuesday the results of their appeals to the NFL of suspensions for a positive doping test.

Angelo Wright, Jackson's agent, told The Associated Press on Monday that "We think it will be tomorrow."

Wright said he is confident Jackson will continue playing, no matter the result of the appeal with NFL officials.

Back to drawing board for Mangini, Jets after loss

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:11 PST

By By DENNIS WASZAK Jr. -- Eric Mangini spent the afternoon watching film of the New York Jets' loss to Denver, still unhappy with just about everything he saw.

"I really don't feel much differently than I felt after the game," Mangini said Monday. "I think that none of the three phases really played the way that we're capable of playing. I don't think that we, by any stretch, played complementary football or complete football."

The Jets were manhandled by the Broncos on Sunday, losing 34-17 as their five-game winning streak came to a crashing halt. Mangini said there was plenty of blame to go around, starting with himself.

Struggling Patriots focus on immediate future

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:01 PST

By By HOWARD ULMAN -- New England Patriots players are spending little time thinking about next year's game in London that was announced Monday. They're more concerned with the long trip they'll make in the other direction.

They travel to Seattle to face the Seahawks on Sunday, a critical game for the Patriots' playoff prospects after their 33-10 loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

They avoided a trip to China in August 2007 when the NFL canceled a planned exhibition game against the Seahawks because, it said, it wanted to concentrate its "global resources" on that year's regular-season game in London between the Giants and Dolphins.

Giants talking about Burress' future with the team

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:51 PST

By By TOM CANAVAN -- The New York Giants might make a decision on Plaxico Burress' immediate football future before the justice system or the NFL hands down rulings.

In the wake of an accidental shooting that led to weapons possession charges against the Super Bowl hero Monday, the Giants hierarchy discussed their options. The team recognizes there's a chance the star receiver who caught the winning pass in the Super Bowl might be able to report for the team's next practice Wednesday.

"We are dealing with that," coach Tom Coughlin said in a conference call. "Today we have had some discussions. Those discussions will be ongoing."

Ravens to test playoff mettle in rugged December

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:31 PST

By By DAVID GINSBURG -- The Baltimore Ravens make no apologies for their 6-0 record against losing teams, nor do they care about their perceived inability to hang with the NFL elite.

As they prepare to enter a challenging December, the Ravens are concerned only about prolonging a march toward the playoffs that has featured lopsided wins over hapless foes and overwhelming defeats against the league's upper class.

Despite playing for a rookie coach, employing a first-year quarterback and playing with much the same roster that went 5-11 last season, the Ravens (8-4) are only one game behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North and currently in position to receive a wild-card berth.

Bucs mum on Monte Kiffin's future

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:41 PST

By By FRED GOODALL -- Although the Tampa Bay Buccaneers expect to have Monte Kiffin drawing up defensive game plans for the rest of the season, his future with the NFC South co-leaders remains unclear.

Neither Kiffin or the Bucs have done anything to end speculation that the 68-year-old defensive coordinator has decided to leave the NFL to work for his son, Lane, the new coach at the University of Tennessee.

Bucs general manager Bruce Allen said Monday he knows how the situation will play out, but would not disclose whether Kiffin is staying or will give up a $2 million salary that makes him one of the highest-paid defensive assistants in the league.

Lions' Henson learns to take nothing for granted

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:06 PST

By By LARRY LAGE -- Drew Henson was the can't-miss kid in 2000 at Michigan.

Henson's options were to return as a quarterback and candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, or skip his senior season to take a crack at his dream of playing major league baseball.

After whiffing with the New York Yankees and later flopping for the Dallas Cowboys, Henson is getting a chance to salvage his NFL career with the winless Detroit Lions.

Falcons making surprise push for playoff spot

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:56 PST

By By CHARLES ODUM -- The Atlanta Falcons are becoming more than a feel-good comeback story.

With wins in six of their last eight games, the Falcons are an unlikely playoff contender one year after their 4-12 finish.

Sunday's 22-16 win at San Diego gave the surging Falcons (8-4) more momentum.

Jets, Redskins, Patriots not elite

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:42 PST

By By DAVE GOLDBERG -- The New York Jets still lead the AFC East and are likely to win it.

But a team that a week ago was being put in a New York-New York Super Bowl by the local tabloids is now being buried, replaced on the front and back pages by a receiver on the other local team who managed to shoot himself in the leg and get into more hot water doing it.

It's a demonstration of how fickle the NFL (and the Big Apple) can be.

'70s Redux: Steelers the gold standard for defense

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:51 PST

By By ALAN ROBINSON -- Fittingly enough for a team that wears the color predominantly on its uniforms, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are the new gold standard for NFL defenses.

The cast of characters has shifted from Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert and Mel Blount to Casey Hampton, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley and Troy Polamalu. Yet this current-day Steel Curtain looks to be playing at a level that can take a team far into January.

Or February.

Browns QB Anderson out for year with knee injury

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:51 PST

Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson is out for the rest of the season after tearing a knee ligament in Sunday's game against Indianapolis.

An MRI revealed Anderson tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee when he was sacked in the final minutes of Cleveland's 10-6 loss. Anderson, making his first start since Nov. 2 after being benched for Brady Quinn, will not need surgery. He will be placed in a brace and will need four to six weeks to recover.

A Pro Bowler last season, Anderson started Cleveland's first eight games before he was pulled in favor of Quinn, who suffered a season-ending finger injury last week. Quinn is still deciding on whether to have surgery.

Steve Smith's latest dazzling catch saves Panthers

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:06 PST

By By MIKE CRANSTON -- John Fox is no fan of lists and shies away from comparing things, so the question stumped him.

The Carolina Panthers coach was asked Monday where Steve Smith's back-arching, over-the-head grab in the snow in Green Bay a day earlier ranks in Smith's overflowing list of eye-popping plays.

Fox started to bring up some of the other remarkable, leaping grabs and tackle-breaking runs after catches he's seen from the 5-foot-9 Smith, but quickly gave up.

Edwards injured, Bills can't stop freefall

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:41 PST

It's bad enough the Bills have no margin for error if they want to keep their slim postseason hopes alive over the next four games. Now they may have to do it without starting quarterback Trent Edwards.

Edwards was pulled after the first half of Buffalo's disheartening 10-3 loss to San Francisco on Sunday with a groin injury, and was still sore Monday. His status for Sunday's game against Miami in Toronto won't be known until later this week after more tests are performed.

"He really felt it the last throw of the first half," coach Dick Jauron said Monday, adding that Edwards is day to day. "I don't know how much significantly more information we'll have unless the soreness goes away."

Dolphins mull playoff possibilities after win

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:06 PST

By By SARAH LARIMER -- For the Miami Dolphins, the improbable has become awfully hard to ignore.

The Dolphins, who set a dismal franchise record by going 1-15 last season and haven't reached the postseason since 2001, are now toying with the possibility of a playoff appearance. Up next for Miami is division-rival Buffalo (6-6), though coach Tony Sparano said it is getting tougher for his team to not think beyond Sunday.

"You try to tell them not to look ahead, you try to tell them not to do all those things," Sparano said Monday. "But you're at a point in the schedule right now where not looking ahead is kind of a ridiculous statement."

Pats to play Bucs in London in 2009

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:31 PST

The New England Patriots will play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next season at Wembley Stadium, the third straight year the NFL will stage a regular-season game in the British capital.

The game will be played Oct. 25. The Bucs will be listed as the home team, giving up a game in Tampa.

"Over the past two years, we have seen firsthand the excitement that exists for our sport in the UK," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday in a statement. "The games have helped us to deepen our connection with our UK fans as well as create new ones. We are looking forward to another outstanding game in 2009."

Burress appears in court, has bail set at $100,000

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:11 PST

By By COLLEEN LONG -- Taken to court in handcuffs, Plaxico Burress posted $100,000 bail on weapons possession charges Monday as the frenzy grew around the Giants star receiver who accidentally shot himself in a nightclub. Authorities said teammate Antonio Pierce was being investigated over his role in the weekend shooting, while the Super Bowl-champion Giants weren't sure what action they would take, if any, against Burress.

The NFL said it was monitoring developments. Mayor Michael Bloomberg also weighed in, saying it would be an outrage "if we didn't prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."

Burress shot himself in the right thigh in the VIP section of the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan about 1 a.m. Saturday, police said. He did not have a permit to carry a handgun in New York.

NFL policy on gun possession

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:31 PST

The NFL policy on gun possession, which applies to all employees of the NFL and its teams, including players and non-players:

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Guns and Weapons Policy (This policy applies to all employees of the NFL and its member clubs, including players.)

Road-field advantage? Visitors win big on Sunday

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:03 PST

The holiday weekend was a good time for a road trip.

If winning away from home is a predictor of playoff success, count Pittsburgh, Denver and Carolina among the contenders.

The Steelers and Broncos ignored wicked weather conditions in impressive victories over AFC East foes, while the Panthers pulled out a wild one in Green Bay, 35-31.

Tough D, long pass lead Vikes past Bears, 34-14

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 20:48 PST

By By DAVE CAMPBELL -- With a gutty goal-line stand and one big heave by Gus Frerotte, the Minnesota Vikings grabbed control of the NFC North and sent Kyle Orton and the Chicago Bears home with a humbling defeat.

Seconds after the Bears were stopped four times at the 1, Bernard Berrian pulled in a 99-yard touchdown pass from Frerotte that sent the Vikings to a 34-14 victory and sole possession of the division lead Sunday night.

Orton's team-record streak of 206 attempts without an interception ended with a thud, and Minnesota (7-5) turned three turnovers into 17 second-half points. Orton finished 11-for-29 for 153 yards and two touchdowns.

Steelers' defense stifles Patriots 33-10

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:29 PST

By By HOWARD ULMAN -- The Steelers snapped the Patriots' spell over them with a plan that has worked all season: knock 'em down, steal the ball and keep them from gaining yards.

Pittsburgh's top-ranked defense got rolling in the second half, leading the Steelers to a 33-10 win on a cold and rainy Sunday, only their second victory in eight games against New England.

"We heard a lot of talk about it being a rivalry," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. "It hasn't been much of a rivalry until you win some. That's what we talked about coming up here."

Ryan, Turner lead Falcons past Chargers

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:29 PST

By By BERNIE WILSON -- It's all but over for the star-studded San Diego Chargers, who were done in Sunday by a rookie quarterback, a rookie head coach and a former teammate.

Yes, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and the surprising Atlanta Falcons are very much alive in the NFC playoff picture, thanks to their 22-16 win over the collapsing Chargers.

Ryan, the rookie from Boston College, threw two touchdown passes and Turner, the former understudy to LaDainian Tomlinson, ran for 120 yards against his former team.

Chiefs beat Raiders 20-13 in battle of also-rans

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:18 PST

By By JOSH DUBOW -- Tyler Thigpen put together one effective drive for Kansas City to beat the Oakland Raiders in a matchup between two of the NFL's worst teams.

Thigpen engineered a 91-yard drive that was capped by Larry Johnson's 2-yard tiebreaking touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to lead the Chiefs to a 20-13 victory Sunday. They snapped a seven-game losing streak and won for just the second time in their last 21 games.

Kansas City (2-10) scored its first touchdown on Maurice Leggett's 67-yard fumble return on a botched fake field goal by Oakland (3-9).

Vikings RT Hicks out against Bears

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:13 PST

Minnesota Vikings right tackle Artis Hicks was scratched from a pivotal NFC North game against Chicago on Sunday night with a right elbow injury.

Hicks was inserted into the starting lineup for the struggling Ryan Cook last week at Jacksonville, but injured his elbow in that game. He did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and did so sparingly on Friday while being listed as a game-time decision.

The move means Cook returns to his starting spot on the right side next to guard Anthony Herrera with first place in the division on the line.

Burress episode renews safety questions for NFL

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:18 PST

By By HOWARD FENDRICH -- New York Giants receiver Amani Toomer used to snicker and scoff when he'd notice pro athletes traipsing around town with personal bodyguards.

He isn't laughing now. Not after hearing about various violent episodes involving NFL players, the latest being when teammate Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a New York nightclub.

"I used to see guys walk into clubs with security, and I was like, 'Who do they think they are?' But now I'm like, 'Wow. This is a big deal,'" Toomer said Sunday after the Giants' 23-7 victory over the Washington Redskins.

Pack's late breakdowns hand Panthers 35-31 win

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:18 PST

By By CHRIS JENKINS -- The Carolina Panthers should have been trudging into a snowy Green Bay night wondering for the second week in a row if they're really as good as their record would indicate.

Instead, they were celebrating an improbable come-from-behind victory Sunday, thanks to late back-to-back-to-back big plays by Mark Jones, Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams - and a Green Bay Packers team that seemed intent on giving the game away.

But with division rival Tampa Bay coming to Charlotte next Monday night, Smith wasn't gloating about the Panthers' stunning 35-31 victory in wintry conditions at Lambeau Field.

Dolphins' defense keys 16-12 victory over Rams

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 13:38 PST

By By R.B. FALLSTROM -- The Miami Dolphins kept the St. Louis Rams out of the end zone, even with Steven Jackson back in the lineup.

The Dolphins (7-5) made it only once themselves in a 16-12 victory Sunday. Instead, they relied on stingy play from a defense that got routed last week by the Patriots to secure their fifth victory in six games.

Miami and St. Louis had the top two picks of the draft and the Rams (2-10) are likely to get another real early pick next April after losing their sixth in a row. They ended a string of blowout losses the previous four games behind Jackson, who had 94 yards on 21 carries, but were undone by mistakes in the second half against a franchise that's quickly become competitive after going 1-15 last season.

Clayton leads Ravens over Bengals 34-3

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 16:33 PST

By By JOE KAY -- On a cold, wet afternoon that turned fingertips numb, receiver Mark Clayton had the touch.

Clayton put a little sizzle into Baltimore's evolving offense Sunday, throwing a touchdown pass and making a spectacular one-handed catch for another during a 34-3 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that kept the Ravens a game behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North.

"I just think it's exciting the way we're playing football right now," linebacker Ray Lewis said.