Huard deserves better
Damon Huard has been impressive since replacing injured QB Trent Green after the season opener (4-2, eight touchdowns, one interception), but not enough for the Chiefs to approach him about a contract extension.
What's interesting is that Kansas City is playing coy with Huard at the same time that Green's future seems so uncertain. Green is supposed to return this year, but no one knows when. Couple that with the fact that he will be 37 next season – and the reality that youngster Brodie Croyle has never taken an NFL snap – and it seems smart business to at least explore the possibility of signing Huard to an extension.
Butkus smack?
Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus retired decades ago, but he recently showed he still knows how to smack people. After watching Bears All-Pro linebacker Brian Urlacher take over the final 16-plus minutes of a Monday night win at Arizona, Butkus reportedly said: “Why can't that be done all four quarters?”
Butkus later praised Urlacher and said he's happy to see that Urlacher is becoming more of an intimidating presence, adding: “If he can just be a little bit more intense in his tackling and start getting ballcarriers or receivers to think, 'Hey, I better have my head on a swivel or this guy is going to knock me off.' He's good and I think he's beating that rap that supposedly if you run right at him, he can't take on people. I think he's improved on that part.”
QB buddies
Two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks will face off Sunday in New England, when Tom Brady and the Patriots host Peyton Manning and the Colts. Brady appeared to take an unintentional swipe at Manning during a Monday night interview when he said he doesn't do many commercials or advertisements because it takes away from his concentration on football.
Conversely, you have Manning, who seems to be in every other commercial.
Actually, the two are friends and Brady said they e-mail each other during the season.
QB controversy
Texans QB David Carr finally could be feeling the pressure, and we're not talking about the pass rush that resulted in him being a human tackling dummy for most of his career.
In last week's loss to Tennessee, Carr, the former No. 1 overall draft pick, was benched for the first time in his career for poor play.
Coach Gary Kubiak said Carr will start this weekend against the host New York Giants. But it remains to be seen whether another subpar outing produces a longer stint on the bench.
Jags' tough road
With a win over Tennessee on Sunday, Jacksonville can reach the midpoint of the season with a 5-3 record for the second consecutive year. Last season, the Jaguars went 7-1 in their final eight games to finish 12-4. The chances of them matching that feat this season seem remote considering only four of their final eight opponents have losing records. Last year, seven of their final eight games were against teams with losing records.
Reborn Burress
In addition to coming up with big catches, Giants wideout Plaxico Burress is garnering attention for his increased maturity. Burress recently said he noticed while watching tapes of last season that his body language could lead people to believe he was upset with QB Eli Manning when Manning made a bad throw or failed to get him the ball.
“It's something I'm trying to eliminate from my game,” Burress said recently. “If I drop a ball or he makes a bad pass, we'll go to the sidelines and straighten it out over there. Don't try to show him up. I don't get frustrated anymore with Eli. That's over and done with.”
Pick it!
Seattle's starting cornerbacks, Marcus Trufant and Kelly Herndon, haven't intercepted a pass in a regular-season game since last November, when each had one against Arizona. When the Seahawks host the Raiders on Monday night, it will mark one year between interceptions for the pair. Seattle has only five interceptions this season, none by a cornerback.
“You gotta go get the ball,” defensive coordinator John Marshall said. “In the last game (against Minnesota), we were in position to make two or three plays on the ball that we didn't make. You gotta be aggressive. You gotta be hungry for the ball.”
