Vikings are not expecting injured Winfield to play much

The Minnesota Vikings star cornerback Antoine Winfield put on his Vikings jersey back to play against the Cincinnati Bengals three weeks ago after missing six games because of foot injury. His performance in the first game after returning was fine enough to be called standout, but for the next two games, they might be considered Winfield’s worst.

Being beaten in coverage several times, Winfield seemed likely to lose confidence from the team, which has stopped expecting much from the cornerback. According the defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, a reduced role for Winfield is being considered, and the team is thinking that a healthy backup could be better suited to more extensive action given Winfield’s health.

The Vikings hope to have defensive tackle Pat Williams back for Sunday’s game against the New York Giants after missing the last one with an elbow injury. His backup Jimmy Kennedy has missed practices this week with a thumb injury.

Colts are worrying about long injury list

Last Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets was really a big strike to the Indianapolis Colts, who practiced Wednesday without as many as fourteen players, including five defensive linemen.

Safety Melvin Bullitt with shoulder injury and wide receiver Pierre Garcon with hand injury practiced but on limited basis. Pro Bowl defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis both sat out the practice. Freeney was all right and was just having his normal rest day, but Mathis has already missed last week’s game because of a quadriceps injury, which may also keep him out of this Sunday’s season finale Buffalo Bills.

Other players who did not put on their Colts jerseys to practice included left tackle Charlie Johnson with foot, wide receiver Austin Collie on his rest day, cornerbacks Jerraud Powers and Jacob Lacey and linebacker Clint Session with knee injury.

Bears CB Tillman may miss season finale

The Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman is unlikely to put on his Bears jersey for the season finale to play against the Detroit Lions because of the injury he suffered during Monday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Tillman broke his ribs during the 36-30 overtime win over the Vikings and also suffered a lung contusion the same night on an inadvertent helmet hit by teammate Craig Steltz as they tackled Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe. Tillman stayed on the ground for several minutes and then was taken off the field on a stretcher.

More injuries came after that.

In the third quarter, Bears rookie Johnny Knox injured his left ankle while returning a kickoff and was taken off the field on a cart. Defensive end Israel Idonije sprained his foot, and safety Danieal Manning strained his right calf on a kickoff return. All the injured players remain uncertain for this Sunday’s season finale.

Vikings NT Williams not to play against Bears

Nose tackle Pat Williams will not put on his Minnesota Vikings jersey to play Monday night’s game for the team against the Chicago Bears because of elbow injury, Jimmy Kennedy will start at the position as replacement to Williams.

At 37, the Vikings’ second-oldest player behind Brett Favre, Williams has 44 tackles and two sacks in 14 games.

But it seemed that the going-to-be rival Bears should worry more about injuries. The Bears wide receiver Devin Hester missed his third straight game with a strained left calf, and safeties Kevin Payne and Al Afalava were listed as inactive respectively because of ankle injury and knee injury. Punter Brad Maynard retuned to team after the Bears signed Richmond McGee to a two-year contract for insurance, but it remains questionable whether the left groin injury that made McGee questionable earlier would allow the punter to play full time. And defensive end Adewale Ogunleye would miss all the remaining games the Bears are going to play as he has been put on injured reserve because of a broken left leg.

CB Ivy returned to Baltimore from Pittsburgh

Playing the previous three seasons in Baltimore Ravens jersey, cornerback Corey Ivy joined the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. After playing only one game with the Steelers, he returned to the Ravens’ roster, in time for Sunday’s pivotal AFC North showdown between the Ravens and the Steelers.

Sounds like a spy story and I am sure he has a unique perspective on the rivalry between the two teams.

“He understands how to play in the slot as a nickel in our defense, knows the calls, knows the structure, knows how we pattern reads,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said regarding Ivy. “Plus he’s in great shape.”

The 32-year-old cornerback is regarded as a physical special-teams contributor and a savvy reserve defensive back. Although being undersized at 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, Ivy has recorded 209 career tackles, 9 1/2 sacks, three interceptions, six forced fumbles and one fumble recovery to go with his 97 special-teams tackles.

Free agent Ghiacuic joined Chargers to replace center Mruczkowski

The San Diego Chargers center Scott Mruczkowski will not play for the team again for this season because he has been placed on injured reserve with an ankle injury, and Eric Ghiacuic was has been signed to the team as his replacement.

Mruczkowski was hurt during the game-winning drive in Sunday’s 27-24 victory against Cincinnati. Mruczkowski started the last 13 games at center after Nick Hardwick hurt an ankle in the season opener at Oakland, requiring surgery. While Mruczkowski was put on IR list, Hardwick might be fine enough to play this Friday night’s game against the Tennessee Titans.

Ghiacuic started 42 of 48 games at center from 2005-08 in Cincinnati Bengals jersey. He signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as an unrestricted free agent in 2009 but was released after training camp.

Seahawks center Houser is in hospital with lung problem

The Seattle Seahawks long snapper Kevin Houser was sitting up in his hospital room Monday and watching “Ren and Stimpy” cartoons with his wife and kids. All what he was hoping for now is to have a good Christmas with his family, as it is very likely that he will be put on injured reserve.

The 32-year-old veteran, in his tenth season of wearing NFL jersey, got hurt while covering a punt in the second quarter Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but returned to snap for Seattle’s only extra point later in the half. However, he ran at Buccaneers wide receiver Sammie Stroughter at the end of a 33-yard punt return and collapsed in pain on the sideline midway through the third quarter.

Mora said Houser is likely going on injured reserve and ending his season early. The team will try to bring back Jeff Robinson, who is currently out of football after playing for Seattle for parts of the 2007 and ’08 seasons.

Chargers won ninth straight game by beating Bengals 27-24

The San Diego Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding kicked a 52-yard field goal when it was only three seconds before game ended, and the playoff-bound Chargers pulled out a tight 27-24 win over the grieving Cincinnati Bengals, who entered Sunday’s game three days after losing wide receiver Chris Henry.

The winning kick came after Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers moved the Chargers 46 yards in 51 seconds with no timeouts and backup center Dennis Norman snapping after Scott Mruckzkowski was injured. A few minutes after the final gun, the Chargers clinched their fourth straight AFC West title when Denver lost 20-19 to Oakland.

Thus the Chargers won their ninth straight game and clinched a playoff spot before halftime because of other results. The Bolts improved to 17-0 in December dating to 2006.

Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Carson Palmer to give the Bengals a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter, then the receiver wearing his No.85 Bengals jersey got down on both knees and touched his heart with his right hand. However, the Bengals finally only tied the game at 24 on Shayne Graham’s 34-yard field goal with 54 seconds left.

James again top performer in Cavaliers’ win over the Bucks

The Cleveland Cavaliers won their fifth straight game by beating the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, making the sale of LeBron James jersey even hotter.

Again being the team’s top performer, James scored 26 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists in leading the Cleveland to an 85-82 win over the Bucks. Mo Williams added 17 points, being the second best performer. Although the Cavaliers just scored 2 points in the final 6:35 amid a torrent of turnovers, they just had a solid enough foundation to survive a late Milwaukee surge and a final shot, beating the Bucks 85-82 on Friday night for their fifth straight win.

It was also the Cavaliers’ ninth straight game at home and gave Cleveland some needed momentum to begin a four-game road trip that will include a Christmas Day game against the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

As for the Bucks, Ersan Ilyasova was the top performer with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist. Rookie Brandon Jennings scored 18 points and was near to help his team win, but the speedy point guard fired up an air ball on a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left that would have tied it. Jennings, who was just 5 of 21 from the field, took the last attempt with Williams in his face.

Bengals WR Henry died at 26, active, injured

The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry became the 10th active NFL player to die this decade. The time was 6:36 a.m. ET Thursday morning, the place was at Carolinas Medical Center, and the reason was being badly injured after falling out of the rear end of a truck.

According to police, a dispute happening Wednesday at a Charlotte-area home led to Henry’s fiancée Loleini Tonga leaving the residence in a truck. Henry jumped into the bed of the vehicle but then fell into the street nearly a half mile from the home and he suffered life-threatening injuries, including severe head trauma. The couple had planned to get married in March. Henry’s death left his fiancée Loleini Tonga three children: 3-year-old Seini, 2-year old Chris Jr. and 10-month old DeMarcus.

The last time Henry was seen in a game wearing his Bengals jersey was on Nov. 8, when the Bengals were playing against the Baltimore Ravens. Henry broke his left forearm during the game and was placed on injured reserve shortly after the injury.

Frye, not Russell, will start for Raiders against Broncos

The Oakland Raiders Coach Tom Cable announced Wednesday that the starting quarterback against the Denver Broncos will be Charlie Frye, who waited more than a year for another opportunity to start in the NFL. JaMarcus Russell is listed as No.2 quarterback and may have to wait as long time as Frye to get the starting job again.

“As the coach I want to do what I think is best for this team, and that’s Charlie Frye,” Cable said. “It gives us the best opportunity to win. You watch Charlie every day and his preparation, he just certainly deserves the opportunity.”

Frye has not played this year and worked strictly with Oakland’s scout team. His last start was on Oct. 12, 2008, while he was playing against the Green Bay Packers wearing Seattle Seahawks jersey. In the game he threw for 84 yards and two touchdowns. But since then he has not started a game. He signed with the Raiders in the offseason to revive his career and served as the team’s emergency quarterback through the first 13 games.

Falcons DT Babineaux failed fans’ faith and did smoke pot

The Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux said last Saturday that fans should believe he was not guilty. But a police report released Tuesday said that Babineaux admitted smoking marijuana.

Babineaux and a friend, Aaron Robinson, were arrested in Babineaux’s 2005 Cadillac Escalade Thursday night after a routine traffic stop because the tag lights were out and the windows were tinted darker than the law allowed. The officer noted the car smelled of marijuana. Firstly, Babineaux told officer that he loaned the car to some friends who had smoked the drug in it a few nights earlier, then said that Robinson had a medical marijuana license.

However, a drug-sniffing dog found a plastic baggie filled with marijuana and a few blunts in a backpack at the center of the back seat. 1 1/2 ounces of the drug was found altogether. Babineaux still denied smoking the drug until his friend Robinson told police in a separate interview that Babineaux had smoked “from the marijuana blunt at least two to three times.” It was by then that the Falcons player admitted smoking from the marijuana blunt once, saying that he did not tell truth because he did not want to admit smoking marijuana.

Babineaux still put on his Falcons jerseys and started last Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints. According to the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players, the team followed NFL rules in letting him play. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league will wait for the case to move through the legal process to decide Babineaux’s fate. But still he may face a four-game suspension if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell decides to have Babineaux enter the league’s intervention program.

Cardinals lost Monday game to 49ers

Being the second team to beat the Minnesota Vikings really caused a lot of fans to believe that the Arizona Cardinals will have a second straight NFC West crown for sure. But the San Francisco 49ers denied that belief.

With a relentless defensive attack, the 49ers forced the sloppy Cardinals into five first-half turnovers and kept Kurt Warner from finding a groove. Warner threw two interceptions in the opening half after going 130 passes without a pick.

As for the 49ers, Alex Smith threw touchdown passes after two of Arizona’s seven turnovers, and Frank Gore ran for 167 yards and another score. The 24-9 victory just made the 49ers believe more about their place in the playoffs.

Not the Cardinals need to win two of the final three games to clinch the division crown. Detroit Lions, St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers all do not seem difficult to win but the loss to the 49ers just proves that anything may happen, even though the Cardinals defeat one of the strongest teams of this season.

Ravens LB Suggs has to stay away from mother of his two sons

Baltimore District Judge Theodore B. Oshrine ruled Friday that the Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs has to stay away from Candace Williams, who alleged that Suggs assaulted her multiple times and was father of her two children.

Having not been charged with a crime, Suggs denies any wrongdoing but still agrees to the judge’s decision. And his attorneys said they would have called eyewitnesses to contradict Williams’ claims of abuse, while Williams’ attorney also brought several witnesses to testify on his client’s behalf.

Suggs appeared calm and seemed innocent. During a recess, he even shook hands with fans, some of them wearing his No.55 Ravens jerseys, outside the courtroom. He left through a side entrance to avoid reporters.

Vikings WR Harvin ruled out for Sunday game

The Minnesota Vikings Coach Chad Childress announced Thursday that wide receiver Percy Harvin will not appear in his Vikings jersey for this Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals because of migraine headaches.

The receiver missed another practice Thursday and already caused a lot to doubt he would not play this Sunday. Harvin visited a doctor for the headaches, which he has dealt with since college and popped up this year in Week 3. He missed two practice that week but still played against the San Francisco 49ers that Sunday and managed to have his kickoff return for a touchdown.

By so far, there have been 13 Vikings players listed on this week’s injury report and 12 of them are starters, including running back Adrian Peterson, right tackle Phil Loadholt and safety Tyrell Johnson.

Portis eventually went on IR but hoped to return next season

The Washington Redskins placed running back Clinton Portis on injured reserve Tuesday, ending the player’s season because of sequelae of a concussion he suffered one month ago while playing for the Redskins against the Atlanta Falcons.

What is uncertain is that whether Portis will play football again. At the age 28, Portis had already shown signs of wear and tear before the concussion. Putting on his NFL jersey in 2002, Portis has had 2,176 carries, third most in the NFL, but he ends this season with a career-low 494 yards rushing on 124 carries and one touchdown.

Nevertheless, both the Redskins and Portis’ agent are optimistic about the Portis’ playing prospects. Believing that the running back’s prognosis is good, they are expecting him to make a full recovery and return to Washington for 2010 season.

Texans QB Schaub will play despite shoulder injury

The Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub may feel lucky that the shoulder he dislocated last Sunday was just a non-throwing shoulder. With the throwing shoulder still working, he is expected by the team to play this Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks still.

Schaub was injured on the first play of Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he still returned to field in the second quarter and finished the game. Since he could play when freshly injured, the Texans Coach Gary Kubiak has good reason to believe that the quarterback can also play after one week of preparation. So it is very likely the team will have Schaub play in his Texans jersey this Sunday.

Even if Schaub could play, the Texans still have concerns about injury. Running back Steve Slaton is struggling with a right shoulder and neck problem that has caused numbness in his thumb and to miss last Sunday’s game. His playing status will be known after his condition being evaluated by a specialist on Tuesday.

Chargers RB L.T. set records

All San Diego Chargers fans can keep their No. 21 LaDainian Tomlinson jerseys as valuable collectibles as the running back has moved into eighth place on the career rushing list and become the fastest player to 150 career touchdowns during Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.

By rushing totally 12,315 career yards, Tomlinson passed Hall of Famer Jim Brown and St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk in the career rushing list, just one week after he passed Marcus Allen and Edgerrin James to take over10th on the list. His total rushing yards is three more than Brown’s 12,312 yards and 36 more than Faulk’s 12,279 yards.

And he reached 150 touchdowns in his 137th game on Sunday. The previous record was made by Emmitt Smith, who had 150 touchdowns in 160 games. So we can be assured that L.T. will keep making more records by rushing more yards and carrying more touchdowns, opening a road to the Hall of Fame.

Panthers DT Tyler on season-ending IR now

The Carolina Panthers made quick moves really. Placing defensive tackle Tank Tyler on injured reserve Friday, the team then had Tyler’s replacement by claiming Derek Landri off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars soon later on the same day.

Which ended Tyler’s season was a knee injury which he suffered during last Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets. The Panthers had to be quick as they have learned quite a lot from losing the 10 players to injuries for season.

Comparing to Tyler, who made 13 tackles in six games he played in the Panthers jersey after being acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs, 6-foot-2, 290-pound Landri appeared in just seven games and made 13 tackles while playing in Jaguars jersey, being listed inactive for the past four weeks

Steelers remain top in team sales

Statistics from NFLShop.com shows that the Pittsburgh Steelers are the best-selling team by so far for this season, and two of Steelers players’ jerseys are among the top 10 in jersey sales list, with Troy Polamalu jersey ranking the second behind Brett Favre jersey and Ben Roethlisberger jersey ranking the seventh, coincident with his No. 7 jersey.

The most notable records were made by the New Orleans Saints, however. Thanks to selling a record amount of gear over the weekend on NFLShop.com, the Saints now rank 10th in team sales, cracking the top 10 for the first time since selling a record amount of gear over the weekend on NFLShop.com. And the Saints starting quarterback Brew Brees’ jersey was the sixth best-selling jersey in November. Brees jersey is currently at No. 12 in jersey sales but the sales are up more than 50 percent year over year on the league’s Web site store.

The current top 10 team sales ranking goes like this: No.1 Pittsburgh Steelers; No. 2 Dallas Cowboys; No.3 Minnesota Vikings; No.4 New York Giants; No.5 Chicago Bears; No.6 New England Patriots; No.7 Philadelphia Eagles; No.8 Denver Broncos; No.9 Indianapolis Colts; No.10 New Orleans Saints.

Falcons RB Turner missed practice Wednesday but still wants to play

The Atlanta Falcons will play against the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend to battle for playoff spots in the NFC. Unfortunately, the Falcons may lose another key offensive player to injury after ruling out starting quarterback Matt Ryan because of toe injury. The latest one who may needs time to take care of injury before wearing back Falcons jersey is running back Michael Turner.

Turner suffered a high right ankle sprain in a Nov. 15 loss at Carolina and then missed the game against the New York Giants. Returning to play with his teammates against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday, the running back unluckily injured the same ankle in the third quarter when a defender fell on his ankle and he got pushed back under a pile of players.

But Turner still said he would suit up if at all possible, even though to heal high ankle sprains requires a lot of time because it leads to lingering problems if not allowed to fully heal. So the Falcons will play a hard game this Sunday, especially as right guard Harvey Dahl skipped practice Wednesday with ankle injury and left tackle Sam Baker practiced on limited base with elbow injury. What is even worse, receiver Michael Jenkins sat out the practice, too because of a previously unknown ankle problem.

Eagles may lose both WR Jackson and RB Westbrook to concussions

While it was originally considered that wide receiver DeSean Jackson could help the Philadelphia Eagles overcome losing running back Brian Westbrook to concussion with his playmaking skills, it was now worried that whether the Eagles could play a good game this weekend against the Atlanta Falcons as Jackson has also been suffering a concussion.

Jackson’s playing status remains uncertain. Sustaining a concussion in last Sunday’s 27-24 win over the Washington Redskins while running a short crossing pattern in the third quarter, Jackson did not lose consciousness and left the field on his own without taking off his Eagles jersey. But missing the rest of the game itself has already showed some bad signs.

Jason Avant and rookie Jeremy Maclin filled in with Jackson’s absence. And the Eagles signed wide receiver Jordan Norwood off their practice squad Tuesday, another sign indicating that Jackson may not be available for this Sunday’s game.

Westbrook will be re-examined this week after missing the last two games with his second concussion of the season, and it is likely that rookie running back LeSean McCoy and veteran fullback Leonard Weaver will continue to fill at the position of running back in the backfield.