FanHouse BrandonMoore

The Iowa Hawkeyes rode five Michigan turnovers to a 30-28 victory in Iowa City tonight. The victory was their tenth in a row, which is the second-longest winning streak in the nation after Florida.

Iowa's passing game took control after quarterback Ricky Stanzi's first pass was intercepted by Michigan's Brandon Moore and returned for a touchdown. Stanzi threw two touchdown passes, both to tight end Tony Moeaki.

By most accounts, the Jets were very successful over the opening weekend of free agency. Linebacker Bart Scott and cornerback Lito Sheppard should pay immediate dividends, particularly in new head coach Rex Ryan's blitz-happy scheme.

The team also added former Ravens safety Jim Leonhard and re-signed guard Brandon Moore. All in all, not a bad few day's work. But even though this team is better -- at least on paper -- there's the lingering issue of who will replace Brett Favre. (Putting aside, for the moment, your thoughts on Favre's effectiveness, the point remains: there's a void at the quarterback position. The only question is if you think that's been the case for a couple months or a couple years.)

New England Patriots:

Questionable - Safety Rashad Baker (hand), tight end David Thomas (foot) and defensive end Mike Wright (knee).

Probable - Quarterback Tom Brady (right shoulder).

Could Brady's shoulder really be barking, or is that just another one of Bill Belichick's mind games? You'd think the media would be all over that story if it was anything significant, but the buzz around Brady's shoulder has been quiet.

New York Jets:

Questionable - Running back Thomas Jones (calf), cornerback Andre Dyson (foot), cornerback Justin Miller (thigh), guard Brandon Moore (shoulder) and safety Eric Smith (thigh).

Probable - Tight end Joe Kowalewski (finger), quarterback Chad Pennington (pelvis), defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson (knee), wide receiver Chansi Stuckey (knee) and running back Stacy Tutt (foot).

Although he's listed as questionable, Thomas Jones is expected to start against New England today. That's great news for the Jets, who will need a solid rushing attack this afternoon. Unfortunately, the news in the secondary isn't as promising. Even if Dyson, Miller and Smith play, they will not be 100%.

Linebacker Brandon Moore stepped into the 49ers starting lineup midseason last year and saved the season for the defense, leading the team with 114 tackles. For his efforts, he had his starting job taken from him today.

Assistant head coach Mike Singletary let rookie linebacker Patrick Willis know he had won a starting job when Willis showed up for work Monday at the 49ers' team facility.

Willis greeted the news with one word: "Wow."

It shouldn't be a surprise that Willis is now the starter, as he's been pegged for that role since the 49ers drafted him. He's a great and intelligent athlete with incredible character, one of those players that you feel couldn't possibly bust. What is a surprise is that declining weak inside linebacker Derek Smith isn't the one out of a starter's job. Willis sat behind Smith on the depth chart, but instead of being demoted Smith is being bumped over to Moore's old spot at strong inside linebacker.

Moore has struggled this preseason with the same thing he excelled in last year, tackling, but those troubles were attributed to typical preseason rust. It was still widely assumed he'd remain in the starting lineup, and, besides experience, brings more to the table than Smith does. Maybe, with a rookie (no matter how spectacular), Mike Nolan feels that experience is more crucial. Or maybe this is just temporary. Willis, however, isn't moving, and if 49ers fans are lucky, it'll be another 10 or so years before that spot is vacated.

Pete Kendall is no longer the only Jet unhappy with the team. Like Kendall, guard Brandon Moore has suddenly become upset with his contract and actually sat out of Wednesday's practice in protest.

When questioned, Moore denied the protest report and indicated that he had missed practice due to "personal reasons," but would not be more specific. He eventually became tight-lipped when reporters brought up his contract.

"I wasn't here for personal reasons," Moore said.

"I'm not discussing my contract."

Although there is no indication that Kendall had anything to do with this sudden protest, would it honestly surprise anyone if he influenced it? He probably believes that there are strength in numbers and who better to recruit than his fellow offensive lineman?

Moore is in the fourth-year of a six-year, $8 million contract and he's scheduled to make $800,000 this season.