PHILADELPHIA -- Brian Westbrook did not practice with the Eagles on Wednesday, nor did he talk about why. His coach, Andy Reid, said Westbrook would practice Thursday and that the reason he was held out Wednesday was his ankle, and not the concussion he suffered in the team's Oct. 26 victory over the Redskins. But if you buy that, I've got a South Philly bridge to sell you, too.
The ankle is a red herring. Westbrook's ankle is a chronic problem, for which he's had surgery, and his ankle probably hurts every day. They can put him on the injury report with an ankle problem anytime they want, and nobody's going to bat an eye. This thing with Westbrook is a case of a player, concerned about his own personal future, taking it slow amid a culture that's only starting to embrace the danger and seriousness of concussions.
PITTSBURGH -- Mike Tomlin wouldn't play along. Oh, it sounded like a good story. Rashard Mendenhall, the Steelers' young backup running back, was benched in Week 3 because Tomlin didn't think he was paying close enough attention to his playbook. Mendenhall was contrite, and spent the week telling folks he hoped he'd get a second chance because he knew what he'd done wrong and was determined to make up for it. Willie Parker, the starting running back, went down with a toe injury, and Mendenhall stepped in and shredded the Chargers on national TV. Great story, but Tomlin says he isn't buying.
"I'm not going to take any credit for that," the Steelers' coach said when asked if he felt he'd motivated Mendenhall. "I didn't rush for a yard tonight."
PITTSBURGH -- They watched, and they kicked at the grass and thought about how it all could have been different. The players on the San Diego Chargers defense watched their brilliant, tough, never-say-die quarterback, Philip Rivers, move the ball with ease on the Steelers late in the game, making a game interesting when it had no business being such. They watched, and they thought, "If only."
If only they hadn't put Rivers in that 28-0 hole. If only they'd been able to get a first-half stop on third down -- on fourth down, for that matter.
"One stop!" Chargers safety Eric Weddle said after Pittsburgh's 38-28 win. "If we could have just got one stop. Our offense is going to keep us in games, and for us not to be able to get stops, it hurts. I mean, they're converting third down after third down after third down. That's hard to handle."
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days.
FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it Summer Scramble. This morning we look at some Burning Questions in the AFC West and offer a ridiculously early prediction of how the division will finish.
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days.
FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it Summer Scramble, and this afternoon we look at some of the AFC West's looming position battles.
No reasonable person would have expected the Chargers to be big players in free agency. Any kind of a high-profile buy in free agency would have been completely out of character for Chargers GM AJ Smith. He's a penny-squeezer. Rumor has it that "In God We Trust," was rubbed off these coins because they let AJ Smith hold them for a while.
And that's fine ... certainly you can't argue with the fruits of his spendthrift philosophies. But sooner or later, don't the Chargers have to do something about the wide receiver position? They released Keenan McCardell, which leaves Eric Parker and Vincent Jackson as the default starters. Nothing against Parker or Jackson; I like them both, but as a starting duo? Do we have that much faith in Norv Turner? Come on now.
And yet, the release and signing of Joe Horn came and went without any indication of interest from the Chargers. If they, for some reason, didn't want Joe Horn, that's okay. I'm not criticizing them for not being interested in Joe Horn. I'm criticizing them for not being interested in anyone.
This is not the time to be conservative. You've got a young quarterback who needs all the help he can get, and you've got the league's elite running back ... why make it easier for teams to stack the box against you by not having threats at wideout who can stretch and widen the field? The rest of the Chargers roster is Super Bowl-ready. Why risk more than you have to by leaving that one link in the chain so weak? I don't get it.
Chargers running back Michael Turner has been tendered a $2.35 million offer from the Chargers. The offer means that if another team wants to sign him away from San Diego, they must give up 1st- and 3rd-round draft picks to do so.
"I'd just feel better to have him in '07," General Manager A.J. Smith said Wednesday. "If anything happens to LT – God Almighty! – that he gets hurt."
It pretty much ensures that Turner will be in San Diego for another year ... and is the first official indication that the Chargers intend to compete for a Super Bowl next year. Hm. There's a concept.
Really, there was no decision here for the Chargers to make. It was this, or let him walk for nothing ... that wasn't going to happen. And now (unless they get an outstanding trade offer, which isn't out of the question), they don't have to worry about a backup to Tomlinson, and they've got a pretty good kick returner, too.
It might come from a little bit of an odd source, but ... these days, Norv Turner can use all the the votes of confidence that he can get. This one comes from Trent Dilfer, who should be an expert on NFL coaches ... he's played for enough of them.
This comes from Pro Football Talk's "Whispers from around the NFL" on ESPN Insider:
"Norv is great to play for because he's a very good teacher of football. He's not arrogant in his approach to the game. He's constantly evolving and learning, which you can't say about a lot of coaches. On game day, he can flat-out call plays. He knows what it takes to win. He knows what it takes to develop personnel and get the most out of people. ... I would say that I learned more with Norv last year than in my previous 12 years in the league. The Chargers' gain is the 49ers' loss. San Diego is getting a great guy and a great coach."
The third to last sentence is the telling one ... "I learned more with Norv last year than in my previous 12 years in the league." That's pretty incredible. This is a guy who played for Sam Wyche, Tony Dungy, Brian Billick, and Mike Holmgren ... no shortage of football minds there, and that's not to mention the myriad of offensive coordinators and quarterback coaches.
And Trent Dilfer learned more in one year from Norv Turner than he did in 11 combined years from the other guys? And it was in his 12th year in the NFL, when all of the learning should already be done? Damn. That's not praise, that's bordering on worship.
For his first five years at Southern California, Carroll served as his own defensive coordinator before handing the keys over to Nick Holt last season for the Trojans.
The "control" issue was apparently also what kept Carroll from going to Miami earlier in the year.
Chargers GM AJ Smith's made his share of missteps (like hiring Norv Turner), but credit him for the ability to lock up his good young players with deals like this. The team's proactive strategy on these things ensure that there will be quality players around for years to come for Norv Turner to waste.
Phillips stepped into the hole opened up when Steve Foley had a few holes opened up in him, and Phillips was absolutely fantastic in that role this year. His 11.5 sacks were ninth in the NFL ... not bad for a guy in his first year as a starter.
PHILADELPHIA -- Brian Westbrook did not practice with the Eagles on Wednesday, nor did he talk about why. His coach, Andy Reid, said Westbrook would practice Thursday and that the reason he was held out Wednesday was his ankle, and not the concussion he suffered in the team's Oct. 26 victory over the Redskins. But if you buy that, I've got a South Philly bridge to sell you, too.
PITTSBURGH -- 
PITTSBURGH -- They watched, and they kicked at the grass and thought about how it all could have been different. The players on the San Diego Chargers defense watched their brilliant, tough, never-say-die quarterback, 
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. 
It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. 
No reasonable person would have expected the Chargers to be big players in free agency. Any kind of a high-profile buy in free agency would have been completely out of character for Chargers GM AJ Smith. He's a penny-squeezer. Rumor has it that "In God We Trust," was rubbed off 
Chargers running back Michael Turner has been tendered a $2.35 million offer from the Chargers. The offer means that if another team wants to sign him away from San Diego, they must give up 1st- and 3rd-round draft picks to do so.
It might come from a little bit of an odd source, but ... these days, Norv Turner can use all the the votes of confidence that he can get. This one comes from Trent Dilfer, who should be an expert on NFL coaches ... he's played for enough of them.
The San Diego Chargers' brief courtship of USC head coach Pete Carroll was apparently doomed from the start.
Because they damn well deserve it, here's some good news for Chargers fans: 
