Hasselbeck, Branch, other starters out of practice as “careful” Seahawks return from bye

Seven days off still wasn’t enough for Matt Hasselbeck and some other Seahawks starters.Seattle’s quarterback wore a knit cap instead of a helmet as he rested his strained oblique during practice Monday, the team’s first day back from a bye-week vacation given by coach Mike Holmgren.
Receiver Deion Branch, right tackle Sean Locklear and left guard [...]

Broncos RB Henry inactive for the game Monday night against Packers

The Denver Broncos deactivated leading rusher Travis Henry for the game Monday night against Green Bay because of sore ribs.Henry hurt his ribs in the third quarter against Pittsburgh in last week’s 31-28 win. Henry has also been hampered by right ankle and knee ailments this season.
He has 549 yards on 119 carries this season. [...]

Romo cashes in on new contract with Cowboys

Tony Romo didn’t have to wait until the offseason to get his big payday from the Dallas Cowboys after all.Romo has agreed to a six-year, $67 million deal that will be announced Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because the contact has not been announced.
The contract, which will become [...]

Rams lose another offensive lineman, guard Incognito

It’s back to the salvage yard for the winless St. Louis Rams, who lost their third offensive lineman to a season-ending injury Monday.Guard Richie Incognito’s right kneecap popped out of place, a partial dislocation with accompanying cartilage damage, in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Browns. Incognito was optimistic after the game that [...]

Smith won’t pin Urlacher’s inconsistent play on arthritic back

Brian Urlacher’s bad back isn’t the only painful issue facing the Chicago Bears these days. It may be the most important one, though.Although Urlacher told foxsports.com an arthritic back is limiting his performance, Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith insisted Monday the team does not “play players that are injured.” He dismissed the notion that Urlacher’s [...]

Saints climbing back into NFC South hunt

The New Orleans Saints “ain’t” done quite yet.Just when it looked like the “Aints” of old were back and fans were ready to reach for the grocery bag masks they wore during the futile seasons in the early 1980s, the Saints started winning again.
New Orleans (3-4) has won three straight, scoring early and often in [...]

Following 52-7 blowout loss to Patriots, Redskins wondering how it happened

On the day after, Marcus Washington looked to the heavens for a way to recover from a 45-point loss.“When I woke up, the sun came up,” the Washington Redskins linebacker said Monday. “That was a good sign. That’s something I can build off of.”
Certainly nothing that happened during the sun’s previous journey across the sky [...]

Browns coach Romeo Crennel not ready to hail improved club’s arrival as contender just yet

Usually, it’s the coach who’s on the receiving end of an ice-cold celebratory bath. On Monday, Romeo Crennel dumped a frosty bucket of reality on the Cleveland Browns.Sunday’s 27-20 comeback win over the injury-crippled and winless St. Louis Rams gave the Browns (4-3) several more reasons to feel good about themselves in an unexpected season [...]

Close losses becoming common occurrence for Raiders

The day-after-game news conferences are beginning to have a familiar feel around the Oakland Raiders.Players and coaches alike lament a few plays that were the difference between winning and losing.
That was the case again Monday as the Raiders looked back at a game in which they committed 14 penalties and two turnovers, allowed five sacks [...]

From now on, Eagles are in win-or-else mode

A 2-4 start put the Philadelphia Eagles in a must-win mode before the midpoint of the season.Aware there was no margin for error, the defending NFC East champions won 23-16 at Minneapolis on Sunday, and avoided having to adopt a “wait till next year” mentality.
In a mediocre conference, one more win gets Philadelphia (3-4) back [...]