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 Rob Sims also sat out as trainers tried to capitalize on another players’ off day Tuesday to get extended rest for some sore starters.

Holmgren wasn’t exactly thrilled that a seven-day break will end up being nine for Hasselbeck and friends.

“It wasn’t my call. It was our training staff,” said Holmgren, who spent his week off riding his motorcycle at his desert home outside Phoenix. “I wanted them to practice, and I think we are being a little careful, you know. But I will go with what they tell me.”

The coach then issued a promise: “They are all practicing Wednesday.”

Hasselbeck said after practice that “I haven’t tested it too much but I think I’ll be fine.”

His hiatus allowed for the return to relevance of Charlie Frye, but just for one day.

Though it was only practice, Frye ran a starting offense for the first time since Sept. 9 when he began the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback against Pittsburgh. He was benched early in that ugly loss. Two days later, Cleveland traded him to Seattle for a sixth-round draft pick.

The NFC West-leading Seahawks (4-3) play at surging Cleveland (4-3) on Sunday.

Frye has been the Seahawks’ third-string quarterback, not appearing in a game and only in practice with the scout team until he also ran the first team Monday. Usual backup quarterback Seneca Wallace also took snaps with the starting offense.

Hasselbeck, who had the best September of his career, was injured when St. Louis pass rusher Claude Wroten drilled him in the rib cage as he threw an incomplete pass in the second quarter of a 33-6 win Oct. 21. Hasselbeck finished the game, but was in such need of treatment in the ensuing days that he had to cancel a family vacation to Disneyland during the bye week.

“Now I get to listen to everybody else talk about the fun, exciting trips,” Hasselbeck said, adding he was one of about six Seahawks training room regulars last week.

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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. Undrafted rookie Selvin Young will start in Henry’s place.

Fullback Mike Bell and defensive end Jarvis Moss were also inactive for Denver.

Green Bay’s inactive list included center Scott Wells, running back Brandon Jackson and tight end Bubba Franks.

The Packers didn’t activate Koren Robinson, the wide receiver who rejoined the Packers at practice this week after his one-year suspension ended. The team’s roster exemption expires Tuesday, when the Packers would have to make room on their roster to add him.

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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 effective this week and provides salary cap relief for Dallas, includes $30 million in guaranteed money.

“It’s a great feeling you have when the organization and the people stand behind you, and you can be the quarterback for a long, long time,” Romo said. “It’s a neat feeling that, `You’re our guy, we like you.’ … It makes you feel good as a person and a player.”

Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple said the team would have no announcements Monday night. Other club officials did not immediately return calls.

Ken Kramer, who negotiated the contract for Romo, also was not available for comment.

Recently, quarterbacks Matt Schaub of Houston ($48 million) and Marc Bulger of St. Louis ($65 million) received six-year contracts. Bulger got $27 million guaranteed.

Schaub’s Texans are 3-5, while Bulger’s Rams are 0-8. Both have also been injured this season.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, are 6-1 and lead the NFC East.

Romo hoped to get a new deal this past summer. Team owner Jerry Jones opted to let the relatively unproven quarterback go into his first year in charge just to make sure he was worth a huge commitment.

The answer came quickly. Romo was the NFC’s offensive player of the month in September and Dallas finished October with the No. 1 offense in the conference.

With Jones confident he had the right man for the job, it made sense to get the deal done now because Dallas is able to apply some of the salary cap impact this season.

Romo is in his fourth year in the NFL, but has started only 17 games. He’s won 12 and done so in such dazzling fashion that Roger Staubach’s grandson likes wearing Romo’s No. 9 jersey, not his grandpa’s No. 12.

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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 the injury was not serious, but after an MRI exam coach Scott Linehan said surgery would be required followed by a “somewhat lengthy recovery time.”

The news was more encouraging on running back Steven Jackson, sidelined by back spasms in the first half after a strong start against Cleveland. An MRI exam on Monday revealed a bulging disk, but Linehan is optimistic he could return to the lineup without missing a game.

The Rams (0-8) have a bye this week and play next at New Orleans on Nov. 11.

“Maybe it’s good timing that we have the bye this week, for him,” Linehan said. “Certainly I would think he wouldn’t be able to play this week.”

The Rams will practice Tuesday and Wednesday before getting four days off to lick their wounds. Linehan, 8-8 in his first season with the Rams, was told a few weeks ago his job was not in immediate jeopardy and said Monday team president John Shaw has been “very supportive.”

“I met with him yesterday and there’s no plan to meet with him this week,” Linehan said. “I talk to John every week.”

Linehan, never a head coach before the Rams hired him, said he’s doing his best to cope with the Rams’ plight.

“I’ll always say this, I’m one of the luckiest people in the world to have one of these 32 jobs and be in this position,” Linehan said. “I don’t think I’m having the luckiest season of my career.”

Tackle Alex Barron is the only offensive line starter to avoid injury. Tackle Orlando Pace (shoulder) and guard Mark Setterstrom (knee) also are out for the season and center Brett Romberg was out Sunday with two sprained ankles, although he could be back after the bye.

Two top backups also are out. Adam Goldberg (knee) is on injured reserve and Todd Steussie, released with an injury settlement after breaking his foot in the preseason, could make his season debut against the Seahawks on Nov. 25.

“It’s something I never want to go through again,” Linehan said. “I’m sure nobody can really go back in their past and say ‘When we lost our entire offensive line, this is what we did …’ “

The situation has left the Rams scouring the waiver wire for replacements. Milford Brown, who’s made seven starts at guard and tackle; Brandon Gorin, who made his first start at right tackle on Sunday; and Nick Leckey, who filled in at guard after Incognito’s injury, all were released by the Arizona Cardinals in the last few months.

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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 inconsistency is the product of his pain.

And Smith said he’s “not disappointed” the six-time Pro Bowl linebacker revealed his condition, even though he wondered why Urlacher would do that.

Yes, Smith was a bundle of inconsistencies, just like his team.

A 16-7 loss to Detroit on Sunday sent the defending NFC champions reeling into their bye week with a 3-5 record. They’ve been rattled by injuries, and it’s no secret that Urlacher’s back has been bothering him the past few months. He missed a significant portion of training camp and has frequently been held out of practices this season.

Yet, he never acknowledged the pain was affecting his play until the story posted Sunday that he is having trouble bending and backpedaling. He also said he recently saw a specialist in Pittsburgh, who confirmed an earlier diagnosis by team doctors.

“The thing that’s so frustrating is there is no clear cut solution to give me relief,” Urlacher told the Web site. “I just have to deal with the pain.”

Urlacher continued his recent pattern of giving short answers to the Chicago media on Sunday, saying “probably” when asked if the report was accurate. He did say he will start answering fans’ questions on the Web site, and his first blog entry was posted on Monday.

“Do players play with pain?” Smith said. “Yes. Weekly, daily, players play with pain. To be truthful, Brian has felt a lot better lately.”

Urlacher said in Monday’s blog his back “felt pretty good yesterday.”

In the story posted Sunday, he was quoted saying the back problem is more painful than the season-ending hamstring injury he had late in the 2004 season.

The pain seems to be a logical explanation for Urlacher’s inconsistencies this season, but Smith dismissed that idea.

“He’s not injured,” Smith said. “He can still play at a high level, which he’s done.”

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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 a pair of convincing road victories against Seattle and San Francisco.

Head coach Sean Payton was pleased enough following the Saints’ 31-10 triumph over the 49ers on Sunday to give his players Monday off.

“This has been a pretty steady group of guys that have been working hard and are committed to winning,” Payton said Monday afternoon. “We have guys who understand how much work we have to do still and how difficult this is.”

When the Saints opened 0-4, it appeared their season was all but lost, to the shock of fans who had high expectations following New Orleans’ appearance in the NFC championship game a season ago.

Drew Brees had nine interceptions and only one touchdown pass through the first four games. The Saints were beaten by no less than 17 points in each of their opening three losses. In their fourth game, they statistically outperformed Carolina, only to be done in by penalties, dropped passes and two missed field goals in a 16-13 setback.

That was when Brees, with the help of improved blocking by his offensive line, started to look increasingly like the Pro Bowl pick he was last season. Against San Francisco, he threw for a season-best 336 yards and four touchdowns while completing nearly 80 percent of his passes.

In the Saints’ past three games, he’s thrown for 801 yards and eight touchdowns with only one interception.

Payton said there was never anything wrong with his quarterback beyond the fact he was pressing and trying to do too much while his teammates also struggled.

Most of Brees’ turnovers occurred when the Saints were playing from behind and taking risks to try to get back into games, the coach said.

“I’ve said before that when you fall behind by 21 points and you’re playing catch-up, the job description for the quarterback really changes immensely,” Payton said. “You become one-dimensional and you have to take some chances that you normally wouldn’t take. … He’s not afraid (when) behind like that to worry about personal statistics if it’s going to take being aggressive to get back into a game.”

As soon as Brees’ protection improved and the Saints started getting leads, their quarterback’s ability to move the ball showed itself again, particularly against the 49ers

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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 gave the Redskins any inkling they are approaching the elite status expected when coach Joe Gibbs returned in 2004.

Washington was routed 52-7, Sunday, by coach Bill Belichick and the unbeaten New England Patriots. It was Washington’s worst loss since a 53-0 drubbing by the New York Giants during the 1-12-1 season of 1961.

“They made the game look easy,” said bewildered defensive end Demetric Evans. “I know I was out there giving everything I had, but it was like it didn’t matter. What is it? Is Belichick that good of a coach?”

The loss is the worst in Gibbs’ Hall of Fame career, but history shows that’s not necessarily a bad sign. His previous worst came two years ago during the same week of the season, a 36-0 debacle against the New York Giants that dropped Washington’s record to 4-3, the same as it is now.

The Redskins recovered from that shutout to beat Philadelphia the following week and eventually made the playoffs, proving claim one bad loss doesn’t have to derail the entire season.

“I’m going to make a note of that,” Gibbs said when reminded of that sequence of events. “… As a coach you’re always rasslin’ with ‘What do you say?”‘

The few starters present Monday when the locker room was open to reporters already were coming up with their own motivational notes.

“If you get down in the dumps for losing against a team like that, you shouldn’t be here,” receiver Santana Moss said. “What’s done is done. They showed us how they were, and we had nothing to answer for it. All we can do is look at it and feel awful about it, or look at it and say ‘Hey, we experienced it, and let’s try not to go that route again.”‘

However, there is the sense the Redskins would be cooked if they lose next week’s game against the New York Jets, who are 1-7 and on Monday benched Chad Pennington for second-year quarterback Kellen Clemens after their fifth straight defeat.

With NFC East rivals Dallas and the Giants seemingly headed for the playoffs, Washington can’t afford to follow a loss to a good team with a loss to a bad team.

“The Jets will definitely be a big game for us,” Evans said. “On the road again, another AFC opponent … just to give us confidence that we still are a good team.”

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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 of surprises. The victory was:

– Cleveland’s first on the road in 2007.

– The second straight for the Browns, giving them two in a row in the same season for the first time since 2003, stopping a 64-game drought. They’ve already matched their win total from last season.

– Further proof that Cleveland’s high-powered, multifaceted offense can strike from anywhere on the field if quarterback Derek Anderson gets time.

– Crennel’s 14th in three seasons, pushing the Browns over .500 for the first time since he took over in 2005.

The Browns are rolling. Right, coach?

“All of those things are good things,” Crennel said. “We know that we need to improve. We’re not saying – by any stretch of the imagination – that we’ve arrived. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

True, but Crennel gave his players – except for the rookies – the day off on Monday anyway, rewarding them for a win that seemed in serious jeopardy when the Browns fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter to the undermanned Rams.

But showing poise and resiliency, Cleveland overcame 14 penalties, two major gaffes by wide receiver Braylon Edwards and got key defensive stops down the stretch to hold on and beat a team it was expected to beat.

That’s saying something for the Browns, who have crumbled in the past when things weren’t going their way.

Confidence is high. Caution, too.

Crennel fears he may have a handful of players who may have trouble squeezing their swelling heads inside their orange helmets this week.

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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 and still were in position to win in the closing minutes.

Oakland (2-5) had a first down at the Tennessee 26 while trailing 13-9 with 2 minutes remaining. Instead of making the play to lead to the go-ahead score, the Raiders had a false start penalty on Barry Sims, a sack and two incompletions before Mike Williams dropped a pass right at the first-down marker on fourth-and-14 to end the game.

“We’d take that spot,” coach Lane Kiffin said Monday. “If you can play the whole game, get down to 2 minutes, have the ball at the 26-yard line, first-and-10, on the road in a place like Tennessee, we’d take that. But it doesn’t matter because we didn’t finish in that situation. So next time we need to finish.”

That’s been the rallying cry all year.

While the Raiders are much improved in Kiffin’s first year, they have the same record they did at this time a year ago under Art Shell. The big difference is that they feel like they should have at least a few more wins if only they could do a better job closing out games.

Oakland led 21-20 midway through the fourth quarter of the season-opener against Detroit before the defense gave up the go-ahead touchdown and then two turnovers broke the game open as the Lions won 36-21.

The following week in Denver, Oakland allowed a game-tying field goal with 2:18 remaining in regulation before losing 23-20 to the Broncos in overtime after Sebastian Janikowski missed a potential game-winning kick.

The Raiders won their next two games before dropping three in a row. They trailed San Diego by only seven points late in the fourth quarter, but were unable to come up with the defensive stop they needed to have a chance to tie that game.

Oakland led in the fourth quarter last week against Kansas City before allowing a go-ahead score to Larry Johnson and having a game-ending drive stopped by an interception.

The Raiders led 9-3 late in the third quarter against the Titans on Sunday before failing again down the stretch.

“There’s not a big gap between winning and losing,” quarterback Daunte Culpepper said. “When everybody realizes it’s only a small gap between winning and losing, that’s when you get on those win streaks. Every player has to play every play like it’s the last play. It’s kind of a cliche but if you play every play like it’s the last play and try to go out and execute the highest percentage of plays you can, that’s when you start winning.”

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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 in the mix. It won’t be easy, though, because the Dallas Cowboys (6-1) are coming in for a Sunday night matchup.

A loss to the Vikings would have crippled Philly’s chances to do anything this season. Now, there’s more at stake this week than just trying to stick it to Terrell Owens and the Cowboys.

Donovan McNabb took a major step in his return from a knee injury, throwing for 333 yards against the Vikings and having his first designed run of the season. McNabb led the offense into the end zone more than once for only the second time in seven games, showing signs of the potent attack that put up 56 points against Detroit in Week 3.

“For us, we take a one-game-at-a-time approach,” McNabb said. “In the second part of the season, you want to continue to win games no matter how you win, whether it’s by a field goal, 10, 20, it doesn’t matter.”

The Cowboys are well-rested following a week off, making it even tougher for the Eagles. However, Dallas is just a 3-point favorite, meaning oddsmakers don’t think it would be that much of an upset if Philadelphia found a way to pull it off.

“When you’re playing against a team who is on a roll coming off a bye week, you want to do whatever it takes to win,” McNabb said. “I know it’s going to be a tough game and we’re going to be fired up and the most important thing for us is to prepare well throughout the week and just try to secure a win.”

The Eagles need more efficiency inside the red zone, especially when they’re facing better teams. They were 2-of-5 against Minnesota and are 8-of-25 this season.

On the other side, no team has scored more than 21 points against Philadelphia and the defense has allowed only eight TDs. But the Eagles have just eight turnovers, so they’ll need to create more against superior opponents.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier after Dallas. Six of the remaining nine games are against teams currently above .500. One of the other games is against New Orleans, which has won three in a row after an 0-4 start.

Last year, the Eagles were 5-6, had lost McNabb for the season and faced the daunting task of playing three straight road games against division opponents in the final month. They didn’t lose again behind Jeff Garcia until the second round of the playoffs.

It is a scenario they need to repeat this season.

“We need to rack them up,” cornerback Lito Sheppard said. “We can’t really go on winning one, losing one, especially with the situation that we’re in.”

Notes: LB Matt McCoy, a second-round pick in 2005, was released. McCoy committed a personal foul on Vikings punter Chris Kluwe on Sunday. … LB Akeem Jordan was promoted from the practice squad to take McCoy’s spot. … All-Pro FS Brian Dawkins could play against Dallas for the first time since sustaining a neck stringer in Week 2. “Unless something crazy happens here in the next day or two, he’ll start off with the defense and start working with them,” Reid said. “Then, it’s just a matter of having no setbacks.”

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