Giants DE Umenyiora hopes to play against Dallas in Week 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora is optimistic but uncertain about his status for Sunday's critical game against Dallas.

Umenyiora has missed the past four games with a high ankle sprain -- the team won't say which leg -- but has practiced on a limited basis this week, including Wednesday. Coach Tom Coughlin likes what he saw from Umenyiora, saying, "He did good. He did a little bit more, felt better, felt good, moved around well."

New York's defense is built on a strong pass rush and, until the emergence this season of second-year DE Jason Pierre-Paul, Umenyiora was the team's most dangerous sack threat. He has only seven sacks this season because of his injuries, which also included knee problems.

Umenyiora says this is "a fun time" to be playing.

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Giants beat Jets, keep East title hopes alive

CBSSports.com wire reports
Dec. 24, 2011

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Rex Ryan was brash and confident all week, insisting his Jets were the kings of New York.

Well, the Giants shut him up in a big way -- taking the city bragging rights and setting up an even more important showdown with the Dallas Cowboys next weekend with a 29-14 victory Saturday.

"I hate to use that cliche, but this is a huge one," left tackle David Diehl said. "This is about the city, the city of New York and what team wants to be responsible. They have talked all week and said what they wanted to say. From Day 1, they're our big brother and other stuff. We went out there and played our game and showed whose stadium this is."

Ryan said the Jets were the better team the last two years, based on their consecutive trips to the AFC Championship Game and the Giants missing the postseason. Tom Coughlin responded by saying, "Talk is cheap. Play the game."

It was the Giants who did.

"They were the better team today, and they're the better team this year," a humbled Ryan said. "Clearly, I was wrong."

The Giants kept their postseason hopes alive, helped by Victor Cruz setting two franchise receiving records and Ahmad Bradshaw running for two touchdowns. While neither team looked much like playoff material, the Giants (8-7) are now in position to win the NFC East with a victory at home next Sunday against Dallas.

"Given everything that was at stake, and all the noise that has been coming out of Florham Park," Giants co-owner John Mara said, "yeah, it means a little more."

Running back Brandon Jacobs said he had an exchange with Ryan after the game in which the coach approached him, used an expletive and said, "Wait till we win the Super Bowl."

Added Jacobs: "And I told him I'll punch him in the face. I told him out of all these Giants players on this team you're talking to the wrong one. And that was that."

Ryan acknowledged that he and Jacobs "had a private conversation. He doesn't like me; I respect him."

The back-and-forth went on even in the hours before the game, when Jacobs and kicker Lawrence Tynes both removed black curtains placed by the Jets over the Giants' Super Bowl logos. The Jets said it was simply their standard practice to cover those logos for every one of the team's home games, regardless of opponent, because it is the players' entrance.

"We knew early what we were going to get no matter what happened as soon as he had the opportunity to run his big fat mouth," Jacobs said of Ryan's boasts throughout the week.

Meanwhile, the Jets' playoff hopes took a devastating hit, and at 8-7 they'll need to win at Miami next week and get major help from several other teams. They have to hope for Cincinnati and Tennessee to lose, and have either Oakland or Denver lose.

"I mean, we don't deserve to control our own destiny," Jets linebacker Bart Scott said. "We haven't played good enough football to do that. We need to try to finish strong, but if you don't make it to the playoffs, you've got nobody to blame but yourself."

Cruz, who had three catches for 164 yards, broke Amani Toomer's single-season mark for yards receiving -- and the team's record for longest touchdown reception, a 99-yarder that gave the Giants the lead for good in the second quarter.

"It's just amazing," Cruz said, "and to beat the Jets in the process is added incentive."

It was a brutal game at times, with both offenses sluggish and prone to mistakes. The Jets were also penalized 10 times, including a late hit call on Aaron Maybin, who plowed into D.J. Ware in the fourth quarter -- a play on which Coughlin was injured out of bounds. The Giants coach needed to be checked out on the bench briefly before limping back to the sideline.

"Never better," a smiling Coughlin said when asked how he was feeling.

Eli Manning finished just 9 of 27 for 225 yards. Mark Sanchez completed 30 passes on a career-high 59 attempts but put up only 258 yards and was intercepted twice. The Jets were also a brutal 4 for 21 on third-down conversions.

"I left a lot of completions out there," Sanchez said.

The sloppiest stretch came midway through the fourth quarter with wild swings of momentum.

The Giants thought they had stopped the Jets on fourth down, but a pass interference call gave them new life. Plaxico Burress -- playing against the Giants in the regular season for the first time since they cut him in 2009 and he served a 20-month prison sentence on a gun charge - thought he had scored a touchdown, but offensive pass interference called it back. The Giants thought they'd recovered a fumble by Sanchez, but officials reversed the call on a challenge, saying his arm was going forward.

The Giants got their turnover moments later, though, when Sanchez fumbled the snap in the end zone.

The Jets weren't done. David Harris intercepted Manning's pass that tipped off Hakeem Nicks' hands, and the Jets had another apparent fumble by Sanchez reversed on review.

On third-and-12 from the 13, Sanchez scrambled for 11 yards -- and Antrel Rolle was called for holding, putting the ball at the 1. Sanchez dived into the end zone, making it 20-14 with 7:17 left.

But the Jets wouldn't get any closer. Chris Canty sacked Sanchez for a safety, and after an onside free kick by the Jets was recovered by the Giants, Bradshaw had a 19-yard TD run with 2:04 left.

"It's real sad right now," Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis said. "We needed this win. We made some mistakes and they outplayed us."

Cruz's 99-yard catch - the longest scoring pass in team history -- came with the Giants in dire straits facing third-and-10 from the 1. Manning, standing in the back of the end zone, zipped a pass to Cruz, who dodged tackle attempts by Antonio Cromartie and Kyle Wilson and took off down the right sideline. Eric Smith was the only one with a chance to get him, but Cruz outran him to give the Giants a 10-7 lead with 2:12 left in the opening half.

It was also the longest offensive play against the Jets in team history.

Now the Jets will prepare for the Dolphins -- and keep their fingers crossed.

"If the gates open," wide receiver Santonio Holmes said, "we're going to walk right through them."

Notes

DE Jason Pierre-Paul had two of the Giants' five sacks, giving him 15 1/2 this season. Jets S Brodney Pool said he experienced migraine symptoms during the game, worsened after a hard hit in the third quarter when Bradshaw slammed into him. He said he was fine. Jets LB Garrett McIntyre hurt his knee covering the opening kickoff, and there was no immediate word on the injury.

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Titans keep playoff hopes alive, edge Jaguars

CBSSports.com wire reports
Dec. 24, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Mike Munchak told his Tennessee Titans to forget their embarrassing loss in Indianapolis, which cost them control of their playoff fate. The first-year coach insisted they focus only on their final two games and just see what happens.

Well, Matt Hasselbeck threw for 350 yards and a touchdown, and Jared Cook had 169 yards receiving to help the Titans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-13 Saturday in their final home game. That keeps the Titans alive in the AFC wild-card playoff chase, which few outside of Tennessee might have predicted in Munchak's first season.

Hasselbeck said Munchak told them they could be proud if they finish 9-7.

"We'll take it because we knew what it took to do it regrouping after that loss, winning today and hopefully winning next week," Hasselbeck said. "But we're in the hunt. But again ... it's important for us to focus on the stuff that we can control and all we can control is how we play and hopefully getting a win next week."

The Titans (8-7) at least snapped a two-game skid and finished this season 5-3 at home under Munchak. They head to Houston for the finale with a chance at their first winning record since 2008. Cincinnati (9-6), a winner over Arizona, holds the final wild-card spot with the Titans tied with Denver, Oakland and the Jets at 8-7.

"We don't control anything else but beating Houston in Houston, and that's not an easy task in itself," Munchak said.

Cook had a 55-yard TD catch and finished with 169 yards receiving, a franchise high for a tight end. Rob Bironas kicked three field goals, including a pair of 51-yarders, and rookie Jamie Harper ran for his first career touchdown.

Maurice Jones-Drew, the NFL's rushing leader with 1,334 yards coming into the game, ran for 103 yards and a touchdown for the Jaguars (4-11). He has a career-high 1,437 yards this season, not that Jones-Drew wanted to talk about his personal achievements with only four wins this year.

"It hurts, and it's past frustrating," Jones-Drew said. "I don't know how many times we've been in the game and not [won]. That hurts more than frustrates you."

The Jaguars now have lost five of six in this injury-riddled season. Jacksonville had a sack and forced three turnovers the Jaguars turned into 10 points.

They forced two of those in the fourth quarter and missed a big chance when Morgan Trent picked off a ball tipped by Drew Coleman and ran it back to the Tennessee 18. The Titans stopped Jones-Drew on third-and-3 when he carried a direct snap a yard short. Blaine Gabbert then tried to throw into the end zone on fourth-and-1, only to have the ball tipped by Titans cornerback Jason McCourty to safety Michael Griffin for an interception.

"The bottom line is we've got to play better in all phases of the game," Gabbert said. "On offense, it starts with me."

Dawan Landry recovered a fumble by Harper with 5:38 left at the Tennessee 35. Greg Jones capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run with 3:41 left.

The Titans ran out the clock out from there.

"At the end of the day, we didn't execute well enough on our side of the ball," Jacksonville interim head coach Mel Tucker said.

Chris Johnson finished with 56 yards on 15 carries and remains 14 yards shy of his fourth 1,000-yard season. He had just 10 yards in the first half, and he said he wasn't sure if he would be able to play with a sore right ankle until he got treatment and warmed up before kickoff.

He did have a 13-yard run staying inbounds to take the clock to 2 minutes, allowing the Titans to kneel down for the victory.

"To still be alive and still have another game that we need to go and win, it feels good," Johnson said.

The Titans came out throwing behind Hasselbeck. Offensive coordinator Chris Palmer unveiled a game plan Saturday featuring lots of throwing against a secondary that had cornerback Ashton Youboty hurt his hamstring in the second half.

The 13-year veteran looked fully recovered from the strained left calf that hobbled him a week ago in a loss at Indianapolis. He threw three times to Cook in the first quarter alone, including the TD as the tight end outran Jaguars linebacker Paul Posluszny before jumping into the end zone for a 10-0 lead. Cook's fourth catch gave him a career-high 113 yards early in the second quarter.

"You can't run with Cookie down the middle like that," Hasselbeck said.

For Cook, it was the kind of performance expected from him since the Titans swapped a future second-round draft pick to trade up and grab him in 2009.

"We have a lot of offensive weapons," Cook said. "I mean they're not always going to be able to use one person all the time or call one person's number all the time. I'm happy for the opportunity to finally be able to showcase a little bit more than I have been."

Hasselbeck had one lone mistake in the first half when defensive end Jeremy Mincey dropped into coverage and picked off a pass. Josh Scobee kicked a 39-yard field goal to pull Jacksonville within 17-10 at halftime. Still, Hasselbeck had his second-best passing day this season.

"He is a savvy veteran," Mincey said of Hasselbeck. "He steps up. He was letting it go."

Gabbert looked as sharp as the 10th pick overall has during his rookie season when he drove the Jaguars 82 yards. He completed all five passes for 68 yards before Jones-Drew capped the 82-yard drive with his 10-yard run.

But Titans rookie Karl Klug sacked Gabbert to end the Jaguars' first drive of the third quarter, and they did a much better job pressuring him the rest of the game.

Notes

Cook's 55-yard TD catch was the second longest of his career. Hasselbeck topped 3,000 yards for the season with the 55-yard TD pass to Cook. He topped 300 yards for the day, the 24th such game of his career, with a 48-yard toss to Williams. Titans receiver Damian Williams had a career-high eight catches. With his second field goal, Bironas set a career high with six field goals of 50 yards or longer this season. For Jones-Drew, it was his fifth 100-yard game this season. He had 177 and 186 yards in his last two trips to Nashville.

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Bradford misses another practice, still hopes to play Monday night

ST. LOUIS -- Sam Bradford did not practice for the second straight day because of a nagging high left ankle sprain, but the St. Louis Rams quarterback is hopeful of playing Monday night at Seattle.

Coach Steve Spagnuolo said Thursday that Bradford could miss every practice and still play if he's healthy enough. Bradford said at this late stage of the season he's comfortable enough with the offense to do that.

Backup A.J. Feeley has already ruled himself out this week because of a fractured thumb on his throwing hand, so Tom Brandstater, who has never played in an NFL game, would go if Bradford can't.

Bradford missed last week's game and is wearing a small air cast. He said he hasn't thought about the possibility of going on injured reserve if the ankle continues to bother him.

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Bucs QB Freeman hopes to be ready to face Jags on Sunday

TAMPA, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman says his injured throwing shoulder is improving and that he hopes to be able to play Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Nevertheless the third-year pro was limited practice Wednesday, when he did some light throwing while backup Josh Johnson worked with the first-team offense.

Freeman was injured on Tampa Bay's final offensive play during a 23-17 loss at Tennessee two weeks ago. He sat out last Sunday's 38-19 loss to Carolina, ending a stretch of 36 consecutive starts.

Johnson made his first start since 2009 against the Panthers. The fourth-year pro left the game for one play in the second quarter, and coach Raheem Morris said Wednesday that was because the quarterback separated his non-throwing shoulder and returned after having it popped back into place.

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Falcons' Smith hopes to continue feasting on rookie quarterbacks

The Falcons roughed up rookie Cam Newton once already this season and face Carolina again Dec. 11. (US Presswire)

ATLANTA -- To death and taxes, add this item to the list of life's inevitabilities: Atlanta Falcons' coach Mike Smith not losing to a rookie quarterback.

Since Smith became the Atlanta coach in 2008, the Falcons are a perfect 8-0 against rookie starters, following Sunday's 24-14 victory here over the Minnesota Vikings and rookie first-rounder Christian Ponder. Typical of a team that often plays down to the level of its competition, and sputters maddeningly on offense for inexplicable stretches, the Falcons struggled to put away a Minnesota club that is now just 2-9, and played on Sunday without its best player, tailback Adrian Peterson.

But the Falcons still won, something they always do versus rookie quarterbacks under Smith, and the schedule and circumstances now set up for them to face three more rookie starters in a row before a showdown with nemesis Drew Brees at New Orleans the day after Christmas.

"You treat [rookies] with the same respect you do everybody else in this league," said Atlanta weakside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, who continued his strong play Sunday with a team-high 10 tackles [three for losses], a sack and a hurry of Ponder. "Everybody's dangerous. But, just like I had to do last year, you have to pay some dues. There's a learning curve."

Against the Falcons and Smith since 2008, it's been a steep one, and likely about to get even steeper.

Winners now of two straight games, following their gut-wrenching overtime loss to the Saints on Nov. 13, the Falcons figure to further fatten up their 7-4 record against rookie quarterbacks. For Atlanta, the road to a third straight playoff appearance with Smith at the helm is currently paved with rookie quarterbacks.

The Falcons have topped two rookie starters so far this season, and the upcoming schedule is favorable in that regard.

In what was expected to be a difficult road game, the Falcons will face rookie T.J. Yates at Houston next Sunday. A fifth-round pick seven months ago, Yates, an Atlanta-area native who had never even taken an NFL regular-season snap before Sunday, will replace the injured Matt Leinart as the Texans' starter. Leinart, who sustained a collarbone injury, was, of course, filling in for Matt Schaub (foot), who is on I.R. for the rest of the season.

On Dec. 11, the Falcons travel to Charlotte for a return matchup with the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton, the top overall pick in the 2011 draft. The Falcons beat the Panthers and Newton in their earlier meeting, a 31-17 win on Oct. 16 at the Georgia Dome. Four days later, in a Thursday night mis-matchup, the Falcons host the Jacksonville Jaguars and first-rounder Blaine Gabbert, to complete what could be a four-game run against rookies.

Through Sunday's games, Ponder, Yates, Newton and Gabbert were a combined 6-19 as starters in the league. Newton was the only one of the group with more than two victories on his resume.

Things could change a bit, obviously, in the next few days. Texas almost certainly will sign a veteran free agent to bolster its wobbling depth chart, but Yates is still probably better prepared at this point than any late addition might be. Gabbert was yanked by the Jacksonville coaching staff late in Sunday's loss to Houston, but team officials announced shortly thereafter that he will remain the starter. There is always the possibility of injury that could snap the thread of the Falcons facing off against callow starters.

The run of success against rookie starters, though, likely will continue.

To a man, Atlanta defenders surveyed on Sunday were unaware of the club's record under Smith against rookie quarterbacks. No one, however, was surprised.

"The thing about [Smith] and his staff," said second-year veteran defensive tackle Corey Peters, "is that they don't change. There's a [consistency]. You prepare the same, no matter who is on the other side of the ball."

The Falcons' 8-0 mark against rookies has included victories over Josh Freeman of Tampa Bay (twice in 2009), the New York Jets' Mark Sanchez (2009), Sam Bradford of St. Louis (2010), Jimmy Clausen of Carolina (twice in 2010), Newton (2011), and now Ponder.

In those eight contests, the rookie quarterbacks completed 151 of 251 passes for 1,593 yards, with eight touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. The cumulative passer rating for the eight rookies, who were sacked 16 times in the defeats to the Falcons, is 71.02. Atlanta's average margin in the victories was 12.4 points, with all but two of the wins by10 or more points. Maybe most notable is that none of the rookie quarterbacks managed more than 17 points against the Falcons.

Under Smith, the Falcons simply own rookie quarterbacks.

To his credit, Ponder was poised and collected Sunday, completing 17 of 25 throws for 186 yards, with a touchdown pass and no interceptions. He was sacked four times, but had his team in a position to steal the game after rallying from a 17-0 halftime deficit. His 39-yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin, on a fourth-and-13 play in the fourth quarter, was a terrific effort.

The Atlanta defense, despite its four sacks, didn't particularly load up on blitzes, although Weatherspoon's sack came on an inside, extra-man rush. By unofficial count, the Falcons sent an extra defender on the rush on less than half of Ponder's 29 drop-backs.

Said Ponder: "I thought we did some good things, but ..."

But the Vikings lost, which is what rookie quarterbacks have all done against the Falcons since Smith arrived in '08.

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Panthers RB Williams hopes Dolphins 'come after me'

Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams, scheduled to be a free agent when the lockout ends, was a guest on Miami radio last weekend.

Williams was in town to participate in a charity triathlon. There has been speculation linking Williams to the Dolphins and when asked about it, he said, "I've heard rumors that I may be at the top their ... board this year."

On the show was Sun-Sentinel reporter Omar Kelly, who said, "It's a little more than rumors."

Williams added, "This is a place I'd like to live. I hope I'm at the top of their list and they come after me."

He also said he will make his decision in part depending on what each team has at the quarterback position.

"It's all going to boil down to quarterbacks," he said. "In this league, the running game is all predicated on if you have a quarterback or not. If you don't have a quarterback, teams stack the box and they force you to do what you do best."

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