John Czarnecki / FOX Sports 12-2

[bubba9497]

CZAR: Practice not perfect for Favre

http://www.foxsports.com/content/view?contentId=1912222

John Czarnecki / FOX Sports

Brett Favre should pull a Steve McNair this week. He shouldn't practice and he shouldn't attempt one throw. Save the right thumb for the game. A potential playoff berth is on the line.

Favre, who has had three interceptions in his last two games, said he threw well in practice two days before losing to the Detroit Lions. Head coach Mike Sherman concurred, seemingly amazed at how well Favre performed in practice. Before the game, Favre's thumb looked pretty swollen and he seemed to be in pain.

Despite all this, the Packers came out throwing against Detroit. Favre fired 37 passes while Ahman Green managed only 13 carries for 57 yards.

The thumb is obviously causing Favre problems and making him reluctant to scramble when he has the opportunity. The odd thing about the injury is that sometimes he throws a super pass like the 45-yard touchdown pass to Javon Walker and then on the next series the ball inexplicably slides out of his hand.

If the Packers don't make the playoffs this season, they could simply look to the road losses at Arizona and Detroit as their downfall. They simply showed no energy in either game.

Perfect for Lions

The Jaguars might beat them to the punch again, but the Detroit Lions better put a claim in for Cowboys cornerback Derek Ross, who was released today. Ross, a second-round pick last year, could start for Detroit this Sunday against the Chargers.

Ross started nine games for the Cowboys last season and made the Pro Football Weekly all-rookie team along with safety Roy Williams. He fumbled two kickoffs in last Thursday's loss to the Miami Dolphins, but you must figure there's more to this release than a few botched kicks. By releasing Ross, coach Bill Parcells is also showing faith in starting cornerback Mario Edwards, who was torched by the Dolphins and receiver Chris Chambers.

When Cleveland released receiver Kevin Johnson, a record 16 teams put in claims for his services. The Lions wanted Johnson, who was claimed by the Jaguars. The Chargers, Falcons, Raiders, Cardinals and Jaguars can claim Ross before the Lions, who have won more games than those losers.

Vick to start

A couple of weeks ago, many in Atlanta thought quarterback Michael Vick would never see the field this season. Well, he did last Sunday and plans to start against the Carolina Panthers, a team he beat by a combined count of 71-0 last season. This is not good news for the Panthers, a team still fighting for its first playoff spot since 1996.

Vick said he and the offense weren't used to each other in the loss to the Houston Texans, considering he has been operating the scout team in practices.

"You really can't get into the game plan like you want to because you only get to do two or three reps," Vick said. "I'm really looking forward to practice this week. We'll get our real game plan back in."

Falcons coach Dan Reeves said that there were at least three plays that were blocked wrong because they were for Doug Johnson, a right-handed quarterback. Once, Vick had to call timeout to fix it.

Spurrier can't win

Redskins coach Steve Spurrier has returned to calling the offensive plays in the past two games and the results haven't improved. In fact, he continues to be questioned for his strategy.

Against the Saints, a team whose defense has been porous against the run, Spurrier called 42 pass plays compared to 26 runs. Some would think that odd simply because Tim Hasselbeck was making his first NFL start. Most coaches would want to take the pressure off the kid. Not the ol' ball coach. The Redskins did average 6.2 yards a rush vs. New Orleans, but still lost by four points. They couldn't put them away.

"Of course, every time you lose you can look back and say you should have run more, thrown more, whatever," Spurrier said. "So I guess we should have, what, run more? We have a game plan and try to go with it."

Weekend afterthoughts

In case you were wondering, Jags coach Jack Del Rio made it official yesterday: Mark Brunell, barring injury to Byron Leftwich, won't take another snap with the team.

Maybe the Eagles would be okay if they don't get home-field advantage. Andy Reid's club has won 11 of its last 14 road games and 11 of its last 14 home games.

Daunte Culpepper is back to his old tricks. He's still short of his 2002 record 29 turnovers, but he does has 14 (six lost fumbles out of 12 total) this season and the number is climbing.

Bill Parcells didn't bring FB Richie Anderson to Dallas simply for leadership. His 43 receptions tie for the team lead and his 47 carries are a career-high.

Kerry Collins is struggling again. He's turning the ball over and his throws are too high or too low. His practice throws are some of the prettiest you'll ever see, but on Sundays he's just good enough to get you beat.

If Jim Fassel wants to work, figuring the Giants will fire him, he most likely will have some offers. The biggest rumor has him replacing Dave McGinnis in Arizona. The Cardinals haven't been happy with offensive coordinator Jerry Sullivan.

True Grit: Bills RB Travis Henry gaining 113 yards on 26 carries against the Giants with a cracked bone in his right fibula. Explain to me again why they drafted Willis McGahee.

Despite all the praise for Jon Kitna, the Bengals were prepared to go to Carson Palmer when the Bengals were 1-4. But Kitna passed for three touchdowns in beating the Ravens and he's won five more games since.

[@DCGoldPants]

hmm, sounds like what I was saying about those 3rd and short situations.