ESPN Insider Peep Show 12-04

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Peep Show

By Darrell Trimble

ESPN Insider

http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/story?id=1677994

RobinsonChicago Bears: Before Wednesday's practice, DT Bryan Robinson talked to his teammates regarding false accusations made against him. A man had filed a complaint alleging Robinson sexually assaulted him in. The police searched Robinson's home, where the incident had allegedly taken place, found no evidence to support the allegation and concluded the accuser had lied. "I definitely refuse to perpetuate a dead issue, Robinson told the Chicago Tribune. "The false accusations are wrong, and personally and professionally they could be damaging if I allow a certain individual to get under my skin. ...I wanted to address the team [Wednesday] morning, to just be careful. Because at any given time it can happen to you ...it happened to me." It wasn't the first time Robinson confronted his teammates about a personal issue. Last May, Robinson was convicted for the second time in a year of driving under the influence and spent 17 days in a rehabilitation center. On the first day of training camp in July, Robinson held court with teammates to clear the air.

Buffalo Bills: The offensive line suffered a major blow Wednesday when it was learned that LT Jonas Jennings will miss the remainder of the season because of a broken joint on his left big toe. Jennings, who has been Buffalo's most consistent offensive lineman, suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of last week's victory over the New York Giants. Coach Gregg Williams told the Rochester and Democrat Chronicle that Jennings won't need surgery, but the injury is "something he won't be able to play with, so we put him on injured reserve."

New England Patriots: Rookie free agent Brooks Barnard is now the team's new punter, replacing the released Ken Walter. Walter also was the holder on placekicks, but coach Bill Belichick said he will find someone else to handle those responsibilities. Belichick told the Boston Herald it "`will probably be one of the quarterbacks, but we'll have someone ready by Sunday.'' Barnard was waived by the Chicago Bears Aug. 25 after their preseason camp and has been idle since. Collegiately, he was a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference punter with Maryland's all-time best averages for a career (43.7 yards), single season (44.7 in 2000) and single game (53.8).

Washington Redskins: QB Patrick Ramsey tested his injured right foot in practice Wednesday to see if he could play this weekend, but instead he aggravated the injury. Ramsey said an X-ray taken after practice showed no further damage to the foot but it was sore following the incident and was placed back in a protective boot. "I was out there practicing and it really felt good," Ramsey told the Washington Post. "I was throwing the ball well. Unfortunately ...I went back there and planted on my fifth step and slipped and just kind of reaggravated the injury. It's just a little bit sore. We put it back in the boot and went to the doctor and X-rayed it ...The X-rays came back the same as they've been. So there's no change, really, in what's going on. It's just sore. We're going to put it back in the boot and take it from here." His status would be reevaluated today.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Backup QB Charlie Batch took the field for a brief moment after Tommy Maddox hyperextended his left knee near the end of the second quarter last Sunday, but any hopes he had of seeing the field again this weekend were dashed when Maddox practiced Wednesday without pain. "I did what I would do on any normal Wednesday," Maddox told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "To be honest, I didn't think about it. It wasn't something I had to try to make it through practice with, or anything like that. We put a sleeve on it and it felt great. When I came in Monday, I didn't think that I would feel this good today. It's definitely responded well to treatment."

Denver Broncos: During the first half of the season DE Bertrand Berry was one of the better stories in the league. After eight games, the 250-pound Berry had seven sacks, second most in the AFC. But since then, he has made 10 tackles and has registered zero sacks. When confronted with his latest dry spell and the possibility that his undersized frame could be wearing down as the season progresses, he denied that was the case and said that teams have simply adjusted how they block him. There have been added chop blocks by running backs and more sustained double teams since his hot start. "No team is going to let one guy continue to do the same things he did at the beginning of the year, or against a different opponent," Berry told the Rocky Mountain News. "People watch film, and this league is all about adjustments. And teams have done a pretty good job of adjusting to me, and I have to do a good job of adjusting to them now."

MorganCarolina Panthers: LB Dan Morgan is still experiencing symptoms from a concussion he sustained six weeks ago. Morgan didn't practice Wednesday and is listed as questionable for Sunday's game at Atlanta. He left Sunday's loss to Philadelphia after experiencing dizziness, and team doctors have done several tests in an effort to pinpoint the problem. Coach John Fox said the Panthers will continue to monitor Morgan in the next few days before deciding if he'll play against Atlanta, but he admitted that it would be best just to sit him out for at least one week. "It's still there, and the only way to kind of see if we can put it to rest is him not playing football right now," Fox told the Charlotte Observer.

Tennessee Titans: DE Jevon Kearse isn't fully healed from a high ankle sprain, but he's healthy enough to play in Sunday's huge AFC South matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. ''I feel I'm around 80-85 percent,'' Kearse told the Nashville Tennessean. ''I think that is good enough for me to go out and give it a go this weekend and just let whatever happens happen.'' But it is coach Jeff Fisher, not Kearse, who will make the final decision regarding his ability to play, and he said he'll decide later this week whether or not Kearse will participate.