Dropping the Ball

Even though the Vikings are 10-1 and riding high, it’s fair to point out that Adrian Peterson still has major issues hanging onto the football. He fumbled twice in Sunday’s game, and he’s fumbled 15 times since the beginning of last season.Despite answering questions about fumbling for nearly two full seasons (and rest assured, he’ll answer more this week), Peterson, at least up until now, has refused to do anything drastic to cure his fumbling illness. He also tends to be fairly nonchalant about the issue. “Sometimes I think about it and I can be my own biggest enemy,” Peterson said. “How I run, I try to scratch for every yard. I just have to be more aware and now some guy is going to come in when they have me wrapped up and try to punch the ball out. It’s on me." Peterson says he cares more about winning than any individual accolades. But for a guy who has clearly fallen behind Tennessee’s Chris Johnson as the league’s premiere running back (at least for this season), the fumbling certainly won’t help his status.

Thats 5 Straight!

Young’s miracle-working was even more amazing as it came on the game’s final play, the ball being snapped with six seconds left, and Young scrambling toward the line of scrimmage before letting the pass go with Britt making a leaping catch to give Tennessee its fifth consecutive win. Young lead an 18-play, 99-yard drive in the final 2:37 to rally the Tennessee Titans. Young was sensational, completing 27 of 43 passes for a career-high 387 yards, collecting 94 of those on the final drive, as he hit on 10 of 16 passes and converted on fourth down three times in the drive. His Rose Bowl heroics were from nearly four years ago were on more than a few people’s minds. “It was funny, because it was second or third down, down on the goal line and [Steve] Breaston came up to me and he was like, ‘God, this is déjà vu all over again. He did that to Michigan, and he did that to myself in the title game,” said Leinart, who played well in completing 21 of 31 for 220 yards. What was most impressive is Chris Johnson, amazingly enough, did not have one touch on the final drive. His presence had already been made though, arguably the best running back in the NFL, sprinted 85 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter of Sunday's game. Johnson ran for 154 yards on 18 carries.

Staying Alive

The Jets who snapped a three-game losing streak, got a few lucky breaks on the day, starting with the Jake Delhomme pass that deflected off Steve Smith's heel and into the arms of Darrelle Revis. Their luck continued, as the Dolphins, Jaguars and Texans (all AFC wild-card contenders) all lost, putting the Jets back in the playoff chase. They committed three turnovers but yet managed to win because Delhomme played like Sanchez did last week in New England. Delhomme was intercepted four times, twice by Revis and twice by the demoted Kerry Rhodes. At least the Jets feel better about Sanchez (13-for-17, 154 yards), who rebounded from last week's four-interception nightmare.

Stepping Up

Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy were selected in the first two rounds for a reason. The rookies showed just how far they’ve grown and matured during the course of the season against their NFC East rivals. McCoy caught a couple of short swing passes and added a short run as the Eagles moved 90 yards in 10 plays to score a touchdown. They had to go for a 2-point conversion so after a timeout, Donovan McNabb shoveled a pass to McCoy, who used solid second effort to keep from going down to score the 2-point conversion. Next it was Maclin's turn with the big play by hauling in a 35-yard pass from McNabb. After McCoy ran twice, Maclin caught a 6-yard pass and McCoy finished off the drive with two more runs to get the ball into field goal range.McCoy finished with a game-high 76 yards rushing on 17 carries and snared four passes for 25 yards. Maclin grabbed five balls for 63 yards. It was pretty huge of them to step it up since star receiver DeSean left the game with a concussion.

Welcome Back

Vick will play his first game in Atlanta since 2006 when the Philadelphia Eagles visit Sunday. Vick says he's prepared for the scrutiny that will come this week when he faces his former team for the first time. "I look forward to every week. This week isn't going to be any different," Vick said. "It's going to be good to go back to Atlanta. We still have a game to win." Vick smiled when asked about the kind of reaction he expected from Falcons fans. "I'm going to get a great reaction from the crowd. It's going to be a standing ovation," he said, smiling. "It's still my city." Ha Ha! Good one Vick. We all know that's your city just like Ron Artest city is Detroit. But he is right, they do still have to win the game because right now they hold a Wildcard spot but it is only one game over the Falcons & Giants.

Kobe Being a Mentor

The story of Young’s rebirth as an N.F.L. quarterback should be credited to Kobe Bryant. The Lakers star he met in passing at the N.B.A. All-Star Game three years ago. Bryant never doubted Young’s drive, not after reading his text messages. “He has a passion to be great and a willingness to improve,” Bryant said last week in a telephone interview. “He just wants to get better.” Bryant’s mentoring has meant more to Young since July, when Steve McNair was murdered. Young revered McNair and referred to him as Pops. When Bryant heard that Young was going to start on Nov. 1 against Jacksonville, he sent a text message: “Let’s go. It’s showtime!” With Young as a starter, the Titans have averaged 31 points and won four in a row. They can improve to 5-6 with a victory on Sunday against Arizona.

Toby at Least Gets an Invite

Toby Gerhart turned what could be Charlie Weis' final game as Notre Dame coach into his own Heisman Trophy infomercial. Gerhart ran for 205 yards and three scores, threw an 18-yard touchdown pass and scored the winning touchdown with 59 seconds left to help Stanford hand Weis and the Fighting Irish a fourth straight loss. To me, he just gave himself a reason to be invited to New York. Gerhart for the Heisman? Why not? The big-picture stats: Gerhart finished the regular season with 26 rushing TDs, which leads the nation and is a conference record, breaking Corey Dillon and LenDale White's tie at 24. Gerhart also became the nation's leading rusher, raising his season total to 1,736 yards. The other stats: Stanford raised its record to 8-4, its best mark since 2001, and ended Notre Dame's seven-game winning streak against the Cardinal. So all the talk may be about Florida's Tim Tebow, Texas' Colt McCoy and Alabama's Mark Ingram but they've had tremendous seasons.

Shutting Down Hopes

Oklahoma snatched all of that away in making the Cowboys look anything but BCS-worthy. DeMarco Murray ran for two touchdowns, Ryan Broyles returned a punt 88 yards for a score, and Oklahoma knocked Oklahoma State out of contention for its first BCS appearance with a 27-0 win. The Sooners have won seven in a row in the rivalry and 30 straight at home. With representatives of the Fiesta and Orange bowls watching, the Cowboys fell flat with their worst offensive performance of the decade. Oklahoma State was shut out for the first time since 2005 by an Oklahoma defense coming off its worst outing of the year in a 41-13 loss last week to the Red Raiders. Oklahoma State didn't have a first down in the second half and finished with 109 yards of offense. With the win fans of Boise State and the Big Ten can cheer. The biggest obstacle to landing an at-large BCS berth has been cleared. Fiesta Bowl seemed to have four candidates for two spots: Oklahoma State, Boise State, Iowa and Penn State. So now a Boise State vs. Big Ten matchup is the favorite.

You Get Both or None

Nate Robinson told Fanhouse.com he's willing to defend his dunk title during All-Star Weekend in February under one condition: LeBron James has to be competing. James has previously expressed interest in entering the contest for the first time this year. "If LeBron is in it, I am,'' the 5-foot-9 Robinson said. "If he's in it, I'm in it. But if he's not in it, I might not be in it.'' James has never participated in the dunk contest. However, last February, he hinted this might be the year he finally competes. Robinson hopes it's true. "Like I said, if LeBron is in, it's going to be that much better," he said. "If I'm in it and make it to the finals, (I'll) beat him. That's something I can always tell my kids." Shannon Brown, a former Cavs guard now playing for the Lakers, wants to take on James in this year's dunk contest on Feb. 13. Brown has recorded many spectacular dunks and is a worthy candidate. He might have beaten James in the 2003 McDonald's All-American dunk contest if not for twice missing a windmill attempt that ruined his total score. "I promise you, if I'm able to get in the dunk contest, it's going to be something special," Brown said.

Rivalry Game

A style used against him two weeks ago, USC Coach Pete Carroll poured it on an already beaten UCLA in the final minute at the Coliseum on Saturday night. Up by two touchdowns and with the ball and game in hand, USC scored on a long pass to make the final score 28-7. "It's just the heart of a competitor, just battling," Carroll said. UCLA had just called a timeout, and would have used two more to try to get USC to punt and get the ball back. But on the next play, USC quarterback Matt Barkley faked a handoff into the line and found Damian Williams with a 48-yard bomb for a touchdown that nearly led to a brawl between the teams after players left the bench area and went onto the field. "They have every right to throw the ball deep," UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel said. "It's our job to cover it." But I mean was that necessary? Na, he could have just ran the ball. I am all for Pete Carroll and all but that was wrong but karma does come back around and usually double. I mean wow you beat a UCLA squad who's 3 wins in the conference came against the bottom ranked teams. I hope they feel better about themselves though.

Tiger Woods in Accident

Tiger Woods was injured at approximately 2 a.m. Friday morning when he hit a fire hydrant and continued into a tree outside of his Isleworth home. The Florida Highway Patrol has confirmed Woods was injured in the crash and was taken to hospital. Woods has apparently been treated for facial lacerations.Woods was driving a 2009 Escalade at the time of the incident. The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the airbags in Woods' SUV failed to deploy on impact, which would indicate his vehicle was traveling at low speed. The accident comes just days after tabloid magazines speculated that Woods was involved in a marital affair.

Coming Out Part

Wow! If you missed the Texas vs A&M game then you missed a good one. McCoy's arm and legs helped Texas to a 49-39 win but Jerrod Johnson also used his dual-threat talents to torch the Longhorns defense.The 6-foot-5-inch, 240-pound junior from Humble ran for 97 yards. He completed 26 of 33 passes for 342 yards and four touchdowns. The Aggies, consequently, rolled up 532 yards, the most allowed by Texas' defense this season. Coach Mike Sherman called it Johnson's "finest performance in many ways, not just on the field, but on the sideline." "There wasn't one time he thought we didn't have a chance to win it," Sherman said, "not one time when he didn't want the ball in his hands." Johnson has flown under the radar this season despite some impressive statistics for a mediocre team that has been on television only six times. In the final game of the regular season, he finally had a coming-out party on a large national stage. I have always been a fan of this guy because he reminds me of the A&M version of Vince Young. Next year he will be on a lot of GMs radar. For tonight though missed opportunities will haunt the Aggies when they turn on the film.

Act of Kindness

Shaquille O’Neal has paid for the funeral of a 5-year-old North Carolina girl whose kidnapping and slaying received national news coverage. The Fayetteville Observer in North Carolina reported Thursday that the Cleveland Cavaliers player was touched by the case of Shaniya Davis. More than 2,000 people attended her funeral Sunday. The girl’s body was found Nov. 16 beside a rural road. Her mother, Antionette Davis, is charged with human trafficking and child abuse involving prostitution. Mario McNeill is charged with murder, rape and kidnapping. I am glad to hear that a star of his caliber to step up and do something. I applaud him for that. If you haven't heard, documents said she "knowingly provide[d] Shaniya Davis with the intent that she be held in sexual servitude" and she "permit[ted] an act of prostitution.

Best Back in the NFL? A Lot Closer

Chris Johnson is on track to break Eric Dickerson single season rushing record, and has rushed for 150 or more yards in 5 straight weeks, he also remains a credible threat in the passing game coming out the backfield. Chris Johnson is currently averaging 6.2 yards per carry, only two other running backs in NFL history have averaged more than 6.2 yards per carry since 1967. Adrian Peterson became everyone's unanimous pick as the best running back in the NFL. However, this year, the argument has become more muddled with the emergence of Chris Johnson. Not only that, Chris Johnson is quite possibly the most exciting player in the NFL. In just over a year-and-a-half, Johnson has fumbled twice, while Peterson, in two-and-a-half-plus seasons, has put the ball on the ground 17 times. But you cannot argue that Adrian Peterson can break games wide open, and every time he touches the ball we expect to see big things happen. Whether it be running through the second level of the defense and hardly breaking stride or running somebody over. I do not know which one I would pick but for right now I'll enjoy the show of having two great backs in the NFL as one is leaving.

Batch Injury Opens the Door

The Steelers have signed former Pitt star Tyler Palko to their practice squad. The Steelers needed another quarterback with Charlie Batch out 2-4 weeks because of a broken bone in his wrist. Palko signed with the Saints in 2007 as an undrafted free agent, and spent four games that season on New Orleans' active roster. The Saints released him prior to the 2008 season. Palko spent training camp this season with the Arizona Cardinals but got released in early September. Now the Steelers have Dennis Dixon and Palko as Big Ben's backup incase he can not go this weekend.Steelers are showing enough faith in Dixon to not sign a veteran backup. Dixon has given them a lot of reasons to feel confident in him. In the preseason he's shown some running ability, a solid and relatively accurate arm and the leadership ability that stood out when he was starring at Oregon.

New Moon

Hester was trying to reach down and scoop up a low pass from Jay Cutler when Eagles cornerback Dimitri Patterson dragged him down by his britches, casting a full moon over NBC's telecast of the game. "I ain't talking about that,'' Hester said this afternoon as he walked off the practice field inside the Walter Payton Center. "I'm trying to let that die down." Hester was embarrassed by the incident but said it's one of the things that can happen when a defender grabs ahold of you just the right wrong place. "It done happened before. It's not the first time and it won't be the last,'' he said. "There's nothing you can do, man, when they pull your pants." Asked if he has received an outpouring of attention over the incident, he asked to change the subject. "Don't do this to me,'' he said. "Let it die down. I did got a lot of comments from chicks.

McCoy Looking to Fill-In

LeSean McCoy should be headed for some good numbers again as the Philadelphia Eagles' starting running back, based on how he's done knowing he's starting going in. Coach Andy Reid pointed out last week how McCoy, a rookie who's been spelling injured Brian Westbrook for most of the season, does better when he spends the whole week of practice beforehand with the first team. This is another one of those weeks as the Eagles prepare to play the Washington Redskins. "It means a lot for Coach Reid to say that," McCoy said. "It means he has a lot of confidence in me. I just think it's the norm. You play, get some carries, get some reps. You know that mistake or no mistake, you're going to be out there and perform. "And also, when you're a backup, you don't know when you're going to go in, what quarter. So I think just knowing you're going to be in the game make it a lot better."

1 Yard Short of 1K

Adrian Peterson stands at 999 through 10 games. Here is Peterson ...

On whether rushing for 1,000 yards is a big deal or an expectation: "Expectation. It's something I look forward to each year. With the offensive line we have, I feel we can get that every year."

On how much easier it is to run the ball now that Brett Favre is making defenses think twice about crowding the line to stop him: "He makes it a lot easier. Teams come in and they stack that box, too. We're able to put guys on the perimeter and make big plays and bounce it out with the run game."

On slow starts the past two games against Detroit and Seattle: "We haven't come out with the starts we'd like, but we were able to pick it up and pull away from guys. That's good."

On whether he has become a better receiver since Favre joined the team: "I've definitely become a better receiver. He does a great job of finding us out there. It's up to us to make a play."

On advice Favre has given him: "Make sure you open your eyes and expect the ball at all times. I kind of call him the Allen Iverson of football, because he might be running to the left side, and you might have a route to the right. He might throw it across his body to get it to you. You've got to make sure you're aware."

Notes: Peterson nicked his ankle in last week's win over Seattle but returned to the game. His limited participation in practice was probably a precaution.

Bedlam Rivalry

After years of trying to dethrone mighty Oklahoma, it’s No. 11 Oklahoma State that will be playing for a potential berth in the lucrative Bowl Championship Series when the rivals meet Saturday in Norman. If the chips fall right, OSU could receive an at-large bid for its first BCS appearance. It will be only the third time a ranked Cowboys team will play the Sooners when Oklahoma is unranked. Oklahoma State has lost six straight Bedlam games since pulling off back-to-back upsets of top-5 Oklahoma teams at the end of the regular season in 2001 and 2002. The first one knocked the Sooners out of the national championship picture. This season, Oklahoma (6-5, 4-3) has matched its biggest loss total since Bob Stoops took over as coach in 1999. Since losing to Oklahoma State in 2001, the Sooners have won 49 of their last 50 home games and carry a 29-game winning streak on Owen Field.

Thorpe Finalists

Taylor Mays, a two-time All-American, was not among the three announced finalists for the Thorpe Award, presented annually to college football's top defensive back. But Mays suffered a knee injury against Ohio State that sidelined him for the Trojans' loss at Washington. And his only interception came against California in the fifth game of the season. Among the Thorpe finalists, Texas' Earl Thomas has seven interceptions, Florida's Joe Haden three and Tennessee's Eric Berry two. This of course will stir up the debate of who will be the first DB taking off the board.

Star QB Punched

Notre Dame Quarterback Jimmy Clausen was "sucker-punched" by an angry, sociopathic so-called fan Sunday morning in South Bend, Indiana. But that's not the right report; it's not what happened at all. Clausen was not "sucker-punched." the place where it all took place was a bar and restaurant called "C.J.'s Pub", and that Clausen had left initially without incident, but his female friend left her purse in the establishment, and as she went to get it at 2 AM with Clausen, she was pushed by a man outside the bar. Then words were exchanged between Clausen and the man. The QB pushed him away placing his hand to the man's neck; the man punched Clausen in the eye and the two started to wrestle on the ground before the fight was broken up.