Bouncing Back in Week 2

Running back Willie Parker made that clear when he dropped in on a meeting of the offensive linemen Monday and told the players that everyone has to do a better job in the ground game starting with the Steelers' primary ball-carrier. "I sure wasn't happy with the way things went, and I've got a lot of pride in myself," Parker said before practice yesterday. "We've got to get it fixed early so that problem won't keep coming up." Parker managed just 19 yards on 13 carries against Tennessee. What encouraged at least some of the Steelers after reviewing film of the game is that a lot of their missteps were a product of just not playing their sharpest in the opening game. The Steelers could have an easier time running the ball Sunday, when they visit Chicago. The Bears lost Pro Bowl middle linebacker Brian Urlacher for the season because of a dislocated wrist. Another reason was the veteran missed significant practice and playing time in training camp and the preseason because of minor injuries. He admittedly was feeling his way a bit against a Titans defense that's generally stout against the run.

Standing Up for Vick

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday that quarterback Terrelle Pryor included a tribute to Michael Vick on his face during the Buckeyes' opener because "there's probably not a more compassionate human being in the world than Terrelle." In Saturday's 31-27 win over Navy, Pryor had lettering on his eyeblack patches in honor of his sister and also Vick. After the game, Pryor said he loved Vick and didn't think the NFL quarterback was getting a fair shake from people critical of his role in bankrolling a dogfighting ring. ressel said the reason Pryor wore the tribute to Vick was because he's such a kindhearted person. Tressel said Ohio State had no policy about what players could or could not paint on the black patches that some wear under their eyes. A year ago, LB James Laurinaitis frequently had a Bible verse written on the patches on his cheeks.

Almost Good to Go

Southern Miss receiver DeAndre Brown said Tuesday after practice that he feels at 100 percent health as his team prepares to play UCF on Saturday. While Brown deems himself ready to go, coach Larry Fedora is still hesitant to say he will play on Saturday. There has been no criteria for Brown to meet before he plays on Saturday, and it simply comes down to what the doctors have to say late this week. After throwing to Brown in recent practices, quarterback Austin Davis thinks his top target should be good to go. Brown was released by doctors on Monday of last week to take part in contact drills and he appears to be running well on the left leg which he broke in December.

Flu Season

Flu-like symptoms continue to ravage the Mississippi football team, even quarterback Jevan Snead. Shannon Singletary, Ole Miss' senior associate athletic director for sports medicine, says more than a dozen Rebels football players are sick with flu symptoms, including fevers as high as 103 degrees.Ole Miss players in all sports started falling ill around the start of classes with the baseball team seeming to take the brunt of it. It started to hit the football team hard last week. Some players, like Moore, were left home from Sunday's trip to Memphis. Others played sick with some vomiting on the sidelines and others taking intravenous fluids at halftime. As many as a dozen players were expected to miss Monday's practice. That number grew to as many as 16 sick by Tuesday. The flu's impact could have been much harder on the football team. The No. 6 Rebels have the week off before playing Football Championship Subdivision opponent Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 19.

Ocho Vs Skip [Full]

OK so i promised the whole Skip vs Ocho debate. Thanks to First Take I have the vid, so enjoy.

Uncertainty for White

How the Dolphins plan to use rookie quarterbackPat White in Sunday's opener at Atlanta remains a guarded secret. The team is convinced White could run the base offense successfully, if needed. But there's a good chance he won't even make the 45-man roster Sunday meaning he would only play if Chad Pennington and Chad Hennewere injured or ineffective. "Whether I'm on the 45 or not is up to me in a way, but it's not my decision,'' White said. "I'll just do what's asked of me and see what happens from there.''

Adrian Peterson Looking Great

Adrian Peterson said today he expects to play more this season on third downs and passing situations such as the two-minute offense. "Yeah, I expect to be out there," Peterson said. "Chester (Taylor), he does a great job. Either way, it's not going to miss. But I definitely expect to be out there on third downs more this year, more comfortable with the offense, better understanding, so I'll be out there more."

And if you missed the AP new commercial here it is:

Philly Update

A few Eagles update: With Michael Vick on the exempt list, Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said a position player would be the third quarterback but declined to say who. Mornhinweg also acknowledged that he has not gone into a season with as many untested parts as he has this season. The goal for the offense is to “get a little better each game,” he said. Mornhinweg hinted that we shouldn’t expect rookies Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy to have large roles right away. “He’s ready to help us a little bit, at least situationally,” Mornhinweg said of Maclin. With Brian Westbrook healthy, McCoy likely will have a role similar to what Correll Buckhalter did last season, he said.

As for the defense, coordinator Sean McDermott said rookie starting free safety Macho Harris is “a guy that’s battled all through the spring and training camp,” and is “a natural football player.”

Big Season

Tailback Pierre Thomas probably won't be healthy enough to play in Sunday's season opener against Detroit, but Reggie Bush will be. In fact, Bush figures he is the healthiest he's been for a regular-season game since Week 7 of last season. he's finally getting a chance to pick up where he left off last September and October, when he was playing perhaps the best football of his NFL career. "I'm just looking forward to having a great game," said Bush, who tried to downplay the significance of his "comeback," which was further delayed by a strained right calf that kept him out of the final three preseason games. As usual, Bush is heading into his fourth NFL season with a fair share of high expectations and critics alike. defensive-minded Detroit Coach Jim Schwartz said Bush gives him "nightmares." From a coach getting ready to play him, he's a dynamic player, a player you need to know where he is on the field at all times," Schwartz said Wednesday. "He's a multidimensional player. He can return kicks. He can return punts. They can use him as a wide receiver. They can use him as a running back. He can score any time he touches the ball." But Bush will be a focal point of the Saints' offense as a runner and receiver, much as he was during those first six weeks of last season. Bush can clearly improve as an inside runner, as he admitted last month when he told reporters, "The first step to recognizing you have a bad habit is just admitting it to yourself . . . like an alcoholic when they go into an (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting or something." But the most important issue for the 6-foot, 203-pounder has become health in recent years.

Former Trojans

For more than two years, Mark Sanchez and Brian Cushing were typical roommates, with the typical pranks. Now Cushing will be trying to rattle Sanchez on Sunday, when Houston hosts the Jets at Reliant Stadium. The two former USC standouts will be making their NFL debuts on the same day. "He’ll be coming full speed, I know it, off the edge," Sanchez added. "That’s going to be fun to play against him for real because in practice at SC, I was wearing that yellow jersey so he couldn’t touch me, but now it’s on.""Yeah, that’s a first," Cushing said when asked about potentially hitting Sanchez. "I’ll be excited." And on the field, he respects Sanchez just as much as Sanchez respects him. "He’s a real competitive kid," Cushing said of Sanchez. "He’s done a great job in his four years developing as a quarterback. He’s in the perfect system and he flourished.