IDP Notes

After the Seattle's 34-7 loss to Minnesota during week 14, head coach Mike Holmgren questioned the competitiveness of his players. "That was the most troubling thing, on the defensive side of the ball," he said. "We knew what Minn. had to do, and they did it anyway. "I don't think we competed well enough in that area." Did it fire his team up for this weeks matchup with the Rams? Doesn't look like it. CB Shawn Sprongs did return to the starting lineup, replacing Ken Lucas in large part because of the Vikings game.

Redskins DE Bruce Smith has said that he plans to retire at the end of the season. "More than likely, these will be the final three games of my career," he said. "It's been a long ride and a long haul, but I'm not going to focus on that too much right now." A certain Hall of Famer, he passed Reggie White during week 14 with his NFL record 199th career sack.

Houston placed CB Aaron Glenn on the injured reserve, officially ending his season. He's been battling a groin injury for much of the year and finally decided to give in.

Oakland placed DT John Parrella on the injured reserve with a groin injury of his own. He appeared in the first five games this year and hasn't seen the field since.

The Jets have placed DE John Abraham on the injured reserve because the groin injury that had held him out since week eight. The injury was not responding to treatment and it was unlikely that he'd see the field again this year.

The Dolphins have place DE Rob Burnett on the injured reserve. He was unable to recover from knee surgery during the preseason and was limited to just nine solo tackles and two sacks while seeing time in ten games this year.

The Ravens placed LB Adalius Thomas on injured reserved after he fractured his arm during week 14. Recovery time for the injury is six weeks, making it unlikely that he'd make it back in time to help during the playoffs.

The Giants have placed CB Ralph Brown in the IR after re-injuring his shoulder on Sunday night. He had started the last two games after missing three games because of the same shoulder.

Bears S Mike Green is also suffering a groin injury and will not be 100% until he's able to shut it down for a while (after the season). He's still playing, but Bobby Gray has taken his spot in the starting lineup for now.

Rams middle linebacker Robert Thomas tore his groin during week 14 and will be sidelined for up to a month. Jamie Duncan, who started 13 games for St.Louis in the middle last year (although unproductively), will replace Thomas in the lineup. Duncan recorded just two solo tackles during week 15.

The Packers have released LB T.J.Slaughter. If you remember, he was released earlier in the year by Jacksonville after being accused of flashing a handgun at two men. The charges were eventually dropped.

Cardinals S Justin Lucas will miss the remainder of the season with a sprained ankle. He had picked up 20 solo tackles this year while appearing in ten games as a reserve.

Redskins LB LaVar Arrington reportedly rejected a new contract offer from Washington reportedly worth $50 million over seven years with a $13-$15 million signing bonus. Arrington has come out and said that he never "formally" rejected the contract offer and that they are currently working on a long-term extension. "The only way I won't be here is if they don't want me here."

Ravens rookie LB Terrell Suggs was set to start his first game this week, but it didn't happen. Cornell Brown started instead as the Raiders opened the game with three tight ends. With us expecting an increase in his tackle numbers with the new role, he was limited to just one assist.

Titans DE JeVon Kearse is a free-agent at seasons end and has said that he'd love to play for Gregg Williams (Buffalo's current head coach, although that may be short lived). Williams was the defensive coordinator in Tennessee during Kearse's first two years in the league.

Packer DE Jamal Reynolds, the 10th overall pick in the 01 draft, will likely be released at the end of this year. In 2+ season with Green Bay, he's picked up a total of 12 solo tackles and three sacks, without starting a single game.

Panthers S Jarrod Cooper was reinstated by the NFL on Monday after a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

Patriots DE/DT Richard Seymour did not start this past weekends game (held out of the first quarter) because of a "coaching decision". Team rules state that if you miss practice on Thursday and Friday, you do not start. Seymour missed team meetings and practice on Thursday in order to attend his grandfather's funeral in North Carolina. In the 12 games that Seymour has started this year, he's already posted career highs in solo tackles (35), sacks (7.5) and passes defended (9).

The Kansas City Chiefs currently rank 29th in the league, allowing an average of 145.5 rushing yards per game. They are the lowest rated rush defense of any playoff contender.

The Panthers may be in trouble this weekend as six defensive starters are currently "uncertain" for week 16. CBs Terry Cousin (calf) & Reggie Howard (ankle), LBs Will Witherspoon (wrist) & Dan Morgan (head), S Deon Grant (shoulder) and DE Mike Rucker (knee). Morgan, Howard and Rucker all sat out last weeks victory over Arizona. The Panthers clinched a playoff spot, so they may be more inclined to rest some of these guys even if they can play in order to get them closer to 100%.

Bills S Izell Reese may be done for the year after suffering a calf injury during week 15. Pierson Prioleau, a starter last year and the early part of 03, will take his place in the lineup.

Seahawks LB Anthony Simmons continues to have soreness in his neck that prevents him from practicing. He's missed the last two games and his status for week 16 is uncertain.

Giants LB Michael Barrow, after his team lost 45-7 on Sunday night: "It just feels like we've just been violated," Barrow said. "I don't know what it is to be raped. Not to be insensitive to people who have, but to me, this is my experience to feel like they just held us down and did whatever they want to us." Head coach Jim Fassel said that he would speak to Barrow.

Brown's DT Gerard Warren has stated that he's willing to restructure his contract in order to remain in Cleveland and give them some cap relief. Warren has reached incentives in his contract during his first three seasons that have him in line to be one of the top 15 paid players in the league next season.

Bucs DL Ellis Wyms is likely done for the year after tearing his MCL on Sunday. The injury occurred during Tampa Bay's first defensive series against Houston.

It's starting to look like a probability that CB Champ Bailey will not be with the Redskins in '04.

Raiders DT Rod Coleman has been named the AFCs Defensive Player of the Week for week 15. Coleman picked up two sacks and forced a fumble while helping the Raiders defeat Baltimore 20-12.

Where do they get these numbers? It's been reported that San Francisco LB Derek Smith has set a franchise record this year with 164 tackles. According to the stats I see, he has 96 tackles (76 solo). When you see inflated numbers like this, you have to remember that they come from the team statisticians, not the stats that we typically use in our leagues. Many preseason magazines also use the team stats, so be carefull.