D8 PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
Rib injury could keep Eagles’ Vick sidelined
Reid: Quarterback is ‘day-to-day, week-to-week’
ASSOCIATED PRESS Michael Vick got a warning
from teammate DeSean Jack- son right before he was injured. “I told him: ‘Don’t take no
hits like that. We can’t afford you taking hits,’ ” Jackson said. Vick didn’t listen, and he ended up with a rib cartilage injury that may force him to miss at least Philadelphia’s next game at San Francisco. “This is going to be one of
those day-to-day, week-to-week [injuries],” Eagles Coach Andy Reid saidMonday. If Vick can’t play, Kevin Kolb
gets another chance to lead the team. The quarterback began the season as Donovan Mc- Nabb’s successor, but lost his job when he suffered a concus- sion inWeek 1 and Vick played exceptionally in his absence. Without Vick, the offense
struggled in Philadelphia’s loss toMcNabb and the Redskins on Sunday. The Eagles now travel to face a 49ers team looking to avoid an 0-5 start. Reid did not rule out Vick,
who was not the only Eagle injured. Running back LeSean McCoy broke a rib during the first half but played through it. His status also is uncertain. Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samu- el and wide receiver Riley Coo- per suffered mild concussions. l TITANS: The NFL fined de-
fensive coordinatorChuck Cecil $40,000 for his obscene gesture at game officials. The league said Cecil violated
a rule that prohibits use of abusive, threatening or insult- ing language or gestures to game officials. Television cameras caught
Cecil using his right hand to make the gesture when officials flagged his defense for a neutral zone infraction during the sec- ond quarter Sunday. The penal- ty gave Denver first and goal,
and Kyle Orton threw a two- yard touchdown pass on the next play for a 7-0 lead. Titans Coach Jeff Fisher con-
firmed the fine in his news conference. He called the league’s punishment swift and appropriate. Video of Cecil’s gesture was
on YouTube by halftime. Cecil declined to comment after the game, a loss in which the Titans were penalized 10 times for a season-high 111 yards. l STEELERS: Ben Roethlis-
berger learned something dur- ing his four-week suspension: He’s a lousy spectator. Roethlisberger said he never
got comfortable watching Pitts- burgh play during his absence, even though it went 3-1 without the two-time Super Bowl-win- ning quarterback. He returned to the practice
facility, where offensive coordi- nator Bruce Arians already had drawn up plays waiting for him to review. Roethlisberger at- tended a meeting in advance of Tuesday’s practice, his first since training camp. The Steel- ers next play the BrownsonOct. 17.
Roethlisberger is among sev-
en players eligible to return after serving four-game suspen- sions, including the Texans’ Bri- an Cushing and the Jets’ Santo- nioHolmes. l CHARGERS: Strong safety
Steve Gregory was suspended by theNFLfor four games with- outpay for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhanc- ing substances. The suspension begins with
Sunday’s game at Oakland.Nei- ther the NFL nor Gregory said what substance the player test- ed positive for. l BEARS:CoachLovie Smith
sounds optimistic that quarter- back Jay Cutler will be back soon from his concussion, al- though he would not say just how severe the injury is. Smith says Cutler was back at
the practice facility and was “feeling okay” after sitting out the second half of a loss the previous night against the New York Giants.
EZ SU
KLMNO COLLEGE FOOTBALL
ON FOOTBALL John Feinstein
Navy’s season is quickly taking on water E
very once in awhile, the tone of a football season— good or bad—can be set
very early. That appears to be the case forNavy this season. In theMidshipmen’s opening
game againstMaryland on Labor Day, they drove up and down the field atM&T Bank Stadiumall day long—and lost, 17-14, be- cause five drives inside the Terra- pins 20-yard line failed to pro- duce any points. TheMidshipmenmanaged to
win their next two games against mediocre opposition, but it wasn’t easy: They failed to score a point in the second half and had to hold on to beat division I-AA Georgia Southern, 13-7. Then, they had to come back to beat Louisiana Tech. Still, awin overAir Force
would have cured a lot of ills. Navy had beaten itsmost de- spised rival—theMidshipmen can’t stand losing toArmy but re- spect the Cadets; they aren’t quite so touchy-feely aboutAir Force—seven straight years and won the Commander-in-Chief ’s Trophy all seven times. The Fal- cons had become as obsessed with theMids as theMids had beenwith the FalconswhenAir Force dominated between 1982 and 2002. This isAir Force’s best teamin
a long time, and another loss to theMidshipmenwould have been crushing. Some Falcons talked bitterly about howun- lucky they had been or howthey had failed tomake plays—as op- posed to givingNavy credit for the streak. The question for the Falcons lastweekwas simple: If not now,when? Navy forced an early turnover.
Then theMidsmoved right down the field to a first down at theAir Force 3. You could almost hear Air Force Coach Troy Calhoun thinking, “This is going to hap- pen again?” It didn’t. TheNavy offense
turned predictable—consecutive carries by quarterbackRicky Dobbs for no gain led to a short field goal attempt by Joe Buckley. Itwas littlemore than an extra point: 21 yards, straight on. But the ball got tipped, it hooked and hit the left upright, and theMids
THIS TIME I WANT SOMETHING
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2010
KEVIN KRECK/ASSOCIATED PRESS Navy’s struggling offense couldn’t muster a touchdown in its 14-6 loss to Air Force on Saturday.
didn’t score.Air Force needed two big plays to go 80 yards and take the lead. Even so, the gamewasNavy’s
towin. In the second quarter, an- other drive bogged down at the 12; this time, Buckleymade the field goal. The third quarterwas the same story: anotherAir Force turnover, another drive that stalled deep, another field goal by Buckley.On that series,GeeGee Greenewas sowide open that he could havewalked into the end zone backward ifDobbs’s throw had been on target. Instead, Greene had to dive to catch the ball, and a sure touchdown be- came just another first down. Even after a blocked punt gave
Air Force a 14-6 lead, theMids had chances, butDobbs kept missing open receivers.His play all season hasmirrored the of- fense: consistently inconsistent. At times, the unit looks as effi- cient as in years past.At others it looks like a group that,well, can’t
put the ball in the end zonewhen itmust. Dobbs said something after
the game about blockers being “confused” inside the red zone. Thatmay be the case:All the slot- backs are seeing extended play- ing time for the first time and the offensive line has had to deal with three starters lost to gradua- tion; a key injury toMattMolloy and the preseason decision to give up football byDavidHong, the only inside linemanwith starting experience. The defense has been very
good—evenwith the graduation of all the starting linebackers— except for one half against Loui- siana Tech. The special teams, so good a year ago, have been a problem: Buckley hasmissed key kicks, andKyleDelahooke,who was probably the team’s unsung hero last year, hasn’t puntedwell. Those problemswouldn’t be so noticeable if the offense had scoredmore touchdowns.
DURABLE
BR 380 D BACKPACK BLOWER
$34995
• Proven professional performance with reduced emissions
• Moves leaves and yard debris quickly and easily
• Powerful, yet comfortable to use with 180+ MPH air velocity
• 2 year limited homeowner warranty FREE
CARRYING CASE MAIL-IN OFFER!*
MS 170 CHAIN SAW $17995
STIHL HAS YOU COVERED WITH PROTECTIVE APPAREL ANDACCESSORIES.
Look for STIHL Express on participating Dealer Web sites. When you’re ready, it’s ready.
Burtonsville Zimmermans Home Center 301-421-1900
Centreville Sully Station Ace Hardware 703-791-7855
Dale City Pitkins Ace Hardware 703-670-2139
PitkinsAceHomecenter.com
Dameron Carroll’s Equipment 301-872-5553
CarrollsEquipment.net
Deale Deale Hardware & Home Center 410-867-8080
Fairfax Brandell’s Lawn & Garden 703-323-7039
BrandellsLawnandGarden.us
Fairfax Virginia Outdoor Power Eq. Co. 703-207-2000
VirginiaPowerEquipment.com
Faulkner Hugh C. Gardiner Inc. 301-934-2841
HughCGardiner.com
Save Time. Reserve Online. PICK UP IN THE STORE.
Fredericksburg Morton’s Power Equipment 540-898-8738
MortonsPower.net
Leesburg TWPerry 703-777-3030 •
TWChainsaws.com
Manassas Eaheart Equipment 703-366-3880
EaheartPowerEquipment.com
Manassas Scott’s Turf Equipment & Supply 703-330-2587
ScottsTurfEquipment.com
Mechanicsville Milt’s Sales & Service 301-373-5904
Milts.us
Manassas Woodbine Ace Hardware 703-791-7855
Marshall Piedmont Trailer & Equipment 540-364-9295
PiedmontEquipment.us
McLean McLean Hardware 703-356-5496
Newington Belmont Power Equipment 703-550-1750
BelmontPowerEquipment.net
Purcellville Browning Equipment 540-338-7123
BrowningEquipment.net
Remington Arbor Tech Supply 540-439-9038 •
ArborTechSupply.org
Rockville Rentals Unlimited 301-294-6066
RentalsUnlimitedRockville.com
Upper Marlboro Marlboro Mower 301-372-8279
MarlboroMower.net
Waldorf Gardiner Outdoor Products 301-843-6620
GardinerOutdoor.us
STIHLdealers.com
Sterling Lawn & Leisure 703-471-6699
LawnandLeisure.org 14" bar
• Designed for occasional wood- cutting tasks around the home
• Includes many of the excellent design features of our professional models
$
4495 VALUE With purchase of
MS250,MS250C-BEorMS290. *Offervalid 10/4/10-11/28/10atparticipating
dealers while supplies last. All prices are MAS-SRP. Redemption formmustbepostmarkedby12/28/10. Seedealerfor details.
NOW ONLY WAS $
BG 55 HANDHELD BLOWER $14995
• Proven handheld blower at an affordable price
• 2-year limited homeowner warranty
SAVE $
30!* MS 250 CHAIN SAW * At participating dealers while supplies last. 32995 $29995
• Features great power-to-weight ratio for quick work of firewood cutting and around-the-home tasks
16" bar The season can still be saved:A
trip to a bowl game and awin overArmy for a ninth straight yearwould do that. But the next fiveweeks look like this: atWake Forest; SMUat home;Notre Dame at theNewMeadowlands; Duke at home; at East Carolina. If the offense continues to sputter, every one of those games—yes, evenDuke—is losable. TheMids havewon at least eight games for seven consecutive seasons. “Usuallywe showup in big
games,” defensive captainWyatt Middleton said after theAir Force game. Navy’s players don’t point fin-
gers at one another. They’re taught asMidshipmen that doing that inwar is not a good idea. But Middleton’s unit has shown up this season. It is the offense that has failed.
sports@washpost.com
Formore fromthe author, visit his blog at
feinsteinonthebrink.com
*”Number one selling brand” is based on syndicated Irwin Broh Research (commercial landscapers) aswell as independent consumer research of 2009 U.S. sales and market share data for the gasoline-powered handheld outdoor power equipment category combined sales to consumers and commercial landscapers.
Solomons Solomons True Value 410-326-1000
Warrenton Eaheart Equipment 540-347-2880
EaheartPowerEquipment.com
Woodbridge Potomac Mills Power Equipment 703-491-4455
PotomacMillsPowerEquipment.com
All prices MAS-SRP. Available at participating dealers while supplies last.©2010 STIHL MAS10-1522-93294-21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62