ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

It looks like ESPN.com's Matthew Berry is cranking up his fantasy football coverage in his latest column. In his current mock draft, Berry has Michael Turner going No. 1 overall and Adrian Peterson No. 2. I wouldn't endorse that particular order, but at least Berry's willing to go out on a limb.

On his love/hate list, he thinks Tony Romo would have excellent value in the fourth or fifth round of a draft -- depending on the size of your league. I guess that means Berry thinks either Roy Williams or Miles Austin will put up solid numbers -- or maybe both.

He also likes the Eagles' LeSean McCoy and the Giants' Domenik Hixon as late-round pickups. And that seems like pretty sound advice to me. The suggestion out of left field was Redskins wide receiver Malcolm Kelly. Berry thinks he'd be a good pickup in a "super-deep league."

So who does Berry "hate" in the NFC East? Giants quarterback Eli Manning and the Giants' defense. Really? I sort of get Manning because he doesn't put up ridiculous numbers like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Romo are capable of. But I think the Giants' D will have a big season in terms of sacks and turnovers. Kenny Phillips is about to have a seven-interception season.

Read Berry's column and let me know what you think.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley 

Cowboys

• The Dallas Morning News' other excellent beat man, David Moore, has the story on Jerry Jones' and T.O.'s ongoing fascination -- with each other. 

• Mayor Robert Cluck of Arlington said he wasn't seeking fame or fortune when he asked for a meeting with Jerry Jones in 2004.

• I'm not sure that second-year cornerback Mike Jenkins will crack the starting lineup in '09. Here's what Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News thinks.

• Fresh back from an extended vacation, Tim MacMahon has a story on the Cowboys' answer to the Wildcat formation. It's called the Razorback -- for obvious reasons.

• I apparently stepped all over a "TV sound bite" during my dogged pursuit of an answer from Jerry Jones on the DeMarcus Ware contract situation Thursday. Consider this my heartfelt apology to all my pals in the local TV market.
  

Eagles

• Here's a sobering column from Inquirer columnist Phil Sheridan. The only part I disagree with Phil on is that it takes a couple of years for a rookie running back to get up to speed at that position. I think rookies can make an immediate impact at that position, in part, because it requires instinctive players. If Westbrook is slowed by this injury, I think LeSean McCoy will be ready to go. Am I being overly optimistic?
  

• Jeff Offord says Brian Westbrook's surgery (today) was news to McCoy.

• Andy Reid says Westbrook's surgery is a "small, little thing."

• San Donnellon of the Daily News says we're seeing a more assertive Asante Samuel this offseason. 
  

Giants

• Paul Schwartz of the Post says that Mario Manningham wants to look to the future. 

• The folks at Fifth Down Blog have done the heavy lifting for us. 
  

Redskins

• Ryan O'Halloran takes a look at where Redskins players stand on an expanded regular season. 

• Jim Zorn isn't thrilled with LaRon Landry right now.

• Renaldo Wynn is hosting an offseason Bible study.

• Second-year tight end Fred Davis is drawing rave reviews. 

New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw has returned to Virginia to serve the remainder of a 60-day jail sentence. He'll serve 30 days and then his case will be officially closed.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Witten

It doesn't surprise me that tight end Jason Witten is lobbying to play against the Giants with a broken rib Sunday. I did an interview with him in 2003 in which he was mumbling because he had two steel plates in his broken jaw.

The injury kept him out of one game, but he returned to the field the following week. Witten has already been in pain because of a shoulder injury that's required pain-killing injections, but he refused to let it keep him off the field.

The best course of action would be for Witten to sit out Sunday's game and then use the bye week to recover before the Redskins game. But that's not how he operates. With Brad Johnson basically throwing medicine balls, the Cowboys desperately need Witten as a receiver and blocker.

If he can't go, second-round draft pick Martellus Bennett out of Texas A&M will take over as the starter. Bennett is talented, but he'd be a huge drop-off from Witten. Without Witten, Tony Romo, Felix Jones and Kyle Kosier, the Cowboys would be in big trouble in the Meadowlands.

Wait, they're already in big trouble.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

In a few hours, we'll launch the Week 9 ESPN.com power rankings. This will give you a unique opportunity to freak out over something that has no bearing on anything. Now, please rise and put your hands together for this week's NFC Beast rankings (which you're not supposed to be seeing right now).

2. Giants -- Now that was a statement game in Pittsburgh. The Giants had every reason to lose that game, what with the goal-line stand by the Steelers. But the Giants kept destroying Ben Roethlisberger, and in the end, a special teams snafu by the Steelers put them in position to win the game. Oh, and Eli Manning is ridiculously clutch.

4. Redskins -- Yes, I know they struggled in Detroit, but they found a way to win. If you haven't realized it yet, the Redskins don't blow teams out. They simply wear them down with a relentless running game. And quarterback Jason Campbell rarely makes mistakes.

8. Eagles -- You knew they'd come back with a vengeance after the bye. Brian Westbrook is one of the best players in the league, and he can carry a team when he's healthy. Well, he's healthy.

11. Cowboys -- That was a season-saving win against the Bucs -- at least for another week. Cowboys face the Giants in the Meadowlands with Brad Johnson. Talk about scary.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

I don't think Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was prepared to fire coach Wade Phillips had the team lost to the Bucs on Sunday, but at 4-4, he would've been in desperation mode. Instead, the Cowboys escaped with a 13-9 victory, and Phillips received the game ball from Jones.

"Quite a few people had our coach fired this week, but it was never going to happen," Jones told Peter King. "No one's as responsible for this win as him."

As I wrote in my game column Sunday, Jones took several stabs at paying Phillips a compliment after the game, but a lot of it came across as back-handed. In four different media sessions, he attempted to say that Phillips had been making head coaches look good for years. He was pointing out that Phillips made himself look good in Sunday's 13-9 win, but the praise seemed a bit forced. Jones knows this team's playoff hopes are hanging by a thread as it prepares for a trip to the Meadowlands this weekend.

The Giants (6-1) and Redskins (6-2) are clearly the best teams in the division and the Eagles (4-3) looked like a rejuvenated team in a 27-14 win over the Falcons. If the Cowboys (5-3) went on another two-game losing skid, they'd pretty much fall out of the playoff race. That's why Sunday's win was so huge. The goal is to stay afloat until quarterback Tony Romo returns from injury.

And for one week, that's exactly what the Cowboys did.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Just when you thought Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress couldn't become more of a distraction, he made news by skipping treatment on his sore neck Saturday. The Giants reportedly thought about suspending Burress for Sunday's showdown with Pittsburgh, but he will remain active.

This clears the way for Domenik Hixon to start in Burress' place. The last time Burress missed a game due to suspension, Hixon surpassed 100 yards receiving and had a touchdown before suffering a concussion in the first half. If coach Tom Coughlin wants to send a message, he could lean on Steve Smith, Sinorice Moss and Hixon. The Giants have a lot of depth at the receiver position, and I think they can beat the Steelers without Burress.

In a text message to ESPN's Rachel Nichols, Burress said he didn't know how long he'd have to sit out. Something tells me that Coughlin will leave him on the bench for at least a quarter. And honestly, I'm a bit surprised Coughlin didn't go ahead and suspend Burress.

For a player who just received a lucrative contract extension, Burress has a funny way of showing his gratitude. The money has seemed to heighten his sense of entitlement -- and perhaps it will take more than a fine to get his attention.

Meet me in the usual spot today at noon ET. We'll discuss the Plaxico Burress injury, the Cowboys' demise on offense, the Redskins' trip to Detroit (watch out) and the Eagles' plan for stopping Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

A lot of you guys have been showing up late. Try to be on time today.

Posted by ESPN.coms' Matt Mosley

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Interesting story about Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress in this morning's New York Daily News. We've heard most of it before, but it's helpful to have all his transgressions in one place. As you'll see in the following quote, Burress' teammates didn't exactly rush to his defense:

"This wasn't the first time he broke the rules," one of Burress' teammates told the Daily News. "We all knew something had to be done."

According to one of his teammates, Plax is probably vacationing at his home in Fort Lauderdale.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Disturbing news for Eagles fans coming out of Pat Yasinskas' NFC South blog Thursday afternoon. Pat revealed (via Stats Inc.) that the Eagles are leading the NFL with 11 drops this season. The Lions and Broncos are tied for second place in this dubious category with 10 apiece.

So quick, let's try to justify this alarming number. For starters, only Jay Cutler (157) and Drew Brees (148) have attempted more passes than Donovan McNabb's 146. If you put it in the air that much, you're going to have some drops. The Eagles have also been without starters Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis most of the regular season. DeSean Jackson has been brilliant at times, but he's also had a couple of drops. I'll see if I can get the complete breakdown by player at some point today.

The Cowboys have seven drops and the Redskins and Giants are tied with five. Combined, the NFC East has dropped 28 balls, so they're one drop off the pace of the league-leading NFC North (29). I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I'm guessing Terrell Owens has at least four of the Cowboys' seven drops. He always seems to be among the league leaders in drops, but he still manages to put up big numbers.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - After a harrowing flight from Dallas to Philadelphia that was diverted to Allentown, Pa. due to poor weather, I arrived at Lehigh University with two minutes to spare before practice Sunday. As my Chevy Impala rental car climbed toward the school's gorgeous mountainside campus, I was greeted by a large flashing sign that read, "Eagles practice has been canceled due to lightning."

Feeling somewhat like Chevy Chase in "National Lampoon's Vacation," I was determined to see Eagles players, so I followed a small group of folks into Philip Rauch Fieldhouse, where the club was holding a crawl-through. The facility, which has been home to elaborate car shows, Patriot League track meets and possibly large aircrafts, isn't really cut out for a football practice. At one point, I watched Hank Baskett run an out pattern and almost end up in the triple-jump pit.

Head coach Andy Reid stood behind the first-team offense as it jogged through 10 plays. Running back Brian Westbrook finished reading the fine print in his new contract and participated in both of Sunday's sessions.

Starting cornerback Asante Samuel was finally back in practice after missing three weeks with a hamstring injury. According to eyewitnesses, he appeared to tweak something in the first practice, but was back with the first team for the indoor practice. Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard rotated on the other side.

In other news, word quickly spread that right guard Shawn Andrews had arrived on campus. One player told me that Andrews, who has reportedly been dealing with depression issues, was waiting for the team in the locker room. It made sense because the guy at the National Rental Car counter had told me earlier in the afternoon that he saw a man who looked much like Andrews walking through the baggage claim area at Lehigh International.

I'm planning to attend both practices tomorrow and visit with Reid and several players. At some point Monday, you can read about my visit with tight end L.J. Smith. Lots of Russian Kettlebell talk -- as one might expect.

Right now, I'm trying to get my arms around the fact that every restaurant in Lehigh Valley closes at 8 p.m. on Sundays. If you've attended Eagles training camp in the past or live in the Valley, I'm open to (non-chain)recommendations.

One more housekeeping note: Right now the plan is to blow out the Eagles tomorrow and part of Tuesday. I'll then make the drive to Albany to spend time with the Giants. New York's off day Wednesday has thrown a wrench into plans. Very frustrating that Coughlin refuses to work around my schedule.

By the way, my sit-down with Tom and GM Jerry Reese is currently scheduled for Thursday. I encourage Giants fans to begin sending your questions immediately.