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NFC South maestro Pat Yasinskas has acquired and shared a list featuring NFL players scheduled to become restricted free agents again if the league and its players fail to extend the collective bargaining agreement.

Basically, these players might have to wait an extra couple seasons to become unrestricted free agents.

Among NFC West players, this could prove particularly costly for Ahmad Brooks, Oshiomogho Atogwe and Deuce Lutui.

Jose Romero of the Seattle Times says Max Unger isn't excited about changing positions after 13 starts at right guard. Meanwhile, coach Jim Mora said he wanted more toughness up front, affirming previous comments suggesting center Chris Spencer was lacking in that area. Mora: "If you're going to be a good offensive lineman ... you've got to be a little bit of a dirtbag. Not as a person. But on the football field. Because in the pit where all that stuff goes down, man, if you don't have some frickin' toughness, you're going to fail, you know?"

Greg Johns of seattlepi.com quotes Seahawks guard Rob Sims as defending Spencer and the line. Sims: "Everybody at this time, their bodies are beat up," Sims said. "I'm not sure. I don't see how much you can get tougher. 'Spence' has a broken thumb and is snapping with his left hand and has a messed-up elbow that is probably my fault. I'm going to have to ask Coach Mora exactly what he means by toughness. But I know my guys up in that [offensive line] room, we play with pain, we don't get much credit for what we do do, and the stuff we do bad we get ridiculed for."

John Morgan of Field Gulls says opponents such as the Texans' Matt Schaub can use Mora's frustration against him during games, as Fox analyst John Lynch suggested in Week 14. Morgan: "Schaub last played under Jim Mora in 2006. Mora was then fired and hired by the Seattle Seahawks. Schaub, Lynch, millions of home viewers and Gary Kubiak perfectly anticipated Mora's tendencies. Tendencies, we can only assume, that have not changed since his time in Atlanta. Tendencies, described by Lynch by way of Schaub, that are fixed, motivated by frustration and easily exploitable." Even Mora admitted that frustration led him to make an ill-advised fourth-down decision against the Lions.

Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic says Larry Fitzgerald feels fortunate to have avoided serious injury Monday night. Somers: "The injury is similar to the one suffered in the preseason by receiver Steve Breaston. But Breaston's injury was more severe and it took him several weeks to recover. Fitzgerald doesn't envision missing any time." Breaston missed the season opener after practicing more than the knee could handle. The team then adjusted his practice schedule.

Also from Somers: Signing veteran kicker Mike Nugent allows the Cardinals' Neil Rackers to rest a groin injury. Rackers was clearly less than full strength against the 49ers on Monday night.

More from Somers: an injury update suggesting a contingency plan should Fitzgerald not play. The team could have former fourth receiver Jerheme Urban replace Fitzgerald in the "X" position, allowing other receivers to play their current roles.

Darren Urban of azcardinals.com offers injury notes, including one about Kenny Iwebema missing practice to rest a shoulder injury. Iwebema is fun to watch on special teams. He seems to welcome contact.

Also from Urban: Fitzgerald played through torn thumb ligaments last season.

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the Rams will start their fifth combination of the season on the offensive line Sunday. John Greco, a third-round choice in 2008, will get a chance at right guard. Coach Steve Spagnuolo on having two guards new to the lineup: "Worried is not the right word; only concerned, in that you've got a short time to get those guys ready. But we've got complete trust in the guys that we put in there. We've faced a lot of injuries and adversity, and when you do get injuries in this league, somebody else has to step up."

Also from Thomas: He has no problem with Spagnuolo's handling of guard Richie Incognito.

More from Thomas: Incognito had nice things to say about Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney following his release.

Bill Coats of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says rookie Keith Null took all the snaps in practice Wednesday while an illness sidelined veteran Kyle Boller. Tackle Adam Goldberg on Null's first NFL start: "I'm really proud of Keith and how he handled not only stepping in and doing a great job while the game was still tightly contested, but also handling the adversity. Early, Keith was rolling. He was executing the offense, he was completing his throws, he was reading his reads."

Steve Korte of the Belleville News-Democrat says Spagnuolo expressed respect for Incognito.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee says 49ers safety Dashon Goldon played an excellent all-around game against Arizona. Also, the 49ers had to file an injury report even though they did not practice. Left tackle Joe Staley was listed as a full participant.

Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat says Glen Coffee's decision to enter the draft cleared the way for former college teammate Mark Ingram to win the Heisman Trophy. Coffee allowed himself to wonder what might have happened had he stayed at Alabama. Coffee: "Yeah, that’s human. But it’s not something I’ve been dwelling on. When you make a decision, you always got to stick with it. I made my choice to come to the NFL, and Mark got a Heisman. That was a blessing."

Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News says Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb is a fan of 49ers backup Nate Davis, to the point that McNabb tried to line up offseason workouts with Davis. Also, 49ers starter Alex Smith confirms that his shoulder is strong enough to handle every throw but a Hail Mary pass.

Sandra Gonzales of the San Jose Mercury News offers an update on the 49ers' stadium situation.

John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Chronicle says the 49ers appreciated having a day off from practice Wednesday.

Arizona: The Cardinals will take a conservative approach with Larry Fitzgerald's bruised knee. Arizona can afford to limit Fitzgerald during upcoming games against the Lions and Rams. There's no need to take unnecessary risks. Fitzgerald did participate in practice Wednesday and his injury is not considered serious. Injuries appeared to slow quarterback Kurt Warner at times against the 49ers. Warner played with a hip pointer and seemed to walk with a limp at times. This could be a good week for the Cardinals to lean more heavily on their ground game. On defense, rookie Rashad Johnson will play more after the Cardinals placed Matt Ware on injured reserve with a knee injury. Arizona needs to get its personnel combinations right in the secondary over the final three weeks of the regular season. Update: The team signed kicker Mike Nugent after Neil Rackers had a hard time getting through the game Monday night. I'm not expecting the kicking game to decide anything when the Cardinals and Lions play Sunday, but anything is possible.

Seattle: Receiver Nate Burleson could miss the rest of the season after suffering a high-ankle sprain against the Texans. Tight end John Carlson and the team's other wide receivers could see more passes come their way. A hip injury is limiting linebacker Aaron Curry, who has been inconsistent anyway. The Seahawks are not listing quarterback Matt Hasselbeck on their injury report because Hasselbeck is taking every snap in practice. But the quarterback's throwing shoulder has been hurting recently. Hasselbeck, sidelined by broken ribs earlier in the season, has been struggling to stay in games while absorbing significant punishment behind a leaky line.

St. Louis: The Rams' depth on the offensive line has disappeared now that left guard Jacob Bell is on injured reserve and the team released right guard Richie Incognito. Right tackle Jason Smith also remains sidelined while trying to work through concussion-related issues. Even center Jason Brown, who missed practice time with an illness, is playing through a sprained knee. With the line ailing, Steven Jackson's sore back could be more vulnerable. Quarterback Marc Bulger remains out. Illness forced No. 2 quarterback Kyle Boller to miss practice Wednesday. A thigh injury is also bothering Bulger. Injuries are undermining an already outmanned Rams team.

San Francisco: Left tackle Joe Staley seems likely to return against the Eagles in Week 15. Staley had been targeting Week 14 as his return date, but the 49ers played it safe with him. Coach Mike Singletary said Staley has shown significant improvement. Staley's steady replacement, Barry Sims, is expected to be available despite a knee injury. Running back Michael Robinson's stinger issues persist. His long-term durability seems to be in question, although the 49ers think he should be able to help on special teams Sunday.

Veteran kicker Mike Nugent visited with the Cardinals late in the week as the team considered fallback options at the position.

Arizona's longtime kicker, Neil Rackers, has been battling a groin injury.

The team did not sign Nugent. Expect Rackers to kick against the Titans in Week 12.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

OT Kicks Since 2001 FGM FGA Pct. Average Distance Iced 18 31 58.1 41.9 Not Iced 32 44 72.7 43.8 Totals 50 75 66.7 43.0

Grant Ruby asks via Facebook: Sando, you're a stat geek (I say that with reverence). Wondering if you have any stats on 'icing' the kicker. Statistically speaking, does a kicker do any better/worse after a timeout by the opposing team?

Mike Sando: If you think I can be a stat geek, you ought to meet the people from ESPN Stats & Information. I posed your question to them and they produced a list since 2001 showing all kicks of at least 35 yards in the final 2 minutes or overtime when the score was tied or the kicking team trailed by no more than 3 points. These seemed like reasonable parameters.

Icing the kicker seemed most effective during overtime. Kickers made 18 of 31 tries -- 58.1 percent -- from an average of 41.87 yards when opponents iced them in overtime. Kickers made 32 of 44 tries -- 72.7 percent -- from an average of 43.84 yards when opponents did not attempt to ice them in overtime.

The percentages were nearly identical for iced and non-iced kicks during the final 2 minutes of regulation.

NFC West Kickers in OT Iced Not Iced All Joe Nedney 1-1 3-3 4-4 Josh Brown 0-0 1-1 1-1 Olindo Mare 0-1 1-1 1-2 Neil Rackers 0-0 0-0 0-0 Totals 50 75 66.7

The 49ers' Joe Nedney has made more overtime field goals without a miss -- four -- than any other kicker since 2001.

No kicker during that time has attempted more than three field goals in overtime after an opponent called timeout. Eleven kickers made their only attempt during those situations. Among those without a miss, only Shaun Suisham attempted more than one. He made both tries. Robbie Gould and Jay Feely were the only kickers with more than two attempts in those situations. Gould made 2 of 3. Feely made 1 of 3.

The first chart shows results for all overtime kicks since 2001, by iced or not iced.

The second chart breaks out NFC West kickers during those sudden-death situations.

The third chart ranks kickers since 2001 who have made at least three kicks without a miss from 35-plus yards to tie or take the lead in overtime or the final 2 minutes of regulation.

Most Prolific Clutch Kickers Since 2001 Iced Not Iced All Matt Bryant 2-2 5-5 7-7 Jeff Reed 5-5 1-1 6-6 Paul Edinger 3-3 2-2 5-5 John Carney 3-3 2-2 5-5 Totals 13-13 10-10 23-23

The Steelers' Jeff Reed must have Prestone in his veins. He's made all five clutch kicks from 35-plus yards when opponents tried to ice him. Reed, Matt Bryant, Paul Edinger and John Carney have made all 13 tries since 2001 when opponents tried to ice them. They combined to make 23 of 23 kicks whether or not they were iced.

Adam Vinatieri has made 11 of 12 kicks whether or not he was iced in these situations. Feely has made 8 of 15, giving him three more misses than anyone since 2001. Martin Gramatica (5-9), Phil Dawson (4-8) and Wilkins (3-7) were the only others with more than three misses.

Former Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins had the most misses when iced, making only 1 of 5 in those situations (he made both tries when he was not iced). Feely was the only other kicker with more than two misses in those situations. He made 3 of 6.

Kickers Better When Iced Since 2001 Iced Not Iced Difference Rob Bironas 3-4 0-1 +75% Doug Brien 2-3 0-2 +67% Neil Rackers 1-1 2-5 +60% Bill Gramatica 3-3 2-3 +33% Josh Scobee 3-3 2-3 +33% Joe Nedney 2-2 4-6 +33% David Akers 3-4 2-4 +25% Jason Elam 3-3 7-9 +22% Totals 20-23 19-33 +29 %

The fourth chart shows kickers with at least four total clutch attempts who have proven more effective after opponents tried to ice them.

Like the third chart, this one shows all kicks of at least 35 yards in the final 2 minutes or overtime when the score was tied or the kicking team trailed by no more than 3 points. These eight kickers made 20 of 23 attempts when iced, but only 19 of 33 attempts when given no extra time to think about it.

A few kickers were more accurate when not iced. Matt Stover was perfect on nine tries when opponents did not ice him. He made 3 of 5 attempts when iced. Overall, the six kickers on this list -- all with at least two iced misses -- made 42.3 percent of these pressure kicks when iced and 78.3 percent when not iced.

Kickers Worse When Iced Since 2001 (minimum 2 iced misses) Iced Not Iced Difference Jeff Wilkins 1-5 2-2 -80% Phil Dawson 0-2 4-6 -67% John Kasay 1-3 6-7 -52% Matt Stover 3-5 9-9 -40% Mike Vanderjagt 3-5 3-4 -15% Jay Feely 3-6 5-9 -5% Totals 11-26 29-37 -36%

For download: Mark Francescutti and Ben Lerner of ESPN Stats & Information provided an Excel file breaking down all kickers across these situations. I created a master sheet putting all the information in one place.

Download the final creation here.

And if there's anything else you've always wanted to know, ask away in the comments and I'll see what we can find out.

Thanks to Grant for asking this one.