ESPN NFL

Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said Wednesday the team isn't going to trade disgruntled cornerback Mike Jenkins. We didn't post on it here because we already knew this. Everybody already knew it. Even Jenkins, though he's let it be known he's unhappy with his contract and his new role as the team's No. 3 cornerback and would like to be traded, probably knew it too. He'd have to be blind not to.

Jenkins isn't making so much money that the Cowboys would want to dump him like the Eagles did with Asante Samuel. He's too good for them to trade for a late-round draft pick and not quite good enough to convince a team to offer an early-round pick. The result is that the team, as it tends to in NFL contract situations, holds all of the cards and is required to make no move at all in response to Jenkins' decision to skip offseason workouts. If he wants to stay home, he stays home. If he wants to skip mandatory workouts next month or part of training camp, they can fine him. If he wanted to sit out a whole season, they'd just run Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne and Orlando Scandrick out there and take their chances. They're better with Jenkins in that mix and would like to have him, but they're not desperate enough to even consider granting him his wish.

Jenkins finds himself in NFL contract limbo, and if he's looking for a sympathetic shoulder on which to cry he doesn't even have to look outside his own division. The New York Giants' Osi Umenyiora is basically in the same situation -- unhappy with his contract, not thrilled to be the No. 3 defensive end on his team and would rather play elsewhere. But he's not getting traded either, because (stop me if this sounds familiar) he's affordable, he's too good to trade for peanuts and he's not going to bring back a first-round or second-round pick in a deal. The Giants are better off keeping an unhappy Umenyiora around than trading him for pennies on the dollar. It's the decision they made when he raised the same fuss a year ago, and they got 12.5 sacks out of him in 13 games (counting postseason) for their patience.

If either Jenkins or Umenyiora really wanted to push this, there are two somewhat extreme ways they could go. The first is that they could sit out the meaningful stuff, like training camp and regular-season games. If they prove that they're willing to do that, then circumstances could, theoretically, improve their leverage. Say Jenkins is sitting at home in late August and Claiborne gets hurt, or Umenyiora's sitting at home Week 2 and Justin Tuck gets hurt. In cases like those, the need for the player may become great enough to warrant a new deal. But that's a big risk to take, because injuries are unpredictable and in the meantime the player has allowed the team the chance to get used to life without him.

The second option in this case is to make a nuisance of yourself -- to show up, but put your contract situation into the spotlight in an annoying and disruptive way. The all-time visual symbol of this may well be Terrell Owens doing push-ups in his driveway. Jenkins or Umenyiora could choose to simply continue being a pain, in the hope that the annoyance might prod the team into trading him for less than they think he's worth. But this carries risk as well -- the basic one being the risk of giving the outside world (and potential future employers) reason to believe you're a jerk.

The Giants don't fear this from Umenyiora, because they trust their coaching staff and their veteran locker room to effectively ignore potential disruptions. And the Cowboys know Jenkins, and I think they're betting on the idea that he's not the push-ups-in-the-driveway sort.

What these guys are doing now -- skipping voluntary workouts and letting it be known through third-party sources that they're upset -- is the simplest way to make their particular point. It costs them nothing right now to stand up for themselves, and they should.

If you're unhappy at work and you feel your bosses aren't treating you fairly, it's important to find a proper and effective way to let them know. That goes for you, me, NFL players and everyone else. But in the end, in the cases of Jenkins and Umenyiora, there's not going to be anything either one can do.

This is the nature of their profession, and the working conditions under which NFL players operate. It's not fair, because teams can end contracts on a whim and the risk of injury is incredibly high, but a history of players crossing picket lines and caving in on labor negotiations has constructed a system in which the teams hold all the cards and the player rarely finds himself in the position of strength. Unfortunately for the players, this isn't Major League Baseball.

Jenkins and Umenyiora are both eligible to be free agents next year, and I don't think either has to fear the franchise player designation. The franchise numbers for cornerbacks and defensive ends are over $10 million, and it's unlikely that either the Cowboys or Giants would want to commit so much to their No. 3 player at those positions.

It's too far into the future to predict for certain, but the odds are they won't be in limbo again this time next year. Right now, all these guys can do is decide how much fine money (if any) they're willing to spend to make their point, and once they reach that number, show up, practice, hope they don't get hurt and play well enough to convince some other team to give them big contracts in 2013.

It may not be great. May not be fair. But for Jenkins, Umenyiora and so many others like them in the NFL, they unfortunately don't have much choice.

Terrell Owens is campaigning to get back into the NFL, and his current targets are his first team and the team in which his previous quarterback plays for.

Owens went on “The Drive” on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, in an interview that will air Monday, and said he’d like to play for either the 49ers or the Raiders. Let’s get this straight: Owens would like to play for any team. But thus far, there have not been any takers. Owens was out of football in 2011, and he turns 39 in December.

Yes, he’s a hard sell.

Yet, he is pushing for a chance to reunite with quarterback Carson Palmer. They played in Cincinnati together in 2010, and Owens worked out with Palmer and some Oakland receivers this offseason.

“If I had to prefer a team, I’d probably want to end where I started, but other than that, that’s not possible, but at the same time, anything can happen. That being said, there’s really only one team left in the Bay Area who I haven’t played for, that really, at this point in time is a viable option, and that’s the Oakland Raiders,” Owens said, “Given the opportunity, if that’s on their radar for me to come in and help them win some ball games, and ultimately help them try to win a championship, then I’ll take that challenge on.

"I definitely feel I have a lot of football left in me. I think Carson knows that. The guys that saw me running around, those receivers, they saw me first hand, so it’s just a matter of someone giving me an opportunity to make that happen. If that’s the case with the Raiders, I’ll assess that when the time comes.”

The reality is, it doesn’t matter if Owens is interested in playing for the Raiders. There are a lot of people in the world who would like to play for the Raiders. What matters is what Oakland’s brass wants. Thus far, it appears Oakland is satisfied with its young core of receivers. As I have expressed often, I think it is the right call.

Let’s see what fifth-round pick Juron Criner can do. Taking away repetitions from him in favor of a rusty 38-year-old with a history of being a locker-room distraction doesn’t make any sense.

In other AFC West news:

Tight end Dallas Clark reportedly visited the Patriots this week. He recently visited the Chiefs.

In an Insider piece, Mel Kiper says he thinks Kansas City linebacker Justin Houston will build upon his strong rookie season.

Denver signed fifth-round pick Malik Jackson. He is the team’s second draft pick to sign.

It's clear Plaxico Burress wants to play in the NFL in 2012.

And it’s also clear that he’d play anywhere. The receiver, who will turn 35 in August, appeared on SiriusXM NFL Radio with hosts Adam Schein and Rich Gannon.

Gannon asked Burress his thoughts on Carolina, Oakland and Miami as possible destinations. Burress said yes, yes and yes.

Here is his response: “You just ran off some good teams. I spoke with Cam [Newton] a few times this offseason when he was down here working out in South Florida. I didn’t get a chance to work out with him but I know he’s a very hard worker. Steve Smith is obviously, in my book, one of the top five receivers in all of football. He has been that kind of player for some time now. … Oakland, I’ve always thought that Carson Palmer has been one of the best deep-ball throwers in all of football since I can remember. … They do have some great talent over there in Darrius Heyward-Bey and Louis Murphy. I think those guys are only going to get better with Carson. … The Miami Dolphins. I ran into Reggie Bush a few weeks ago at the Heat-Celtics game and he was just saying, ‘Man, please, just come down here and make some plays, and we’re going to have the receiver to go up and get the ball in the red zone and things like that.’ I said, ‘Hey, man, you know, when my phone rings, hey, you never know.’”

My thoughts on Burress’ idea of playing in Oakland? Just because the Raiders were one of the team’s Gannon mentioned doesn’t mean it is a good fit.

Burress had 45 catches for the Jets last season, his first back in the league after missing two years while he was in prison.

The thought of adding Burress, in my mind, is a lot like the idea of the Raiders signing Terrell Owens. I just think the Raiders would be better off developing their young stable of receivers than adding one of these two aging players.

Interesting insight here from Tim McManus on the relationship between the Philadelphia Eagles and agent Drew Rosenhaus and what that means for the prospects of a long-term contract extension for running back LeSean McCoy. The Eagles and Rosenhaus haven't always been the best of friends, and hard feelings persisted for a time from both ends after the Terrell Owens years. But the Rosenhaus-Eagles relationship this offseason has looked as strong as ever, with the long-term deals for DeSean Jackson and Evan Mathis serving as evidence:

"Every relationship needs to be worked on," said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. "If you don't work on relationships -- especially in high-pressure situations -- they can deteriorate. I think as you go further along and you have more history with someone, you understand different perspectives."

It seems clear that the relationship in question is in a good place from which to arrive at the long-term deal McCoy is seeking. The Eagles obviously have plenty of cap room with which to work. (They already did a month ago, and since then they've unloaded Asante Samuel and his $10.5 million cap number.) And they consider McCoy a vital piece of their offense, especially after he scored 20 touchdowns last season.

But running back deals aren't easy in this day and age, when the position is becoming more undervalued and wear and tear on backs leads to shorter and less productive career primes. So it's not as though the issue is going to be resolved simply or quickly. I believe the Eagles and McCoy will get a deal done eventually. I do not know if it will or can be done before training camp, before the regular season or before next offseason. I don't think McCoy will make a huge issue of things if no deal is done -- i.e., hold out of training camp or skip the first few days as Jackson did last year -- but only McCoy and possibly Rosenhaus know that.

A lot of this stuff is more fragile than fans give it credit for. As Tim points out, McCoy fired Rosenhaus twice last season, so it's always possible the agent-client relationship could surface as an issue before this is resolved. I know Eagles fans won't be comfortable until this is all wrapped up, but in the meantime I guess you can be encouraged by the idea that at least the sides are talking and friendly.

The Cincinnati Bengals enjoyed the most successful free agency period of any team in the division. The Bengals were applauded by many experts for being among the big winners in the NFL draft.

The question everyone in Who Dey Nation wants answered is how much ground have the Bengals made up on the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. But that's the wrong question to be asking.

Whether or not the Bengals return to the playoffs isn't about their division rivals. It's about whether this franchise can finally handle success.

The Bengals haven't put together back-to-back winning seasons since 1981-82. To put that into perspective, those were the years when Ronald Reagan was beginning his first term as president, a gallon of gas was going for $1.30 and Marvin Lewis was starting his coaching career at Idaho State.

This doesn't mean Cincinnati has struggled every year. The Bengals have been to the playoffs three times since 2005, the same amount as the Cowboys and one fewer than the Packers over that span. The problem has been following up that success. An AFC North title in 2005, and an 8-8 season in 2006. Another division title in 2009, and a 4-12 season in 2010.

There are few connections to this year's Bengals team and the 2010 one. Only seven players remain starters from Team Ochocinco & T.O., and Andy Dalton, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Thomas Howard had nothing to do with that disaster of a reality show from two years ago. A.J. Green is still A.J. Green ... and not A.J. Verde.

Momentum has clearly been on the Bengals' side since they drafted Dalton and Green last year. Cincinnati went from the NFL's worst team at the start of the 2011 season --according to the ESPN power rankings -- to a playoff one. With the second-most salary cap room in the NFL, the Bengals then used free agency to not only fill holes but upgrade those positions. It was a methodical approach that avoided the pricey big names like Carl Nicks, Robert Meachem and Cortland Finnegan. The theme was solid moves instead of splashy ones.

They signed Green-Ellis, an all-around running back and touchdown machine, to replace Cedric Benson. They added left guard Travelle Wharton, a strong run blocker, to take over for Nate Livings. That should boost a team that ranked 30th in the NFL in yards per rush (3.3) and tied for 21st in touchdown runs (three).

Cincinnati didn't ignore the defense, signing six former first-round picks. The Bengals kept their free-agent priority, safety Reggie Nelson, beating out the New York Jets for him. Cincinnati then added three cornerbacks (Jason Allen, Adam Jones and Terence Newman) and two defensive linemen (Jamaal Anderson and Derrick Harvey).

In the draft, the Bengals landed the best zone cornerback (Dre Kirkpatrick), top run-blocking guard (Kevin Zeitler), the 2011 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (Devon Still), a top-rated tight end (Orson Charles) and two promising wide receivers (Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones).

"You don’t win games on paper and that's what we have to realize, starting with me," Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth told the team's website. "We've got to be better. This looks like a good class. But the rookies know it's going to come down to what they do and how they prepare and how they go after it."

This team is clearly better than last year's one. The expectations, though, are higher. The pressure will be on to finish better than last year's record of 9-7. The pressure will be on to win the division.

The Ravens lost the NFL Defensive Player of the Year for the start of the season (Terrell Suggs) and likely won't have their running back in training camp (Ray Rice isn't expected to sign his franchise tag anytime soon). The Steelers could be without their starting running back (Rashard Mendenhall) and nose tackle (Casey Hampton) for the first six weeks of the season and lost long-time leaders (Hines Ward, James Farrior and Aaron Smith) in their salary-cap purge.

While the Bengals have question marks at the No. 2 wide receiver spot and strong safety, the gap is significantly smaller between the traditional AFC North powers and Cincinnati this year. The Bengals return a Pro Bowl quarterback and wide receiver in Dalton and Green. They bring back a defense that ranked seventh in yards allowed (316.3) and nine in points given up (20.2). This team isn't lacking in talent or chemistry in the locker room, just a proven track record.

The biggest challenge for these young Bengals is beating the best. Cincinnati went 9-0 against non-playoff teams and 0-7 against teams who made the postseason. Maybe that's why the Bengals are ranked No. 16 in the post-draft ESPN power rankings, which is eight spots lower than what they finished last season.

There's going to be doubters, especially for a franchise that has gone three decades without consecutive winning seasons. But, based on what they accomplished in free agency and the draft, these are the new and much improved Bengals. All they have to do is show they can handle the best teams in the NFL along with their own success.

Oakland Raiders receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey tweeted a picture Tuesday of three teammates (including quarterback Carson Palmer) and a fifth man, in what appeared to be in a workout setting.

The man?

Terrell Owens.

Yep, the 38-year-old receiver who has fallen off the radar of NFL teams. Does the group photo mean Owens is on the way to signing with the Raiders?

Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here. Owens and Palmer played together in the past and are friends. It might have been just a matter of Owens being in Los Angeles and getting together with the group.

Plus, players don’t make personnel decisions in the world of Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie. He has other things to worry about other than signing Owens. And the Raiders have a crowded receiving group. If Owens signs with the Raiders, I would think it would be down the road.

My guess is that Heyward-Bey is sitting back and smiling, knowing his tweet caused a slight ruckus.

In other AFC West news:

Raider Nation is recruiting Indianapolis linebacker Philip Wheeler. Wheeler started 11 games last season and has started 24 of 61 NFL games. He has not been highly sought-after in free agency.

Peyton Manning's mentor said the quarterback has played simulated games and he is ready to go for the Broncos.

INDIANAPOLIS — The new CBA changes the landscape for restricted free agents. It’s less costly for a team to sign a player to an offer sheet and take him away.

If Arian Foster gets the top RFA tender, a team can sign the Houston Texans running back to a front-loaded offer sheet Houston would struggle to match. And all they’d give up is their first rounder. For a team like the Packers or Patriots, it’s not an impossible-to-envision scenario.

Houston would love to lock up Foster, who’s been the best value in the league over the past couple years, with a long-term deal. If it can’t, the franchise tag is in play. It will be worth close to $8 million.

The franchise tag has not been used on a restricted free agent since 1999, when San Francisco used it to ensure it would hold on to Terrell Owens.

Is GM Rick Smith reluctant to use the tag to secure a guy who’s only going to be a restricted free agent, not an unrestricted one?

His non-answer certainly can’t be read as a “no.”

“We will use every available option that we have and try to do, we’ll try to make the decisions that give us the best chance to impact our team overall,” Smith said. “Whether we’re talking about a Mario (Williams), an Arian (Foster) or a Chris Myers or whoever we’re talking about with respect to our guys that we would like to sign back that are in some form of free agency, whether it’s restricted or unrestricted. What we’re trying to do is put together a game plan together that gives us the best chance to have the best overall football team.”

Foster is a fantastic player in the Texans’ system. While Ben Tate can do many of the same things, I don’t think Houston can afford to lose its top back. I don’t think a team would be wise to effectively trade a first-round pick for him.

The Texans can probably risk it if they want to avoid that high one-year number or use the tag elsewhere. But if they lost him in such a scenario, there would be a ton of second-guessing.

Suzy Kolber and Trey Wingo debate if Randy Moss or Terrell Owens are worthy of a Valentine, Adam Vinatieri discusses the latest on Peyton Manning, and Casey Hampton is celebrating the holiday in an interesting way.

Wendi and Marcellus discuss if T.O. can make his way back to the NFL, Darren talks about the Jets offseason needs, and in Did You Hear That?, Chase Blackburn tells the amazing tale of his road back to the NFL.

Have you caught your breath yet from that wild early game Saturday? Me neither.

Books will be written about the San Francisco 49ers' epic 36-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints. But here's what applies to the NFC North: The Green Bay Packers now know they would host the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game if they defeat the New York Giants on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

That would be a blast from the (recent) past, wouldn't it? The Packers and 49ers matched up four times in the postseason between the 1995-98 seasons. The Packers won three of them. But the one that everyone is referencing Saturday, of course, is the 49ers' 30-27 victory in the 1998 wild-card round. (Steve Young to Terrell Owens. Tears. You remember. Yes, I know. Jerry Rice fumbled.)

The 49ers haven't won a game against the Packers since then, going 0-8 over that span. Let's not get carried away, though. The Packers have some work ahead of them first.

MegatronWatch was fun while it lasted. For most of the first half of this season, Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson was catching touchdown passes at a historic pace. Alas, Johnson won't break the record of 23 touchdown receptions set by Randy Moss in 2007, but Johnson has still put himself in elite company with two games remaining in the regular season.

The chart shows the seven other players in NFL history who have matched or exceeded Johnson's across-the-board production this season; it currently stands at 81 catches, 1,335 yards and 14 touchdowns. Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice did it four times, while Moss, Marvin Harrison and Terrell Owens each did it twice.

NFL passing games have grown more prolific over the past two decades, making it difficult to compare gross numbers over various time periods. But that's not Johnson's fault. Even if he doesn't catch a pass for the rest of the season, I think we can say that Johnson has had one of the most productive seasons by a wide receiver in NFL history.

Terrell Owens says he’s drawn interest from NFL teams; Cris Carter and Darren Woodson give their playoff predictions, and Suzy and Mort talk about the surprising losing trend for NFL teams after the bye week

The last season in which the San Francisco 49ers fielded a playoff team, they peaked at No. 2 in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings.

That was way back in Week 11 of 2002, when Steve Mariucci, Jeff Garcia, Terrell Owens and Garrison Hearst defined the 49ers' identity.

The 2011 team is gaining ground quickly. Four consecutive victories, three of them on the road, have vaulted the 49ers of Jim Harbaugh, Alex Smith, Frank Gore, Justin Smith and Patrick Willis to a 5-1 record and No. 4 standing in our rankings entering Week 7.

That is the 49ers' highest ranking since ranking tied for fourth in Week 12 of the 2002 season. They rose five spots this week, moving past New Orleans, Detroit, San Diego, Pittsburgh and Oakland.

"They are the real deal this year and have won more QUALITY games than any team playing," 81sanfranman wrote.

The 49ers have beaten three teams that currently have winning records (Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Detroit). They also won on the road against preseason NFC favorite Philadelphia.

"There will be some very hard words if the NFC West guy doesn't place the 49ers either No. 2 or No. 3," Hypchucky9 wrote. "We lost to the Cowboys, the Patriots lost to the Bills and the Ravens lost to the Titans. If the rankings are usually about power with regard to talent and efficiency, you would be hard bent to put us lower than No. 3."

The NFC West guy (that would be me) ranked the 49ers fourth. No one else ranked them higher. The Packers are the obvious No. 1 team. New England is more firmly established as a top team, and the Patriots have the better quarterback. Baltimore has won convincingly over teams that have periodically appeared among the top 10 this season (Pittsburgh, Houston and the New York Jets).

The 49ers are on the rise. They opened the regular season at No. 26 and have climbed from 16th to ninth to fourth over the past three weeks. They visit Baltimore in Week 12 and play a Monday night home game against the Steelers in Week 15. They'll have opportunities to move up even more.

Before taking a closer look at the rankings heading into Week 7, I'll pass along comments from our voters covering issues that stood out to me from their ballots.

• Kuharsky downs San Diego: Paul Kuharsky ranked San Diego only 16th, 10 spots lower than anyone else ranked them. He pointed to the teams the Chargers have beaten while acknowledging San Diego cannot control its schedule. Kuharsky: "San Diego is definitely due for a big jump from me. I had them 12th before the bye and felt I needed to move up Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, the Giants and San Francisco. So, the Chargers suffered for it. Generally, I am reluctant to move a team up off a bye. Tennessee was also off and also suffered -- dropping from 10th to 15th."
• Walker has Chargers' back: James Walker ranked the Chargers fourth, higher than anyone ranked them. Walker: "The Chargers aren't elite, but they are beating the teams on their schedule. I also like the fact they're starting fast this season, because the Chargers are notoriously slow starters."
• Clayton on the Bengals: John Clayton, on why he has the Bengals only 21st, nine spots lower than Kuharsky has them: "Even though they are 4-2, the Bengals have won games against teams that are 7-16. They have been helped by the schedule."

OK, here we go ...

Rising (11): San Francisco 49ers (+5), Chicago Bears (+4), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+4), New York Giants (+3), Arizona Cardinals (+2), Baltimore Ravens (+2), Cincinnati Bengals (+2), Oakland Raiders (+2), Kansas City Chiefs (+1), New York Jets (+1), Philadelphia Eagles (+1).

Falling (8): Dallas Cowboys (-6), Houston Texans (-5), Washington Redskins (-5), Buffalo Bills (-4), Detroit Lions (-2), Minnesota Vikings (-2), New Orleans Saints (-2), Carolina Panthers (-1).

Unchanged (13): Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans.

Deadlocked: We broke one tie this week. San Diego prevailed over Pittsburgh at No. 7 based on the second tiebreaker, overall record.

Like minds: All five voters ranked the Packers first and the Patriots second. Four ranked the Ravens third.

Agree to disagree: Twelve spots separated high and low votes for the Chargers. Five other teams produced high-low disparities of at least eight places. Let's take a look:

• Chargers (12): Walker ranked them fourth, higher than anyone else ranked them. Kuharsky ranked them 16th, lower than anyone else ranked them.
• Jets (9): Walker and Fox 13th, Sando 22nd.
• Bengals (9): Kuharsky 12th, Clayton 21st.
• Giants (8): Kuharsky eighth, Walker 20th.
• Bears (8): Sando 10th, Kuharsky 18th.
• Redskins (8): Fox 12th, Sando 20th.

Power rankings histories: These colorful layered graphs show where each NFL team has ranked every week since the 2002 season.

Ranking the divisions: Teams from the NFC North rank 12.3 on average, ahead of teams from the runner-up AFC North (13.0). The chart below shows how each voter ranked each division on average. Highest votes in red. Lowest votes in blue.


A voter-by-voter look at changes of at least five spots since last week:

• Sando: Redskins (-8), Giants (+5), 49ers (+5), Bucs (+7).
• Clayton: Redskins (-5), Giants (+5).
• Kuharsky: Texans (-6), Titans (-5), Bengals (+6), Giants (+7), 49ers (+8).
• Walker: Texans (-7), Redskins (-7), 49ers (+5), Bucs (+7).
• Fox: Texans (-7).

For download: An Excel file -- available here -- showing how each voter voted this week and in past weeks.

The file includes a "powerflaws" sheet pointing out potential flaws in voters' thinking by showing how many higher-ranked opponents each team defeated this season. None of the top nine teams this week has defeated a team ranked higher in the standings. Buffalo, ranked No. 10, has defeated two teams ranked higher, New England and Oakland.

A quick primer on the "powerflaws" sheet:

• Column Y features team rankings.
• Column Z shows how many times a team has defeated higher-ranked teams.
• Change the rankings in Column Y as you see fit.
• Re-sort Column Y in ascending order (1 to 32) using the standard Excel pull-down menu atop the column.
• The information in Column Z, which reflects potential ranking errors, will change (with the adjusted total highlighted in yellow atop the column).
• The lower the figure in that yellow box, the fewer conflicts.

In Thursday's episode of NFL32OT, Suzy and Chris look ahead to key games in the NFL this weekend; Mark Schlereth answers tweets about the disappointing start to the Eagles' season, and T.O. says he's just a month from a comeback to the field in the latest Did You Hear That?

Titans fans are panicked as they consider the team’s options in the wake of the news that wide receiver Kenny Britt tore up his knee against Denver and is lost for the season.

Should the team contact Terrell Owens? Turn back to Randy Moss? Bring back Justin Gage?

Jim Wyatt reports the Titans do have plans to work out Buster Davis and, if he doesn’t sign with a team he promised to visit first, Donnie Avery. Titans beat writers tweeted from Mike Munchak's news conference that the coach said that Moss and Owens are not likely to get a look but that Gage is a possibility.

Davis, Avery or Gage wouldn't jump into the team’s rotation. The Titans expect Nate Washington, Damian Williams, Lavelle Hawkins and tight end Jared Cook to take on more.

Washington has been excellent the past two weeks.

It’s a bit ironic.

In Pittsburgh, he excelled as a scramble option for Ben Roethlisberger. The Titans saw him as a great fit for Vince Young, presuming they’d work the same sort of magic on freelance plays. But it never really panned out and Washington was wildly inconsistent in his first two seasons in Tennessee, dropping far too many passes.

Now, playing with a more conventional pocket passer in Matt Hasselbeck, Washington has found something different. He’s had at least six catches in all three of the Titans’ games so far, with a total of 21 receptions for 258 yards and a touchdown. He’s earning the trust of receivers coach Dave Ragone, offensive coordinator Chris Palmer and Hasselbeck.

It’s one thing being the No. 2 receiver when a top-level threat such as Britt is drawing attention. Now the Titans need Washington to show he can continue to produce while ranking as the top guy.

It’s not an ideal scenario. But it looks a lot better than it did before the Munchak regime got started.