NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Randy Moss and Darrelle Revis have had the quite the rivalry over the years.

In the latest act, Revis spoke out and criticized Moss, now a member of the Minnesota Vikings, who play the Jets this week on Monday Night Football.

"He came out full force, early in the game," Revis said. "In the second half, you could tell he was kind of like putting his foot on the brake. But everybody knows that's Randy: sometimes he plays 100 percent, sometimes he doesn't."

"You can see the effort," Revis said. "Playing football, you can see the body language and the effort of people when they're out there playing, if a guy's going hard or if a guy's hesitant."

"That's just the way football is," Revis said. "You can see the truth comes out. I don't know if it was frustration of him not getting the ball a lot or whatever, but you can see it."

I love Revis and will defend him, but I have to say he's running his mouth a little here. Now, if he had shut down Moss the last time the two squared off, it would be different. But he didn't and in fact he got smoked on a long touchdown and he got hurt on that play. So he's in no position to talk right now. I love that the Jets aren't to talk trash, but there is a time for everything and you don't go talking after what happened a few weeks ago.

AFC’s Defensive Player of the Month Robert Mathis and fellow sack artist Dwight Freeney

This game could come down to the wire because Kansas City can control the clock by running the football.

Five things to keep an eye on for Week five’s game of the week between the NFL’s lone unbeaten and the Colts:

1. Dexter McCluster is being utilized more: It’s been known that McCluster’s involvement in the offense has been increased.  It may have gone unnoticed up until now, but it will be clearly recognized after this week, as he will become a household name to many by the end of this game.  Consider Indy’s secondary is banged up.  Also, keep in mind Kansas City’s knack for trick plays, exhibited against San Francisco in Week 3.  Chiefs and OC Charlie Weis had an extra week to prepare, so you know they are going to bring out the bag of gadget calls in a game that will certainly call for them in order to pick up a win.  McCluster is too skilled to slow down one-on-one and can be used in a variety of ways, lining in a slew of different spots on the field.  Lucas Oil Stadium will be in awe watching this sensational kid.  He’s definitely a momentum changer.

2. Colts home dominance: Peyton and pals haven’t lost a home game at “full strength” since the third week of the 2008 season against Jacksonville.  Scobee snacks did his thing with a game-winning 51-yard FG with four seconds left to do in the Colts on that day.  You are going to have to be nearly flawless in all aspects of the game to defeat Peyton Manning’s boys.  They will not go down easily.  I don’t see the Chiefs winning this game without dominating the special teams department.  They have to make at least two or three game-altering returns to become victorious.  You know the Colts are going to be upset coming off an upset loss to division rival Jacksonville.  A key to the success at home for Indy has been attributed to two things: Early scoring, first possession on offense, and rushing the passer.  Watch out for the Colts to land their best knockout punch to Kansas City.  Let’s see if the Chiefs can withstand the early blow, because it could be a killer.  If not, they will be down for the count.  The only way to fight the Colts, is to have a puncher’s chance mentality.  That means, they have to counter their attack with running the football, wearing out the defending AFC heavyweight champs.

3. Significance of the game different for both teams: The meaning of this contest is not the same for both teams.  You have to understand that the Chiefs are playing with “house money” and could be happy to ultimately come away with a “moral victory”.  Beating the Colts at their palace would be indescribable, but losing the game by less than a score would actually be a win for the K.C. even though they obviously wouldn’t admit it.  This game is a testing point for the Chiefs, whereas this game for the Colts is almost like a must-win.  If they win, the two losses will still be talked about.  They are expected to win, whereas the Chiefs are expected to show up and lose.  It’s a bounce back game for the home team, so expect Peyton’s club to come out with a sense of urgency to prove why they are the AFC’s finest.  Kansas City is trying to work its way into the “contention discussion”, the Colts already know what they’re capable of.  They are the model franchise, a team that has won 12 or more times in an NFL record seven consecutive seasons.  A loss for the Chiefs would be different than a loss for the Colts, and likewise a win for either team would be different.  You’ll see the difference in how the teams approach the opening quarter.  The Chiefs will be trying not to lose, while the Colts will come knowing they have to win, and will win.  Confidence will be crystal clear for the defending AFC representatives.  The Chiefs are still trying to get there, the Colts have already been there, done that.  Big difference.

4. Jamaal Charles is the key on both sides: If Charles breaks off of a few of his patented big-time runs that he has the ability to do so often, this game will be broken wide open.  It will change the whole complexity of the afternoon.  The thing is, will the team give him the ball enough?  Will they stick with him long enough even if he’s unproductive in the beginning?  I understand Thomas Jones is a solid option, and he will get his.  But you have to play Jamaal more in this game to set the tone early.  Once the Chiefs establish that they will be in the game, then they can go back to Jones to wear down the Colts defense.  But until then, Charles will have to be given every opportunity to pull off the big play, the big play he’s so capable of pullin off.  No one other than Chris Johnson can do it like Charles can from the running back position.  Indy’s vulnerability against the run is well-documented, so you have to realize Charles is the Chiefs best bet to tell the Colts they came to win, not just play conservative and all safe and not to lose.  There will be a time in the game to control the clock and go Jones, but Charles is the prerequisite to that point, and only through #25 can they reach that point.  Charles is 1a and Jones is 1b.  The Chiefs will only go as far as Charles takes them, and the Colts better recognize they have to prevent him from the big play in order to win.  Understand that the Chiefs are the road underdog, and they know they will have to make a play that separates them from the Colts if they want to shock the world.

5. Peyton on 3rd down: The Chiefs defense, as good as they have been playing, cannot stay on the field for long letting Manning pick them apart.  So it will be in their best interest to hold the potent Colts passing show to under 50% on 3rd down attempts.  If they convert better than half their opportunities, the Chiefs will be hard-pressed to win.  To overcome a bad third-down defense, they will have to force the NFL’s best QB to turn the ball over.  Good luck with that, as Peyton has only completed one pass to the opposing team through four games.  With that said, you will need to play physical and jam the Indy receivers and stay at home on the play-action.  Those are the two things the Kansas City defense needs to do to accomplish the impossible.  Crennel’s crew has a super-talented and extremely athletic set of ball hawking defensive backs, so I believe they can get the job done.  However, the super young secondary, is one mistake away, one error to many, away from Manning and the Colts capitalizing off the potential letdown.  #18 will find the weak spot and pounce on it right away.  One little, albeit costly gaffe, could go a long way for the Colts.  A possible miscue could translate into a possible touchdown, and all it takes is one play for the Chiefs to go from possibly winning to possibly being out of the game.  In a blink of an eye.

Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs 23 Indianapolis Colts 27

There are lots of things the Cowboys would like to do this Sunday when they take on the Titans. The key for a victory is stopping Titans RB Chris Johnson. While he only ranks 6th in the NFL in rushing yards, Johnson is a threat every time he touches the ball. While he isn't the biggest or strongest back in the league, he is the fastest.

Titans' head coach Jeff Fisher knows that any team they play starts their scheming with Chris Johnson. He also knows that on any given play Johnson can break one. "He's literally one touch away from changing the game or going the distance," Fisher said to the media on Wednesday. It is true, Johnson, while only having 354 yards rushing so far this season, he did have over 2000 yards and a 5.6 yard/carry average last year.

The Cowboys know that he is a dangerous weapon and will be looking first to shut him down. They have already been working on it in practice. "It feels like we've been practicing for this guy for two weeks, a month really," Bradie James said. "We've seen a lot of tape on him, and he's really good. Real good." While the Cowboys know this will be a tough task, they have not been super stout against the run as of late. While they held Washington and Chicago to modest numbers on the ground, the Texans and Arian Foster put up almost 130 yards on the ground during the Cowboys last game.

The Cowboys demonstrated that they are susceptible to the cutback run and counters. Those are plays that are run when the defense is extremely aggressive. The Cowboys will have to be extra careful with contain when the face Johnson on Sunday. After all, they know that if you want to beat the Titans, you have to first beat CJ.

Gary Kubiak told the Houston press this morning that wide receivers Andre Johnson (ankle) and Jacoby Jones (calf) and defensive end Mario Williams (groin) are all "game-time" decisions for Sunday's game at noon against the New York Giants in Reliant Stadium.  And although game-time decisions, Andre Johnson and Mario Williams both say they'll play Sunday.

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported Johnson's determination:

"I'll be out there," Johnson said. "I felt great running around today."

Williams, calling his injury "a little boo-boo," insisted, "If I can walk, there's no way I'm going to miss the game. I'm going to ride until the wheels fall off. I'll give it everything I've got."

For Williams and his groin injury, Texans head coach Gary Kubiak reported everything looked "fine" on his MRI.  McClain reported Williams has now gone through two groin injuries since this year's training camp.  When McClain asked which one, Williams smartly replied: "I can't tell you that, man. That's like giving tips. I'll be fine."

By RedskinsGab Columnist – Rajan Nanavati

If the Redskins are to upset the Packers this Sunday, here are five keys for doing so:

1. Get out to a fast start: In the Packers three wins this season, their formula has been the same: build a big lead, make the opponents throw away their game plan, and then use the blitz to make the opposing QB's life miserable while they try to playing catch-up; the Packers have lead their opponents by at least 14 points at some point during the game in every game they won.

Like the Redskins, the Packers defense is more geared towards pressuring the opposing QB and generating turnovers, perhaps at the expense of a consistent run defense (they're giving up over 118 yards per game on the ground). If the Redskins can establish their offense early and run the football with some level of effectiveness, they'll stop the Packers front seven from simply pinning their ears back and making a beeline for the quarterback, and take advantage of the weakest part of the Packers defense.

2. Play "keep away:" The Packers have way too much talent on offense to try to go toe-to-toe with in a shootout. The last thing the Redskins want to do is let Aaron Rogers play pitch and catch with his cadre of playmakers at wide receiver and tight end. The best thing for Redskins is to run the football, milk the clock, hit the Packers defense with a few timely play action passes, and most importantly, keep the Packers offense off the field.

One of the key "chess matches" within the game itself will be how the Redskins attack the Packers defense using tight ends Chris Cooley and Fred Davis. The Packers have been torched by opposing tight ends in each of the last two weeks, but they haven't faced a duo as talented as Captian Chaos and Sleepy D. Cooley is 2nd on the team in targets and leads the team in touchdown receptions. I still maintain that Davis is one of the most talented tight ends in all of football, and a player who the Redskins don't nearly use enough.; Similar to his 62 yard catch and run against Houston, Davis was a couple of inches away from another huge reception against the Eagles, who were completely caught with the pants down on a Donovan McNabb rollout pass.

If the Redskins can control the clock with the running game coupled with the intermediate passing game, they'll put pressure on the Packers offense to keep up, hopefully forcing them into mistakes (more on that in a minute).

3. Keep Dononvan McNabb upright: Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers, like his Redskins counterpart in Jim Haslett, forged his reputation with the Steelers back in their "blitzburg" days. So, it shouldn't be any surprise that Green Bay leads the NFL in sacks. Outside linebacker Clay Matthews Jr. has seven sacks himself, which is more than 10 other entire NFL defenses.

Barring any unforseen setbacks, Big Trent Williams will be back in the lineup this week to guard McNabb's blindside, sending Stephon Heyer back to the bench (and not a moment too soon). But Williams is still going to have to shake off some rust and get back in playing shape before he's really back at full speed, and he's going to have to do so quickly unless he wants Matthews ensuring that Rex Grossman has to enter the game.

The Redskins used a lot of double tight end formations last week, and I'd expect the same this week, with Cooley or Davis helping out on Williams side as he gets his "game legs" back.

4. Don't let Aaron Rodgers get comfortable: Let me say this up front: when Aaron Rodgers is "on," there may be no better quarterback in the league (not named Peyton, anyawy). He's deadly accurate, a ridiculously quick release, and great zip on his passes. But what you won't read in the stat sheets or box scores on Monday is that Rodgers has played very streaky this season, especially now that the Packers are almost completely one-dimensional and he's carrying virtually the entire offense on his shoulders.

Want to know a secret that none of the talking heads will tell you? Donovan McNabb has thrown for more yards and has a better yards per attempt (YPA) average than Aaron Rodgers this season. It's true. With almost no running game to speak of (the Packers average less than 95 yards per game on the ground), some untimely suspect playcalling, and even more suspect play from their offensive line, Rodgers hasn't always put together a complete peformance in games this year.

If the Redskins harass Aaron Rodgers enough, they can disrupt his rhythm and force force him into mistakes. Rodgers already has a couple of games this season where he has thrown multiple interceptions. The Packers have already been struggling with protection issues on the edges, especially against speed rushers (why hello there, Brian Orakpo), and now it looks like they'll be starting rookie tackle Brian Bulaga on the right side in place of the injured Mark Tauscher.

5. Don't beat yourself: The Redskins have had several promising drives on offense stall because of a mental error or lack of discipline from someone on offense. Pentalites have killed Redskins drives this season perhaps even more effectively than opposing defenses. If someone's not jumping offsides, then someone else is holding. If it's not someone whiffing on a blocking assignment, then it's someone dancing around in the backfield and losing several yards (you are not missed, Larry Johnson).

If the Redskins bury themselves in third and long situations or keep handing the ball back to Green Bay after three-and-outs, they'll be playing right to the Packers strength. The last thing the Redskins want to do is make it any easier for the walking-wounded Packers to come in DC and steal a win.

We've been cautiously following the story about Brett Favre's alleged pursuit of then-sideline reporter Jenn Sterger while he was a member of the Jets.  The allegations were put forth by Deadspin.com who, despite complete silence from Sterger herself, has claimed to obtain audio and visual evidence of wrong-doing by Favre via a third party.

The evidence includes voicemails left on Sterger's phone and inappropriate photos of what is supposed to be Favre's bare "bathing suit area."

Pro Football Talk has confirmed that the inevitable has happened and that the NFL will be investigating the claims.

"We are reviewing the matter," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told the Associated Press.

While Favre refused to address the situation during his Thursday press conference, it appears that the NFL's acknowledgment of Deadspin's story will only increase the number of inquiries that Favre receives from the media and others.

Since the NFL has made their statement, expect this story (which already feels old to us blogosphere folks) to hit the mainstream media sometime soon and become a much discussed topic around the water cooler.

The Rams will head back to the site of their only victory in 2009 and face off against a Lions team that will be hungry for revenge without Matthew Stafford.

TV

If you are in St. Louis or the Sam Bradford corridor, you will obviously get this game.  Detroit must be on track not to sell out because they are getting another game.  But, if you live in Michigan and far away from Detroit, you will still get the game.  If you live in UP Michigan, you will get the game as well.  Check the map for full details and updates. At this point we can just call Ron Pitts and John Lynch the official Rams announcing team.

What to Watch For

• The Offense – Sam Bradford and Pat Shurmur had the Rams offense pumping on all cylinders at times, but other times the Rams sputtered due to play calls, dropped passes or missed throws by Bradford.  The Rams are still jelling as a team offensively.

• Steven Jackson – Steven Jackson single-handedly won last year's game against the Lions and Detroit in still weak against the run after 4 games (5.9% DVOA good for 24th in the league).  Jackson did not suffer a setback in his injured groin, so expect him to be closer to 100% than last week.

• Detroit's Defense – Besides the run game, Detroit has had fits trying to cover other team's 2nd WR.  They are ranked 32nd in the league with a -82% DVOA.  Look for the Rams to attempt to exploit this with Brandon Gibson and Laurent Robinson (if healthy).  They do not rank above 17th covering any WR or TE, so Sam Bradford should have opportunities to find open receivers.

• Rams Defense – The Rams defense has gone from "Bend But Don't Break" to "Break the Other Team" in the matter of 2 weeks and it couldn't be more exciting for Rams fans.  Steve Spagnuolo has the defense firing on all cylinders as the run defense has been able to put offenses in 3rd and long.  Spagnuolo also has more trust in his corners Fletcher and Bartell to man cover while he brings an exotic blitz to harass the quarterback.  The Rams front four is finally able to get pressure as well, so that allows Coach Spags to play coverage when he needs to and still get pressure.

• Shaun Hill – The Lions will be without their high priced #1 overall QB and again will send Shaun Hill out.  They should have had one win at the beginning of the year, but are sitting at 0-4.  Hill has two big weapons in Calvin Johnson and Jahvid Best and is not afraid of getting the ball to them.  Rams will need to do a good job of limiting the big plays from both Best and Johnson.

• Ndamukong Suh – Rams fans were enamored with Ndamukong Suh as the NFL regular season and the college football regular seasons came to a close.  But as the draft process went along, the Rams began to lean more towards QB Sam Bradford.  In this game we will see the two possible draft picks line up feet from each other as DT Suh lines up across from Bradford.  The Rams interior offensive line will have to control Suh to limit his impact on this game.

Champ deserves better in Denver

"I am disappointed, because I want to be here," Bailey told the Denver Post. "We know that, they know that. What's the issue here, really?"

So close.  "Drawing near" were the words used to describe the discussions between Champ Bailey and the Denver Broncos.  A potential four-year contract extension was within reach, now, it looks like the deal is as dead as Elvis Dumervil's season.

"I thought we found a way to make it work, but apparently I was wrong," "My thing is, my optimism is slowly fading away about staying here."

Sounds like the words of someone who wants to leave the Mile High city.  Champ is 32 and is in the final season of a seven-year contract.

Pay the man.  As simple as that.  Why would Denver risk losing not only their best defensive player, but the best player on their entire roster.  He means so much to this club.  A veteran who's not only reliable and consistent, but a good influence in the locker room.  All signs point to Champ being the face of the franchise, so why upset him?

Despite getting up there in age, he's still in outstanding shape and has at least 3-4 excellent years left in him.  Waiting until the end of the season to continue negotiations is a bad move on Denver's part.  Although, Nnamdi and Darrelle get all the pub, and deservedly so, Champ is still in a rare company among the elite.  Classified in a dying breed otherwise known as shutdown corner backs, he is still on top of his game. Why would you say otherwise?  He's one of the best to ever play the position.  Now, the question is: Can he receive some love in Denver?