NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

It appears that the Fins will not have wide receiver Brandon Marshall for their Sunday matchup in Oakland, as he didn't practice again Friday due to a hamstring injury.

Reports say that it's unlikely he'll travel with the team to Oakland for Sunday's game. Marshall, the team leader in receptions (58) and yards (693), hasn't practiced all week because of the injury sustained last week against Chicago.

In another decision critical to the offense, coach Tony Sparano still hasn't chosen a starter at quarterback. Chad Henne is recovering from a knee injury sustained two weeks ago against Tennessee. Tyler Thigpen, the third-team quarterback two weeks ago, started in last week's 16-0 loss to Chicago and had an uninspiring performance that included two interceptions.

Miami made a roster move Friday, signing defensive lineman Chris Baker and waiving DL Clifton Geathers.

Senior writer jclombardi reviews funny Favre watch stories.

Packers ‘rid’ themselves of Favre, move on: While you never say never when it comes to Brett Favre, it would appear that the Green Bay Packers will never again have to endure the circus that comes with facing their former iconic quarterback on the field – or answer questions about him in the locker room. As the Packers (7-3) prepared for Sunday's colossal showdown with the NFC-leading Atlanta Falcons (8-2) at the Georgia Dome, their focus was appropriately on extending their four-game winning streak, not on gloating over their two victories over the Minnesota Vikings and Favre, who has said on several occasions that this will be his final NFL season. If anyone needed a reminder about what a pain in the tuchus the entire L’affaire Favre was to the Packers since his unretirement in July 2008, they didn't have to look any further than coach Mike McCarthy's curt answer to a question regarding it and the hulabaloo created on the Internet by a post-game photo of quarterback Aaron Rodgers after he and Favre met briefly on the field after the Packers' 31-3 triumph at the Metrodome. Other than perhaps Rodgers, McCarthy is likely the happiest to have the book on Favre closed. While the quarterback and the franchise he spent 16 glorious years with will someday have to make peace with each other, that was obvious when Associated Press writer Chris Jenkins asked McCarthy, "When you look back to Sunday, that might be the last time you face the circus of Packers vs. Brett Favre. Is it nice to be rid of that?" Replied McCarthy: "I'm rid of it; you need to get rid of it."

Rodgers, Favre, and “The Smirk”: So as it turns out, the smirk on Aaron Rodgers' face had nothing to do with what he'd just accomplished. You've probably seen the photo somewhere of Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers quarterback, wearing a sly grin and looking directly into Associated Press photographer Hannah Foslien's lens as he and ex-teammate Brett Favre, the Minnesota Vikings quarterback, went their separate ways following their post-game hug and chat. The look on Rodgers' face was interpreted by many to be a glimpse into the joy Rodgers was feeling after just having beaten Favre and the Vikings for the second time this season after being swept by them last year. According to Rodgers, who had seen the picture on the Internet and the hulabaloo it created, the explanation was considerably less significant. "That was, Brett and I embraced,  and then he made a funny comment about (Packers offensive line coach) James Campen as we were separating," Rodgers explained Wednesday when asked about the photo at his locker. "And I looked back and smirked about his comment about James Campen and they froze it." Shaking his head and smiling, Rodgers added, "You can put any tag you want underneath that picture. I can tell you exactly what happened. People are still going to read into that." Asked how we know that was the real reason for his smile, Rodgers replied, "How do you know? Because that's never been my personality. Agreed? I looked back to see if James was back there and I had a smirk on my face. I wasn't smirking at anyone. Maybe James Campen."

After a loss in New Orleans last week, the Seattle Seahawks return to Qwest Field Sunday to renew a former longtime rivalry from the team's days spent in the AFC West as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs.

It's been seven seasons since the Chiefs (6-4) have won their division, but help from a 5-0 start to the team's home schedule has Kansas City staring squarely at the chance of hanging a division championship banner once again.

Seattle (5-5), too, hasn't had much success in recent years, but, with its third coach in as many seasons, finds itself in contention for the NFC West championship for the first time since 2007.

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday being spent in New Jersey this year for SeahawksGab Editor Devon Heinen, the preview of the Chiefs – Seahawks matchup will take on a new look as he takes you, the reader, on a trip inside his reporter's notepad.  Next week, the preview stories customary at SeahawksGab will return.

It Must Be the (Home) Cooking
The Chiefs are one of only four teams in the National Football League this season that are undefeated at home, the others being Indianapolis, Atlanta and Baltimore; however, playing on the road hasn't been as enjoyable.

Kansas City is 1-4 away from Arrowhead Stadium, with the lone win coming in Week Two in Cleveland, and is averaging 75 less rushing yards per game.  Its offense isn't the only unit playing differently, though, away from home.  For the season as a whole, the Chiefs allow opponents to convert on third down 36.6 percent of the time.  That rate balloons to 44.8 percent of the time when looking at the team's four road losses against Indianapolis, Houston, Oakland and Denver.  The amount of yards per game given up also increases, from 348.4 for the season as a whole to 383.75 in the four losses.

Receiving Attention
Coming into the season, Dwayne Bowe had been known just as much for his big-play ability as he was for his knuckleheaded ones on and off the field; however, the fourth-year product out of Louisiana State appears to have turned the corner en route to making history.

In Kansas City's Week Eleven home victory against Arizona, Bowe recorded two touchdown receptions.  It was the sixth consecutive game that the 6-foot-2, 221-pound receiver hauled in a touchdown – a Kansas City Chiefs team record.

He's also needs just one more score to tie the team's 48-year-old record for most touchdown receptions in a single season.  Currently, Chris Burford has that mark with 12.

Double the Trouble
Moving the ball down the field hasn't been an issue for the Chiefs this season thanks to their stable of running backs.

The team brought in Thomas Jones over the offseason after having three 1,000-plus-yard rushing seasons in New York with the Jets.  Despite being 32, the running back is on pace for another big season.  Averaging 4.1 yards per carry thus far in a Kansas City uniform, Jones has accumulated 644 yards and five touchdowns, a pace that projects him to finish the season with 1,030 yards on the ground and eight scores.

All that said, Jones isn't even the team's best running back.  Backup Jamaal Charles has 848 yards on just 131 carries this season, good for 6.1 yards per rush.  That's coupled with the 356 receiving yards and three total offensive touchdowns he has this season.

In last Sunday's home win against Arizona, Charles led the Chiefs in rushing with 88 yards on 12 carries and was second on the team in receiving with 38 yards stemming from hauling in four of five passes thrown his way.  What's interesting about his performance was that the third-year back from Texas had just three carries against the Cardinals in the first half.

Seattle Seahawks News from the VMAC
Seattle wide receiver Mike Williams injured his foot last Sunday in the team's road loss to New Orleans.  The injury is unordinary, according to head coach Pete Carroll, but the training staff is handling it.  The team's leading receiver with 654 yards was deemed day-to-day by Carroll at the head coach's Monday press conference from the team's Renton, Wash. training facilities. … Starting cornerback Marcus Trufant was also placed with the day-to-day tag Monday.  He left the game against the Saints with a concussion. … Carroll said he was impressed with the play of rookie left tackle Russell Okung Sunday in New Orleans.  It was the starter's fourth game of the season and his first since Seattle's Week Seven win against Arizona.  Last Sunday against the Saints, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck wasn't sacked and running back Marshawn Lynch had his highest yards per carry average (5.1) since joining the team.  Carroll said it's "very obvious" that Okung's a factor in the offense. … Carroll expressed concern Monday about his defensive line, especially with its ability to limit opposing teams' respective ground games.  In New Orleans, Chris Ivory, an undrafted free agent out of Tiffin College (after transferring from Washington State University), rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries – good for an average 4.3 carries.  His longest run of the day was a 24-yard scamper.

Sunday's matchup between the Chiefs and the Seahawks is set to kick off at 4:05 p.m. Eastern.

Can't get enough NFLGridironGab?  Follow SeahawksGab Editor Devon Heinen on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DevonHeinen.

The Bengals are now 2-9, and now one of their franchise players, Chad Ochocinco, can’t even get into his own Stadium. The colorful wide out has been tweeting this morning that he isn’t allowed inside his stadium, and he’s not to happy about it.

First Tweet from Chad at about 7:45am

ochocinco Going in the weightroom to lift weights, using frustration against iron always works, you never win but you do get buff as hell!!!!!

Followed up a few minutes later by:

ochocinco #WTF Security at stadium wont let me in, says he’s unauthorized to have me inside without supervision, I’m so pisstified right now!!!!!!

And then:

ochocinco This is sad I can’t even get in my own stadium, 10 years n this what they do, supervision my ass,I play here for crying out loud!!!

And the wide out finally gives up:

ochocinco We r off till Monday, I am gonna want to work out every day until then,maybe that’s why I can’t go in,I’m gonna do doughnuts n da parkn lot

Maybe security knows something fans and the media don’t – that Chad isn’t going to be in Cincy next season? Whatever the case, it hasn’t been a good Black Friday for the Bengals wide out.