Ravens fear Lardarius Webb has torn ACL, MRI Monday

AP

The enthusiasm over beating the Cowboys to improve to 5-1 was muted by the fact the Ravens lost yet another of their top defensive players.

Cornerback Lardarius Webb left the game in the first quarter with a left knee injury, and a source told Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun the fear is that he’s torn his ACL.

He’ll have an MRI Monday, but even in the post-game press conference, Ravens coach John Harbaugh said it “doesn’t look good.”

The Ravens are still winning, but their defense is a shell of itself. They clearly miss pass rusher Terrell Suggs, and without Webb, their pass defense is a question.

Their run defense already is after giving up 200 yards on the ground for the second straight game.

AP

After the Lions’ Thanksgiving win over the Packers, Detroit linebacker DeAndre Levy said of a penalty he got for a hit on a defenseless receiver, “It’s a joke.”

Apparently the league office didn’t find anything funny about it.

Levy has been fined $15,750 for the hit, which he delivered on Packers tight end Ryan Taylor while Taylor was in a defenseless posture.

Although Levy tried to get his helmet to the side and lead with his shoulder as Taylor caught the ball, Levy did make contact with Taylor’s helmet. The bottom line in the NFL these days is if you make contact with a defenseless receiver’s helmet, you should expect a 15-yard penalty and a deduction in your paycheck.

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Every time a new report surfaces connecting Jon Gruden to a coaching job, the company line at ESPN is that Gruden is committed to remaining in the Monday Night Football booth. And so far, every time the company line has been right.

But the latest report to link Gruden to a coaching vacancy appeared on ESPN, where John Clayton reported today that Gruden could be one of the candidates in Houston. An on-screen graphic accompanying Clayton’s report put Gruden atop a list of candidates that also includes Lovie Smith, Mike Shanahan, Ken Whisenhunt, and Tom Cable.

That’s an interesting list. Smith’s presence on it isn’t exactly news, considering that Texans owner Bob McNair specifically mentioned that he plans to interview Smith for the job. Whisenhunt’s presence isn’t surprising, either, as Whisenhunt had some success during his tenure as head coach of the Cardinals and is having a good first year as the Chargers’ offensive coordinator.

The other two names are a little more surprising. Shanahan already has a job in Washington, so if Clayton thinks McNair will be interviewing Shanahan, he also must think Dan Snyder will be firing Shanahan. And Cable had an uninspiring tenure as head coach in Oakland, although his work as the offensive line coach in Seattle the last three years may have rehabilitated his image enough that some team will give him a second chance.

But Gruden’s name is the one that will raise eyebrows. Perhaps Gruden can address his colleague’s report on Monday Night Football.

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Six nights after the Saints heard 137.6 decibels of noise at an open-air stadium they were visiting, they could hear nearly as much at home.

The Saints have announced that the Superdome faithful will be making a run on Sunday night at the record for the loudest roar at an indoor sports stadium.  The Saints host the Panthers on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

“We, as an organization, take tremendous pride in the great home field advantage that our fans provide for us each and every home game,” Saints owner Tom Benson said.  “This is a unique opportunity to enter the Guinness Book of Records and we’re confident that our fans will help us achieve the goal.  It’s a testament to their passion that we’re hosting a representative from Guinness Book of Records and it speaks to the anticipation that they have for how loud our crowd will be.  We were part of history last week in Seattle and we are confident that our fans can make history, too.”

The record, set last month in Sacramento for a Kings game (really?), is a mere 126 decibels.

It’s the latest in a stream of noise records pursued by sports teams.  Which is great news for the folks who maintain the Guinness Book of World Records, which many (including me) forgot existed.

AP

San Francisco tight end Vernon Davis thinks there should be a rule against tackling players by the penis. But apparently there is no such rule now.

The NFL has confirmed that Rams safety T.J. McDonald was not fined for the way he grabbed Davis while tackling him on Sunday. So the league evidently has no problem with the way McDonald grabbed Davis.

Davis, however, did have a problem with it: He took to Twitter to lobby for a rule “saying that a defender can not tackle a player by his penis.” Davis described it as “the most painful thing ever!”

It may have been painful, but it wasn’t illegal. Even though it should be.

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When Jay Z decided to open a sports agency without actual certification from the NFL Players Association to actually represent NFL players, an obvious problem arose.

Since the NFLPA’s “runner rule” prevents persons without NFLPA certification from being involved in the recruitment of clients, Jay Z technically could not have been involved in the recruitment of Jets quarterback Geno Smith.

But Jay Z was, luring Smith to Roc Nation and hiring little-known agent Kim Miale to be the NFLPA-certified agent officially listed on the contract.  The NFLPA understandably investigated the situation, given the obvious evidence pointing to Jay Z being involved in recruiting Geno.

Faced with the challenge of whacking Miale for allowing her employer to be involved in the recruitment of Geno Smith, the NFLPA found a different way out of the corn maze.

They changed the rule.

According to Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports, the union “tweaked” the otherwise bright line to allow persons who work with certified NFLPA agents to sit in on meetings with prospective clients.

Which means that certified NFLPA agents can now hire “closers” like former players, celebrities, actors, musicians, etc. to help deliver clients.

Plenty of agents will be satisfied with that outcome.  They simply wanted guidance regarding what the rule did — and didn’t — prohibit.  The current message is that, if you want to hire a non-agent to help close deals, have at it.

AP

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers isn’t the only one the Packers are waiting patiently to get better.

But wide receiver Randall Cobb is running low on patience himself.

Cobb told Jason Wilde of ESPNWisconsin.com that he still hopes to play this year, but hasn’t been cleared to run yet since breaking his right leg on Oct. 13.

“I thought I was going to be cleared to run two weeks ago, and I still haven’t been,” Cobb said.

Cobb was then placed on injured reserve/designated for return, and he’d be eligible to play next week at Dallas. He said he was initially told it was a six- to eight-week recovery.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Cobb will be tested again Tuesday.

“Obviously, he’s not ready this week, and Tuesday will be a big day because that’s kind of the week we’ve always looked at for his availability,” McCarthy said. “So we’ll see how that sorts out on Tuesday.”

When told McCarthy said that, Cobb replied: “Did he? You broke some news to me.”

“I feel pretty good, but until I’m able to run and able to test out, I won’t know exactly where I’m at. It’s kind of hard to tell where I’m at without running,” Cobb said. “I talked to the doctor this morning, and after the scan that I had right before Thanksgiving, from what that scan showed, he still wasn’t ready to let me run yet.

“So until he gives the OK, I just continue to do the things I’ve been told I can do.”

At the moment, that doesn’t include running, which isn’t a good sign for his availability.

Reuters

Friday’s finally here, which means we’re just two days away from another Sunday filled with football.

And this Sunday is jammed. There are no more byes and no Thanksgiving to take teams out of the mix, which means that 28 of the league’s 32 teams will be in action on Sunday.

That’s a lot to keep track of, but there’s no need to worry. Pro Football Talk on NBCSN is here to bring you everything you need to know about Week 14′s slate of games. We’ll preview all of the biggest storylines for this weekend’s games, update you on all the important injuries and run down the playoff scenarios as the regular season draws closer to completion.

It all gets started at 5:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

AP

The Seahawks have played a good chunk of this season without cornerback Brandon Browner and almost all of it without wide receiver Percy Harvin, which should leave them well prepared to play without them on Sunday against the 49ers. 

Coach Pete Carroll said Friday that both players have been ruled out for Week 14. It’s not a particularly surprising turn of events for Harvin, who didn’t practice at all this week and had a cortisone injection last week in hopes of alleviating soreness in his surgically repaired hip. Todd Dybas of the Tacoma News Tribune reports that Carroll said he hopes Harvin can play next week. 

Browner was able to practice on Wednesday, but Carroll said his groin injury didn’t hold up well in the return to work. Browner’s still waiting to hear a ruling on his appeal of a suspension under the league’s substance abuse policy. If it is successful, Browner could still return to help the team this season but he’s likely played his final game with the team if the suspension stands. 

Linebacker Bruce Irvin, who missed practice with a thigh injury, is expected to be in the lineup. 

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The Patriots likely won’t need a full complement of healthy players on Sunday against the Browns.  Which is good because they won’t have one.

As usual.

Out for the Week 14 game are receiver Aaron Dobson (foot) and tackle Marcus Cannon (ankle).

Dobson missed last Sunday’s win over the Texans, as did Cannon.

The list of 50-50 questionable players is extensive, as usual, for the Patriots.  Included among the 10 are cornerback Aqib Talib (hip), receiver Kenbrell Thompkins (hip), tight end Rob Gronkowski (back, forearm, hamstring), and cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, who was limited in Wednesday’s practice with a knee injury and absent on Thursday and Friday due to court proceedings in Nebraska.

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Eagles quarterback Nick Foles takes his 19 touchdowns and zero interceptions into a matchup with the Lions this Sunday and it looks like the Lions will be without one of their cornerbacks as they try to stop him and the Eagles’ winning streak.

Cornerback Darius Slay injured his knee during Thursday’s practice and missed Friday’s session while undergoing tests. He’s been listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game and coach Jim Schwartz said the team is waiting to find out how long the corner will be out.

“He hurt his knee in practice yesterday and he’s still being evaluated,” Schwartz said, via the Detroit News. “We’ll just see where that takes us. It was sort of a freak thing.”

Slay started against the Packers in Week 13 because Chris Houston was out with a foot injury. Houston is listed as questionable for Sunday, but he’s practiced all week and is expected to return to the lineup this week. Jonte Green would move into a bigger role behind Houston and Rashean Mathis with Slay out of the lineup.

Running back Reggie Bush is also questionable after returning to practice on Friday. Bush had been sidelined by a calf injury the rest of the week.

AP

As the Bucs try to continue a late-season push that could save coach Greg Schiano’s job, one key player may not be available for Sunday.  Another one most likely will.

Receiver Vincent Jackson is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Bills with a hamstring injury.  Jackson, who joined the Bucs in 2012, has started all 12 games in 2013.  He has 61 catches for 963 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Cornerback Darrelle Revis has been listed as probable with a chest/shoulder injury.  He fully participated in practice all week.

Revis hasn’t been diagnosed with a concussion, even though he claims he was briefly knocked out on Sunday against the Panthers.  Which exposes one of the lingering flaws in the league’s concussion protocol:  Spotting concussions in the first place.

Defensive end Da’Quan Bowers also is listed as questionable after popping up on the Friday injury report as practicing on a limited basis with a knee injury.

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It’s good to be a Seahawk, but not every Seahawk is created equally.

That’s what defensive end Michael Bennett found out when he couldn’t get a table at an exclusive restaurant the day after returning a fumble for a touchdown.

So thinking as quickly on his feet as when he scooped up a loose ball and rambled to the end zone, he called back and told them he was quarterback Russell Wilson.

“I called them back a few minutes later,” Bennett told 710 ESPN, via Terry Blount of ESPN.com. “I said, ‘Hey, this is Russell Wilson. I’ll be attending your restaurant today. Do you have any tables?‘

“And she was like, ‘Yes! We can make a table for you! You were 22-for-30 the other night, 130 quarterback rating!’ She knew every stat.”

Bennett said he still got the star treatment when he showed up and they realized he was not, in fact, the quarterback, enjoying the VIP treatment.

Of course, that just means that when Wilson goes out to eat, he’s going to have to start telling people he’s Robinson Cano, who just signed a $240 million deal with the Mariners.

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It looks like the Ravens have a better shot of having tight end Dennis Pitta in the lineup against the Vikings than linebacker Elvis Dumervil.

Coach John Harbaugh said Friday that there’s a “reasonable chance” that Pitta plays for the first time this season, but Dumervil is listed as doubtful for the game as a result of the ankle injury that kept him out of practice all week. Harbaugh called Dumervil a game-time decision, although the designation means the Ravens believe that Dumervil has only a 25 percent chance of playing.

If Dumervil, the team leader in sacks, is out of the lineup, Courtney Upshaw will likely see a boost in playing time.

Defensive tackle Chris Canty and cornerback Lardarius Webb are listed as questionable for the Ravens after limited participation in practice this week. Cornerback Jimmy Smith is probable after passing through the league’s concussion protocol.

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The Chargers got an extension Thursday in order to try to sell enough tickets to Sunday’s game against the Giants to avert a blackout.

Such extensions are usually granted when there’s an arrangement in place to purchase the remaining tickets and that has proven to be the case this time as well. The Chargers have announced that a guarantee is in place to buy the necessary tickets and put the game on television in the San Diego area.

The release from the team notes that around 2,400 tickets are still up for sale in addition to “plenty” of premium seats should any Chargers fans with long memories decide to show up and give Eli Manning some help in jogging his memory about why he wanted no part in playing in San Diego.

Some of the tickets purchased to make up the shortfall will be distributed, with the help of local military organizations, to those who wouldn’t normally have a chance to attend a game.

AP

Maybe it’s like Survivor, and by the end of the season, the last guy left gets the prize of the head coaching job.

After firing head coach Gary Kubiak earlier in the day, the Texans have also dismissed special teams coach Joe Marciano, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

He’ll be replaced the rest of the season by assistant special teams coach Bob Ligashesky.

Marciano has been with the Texans since their inception, leaving just runnning backs coach Chick Harris from the inaugural staff in 2002.