We started posting individual items on each of the fines handed down by the NFL this week, but the NFL hands down fines faster than we can report them, so we'll mention a few at once here.

Steelers linebacker James Harrison was fined $5,000 for punching Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth.

Packers tight end Spencer Havner was fined $5,000 for a late hit in Sunday's game against the Cowboys.

Panthers defensive end Tyler Brayton was fined $5,000 for a low hit on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

Cardinals cornerback Bryant McFadden was fined $5,000 for facemasking Seahawks receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cardinals running back Beanie Wells and Seahawks safety Deon Grant were each fined $5,000 for hitting each other, and Seahawks safety Jordan Babineaux was fined $7,500 for a horse collar tackle on Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin.

Broncos defensive end /outside linebacker Robert Ayers was fined $5,000 for facemasking against the Redskins.

Jim Brown spilled the beans about Mike Holmgren talking to the Browns earlier this week.  Owner Randy Lerner stayed tight-lipped about the matter, and it appears Holmgren is following Lerner's lead.  Sort of.

Speaking on 950 KJR in Seattle Friday, Holmgren denied speaking with Lerner.  But . . .

"I'd love to talk with Cleveland someday," Holmgren said.

Florio enumerated the many reasons Holmgren (and Lerner) have to keep discussions quiet.  But Holmgren's obvious interest is newsworthy enough on its own.

As the Tacoma News Tribune points out, the question is whether Holmgren will get offers from elsewhere -- including, possibly, a role with the Seahawks.

When a starting quarterback is benched, sometimes there is an outcry of support by his teammates.

That did not happen this week in Oakland.

Bruce Gradkowski has reportedly brought a new energy to Raiders practices, and his teammates appreciate it.  Justin Fargas was asked what Gradkowski offers.

"One, a passion for the game. A love for the game that he shows in the way he plays, the way he calls plays," Fargas told the local media.  "The way he works on details of plays with players, in between. . . . It's just, he's a get-after-it type of guy."

Interpret that comment as you wish, but Gradkowski brings something what Russell lacks.  Of course, Russell's arm may be just a tiny bit stronger. 

"You want to make a play for your quarterback but when he shows that type of passion for the game, obviously guys are going to feed off it and try to give him that same effort," Fargas said.

Firing Dick Jauron isn't going to make Buffalo's injury-ravaged team any healthier.

The Bills have continued to take body blows that will make life difficult against the Jaguars Sunday.  The team placed linebacker Keith Ellison on injured reserve Friday with a quadriceps injury, and declared defensive tackle Marcus Stroud out for this week with a knee problem.

Ellison missed last week's game, but this removes two key run stuffers from what was already the worst rush defense in football.  The team has lost twelve players for the season.  Rookie safety Jairus Byrd, cornerback Terrence McGee, and defensive tackle Kyle Williams are all questionable for the game.

This post is a long way of saying that Maurice Jones-Drew should have a fun Sunday.

Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, sued this week by Tila Tequila Nguyen for battery, assault, and false imprisonment, has spoken publicly regarding the lawsuit.

The case arises from an alleged incident that occurred in early September at Merriman's home.  Though Merriman was arrested, prosecutors decided not to pursue charges.

"The DA's office, you know, said I didn't do anything wrong," Merriman said, according to 10News.com. 

But that's not what the DA concluded.  The question wasn't whether Merriman did anything wrong -- the question was whether it could be proven in court that Merriman had done something illegal.

Indeed, the DA said that charges weren't filed because there was "insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that any crime was committed."

Meanwhile, Nguyen now claims that recent erratic behavior -- including a recent naked UStream broadcast -- was triggered by whatever it is that Merriman allegedly did to her.

Tennessee Titans defensive back Cortland Finnegan has been fined again.

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Finnegan was fined a total of $10,000 for two separate violations during Sunday's win over the Buffalo Bills. One infraction was a major facemasking penalty in the second quarter, and the other was a late hit in the third quarter.

It's the second consecutive week that Finnegan has been fined by the league. Last week Finnegan was fined $5,000 for facemasking 49ers running back Frank Gore.

Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean reports that Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck was also fined, getting docked $7,500 for a horse collar tackle on Bills running back Fred Jackson.

Many fans found last Thursday's Bears-49ers turnover-fest an ugly game to watch. Apparently the NFL's fine police agreed.

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that four players were fined for violations during the game.

Players fined $5,000 apiece were Bears right tackle Chris Williams for a late hit, 49ers tight end Delanie Walker for kicking an opponent, 49ers cornerback Tarell Brown for taunting and 49ers wide receiver Arnaz Battle for facemasking.

Despite his five-interception game, Jay Cutler was not fined for impersonating a professional quarterback.

Jacksonville Jaguars safety Reggie Nelson has been fined $7,500 for a hit on New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez in Sunday's game.

Michael C. Wright of the Florida Times-Union tweets that Nelson got the fine because, an NFL spokesman said, he unnecessarily struck a quarterback in the head area."

For his part, Sanchez didn't seem particularly bothered by the hit when asked about it this week.

"I felt OK," Sanchez said about Nelson drilling him, per TheJetsBlog.com. "The hit came pretty quick. He made a big-time hit. . . . I got off-balance when I was trying to throw and it looked bad, but no, the hit didn't affect my play I don't think."

But even if Sanchez didn't think the hit was a big deal, the NFL thought it was sufficiently big to make Nelson pay for it.

Seahawks coach Jim Mora will be glad to know that the NFL does not permit defensive linemen to stick their elbows into quarterbacks' throats.

The NFL has fined Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Docket $7,500 for taking a shot at Hasselbeck's throat in a pileup on Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

The cheap shot had Mora so angry that he said if the NFL didn't do something about it, he would instruct his team's defensive players to take similar cheap shots at opposing quarterbacks. For the sake of every quarterback who plays the Seahawks, let's hope Dockett's fine convinces Mora that he need not follow through on his threat.

Dockett later hit back at Mora on Twitter, saying that if Mora had ever played the game he'd know that stuff like that happens on the field. But apparently the league doesn't think stuff like that just happens, and as a result Dockett's paycheck will be $7,500 lighter.

New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis says he shut down New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss the last time their teams met, and that he's ready to do it again on Sunday.

Moss says Revis better be ready to back that up.

"I don't feed into talking and all that crazy stuff. I'm a 12-year vet. So that stuff don't bother me," Moss said told the Boston Herald today. "My biggest thing is, when you talk like that, you better back it up. So, we'll see. We'll see what goes down."

We will, indeed, see whether Revis can back up his claims on Sunday. But as a scout told PFT's Mike Florio, an examination of the coaching tape doesn't back up Revis's claims about the last game: Revis was, in fact, getting help in the game, when the Jets' defense did a very good job of slowing Moss down and held him to four catches for 24 yards -- his lowest yardage out put of the season -- in a 16-9 Jets victory.

Moss told the Herald that game left a bad taste in his mouth.

"We haven't forgotten what happened the last game. So, we still keep that in mind," Moss said. "We look for a dogfight. I think it's going to be a good game. It's a division game. I don't know how far they are behind us, but this is an important game. So we want it, they want it. We'll just see what happens."

The last time Vince Young played in his hometown of Houston, he rushed for a 39-yard touchdown to beat the Texans in overtime.

The conventional wisdom back then was that Young would return to Houston every season so he could torture the Texans for passing him up for Mario Williams, who was having a so-so rookie season at the time.

As usual, conventional wisdom was unwise.  But Young can still put a hurting on the Houston faithful Monday night.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher believes Young has matured a lot since 2006.

"I think this week will be a little different. He'll be much more focused on football and the X's and O's rather than the emotions associated with going home," Fisher said.

This is the biggest game in Texans franchise history because the team is in the middle of a genuine playoff race for the first time. It's also Young's biggest game since his only playoff start.  The rest of the country can take a look at the new Young, who has made more difficult throws over the last three weeks than he's been given credit for.

At some point, Young can transform his resurgence from a nice story to a chance to be the franchise's leader in 2010.  Owner Bud Adams may have to salute him with the fingers he uses to sign a potential restructured contract.

All of the excitement has the Titans trash talking and Houston pumped for something evolving into a rivalry game.  The Texans are certainly catching the Titans at a bad time, but that's good for the Monday night audience.

If this Texans team is truly tougher and better this season, it gets a chance to prove it with the country watching.

Former Buccaneers and Raiders coach Jon Gruden has heard (or read . . . hi, Jon!) the criticism regarding his new gig in broadcasting.  He's too positive, they (we) say, possibly because he's trying to keep all bridges back to the NFL from burning.

Hogwash, Gruden says.

"I'll be honest with you -- I've been criticized by some for being too positive, for loving everybody because I'm trying to get this job or that job," Gruden tells Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports.  "That's a crock.  I love the game, OK -- and I'm enthusiastic because of it.  There are positives about everybody, and I try to find them."

So did that search for positivity include his players in Tampa?  You know, the ones who said bad things about him after he was fired?  (Then again, maybe "scumbag" is now a term of endearment.)

And Gruden surely wasn't committed to positivity when he said in 2007, "I don't watch ESPN.  I don't believe half the [expletive] people on that channel, personally -- no disrespect."

"There's a lot of negativity out there," Gruden told Silver on Thursday.  "Let's face it -- most articles you read are negative, and the same with most commentary.  And I am truly sorry for not adding to the negativity and for seeing the bright side of the world here.  Because, you know, I think negativity is what the world needs.  They need some more guys to sit up there and ridicule the Cleveland Browns for four hours."

But, Jon, it's one thing to not ridicule the Browns.  It's quite another to act like Brady Quinn reminded you of the second coming of Tom Brady when you went to South Bend to see how Quinn handled wet balls.

True, authentic analysis includes positives and negatives.  And when someone with a reputation for scowling and dropping "F" bombs like raindrops in a monsoon suddenly becomes positive about everyone and everything associated with the game, folks who have a little common sense will realize that something else is going on.

Gruden wants to be able to coach in the NFL again.  But he knows that there are only 32 such jobs.  With the Raiders and Bucs presumably out of the question, it's down to 30.  And if Gruden were to explain to his new audience the deep and profound flaws he perceives in organizations like the Browns or the Redskins or any other franchise with deep and profound flaws, the 30 will become 29, and then maybe 28.

We respect what Gruden did as a coach, even if he earned his Super Bowl ring in large part on the fumes of Tony Dungy's efforts.  But we think Gruden is being more than a little disingenuous when he suggests that he's focusing only on the positive because he's hoping to bring a little sunshine and happiness into our living rooms for three hours per week.

Gruden is being positive because he knows that any other approach will make it harder for him to get that next job.

When a player doesn't practice all week, he is often ruled out for the game.

But before Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton missed his third straight day of work Friday, coach Josh McDaniels was rather optimistic about his quarterback.

Asked if Orton could still play against the Chargers, McDaniels said, "Absolutely." 

Orton, listed as questionable, will be worked out Sunday morning before the team decides on his status.  Perhaps McD is just leaving his status up in the air as a competitive advantage or maybe Orton really has a good chance.

"We'll continue working with him and hopefully we'll be ready to go on Sunday," McDaniels said.

Correll Buckhalter will return to practice Friday, making him sound likely to play this week.

The possibility of Chris Simms playing is enough for us to back the Chargers Sunday in our PFT Picks, which has been correct 100% of the time in games that have started since Thursday.

In 2006 and 2007, there was no kick returner more dangerous than Chicago's Devin Hester, who set a new NFL record for combined kick return touchdowns as a rookie, and then broke that record in his second season.

Now Hester is used more as a wide receiver than a kick returner, and he hasn't scored a kick return touchdown in two years. But the Bears think they're seeing the new Devin Hester on Sunday night at Soldier Field, when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles and DeSean Jackson.

"He reminds me of Devin," Bears special teams coach Dave Toub said of Jackson, per Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com. "Just the way he plays, he's got really good hands, good ball reader. His first step is just like Devin's, and he's got that top end speed. He's dangerous."

Jackson hasn't had the same kind of impact as a return man that Hester had in his first two seasons: Jackson only returns punts, not kickoffs, and he has two touchdown returns in two years, not the 11 that Hester scored. But Toub said the same kind of talent is there.

"Any time he touches the ball, we got our hands full because he can take it the distance at any time," Toub said. "The big thing with him is that his first step is unbelievable. He can create separation initially, he can make you miss early, I mean really quick. His top end speed is nothing that we've faced this year so far. We got our hands full."

We've criticized the Redskins front office more than a few times on PFT, so it's only fair to give them credit when they get something right.

Drafting Brian Orakpo thirteenth overall was very right.

The rookie linebacker/defensive end has seven sacks in his last seven games.  That number alone is the most for any rookie since 2006, and it's amazing because he only plays with his hand down as a pass rusher one-third of the time, according to Rick Maese of the Washington Post.  

Orakpo has successfully transitioned from a college defensive end to a strong-side linebacker on most downs.  He is often responsible for covering the opposing tight end.  This week, he takes on Jason Witten and tries to build his defensive rookie of the year candidacy.  (There are a few good options.)

Some people close to Orakpo interviewed for Maese's article believe the former Longhorn would be even more successful as a full-time pass rusher.  But that's a good problem for the Redskins to have.  In a mostly lost year for Washington, at least the team has found a core young player on a squad needing a few more.

Washington's next coach should appreciate the help.

We've believed that the Bengals would be competitive this year since early in the offseason.

Then again, we also liked the Redskins' chances.

Now that the Bengals are 7-2 and entering the cupcake portion of their schedule, let's look at the situation, PFTV style.

Brocato, tee it up.

In his seventh NFL season, 49ers nose tackle Aubrayo Franklin has become one of the best nose tackles in the league.

And he'll be paid that way come 2010, one way or the other.

According to John Crumpacker of the San Francisco Chronicle, the 49ers plan to use the franchise tag on Franklin, who is eligible for free agency after the 2009 season.

To do so, the Niners would be required to tender to Franklin a one-year contract with a base salary equal to the average compensation paid in 2009 to the five highest-paid defensive tackles in the NFL.

Franklin came to San Fran in 2007, as a free agent from the Ravens, who acquired him in the fifth round of the 2003 draft.  The draw from Baltimore to San Fran was former 49ers coach and former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.  Now the defensive coordinator of the Broncos, Nolan could have designs on bringing Franklin to Denver, if he were to hit the market.

Per NFLPA records, Franklin currently is earning a base salary of $2 million in the final year of his current contract.  For defensive tackles, the franchise tender in 2009, based on 2008 compensation, was $6.058 million.

Lawyer Milloy has always been a starter.

From the time he earned a spot in the starting lineup as a rookie with the New England Patriots in 1996 through the 2008 season with the Atlanta Falcons -- and including a three-year stretch with the Buffalo Bills -- Milloy missed only six games in 13 seasons and started every game he played.

Now Milloy plays for the Seattle Seahawks, but he doesn't play much: Milloy has been active for all nine games, but he hasn't started any and mostly sees the field on special teams. He says that has made things extremely difficult for him.

"It's been the toughest thing in my career to sit on the bench," Milloy told John Boyle of the Daily Herald. "My eye is always on the prize, and when I came here I came here under these circumstances, and I signed a contract and I'm loyal to it. Coach [Jim] Mora is a guy I heavily respect, that's why I went to Atlanta four years ago, and he mapped it out for me. I had a chance to play at home, eventually when my number is called just be ready.

"Honestly as the season progressed I thought I was going to be able to accept that role and run with it, but being on the sideline is something that I'm not very comfortable with. I'm not saying that's going to change anything, I respect the young safeties that we have here, the team that we have. I really can't worry about what I can't control, and that's the way I've handled it."

Milloy just turned 36, and he's the oldest non-kicker on the team. His 14th season may be his last, and if it is, his NFL career isn't ending the way he envisioned.

Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel is expected to miss this week's Chiefs game.  According to the Kansas City Star, he might miss the next few as well.  (Can hear the jokes in the comments already.  Vrabel is on the Chiefs?)

It's been a tough transition for Vrabel and fellow former Patriot Matt Cassel in Kansas City.  The team has won two games and both players have struggled.

Vrabel has one sack and 33 tackles, good for fourth on the team.  Under constant pressure and with little help around him, Cassel has averaged 5.68 yards per attempt, which only ranks ahead of four qualifying quarterbacks.  He averaged 7.2 in New England. 

Cassel will be in Kansas City a while, but Vrabel likely won't be.  He is 34 years old and is a free agent after the season.

In 1992 the Seattle Seahawks were horrible. They went 2-14 behind a trio of starting quarterbacks (Stan Gelbaugh, Kelly Stouffer and Dan McGwire), and they never scored more than 17 points in any game.

At the end of the season the Seahawks had scored a grand total of 140 points, a mark of futility that had never been matched in a 16-game season before and hasn't been matched since.

But that mark could be matched this year.

Adam Schefter of ESPN points out that both the Cleveland Browns and the Oakland Raiders have a shot at the record this season. Nine games into 2009, the Browns have scored 78 points, putting them on pace to finish with 139 and break the 1992 Seahawks' record.

And if the Browns don't break the Seahawks' record, the Raiders might: Having scored 88 points this season, Oakland is on pace to finish with 156. If Bruce Gradkowski manages the superhuman feat of being a worse quarterback than JaMarcus Russell, maybe the Raiders can come in under 140 as well.

It's telling that when the Raiders drafted Russell and the Browns drafted Brady Quinn in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft, both teams thought they had franchise quarterbacks who would take their offenses to new heights. Instead Russell and Quinn -- helped by a whole lot of lousy teammates -- have taken the Raiders' and Browns' offenses to new depths.