Patriots' Belichick denies Davis' tampering claim

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Patriots coach Bill Belichick denied Wednesday the claim by Oakland owner Al Davis that New England had a workout with Randy Moss before obtaining him in a trade with Oakland.

Moss

Davis said Tuesday that the Patriots had tampered with Moss before the deal in April 2007 that brought the wide receiver to the Patriots for a fourth-round choice that year on the weekend of the NFL draft.

"I've told the story about Randy many, many times," Belichick said in a conference call with members of the media covering the 49ers, "and the first time I ever talked to Randy was the Sunday morning of the second day of the draft last year.

"So that's the first time I met him. That's the first time I talked to him. There was no workout. There was no other contact with him."

Davis made the tampering accusation after ending a news conference in which he announced the firing of coach Lane Kiffin.

Asked Wednesday if he had a response to Davis, Moss said, "No, not at all."

Belichick sidestepped the question when asked by New England reporters, saying he was concentrating on Sunday's game at San Francisco.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday, "No tampering charges have ever been filed with our office with respect to Randy Moss."

Moss, disgruntled for most of his two seasons with the Raiders, set an NFL single-season record with 23 touchdown receptions in his first season with New England.

Davis said other teams didn't want Moss before the Patriots obtained him.

"You know how many teams turned him down?" Davis said. "That guy in Green Bay thought he couldn't run any more. Even Denver, where they'll take anybody, turned him down."

He did not identify the person in Green Bay.

Davis said former Raiders senior personnel executive Michael Lombardi, who was fired 10 days after the Moss trade, spoke to Belichick about Moss.

"What's his name knew he could run, he's a friend of Belichick's. Mike Lombardi," Davis said Tuesday. "Mike sold what's his name, Belichick, on the idea that he could run. They tampered with him. I remember [Patriots owner] Bob Kraft saying that he had to look him in the eye and all that. They went down and worked him out, he could run. He's their team, of course, with the quarterback."

Moss had 98 catches during the regular season last year, 22 in the first three games. With Brady out for the season after hurting his knee in the opener, Moss has 12 catches in three games.

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Joking Shanahan: Davis liked Kiffin more than me

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Mike Shanahan feels Lane Kiffin's pain -- or is it relief?

Like Kiffin, who was jettisoned by the Oakland Raiders this week, Shanahan was fired by Al Davis four games into the 1989 season with a pledge by the enigmatic owner not to pay him what was left on his contract.

"I was a little disappointed, to be honest with you. When you take a look at it, I was there 582 days. Lane Kiffin was there 616 days. So, what it really means is that Al Davis liked Lane more than he liked me," Shanahan joked during his weekly news conference Wednesday.

"I really don't think it's fair. I won three more games, yet he got 34 more days of work. That just doesn't seem right," he said.

Did Shanahan, whose feud with Davis simmers each time the Denver Broncos play their AFC West archrival, really count the days both men were in Oakland?

"I knew how many days I was there. I just wasn't sure how long Lane was there," Shanahan said. "And then I found out after that press conference that Al really liked Lane more than me because he lasted 34 more days. That's 34 more days of pay, you think about that? And I had three more wins than him. That doesn't seem right, does it?"

Asked if he was sure Kiffin got paid for those 34 extra days, Shanahan laughed.

"No, I can't guarantee that," he said, chuckling.

Shanahan and Davis have long fought over the $250,000 the coach contends he was owed when he was dismissed, and Davis' refusal to pay up, or to donate the money to Oakland's public schools as Shanahan later requested, has added plenty of spice to the bitter rivalry between two of the original AFL franchises.

The Raiders said Kiffin (5-15) was fired for cause, meaning they will not pay him for the remainder of the three-year deal worth about $6 million he signed when he took over in January 2007.

Does Shanahan have any advice for Kiffin on getting his money, a reporter asked, drawing laughs from his fellow journalists but not from Shanahan.

"I think I've addressed that enough right now," he said. "Let's talk about Tampa."

Shanahan also didn't want to respond to Davis' latest jab.

After his news conference to explain his firing of Kiffin, Davis was asked about coaches he's fired who have had subsequent success with other teams, including Shanahan, who went 8-12 in Oakland in 1988-89 but won Super Bowl titles in 1997 and '98 with the Broncos.

"Shanahan has an asterisk next to those two Super Bowls, because they were caught cheating," Davis said, referring to a salary cap violation.

"I don't think I have to go down that road anymore," Shanahan said.

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Light practice for injured Packers QB Rodgers

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- He'll take an injection. He'll try wearing a shoulder harness. He'll push himself through painful rehabilitation exercises.

Anything to be back on the field for the Green Bay Packers.

Despite a sprained right shoulder that limited him to a light workload in practice Wednesday, quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he'll do whatever it takes to start Sunday's game against Atlanta at Lambeau Field.

And Rodgers says he doesn't face any extra pressure to push himself because of the ironman consecutive-starts streak put together by his predecessor, Brett Favre.

"Listen, I want to play every game," Rodgers said. "I don't need that, 'Oh, you've got to play because Brett played 250 in a row.' I don't need that. I have pride in myself. I've played with some serious injuries before, so that's personal pride. I don't need any extra fuel to play."

Favre started a quarterback-record 253 consecutive regular-season games for the Packers before he was traded to the New York Jets. Right now, Rodgers' prospects for starting five in a row look iffy.

Rodgers sprained his right shoulder in last Sunday's game at Tampa Bay and was limited to handing off a few times in practice Wednesday. Rookie backups Matt Flynn and Brian Brohm got most of the work in practice and Flynn will start if Rodgers can't.

Rodgers said the pain is getting better, but the main factor that will get him back on the field is regaining the strength in his shoulder.

"Things are, at least in the big picture, getting better," Rodgers said. "The swelling's going down. But now really, it's really about the strength. If I get the strength back, then I can throw. I'll be able to play."

The Packers are hurting beyond Rodgers' injury.

Green Bay placed defensive line standout Cullen Jenkins on injured reserve Wednesday after he injured a chest muscle Sunday. Jenkins was one of a whopping 14 players listed on the Packers' injury report Wednesday -- a list that also includes cornerback Al Harris, who is out indefinitely with a spleen injury, and cornerback Charles Woodson, who continues to play through a broken toe.

The mounting early-season injuries are an unfamiliar problem for the Packers, who were relatively healthy in their first two seasons under McCarthy.

"It's just another challenge, frankly," McCarthy said. "Challenges come at you so many different ways. You have to overcome it."

And after soliciting advice from former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, a close friend, Rodgers said he's willing to take an injection to overcome his injury.

"That [has] potential, I think," Rodgers said. "That's kind of what I was talking about. There's different options once you get to later in the week. Now, I don't know if that's the philosophy per se, if that's the main philosophy. But I talked to Trent Dilfer, and he's had 10 shoulder dislocations, and he said that was something he definitely used to get through the pain."

But Rodgers doesn't want to risk long-term damage.

"That gets into, what do you want to put into your arm? Cortisone is not kind of the typical, I think, thing used for something like this," Rodgers said. "That can be detrimental, I think to some of the ligaments in there, but dulling the pain. I mean, I don't know. I'm just talking hypothetical. Hopefully I won't have to shoot up, strength will come back in the next couple days, be able to throw Friday and go from there."

Rodgers isn't likely to throw a pass until Friday at the earliest.

"He's very positive, feels like he's improving, and I'm going to give him every possible chance to play in the game," McCarthy said.

It is the third significant injury in three-plus seasons for Rodgers. He broke his foot in a game against the New England Patriots in 2006 and hurt his hamstring in practice late last year.

Rodgers played through a serious knee injury in college, played the remainder of a half after breaking his foot against New England and said he "just sucked it up" to throw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings after hurting his shoulder on Sunday.

Rodgers said pain wouldn't be a limiting factor on Sunday.

"If I don't have the strength to be able to make the throws that I know I'm capable of making, then it doesn't really matter how much pain I'm in," Rodgers said. "But if I have the strength, I think I can deal with the pain."

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Bills release fullback Barnes, sign McIntyre instead

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Buffalo Bills shuffled fullbacks Tuesday by signing Corey McIntyre and releasing Darian Barnes.

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McIntyre, an unsigned free agent with three years of NFL experience, spent last season with Atlanta before his September release. He also played with Cleveland and New Orleans, and is regarded as a capable blocker and special teams player.

The moves come as the undefeated Bills (4-0) prepare to play at Arizona (2-2) on Sunday, Buffalo's final game before its bye week.

Barnes' release comes after he sprained his right foot in Buffalo's 24-23 win over Oakland on Sept. 21 and missed last weekend's game at St. Louis.

The lone fullback on the Bills' roster, Barnes is a seven-year NFL veteran who was in his first season with Buffalo. He had two catches for 34 yards this season and was used as a lead blocker for running backs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson.

The Bills have reintroduced the fullback position in their offense this season under first-year coordinator Turk Schonert.

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Rams fire Linehan, name Haslett as interim coach

ST. LOUIS -- After experiencing the wild highs and lows of the Mike Martz years, the winless St. Louis Rams opted for cool, calm, reserved Scott Linehan as their next coach.

On Monday, they admitted their mistake and fired Linehan after four consecutive lopsided losses to open the season. Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, a fiery type and polar opposite in terms of demeanor, was given the unenviable task of trying to revive a franchise that has become an NFL doormat.

The Rams have lost 17 of their last 20 games, most of them routs. But no matter how dire the situation appears, Haslett said it'll never be as bad as in his final season as head coach of the New Orleans Saints in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Battered Rams

Scott Linehan's tenure as Rams coach will go down as the third-worst in Rams franchise history. Linehan was fired after the Rams started the season 0-4. CoachW-L-TSeasonsHugo Bezdek1-131937-38*Bob Waterfield9-24-11960-62*Scott Linehan11-252006-08*Harland Svare14-31-31962-65*Replaced during seasonMore on Linehan's firing:
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• ESPN.com's John Clayton analyzes the move, which comes as no surprise. Story
• Scouts Inc.'s Keith Kidd says the hiring of Jim Haslett as interim coach is a little strange. Blog

"This is nothing," Haslett said, "compared to that."

Linehan, 45, was 11-25 in the third season of a four-year contract that paid him about $8 million. The Rams have been outscored 147-43 this season, and have allowed at least 30 points in seven straight games dating back to last year.

The move was made heading into the Rams' bye week and in the early morning hours Monday, several hours after the Buffalo Bills outscored them 25-0 in the second half of a 31-14 victory.

The Rams were 3-13 in 2007 and have lost eight in a row dating to last season. Dissension had been building after unsuccessful stabs by Linehan at a makeover: several new assistants; a remote training camp site; a higher-energy, upbeat delivery by the coach to project confidence and enthusiasm.

Linehan turned to desperation after the Rams were outscored 116-29 the first three games. Quarterback Marc Bulger, the highest-paid player in franchise history, was benched in favor of 38-year-old Trent Green. Starting cornerback Fakhir Brown, a Haslett favorite, was released and there were four other lineup changes.

Running back Steven Jackson ripped Linehan on his weekly radio show for benching Bulger, and there were reports Bulger no longer wanted to play for Linehan. Bulger has not spoken to media since the benching.

"He took 100 percent responsibility for the failures of this organization, but we're all culpable," owner Chip Rosenbloom said. "We all share in the responsibilities of losing games. That includes the coaches, it includes the players, it includes the administration, it includes the ownership."

That hints at more changes coming down the line. Jay Zygmunt, president of football operations and in his 27th year with the team, is drawing heat for poor draft-day performances. President John Shaw, who spends much of his time on the West Coast, is contemplating retirement after the season.

A sign at Sunday's home game read: "Congress. Now bail out the Rams."

Linehan briefly addressed players for about 10 minutes Monday morning before driving away from Rams Park without speaking to reporters or even making eye contact.

"He just told us that we're winners," said rookie defensive end Chris Long, Linehan's last first-round pick. "We're not winning right now, but there's winners in the room.

"He's going to do well, he's going to find a place where it's going right."

Haslett, By The Numbers

Jim Haslett, who was named interim head coach of the Rams, is no stranger to the position. His six-year tenure with the Saints resulted in mixed success.

NFL Head Coaching CareerSeasons6*W-L45-51Division titles1Playoff apps.1Playoff W-L1-1*All with Saints

Given the Rams' weak play on defense, the 52-year-old Haslett is an unusual choice on the surface. He has head coaching experience, winning 45 games in six seasons for the Saints from 2000-05, but the defense is ranked 31st out of 32 teams despite a pair of young first-rounders, Long and Adam Carriker, on the line.

Typically blunt, the former NFL linebacker is far from pleased.

"Come on, the first three games we played poorly," Haslett said. "I thought we played pretty good yesterday. It's something we can build on."

The Rams believe in Haslett to the extent his contract stipulates he's the coach, and not the interim coach. Rosenbloom introduced Haslett simply as "our new head coach."

Haslett was in bed when Rosenbloom telephoned at 1:15 a.m. Monday to offer the job, including a say in personnel matters. He expects to do a much better job in his second head coaching stint, and will be less secretive, too, opening practices to media. Rick Venturi, assistant head coach and linebackers coach, was elevated to defensive coordinator.

Haslett will convene his first team meeting Tuesday. He wants to discuss matters with the coaching staff before choosing a quarterback for the Rams' next game, Oct. 12 at Washington, and would like to re-sign Brown.

Haslett said the Rams' talent is comparable to that of the Bills, who are 4-0.

"They have a couple of things we don't have right now," Haslett said. "They've got great confidence, they've got great swagger, they've got poise and they think they can win. Right now we're not at that level."

The Linehan era will be remembered as a mostly dreary time for the franchise. Martz helped the Rams win their only Super Bowl after the 1999 season and then led them to a second Super Bowl as coach in the 2001 season with an offense known as the "Greatest Show on Turf."

The Rams were 8-8 in 2006, Linehan's first season, rallying to win four of their last six games after Linehan turned over play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Greg Olson. Numerous offensive line injuries, beginning with seven-time Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Pace's season-ending shoulder injury in the opener, paved the way for the 2007 disaster. Linehan again relinquished the play-calling before this season, replacing Olson with Al Saunders.

He knew his job was in jeopardy Sunday, having been put on notice by Rosenbloom. So he emptied the playbook, going for first downs twice on fourth down and using a handful of trick plays, energizing the team, but only for one half, when it led 14-6.

The firing was the second in-season coaching change by the Rams this decade. Martz was replaced by interim coach Joe Vitt after five games in 2005 due to medical reasons, and then was fired the day after the season.

The last Rams coach removed during the season for non-medical reasons was Bob Waterfield, replaced by Harland Svare after eight games in 1962 when the franchise was in Los Angeles.

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Jets S Smith suspended for hit on Cardinals' Boldin

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- New York Jets safety Eric Smith was suspended for one game by the NFL on Monday for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

Smith was also fined $50,000 by the league for what it called a flagrant violation of player safety rules. In a statement, the NFL said Boldin was in a defenseless position at the time contact was made.

Boldin

Smith

Boldin was resting at home Monday, a day after being carted off the field following the scary collision in the Cardinals' 56-35 loss to the Jets at the Meadowlands. Smith briefly lost consciousness after the play, and still felt "a little fuzzy."

"Everybody was kind of telling me about it when we were in the locker room," Smith said before the suspension was handed down. "But to see something like that and see him have to get carted off the field, you never want to see something like that."

Team spokesman Mark Dalton said Boldin was fully mobile and was "resting comfortably at home" on Monday evening. The team released no other information on Boldin's condition.

Boldin's father, Carl Boldin, said his son suffered a fractured sinus membrane and took stitches to his lip as a result of the hit, according to the Palm Beach Post.

"They did a CT scan that came up negative and he was feeling good, so there was no reason to keep him," Carl Boldin said, according to the report.

"If it was left up to Anquan he would be able to play today," his father said, according to the newspaper. "But we have to err on the side of caution. If he's cleared medically, though, he'll play."

The suspension will sideline Smith for the Jets' game against Cincinnati on Oct. 12. New York has a bye this weekend. Earlier in the day, Smith said he would wait to hear from the league before deciding whether to appeal any suspension or fine.

"We respect and support the league's emphasis on player safety," Jets spokesman Bruce Speight said. "Knowing Eric, we are confident that he did not intend to injure Anquan Boldin. Anquan was hit from behind by another player that accelerated the collision with Eric. Our thoughts are with Anquan and we hope that he has a healthy recovery."

With 27 seconds left, Boldin tried to catch a pass from Kurt Warner in the end zone, but was hit in the back by Kerry Rhodes and then took a shot to his helmet from Smith. After being worked on for several minutes, Boldin was immobilized and placed on a stretcher before he was carted off the field.

Smith, who said he would try to get in touch with Boldin, insisted there was no malicious intent on his part.

"They just look at the end result, rather than everything that goes into the play," Smith said of those who think it was a dirty hit. "I'm coming to break up a pass and if I don't, it's going to be a touchdown. So, I'm going 100 percent and so is Kerry from the backside. Sometimes, somebody gets hit, angles change and things like that happen. It's not like I was directly leading with the top of my head from what I saw on the film."

The NFL's executive V.P. of football operations, Ray Anderson, was clear in his explanation of the league's judgments.

"The message is clear: There are no free passes for illegal technique when someone puts a player at risk, including the [offending player] himself," Anderson told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen. "Once you leave your feet to launch, in the view of the competition committee, you now have strict liability if you end up helmet to helmet with another player. When you launch, you take away your ability to be in control.

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ESPN.com's Mike Sando writes in his NFC West blog that New York Jets safety paid the price for his hit on Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin. Sando

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"This commissioner just sent a reminder to be read by all teams and the players received a copy of the memo about player safety. We said then, going forward, this is very, very serious stuff. We've had an emphasis here for a couple of years now and the commissioner is very concerned about concussions and potentially catastrophic injuries and we need to avoid putting our players at risk like this. As the memo said, the game is tough enough. … we want to make sure players know how we want the game played."

Smith, who wasn't sure if he has a concussion, needed to see a replay after the game to figure out what happened.

"When I was going in, I was going to break up the ball," he said.

Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said he believed the hit violated the safety edict issued by commissioner Roger Goodell, but stopped short of calling for Smith to be suspended.

"I think it's one of the hits that falls into the category of being dangerous to players," Whisenhunt said. "Certainly, I'm sure that the league is going to look at this and will address it."

In a Sept. 17 letter to players, the league office stressed it would monitor "illegal and dangerous hits" in an effort to protect players in a violent sport.

"You never coach to go head-to-head," Jets coach Eric Mangini said. "That's something you never coach. Sometimes that stuff happens. You don't want to see it."

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Longtime NFL executive Faulkner dead at 82

ST. LOUIS -- Jack Faulkner, a longtime executive with the St. Louis Rams and coach of the Denver Broncos in 1962 and 1963, has died. He was 82.

He died Sunday night in Newport Beach, Calif., the Rams said.

"I can't overstate the significance he played in the history of the Rams," said Rams owner Chip Rosenbloom, adding he had known Faulkner since he was 8 years old. "We lost really one of the great connections to our past."

Faulkner had a 53-year career in the NFL. He joined the Rams in 1955 as an assistant coach under first-year coach Sid Gillman. He was associated with the Rams for 43 years.

The San Diego Chargers of the old AFL set a pro football-record with 49 interceptions in 1961 with Faulkner serving as defensive backs coach. He was the Broncos' coach and general manager in 1962, and was honored as AFL coach of the year after leading the financially strapped franchise to a 7-7 record.

He worked as an assistant coach for the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints before rejoining the Rams in 1971 as a professional and college scout.

Faulkner most recently had been the Rams' administrator for pro personnel, working out of his office in Orange County, Calif. He retired from coaching after serving as offensive backfield coach in 1979, helping the Rams reach their first Super Bowl before losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 1980, he was appointed assistant general manager of the Rams. He was one of few employees who remained in California when the team relocated to St. Louis in 1995.

Faulkner is survived by his wife, Debbie, three sons and a daughter.