Sunday Morning QB: Former Jets coach Eric Mangini's a Brown clown in Cleveland

Eric Mangini was fired by Woody Johnson on Dec. 29, one day after the completion of the worst December collapse in Jets history. His paranoid, ultra-secretive, hard-driving style suffocated the organization, and the list started with Johnson and worked its way through the building and into the locker room.

He wasn't out of work long, however. He was hired by the Browns on Jan. 8. What did Mangini learn from his Jets experience? Apparently nothing at all. The fact that he got another head coaching opportunity immediately convinced him that his way was the right way.

Mangini is running the Browns into the ground and he could be fired again the day after the season ends. In 10 months, he has turned the Browns into a complete disaster. They are 1-7. They have scored five offensive touchdowns - one fewer than the Saints have scored on defense. Thankfully, they have a bye Sunday.

Mangini's hand-picked general manager, George Kokinis, was fired last week. Mangini and Kokinis were close friends - they were roommates when they were low-level employees of Bill Belichick in Cleveland 15 years ago, and Kokinis is a member of the board of directors of Mangini's foundation. But indications are that not only weren't they on the same page, a power struggle developed that Kokinis could not win.

Is Mangini the next to go? Browns owner Randy Lerner was asked by the Cleveland Plain Dealer if he saw a scenario where Mangini would not be back in 2010. "No," he said. But what is he supposed to say with eight games to go? Lerner said he wants to bring in a "strong, credible, serious leader within the building to guide decisions in a far more conspicuous, open, transparent way." It's hard to imagine any established NFL executive will take this job and want to keep Mangini.

Mangini would have benefitted by going back to being a coordinator and reinventing himself. Instead, he took a job offering more money with more power. He was fired by the Jets but wound up with a better job, if not a better team.

"He had winning seasons two of three years with the Jets, got a new job in 10 minutes and tripled his salary," one NFL source said. "That made him become more entrenched in his views."

It obviously convinced Mangini that he was a victim in New York. He is reportedly making $3.9 million a year in his four-year Browns deal. That's about double what the Jets were paying him. Getting another job so quickly validated in his mind that he was right and the Jets were wrong.

NFL great tips Arizona for upset

Former NFL star Rod Woodson believes the Arizona Cardinals will "shock the world" by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in Super Bowl XLIII.

Ex-Steelers defender Woodson was one of the few to predict last year's win for underdogs the New York Giants.

"My heart says Pittsburgh but I really feel the Arizona Cardinals are going to win the football game," he said.

"Nobody believes they will win the game but I really think they're a good enough team to do that."

With quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to the fore, and a ferocious defence, Pittsburgh are favoured to win by around seven points by bookmakers.

That would see them clinch an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl trophy in Tampa, Florida.

Arizona have not won an NFL title since 1947, when they were based in Chicago, and until this year had not even been to the play-offs since 1998.

They won just nine of their 16 regular-season games but have sprung upsets over Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia in the play-offs to get to the big game for the first time.

Former defensive star Woodson played for the Steelers for 10 years, including an appearance at Super Bowl XXX, when they lost to Dallas.

But he believes Arizona are ideally suited to beat Pittsburgh because of their offence, led by veteran quarterback Kurt Warner, a winner with the St Louis Rams nine years ago.

"I just think this is a great match-up for Arizona," added Woodson, who finally won an NFL title in 2001 with Baltimore, and will be a BBC studio analyst for the second year running.

"This is their year to win the Super Bowl and shock the world because nobody thought they would be here."

Champs Sports Bowl Recap: Florida State Dominates the Badgers.

The Champs Sports Bowl started off just about as slow as your could imagine, with the only real excitement coming from Graham Gano's amazing punting skills. And this guy is going to be a kicker in the NFL? How about both the punter and the kicker? He got the ball inside Wisconsin's three-yard line three times in a row.

The game finally burst open on Derek Nicholsen's 75-yard punt return to give the 'Noles their first score of the game—and what ensued can only be described as a beatdown. Florida State's offense finally took charge, and Christian Ponder actually looked like a quarterback who knew how to control a game.

The 'Noles scored on three consecutive drives, giving them a 28-6 lead. The defense played amazing, and although P.J. Hill racked up 150 yards rushing, Wisconsin didn't have a prayer when it came to the passing game.

FSU's defense looked like the defense that was rated in the top five in the country. The Seminoles were relentless, and the future first round draft pick, Everette Brown, was nothing short of amazing. He was in the quarterback's face on every play it seemed.

This bowl win was exactly what FSU needed. Registering their first nine-win season in a while, the 'Noles came out ready to play. So what does this mean for the future? The 'Noles look like they should be a preseason Top 15 team.

With practically their entire offense coming back, including the youngest line in the country, the Seminoles should be able to have a 10-win season in 2009—especially with the recruiting class coming in led by Jacobi McDaniel.

Either way, this was a much needed win for the 'Noles.

Jacksonville-Houston matchup a study in disappointment

If you think ESPN is disappointed with tonight's low-wattage "Monday Night Football" matchup, just imagine how the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans feel.

Those teams expected to be so much better than their current 4-7 records, so much more than an irrelevant sideshow to the NFL's main event.

Jacksonville won 11 games last season and made it to the divisional playoffs, in which it lost at New England. The Texans weren't quite as good, but they were definitely trending up, finishing 8-8 for the first non-losing record in club history.

To match that, Houston would have to win four of its last five games, a tall order considering the Texans still have Green Bay, Tennessee and Chicago on the docket.

Maybe the Texans will get a little extra spark playing on Monday night. Really, there's no way to know how they'll react, because this is the franchise's first appearance on "Monday Night Football." In fact, it's the first Monday night game in Houston since Nov. 21, 1994.
The 'Monday Night' showdown doesn't make ESPN happy, and both teams expected much more out of their seasons than their current, respective 4-7 records.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, are probably happy to be out of Jacksonville. They are 3-2 on the road but just 1-5 at home. They lost to Minnesota in Jacksonville eight days ago, turning over the ball five times.

"It was an embarrassing performance," Jaguars Coach Jack Del Rio said. "Might have been as bad as I've felt postgame."

And considering the way things have gone for his team this season, that's really saying something.

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

It’s amazing how creative producers are when it comes to coming up with reality programs that showcase not just something interesting out of the ordinary lives of some, but also entertains us with the sometimes wacky, at times overly dramatic real life events of individuals who bare their hearts and souls to the camera. Like any other reality series, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders pits individuals to compete for a spot in one of the most admired dance groups in the country. Last season, we not only saw a fresh batch of aspiring dancers, but also some familiar faces who have returned for another shot at fame, like Meagan Flaherty, Natalie Woods, Candice Carr and Miranda James.

Viewers would be glad to know that the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team is returning for a third season. Get ready for So You Think You Can Dance, cheerleader style!

CMT announced today that Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team is returning for its third season on October 4, Saturday at 9:30pm. Like the previous seasons of the reality series, the third installment will look into cheerleading tryouts for one of NFL’s most popular teams. As per usual, the auditions will begin with a thousand or more vying to move on to the next phase of the competition at the team’s Texas Stadium. Throughout the course of the series, several challenges will be thrown at them, and depending on how they will be handling it, some will have to be dropped from the competition.

Dallas captain Morrow faces long injury layoff

Dallas Stars captain Brenden Morrow is expected to be out for the rest of the season due to a torn ligament in his right knee that requires surgery, the team said on their website on Friday.

The 29-year-old left wing sustained the injury during the third period of Thursday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

"We are obviously disappointed," co-general manager Les Jackson told reporters.

"There is a lot of hockey left to be played and we are confident our team will rally together and keep pushing."

Morrow, who has spent his entire career with Dallas, ranks second on the team in points this season with five goals and 10 assists in the 18 games he has played.

Jets rookie QB Ainge suspended four games for steroids

The NFL has suspended New York Jets quarterback Erik Ainge for violating the league's policy on steroids, the Jets announced on their website on Friday.

Ainge, the team's fifth-round choice in this year's draft, will be suspended four games without pay, effective immediately.

He will be eligible to rejoin the team following New York's contest against the Buffalo Bills on December 14, the Jets' site (www.newyorkjets.com) reported.

The 22-year-old has not played for the Jets this season and was placed on the team's injured reserve due to a foot injury on October 28.

"Pacman" Jones reinstated by league, says Dallas owner

Controversial Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam 'Pacman' Jones will be available to play again on December 7 after being reinstated by the NFL, according to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The defensive back was suspended last month for at least four games because of his involvement in what the NFL website (http://www.nfl.com) described as an alcohol-related physical altercation at a Dallas hotel.

Although official comment was not immediately available from the NFL on Wednesday, the team owner said his troubled cornerback would miss two more games and be eligible to play against the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 7.

"I think he has done what he has been asked to do," Jerry Jones was quoted as saying by the Star-Telegram.

"If anybody understands the kinds of things you deal with to get better, it's probably going to be an ongoing thing. I do know that he has a good sense of where he is and how he got there."

Jones was suspended for the entire 2007 season for engaging in off-the-field conduct detrimental to the league and has not played for Dallas since their 30-24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on October 12 because of his most recent suspension.

After the hotel incident, Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter to Jones, saying it was a continuation of "a disturbing pattern of behavior and clearly inconsistent with the conditions I set for your continued participation in the NFL."

Goodell said Jones had to comply with NFL and team treatment plans and that his suspension would be evaluated after he had missed four games. Dallas won that fourth game 14-10 against the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Jones, 25, has been arrested six times since he entered the NFL in 2005 and was implicated in a triple shooting at a Las Vegas strip club during the 2007 NBA All-Star weekend.

He was charged in June last year with two counts of felony coercion and in December he pleaded no contest in Las Vegas to conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct.

Dawson boots Browns to win over reeling Bills

Phil Dawson booted five field goals including a career-long 56-yarder late in the fourth quarter to clinch a 29-27 victory for the Cleveland Browns over the reeling Buffalo Bills on Monday.

With 38 seconds left, Buffalo kicker Rian Lindell had a chance to send the bone-chilled capacity crowd of 71,645 home happy but watched in agony as his 47-yard attempt sailed just wide of the uprights.

After opening the season with four consecutive wins, the Bills had looked ready to challenge for top spot in the AFC East but after four straight defeats have plunged to the bottom of the division with a 5-5 record.

Cleveland quarterback Brady Quinn, making just his second career start, registered his first win to keep the Browns's slim playoff hopes alive as they improved to 4-6.

"It doesn't feel like a freefall, at least not to me," Bills coach Dick Jauron told reporters. "It's not where we want to be, we'd like to be 10-0, we'd like to have no losses.

"But the 5-5 record will keep us in it and we'll just keep playing as hard as we can."

After a chilly afternoon of tailgate partying in the parking lot, Bills fans filled Ralph Wilson Stadium in high spirits but the buzz was replaced by boos when Trent Edwards's first pass landed in the hands of Browns linebacker Kamerion Wimbley.

TOUCHDOWN DRIVE

Cleveland was unable to take advantage of the turnover but would convert two other first-quarter Edwards interceptions into 40 and 33-yard Dawson field goals and a 6-0 lead.

Quinn was only slightly more effective in the opening quarter, completing just one-of-eight pass attempts but found his rhythm in the second and engineered a 96-yard touchdown drive capped by a two-yard run from Joshua Cribbs.

Buffalo also improved in the second quarter, Marshawn Lynch hauling in a pass from Edwards and scampering 18-yards for a touchdown, followed by a 26-yard Lindell field goal that trimmed the Browns's advantage to 13-10 heading into the intermission.

The Bills continued to hurt themselves with turnovers in the third quarter, however, a fumble resulting in another Dawson 43-yard field goal.

Buffalo would cancel that out with 31-yard effort of their own only to see the Browns regain control when Jerome Harrison opened a wild fourth quarter by racing 72-yards for a touchdown that opened a 23-13 lead.

Bills fans were back on their feet a minute later when rookie Leodis McKelvin returned the kickoff 98-yards for a touchdown.

After another Dawson field goal, Edwards would cap a 48-yard drive by diving over from the one to give the Bills their first lead of the game at 27-26.

Pujols wins National League MVP award

St Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols won the National League Most Valuable Player award on Monday.

Pujols, who also won MVP honors in 2005, garnered 18 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers' Association of America and collected a total of 369 points.

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, the 2006 MVP, was second after receiving 12 first-place votes and 308 points.

Pujols, who helped keep St Louis (86-76) in the wildcard race until the end of the season, was second in the league with a .357 batting average to go with 37 homers, 116 RBI and a league-best slugging percentage of .653.

First baseman Howard came on strong in the stretch as the Phillies won the NL East before landing the World Series. He led the league with 48 homers and 146 RBI but batted just .251 and struck out 199 times.

Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun, who hit 37 homers and drove in 106 runs, was a distant third with 139 points.

Some handicappers thought Pujols would be hurt in the voting since the Cards' missed the playoffs. The 28-year-old Dominican, however, said he was not surprised to win it.

"We were contenders until the last few weeks of season," Pujols told reporters in a conference call. "We had a pretty good chance all year long.

"I wasn't surprised at all. I thought my numbers were good."

Pujols said he was most proud of maintaining a high batting average, while keeping his walks high (a career best 104) and strikeouts low (54).

"I put in a lot of hard work on my hitting," said Pujols, who had an on-base percentage of .462. "I prefer to put the ball in play because I think it helps the team.

"To hit .357 all year is pretty hard to do. I'm pretty proud of that. The home runs and RBI are going to come."

Pujols, who is recovering from surgery to repair ligaments in his right elbow, said he was optimistic about next season.

"You can always improve," he said. "We fell a little bit short as a team but we had a great season."

Manny Ramirez was fourth in the voting, one point behind Braun, after joining the Los Angeles Dodgers in a mid-season trade with the Boston Red Sox.

New Yorkers dream of "Subway Super Bowl" faces acid test

New Yorkers have started dreaming of a first "Subway Super Bowl" following strong starts to the season by the Giants and the Jets, although both sets of fans will see their teams tested in the next round of games.

The Giants have not missed a beat since shocking the unbeaten Patriots 17-14 in the last Super Bowl by posting an NFC-best 9-1 record, while the Jets (7-3) are flying high at the top of the AFC East after beating New England last week.

The road triumph on Thursday was a breakthrough win for the Jets, who have struggled in the shadow of the dominant Patriots in recent years.

However, the Jets face an even tougher assignment next week with a trip to Tennessee to play the NFL's only unbeaten team.

"I think they play complementary football and they're talented in all three phases," Jets head coach Eric Mangini told reporters on Monday, referring to the 10-0 Titans's offense, defense and special teams.

"They're well-coached. They score a lot of points in the second quarter and the fourth quarter, which makes you believe they're very well-conditioned.

"They don't make a lot of mistakes. They haven't turned the ball over on offense and they've generated a lot of turnovers on defense. That goes a long way to winning and losing."

RUSHING PROWESS

The Jets beat the Pats with a disciplined game plan executed to perfection by quarterback Brett Favre, imported this season to help New York climb into the AFC elite.

With the master plan taking shape, a win by the Jets over the Titans would bolster belief that the New Yorkers could make their first trip to the Super Bowl since Joe Namath made good his guarantee to beat the vaunted Baltimore Colts in 1969.

The Giants passed a test of their rushing prowess on Sunday by pounding their way to a 30-10 rout of the Baltimore Ravens, exceeding 200 yards on the ground for a third game in a row and against the NFL's top-rated run defense.

However, they face a different challenge next Sunday against NFC West-leading Phoenix Cardinals (7-3), who have one of the league's most explosive passing attacks with quarterback Kurt Warner and receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who won MVP honors on the same Arizona field in last February's Super Bowl, said he had faith in the passing game if the contest became a shootout.

"We feel very confident in our passing game with our receivers," said Manning, who has gone six games in a row throwing for less than 200 yards for New York, which leads the league with an average 172.7 yards a game rushing.

"It is just we are not called to make a bunch of plays right now at this time. It is all just kind of based on what the defense is doing and what is working for us."

Rockets soar over Thunder despite McGrady injury

The Houston Rockets eased to a 100-89 road win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, in a victory that was marred by a knee injury to seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady.

Luis Scola led Houston (7-4) with 23 points while Yao Ming added 19 points and 12 rebounds, but the Rockets seemed more concerned about McGrady's injury than they were about beating the struggling Thunder (1-10), losers of eight straight games.

McGrady left the game in the first minute of the second half after aggravating his surgically repaired left knee, which has troubled him in recent seasons.

"Tonight I went back to square one, even before surgery, is how my knee is feeling right now," McGrady told reporters. "My game is really based on athleticism and that's something that I don't have right now.

"It's sharp pain. It almost just seems like I never had surgery. I'm feeling the same pain."

McGrady, who underwent the surgery in the off-season, did not go to the locker room but remained on the bench for the rest of the game after being helped off the court by team trainers.

He will have an MRI scan on Tuesday.

Ron Artest added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets but also picked up an injury, leaving the floor in the final minute clutching his right ankle and he was still limping after the game.

"People sprain their ankles all the time," Artest said. "It's not a big deal."

Yao also left the game early after making a hook shot with 3:29 to play which put Houston 94-78 ahead. He appeared in some pain after making the shot and joined McGrady on the bench, but told reporters he did not think it was anything serious.

Kevin Durant had 29 points to lead the Thunder, who moved to Oklahoma City from Seattle this season. The Thunder franchise has now lost nine straight and 15 of 16 games to Houston.

Jacksonville vs. Tennessee

While the Tennessee Titans continue to find themselves increasingly in the spotlight with each successive win, the blue-collar team's focus is on its first goal of the season - its first AFC South title since 2002.

Looking to move closer to the division crown, the unbeaten Titans hit the road to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Tennessee (9-0) held on to win again last week, outlasting Chicago 21-14 at Soldier Field. With its formidable run game limited to 20 yards, veteran Kerry Collins stepped up and threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns to give the Titans a franchise-record 12th straight victory.

"Everybody right now is filling their role," said Collins, who completed 12 straight passes at one point. "For me, you play long enough you're going to be on good teams. You're going to be on bad teams. At this point in my career to be playing on a good football team that has a chance to go out and win every Sunday is exciting for me."

Tennessee broke the franchise mark of 11 consecutive wins set by the Houston Oilers from Oct. 17, 1993-Jan. 2, 1994. The Titans are also 4-0 on the road for the first time in the organization's 49-year history and picked up their team-record sixth straight victory away from home.

More important to the Titans - the NFL's only undefeated team - is their four-game lead over Indianapolis in the AFC South. The Titans will be trying to improve to 4-0 in division play Sunday.

"These young guys, I hope they don't take it for granted, which they will," said ninth-year linebacker Keith Bulluck, who's spent his entire career with Tennessee. "Us older guys are definitely making sure they stay in line and handle what they have to handle, because we know it doesn't come by that often."

Along with Collins' big effort, Tennessee's dominant defense helped pick up the slack for the run game last week. The Titans gave up just 243 yards against the Bears and are limiting opponents to an NFL-low 13.0 points per game.

The Titans will be looking to get their ground attack back on track this week after the Bears focused on shutting down the powerful rushing game, which came in ranked third in the league. Tennessee is averaging 134.8 yards per contest behind Chris Johnson (723 yards, five touchdowns) and LenDale White (418 yards, 11 TDs).

Jacksonville (4-5) returns home after avoiding a third straight defeat last week with a 38-14 victory over winless Detroit. David Garrard went 18-for-25 for 238 yards and two touchdowns, while running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor combined for 150 yards rushing and three TDs.

Jacksonville is allowing 340.2 yards per game, but limited Detroit to a season-low 256 and totaled seven sacks - as many as it had in the previous six games.

Though the win came against possibly the worst team in the league, coach Jack Del Rio will take it.

"We need to use this as a game to build on and utilize going forward as a stepping stone, certainly not a place to arrive at," Del Rio said. "It's a nice step in the right direction."

Jacksonville played without linebacker and team captain Mike Peterson, who was inactive after being kicked out of a team meeting during the week for insubordination. His status for this week is uncertain.

The Jaguars were the Titans' first victims of the season, losing 17-10 at Tennessee in their season opener Sept. 7. Garrard was sacked seven times in that game and threw two interceptions to Cortland Finnegan as Tennessee won for the third time in the last four meetings.

Tennessee will also be looking to duplicate its effort against the run from that game, as the Titans held the Jaguars to 33 yards rushing.

Titans tight end Bo Scaife, who had 10 catches for 78 yards and a TD against the Bears, had six receptions for a career-high 105 yards in the season-opening win. He leads the Titans with 422 receiving yards.

Tennessee defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, suffering from a torn groin muscle, doesn't know if he will be a game-time decision Sunday. Vanden Bosch suffered a slight tear Oct. 5 against Baltimore, and the injury has limited him since. He's been deactivated two of the past three games and had to leave the other two games early.

'Goliath' heads to Jacksonville, seeks 10-0 start

The oddsmakers seemingly have more confidence in the Jacksonville Jaguars than their coach.

Jack Del Rio didn't give his team much of a chance against the unbeaten Tennessee Titans (9-0) on Sunday. Maybe he was offering up his best Vince Dooley or Lou Holtz impression, or maybe he was trying a new tactic to motivate players reeling from what has been a disappointing season.

"Goliath is coming to town," Del Rio said. "We're going to say some prayers, see if we can't find a few nice-sized pebbles and load up our slingshots."

He didn't stop there, either.

"Best team in the league is coming in, No. 1 seed in the AFC. Undefeated. Tough to score on. Got a veteran quarterback playing like an MVP candidate," he said. "I think the TV people moved it to 4 o'clock so they could watch the Titans improve to 10-0. Best team in the league."

Del Rio might as well have compared the Titans to the '72 Dolphins or the '85 Bears. He wasn't even this complimentary before the Jaguars faced the 16-0 New England Patriots in the playoffs last season or before lining up against any of Tony Dungy's unbeaten Indianapolis teams in previous years.

It was a strange move for a former NFL linebacker who has shown unwavering confidence in the Jaguars (4-5) through all their ups and downs this season, and has steadfastly preached the "any given Sunday" cliché about matchups in this league.

Not this time.

If the Jaguars follow Del Rio's advice, they shouldn't even try to run the ball against Albert Haynesworth, Tony Brown, Jevon Kearse and Kyle Vanden Bosch.

"It'll be tough to do," Del Rio said. "They're awfully good. Nobody's been able to do it."

How about scoring?

"They're stifling," he said. "Nobody can score on them."

Stopping quarterback Kerry Collins and running backs Chris Johnson and LenDale White could be equally challenging.

"They're running the ball all over people. Their quarterback is playing like an MVP," Del Rio said. "There are a lot of good things going on there, so we're just going to get geared up and do the best we can."

Jacksonville's players were slightly more optimistic, as were oddsmakers who made the home team a three-point underdog.

"We think we can beat anybody, if we all show up, if we go through the week correctly like we should, practice like we should and study like we should then we always feel like we can beat anybody," quarterback David Garrard said. "But everybody has to show up. We are not going to be able to just run on the field and think that we are going to come out with a win. We have to be better than we were the first week, much better than we were the first week."

The Jaguars ran for a season-low 33 yards and allowed seven sacks in a 17-10 loss at Tennessee in the season opener. Already playing without center Brad Meester, they lost both starting guards to season-ending injuries during the game.

Nonetheless, Jacksonville still had a chance. The Jags trailed 10-7 in the fourth quarter and knocked Vince Young out of the game. The Titans faced third-and-15 at their 30, but Collins came off the bench and dumped a short pass to Bo Scaife that went for 44 yards.

White capped the drive with a 1-yard TD run, and Haynesworth later sealed the victory with his second sack.

The Jaguars haven't really gotten back on track since. They snapped a two-game skid last week at winless Detroit, ending a tumultuous week in which Del Rio questioned team chemistry, shuffled locker assignments in hopes of shaking things up and then sent leading tackler and team captain Mike Peterson home for insubordination.

"A lot of people jumped off the bandwagon," running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. "We're going to have to try to fill that thing back up."

Tennessee's bandwagon might have some empty seats, even with Del Rio onboard. Although the Titans are unbeaten, they're not getting the same kind of attention the Colts and Patriots received during their recent unbeaten runs.

"At the end of the day, it's about us and what we do," Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "It's not about what anyone else thinks or how anyone's portraying what's going on."

The Titans certainly don't agree with Del Rio's characterization of the matchup.

"They really need this game," White said. "We're trying to take the hope away from them; we're trying to kill all life. So whatever we have to do to go out and get a victory, we're going to do it and hopefully we're 10-0.

"Don't look at (Jacksonville's) record, don't look at what they've done as bad things because they can come out Sunday and do whatever they want."

If Del Rio finds the right pebbles.