Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman wishes he hadn't gone to the gun range during his team's bye-week. After spraining his thumb Oct. 23 against the Bears, Freeman injured his thumb again eight days later after an unexpected recoil while firing a gun at a Tampa range. Freeman, who grew up shooting guns with his dad, said Wednesday that shooting a gun with a sprained thumb wasn't the wisest decision. "I like to use the gun range as a bit of an escape," he said. "In hindsight, it wasn't the smartest decision, but I've got to learn from it. No more shooting guns in season."

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was scheduled to undergo scans Wednesday in Indianapolis to see whether the fusion of his neck vertebrae is complete. Once the results are in, doctors will determine the next step in his rehabilitation. Manning has been unable to run or throw since Sept. 8, when he had his third neck surgery in 19 months, a vertebrae fusion procedure that removed soft tissue and attached the bones together with a graft.

Bills receiver Steve Johnson has been fined $10,000 for his questionable touchdown celebration in last weekend's loss to the Jets. Johnson declined to confirm whether he had been punished except to say he had an overnight courier envelope from the NFL waiting for him at his locker when he arrived for practice on Wednesday. He said he was done discussing the celebration and is instead focusing on looking forward to helping the Bills end a four-game slump. "If I do, I get fined. But we've got to move on," he said. "It's the Tennessee Titans. I'm not really worried about a fine right now. It's part of the game. People get fined. But we've still got a football game on Sunday." Johnson was fined as a result of a celebration in which he mocked Jets receiver Plaxico Burress by mimicking shooting himself in the thigh after scoring on a 5-yard catch late in the first half. Burress served 20 months in prison on a weapons charge after accidentally shooting himself in a New York City nightclub in 2008.

The AFC The Buddy Nix Brian Galliford of Buffalo Rumblings: “After landing on IR with a broken fibula last week, Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson has been informed that he's no longer eligible to compete in the 2011 Pro Bowl.” The Jeff Ireland Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald: “When last we convened seven days ago, the Dolphins had hopes of running the table en route to a 9-7 season. There were whispers the team had found a quarterback. There was a movement among some fans that maybe, just maybe, this administration was right all along and it might merit another year.” The Jonathan Kraft Greg Knopping of Pats Pulpit: “When it comes to evaluating the play of quarterback Tom Brady, people usually expect the very best. And considering the torrid start that Brady had at the beginning of the 2011 NFL season, it's not hard to reason why people have expected so much for the majority of this season.” The Mike Tannenbaum Gang Green Nation: “It seemed like [Darrelle] Revis was not being overly physical at the line. He was shading hard to the outside to take away the sideline and force Johnson back inside. The Bills executed well on a lot of slants. Revis was not necessarily in terrible coverage for most of them. They were just good throws and catches. It was good execution as much as anything.” The Ozzie Newsome Bruce Raffel of Baltimore Beatdown: “Former Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell was overlooked by voters for the Pro Football Hall of Fame once again. In fact, Modell was not even one of the 26 semi-finalists for the class of 2012 that will be narrowed down through voting to 15 finalists and the Class of 2012 will be announced just before Super Bowl XLVI on Saturday, February 4, 2012.” The Mike Brown Josh Kirkendall of Cincy Jungle: “Just before he's getting buried by defensive tackle Ahtyba Rubin (we think we got that right), Andy Dalton threw the football down the middle of the field where A.J. Green jumped into the air and converted the third down 51 yards over his archenemies Joe Haden, pushed out of bounds at the Browns two-yard line. Mike Nugent would convert the game-winning field goal later.” The Tom Heckert Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature: “The Cleveland Browns waived long snapper Ryan Pontbriand today after nine years with the team, including two Pro Bowl selections in 2007 and 2008.” The Kevin Colbert Neal Coolong of Behind The Steel Curtain: “[Troy] Polamalu will be subjected to cognitive tests to determine whether the injury will prevent him from playing in the key divisional match-up in Pittsburgh. The Steelers (8-3) are tied for the best record in the AFC, but sit behind Baltimore for the top of the AFC North by virtue of Baltimore's two wins over Pittsburgh this year.” The Rick Smith Battle Red Blog: “Normally, I'd mockingly remark that we're in big trouble if Jake Delhomme, QB3 for your Houston Texans, ever sees a snap of live action, but odds are that he's playing no later than December 11th in Cincinnati after T.J. Yates, Kellen Clemens, Cody Carlson, and Bucky Richardson are lost to season-ending injuries.” The Chris Polian : “Why this wasn't done before the Bye week, giving [Dan] Orlovsky two full weeks to prepare for probably the most winnable game left on the schedule is beyond me, but I'll take any sign of trying something new as a positive.” The Gene Smith Adam Stites of Big Cat Country: “With today came news that came as a shock to no one. After 139 games over nine seasons with the Jaguars, Jack Del Rio's time as head coach came to an end this morning. His 68-71 career record with the Jaguars represents the most games any NFL head coach has ever coached in a single tenure that finished with a losing record.” The Mike Reinfeldt August West of Music City Miracles: “The guys at FO have released their Quick Reads column for week 12, and there were a few Titans-related surprises. As I'm guessing you noticed in the headline, Matt Hasselbeck's performance graded out as the 34th worst of the week. I know he was really bad, and the passing attack in general has been in a slump, but I didn't expect it to be this bad.” The Brian Xanders Mile High Report: “On Defense, it's no surprise that the Game Ball should go to Von Miller. Von has lived up to every measure of a #2 overall draft pick and quite likely will end up with a Rookie of the Year Award as well as a Pro Bowl nod. The young Linebacker had a 10 Tackle day, adding another Sack, 2 Tackles for a Loss and a hit on Chargers Quarterback Philip Rivers.” The Scott Pioli Patrick Allen of Arrowhead Addict: “Ever since the Kansas City Chiefs claimed QB Kyle Orton off of waivers from the Denver Broncos, the writing has been on the wall. Kyle Orton will be the starting QB for the Kansas City Chiefs.” The Al Davis Silver and Black Pride: “The Raiders really need to move on Jack Del Rio as their DC. There's no question in my mind his leadership and defensive intelligence would take our defense up several notches. Moreover, the simplicity of our system could be absorbed in short order.” The Dean Spanos John Gennaro of Bolts From The Blue: “With major changes on the way for the San Diego Chargers, including a new Head Coach and possibly an all-new coaching staff, we as fans need to consider all of the possibilities of what could happen to this team. When looking at the different coaching candidates (Bill Cowher, Mike Zimmer, Jeff Fisher, Chuck Pagano, etc.), we need to consider that some of these guys prefer the 4-3 defense over the 3-4 defense that San Diego currently runs.” The NFC The Stephen Jones The Landry Hat: “About this time every year I like to start to identify those Cowboys players I believe are the core of the team. Those players that are synonymous with the Dallas Cowboys, whether by the irreplaceable quality of their play or their identity as the faces of the Franchise.” The Jerry Reese Ed Valentine of SB Nation: “Tiki Barber -- remember him? -- is at it once again, using a media forum to take shots at New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin. Barber wrote today that Coughlin has an agenda, and that "his messages sometimes fit "his" agenda, not "our" agenda.” The Howie Roseman Bleeding Green Nation: “We started doing this top five defensive plays series the week after the Giants game, which was great because the Eagles defense played fantastic in that game. However, against the Patriots, I think we would struggle to find one good example of a defensive play worth praising.” The Bruce Allen Hogs Haven: “Over the course of this season much has been made about Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, his system and his play-calling. With the Redskins having a 3-7 record going into Seattle and struggling to get anything going on offense, fans had started to question whether this system was out-dated and if Kyle was calling the wrong plays.” The Jerry Angelo Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. of Windy City Gridiron: “I'm sure Mike Martz would like to have that second quarter 2nd and 1 call back. You know the one, the Bears were on the Raiders 7 yard line with just 35 seconds remaining. Martz called that throw back pass to Kellen Davis, and the Raiders didn't bite at all. “ The Martin Mayhew Sean Yuille of Pride Of Detroit: “Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford practiced without gloves today, indicating his injured finger has healed to the point that wearing a splint is no longer necessary. The reason he was wearing gloves was to grip the ball since the splint made it difficult. Now that the gloves are gone, hopefully his inconsistent play as of late will disappear as well.” The Mark Murphy Acme Packing Company: “Like any good leader, Mike McCarthy set out a list of goals for this team to accomplish on their way to the ultimate goal of repeating as Super Bowl Champions. Unfortunately I don't know what exactly those goals are, but I do have a good guess.” The Mark Wilf Mike Kaszuba od Star Tribune: “Despite reiterating that the team was pledged to building a new stadium in Ramsey County, the Minnesota Vikings agreed Tuesday to meet with Minneapolis officials one more time to explore staying in the state’s largest city.” The Thomas Dimitroff The Falcoholic: “Will Svitek has played exceptionally well at left tackle. He's had, by my very informal count, a handful of holding calls and no sacks allowed over five starts. In that time, he's faced off against Dwight Freeney, Jared Allen and Kyle Vanden Bosch. None of those guys are slouches.” The Marty Hurney Cat Scratch Reader: “Why not bring him back to Charlotte to coach the defense? I think he would be an upgrade over what we have now. Plus, he knows Charlotte and the Panthers. The big Cat should give him a call and see if he is interested. He was always better as a coordinator than as the head coach.” The Mickey Loomis Dave Cariello of Canal Street Chronicles: “Here's the abridged version: Saints ran the ball incredibly well. Drew Brees is the greatest quarterback ever. Jimmy Graham is the greatest tight end ever. Lance Moore and Marques Colston are the greatest wide receivers ever. Pierre Thomas is the greatest running back ever. Welcome back Tracy Porter. Jo-Lonn Dunbar needs to play more. Defense plays well when it creates turnovers. To put it even simpler: the Saints are the second best team in the NFC and possibly the NFL.” The Mark Dominik Bucs Nation: “The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lost five straight games. They haven't lost that many games in a row since week 10 through 14 of the 2009 season. In that season they had no chance of making the playoffs and were working hard at getting a top 5 draft pick. This year, they seem to be working on a top 10 draft pick despite starting out the season with a 4-2 record and the division lead. But do the Bucs still have a shot at making the playoffs, despite now losing their fifth game in a row?” The Rod Graves Seth Pollack of SB Nation: “Patrick Peterson may some day be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH. It's a tad early yet to call the Arizona Cardinals rookie a "lock" for the prestigious honor but he's already got one foot in the door. Or two shoes to be factually correct.” The Billy Devaney Ryan Van Bibber of Turf Show Times: “St. Louis Rams fans will recognize a couple of the names that are rumored to be in the mix for some college head coaching vacancies. Former Rams head coach and current Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz is rumored to be interested in the Arizona State job. Former Rams head coach and current Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan is rumored to be in the mix for the head coaching vacancy at Washington State.” The Trent Baalke David Fucillo Of Niners Nation: “[Braylon] Edwards is dealing with some sort of AC joint issue and even coach Harbaugh has admitted Braylon is not 100%. He hasn't looked “all there” on the field and he really hasn't developed into the big play threat the 49ers were hoping for when they signed him on the cheap in August. He currently has 14 catches for 172 yards as he tries to shake off the injury bug that has dogged him all year.” The John Schneider Danny Kelly of Field Gulls: “Screen passes, in general, rely less on smash-mouth football and more on slight of hand, misdirection, timing and finesse. Oftentimes you need to have a little luck when it comes to the opposing defensive call. I've talked about the Seahawks' use of the screen pass a little bit here this season - Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett had some success with it back in week four against the Falcons that I thought was encouraging - but in general the screen has been anything but the Seahawks' bread and butter.’

Jack Del Rio, fired by the Jaguars after eight-plus seasons, says he never lost control of the team. "I never gave into that," Del Rio said when asked if his firing was inevitable. "There was certainly plenty of that kind of speculation," he added. "Any time an owner makes a statement like, 'You better be in the playoffs or else,' and then you end up starting the year the way we started, the reality is it was tough. "But we never gave in to that, the players never gave in to that. I think when you look at the way the team is fighting, competing, you really should be proud of that. No one likes to lose." Even as the Jaguars continued to lose, Del Rio said it "was not even close" that he lost the locker room. He said he addressed the team after finding out about his firing Tuesday morning. "I told them they need to continue to do the right things," he said. "That even when it didn't feel good, even it when it doesn't go the way you like, fight for what's right, there's something worthwhile there. "Having the courage to stay strong when things are tough, it speaks to your character. I encouraged them to continue, because they've been doing that for me."

Brian Billick, who is rumored to be a candidate to coach the Jaguars, doesn't sound like he's interested in the job. "They're looking for young and cheap, and I'm neither," Billick told NFL Network on Tuesday.

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez says there is no way the team makes the playoffs this season unless they improve their offense. "Not a chance," Sanchez said Tuesday on "The Michael Kay Show" on 1050 ESPN Radio. "Not even close." Sanchez mentioned how the Jets were outperformed in several statistical categories by the Bills this past weekend, despite winning. "You can't win like that," he said. "That's not a winning formula."

Eagles defensive line coach Jim Washburn and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg had a heated exchange during Sunday's loss to the Patriots that led a follow-up talk with head coach Andy Reid. "Things happen. It's an emotional game," Reid said. "It doesn't matter if you're coaches or players, things happen. So you take care of business like grown men. They've talked. I've talked. They've worked it out and we're fine here." The Eagles have to rebound quickly from a 38-20 loss to the Patriots and get ready for Thursday night's game at Seattle. With Philadelphia close to elimination from playoff contention in a season that began with enormous expectations, most of the attention before practice centered on the coaches' fight. "A couple tempers, you know," defensive tackle Trevor Laws said. "Jim Washburn's a fiery guy, no doubt about that. Anybody that's been following the team all year has probably seen him get in multiple fights, so I don't know why this thing is such a big deal, to tell you the truth. "He's Jim Washburn. He's a fiery guy with a chip on his shoulder, and he says what's on his mind. Sometimes he rubs people the wrong way, but to tell you the truth, that attitude is spread down the defensive line and actually improves our play, and I think we've kind of been the fiery heart of this team, and I think that's from Jim Washburn."

On the night before he led the Broncos to their fourth straight win, Tim Tebow was asked by coach John Fox to address his teammates. Tebow turned to the Bible, quoting Proverbs 27:17: "Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another," according to The Denver Post. Tebow's motivational message worked. The Broncos put together their third fourth-quarter comeback since Tebow took over for starter Kyle Orton, rallying past rival San Diego for a 16-13 overtime win. "He said iron sharpens iron and men sharpen other men. And I think that's totally true," rookie linebacker Von Miller said. "He gave us a great speech. We came out (for the game) fired up. And that was a wrap."

A Tampa television station provided unique coverage on Sunday night when it mistakenly aired locker-room footage of an unidentified Buccaneers player naked from the waist down. The troubling postgame visual occurred while WTVT interviewed Bucs offensive tackle Donald Penn. As Penn spoke about the team's struggles, the naked player was visible in the background, a sight that generated a minor uproar around the web. The station's vice president and news director, John Hoffman, was quick to respond. "We issued the following apology during last night's 6 p.m. newscast: 'Earlier in the Bucs' postgame there was an inadvertent shot and we apologize for that,'" Hoffman told the St. Petersburg Times.