49ers' tight end Vernon Davis is thought of highly by his teammates, who claim he is a hard-worker and a good guy both on and off the field. "Whenever you're in here on Monday and you're watching the game film, you see extra effort plays from him," quarterback Shaun Hill said. "He's not a prima donna out there. There's been times when he's been asked to block great defensive ends one on one in pass protection. And he's done it. There's not many tight ends in this league that you can ask to do that." Frank Gore, who gets frustrated from time-to-time with the team's offense, concurs with Hill. "He's just so competitive," Gore said. "He just wants to make plays. And it hasn't happened yet and it's frustrating. I told him, 'You know, you just have to keep doing what you're doing. And one thing you're doing is blocking your behind off.' It'll come."

49ers' coach Mike Singletary explained on Friday why he dropped his pants in front of the team at halftime of their loss to the Seahawks last Sunday. "The only point I was tying to make is 'Guys, this is what's happening on the field,' " Singletary said on a radio show Friday. "There are a lot of different words to express it ... there are a lot different things to try and get it across. But I've only got so much time [at halftime]. "I'm just telling you this is what I see happening out there -- we're getting our tails kicked, we need to figure out a different way, let's go out there and get it done."

Lions' defensive coordinator Joe Barry contends that the team's Tampa 2 defense isn't the reason for their dismal performance thus far. "If the defense is played right, and if we play it properly and we keep the ball inside and in front of us like we are supposed to, and if we make tackles like we are supposed to, and if the guy coming in off the outside edge makes a sack like he is supposed to," Barry said. "Those are not things that the offense is catching up. Those are us not paying attention to detail. That is us not doing things right all the time. And when we do that, we play better."

Dallas owner Jerry Jones believes that quarterback Brad Johnson, who has struggled, gives the team their best chance to win this weekend. "Our best chance is to have him," Jones said Thursday of the 40-year-old. There have been reports that the Cowboys will replace Johnson with Brooks Bollinger at the first sign of trouble this Sunday. "No, I don't see that," Jones said. "That would not be fair to our ability to win the game. We have got a guy who has years and years of making decisions here. We have every reason to believe he can make decisions and make the throws to win this game for us."

Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb believes that the team can follow in the footsteps of the Phillies and bring a World Championship home to the city of Philadelphia. "We have an opportunity to get to that," McNabb said. "The only thing we can do at this particular point is take one game at a time, do our jobs and let the chips fall where they may." The Eagles insist that the Phillies' victory hasn't placed additional pressure on them to bring home a title. "Since I?ve been here I?ve been a part of the Sixers in a championship series," McNabb said. "Unfortunately they didn?t win. We were part of the Super Bowl and we didn?t win. The Flyers were one series away from the championship this last year. So I?ve seen people kind of get close and just be that far away from winning. And now I?ve seen a team from Philly win the whole thing. "I?m very happy for them. You work extremely hard to get that goal and when you finally get a chance to accomplish it, it?s not only a big-time feeling for you, but for your teammates. And obviously, as you can see here in Philadelphia, it?s a major thing. The fans deserve it with everything that they?ve been going through."

The Patriots are focusing on tight end Dallas Clark heading into their battle with the Colts on Sunday night. During New England's last meeting with Indianapolis, safety Rodney Harrison was in charge of covering Clark, but he's currently on the injured reserve. With Harrison out, Adalius Thomas might be assigned coverage duty on Clark in Week Nine. "Rodney is a great player and he definitely gives a big lift for their defense. They always say 'next guy in,' but I think just on this side of the fence, I think Rodney's a tough guy for them to replace," Clark said during a conference call. "He brought so much to their defense, so much versatility and just that toughness the defense always shows, so I think he allowed them to do a lot of different things." Pats' coach Bill Belichick wouldn't reveal any specific plans for Clark, but appeared worried about a number of targets. "There are plenty of concerns with Dallas Clark. There are concerns about everybody - Clark, (Marvin) Harrison, (Reggie) Wayne, (Anthony) Gonzalez and (Joseph) Addai. It is about team defense; you can?t double everybody," Belichick said. "You can?t set your defense to stop everybody; they have too many good players. In the course of playing good team defense there will be a lot of different people that will have a lot of different responsibilities all the way through the course of the game."

Raiders' cornerback DeAngelo Hall is excited to face his former team the Falcons this Sunday for the first time since being dealt to Oakland this offseason. "Oh yeah, I can?t wait. I cannot wait. I felt like I taught Roddy [White] a thing or two," Hall said. "As well as the rest of those guys. I can?t want to get out there and match up with them on game day and see if I taught him good enough." Hall is just hoping for a win this weekend, personal statistics don't matter. "Just a win. Stats don?t really matter. They could take me to the house for five touchdowns as long as we win. 48-42, I?m good," he said. "We need a win as a team bad. That?s probably the first and foremost thing that?s going through my mind."

Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson has 684 rushing yards, good enough for second in the NFL but vows to have a better second half. "To be honest, and it's not about individual stats or anything like that with me, but I really don't feel like I have performed well in the first half, especially watching the film," Peterson said in a teleconference. "I really haven't played my best ball this year at all." Peterson rushed for 121 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown, against the Bears two weeks ago in what he considers his best game of the season. "I really see a lot of things I was doing differently in that game that I'm going to take on to the second half," Peterson said. "I just look forward to doing better the second half, which I am going to do. I'm just going to help my team any way I can."

Pop star Jessica Simpson is reportedly thinking about marriage with Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo. "[Tony and I] are definitely compatible in all areas," Simpson said. "Any person who I'm gonna date for longer than six months, I definitely am investing in something long-term," "If I get married again, then it will be the last time."

Raiders' receiver Ronald Curry was benched two weeks ago for rookie Chaz Schilens and figures that his days in Oakland might be numbered. "It's like the team gave up on me," Curry said. "It's a tough pill to swallow, especially when you go from (starting) to not playing at all. "The picture's pretty clear. My mind-set now is to go out there, work hard and put film out there for other teams." Curry expects the Raiders to release him after this season. He is due $3.5 million in base salary in 2009.