Packers fume over Favre hit
Packers coach Mike McCarthy called a hit that Raiders defensive end Derrick Burgess made on Brett Favre low and unnecessary.
Favre, making his 250th consecutive start, got hit twice by Burgess, once on a play before the two-minute warning that left Favre limping in Green Bay's 38-7 victory over Oakland on Sunday to clinch the NFC North.
Favre fell from the contact, which caused his legs to stiffen from the shot to the shin. McCarthy wasn't as upset on that play as the one later in the second half, when Burgess caught Favre around the lower part of the knee.
Neither hit drew a penalty.
Belichick preps for Jets: Bill Belichick has been watching videotape of the New York Jets -- the kind that won't cost him $500,000.
The kind that could help his Patriots (13-0) stay unbeaten Sunday by beating the team that turned him in for having an on-field camera snoop on the sideline.
In preparing for Sunday's 34-13 win over Pittsburgh, Belichick studied tape of a game three weeks earlier when the Jets upset the Steelers 19-16 in overtime.
Belichick didn't mention Jets coach Eric Mangini, his former defensive coordinator who blew the whistle on him after New England's 38-14 season-opening win over New York -- the first in a string of 13 wins that leaves the Patriots just 3 short of a perfect regular season.
In the first quarter of that game, the Jets had a Patriots sideline camera shut down. They complained the Patriots were trying to steal their coaches' defensive signals in violation of league rules. The punishment: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fined Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 and took away one of the Patriots two first-round draft choices.
Is it payback time?
Belichick wasn't saying.
Cameron on thin ice? The clock is running. Miami coach Cam Cameron has been on the job nearly 11 months and still seeks his first victory, which raises a question: How much longer does he have with the 0-13 Dolphins?
His job may be in jeopardy after only one season if he becomes the first coach to go 0-16.
But his future may hinge on his players, a scary proposition because the team that may be remembered as the most woeful in NFL history seems to be getting worse.
Linehan's job safe: Coach Scott Linehan won't lose his job because of the St. Louis Rams' 3-10 record.
Team president John Shaw told Linehan on Monday it would be unfair to judge his performance this season, given the team's lengthy injury list. Later in the day, Linehan said he was looking forward to an end-of-season meeting in early January.
Patriots ratings bonanza: Lots of viewers: Sunday's game between the unbeaten Patriots and Steelers on CBS earned an 18.4 overnight rating and a 33 share in the nation's 55 largest markets.
Niners QB Dilfer unlikely: Niners quarterback Trent Dilfer is unlikely to play against Cincinnati on Saturday after incurring a concussion.
Sore Young should play: Titans quarterback Vince Young had sore ribs Monday following his collision with San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman that may limit him in practice. Coach Jeff Fisher said the injury should not keep him out of Sunday's game with Kansas City.