Sep 16, 2008 6 min read

Coach John Fox cuts short the film session and lets players leave early the day after victories. When the Panthers suspended Smith for the first two games after sucker-punching teammate Ken Lucas in training camp, the prospect of anything less than a full day on the job following those games seemed remote. But after Sunday’s 20-17 win over Chicago, the Panthers are 2-0, full of confidence and eager to welcome their dynamic and sometimes troubled star receiver back to a team that senses it can do something special this season.

“Some of these things make you better, make you stronger,” Fox said. “I think the type of guys we have in that locker room, I think an unfortunate incident is made into a positive. I think the fact that we were able to win two games without him makes us all better, him included.”

Smith did not speak to reporters Monday, but his teammates seemed excited to add a three-time Pro Bowl pick to a unit that beat San Diego and Chicago with dramatic fourth-quarter comebacks.

“For us to go out there and do what we are doing these past two weeks, that just gives us more confidence,” said rookie running back Jonathan Stewart, who scored the winning touchdown against the Bears. “And of course when Steve gets here, he’s going to be fired up.”

Vikings

Receiver Sidney Rice has a sprained posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Rice was injured Sunday against Indianapolis when he went up for a jump ball on the sideline and landed awkwardly on the knee. He says he will receive treatment all week and is “hopeful” he can play this weekend against Carolina.

He woke up with plenty of discomfort Monday morning and said, “hopefully when the swelling goes down, some of the pain will, too.”

The injury means both starting receivers for the Vikings are banged up. Bernard Berrian struggled with a toe injury in the preseason and limped through the locker room on Monday without talking to reporters.

Rice says he’s “glad it’s this. It could have been a lot worse.”

Seahawks

Logan Payne is going on injured reserve because of a torn knee ligament and Seneca Wallace is out up to a month with a calf injury. They become the fifth and sixth Seahawks wide receivers injured this season. Payne is the second lost for the season.

Payne started Sunday’s overtime loss to San Francisco, but was hit on his right knee as he planted his leg on his only catch in the first quarter. Coach Mike Holmgren said the 2007 practice squad player has an injury to his medial collateral ligament.

Wallace was a big part of Sunday’s game plan as an emergency fill-in receiver. Then the backup quarterback pulled his calf muscle during pregame warmups.

Holmgren says the team will be looking to sign or possibly trade for more receivers before next Sunday’s game against the also winless St. Louis Rams.

Cornerback Kelly Jennings has a broken rib but will play against the Rams.

Patriots

New England re-signed fullback Kyle Eckel and released tight end Stephen Spach.

The Patriots also re-signed defensive back Mark Dillard from the practice squad and released punter Tom Malone from that group.

Eckel had been released by the Patriots on Aug. 26 after playing 12 NFL games, all last season with New England. He rushed 33 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns.

Browns

Just two games old, a season of lofty expectations has taken an unexpected turn downward.

One day after their first appearance on prime-time TV in five years ended with a 10-6 loss in hurricane-leftover winds to the dreaded Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns were insisting their 0-2 start is not insurmountable.

“It’s no hole,” defensive tackle Shaun Smith said. “The Giants started out 0-2 and won the Super Bowl. We’re that caliber-type of team.”

The Browns haven’t looked it so far. In home losses to Dallas and Pittsburgh – the Steelers’ 10th straight win in the series – Cleveland has been undisciplined, disorganized and inconsistent.

Pro Bowl wide receiver Braylon Edwards has become the poster child for the Browns’ early season woes. In two games, Edwards has dropped at least five passes and last week he made news off the field when he was given a speeding ticket for driving 120 mph.

Adding to their troubles, the Browns have likely lost defensive end Robaire Smith for the season with an injured Achilles’ tendon.

“He is not in the best of shape,” Crennel said. “For a big man, an Achilles is a tough thing to deal with.”

The Browns were already playing without two key defensive players. Outside linebacker Antwan Peek is out for the season with a knee injury, and safety Sean Jones will be sidelined for several more weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery last week. On top of that, cornerback Daven Holly was lost to a season-ending knee injury he suffered during practice in May.

Saints

Sean Payton and Drew Brees agreed that what ailed the Saints most in their first loss of the season was not New Orleans’ battered, patchwork defense.

“We all thought we were going to seal the deal,” Brees said, recalling the Saints’ 24-15 fourth quarter lead at Washington. “We had two opportunities there, just third-down conversions that we should make and we didn’t, therefore giving them the ball back and they turned around and scored after both of those.”

Washington’s offense piled up 455 yards, highlighted by a 67-yard reception by Santana Moss for the winning score with 3:29 to go. But the Saints’ defense, relying on reserves because key players such as safety Roman Harper, cornerback Randall Gay and linebacker Scott Fujita were injured, still made key third-down stops to hold Washington without a touchdown in the first half.

New Orleans defenders simply were beat up and worn down from being on the field too long by the time the Redskins pulled ahead.

“Fatigue becomes an issue if your defense is on the field because you’re struggling on offense,” Payton said. “Generally, if you’re not converting third downs, which we weren’t, than the other side of the ball’s on the field longer than we want, and that’s where I thought it became a little bit harder defensively. We didn’t help that matter at all offensively.”

Rams

Rookie wide receiver Keenan Burton underwent an MRI exam on Monday for what the team believes is torn knee cartilage.

Burton, a fourth-round pick, had no catches as a reserve in Sunday’s 41-13 loss to the Giants. Coach Scott Linehan said the injury may require arthroscopic surgery that could sideline Burton for a few weeks. He said Burton was hurt on a punt play during the opener, the knee began to swell during the practice week and it was drained of fluid Saturday.

The Rams are hoping to get more playing time for fellow rookie Donnie Avery, a second-round pick this year who has been hampered by a knee injury. Avery also played but had no catches against the Giants.

Copyright Associated Press 2008