Arizona cardinals

And finally. ... According to Pro Football Weekly, Cable hasn't helped or hurt his cause much in his first few weeks on the job. It's clear that the players are behind him, and close observers have been most impressed by his willingness to admit when he's wrong about a coaching decision.

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 PT  

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Parrillo went on to remind readers there was the sprained ankle, which kept him out of the game against the Bears, and then the fractured ribs, which occurred on the first possession of the Redskins game and sidelined him for the 49ers game.

Until Sunday, Westbrook had played little more than two games while healthy and the result had been an Eagles offense that's performed mostly in fits and starts.

There were no fits and starts against the Falcons.

Westbrook scored on touchdown runs of 16 and 39 yards while amassing a career-high 167 yards on the ground and catching six passes for 42 yards.

It was his 18th 100-yard rushing game, leaving him behind only Wilbert Montgomery (26) and Hall of Famer Steve Van Buren (19) in Eagles history.

Westbrook became the third running back in team history to surpass 5,000 yards, joining Montgomery (6,538) and Van Buren (5,860). His 209 yards from scrimmage was his third-highest total, shy of the personal best of 221 he had last season against Detroit.

Most important, Westbrook alleviated concerns about his health by looking quick as ever, which means the Eagles should officially be considered a dangerous team. As Parrillo suggested, we saw the Westbrook of last season, when he was the best all-around running back in the NFL.

"It feels good to be back," he said. "My ankle held up pretty well. My ribs held up pretty well. Things went well for me."

Westbrook stretched the Eagles' lead to 17-7 with a tough 16-yard run, breaking free from Lawyer Milloy after the physical Falcons safety appeared to have him wrapped up. On his 39-yard TD, which cinched the game in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, Westbrook simply outraced the Atlanta secondary.

"I felt good," Westbrook said. "Coach gave me some opportunities. We saw some things on tape we thought we could take advantage of and we did a good job executing those things."

Showing he still had so much fuel remaining in his tank late in the game after not playing for three weeks, Westbrook even surprised head coach Andy Reid. Reid said he thought Westbrook was getting weary and wanted to rest him at the end. But Westbrook would have none of it.

"He wanted to stay in," Reid said. "He wanted the football, so we gave it to him."

In fact, Westbrook was stronger in the second half, when he gained 104 yards on 12 carries.

"Nothing he does amazes me," cornerback Sheldon Brown said of Westbrook.

I'd recommend Fantasy owners remember that any time the have doubts about inserting him into their starting lineups -- even when he's coming off injuries. ...

Other notes of interest. ... According to Wilmington News Journal staffer Geoff Mosher, Donovan McNabb, a recovering scrambler, showed glimpses of his former life -- even if they were just brief.

His 12-yard scramble in the second quarter not only marked his longest run of the season but also set up another pivotal run -- McNabb's 3-yard touchdown run on the rarely used quarterback draw.

"I think he feels better. He's coming off the chest [injury], and it was very tender there for a couple of weeks," Reid said after Sunday's win. "He was able to get more involved and move the ball with his legs."

Later, Reid added, "It was just a matter if it was there. He's healthy, it was there, and he took it."

McNabb rushed for a season-high 25 yards, scored his first rushing touchdown in more than two years and became the eighth quarterback in NFL history to accumulate 3,000 career rushing yards.

Westbrook said McNabb's threat to run keeps defenses honest.

"It makes a difference, all the difference in the world when you have a guy back there with the arm that Donovan has, but also the ability to scramble, to make plays when there's no receivers open," he said. ...

Kevin Curtis caught three passes for 45 yards in his 2008 debut. Curtis, who underwent sports hernia surgery Aug. 21, said: "It's been a long wait."

He was glad to get a decent number of snaps to work off the rust, after starting alongside DeSean Jackson. Reggie Brown was inactive with the groin injury that also kept him from playing 2 weeks previously in San Francisco.

"Right now, everything's sore," said Curtis, who added that playing a game and getting hit was "a different kind of work" than rehabbing an injury. ...

On Monday, Reid said Curtis's body responded favorably to his first game of the season, despite Curtis playing more snaps than Reid had intended.

"He had too many snaps out there. He had 60 snaps, or whatever it was, so he got plenty of work," Reid said. "I wasn't counting on that going into the game, but he was feeling pretty good. ..."

Reid also said L.J. Smith had sustained a concussion and "is feeling better today." Reid said Smith would probably "be able to answer the bell" -- which means play Sunday against Seattle -- but he couldn't be certain.

"We just have to see as the week goes on and then how much practice time he gets and all that," Reid said. "I can't tell you that right now, we'll just have to play it by ear."

Reid said Brown likely will participate fully in practice this week and be ready to play Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Brown has only played in three games this season. He missed the first two games of the year with a hamstring injury.

McNabb got poked in the eye during Sunday's win over Atlanta but didn't miss any time and is expected to be fine.

Wide receiver Jason Avant sustained a trapezius muscle strain -- an area in the upper back -- and is struggling to lift his arms. Reid said Avant should be able to practice this week.

And finally. ... Reid became the 37th head coach in NFL history with 100 wins, and he's the 22nd coach to earn those 100 victories with one team. As SI.com's Don Banks suggested, "Not bad for a guy who elicited questions of "Andy who?" when Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie introduced him."

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Holmes, who led the NFL in yards-per-catch last season, was benched for the Steelers' 21-14 loss Sunday to the New York Giants and was not in uniform. He was allowed to return to the team after speaking to his teammates and issuing a public apology on Monday.

The NFL could punish Holmes once his case is resolved, but head coach Mike Tomlin said there will be no additional action taken by the team. Tomlin did not say if Holmes was fined, although Associated Press sports writer Alan Robinson suggests he likely was.

Holmes, a third-year player out of Ohio State, was charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of a small amount of marijuana following a police stop Thursday. Holmes has a preliminary hearing before a Pittsburgh district judge on Nov. 24.

"As a football team and an organization, in terms of our view of the situation, we've laid it to bed," Tomlin said Tuesday. "Satisfactory action has been taken from our standpoint. ... For us, we're moving forward."

Tomlin doesn't care if the NFL players' union is unhappy the Steelers chose to effectively suspend Holmes for an issue that is covered by the NFL's substance abuse policy.

"I'm not concerned about their view whether we chose to activate him," Tomlin said. "We've got 53 men on the team. We chose to activate 45 for a particular game. That's what we chose to do and move forward."

The Steelers never said before the Giants' game that Holmes was suspended, instead handling the matter by deactivating him.

Holmes' absence hurt the Steelers' offense during a game in which, except for a 65-yard touchdown pass to Nate Washington on Pittsburgh's first play of the second half, Ben Roethlisberger did not complete a pass to a wide receiver longer than 14 yards.

Roethlisberger was under a heavy pass rush and was sacked five times, pushing his season total to 23 -- third most in the league.

As a result, Roethlisberger is dealing again with a sore right shoulder -- he was diagnosed several weeks ago with a slight separation -- and may officially return to the team's injury list Wednesday.

Roethlisberger may not practice Wednesday or Thursday because the Steelers have an extra day to prepare for the Monday night game.

"Same thing, right shoulder," Tomlin said of Roethlisberger's injury. "That's going to continue to be week to week. It was better last week because he rarely got hit (Oct. 19) versus the Bengals. He got hit a few times on Sunday. We'll see how he feels when he comes in here on Wednesday."

Roethlisberger's 44.8 completion percentage was the fourth lowest of his career, trailing only two games of 42.9 percent -- against New England in 2005 and in the Super Bowl against Detroit in February 2006 -- and a 43.8 effort against Detroit on Jan. 1, 2006.

"Obviously, you miss Santonio and what he brings," Roethlisberger said.

Holmes led all NFL receivers last season with 18.2 yards per catch on 52 receptions. He had 22 catches for 360 yards and a touchdown this season. ...

With Holmes out, rookie Limas Sweed played more than he has all season and finished with three catches for 28 yards. ...

Meanwhile, running back Willie Parker, who has missed the last four games with a left knee sprain, worked out Tuesday and Tomlin said he was encouraged by what he saw.

The coach did not, however, say whether Parker will be healthy enough to play against the Redskins. And the truth is, with Mewelde Moore playing so well, there certainly isn't any reason to rush Parker back into the lineup. ...

Stay tuned. I'll undoubtedly have more on both Roethlisberger and Parker in the Late-Breaking Updates section in coming days.

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After his best game of the season -- a 160-yard, three-touchdown performance in a 34-14 upset of the Dallas Cowboys two weeks ago -- Jackson missed Sunday's contest against the New England Patriots.

"Steven should be ready to go this week," Haslett said. "He looked good today and he was questionable yesterday and we thought it was best for him to sit out and get him ready for this game."

Jackson made good on Haslett's optimism on Wednesday, when the star tailback took about a third of the snaps with the first team, prompting St. Louis Post-Dispatch staffer Bill Coats to suggest it looks as if Jackson will be full-go Sunday when the Arizona Cardinals visit the Edward Jones Dome.

The 6-2, 231-pound Jackson has posted three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and is well on his way to a fourth. In six games, he has rushed for 508 yards and four scores, adding 25 receptions for 259 yards.

Jackson missed four games last season with a partial groin tear and held out of training camp in a contract dispute this summer before signing a six-year, $49.3 million deal that made him the NFL's highest-paid running back.

Those interested will want to keep an eye out for more on Jackson when Late-Breaking Updates commence early Thursday. I'm expecting the news to be positive, but his progress still bears watching. ...

Meanwhile, Haslett defended quarterback Marc Bulger's performance in the team's 23-16 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.

According to Belleville News-Democrat staffer Steve Korte, Bulger has taken some heat from fans on the radio talk shows for his play in the fourth quarter.

"The two people who take the most heat on a football team are the head coach and the quarterback, and that's the way it is going to be," Haslett said.

"That comes with the game and the territory, and I think Marc understands that, and I surely understand it. I don't think Marc was as bad as people want to make him out to be because we lost the game. I thought Marc did some good things yesterday."

Bulger completed 18 of 34 passes for 301 yards -- his first game with more than 200 passing yards this season -- against the Patriots.

Bulger's quarterback rating was 128.2 through three quarters. His overall rating for the game dropped to 80.6 after he completed six of his 15 passes for 69 yards and one interception in the fourth quarter.

"I thought Marc played OK," Haslett said. "He didn't have a lot of time. It was hard to step up at times. Marc will be fine. He has a young group of receivers out there, they're kind of learning each other. They missed a couple of (hot reads). We did some things where if we had some veterans in there they probably wouldn't have happened. We got ourselves in situations where it was third-and-long too many times against that team."

On the interception that sealed the Rams' fate with 1:08 left to play, Haslett said receiver Donnie Avery ran his route too close to intended receiver Keenan Burton and Bulger was forced to get rid of the ball rather than take a sack on the third-and-15 play.

It looked like Avery was wide open on the play, but that was after the ball was in the air and his defender had peeled off to triple-team Burton.

"It wasn't the greatest route and it was an interception," Haslett said. "They had three guys over the top of the two."

Haslett said his pass protection could have been better. The Patriots sacked Bulger four times. ...

In a related note. ... The Rams believe they have a pair of playmakers for the long haul in Avery and Burton.

As Coats suggested Monday, Avery, a second-round draft pick, has already earned the playmaker tag and Burton, a fourth-rounder, might just be on the cusp.

The two combined for eight receptions and 204 yards -- a gaudy 25.5-yard average per catch -- in New England. Bulger, who hadn't even had a 200-yard passing game this season, threw for 301 Sunday.

His 69-yard touchdown pass to Avery was the longest pass play of Bulger's NFL career.

Avery established career highs in catches (six) and yards (163). For the season, he has 21 receptions for a team-high 347 yards -- and he has put those up in just four games. He missed the opener with a knee injury and played only sparingly in Week 2.

Since then, Avery has had ample opportunity to show off the speed that made him the fastest wideout at this year's scouting combine. As SI.com insider Peter King wrote on Monday: "Watch him run. He looks like his feet barely touch the ground."

A few weeks ago, Bulger said he had to adjust to Avery's speed. That project is perking right along.

"I think he's starting to learn me and I'm starting to learn what he does good and the things that suit him," Bulger said. "He could be really good."

Avery has taken over the No. 2 wideout spot that belonged to Isaac Bruce before he was released and signed with San Francisco. The youngster insisted that he isn't intimidated at jumping into the role of a likely Hall of Famer. "I'm not worried about any of that; I can't compare myself to him," Avery said. "I'm just trying to make plays. That's it."

Comparatively speaking, Burton's stats paled when put up next to Avery's. Burton had two catches, but they produced 41 yards. In addition to the big third-down grab, he picked up 27 yards on a toss across the middle. Like Avery, Burton was stalled by injuries early in the season.

But he's beginning to find a rhythm, he said, and he credits veteran Torry Holt with helping him to adapt.

"I always look for confirmation from him, because he's done it so much and done it so well for so long," Burton said. "It's just great to be around him, to watch him and to grow with him."

Count Holt as a fan of the newcomers.

"Donnie and Keenan both are scratching the surface," Holt told Coats. "I'm really excited and really impressed with the way they've come along thus far. They have a lot of stuff being thrown at them, and they're handling it very well.

"I'm proud of those two guys."

Other notes of interest. ... Antonio Pittman says he always prepares as if he's starting. And that's a good thing. Because when he walked into the visitors' locker room Sunday following pregame warmup, Pittman saw Jackson icing his injured right thigh muscle.

"About that time, I knew I was ready to go," Pittman said.

"I thought (Pittman) did well," Haslett said. "He ran hard. Hung onto the ball. He'll be tired tomorrow."

Pittman, who had only 39 NFL career carries before Sunday, carried 19 times. Three of those carries produced first downs, including a 2-yard gain on fourth and 1 from the St. Louis 41 on the opening series of the game.

Pittman rushed for 83 yards, easily a career high, and also caught three passes for 22 yards. His per-carry average was 4.4 yards, which is better than Jackson's season average of 4.2 yards. ...

A few final notes. ... The Sports Xchange reports that tight end Joe Klopfenstein has been playing with a bad wrist and now has a torn ligament. He is expected to continue playing with either a cast or a brace to protect the injury. ...

Receiver Drew Bennett hasn't played since injuring his foot in the first quarter of the season opener against the Eagles. Bennett is getting closer to returning and will begin running this week.

And last but not least. ... The Rams sent a videotape of Sunday's game to the NFL office, the Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday. According to the report, the tapes highlight plays the Rams believe should have resulted in penalties against the Patriots.

The Rams were penalized 12 times for 63 yards. The Patriots were called for only one penalty, which St. Louis declined.

Through seven games, New England has been flagged for just 22 penalties, the lowest total in the league.

Haslett admitted that he is not sure what will be accomplished by sending the tape to the league.

"It doesn't help," he said. "It just lets them know you know."

DEPTH CHART AS OF WEDNESDAY AT 14:00 PT  

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"In magnificent and monstrous Wembley Stadium, made up to resemble a Saints home game, in front of 83,226 fans, on a muddied pitch in the cool London air, the Chargers battled to make another game close.

"But, again, they lost, for the fifth time. This time it was 37-32 to the New Orleans Saints. ..."

The Chargers had Monday's 13-hour flight and a bye week to think about how to do that.

They were called for more penalties Sunday than they had been in almost 10 years, many of which hurt their own promising drives or greatly helped the Saints to points.

"Those self-inflicted wounds, they kill you," quarterback Philip Rivers said.

Rivers threw for 185 yards in the final period but was intercepted at the New Orleans' 10 with a little more than a minute to play. The Chargers would get the ball back with one second remaining, their final play a Hail Mary that was batted to the turf shy of the end zone.

"As much as we were able to overcome and give ourselves a chance, you've got to finish," said receiver Vincent Jackson, who dropped a potential go-ahead TD pass early in the third quarter. "That seems to be our Achilles' heel."

But the news wasn't all bad -- certainly not from a Fantasy perspective. ... Just like LaDainian Tomlinson requested, the Chargers were stubborn with the run yesterday, at least until it didn't make sense to be so.

And true to his word, Tomlinson appeared healthy, as he came through big in his first game since meeting with head coach Norv Turner and asking that the Chargers run more.

"We got a good flow," said Tomlinson, who ran 10 times for 85 yards in the first half and finished with 105 yards on 19 carries, his rushes dropping off in the second half as the Chargers faced a big deficit.

"That was nice," center Nick Hardwick said. "We were cooking a little bit there until we couldn't. We got after it, got aggressive, sticking on blocks."

Entering Sunday, Tomlinson had run just 123 times, fewest through seven games in his career.

In his meeting with Turner, Tomlinson assured the coach his big toe was fine. Tomlinson also expressed his frustration at the Chargers for not being committed to the run.

While Sunday was just the second time since 2003 that the Chargers lost a game in which Tomlinson rushed for 100 yards, there was reason to be pleased as Tomlinson showed consistently his old flash and dash in getting extra yards by beating defenders.

"I'm pretty much back healthy," Tomlinson said. "And I felt like I was running good tonight."

Said Turner: "Obviously, LT was explosive. He made some big-time runs."

Tight end Antonio Gates, coming off two weeks of not missing a practice, was getting his old separation from defenders yesterday – never more clearly than on successive plays in the second quarter when he ran away from Usama Young for a 30-yard reception and a 12-yard reception for a touchdown.

"I feel great," said Gates, bothered by hip and toe injuries this season. "I knew coming into this game I was good. Everything has changed. There's a sense of confidence."

Still, the bye definitely comes at a good time. Tomlinson said he will not practice this week and then return to full weeks of practice, something he's done just once since spraining his big toe in the opener.

Many veterans likely will work lightly or not at all this week.

The Chargers also need to regroup and to his credit, Turner took a big step on Tuesday when he fired defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell. Turner replaced him with inside linebackers coach Ron Rivera, a Super Bowl winner with the Chicago Bears in 1985. Rivera will have the bye week to figure out why the Chargers have underperformed.

It's safe to say the offense feels like it's done it's part. Only one of their losses has been by more than a touchdown, that by nine points. All together, their five losses have come by a combined 24 points.

The Chargers will come back to play 1-6 Kansas City, one of five home games in the final eight. Nothing could possibly have sounded better to them at this point. ...

A few final notes. ... Chris Chambers contributed in his return to the lineup after missing two games. He finished with five catches for 47 yards while Craig Davis was sidelined again by a groin injury. The team hopes he can go after the bye.

Still, as Pro Football Weekly notes, Malcom Floyd, who might have the best hands on the team, has made the most of his opportunity with Chambers and Davis out. In his two games starting in place of Chambers, Floyd registered seven catches for 140 yards and two TDs, making some very difficult grabs along the way.

Davis certainly won't move back in ahead of him. ...