He’s tried to be as gracious as possible considering he’s been the defense’s main punching bag for the past couple of seasons. David even took his demotion from the starting lineup in stride, becoming a solid contributor on special teams.

But when No. 42 runs on the field to try to cover a wide receiver, fans typically cringe and quarterbacks typically attack.

During Sunday’s 34-3 win over the Oakland Raiders in the Louisiana Superdome, David gave fans a reason to root for No. 42. He played one of his most solid games since being with the Saints and made the type of plays Saints coach Sean Payton and Co. were hoping to see from him in the previous 21 games.

David racked up two tackles and deflected two passes during his extended playing time in the Saints’ nickel package. Yet it was David’s interception of the Raiders’ JaMarcus Russell in the third quarter that directly aided in start of the Saints’ blowout.

“Jason David’s interception to set up the touchdown a few plays later put us up all of a sudden three scores,” Payton said. “That’s a significant play in the game.”

David said the business of playing in the NFL is all about putting bad performances him and making up for it the next time. The scrappy 5-foot-8, 180-pound cornerback can revel in his Sunday performance.

“I’m just working hard, man,” David said. “I always kept faith in what I can do and things that I’m capable of doing. I never really gave up being that I wasn’t the starter this year and I was only playing special teams.

“It was a little more than about four years when I had to make a start as a rookie in Oakland and I got an interception for a touchdown. This league is all about making the best of your opportunities and (Sunday) I got an opportunity to plays some nickel and play some corner and it worked out (Sunday). I was just going out there to try and make a play.”

David could have gone diva for a minute and patted himself on the back for his interception and solid play. But for David, it still goes back to being a team-first guy much like his teammates have done when defending David through his struggles.

“Most importantly, it means a lot to the defense just being able to turnover the ball and make a play for our team,” David said. “Regardless if it was me or another player, it was big for our team as a whole. But for me personally, it felt good. I haven’t had much playing time this year. I just practice hard each day and try to work on my craft and try to get better.”

David probably won’t see the type of playing time like he has the past couple of weeks once veteran Aaron Glenn returns from a sprained ankle ligament. He probably won’t crack the starting lineup again unless injuries force him in the game.

None of that will stop David from looking to improve, though, and Sunday’s game was a step in the right direction.

“Each day at practice, you can ask the coaches, I try to practice as hard as I can,” David said. “I stay afterwards and do the little things just to get better. The thing that I always do is work hard and try to get better. Even last year when fans and the media were on me for not playing as well as I could, and that’s true, but I was still trying to get better last year. It’s same thing for me this year.”

Tomlin led the Steelers to a 26-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, improving to 4-1 and holding onto first place in the AFC North. The Steelers controlled all aspects of the game: Total yards (415 to 213), rushing yards (129 to 38), first downs (28 to 14) and time of possession (33:23 to 26:37). QB Ben Roethlisberger threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns. Pittsburgh’s defense also limited the Jaguars to a 23 percent conversion rate on third downs.

Tomlin was selected as Motorola NFL Coach of the Week from among three finalists by voters on NFL.com. The other finalists were Mike Smith of the Atlanta Falcons and Tony Sparano of the Miami Dolphins.

Full Story

Related: Is Tomlin more energized this season?

And perhaps that was true at the time.

But with Robinson unable to return from a knee injury and out for the year, the job now belongs to Jones full-time.

And that’s not such a bad thing.

Through five games, Jones has averaged a very respectable 10.2 yards per punt return, which ranks 12th in the NFL and is yard-and-a-half better than Robinson’s average last season.

Outside of one blunder against San Diego where he misread a punt and let it hit him in the back of the leg – nearly resulting in a turnover – Jones has looked extremely reliable. On kicks inside the 10, he’s disguised catching the ball well, resulting in a few touchbacks — the sign of smart, veteran returner.

The best thing about Jones, 27, is he seems to look better with each passing week as he becomes more comfortable with the players blocking for him.

He’s coming off his best game last week against Kansas City, returning five punts for 68 yards. As a bonus, he played some wide receiver after D.J. Hackett went down and caught his first NFL pass, a pretty 19-yard reception on third-and-17 to help move the chains.

“He’s done a tremendous job,” coach John Fox said. “He’s come in and he’s learned quickly. Being a guy who is going to get a jersey on Sundays because of his return ability, we’ve had to rely on him some at receiver, too. And you saw that last week. He found the soft spot in the zone, a pretty aware play, and he made a nice grab. So he’s been a pleasant surprise.”

As Fox pointed out, returning punts in the NFL is more complicated than just catching the ball and running with it.

“There are a lot of little things,” Fox said. “Sometimes it doesn’t look like it, but there are plays on returns. There are things to pick up. And he’s a sharp guy who hasn’t struggled at all.”

Jones’ story is all the more amazing considering he tore his left patella tendon last October while playing for Tampa Bay.

It was horrible timing considering he was due to become an unrestricted free agent after the ’07 season. With concerns over his knee, the Bucs didn’t re-sign him.

He signed with San Diego in June but failed to earn a roster spot, losing out to one of the league’s top returners in Darren Sproles.

The Panthers saw enough from Jones in the preseason to take a flier on him with Robinson down.

“Is it better than my other knee? No, it’s not,” Jones said of his recovery. “It is good enough to where I can do everything I did last year. The strength is not there, but as far as me thinking and being hesitant, I don’t have that anymore. Apprehension, none of that, is there.”

This is a special week for Jones, who spent his first four seasons in Tampa Bay after coming into the league as a seventh-round draft pick from Tennessee in 2004.

“I’m not going to worry who’s in the stands watching me and who’s up in the offices watching me,” Jones said. “They made their decision and I have to live with that…. I knew how I was going to turn out, but they didn’t know. They had to make moves and better their team. They made those moves and I can’t do anything about that.”

After the debacle in Philadelphia, Tomlin seems to have not only learned his lesson but is reaping the rewards of learning so quickly. The Steelers are overcoming their flaws and are getting better at working within their faults.

The Steelers have the hardest schedule in the NFL and there are no “breathers” on their schedule. (Even the Bengals will provide a serious challenge this year…maybe not.)

Ben Roethlisberger has been hit multiple times in the last few games, but all in all, it could have been a lot worse! Ben is getting rid of the ball quicker, and the Steelers are also going into “max-protection” by having two people on the sides of him to pick up defenders to give him more breathing room.

The reason that this is so important now for Ben and Tomlin is, because of the Steelers’ defense, they are in every single game. Teams simply can’t pin too many points on the board against this unit. If the offense can avoid sputtering like it did in Philadelphia, the Steelers will consistently win games.

With Polamalu having a rebirth, and Woodley looking like a mix between Greg Lloyd and Joey Porter, the defense is tough and nasty. Harrison is looking like an All Pro and Bryant McFadden is proving that he deserves to start and stay with the Steelers beyond this year.

Now, if the Steelers can get the offense moving consistently and not kill their momentum with penalties and sacks, the Steelers will have a chance to play deep into January. They need to keep learning to protect Roethlisberger, because the games are only going to get tougher.

If someone were to tell me that the Steelers would be 4-1 after five games with Willie Parker injured, Mendenhall out for the year, and Hampton missing significant time, I would be thrilled!

Hopefully the Steelers can get healthier over the bye week by getting Parker and Hampton back. And hopefully, Tomlin is helping this team and preparing them to get better.

Source: Bleacher Report

Dockery had good reason to keep the ball there. His interception, his first since 2006, was the first by a Giants defensive back this season.

So far this season, the defense had played well enough for the Giants to go undefeated, but the only interception belonged to Justin Tuck, a 6-foot-5, 274-pound defensive end who rumbled 41 yards for a touchdown.

Of course, the defensive backs know this, and if they managed to forget, Tuck surely reminded them.

“It has been the goal,” Dockery said. “We’ve been getting our hands on a lot of balls. We just have to catch them. We came into the game thinking, ‘This is the week we’re going to get some turnovers.’ ”

Dockery’s came midway through the third quarter, with the Seahawks at the Giants’ 40-yard line, facing a third-and-5. Hasselbeck dropped back and, under heavy pressure, forced a wobbly pass into double coverage. Dockery said Hasselbeck never saw him.

“He couldn’t set his feet,” Dockery said. “The defensive line did a good job of pressuring him. It made him get rid of the ball before he had to.”

Hasselbeck said: “Just a really stupid play. Just very frustrated, tried to do something, and it was really stupid.”

The real show came next. Dockery danced and shimmied up the sideline like a matador bobbing and weaving around 11 bulls. He cut toward the left sideline and slipped a tackle. He cut back inside and slipped another. It looked like a Keystone Kops routine.

Dockery’s first thought? Touchdown. He gained 44 yards on the return, and while he did not score, he gave the Giants field position that led to another field goal and a 37-6 advantage.

The last time these teams played, in 2006, Hasselbeck and the Seahawks’ healthy passing game cruised to a 42-30 win in Seattle.

The Giants watched that loss on tape this week, and on Sunday, courtesy of Dockery and Company, Hasselbeck recorded a 46.7 passer rating.

Afterward, Dockery pulled on a diamond watch and platinum bracelet at his locker before making his way toward the exit. When he left, the ball from that interception was still tucked under his arm.

What you’ll read in this blog is Holliday’s open plea for the Dolphins to regain South Florida’s respect, and support.

“Not many people believed in us. You heard the questions last week. Big bad San Diego’s coming in with that high powered offense. You didn’t think we can get it done. The guys pounded their chest, bowed up, and re-established home field. That’s what we’re trying to do. It was real big for us.

“They talked about blacking out the TV game in South Florida for the first time in a long time. Not even last year during 1-15 did they black a game out here. A lot of things were accomplished today, but this is just another step. We’re proud about what we did [Sunday], but it’s just another step. [Twelve] more games, and I’m so excited.

“We’re certainly getting [swagger]. The ball is starting to roll. We’re starting to get that momentum. Coming back home and winning a big game after the bye [week] is huge for us.

“Let’s get this understood, no Tom Brady, that’s how they looked at that [New England] win. There was no Tom Brady, no [Laurence] Maroney. These guys are still jokes. People are going to look at [the San Diego] game right here and say the same thing.

“There are still plenty of nonbelievers out there. We’re still going to have to fight for respect and we know that. We’re in an uphill climb. We’ve taken that road and we’re just going to take it one game at a time. We didn’t win but one game last year, and here we are at 2-2.

“To the fans that were actually here, actually came out and supported us, believed in us, we appreciate it. It means so much. It was loud in there and that effected them some. On the goal line [fourth-and-1 stop] they flinched a little bit and showed their hand and we were able to make a big play down there.”

For that play, that noise, your support, Holliday, a team captain, thanks you on behalf of the Dolphins.

Now, what do you have to say to the team that has once again brought you joy on Sundays, and a pleasant hangover on Monday morning.

We beat them down when they fail. I know I do. Wouldn’t it be nice to say something positive when they succeed?

Let me be the first to start. Ikechuku Ndukwe, Congrats on turning it around. You are showing some promise as a starting right guard. Keep pushing.

Now it’s your turn.

Deuces.

Source: Sun Sentinel

Related: Dean of the defense: Holliday welcomes his role as leader and mentor

Russell, a second-year player who originally made the Steelers roster in 2007 as an undrafted rookie free agent, was with the team for the first two games of the 2008 season before being released Sept. 20. He was added to the Steelers practice squad on Sept. 21 before being promoted today to the active roster.

Russell gained 21 yards on seven carries for the Steelers during his rookie season, but was not active on game day for the team’s first two games in 2008.

He achieved the former but could not avoid the latter.

The Green Bay Packers’ versatile defensive lineman, who was off to a fast start this season, will miss the rest of the year due to a torn pectoral muscle, according to one of his agents, Brian Levy.

“He’s going to need surgery,” Levy said Tuesday. “So he’s going to have to go on injured reserve.”

Jenkins was injured in the fourth quarter of the 30-21 loss at Tampa Bay on Sunday, when he nearly sacked Bucs quarterback Brian Griese. On that play, Griese slipped out of Jenkins’ grasp, and Jenkins remained down on the field while the play went on. He received treatment on the bench and never returned to the game.

The Packers did not make an announcement about Jenkins, nor did they officially place him on injured reserve before the end of league business on Tuesday.

However, they signed Kenneth Pettway, one of two veteran defensive linemen who worked out on Tuesday.

According to the NFL’s internal transaction wire that is not released to the public, the Packers worked out Pettway and Patrick Chukwurah.

The 6-foot-4, 248-pound Pettway played in 17 games for the Jacksonville Jaguars the last two seasons combined.

Pettway, 25, a three-year veteran was with former Jaguars teammate Richard Collier during the Sept. 2 shooting that left Collier paralyzed below the waist. Pettway escaped unharmed in the incident, which took place in the Riverside area of Jacksonville, Fla.

Jenkins could prove tough to replace. After a so-so 2007 season, which came on the heels of a four-year, $15.84 million contract he signed on Feb. 26, 2007, Jenkins was off to the best start of his five-year NFL career.

He was second on the Packers with 2½ sacks and accounted for 10 of their 28 quarterback pressures. He was stout against the run playing defensive end on early downs and easily the best interior pass rusher while playing defensive tackle on passing downs.

“The timing couldn’t be worse,” Levy said. “It’s a big blow, but he’ll come back from this stronger.”

Full Story: PackersNews.com

What’s the biggest difference between Tampa and your hometown of Wichita?

The weather is a lot different. We have a dry heat up in Kansas. You have a whole bunch of humidity here. You sweat so much down here. Other than that, it’s about the same. I just can’t see my mom every day. And definitely more palm trees and more water.

What is this about you assigning nicknames to your teammates? Do they know about it, and what’s the funniest one?

Oh, they know. I’d say the funniest one right now is (safety) Jermaine Phillips. I nicknamed him C-7. That’s one of our defenses where he’s on the backside and he comes down into the box. You ever noticed how when linebackers are in the box they have that linebacker stance? If you watch Flip walk around the building, why does he always look like he’s getting ready to tackle somebody? He’s got his shoulders slumped over and everything. I told him, “Hey, you don’t always have to look like you’re in the box, man.”

Have you had an embarrassing or eye-opening NFL moment yet?

Actually, my first embarrassing moment was the (personal foul) against Matt Ryan. What was embarrassing about it was being on the (screen crawl) on ESPN. I got all these calls and texts from people asking me, “Man, what are you doing down there?”

Here’s one of my weekly questions: What’s on your iPod?

Mostly R&B. I like Lil’ Wayne, too. A lot of people probably think it’s bad music, but if you really listen to his words, you can relate that stuff to a lot of things in life. I really like to listen to that before games.

What Web site do you visit most?

I’m on Facebook and Myspace. I try to stay in touch with a lot of people. That’s a good way to stay in touch with people who I either don’t want to have my number or something like that. But really, I’m on sneakerhead.com a lot. That’s my thing. Any kind of shoe you can think of. But, for the most part, I have a lot of (Nike) Air Force 1s. All day.

You must have all the different styles and designs. How many we talking about?

I don’t even know. Probably 30 or 40 pairs.

Have you worn them all? And what’s the pair that is the most bizarre and hard to match?

I think so. I’ve probably worn them all once or twice, at least. As for the ones I have trouble matching, I’d say it’s a pair that’s like sky blue and pink. And they have some flower designs on them, too. It’s a man’s shoe. I don’t know. I just liked the design on it at the time. And I had a shirt to match it. I try to wear them, but I can’t. I don’t have anything to match.

You’re not a big guy, which makes it amazing you play this game. Do people believe you when you say you’re an NFL player?

A lot of people don’t believe me. Even if I was a superstar in this league, I probably could walk into Wal-Mart and people still wouldn’t know it was me. Like Kevin Carter, if he walks in Wal-Mart, you know it’s Kevin Carter. Me, they probably think I’m a Bucs fan wearing a Bucs T-shirt. It’s a good thing.

What’s some of the crazy stuff you’ve heard?

The craziest thing I’ve heard is when I first got to Troy. I was in the financial aid office trying to get my aid together. I told one of the ladies who worked there that I played football. The first thing she asked me was if I was a kicker. Why do I have to be a kicker just because I’m small?

I hear you and Aqib Talib roll together. What kind of trouble are you guys getting into these days?

Me and Talib play a lot of pool. He bought a pool table for his house, and we could play for hours and hours. Now, never mind that neither one of us can really play. That’s the thing. We act like we can.

Aqib looks like he talks a lot of smack. True or false?

All day. He’s just like I am. With both of us in a room together, it’s just crazy.

St Petersburg Times

For a fan base that prepared “Fire Bill Cowher” petitions before the oft-scowling coach won Super Bowl XL, every Tomlin decision is cause for scrutiny. Then again, when your two predecessors won a combined five Super Bowls, the pressure’s on to get everything right.

One concern that’s been raised about Tomlin by Steelers fans is the so-called “second-year curse” — the step backward new head coaches often seem to take after having a successful first season. A lot of that hype stems from what happened in 2007, when two second-year coaches, the New York Jets’ Eric Mangini and the New Orleans Saints’ Sean Payton, both saw their teams falter and fail to make the playoffs a year after winning 10 games and making the postseason.

Both coaches came in under extraordinary circumstances — the Saints suffered through a lost season after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, while the Jets were among the most injury-riddled teams in NFL history the same year — and re-energized their teams with new personnel and schemes. The following year, though, Payton’s play calling got overly cute, culminating in a fumble on a trick play that gave Tampa Bay a win that essentially clinched the NFC South, while Mangini’s exotic defensive schemes were exploited by teams who simply ran the ball up the gut at will on a porous defensive line.

Tomlin came to the Steelers following a Super Bowl-hangover season that saw Ben Roethlisberger play poorly and the secondary struggle with injuries. In Tomlin’s first season, the Steelers also won 10 games and claimed the AFC North title, only to lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Much like Mangini’s arrival saw the ascension of budding stars Jerricho Cotchery and Kerry Rhodes to the starting lineup, Tomlin’s first year saw the ascension of James Harrison, with LaMarr Woodley following suit this season.

Will Tomlin suffer the same fate that Mangini and Payton did in their second years? Is there really a second-year curse for successful rookie coaches?

Since 1986, first-year coaches who have won 10 or more games (adjusted for a 16-game schedule, with ties counting as a half-win) have averaged 10.7 wins in their rookie campaigns, but in their sophomore seasons, they’ve averaged only 8.8 wins — nearly two wins less. So, there must be a curse, right?

Not so fast. We have to compare these coaches to other, more experienced coaches with similar teams, in order to see if the same trend holds true. In this case, we’re looking at every 10 wins-or-better team since 1986 that didn’t have a first-year coach. In the year after their successful season, those teams averaged nine wins. That implies that most successful teams — not just those run by second-year coaches — tend to see their performance regress some. This implication also takes Mangini and Payton off the hook, to an extent

If you’re looking for a more reliable indicator of why the Jets and Saints crashed in 2007, you can start with one invented more than 20 years ago for a different sport — the “Plexiglass Principle.” Coined by baseball sabermetrician Bill James in one of his famed Baseball Abstracts, the term describes a simple observation that teams that take a huge step forward in a given year tend to give back some of their performance in the following season. Both the Saints and the Jets took huge steps forward, winning six and seven more games, respectively, in 2006 than they did in 2005, only to regress some in 2007. The Saints and the Jets lost a combined nine more games in 2007 than they did in 2006.

Of course, two teams shouldn’t convince anyone of anything; if we examine whether the Plexiglass Principle holds for football teams as a whole, the answer is yes. Since 1986, teams that improved their record by five or more wins in a given season saw their victories in the following season decrease by 2.7 wins.

Obviously, the Saints and Jets fit right into this mold, and unlike the hypothesis of the second-year curse, this explanation is much better news for the Steelers. They won 10 games in 2007 after winning eight games the year before; thus, the Plexiglass Principle should have little bearing on their performance in 2008.

Tomlin certainly isn’t a perfect coach. His head-in-the-sand attitude toward the usage patterns of Willie Parker helped contribute to the injuries Parker suffered at the end of 2007 and earlier this season. Tomlin was criticized for some of his decisions in the playoff loss to Jacksonville, but every coach takes some flak, and Tomlin’s ability to build a system that fits his players — even if it’s not, in the case of the defense, the style he prefers to use — is a rare but important skill.

Suggesting that the Steelers will struggle this year simply because Tomlin is in his second season is inaccurate.