Bush, key DT out Sunday as Saints face Bucs

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Running back Reggie Bush and defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis are not traveling with the New Orleans Saints for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.

A team spokesman said Saturday that both players had been downgraded on the official injury report from questionable to out with knee injuries.

Both players are expected to be back at practice next week.

Bush missed practice this week with swelling in his left knee, the same knee on which he had surgery last December to repair cartilage. Bush is coming off one of his best games of the season in St. Louis last Sunday, when he gained 98 yards and scored two touchdowns on six rushes and a pair of receptions.

Bush has 484 yards and six touchdowns in combined rushing and receiving this season.

Head coach Sean Payton said earlier in the week that he was hopeful Bush could play against the Buccaneers, but that he was wary of pushing him and causing a setback.

Ellis sprained his right knee in Miami in Week 7 and returned to practice this week on a limited basis. A first-round draft choice in 2008, he is one of New Orleans' primary run-stuffers.

The Saints' defense has yielded 151 yards rushing to Atlanta's Michael Turner, 149 yards to Carolina's DeAngelo Williams and 131 yards to St. Louis' Steven Jackson in the three full games Ellis has missed so far.



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Tough challenge sunday night!

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Versatile Eagles running back Brian Westbrook won’t play Sunday night against the Bears after suffering two concussions in three weeks. But Philadelphia’s offense is still dangerous thanks to the arm and legs of veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb.




Hunter Hillenmeyer sacks Donovan McNabb in a 24-20 win over the Eagles last season at Soldier Field.
A five-time Pro Bowler, McNabb has led the Eagles to five NFC East championships, five NFC title games and one Super Bowl.

“I don’t think there’s many guys you can compare to what Donovan McNabb has done,” said coach Lovie Smith. “A lot of times he’s either a runner or a passer. He’s the entire package. He can do it all. We know every week, every time you play him, you have to cover everything. We have played him a few times. It will be a big challenge for our group.”

This season McNabb has completed 60.1 percent of his passes for 1,685 yards with 12 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 95.1 passer rating that ranks ninth in the NFL. In last Sunday’s loss to the Chargers, the Chicago native connected on 35 of 55 passes for 450 yards with 2 TDs, 1 interception and a 93.8 passer rating.

“I don’t understand how people are up and down on him,” said defensive end Adewale Ogunleye. “In my view, he’s a top three quarterback in the league. He’s a winner. He’s a leader. He’s the kind of guy that you wouldn’t mind having on your team. Last week he passed for 450 yards. That’s a lot of yards. He’s just that capable.

"It doesn’t matter who he has playing with him. Whatever receivers he has, every year he just goes out there and wins. When you look up in the playoffs, he’s always in it. To me, he’s one of the best in the league.”

Even without Westbrook, McNabb has formidable weapons at his disposal. Speedy receiver DeSean Jackson has caught 34 passes for a team-high 621 yards and 4 TDs. Tight end Brent Celek leads the Eagles with 46 receptions for 533 yards and 5 TDs. And rookie receiver Jeremy Maclin has added 31 catches for 413 yards and 4 TDs.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for us,” said cornerback Zackary Bowman. “They’ve got some good receivers in Jackson, Maclin and [Jason] Avant too, and their tight end is their leading receiver.”

McNabb is 4-2 as a starter against the Bears. He won his first four games versus his hometown team, including a playoff victory in 2001, but has lost two straight meetings in 2007 and 2008.

In his six games against the Bears, McNabb has passed for 207, 262, 209, 237, 226 and 262 yards with a total of 6 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, 14 sacks and a 79.4 passer rating. After rushing for 108 yards and 2 TDs on 22 attempts in the first three meetings, he’s had five carries for no yards in the last three contests.

“We matched up pretty well against them the last couple times we played them,” Hillenmeyer said. “Hopefully some of those things that worked in the past will continue to work.

“Obviously Donovan is a guy who can make a lot of plays. You’ve got to get him moving his feet, but you also don’t want him moving around too long because he makes a lot of his best plays when he does sort of buy himself time by moving around in the pocket.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Cubs add five to 40-man roster

CHICAGO -- The Cubs added outfielder James Adduci, catcher Welington Castillo and pitchers John Gaub, Blake Parker and Rafael Dolis to the 40-man roster on Friday.


Teams had to set their 40-man rosters by 11 p.m. CT Friday in preparation for the Rule 5 Draft, which is held Dec. 10 at the Winter Meetings. The Cubs' roster is now at 38.

Adduci, 24, hit .300 with 63 runs, 35 stolen bases, 21 doubles, four triples, four homers and 51 RBIs in a career-high 131 games with Double-A Tennessee last season. The left-handed hitter had the third-most hits of any player in the Southern League, falling short of the leader by two hits.

A native of Evergreen Park, Ill., Adduci was acquired from the Florida Marlins in September 2006. He has a .283 career batting average.

Gaub, 24, posted a 2.83 ERA in 26 games at Double-A Tennessee, striking out 40 over 28 2/3 innings and holding hitters to a .188 average. He was promoted to Triple-A Iowa in late June and appeared in 26 games, compiling a 1.72 ERA. The lefty struck out 40 and walked 16 over 31 1/3 innings.

Gaub, who struck out 100 over 64 innings in 2008 for the Indians' Class A Lake County team, also pitched for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League. He appeared in 10 games, but didn't fare as well, giving up 10 earned runs for a 9.31 ERA in 10 games. He did strike out 15 over 9 2/3 innings.

Parker, 24, a 16th-round pick in the 2006 Draft, gave up two runs and struck out 19 over 12 1/3 innings at Double-A Tennessee, then was bumped up to Iowa, where he compiled a 3.00 ERA in 45 games. The right-hander fanned 58 in 51 innings.

He also pitched for the Solar Sox in the AFL, striking out 11 in 12 innings over 11 games.

Dolis, 21, appeared in 27 games and made 25 starts for Class A Daytona, going 3-9 with a 3.79 ERA. He struck out 75 over 99 2/3 innings. Teams hit .221 against him. The right-hander had a strong first half, giving up 15 earned runs over 46 2/3 innings for a 2.89 ERA.

Castillo, 22, batted .232 in 95 games at Tennessee, hitting 11 home runs and driving in 39. He began the year with a .278 career Minor League batting average. Castillo played four games with the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League, but a sore knee forced him to exit early. He hit .357 with Mesa, including a home run.

Last year, the Cubs lost left-handed pitcher Donnie Veal to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the Rule 5 Draft.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Browns would give LeBron a shot, if he's serious

BEREA, Ohio (AP) - If LeBron James truly believes he can help the Cleveland Browns, coach Eric Mangini has an orange helmet waiting for him.


"I think he should come on down," Mangini said.

The NBA superstar, who was an All-State wide receiver in high school, said Tuesday night that if he put the time and commitment into it, he could be a good football player. Mangini agreed, calling James "a freak athletically" and said the 6-foot-8, 260-pounder could be dangerous at tight end, wide receiver or even outside linebacker.

Quarterback Brady Quinn also heard about James' football fetish. He would love to have a target to throw to like James in the red zone.

"That'd be great," Quinn said. "Tell him to suit up and let us know, we'll get him working. Obviously he's an incredibly talented athlete. If he wants to try to play a little bit now, we'd be more than willing to pick him up."

Browns nose tackle Shaun Rogers isn't convinced James, as great as he is, could step into the NFL and be able to handle the pounding.

"I heard that comment," Rogers said. "I have mixed emotions about that. A great athlete? Yes. A football player? No."

Rogers then looked into TV cameras.

"Yeah LeBron, I said it," he said. "It's a punishing game. I just don't think you can step off the basketball court after not going through this year in and year out and just play football. From that standpoint, I just don't think it's possible. You have to weather and condition your body to take this punishment."

So what if James had a year to train? Could he do it then?

"Yeah, he might make a heckuva tight end," Rogers said. "I'd like to see him out there running down the seam."
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Assistant Fewell to replace Jauron as Bills coach

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - Perry Fewell shared a simple but blunt philosophy in taking over as the Buffalo Bills interim head coach after Dick Jauron was abruptly fired on Tuesday.

"Play like hell and win," Fewell said.
That's the plan and also the challenge for Fewell, following the defensive coordinator's promotion. He has seven games left in the season to prove that he's capable of turning around a struggling team and a franchise that's now on its fifth coach in nine years and in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for a 10th straight season.

Jauron's firing was first reported by FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer.



It starts on Sunday, when the Bills (3-6) travel to play at Jacksonville.

Fewell then showed he's smart enough to not make any guarantees, when asked to assess how much he can do to fix an offense that's sputtered for most of the season despite the presence of Terrell Owens.

"We are who we are," Fewell said, adding he'll wait until Wednesday to announce whether quarterback Trent Edwards or backup Ryan Fitzpatrick will start this weekend. "We have that identity. We're going to try to give a little spark, but we are who we are."

Bills owner Ralph Wilson prompted the shakeup, which caught Fewell and several players by surprise. The move came during the players' day off and after Buffalo stumbled out of its bye week to fall further out of contention with a 41-17 loss at Tennessee last weekend.

Wilson described his decision to change coaches as a difficult one, but one "for the best interest of our team."

"I really don't have anything to say," was all Jauron would say when reached on his cell phone by The Associated Press.

In electing to promote Fewell, Wilson credited the assistant for having done "a great job with our defense and demonstrated excellent leadership skills," while noting the players and staff have confidence in him.

Fewell is in his 12th NFL season, and fourth with Buffalo as the team's defensive coordinator, after being hired by Jauron, whose background is primarily on the defensive side. Fewell also becomes the team's first black head coach.

He was offered the job by Wilson, shortly after he and the coaching staff were informed by Jauron that he had been fired.

Fewell declined to discuss whether he's been given an opportunity to keep the job beyond this season, but called his promotion "the opportunity of a lifetime."

The Bills' defense under Fewell has shown a resilient quality, though the numbers don't always show it. The unit's best season under Fewell was last year, when it finished 14th in the NFL in yards allowed despite missing numerous players to injuries.


INSIDE THE BILLS Looking for more dirt on the Bills? Get the inside slant, stats, scores, schedules and more scoops right here.
Things haven't been better on the injury front this season. The defense ranks 26th in the NFL yards allowed, but Fewell has made do with a unit that's played with as many as six regulars out of the lineup, including two starters on injured reserve.

The defense, which is allowing an average of 173 yards rushing, has been credited for keeping the Bills competitive. Buffalo has either led, been tied or been within a score of the lead entering the fourth quarter in all of its games except for a 38-10 loss at Miami on Oct. 4.

The trouble has been the inept offense that's averaging just over 15 points, is unsettled at quarterback and features an inexperienced line.

The Bills haven't generated 300 yards of offense in eight of nine games this season, including their past seven. They also haven't had a quarterback reach 200 yards passing since Edwards had 230 yards in a 33-20 win over Tampa Bay in Week 2.

So much for the spark Owens was supposed to provide after he signed a one-year $6.5 million contract in March, days after the receiver was released by Dallas.

Receiver Lee Evans expressed his support for Fewell, and doesn't mind his defensive background, saying "I don't think that plays into it."

"The way our defense is playing with all the injuries, it's a testament to him. They've done a great job of keeping us in games," Evans told The AP. "I think this is a great opportunity for him. ... I think he should try to stick with the things that made him the coach he is, rally the team and keep us on the same page."

Jauron has been on the hot seat ever since last season, after he led the Bills to their third consecutive 7-9 finish.

Expressing a need for continuity, Wilson elected at the time to retain Jauron. The Hall of Fame owner, however, noted that he was aware of Bills fans' dissatisfaction with the team, and warned that he wasn't going to be "complacent" in seeking improvements, particularly on offense.

Defensive end Chris Kelsay was shocked to learn of the move happening this late in the season, but not entirely surprised. Kelsay was well aware before the start of the season that changes were in store if the Bills faltered.

"I think everybody understood this was a big year and there was lots at stake," Kelsay told the AP, adding he maintains his respect for Jauron. "I feel a little responsible for it, and most players do. I feel like I let him down because we, as players, are the ones to blame."