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	Jeff Hanisch/US Presswire
	Brett Favre and Minnesota are in control in the NFC North after sweeping Green Bay.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert



GREEN BAY, Wis. — If it were up to Brett Favre — and these days, I’m pretty sure everything is — fans departing Lambeau Field late Sunday would have had one collective thought.



“I hope that everyone in the stadium watching tonight said, ‘I sure hate that that joker is on the other side, but he does play the way he’s always played,’” he said.



Favre’s renaissance was never more apparent than Sunday, when he took control of a seesaw game at precisely the moment Minnesota Vikings needed him most in an eventual 38-26 victory over the Green Bay Packers.



A 23-7 run had allowed the Packers to pull within 31-26. The clock showed 5 minutes and 38 seconds remaining in the game, and it was time for someone to grab the moment and for someone else to slink back.



On that count, Favre again proved there is no one better. He pushed the Vikings into the end zone in four plays, the last a 16-yard scoring strike to receiver Bernard Berrian on third-and-11. The touchdown pass, Favre’s fourth of the day, put away the Packers as only a seasoned winner can do, putting an exclamation point on Favre’s return to Lambeau and providing further documentation of his impact on the Vikings.



You’ve probably heard, once or twice, that Favre played 16 years in Green Bay. Trust me when I tell you he took special satisfaction in beating the Packers for the second time this season. But to me, it’s important to focus on the bigger point as well: Not only has Favre put the Vikings (7-1) exactly where they hoped to be, but he has left the Packers (4-3) precisely in the place they have most feared: Below him in the standings.



“The largest storyline was who was going to be in first place in the NFC North,” said Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman.



Favre has almost single-handedly eliminated his former team from that race. In two games against them, he completed 69 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns. He was neither intercepted nor sacked. Sunday, he was two steps ahead at every turn.



“We tried to put pressure on them with blitzes,” Packers cornerback Charles Woodson said. “And he either pointed them out and set the protection the right way, or threw the ball quick and we weren’t able to get to him. We felt like we had enough things called — and still we can’t get to him for whatever reason. Right now we can’t win the big game.”



There’s little doubt Favre is in the Packers’ heads. They know he has fallen prey to his emotions before, and they hoped a raucous Lambeau crowd — combined with more pressure — would jar him into some early mistakes. Instead, the opposite occurred. The Packers choked in the early going, falling behind 14-3 early in the second quarter and taking more sacks (four) than first downs (three) into the halftime locker room.



Quarterback Aaron Rodgers escaped the pocket a few times in the second half, the biggest reason why the Packers offense briefly sprung to life. But on this night, he was no match for a rival who was too focused to let the opportunity fall away.



“I can’t tell you how many text messages I’ve gotten from guys just in passing today and yesterday,” Favre said. “’Hey, you’re going to play great. I know you’re nervous.’ I’m like, ‘Easy for you to say.’ But they were right again. I don’t know. It’s awful stressful to feel that way every week. I’d like to feel a little more relaxed. But I’m also pleased with the way I’ve played in these games.”



I suppose it’s possible the Vikings would have won Sunday with one of their other quarterbacks, Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels. The Vikings hadn’t won here in the Brad Childress era, so I’m dubious of that possibility. Regardless, there’s no one I’d rather have right now, with 5:38 remaining and the game in the balance, than Favre. And here’s one thing I am sure of: If Favre were not with the Vikings, there is no way there would be a 2.5-game difference between the teams in the standings.



Perhaps that’s why Vikings placekicker Ryan Longwell, 35, mobbed Favre, 40, after the final gun. Longwell, who kicked for Green Bay for nine seasons, knew how special and unique Favre’s accomplishment is.



“Unless you play here and have gone through it you just don’t know,” Longwell said. “It goes beyond just winning. It’s a special victory.”



Favre said his emotions began rising Sunday morning near the end of a 30-minute bus ride from the team hotel to Lambeau Field. He saw “a few fingers” as the bus pulled into the parking lot, he joked, but there was never a time when I thought Favre was close to letting the crowd get the best of him.



He celebrated heartily after tight end Visanthe Shiancoe’s 12-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter, and at one point he appeared to be jawing with Packers defensive end Cullen Jenkins. Otherwise, however, Favre remained stoic. After the game, he spent several minutes embracing former teammates — Rodgers, Donald Driver and Al Harris among them — and said he was had no intentions to throw any “daggers.”

	AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps
	Some fans had mixed feelings about Brett Favre’s return to Green Bay.

“I’d like to think I always handle myself with class,” he said. “It’s always tougher when you lose. I understand that. Never been one to rub it in anyone’s face. Guys I’ve played with as a Packer, I’ve got a lot of respect for. As I do this organization and these fans.”



So where does this leave us? For the first time that I can remember, Favre used the words “Super Bowl” in talking about the Vikings’ prospects this season. Up until Sunday, Favre had been saying he hopes to get the team “where we want to be.”



With a 7-1 performance in the first half of the season, the Vikings have pushed themselves onto the short list of favorites for this year’s championship.



“I want to lead this Viking team to the Super Bowl,” Favre said. “Believe me. I do. I’m going to do everything in my power. … At this point, we’ve put ourselves in a good position.”



They wouldn’t be there, of course, were it not for two victories over his former team. And the Vikings would not have swept the Packers without him.



“Am I pleased with the way these two games have turned out?” Favre said. “Yes, absolutely. I knew I could play. My arm feels great. My arm is in a good place. The team has welcomed me in. All the other stuff doesn’t matter. It makes a good story. I know it. [But] I’m glad it’s over. I’m glad we won them both.”

	Rick Scuteri-US PRESSWIRE
	Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald isn’t making the plays he was making last season.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Mike Sando



GLENDALE, Ariz. — This current Arizona Cardinals team might never develop the maturity and emotional stability needed to play at a high level from week to week.



The Cardinals might continue showing up when the stakes are high or when the public doubts them — as when they upset the New York Giants on the road last week — only to vanish the way they did Sunday during a 34-21 home loss to the Carolina Panthers.



Coach Ken Whisenhunt will express disappointment and frustration. Quarterback Kurt Warner will talk about how these Cardinals remain a work in progress. Linebacker Karlos Dansby or someone else will credit the other team for a fine effort.



The public will doubt the Cardinals and the cycle will start all over again.



Sound familiar? It should.



The 2008 team upped its record to 4-2 with a milestone victory over the Dallas Cowboys, only to lose at Carolina in Week 8. That setback was temporary. Those Cardinals won their next three to all but close out the NFC West race.



One primary difference this season could threaten the Cardinals’ ability to make another playoff run. The current Cardinals, 4-3 and leading the NFC West, simply can’t find ways to push the ball downfield to their wide receivers in general and Larry Fitzgerald in particular. It’s short-circuiting their offense.



“It seems like every time we try to throw it down the field, we’re getting Cover 2,” Whisenhunt said. “It’s a guessing game. We had a down-the-field throw called the first play of the game and they’re playing off-coverage.”



At this point last season, Fitzgerald had caught 43 passes with a 15.4-yard average and five touchdowns. Anquan Boldin was leading the NFL with seven touchdown receptions. Warner had 14 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 102.1 passer rating despite enduring a meltdown game against the New York Jets in Week 4.



Fitzgerald is averaging only 10.8 yards per catch on his 47 receptions this season. Boldin, who did not return Sunday and could miss additional time after aggravating an ankle injury, has only one touchdown. Warner’s rating has fallen nearly 20 points from this point last season to a middling 81.5.



Fitzgerald owned the playoffs and made the big play look routine last season. He hasn’t caught a pass longer than 27 yards all season. In 2008, Fitzgerald had 10 games with at least one reception of 30 yards or longer — and he was only warming up for the most prolific postseason by a receiver in NFL history.



“Teams are trying to bang him at the line of scrimmage and get a safety up over the top of him as much as they can when he is singled up,” Warner said. “Some of it has been protection at times where we haven’t been able to hold it to try and take the shots down the field. Other times it’s just the defense hasn’t dictated to take those shots.”



There’s simply no acceptable explanation for Fitzgerald to lose nearly 5 yards per reception overnight. It’s not like opponents are suddenly discovering Fitzgerald is a threat. Fitzgerald previously flourished with or without Boldin. Opponents have rolled safeties to Fitzgerald’s side in past seasons, to no avail.



“You’re right, it’s not like it’s never been that way before, but I think when we get into games like this where we are down, teams putting safeties back, they are running man coverage underneath and trying to get pressure on us with four guys and it’s a tough coverage to throw against,” Warner said.



Teams are inviting the Cardinals to run the ball and Arizona has shown signs of improvement in that area. But this team cannot maximize its potential without Fitzgerald reemerging as a dominant force.



“Once (they) get a lead, they do a nice job of running the football and grinding out the clock and then they are able to get in the right defense to prevent the big plays,” Fitzgerald said. “The closer the game is, the more the field is open.”



Six turnovers changed the dynamics Sunday, but the Cardinals couldn’t get anything going down the field from the beginning.



Instead of going deep on the first play, as Whisenhunt had intended, Warner checked down to running back Tim Hightower. It’s becoming an all-too-familiar scenario for Arizona. The Cardinals handed off to a running back or threw to one on their first six plays and 10 times in their first 11 plays. Their running backs account for 17.4 percent of receptions this season, up from 12.8 percent during the 2008 regular season.



With Boldin either out or limited, the Cardinals might need to reinvent themselves a little.



As thoroughly as the Panthers dominated Sunday, the Cardinals trailed by only 10 points, 31-21, with nearly 10 minutes remaining. Arizona’s defense limited the Panthers to a three-and-out possession. A team with Warner, Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston should have been able to rally, particularly at home.



Arizona had first-and-10 at its own 39 when Warner dropped back to pass with 7:13 remaining. Warner had sufficient time to find an open receiver, but there were apparently none. Warner held the ball as he kept searching for someone to get open. Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers finally tracked down Warner from behind, sacking him and forcing a fumble. Carolina recovered and the Cardinals were finished.



“They are dropping a lot of people off in coverage, so it’s like, run the ball,” Breaston said. “You have to run the ball. I think we run the ball good, but we were playing from behind the majority of the game. As a team, we can’t have turnovers like that.”



Overall, the Cardinals let down against a desperate team and paid the price. Their defense tackled poorly and played without discipline. The bounces that had gone against the Panthers all season suddenly went their way. It was puzzling at times, but teams make their breaks a lot of the time and Carolina did that Sunday.



“The biggest thing with us, it’s a continuous pattern,” Breaston said. “You’ve got to want this. You’ve got to want to be the elite of the NFL. You’ve got to want to break that trend of, ‘Oh, we win a couple games and fall back.’ You’ve got to want to put the streak together, keep looking forward and don’t be happy with where you are because stuff will happen like today. When we have a nice little run, we have to keep grinding like the way we got there.”



Especially when the one thing Arizona always could count on — Warner to Fitzgerald down the field — isn’t what it used to be.

Nov. 1: Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and coach Mike McCarthy talk about what they did wrong and how it felt to lose to Minnesota. (NBC Sports)

Nov. 1: Baltimore did it with defensive adjustments and Joe Flacco’s play, while Colts quarterback ensured his team was prepared before game began. (NBC Sports)

Nov. 1: The Vikings’ receiver is a potent weapon an possibly the rookie of year, while Dolphins speedster deserves plaudits for not pouting and returning 2 kicks for scores. (NBC Sports)

	AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi
	San Diego’s Shawne Merriman had two sacks in the Chargers’ 24-16 win over Oakland Sunday, his first of the year.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson



SAN DIEGO — Shawne Merriman admits it. He loves sacks as much as the next guy.



But he has tried not to get consumed by the almighty quarterback takedown, especially this year, when the goal is about becoming a forceful star linebacker again.



Still, Merriman expressed relief that he is now among those NFL players who have registered a sack in 2009. Merriman got on the board with two sacks Sunday in San Diego’s not-as-close-as-the-score-indicates 24-16 victory over Oakland.



Merriman didn’t have a sack in San Diego’s first six games as he continued his recovery from major knee surgery last September that sidelined him for all but one game last season. Merriman’s sack-less start was startling because in his first three NFL seasons he was the premier sack artist in the league. He had 40.5 sacks in his first 39 games.



“I love sacks, but they come in bunches and you can’t worry about that. Bruce Smith told me that a long time ago,” Merriman said of the all-time sack leader. “But it’s nice to get the sacks out of the way.”



But Merriman made it clear that just because he had two sacks doesn’t signify he’s back to form. He thinks he already was there. For the past two weeks, San Diego coaches were quietly saying that Merriman was getting close to full strength.



“I’m there [at full strength],” Merriman said. “The sacks don’t prove it. My play the past couple of weeks proves it. I’ve been hitting the quarterback and moving around and making a lot of plays …. I play my damn heart out every play. I’m giving it everything I have and I feel like I’m showing the results.”



Merriman is proud that he has played very well against the run as he has fought to regain his form. Merriman was very active Sunday and had seven tackles. But of course the highlights were the two sacks.



“Everyone questions his knee and his ability,” San Diego cornerback Quentin Jammer said of Merriman. “It just shows that he is out there playing tenacious defense like he always does, getting after he quarterback and making plays. That’s what [No.] 56 does.”



Merriman’s emergence in the pass rush has coincided with the improvement of the entire San Diego pass rush. The Chargers had five sacks Sunday and now have 10 in the past two games. Linebacker Shaun Phillips has four sacks in the past two games.



San Diego harassed Oakland quarterback JaMarcus Russell all game and produced a huge rush against Russell as the Raiders scrambled to try to tie the score in the final two minutes of the game. Oakland’s last-ditch attempt died on its 46-yard line with exactly a minute to go.



“We’re really coming together,” Phillips said. “We’re creating pressure and that results in sacks and that’s a great thing for the team.”



And it’s a great thing for the Chargers to see Merriman providing the fireworks, even though he’s trying to downplay it.

(Read full post)

	AP/Wade Payne
	Vince Young did not post big numbers but he did enough to get the Titans a victory.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky



NASHVILLE, Tenn. — How can a 125-yard passing day transform a team?



Well, it took a lot more than Vince Young for the Tennessee Titans to break into the win column and pull to 1-6 with a 30-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at LP Field.



But certainly the new starting quarterback helped changed the vibe Sunday for a team desperate for an injection of something different and fresh.



Team owner Bud Adams, who famously proclaimed “VY is my guy” when the team drafted Young in 2006, beamed in the locker room after the game while dodging a question about whether he was responsible for the swap of Young for former starter Kerry Collins. (He was.)



“He kind of proved today he can do it,” Adams said.



Teammates pointed to the boost Young provided against the Jaguars (3-4).



“He managed the game well,” guard Jake Scott said. “He did a great job, he was poised and collected and he made the plays when he had to and when the plays weren’t there to make he just got rid of the ball or scrambled and got down.”



Said nickelback Vincent Fuller: “He brought a new energy back there in the backfield. He played fast, he played to his strengths. He’s a mobile quarterback who can get to different places in the pocket and he always adds that extra threat.”



Players and a scout I prodded said things were not simplified or stripped down, but they seemed that way. I felt like Young’s insertion into the lineup necessitated a simplicity that was good for a team that needed to get back to basics.



It also seemed like on some key throws, Young’s targets found more space than they had in previous weeks for Collins.



But when I threw that idea at Jaguars linebacker Justin Durant after the game, wondering if linebackers were possibly accounting for Young’s mobility, he looked at me quizzically and asked: “Did they throw the ball?”



It was a fair question. Playing from behind, Collins threw for 284 yards in the 20-point Jaguars’ victory on Oct. 4. Though Young threw only 18 times, he hit on 15. Though none of those connections were longer than 18 yards, there were no turnovers. There was a nice touchdown connection with Nate Washington on a well-thrown 6-yard fade.



Young felt good about what he did. He got a hug and a pat on the head from offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger in the game’s final minutes and another chat as they walked off the field.



“He pretty much saw me grow up a little bit tonight,” Young said. “He sees me making the right throws and the right reads, calling the plays in the huddle and getting the guys out of the huddle on time for the play clock and things like that. He basically has seen me grow up a little bit and he wanted to show his love to me.”



Other keys to the result for Tennessee:



Offensive line play: Young wasn’t sacked and was able to turn 12 rushes into 30 yards. The run blocking matched the protection, and we’ll get to Chris Johnson’s record day in a minute.



New blood: Young was in the lineup, cornerback Cortland Finnegan was back from a hamstring injury and Fuller was back from a broken arm. But three relative newcomers — defensive back/ punt returner Kevin Kaesviharn, cornerback Rod Hood and punter Brett Kern all made nice contributions.



Kaesvihard fielded one punt horribly, backtracking after a bounce, but handled four others reliably, no small feat for this team this year. Hood had an interception as the new fill in for the injured Nick Harper. Kern drew praise from Fuller, who sheepishly admitted he didn’t remember the new guy’s name.



A return to formula: This year’s Titans expected to be like last year’s — a run-driven offense spurred by a big-play defense. The defense got shredded on touchdown runs of 80- and 79-yards by Maurice Jones-Drew on two clinics of how not to tackle. But otherwise it found plays and prevented points. The Titans sacked David Garrard four times and recorded interceptions by Hood and Finnegan. The special teams contributed a blocked extra point from Michael Griffin. The Titans had at least two turnovers in each loss and none in their first victory.



CJ: When the defense is giving up huge touchdowns runs, it’s rare a team simply can cancel them out. That’s what Johnson did with 52- and 89-yard touchdown runs and a franchise record 228 rushing yards.



“I just know they were running it, whatever they wanted to, however they wanted to,” Durant said. “We just didn’t have an answer for them. …Those are plays that we’ve got to make.”



Put together the four long touchdowns and you have the first game in NFL history with four rushing touchdowns of more than 50 yards.



A little luck: The Jags’ Derek Cox floated under a bad Young pass in the game early in the first quarter on the left side of the end zone. It was practically a fair-catch situation. But he booted it. “Who knows what kind of momentum that would have gave the team,” Cox said. “I had to speed up a little bit to get to it, I didn’t look the ball in, I was kind of worried about my feet being in because I felt myself drifting to the sideline.”



On Hood’s interception, Garrard’s intended target, Torry Holt, bumped into umpire Rich Hall and fell down.



The Titans surely felt due for something like that to go their way.



“This is the team I’d hoped for all year,” Jeff Fisher said. “We’re going to going to maintain this. I think we have a chance to maintain this.”

Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau Field was resounding success. For the Minnesota Vikings. Favre threw four touchdown passes as the Vikings (7-1) withstood a furious rally from the Packers for a 38-26 win.

	AP Photo/Peter Morgan
	Dolphins return man Ted Ginn gashed the Jets for 299 return yards Sunday.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Tim Graham



EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — In an orange-and-aqua streak, Ted Ginn bolted up the right sideline in front of his whooping, towel-waving teammates. Not once, but twice he ran from goal line to goal line, leaving New York Jets defenders and the critics singed by his afterburners.



Ginn became the first player in NFL history to run the length of the field for touchdowns twice, darting 100 and 101 yards on back-to-back kickoff returns in the third quarter to propel the Dolphins past the Jets, 30-25.



In their locker room all week, the Miami Dolphins embraced Ginn in a show of support. The besieged receiver lost his starting job for costly drops in last week’s loss to the New Orleans Saints. He called it the worst game of his career and the days to follow one of the toughest weeks of his life.



On Sunday at the Meadowlands, the Dolphins were hugging him a little tighter out of gratitude.



Out of the offensive lineup, Ginn contributed the only way the coaching staff permitted.



“He was down the last couple weeks,” Dolphins outside linebacker Joey Porter said. “Then it comes down to not being in the game like he wants to be.



“Two big plays like that will bring you out of the doghouse in a hurry.”



Ginn helped the Dolphins steal a game they probably had no business winning. Miami is now 3-4 overall, 3-0 against AFC East opponents.



“Sometimes, things just don’t make sense,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “Statistically, this game is not going to look close.”



The Jets (4-4) outgained the Dolphins in yards from scrimmage 378-104, the third-fewest yards the Dolphins have gained in team history — win or lose.



The Dolphins received the ball to start the second half and still ran just three offensive plays in the third quarter. Dan Carpenter kicked as many extra points as the Dolphins ran plays. Sandwiched in between Ginn’s kickoff returns, outside linebacker Jason Taylor returned a fumble 48 yards for his ninth career defensive touchdown and Davone Bess fumbled a punt.



“They were hungry on defense,” Dolphins left guard Justin Smiley said. “They talked a lot of smack and did a nice job. They backed it up.



“Thank goodness our defense came to play and Ted Ginn did his thing.”



Ginn has been the source of ridicule since the moment Miami drafted him ninth overall in 2007. He’s symbolic of the failed Cam Cameron era, generally viewed as a wasted opportunity. He was projected as no better than a No. 2 receiver. Who takes a return specialist with the ninth pick?



Dolfans begged the front office to draft Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, but even if management wanted to address another position, prospects still on the board included future Pro Bowlers Patrick Willis, Marshawn Lynch and Darrelle Revis.



But Dolfans got Ginn, and they’ve been mostly dissatisfied ever since. He was dazzling on returns at Ohio State. It’s what he did best, but he couldn’t even keep that job.



Ginn occasionally flashed his thrilling play-making ability. He scorched Revis for a long touchdown in Week 5. But Ginn also elicited boos for dropping catchable passes and scurrying out of bounds to avoid contact.



Sparano apparently had seen enough drops and benched him in favor of a fellow Buckeye, rookie Brian Hartline.



Had original return man Patrick Cobbs not suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Jets three weeks ago, Ginn might not have been on the field much at all against the Jets. He had one pass thrown his way all afternoon.



“This was probably one of the toughest weeks I’ve ever experienced playing football,” Ginn said. “Last week was one of the toughest games I ever had, the worst game of my career.”



Ginn bobbled a pass three plays into the second half against the Saints. Darren Sharper pounced on it and returned the interception for a game-changing touchdown.



A photo in this week’s Sports Illustrated showed Ginn had hustled back into the play and stripped Sharper at the 1-yard line. The ball bounced out of the end zone and should have been a touchback, giving the Dolphins the ball on their own 20. But the touchdown stood, and Ginn would have to wait a week for vindication.



Ginn conceded that losing his job to Hartline was a wakeup call.



“Me not being in that starting lineup hurt me deep down inside,” Ginn said. “I just wanted to be able to make plays however I can make plays. Nobody said you have to be a starter to make plays.



“Being a big-play guy, a player that started when he was so young, to not be a starter really hurt.”



Ginn’s first return was pure speed. He run up the middle for a piece and then bolted up the right sideline. He was a blur. The only contact he felt came from three diving defenders slapping in vain at his ankles.



At the end of the third quarter, after Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez cut the Dolphins’ lead to four points with a brilliant fake handoff and touchdown run, the Jets made the mistake of kicking to Ginn again.



“We have a lot of faith in our coverage,” Ryan said. “We’re one of the best coverage teams in the league. We thought we had a good plan.”



Ginn made them look foolish. He fielded the kick a yard deep and ran up the right hashmarks, then dashed to the left and came to a dead stop at the 15-yard line.



“I’m like a mouse trapped in a corner,” Ginn said. “You always wonder how that mouse gets out.”



He sidestepped to the left to dodge Larry Izzo, then to the left to avoid Ryan Fowler.



“I really felt like I was trapped,” Ginn said. “I tried to use what I have as far as my feet, play off my blocks. My motive was to get to the outside. Once I get that opening and turn on them burners, I’m gone.”



In a whoosh, he was. Ginn found an opening and exploded, untouched the rest of the way.



Ginn is the eighth player to return two kicks in the same game, but the first to go 100 yards or more on both of them. His 299 kick return yards for the entire game — no, the Jets didn’t kick away from him — rank second all-time, five yards behind Tyrone Hughes (Saints vs. Rams) in 1994.



Ginn’s return average of 49.8 yards is the highest in NFL history for players who fielded at least five kickoffs.



“You have a couple bad games they’ll throw you away in this league,” Porter said. “That’s just how it goes. Everybody loves a guy when he makes plays, but as soon as you have a bad week or two, then they hate you.



“It’ll be exciting to see everybody get back on the bandwagon and holler about how great he is.”



Porter should know. He has been there before. Porter said he wants to see Ginn build from this, not merely assume that one sensational game will be good enough to silence the critics for good.



For now, though, the Dolphins can be happy he responded.



“Some people, they rise up. Some people, they don’t,” Sparano said. “Teddy rose up.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky



NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bud Adams isn’t the most quotable owner in the league, and he didn’t say anything surprising about Vince Young in the locker room after the game.



But when the owner talks:



“That’s what I came up here for, to get that big tall guy named Vince Young to show what he can do,” Adams said. “You know he hasn’t played that much, his contract is coming up pretty soon for renewal. We need to see what he can do and he kind of proved today that he can do it. That’s the main thing I wanted to see. …”



“We’ve got to find out how he has developed over the last two years, he hasn’t played that much. We’ve got to get him in and find out what he can do because otherwise, we’re going to have a high draft choice and we better be looking for another new quarterback. …”



“I’m not saying [Jeff Fisher] did or didn’t wait too long, I just go by the scores. The scores looked not too good when you’re 0-6.”



I also asked Adams where he stands on Jeff Fisher. He has told The Tennessean after the Titans’ 59-0 loss in New England two weeks ago that he’d have to assess his coach if things kept going badly.



“He’s under contract here for several years,” Adams said. “We just don’t let guys go early in their contracts, coaches.”