• One of the few bright spots in an otherwise dreadful season for the Panthers is the play of WLB Thomas Davis. The fifth-year veteran has taken to his role in new defensive coordinator Ron Meeks' scheme and leads the team in tackles with 34. He's setting himself up nicely for free agency, as this is his contract year.

• Saints WR Devery Henderson has been the Saints' top deep threat since QB Drew Brees and head coach Sean Payton arrived in 2006, and Brees said he's been very happy with Henderson's development, as the sixth-year veteran is able to play multiple receiver positions after having played only one earlier in his career. "We ask him to do more now than we ever did in the past, and he's been able to do that very, very well," Brees said. Henderson's hands have long been regarded as his biggest weakness, but that's been less of a problem for him through the first quarter of this season.

• The Falcons brought in veterans DT Antwan Lake, DE Orpheus Roye and DL Paul Spicer for tryouts before their Week Five game against the 49ers. Although Atlanta didn't sign any of them, we hear the team wanted to send a message to its D-line, which has not played up to expectations in recent weeks, that changes will be in the offing, most likely at defensive tackle, if the struggles continue.

• Eagles first-rounder Jeremy Maclin has been very limited in his special-teams work after starring as a kick and punt returner at Missouri. So why hasn't he gotten more chances to be a returner? Special-teams coordinator Ted Daisher says he thinks Maclin is trying too hard to make a play and needs to show better judgment for when to call for fair catches, but the team still has high hopes for Maclin down the road in this capacity.

• Domenik Hixon might not exactly be Wally Pipp, but our Giants sources tell us that Hixon's greatest impact upon his return from a knee injury likely will be on special teams, not as a starting receiver. Since Hixon got hurt, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham have entrenched themselves as starters, leaving Hixon to be the third or fourth wideout and excelling, as he had before, as a return and coverage specialist.

• You could see Cowboys WR Kevin Ogletree get into the mix more soon. Ogletree, who made the team as an undrafted rookie following an impressive preseason, has worked patiently without seeing much action the first quarter of the season. But he might get a look, with the Cowboys' other wideouts failing to produce as hoped. Ogletree might not run a complete route package right now, but he has the speed to open things up downfield, run clear-outs and perhaps even catch a few long passes soon.

• The Redskins need another defensive tackle to step up when DT Albert Haynesworth is out of the game. Haynesworth often plays about 50 snaps per game, and when he's not on the field, the team has used a number of combinations to fill that void. Kedric Golston usually comes in for Haynesworth, but with Cornelius Griffin slowed by an elbow injury, there's no one whom the offense needs to double-team in those situations.

• The Vikings lined up DE Jared Allen several times at left end, not his traditional DRE spot, in an effort to confuse the Packers last Monday night. Clearly, it worked, as Allen had 4½ sacks and was dominant. The Vikings sprinkled in other looks, such as putting LB Ben Leber up on the line in an apparent blitz, before he would drop into coverage. Look for more changes in the nickel package when NT Pat Williams comes off the field and the Vikings can mix and match personnel better.

• LB Julian Peterson has lined up in several spots for the Lions this season: as a traditional stand-up 4-3 linebacker, as a 3-4 type of linebacker up on the line over the tight end, and as a down rusher in a three-point stance. The team wants to create pass-protection problems using its personnel in different spots and could open up that duty to other Lions, but it mostly trusts Peterson at this point because of his experience in both 3-4 and 4-3 schemes.

• It's definitely a long shot, but we hear there's an outside chance that the Packers actually might consider trading converted LOLB Aaron Kampman, who has just one sack so far this season, before the Oct. 20 trade deadline.

• Bears third-year DE Mark Anderson looks like a totally different player this year - for the better. Said one team insider: "He has shown up more in four games this year than he did in all 16 games last year. He's even made some plays against the run, coming from the backside. He seems a lot more active and involved this year,"

• While some of our Bears sources haven't been impressed with starting OLG Frank Omiyale, we hear the team is not disappointed at all with the job the former Panther has done and figures that he will only show improvement once he gets over the ankle injury that has slowed him down the first quarter of the season.

• With Bears RB Adrian Peterson expected to miss a few weeks with an MCL strain in his right knee, we hear the promotion of RB Kahlil Bell from the practice squad could be coming any day now.

• The way we hear it, the Seahawks' defensive line is causing some unexpected headaches in the Emerald City. After being viewed as the team's biggest strength heading into the season, the unit has been disappointing through four weeks, not creating enough pressure on the quarterback to help the defensive backs in coverage. Seattle is tied for last in the NFC with only four takeaways (two interceptions and two fumble recoveries), and we hear it is essential for the guys up front to be more disruptive if they're going to improve as a unit.

• We hear the Cardinals are a lot more comfortable for the time being with sixth-year veteran Matt Ware as the safety in dime packages rather than third-round rookie Rashad Johnson. "They really missed Ware when he was out (for two games) with a shoulder injury," said one team insider. "When he's on the field, they're a lot more comfortable moving Adrian Wilson up near the line of scrimmage."

• Cardinals DE Calais Campell believes he couldn't have a better position coach than Ron Aiken. "He (Aiken) is a great coach," Campbell told PFW. "He's all about technique and working with me on the small things, which is what I really need to do to get better. He'll go over and over things until they become second nature, so I can just react."

• Daily Rams observers have been impressed with the way DT Clifton Ryan has come on lately. Said one observer, "Ryan was just so-so in training camp, but in the games against the Packers and Niners, he did a great job moving down the line and holding the point of attack."

• Are OT Alex Barron's days as a Ram numbered after he was banished to the sidelines against the Niners following a costly illegal-formation penalty? "It certainly looks that way," said one team insider. Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo publicly forgave Barron the day after his snafu and expressed confidence in the team's former first-round draft pick. But the way we hear it, it has become very unlikely Barron will be back with the Rams next season.

• Rams defensive coordinator Ken Flajole on Paris Lenon, the team's new starter at strong-side linebacker: "He has done a great job for us. He continues to learn, and he's got good speed. He is a savvy veteran, and he has been a nice addition."

• How difficult will it be for the Niners to install WR Michael Crabtree into the offense? "It's a challenge because we have no background with the young man," said Niners offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye. "The quarterback is throwing balls in warm-ups to him, so there's no symmetry between the quarterback and the receiver, no route flexibility, the body language. We've got to try to hasten that process and do all of that in a 10- to 14-day window."

• Niners head coach Mike Singletary said he decided to deactivate RS Allen Rossum in Week Four against the Rams because he wanted to activate an extra linebacker. But with Rossum appearing tentative much of the time when he has returned kicks this season, team insiders would not be surprised if the Niners make a switch before too long to somebody else as the primary returner.

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