• We hear that although the Jaguars' coaching staff publicly wrote off RB Maurice Jones-Drew's complaints about the offense lacking an identity and not running the ball enough as a sign of Jones-Drew's competitiveness, privately the coaches were not happy with the comments. A banged-up offensive line has contributed to Jones-Drew's slow start, but he has yet to prove that he is a featured back.

• The Texans continue to get a valuable contribution from DE Tim Bulman off the bench. Bulman, a former undrafted free agent, notched four tackles vs. Arizona in Week Five. On the other hand, Houston is not getting as much as expected from ex-Cardinals DE Antonio Smith, who did not have a sack in the first five games of the season. Expected to be an effective complement to DE Mario Williams, Smith has not quite lived up to that billing just yet, the way we hear it.

• If nothing else, the injuries in the secondary have given the Titans a chance to take a closer look at rookie CB Jason McCourty, who has had a chance to play more with CB Cortland Finnegan missing time with a hamstring injury. "I think this experience for him has been valuable and he's benefited from it," Titans head coach Jeff Fisher said of McCourty, a rookie from Rutgers. "Each week he's getting better."

• After scoring just 20 points and totaling a paltry 737 yards in three consecutive losses, word is the Bills are seriously considering scrapping the no-huddle offense they installed in the offseason. The final straw, we hear, was the team's failure to score an offensive TD for the second time in three weeks in a dismal loss to the previously winless Browns in Week Five. Cleveland came into the game allowing 29.5 points and 403.3 yards per game, yet Buffalo managed just three points and 288 yards.

• Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said WR Brandon Tate, a 2009 third-round draft pick who is on the physically-unable-to-perform (PUP) list and is eligible to return to the roster during Week Seven, each week has escalated his rehab on a torn ACL he suffered last year and is making progress, but Belichick hinted that he might not be ready right away. "You get to the final week there and you decide whether, 'OK, now the player has been stressed to the maximum level; how's he holding up?" Belichick said. "And then you make the decision at that point. ... You keep stepping (the rehab up) until the end and ... there's really no way to know on that until you get to the finish line." The finish line, for PUP-list players anyway, would be Week Nine when the Patriots would have to start the clock on Tate.

• Dolphins OLB Matt Roth, who was second on the team in sacks in 2008 with five, is due back at practice this week after missing all of the preseason and spending the first six weeks of the regular season on the non-football injury list with a groin injury. We hear the Dolphins are targeting the Nov. 1 rematch against the Jets for Roth's first action of the '09 season.

• The Ravens' signing of ex-Giants WR David Tyree likely pushes Demetrius Williams even further down in the pecking order. Williams did not get much playing time behind starters Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton and No. 3 WR Kelley Washington in the first five weeks, and Tyree's special-teams coverage ability gives him an edge over Williams. The Tyree signing was a clear sign the Ravens wanted to bolster their kickoff and punt coverage with Pro Bowl coverage ace Brendon Ayanbadejo out for the season.

• For as well as the Bengals' pass defense has played against top receivers this season, it surrendered 20 pass plays of 20 yards or longer in the first five games of the season, worst in the NFL. "We've got to eliminate the big play," Bengals DBs coach Kevin Coyle told PFW this week, noting that Cincinnati's problems in this area can be chalked up to a number of factors but that missed tackles were the biggest culprit. Coyle noted that the Bengals allowed only 33 pass plays of 20 yards or longer in 2008, tied for second-fewest in the league.

• Though he's undoubtedly the best receiving threat of the Bengals' tight ends, Chase Coffman was inactive for the club's first five games of 2009. In Cincinnati's scheme, the tight ends are primarily blockers, and veterans Daniel Coats and J.P Foschi are superior in this area, leaving Coffman the odd man out for now. The trade-off for Cincy, of course, comes in the passing game, as evidenced when Coats dropped a pair of potential TD passes in Week Five.

• The Browns worked out ex-Seahawks WR Jordan Kent last week but did not sign him. Kent's biggest impact would have come on the special-teams coverage units, which the Browns have tinkered with since the start of the season.

• We hear it's going to be difficult for Broncos WR Brandon Stokley, who hasn't caught a pass since Week Two, to get into the receiver rotation with Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal and Jabar Gaffney ahead of him. He'll play in four-receiver sets but doesn't contribute on special teams, and we're told there's a chance Stokley would be deactivated if a special-teamer were to miss time with an injury.

• While JaMarcus Russell continues to hear the boos from Raiders fans and harsh scrutiny from league observers, we're told his teammates have been impressed with how he's handled it all. Despite questions about Russell's commitment and effort, there continues to be almost no criticism directed at the third-year quarterback from inside the organization.

• In search of a tight end to help replace some of Tony Gonzalez's production, the Chiefs might have found their man in Sean Ryan. Signed this offseason, the sixth-year veteran has proven to have a solid skill set, playing effectively as both a blocker and pass catcher, already recording two TD grabs. While Brad Cottam was the man widely expected to step up, he's been a relative nonfactor thus far.

• One reason for the Chargers' unproductive rushing attack thus far has been a lack of cohesion along the offensive line. With injuries both major and minor throughout the unit, the same five linemen have rarely been on the field for an extended period, causing some disconnect up front. With all but C Nick Hardwick back to full health following the team's bye week, the O-line should finally get a chance to develop a rapport.

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