NFL Capsules - AFC: Texas QB Schaub back at practice to help Leinart
HOUSTON (AP) — Injured Texans quarterback Matt Schaub was back at practice on Thanksgiving, wearing a protective boot on his right foot as he kept a close eye on his replacement, Matt Leinart.
Schaub sustained a Lisfranc injury in Houston's 37-9 win over Tampa Bay on Nov. 13, and had to give up hope on returning this season after meeting with foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson in Charlotte on Wednesday.
Houston (7-3) placed Schaub on injured reserve, and Leinart will make his first start at Jacksonville (3-7) on Sunday.
Schaub is scheduled to have surgery in Charlotte next Wednesday. Doctors have assured him his injury is not career-threatening and isn't likely to occur again when he returns to action.
"Once I talked to everyone, there really wasn't an option out there, other than to get it fixed for the long term," Schaub said. "It's pretty positive as far as after the surgery, getting the rehab done and being able to come back, play and be fine."
Coach Gary Kubiak said Schaub will travel with the team this weekend and be available to support Leinart, rookie T.J. Yates and third-stringer Kellen Clemens, who signed with Houston on Wednesday.
"He needs to stay very much involved," Kubiak said. "I think there's a way he can help this team, so we're going to give him a chance to do that. It's just tough to see him standing back there."
But Kubiak isn't sure how much Schaub will be able to help after his surgery. Schaub said he faces a long recovery, starting with 6-8 weeks of non-weight-bearing activity.
"It's not a quick turnaround, as far as rehabilitation," Schaub said. "It's going to be an offseason getting ready and getting right for training camp."
Schaub has been the Texans' starter since 2007, after he was acquired in a trade with Atlanta. He missed five games in his first year with the team because of a shoulder injury and concussion, then sat out five more in 2008, one with an illness and four with a knee injury.
Critics questioned his durability, but Schaub silenced them by starting every game between 2009-10 and the first 10 of this season. He hurt his foot in the second quarter against Tampa Bay and played the entire second half, but said he didn't make the injury more severe by staying in that game.
"Talking to the doctors, there wasn't anything I could do worse to it, other than something new," he said.
So far, Houston has survived remarkably well as one key player after another has gone down with an injury, taking control of the AFC South behind the best 10-game start in team history.
Running backs Arian Foster and Ben Tate missed time early, outside linebacker Mario Williams was lost for the season with a torn chest muscle, and star receiver Andre Johnson has sat out six games with a right hamstring injury. Johnson is expected to play in Sunday's game, along with safety Danieal Manning, who broke his left leg in a victory over Tennessee on Oct. 23.
Still, the Texans haven't trailed in four games, hold a two-game lead in the division and seem to be closing in on the team's first playoff appearance.
Schaub says this year's success makes the frustration over this injury more disappointing than the ones he's had in past years.
"The physical side of it and actually getting hurt is part of the game and I can handle that," he said. "Mentally and all that, I can deal with that. I'll be back. I'll get back.
"But after all the hard work I've put in and this team's put in, this organization, to get to this point, with six weeks to go, that's the frustrating part, to not see it through with my team," he said. "That's the frustrating part, to get to this point and not be able to finish it."
Schaub was determined to return to practice on Thursday and be on the sideline Sunday to help Leinart, who will make his first start since 2009, when he played for Arizona. Leinart didn't take a snap last season, and re-signed with the Texans because of his comfort level with Kubiak, Schaub and the Houston system.
Schaub is confident the offense won't miss a beat with Leinart taking the snaps.
''He's been around enough football," Schaub said. "He's played enough, too, it's not too big for him. He's going to go out there, be even-keeled, run the huddle, run the offense and he's going to be in good shape."
Titans struggling through first quarter this season
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans start games as if they just hit the snooze button on their alarm clocks.
They essentially have wasted the first quarter on offense so far this season. Roughly half of their 30 points scored in the first 15 minutes this season came in one win. They've scored zero points in the opening quarter in five games and managed only a field goal in three others. The Titans have scored one touchdown and two field goals on their opening possessions.
Receiver Nate Washington says the time has come to eliminate the slow starts if the Titans want to reach the postseason.
"It's mandatory," Washington said. "We can't come into these games with six games left with a slow start. ... I think right now it has no question. If we want to be the team we want to be, we have to have a faster start. We have to keep our defense off the field. We have to be a viable offense."
Tight end Jared Cook says they've been a bit inconsistent in the first half.
"To get a spark and come out hot is kind of key," he said.
The Titans (5-5) are two games behind Houston in the AFC South race and tied with a pack a game out of the final wild-card berth despite being outscored 34-30 in the first quarter. They might get lucky on Sunday against Tampa Bay (4-6), a team that has started even slower than they have, scoring only 21 points in the first and being outscored 92-56 in the second. Coach Mike Munchak said they have been working to start faster.
"You talk about it, you work at it," Munchak said. "It's like the first play of the game having a penalty and getting backed up and then a short punt. You can't dwell on it. I think we talk more about, not necessarily you want to start fast, but if you don't it doesn't mean the game is over by any means. It's a 60-minute game, a lot can happen."
Tennessee won Oct. 2 when scoring off a Matt Hasselbeck touchdown pass in the opening minutes in Cleveland, and the Titans routed Carolina 30-3 on Nov. 13 after getting a punt return for a touchdown as part of a season-high 14 points in the first quarter.
The Titans start games with a planned approach.
Offensive coordinator Chris Palmer said Thursday they script out the first 10-15 plays, and he did not vary from that plan last week in a 23-17 loss to Atlanta. They started on offense pinned deep after a penalty on the kickoff return then Chris Johnson was stopped for a 3-yard loss. He picked up 6 on second down, but an incompletion on third down forced a punt.
"That's not the formula for having success on an early drive," Palmer said. "I think it's a week to week thing. Sometimes you come out and things are going well and you're executing and not creating penalties and not creating minus plays. When you do that, you normally have a chance to be successful."
They started better on the second drive, getting near midfield before receiver Lavelle Hawkins missed a check from a run play to a pass, and Hasselbeck's pass was intercepted.
Running more than three plays at a time has been a challenge for Tennessee this season. The Titans have had 30 three-and-out drives, more than all but five teams in the NFL. They haven't helped themselves with a run game that remains the league's worst, averaging 77.3 yards. Tennessee also short-circuits many drives with penalties.
They also rank 29th in the NFL with an average time of possession of 27 minutes, 25 seconds. In the first quarter, they hold the ball 6:49, according to STATS LLC.
Washington said Palmer has been riding them all season long, refusing to let them slide.
"He's been at every guy on the offense. He's been making sure we all give it our best because we can be a good offense. We have to make sure we're not putting the pressure on ourselves but it's expectations. We have to come into these games with the mentality we're going to be the best," Washington said.
Notes: Hasselbeck practiced fully Thursday and said he felt good after throwing a dozen passes in limited work Wednesday. He said he expects to be fine Sunday after receiving plenty of treatment on his right elbow and forearm after X-rays and an MRI Monday showed no damage. ... The Titans had a lengthy injury report Thursday with nine players. C Eugene Amano (hip) returned to practice along with LT Michael Roos (groin). But RT David Stewart (right calf) did not practice for a second straight day along with DT Karl Klug (knee), DE Derrick Morgan (ankle), LB Barrett Ruud (groin), LB Colin McCarthy (knee) and K Rob Bironas (back). Munchak said Bironas will kick Friday. They gave McCarthy the day off to rest after he practiced Wednesday.
-- Teresa M. Walker
Patriots' defense preparing for two quarterbacks
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — New England Patriots defensive end Andre Carter took his time, reflected on the question and delved deep into a response typically served up when discussing how to defend Michael Vick.
After all, the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback utterly embarrassed Carter and his Washington Redskins teammates on national television just more than a year ago.
"That Monday night game? How would I describe it?" he said Thursday. "It's like I'm playing Madden for the first time and I'm playing against a guy that's played Madden for 10 years. They already got their team and everything lined up, got their offense lined up and I don't know what the heck they're doing.
"And all I want to do is press the reset button and I can't. I've got to ride this thing out for four quarters. That's pretty much how embarrassing it was that game."
Vick completed his first 10 passes on that historic night, had the Eagles in front 35-0 after the first play of the second quarter and finished 20-of-28 for 333 yards with four touchdowns. He also added 80 yards and two scores on the ground as the Eagles handed the Redskins a demoralizing 59-28 loss.
It's a new year, though, and a new team for Carter. And this time, he may even be chasing down another starting quarterback.
Talk about a reset button.
With two broken ribs, Vick hasn't practiced this week — including Thanksgiving Day when he told reporters coming out of the locker room that he's feeling "good" and is "getting better" — and his status for Sunday's game against New England (7-3) is still uncertain.
Vince Young filled in admirably in Vick's absence last week, leading the Eagles (4-6) to a 17-10 win over the New York Giants, perhaps Philadelphia's most pivotal win this season, and one that kept their faint playoff hopes alive.
Whether it's Vick or Young lined up under center this week, the Patriots don't care. They're preparing for both.
"Don't know yet. We just know they're great quarterbacks, they're athletic," said Carter, who has nine of the Patriots 23 sacks this season. "So, whether it's Vick or Young, you just got to be on your Ps and Qs."
Quarterback uncertainty usually adds an unwanted wrinkle into a team's preparation for an upcoming game. The Patriots, however, boast the benefit of knowing whoever plays is going to be elusive, shifty and hard to tackle.
"Everybody knows Vick. Everybody knows Vince Young. Everybody knows what they're capable of doing," said defensive end Mark Anderson, who's collected seven sacks. "I've been playing against them a couple times in my career. Like I told our guys, you've got to just be conditioning and running to the ball, just doing a little bit extra, just kind of staying on that pace because those guys, they'll be able to run to the ball, they can make different moves on the run and you got to be able to counter-punch that."
Anderson has no preference on who he'll be trying to take down.
"It doesn't matter really," he said, "because they both got the same stuff."
That "stuff" is difficult to replicate in practice, something the Patriots have been trying to do this week with backup quarterbacks Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett.
Designed plays like bootlegs and roll outs where the quarterback is prepared to move around are easier to mirror. It's their improvisational skills that are challenging to mimic.
"Of course we can't simulate his speed and athleticism. I don't think anybody really can," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, "but we can at least build an awareness of it and try to simulate it the best we can, but it's not quite the same."
Neither is Vick, though.
Before the injury, Vick wasn't nearly as lethal as last season, when he passed for 21 touchdowns and eclipsed 3,000 yards for the first time in his then eight-year career. He also ran for 676 yards and nine scores in guiding Philadelphia to the NFC East title.
Through his first nine games this season, Vick has 11 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions and no rushing scores.
Young, on the other hand, completed 23-of-36 passes last week for 258 yards with three interceptions and a pair of scores, including the game-winning touchdown pass to Riley Cooper with 2:45 to go.
Containing the quarterback and gang tackling has been a top priority for the Patriots this week.
"Everybody always asks me how do you approach that?" Carter said of limiting a rushing quarterback. "I think it's kind of like that gray area, you can't be too tentative, you can't be too aggressive.
"At the same time, you just got to play football. I think as long as you communicate with the guys next to you or communicate as a defense as a whole, then everything will be fine."
It wasn't fine last year for Carter and the Redskins, a night he called "frustrating" and "tough." If he had his druthers, though, Carter knows who he wants to be chasing down come Sunday.
"I think every week, and I can probably speak for everybody or everybody that plays this game, of course you want the best of the best," he said, inferring the notion of facing Vick. "Because that brings out the best in you."
Legursky gives Steelers flexibility at left guard
PITTSBURGH (AP) — To hear offensive coordinator Bruce Arians tell it, the Pittsburgh Steelers' decision to insert Doug Legursky into the starting lineup wasn't so much about upgrading at left guard. It was about adding another center.
Legursky will replace four-year incumbent Chris Kemoeatu at left guard Sunday night when Pittsburgh (7-3) visits the Kansas City Chiefs (4-6).
"Chris did not play poorly; we just have some good depth along the line for the first time in a long time," Arians said after a Thanksgiving Day practice. "It's not a benching as much as it is putting Doug back in."
Legursky has started at three different positions over the past 10 months. A natural center, he subbed there for an injured Maurkice Pouncey at the Super Bowl in February. Legursky began this season as the starting right guard then filled in for two games at left guard when Kemoeatu's knee prevented him from playing. Then, Legursky sustained a toe injury himself that kept him out for three weeks.
This time, despite Arians' polite words for Kemoeatu, Legursky earned his spot in the starting lineup on merit.
"It's like having two centers out there as far as the calls and everything, especially with the noise (in Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium)," Arians said. "He's a very athletic guy, and he's had a heck of a year going as far as giving up pressure."
An undrafted free agent out of Marshall in 2008, Legursky is undersized in the jumbo world of NFL offensive linemen at 6-feet-1 and 315 pounds. Legursky views himself as a "cerebral-type player," and he's made himself invaluable to a Steelers team that seems to have gotten over what was developing into an early-season crisis along the offensive line.
"He might be a little small, man, but he plays big, as big as everyone else," Pouncey said. "Don't let the height fool you.
"He communicates well on the football field and does a lot of good things for the offensive line. He's the guy right now. He's an excellent football player."
Despite solid if unspectacular play in making four starts at right guard and the Super Bowl appearance at center last season, Legursky in training camp was tossed into a jumbled mix of no fewer than five players who were looked at as possible starters at right guard this season.
The team gave long looks to the since-released Tony Hills and Chris Scott (Scott has since rejoined the team on the practice squad) and to a player it had cut and then re-signed in Trai Essex.
Yet come opening day, there was Legursky having emerged as the best option.
"Going into a season, I'm not thinking, 'I've got to get ready for left guard,' or 'I've got to get ready for right guard,' or 'I've got to get ready for center,'" Legursky said. "I'm ready for all three, and if I move one position over or two positions over, it's not a situation where I even hesitate."
Good thing, because Legursky was asked to move to the left side when Kemoeatu's balky knee kept him from playing, and to fill in for Pouncey, who's been knocked out of games twice this season due to minor injury.
"He's been extremely solid," Arians said. "He's a good football player — that's the only way I can describe him: He's just a football player."
Through it all, Legursky still considers himself a center. It's extremely unlikely, though, he'll ever unseat Pouncey — a first-round pick who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie last season. But that doesn't mean he can't serve as a "second center" on an offensive line that has taken its share of criticism this season but has improved in recent weeks.
"Playing side-by-side with Pouncey, we can bounce some ideas off each other and talk about a lot of things," Legursky said. "It's nice having two brains out there, but as long as I let him control the calls he needs to control and I can just help him out, I feel like it really helps out our game."
Also Thursday, receiver Emmanuel Sanders practiced fully for the second consecutive day after missing the past three weeks due to arthroscopic knee surgery and the death of his mother. Arians said he will play Sunday.
That potentially could mean an even further-diminished role for Steelers all-time leading receiver Hines Ward, who has only one reception since Oct. 23 due to injury and an apparent plunge down the depth chart.
Arians said, "Hines can still get open," and, "He still has a prominent role."
"This is probably the healthiest he's ever been at Thanksgiving," Arians added. "He's still a great player in the red zone, third down. We've got something for everybody, we think, and not enough footballs for all of them."
Notes: QB Ben Roethlisberger (fractured right thumb) again practiced and will play Sunday, the same for S Troy Polamalu (ribs). OLB LaMarr Woodley (hamstring) was limited in practice and is expected to miss his third consecutive game.
Hold the Tebow hype for a moment, it's Miller Time
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Forget Tim Tebow for just a moment. It's Miller Time in Denver.
Broncos linebacker Von Miller, the second overall selection in the draft, has led Denver's defensive revival along with pass-rushing partner Elvis Dumervil.
The duo has been collecting sacks and crumpling quarterbacks at a prolific pace over the last three weeks, battering Carson Palmer, Matt Cassel and Mark Sanchez in wins over the Raiders, Chiefs and Jets.
They've combined for seven sacks over that span and have become the first pair of teammates in more than a decade to share a QB sandwich sack in three straight games.
With Dumervil full speed again after dealing with nagging shoulder and ankle ailments, he and Miller have finally been able to unleash a potent 1-2 punch that Miller has dubbed "Batman and Robin."
Miller's best game came last week against the Jets, when he had 10 tackles, nine of them solo, including 1½ sacks and three tackles for loss to go with a forced fumble and a pass breakup.
It also earned him his first AFC Defensive Player of the Week honor.
"I think it means a lot more to my teammates than it does to me," Miller said. "I feel like it's a sign of the type of defense that we've been playing. ... I feel like they had to give it to somebody, so they just gave it to me, but we've been playing such good defense, anybody on the defense could have gotten it."
Indeed, Denver's defense is the under-told story in the Broncos' return to respectability. At 5-5, they're a game behind Oakland in the AFC West race heading into Sunday's showdown at San Diego.
If not for the Broncos' stingy defense that's finally jelling under Dennis Allen, the team's sixth defensive coordinator in as many seasons, all those fourth-quarter comebacks engineered by Tebow wouldn't have been possible.
"One thing about that quarterback: he's going to keep grinding, and as a defense, we've just got to keep the team in the game, because in the fourth quarter, you never know what you're going to get," cornerback Champ Bailey said. "We're never out of it. It's a good feeling, because I know if we're close, we've got a chance."
Without any offseason because of the lockout, Allen's scheme took some time to take hold, and it's congealing just as Dumervil, Bailey, D.J. Williams and Marcus Thomas have hit stride after dealing with injuries during the first half of the season.
Allen is starting to throw more at his players, who are creating more and more mayhem for quarterbacks.
"We've been able to add more things the last couple weeks," safety Brian Dawkins said. "I think early on we were making too many mental mistakes and giving up too many big plays down the field. Obviously as a D-coordinator, you're not going to be amped to call things if you think mistakes are going to be made. I think that him seeing we've picked up the things we needed to pick up and communicating on a better level now, and understanding what he wants in the basic scheme of things, he's able to add more.
"And adding those things is adding more pressure on the offenses, because we're able to do more things and send more attacks at them. I'm liking where we're headed."
With fewer mistakes and technical hiccups has come more production.
"It's just the gelling effect on the team," Miller said, "and the outside world is starting to notice."
Allen has started to line up Miller at times over the center, where it's easier for him to slice through guards than tackles, who are generally more athletic and agile.
Miller's 9½ sacks are two shy of the Broncos rookie record set by Rulon Jones in 1980 and five shy of Jevon Kearse's NFL rookie record set in 1999.
"When I go out there, I don't worry about any of that stuff. I worry about getting a win," Miller said. "That's what motivates me; that's what pushes me: to get the win. I feel like if you don't get the win, all the other stuff is really irrelevant."
It's not just Denver's dynamic bookends who are making big plays.
The Broncos looked like they were going to have a big doughnut hole in their defensive line after tackles Ty Warren and Kevin Vickerson suffered season-ending injuries, but Thomas and Brodrick Bunkley, along with backups Ryan McBean and rookie Mitch Unrein have stuffed the middle and pushed the pocket, helping the defensive ends get to the quarterback.
"I've seen it since Day 1. We have great talent around here," Bunkley said. "If you look at our D-line, we've got a lot of hard-nosed guys ready to work, ready to do whatever it takes to go out there and win.
"We have a great coach in Wayne Nunnely and guys are dedicated to work around here. Elvis does his best to keep guys going and guys focus at practice. We know we're a big part of the game and in order for a team to be successful your D-line has to be somewhat dominant and that's what we strive for every day."
The D-line's dominance has had a trickle-down effect, keeping the Broncos in games while the offense has struggled to get going until crunch time.
"It's been very critical," linebacker Joe Mays said. "Those guys have been playing really well the past few games and it kinds of makes it easier on us as linebackers, because we're able to flow free. Not only are we able to take on blocks, but they're actually getting through the line and making plays. That's huge for the defense."
Notes: The Broncos practiced in shorts on Thanksgiving Day with unseasonable temperatures in the 70s. ... With QB Kyle Orton's departure, RB Willis McGahee has been named one of the team's captains. Orton had retained his captainship after his demotion and continued calling heads or tails during the pregame coin tosses. His departure saved the team $2.6 million but Orton's new team, the Chiefs, visit Denver on New Year's Day and a playoff berth might be on the line.
-- Arnie Stapleton
Raiders prepare to face Bears' Hester
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) — The last time the Oakland Raiders faced Devin Hester and the Chicago Bears, former coach Lane Kiffin memorably promised to challenge the NFL's most dangerous returner and did not pay the price for doing so.
There are not the same bold proclamations coming out of Oakland this week as the Bears prepare to play their first game with backup quarterback Caleb Hanie at the helm in place of injured starter Jay Cutler.
"With the situation they're in right now, I am going to try not to let him touch it," All-Pro punter Shane Lechler said. "Because they got a new quarterback this week, losing Jay, they're looking for a spark somewhere. And I don't want that spark to be against our punt team. I think the best thing to do is go neutral on this deal, and let's play defense, and get through it like that."
Coach Hue Jackson said Hester can change a game in the snap of the fingers and he wished he could have 20 players on his coverage units to contain him.
Jackson said he hasn't decided yet whether he will kick to Hester but acknowledged that sometimes there is no choice because of the situation in the game, so the team must prepare for it.
"We're not going to run from a challenge from anybody and that's the way it is," he said. "But we'll be smart about the challenge. We'll be smart about the fights we pick."
The Raiders gave Hester eight chances to return the ball in their 17-6 loss in 2007. He returned one kickoff from 8 yards deep in the end zone and only managed to make it out to the 11. He also twice lost 4 yards on punt returns. Hester's one big play, a 64-yard punt return, was wiped out by a holding call. He finished the day with 14 yards on six punt returns and 34 yards on two kickoff returns.
That was the only time since Hester's rookie year that he had six punt returns in a game, as most teams choose either to kick the ball out of bounds, or high and short, to prevent him from getting a chance at another highlight. In his two six-return games as a rookie in 2006, he averaged 17.9 yards per punt return with an 83-yard touchdown against Arizona.
That's why Lechler called Hester a "scary" guy to punt to and ranked him alongside Dante Hall as the most dangerous returners he has faced in 12 years in the NFL.
"He's got top-notch vision," Lechler said. "He sees cuts way down the field. He sets up blocks very well, probably one of the better guys that sets up blocks across the league. He's just a guy that we want to try to neutralize and not let him hit the home run against us."
Hester has more home run returns than any player in NFL history, with 17 in less than six full seasons. His 13.1-yard average on punt returns is the highest in NFL history.
Raiders safety Mike Mitchell called Hester the second-best return man in football, behind teammate Jacoby Ford, who has four kick returns for touchdowns in less than two seasons as a pro.
But Mitchell also said Hester should be as worried about Lechler's big leg and the Raiders' coverage unit as they are with him this week.
"We have a guy who can punt a ball 60 yards in the air. We're going to take every advantage of that," Mitchell said. "We have the biggest, fastest guys in the league covering our punts. We just have to get down field and outrun their protection team and make tackles. After he gets machine gunned a couple of times he's not going to be too quick to return punts."
The Raiders have allowed a pair of punt return scores this season, both to Denver. Oakland has allowed 14.5 yards per return, fifth worst in the league.
But the players on the coverage units welcome the challenge of facing Hester and see no need for the Raiders to kick the ball out of bounds.
"He's going to be there no matter what," linebacker Quentin Groves said. "You can kick it left, you can kick it right, you can kick it down the middle. He's going to still be there. Everybody's tried it. You see guys have tried to kick it away from him. They've tried to do everything, pooch kick, and it still doesn't work. You just have to man up and be a man about it and just play."
Bears coach Lovie Smith has seen all sorts of strategies when it comes to dealing with Hester and is not surprised teams still give him chances despite his record-setting success.
"I think it's hard to go into meetings and tell your punt team that, 'Hey guys, we don't think you're good enough so we're going to have to kick it out of bounds because we don't think you can tackle one guy down on the other end,'" Smith said. "I just don't think you can go in and do that very often. So, I assume a lot of teams have kicked it to him and I think they'll continue to do that, because he's just an NFL player, like everybody else."
And what does Smith think about that strategy: "Believe me, we love it every time that they do decide to do that."
-- Josh Dubow
News & Notes
NFL fines Titans DE Hayes $15,000 for hit on Ryan
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The NFL has fined Titans defensive end William Hayes $15,000 for a hit on Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, a punishment he plans to appeal.
Hayes said Thursday he was fined for putting too much weight on the quarterback as he hit Ryan. Hayes says he fell to Ryan's side as he hit him trying to avoid just that.
He says he wants to talk to somebody in the NFL to explain the rule to him because he doesn't understand how to tackle a quarterback and not put some weight into the hit.
Hayes was flagged for roughing the passer, hitting Ryan just after he had thrown a pass and picking up a 15-yard penalty in the second quarter of a 23-17 loss to Atlanta.
