Bill comes due: Maybin realizes it's time to shake 'bust' label

Aaron Maybin has started only one game in two NFL seasons, and he hasn't recorded a sack -- not exactly what the Buffalo Bills wanted from their 2009 first-round draft pick.

But Maybin knows what he must do to lose the "bust" tag: Put in the work, and win over coach Chan Gailey, who deactivated the linebacker for five games last season.

"Coach obviously feels he has not seen what it is that he needs to see out of me thus far in order to have the confidence to rely on me to be the dominant piece of the puzzle that this organization needs in order to help us move in the right direction," Maybin told NFL Blog Blitz on Friday. "I'm fighting to show him that that's exactly what it is that I have to bring to the table. It's a trust issue, and whenever you're dealing with a head coach, it's my responsibility to earn his trust, plain and simple.

Gailey recently told ESPN.com that Maybin, 23, needs to "understand about pass rush" and improve against the run and on special teams. So Maybin has his work cut out for him amid some harsh criticism.

"My whole career, my mindset has been the same: Work as hard as you can, harder than anyone else is willing to work, and let the rest take care of itself," Maybin said. "Control what I can control and put the rest in God's hands, that's all I know.

"I've been playing the game of football since I can remember and have faced criticism at every level. Whether it be my size, strength, experience, whatever; the one thing that never gets questioned is work ethic. And at the end of the day, that's always what pays off."

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For Maybin, that work ethic includes training five days per week while the lockout prevents him for talking to Bills coaches and staff. Maybin said he's trying to improve his core strength through powerlifting and cardio, and he's also mixing in yoga, boxing and pool exercises.

Because of that work and staff continuity, Maybin expects success in his third NFL campaign.

"This will be the first season that I can start with primarily the same core staff that I finished with the year before," Maybin said. "Being comfortable with a system is very important for an athlete at any level, but none bigger than the professional arena. And with a year under the scheme we have in place already, making the adjustments that this year's staff wants to make going into this year will be much easier to grasp and implement."

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Vikings RB Peterson hopes to shake thigh injury, play vs. Eagles

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- There are just two games left in the Minnesota Vikings' miserable season, and Adrian Peterson is hobbling around with a painful thigh bruise.

With the playoffs out of reach, why risk further injury to the team's most dynamic player? Why not sit him for the final two weeks and make sure he is ready to go next season?

Peterson doesn't see it that way. The Vikings are 5-9 and going nowhere fast, but he wants to be out there with his teammates until the bitter end.

"It's been a roller-coaster season. It hasn't gone the way we planned," Peterson said Thursday. "But I love to play this game. That's why I do what I do. I definitely don't think that way about it. If I can play, I'll definitely be out there on Sunday."

Peterson injured his left thigh two weeks ago when he collided with Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson on a handoff. Peterson missed Monday night's game against the Chicago Bears, the first time he has sat out since missing two games with a knee injury his rookie season in 2007.

"It's nothing like a torn ligament or anything like that," Peterson said. "I don't feel like I can do any further damage to it. It's basically just a quad. Muscles are just tight. Pushing it will probably help it stretch a little more."

Peterson did some running in practice Thursday for the first time this week, and Vikings interim coach Leslie Frazier said the running back has dramatically improved over the last several days. If Peterson can't play, rookie Toby Gerhart will receive the bulk of the work.

The Vikings lost 40-14 to the Bears and have been outscored 61-17 in the last two weeks, showing signs that some are packing it in and thinking about the offseason. Peterson isn't among them. He practiced on a limited basis Thursday and said he hopes to play Sunday night.

Peterson has been one of the few bright spots for a Minnesota team in such a trying season. He has rushed for 1,149 yards and 11 touchdowns and appears to have solved his fumbling problem. After leading the NFL with 16 fumbles over the previous two seasons, Peterson hasn't lost one this year in 280 touches.

"That's a story that's not been written about enough, the kind of year he's having, even though our team is not having a great year," Frazier said. "But Adrian, he is having a Pro Bowl season, there's no question about it."

Brett Favre again missed practice Thursday with a concussion, and Frazier said the 41-year-old quarterback was still experiencing some symptoms from the injury. Favre will go through another concussion test Friday, as will safety Madieu Williams.

Defensive tackle Kevin Williams also missed practice for personal reasons, but Frazier expected him to return Friday.

Frazier said none of the Vikings who had concussions this season played the week after being hurt.

"It can vary from person to person. Some guys respond a little bit better," Frazier said. "But in this era, where we're very cautious when it comes to head injuries, you're just very cautious. But it varies from guy to guy. Some guys have fewer symptoms than another two days later or a day later."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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Ravens TE Heap could shake hamstring issue to play against Browns

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Ravens coach John Harbaugh says tight end Todd Heap could return for Sunday's road game against the Cleveland Browns after missing the past two games with a pulled right hamstring.

Heap was injured during a 13-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Harbaugh said he has spoken with trainer Bill Tessendorf, who's optimistic Heap will play Sunday.

Also on Monday, the Ravens cut offensive guard Bryan Mattison and promoted tight end Davon Drew to the active roster from the practice squad.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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Giants shake off slow start to end Jaguars winning streak at three

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- With his team trailing by 11 points and the season on the brink, coach Tom Coughlin wasn't the only voice in the New York Giants' locker room at halftime.

The one that stood out was Justin Tuck, and his message was simple: Stop playing like garbage.

Garrard's personal achievement

The Giants (7-4) got the message and maybe saved their season with five games to go.

Eli Manning threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Boss with 3:15 to play and Tuck and his buddies sacked David Garrard on three straight plays in the closing minute and forced a turnover as the Giants rallied to beat Jacksonville 24-20 on Sunday. The win snapped a two-game slide and ended the Jaguars' three-game winning streak.

"I talked about how you allow somebody to come into your house and take over," Tuck said after the Jaguars had taken a 17-6 halftime lead. "At that point, they were doing just about whatever they wanted to do. We couldn't allow ourselves not to be on the same page."

"I told them I was playing like garbage," Tuck added. "I told them we were playing like garbage. In the second half, we've got to pick it up. I just tried to create a spark, and it worked."

The Giants held the Jaguars (6-5) to three points, 92 yards in total offense and forced two turnovers, with Antrel Rolle's fumble recovery with 1:25 left icing the game.

"That was something that we needed," Coughlin said. "We needed to rise up and have a finish like that. We're all aware of the circumstances that we're in, that the division is in, that the conference is in, and we needed to keep pace."

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Jacksonville took a 20-17 lead on 42-yard field goal by Josh Scobee with 8:26 to play and the Giants finally took the lead with a six-play, 69-yard drive that featured an 18-yard pass to Mario Manningham and an 18-yard run by Brandon Jacobs, who gained 87 yards on 14 carries in his return to the starting lineup.

Faced with a third-and-10 at the Jaguars 32, Manning (14-of-24 for 226) and Boss caught Jacksonville in a blitz.

"He saw it," Manning said of Boss. "He went up the field looking for the ball and I got it to him."

Boss caught the ball at the 25, shook off a tackle by safety Courtney Greene and romped into the end zone.

"He almost brought me down," said Boss, whose holding penalty cost the Giants a first-half touchdown. "I was kind of fumbling and stumbling to keep my feet and get in the end zone."

Greene took the blame.

"I just missed the tackle," said Greene, who led the Jaguars with 11 tackles.

Manning also threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Manningham and Lawrence Tynes kicked three field goals. Manning's late heroics also helped big brother Peyton in the AFC South race with Jacksonville -- the Colts and Jaguars began the day tied for the division lead.

Garrard and Rashad Jennings ran for touchdowns and Scobee kicked two field goal as the Jaguars lost for only the third time in eight games.

"This is a team that's been in Super Bowls and been in a lot of playoff runs, so we can't let up on a team like that," Jaguars defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. "It's a sign of maturity. We have a lot of growing up to do all across the board."

Jacksonville had one last chance and Garrard drove the Jaguars from their 27 to the Giants 29, where they got a first down on an illegal contact penalty against Aaron Ross with 1:51 to play.

Tuck and Antrel Rolle sacked Garrard for an 11-yard loss on first down. Dave Tollefson tackle Garrard for a loss of 5 more on second down. Cornerback Terrell Thomas, who intercepted Garrard's first pass of the second half to set up Tynes' third field goal, then sacked the quarterback and forced a fumble that Rolle recovered.

"If you don't execute and let a team stay in the game, that's what going to happen, you're going to end up losing out there," Garrard said as he waited to be X-rayed. "That's two or three weeks in a row we've left teams back in where we had a chance to end the game."

The Giants tied it early in the fourth quarter on the touchdown pass to Manningham and a 2-point conversion run by Ahmad Bradshaw.

Garrard (20-of-35 for 162) used runs of 6, 6 and 11 yards to set up Scobee's go-ahead 42-yard field goal.

Garrard and the Jaguars were outstanding in the first half, scoring on drives on 75, 85 and 71 yards the first three times they had the ball.

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Jennings capped the Jaguars' opening drive with a 5-yard run. Garrard hit passes of 12 and 16 yards on a 15-play drive that Scobee ended with a 22-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead.

The Giants appeared to tie the game on a 9-yard pass from Manning to Manningham on their next possession, but the score was nullified by a holding penalty against Boss. Tynes, who kicked a 22-yard field goal after New York's opening drive stalled at the Jags 5, added a 29-yarder.

Garrard then led a 13-play, 71-yard scoring drive he capped with a sensational 5-yard run on which he avoided a sack by Osi Umenyiora and broke a tackle by Tuck in going from sideline to sideline for the TD.

Notes: Will Beatty started at left tackle for the Giants with Shawn Andrews out with back injury. ... Former Giant Guy Whimper started at left tackle for Jacksonville with Eugene Monroe out with a concussion. ... Mike Sims-Walker, who battled an ankle injury all week, had four catches for 48 yards. ... The Giants finished with four sacks. ... Jacksonville lost despite having the ball for 35:27.

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Broncos RB Moreno expected to shake injury, play next week

The Denver Broncos don't have running back Knowshon Moreno for Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, but they fully expect him to play next week, a team source said.

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There was a sense that Moreno would play this week, but he ultimately was ruled out because of a hamstring injury that has sidelined him since Week 2. Moreno has 111 yards on 39 carries in two games this season.

The Broncos, who are averaging an NFL-worst 55 rushing yards per game this season, will host the New York Jets in Week 6.

Without Moreno in the backfield, the Broncos have struggled to run the ball. Correll Buckhalter has 49 yards on 27 carries, and Laurence Maroney, acquired in a trade with the New England Patriots, has managed just 29 yards on 23 carries in two starts for Denver.

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Texans' Johnson hopes to shake ankle injury, play vs. Giants

Andre Johnson practiced Thursday with his ailing right ankle in a brace and said he expects to play in the Houston Texans' game this weekend against the New York Giants.

Texans coach Gary Kubiak said the status of Johnson, who sat out last weekend's victory over the Oakland Raiders, will be a "game-time" decision, but the four-time Pro Bowl receiver said he was anxious to be back on the field.

"I plan on playing, but at the same time, if it was up to me, I would have tried to play last Sunday," Johnson said after Thursday's practice. "Coach Kubiak is in charge of all of that. I'm not sure if they'll have me work out or not before the game. ... I just plan on playing. I'll find out more as the week goes on."

Johnson injured the ankle Sept. 19 during a 30-27 road victory over the Washington Redskins and aggravated it one week later in a 27-13 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He missed two practices last week and was listed by Kubiak as a game-time decision, but the receiver didn't play.

"It feels better than it felt a week ago," said Johnson, who was limited in Thursday's practice. "At this point last week, I wasn't able to practice, so me being able to go out there running around ... and I also ran yesterday. It feels better. I mean, of course, it's not 100 percent, but I feel I'm able to go out there and play.

"It's a little soreness here and there at times, but at the same time, I mean, it's not nothing where it's, like, killing me."

Jacoby Jones, who replaced Johnson in the lineup against Oakland, left that game with a strained calf muscle and hasn't practiced this week. Kubiak said Jones' status also is a game-time decision.

Johnson's ability to perform at or near his capabilities will play a role in the decision on whether or not he plays, Kubiak said.

"(There's) going to be a risk whenever he comes back, regardless," the coach said. "We would never put a guy out there that we didn't think could protect himself and play at a level that we think you need to play at. This week will be no different from last week from that standpoint, but he's way ahead of where he was last week at this point."

Kubiak said Johnson "took what we expected for him today. He was limited for practice, but he did practice, and (we'll) see how he comes out of it. It was very encouraging as we work toward the weekend."

Johnson wore a brace Thursday to keep his ankle stable and was pleased with the results.

"I've never played in a brace before," he said. "Today is the first time cutting and stuff in it. That was kind of new for me. I was just trying to get adjusted to that. They're making so more adjustments to it ... trying to make it as comfortable as possible for me. I'll go out there tomorrow and do some more stuff."

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