Miami Dolphins acquire Kansas Chiefs QB Tyler Thigpen

"The Miami Dolphins added to their thin stable of quarterbacks Tuesday by trading for Kansas City quarterback Tyler Thigpen, a day after learning that Chad Pennington suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

The Dolphins have sent a 2010 undisclosed draft pick to Kansas City to land the third-string quarterback, who started most of last season, and ran a spread offense for the Chiefs.

To make room on the roster for Thigpen, the Dolphins placed Pennington on injured reserve, meaning he will be unable to return this season.

Thigpen instantly becomes the most experienced quarterback on the Dolphins' roster, considering he's thrown 426 passes in his three-year NFL career.

His mobility and improvisation make him a tough quarterback to plan for, which could make him an asset running the Wildcat offense.

Chad Henne, who is expected to start in place of Pennington, has thrown just 31 passes in his brief NFL career.

However, Henne, the team's 2008 second-round pick, knows the offense after spending all of last season as Pennington's understudy. As Pennington's replacement in last Sunday's loss to San Diego, he completed 10 of 19 passes for 92 yards, but one of his fourth-quarter passes was returned for a touchdown by safety Eric Weddle.

The Dolphins also have rookie quarterback Pat White, who ran a spread offense at West Virginia and is learning to run a pro-style offense. White has played sparingly in the Dolphins' first two games, and hasn't completed a pass."

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Pennington Out for 2009 Season

"Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington has been initially diagnosed with a torn capsule in his throwing shoulder and the Dolphins expect him to miss the rest of the season, sources familiar with the injury he suffered Sunday told ESPN Senior NFL Analyst Chris Mortensen.

Pennington will seek a second opinion from orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews, who has performed two shoulder surgeries on the quarterback.

Pennington underwent tests Monday on his right shoulder, which he hurt early in the third quarter of Sunday's 23-13 loss at San Diego. He missed the rest of the game, and coach Tony Sparano said he didn't know how long Pennington will be sidelined.

Pennington has already had surgery on the same shoulder in 2004 and 2005.

Chad Henne, who went 10 for 19 for 92 yards with an interception, will likely make his first NFL start Sunday when the winless Dolphins play host to Buffalo.

"We're going to have to go out there with Henne, who is a lot less experienced," tight end Anthony Fasano said. "There is definitely going to be a learning curve for Henne. He can learn as much as he wants in a classroom, but until he's out on the field, in-game experience he's not going to learn.

"But we have a lot of faith in Chad. He's a smart guy, a great leader and fun to play with. We're just going to have to move on."

A second-round draft choice in 2008, Henne has been considered Pennington's heir apparent for more than a year. The challenge for the offense will be to develop a chemistry with Henne, receiver Greg Camarillo said."

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Reception streak of Bills' Owens halted at 185 games

"The last time Terrell Owens finished an NFL game without a catch was Week Seven of his rookie year ? in 1996.

A streak that started 185 games ago didn't reach 186 as the veteran wide receiver was shut out during the Buffalo Bills' 27-7 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

After blowing off the media after the first two games, Owens came to the lectern to discuss the game. He didn't have much to say about his performance, which perhaps was fitting since there wasn't much of a performance to talk about.

"It's over," was his response when asked about his consecutive games streak coming to an end.

Owens was a nonfactor against a Gregg Williams-coached Saints defense that shut down the Bills' passing game. Quarterback Trent Edwards' longest completion was 18 yards. The Bills' biggest pass play came on special teams when punter Brian Moorman threw a 25-yard touchdown to defensive end Ryan Denney on a fake field goal.

"We tried to mix up our coverages and give the Bills different looks," said Saints cornerback and former Bill Jabari Greer, who covered Owens much of the afternoon and broke up a third-quarter pass intended for Owens that was intercepted by defensive end Will Smith. "It was a total team effort. Coach Williams put a great game plan together and put us in position to make plays up front and on the back end."

"It's always a victory for us when we can take away one of their top receivers," added Saints cornerback Tracy Porter. "We didn't let [Owens] get any catches, and that had a lot to do with getting pressure on the QB. They were forced to check down a lot. That was a victory for us.""

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Vikings get their first good taste of Brett Favre's legend

"You'll have to forgive the Vikings for being so animated afterwards. They aren't used to this.

'Incredible, incredible!' linebacker Ben Leber kept saying. 'I still feel the chills. Awesome!'

'We hoped he was going to do something great, and he did,' said linebacker Chad Greenway.

"The legend continues to grow," said kicker Ryan Longwell.

Well, those who have been following closely know that this is what Brett Favre does. He pulls off something improbable to win the game in the final seconds. On Sunday, he took the Vikings 80 yards in 1:29 against a stout San Francisco defense. He did it with no timeouts. The winning score came on a 32-yard laser to Greg Lewis in the back of the end zone with two seconds left.

Just when everyone thought the Vikings were finished, just when Packer fans were set to gloat in advance of next week's Monday night matchup — boom — Minnesota remains undefeated. Just like that, 63,000-plus were celebrating wildly. And the final holdouts from the "I can't root for that ex-Packer" camp crossed over into the light.

Favre, soon to be 40, was asked how he felt after yet another late comeback victory in a career filled with them.

"I'm worn out," he said with a smile. "Believe me, I could fall right now."

It was a very physical afternoon, and Favre took a pretty good beating. His performance up to that final pass was distinctly mediocre. He missed some receivers, and he got banged around by 49ers. On that last play, he was smashed from behind just as he released the ball and never even saw the completion. Instead, he heard the stadium erupt.

"I heard the roar, and I thought that was a good thing," he said.

The Vikings signed Favre to do exactly what he did Sunday. As uneven as the game had been up to that last score, people left the Dome all smiles. They had fun.

Meanwhile, the Vikings players jumped around like grade-schoolers on a playground while the 49ers stood in shock.

"Oh, it was incredible," said cornerback Cedric Griffin. "I was on the sideline thinking, 'Brett Favre is known for his comebacks. Brett Favre is known for his comebacks.' And look what we got!" "

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Too Much Crunch Time For Favre

"Brett Favre has been sacked seven times in two games. That's four more wallops than an entire family of Mannings have suffered so far this season.

"Yeah, we need to do a better job of protecting Brett," center John Sullivan said Monday, the day after the Vikings beat the Lions 27-13 in Detroit. "I'm happy we're 2-0, but Brett doesn't need to take this many big hits."

Favre has been sacked four more times than Tarvaris Jackson was through two games last season. At this pace, Favre would be sacked 56 times in 16 games, assuming he survived, of course. That would be 16 more than his career high, which, ironically, came in 1996 when he led the Packers to a victory in Super Bowl XXXI.

"Protecting Brett is something we have to continue working on, across the board," left tackle Bryant McKinnie said. "Everybody always assumes it's just the offensive line. But it's all of us working to avoid sacks."

As coach Brad Childress explained Monday, that includes linemen blocking, running backs picking up blitzes, receivers getting open and Favre getting rid of the ball on time. Childress said the Lions' three sacks Sunday were the result of three breakdowns:

• With 4 minutes, 12 seconds left in the first quarter and the Vikings facing second-and-9 from their 32-yard line, the tackles were pushed back too far. Jason Hunter, a backup left end playing for the injured Cliff Avril, simply beat rookie right tackle Phil Loadholt."

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Jets accused of tampering with Crabtree

"As if the Michael Crabtree negotiations weren't acrimonious enough, the 49ers reportedly are accusing the New York Jets of meddling.

The New York Daily News reported in Monday's editions that the 49ers have filed tampering charges with the NFL. Citing sources, the paper said the Jets might have contacted agent Eugene Parker about the No. 10 pick out of Texas Tech.

Asked about the report, 49ers coach Mike Singletary declined to confirm or deny that tampering charges had been filed. Singletary said only: "That's something that the league is going to handle internally. And I'm not going to handle that. We'll let that play out, the process, we'll see what happens."

Crabtree, who turned 22 last Monday, has missed all of training camp and the first two victories of the 49ers' season because of a contract impasse.

Jets coach Rex Ryan, addressing the tampering charges to reporters in New York on Monday, said:

"My understanding is (the 49ers) filed charges with the league. I'm saying my response is it's not true. I mean, it's not accurate. It's not true, but, hey, we'll let the league figure this out."

Earlier, on the ESPN radio show "Mike

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Patriots WR Randy Moss refuses to credit Darrelle Revis for shutdown

"Randy Moss was a nonfactor in the Patriots' 16-9 loss Sunday to the Jets, but he refused to give many props to the man who covered him, CB Darrelle Revis.

"All week he was talking about being a shutdown corner, but there really are no shutdown corners in the league because they have help most of the game," Moss said. "I probably could be a shutdown corner if I had (Patriots S Brandon) Meriweather over the top for the whole game. I think I could be a corner."

Moss gave credit to the Jets' entire defense, saying they "did a hell of a job."

The Jets offered a different view, saying Revis neutralized Moss.

"I just covered him any way I could," said Revis, joking that he followed Moss to the bathroom. "When he went to the sidelines and he sat down, I saw right across from him wherever he was sitting on the bench.""

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