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PITTSBURGH -- To paraphrase a famous lyric from the signature tune in "The Music Man": "They got trouble. Right here in Three Rivers City. Trouble with a capital T. And that rhymes with B. And that stands for blocking."

Game ball
Johnson DeShaun Foster, Panthers RB The Carolina Panthers went into Sunday's key NFC South matchup against Atlanta with the league's 26th-rated rushing offense, averaging an NFL-worst 3.0 yards per carry, with just one rush for more than 20 yards, and with their tailback depth chart in definite flux. Replacing the ineffective Stephen Davis early in the first quarter, DeShaun Foster turned flux into a quick fix, racing for a season-best 30 yards on just his second carry en route to a clutch performance. Foster carried 24 times for 131 yards and a touchdown and also caught three passes for 49 yards and one score. With Davis clearly a painful step slower, and the first-place Panthers needing to stabilize the tailback position for the final month of the season, it's likely Foster will be the starter the rest of the way.
Scout's take
Ward Observations on the Week 13 action from a college scout, one former pro personnel director and a retired defensive coordinator: • "Defenses admire [Steelers star wideout] Hines Ward, but most secondaries don't feel that Pittsburgh has a complementary deep threat that scares anyone, and that the team actually misses [the departed] Plaxico Burress. It's not like Antwaan Randle El is making big plays to compensate for Burress' being gone. He's more a slot guy anyway. And, man, did Ward have a tough first half [Sunday], losing a fumble and dropping what probably would have been a touchdown pass. Still, he's a great player, and Pittsburgh better look in the offseason to get him some help." • "I think if I'm Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel, I'd stick with Charlie Frye as my quarterback the rest of the season. I mean, he's the future, and I thought he played well on Sunday. He seemed to have a real rapport with wide receiver Braylon Edwards and that bodes well for the future. But it looked like Edwards had a really bad knee [injury] and the word is he's done [for the season]." • "You keep writing about [Jacksonville middle linebacker Mike] Peterson, and so I decided to watch him pretty closely [Sunday]. Very active, a ton of tackles [14, according to the official game book] and a sack. He's really playing well." • "The Carolina game plan made great use of [first-round linebacker/safety Thomas] Davis as a 'spy' against Michael Vick. But the best thing the Panthers' coaches did early in the season was to bench Davis and replace him with Marlon McCree [at safety]. McCree really has had a heck of a good season, and as a guy on just a one-year contract [he] is making himself some money with his performance." • "I still don't think New England can overcome all the stuff it's had happen to make a run deep into the playoffs. But getting their top tailbacks back on the field, Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk, makes them a much better and well-rounded team." • "The two Chicago linebackers, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs, had great games. Briggs is one of the best players no one knows about in the entire league. He had a slew of pass breakups [three] on Sunday." • "Say this for [Tennessee offensive coordinator] Norm Chow: He said he was going to make the tight ends a big part of their passing game and he definitely has done that." • "Atlanta could be in some trouble in their division. They're behind Carolina and Tampa Bay and they need to beat both those teams now in the final month. What could really hurt the Falcons, too, is that they're just 4-4 now against NFC teams, and that could kill them when it comes to the tiebreakers." • "I'll be stunned, unless somebody trades up to get a quarterback, if [Southern Cal tailback] Reggie Bush isn't the first pick in the draft. A lot can happen, I guess, but people say Bush is special; man, he really is."
Heard in the press box (in Tampa)
Pittsburgh officials weren't commenting Sunday about reports that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's injured right thumb is actually broken and that one of the options was to put it in a cast and have him miss the balance of the season. But some officials, coaches and even players pointed out that Roethlisberger is the same guy who last year, after a loss in the AFC Championship Game, claimed he suffered a broken foot in that contest. While it was notable that Steelers team physician Dr. James Bradley closely evaluated every pass that Roethlisberger threw in his early warm-ups Sunday morning, there is a feeling in some quarters of the organization that the Pittsburgh starter might embellish things a bit when it comes to injuries. Of course, in the increasingly cryptic world of the NFL these days, the Steelers might not be totally forthcoming, either. ... If Oakland owner Al Davis decides to dump coach Norv Turner, don't be surprised if Baltimore Ravens quarterbacks coach Rick Neuheisel gets an interview. For whatever reason, Davis loves Neuheisel, and he's going to want someone who can put all the offensive pieces together. As reported Friday in the "Tip Sheet" column, Neuheisel and former Seattle and San Francisco coach Dennis Erickson are rumored to be potential candidates for what figures to be a vacancy at San Diego State. ... There was a published report Sunday that Buffalo Bills team president Tom Donahoe's job security is suddenly tenuous. But Donahoe and other high team officials met Saturday with Bills owner Ralph Wilson and it doesn't appear that a change is imminent. ... The remarks by Southern California coach Pete Carroll, in which he suggested that the media is essentially pushing tailback Reggie Bush into the 2006 draft as an underclassmen, were out of line. Bush's stepfather, LaMar Griffin, said during the broadcast of Saturday's game against UCLA that Bush is leaning toward applying for the draft, because he's got nothing left to achieve at the college level. ... Cincinnati wide receivers coach Hue Jackson was a candidate for the head coach job at Temple, which on Saturday offered the spot to Virginia defensive coordinator Al Golden. ... Joe Vitt has done a nice job as interim coach at St. Louis, but he has zero chance of keeping the job for 2006. Don't be surprised if the Rams front office asks the new coach to retain a few current assistants, including defensive line coach Bill Kollar.

Or, in the case of the suddenly floundering Pittsburgh Steelers, it is the offensive line's lack of blocking that has come under scrutiny of late. If you can't block -- and right now, the Steelers' line unit might not be able to knock my 98-pound mother-in-law out of the A gap on a third-and-inches play -- you can't run. And, as history has demonstrated, if the Steelers can't run, they don't often win.

For the third game in a row on Sunday, the Steelers could neither block nor run the ball. And not surprisingly, for the third consecutive week, Pittsburgh lost, falling to 7-5, all but out of the AFC North race and in peril of missing the playoffs for the second time in three years, just one season after posting a sterling 15-1 mark.

Forget that sore-thumbed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (more on him later) threw for a career-best 386 yards and three scores. When it comes to a ground attack, Pittsburgh has been relegated, it seems, to more of a ground-to-a-halt game.

Memo to Steelers offensive line coach Russ Grimm, who is viewed by some teams as a potential head coaching candidate, but whose surname (if he simply expunged the second "m") could not be more appropriate at this point: The next team on the schedule is the Chicago Bears. Top-ranked defense in the league. Entered this weekend as the No. 6 outfit versus the run, surrendering 93.3 yards per game. Then again, 93 yards on the ground would represent an improvement for Pittsburgh, which is averaging a puny 83.7 yards per game and a microscopic 3.2 yards per attempt during its current three-game tumble.

In a 38-31 loss Sunday to Cincinnati, the Steelers' line had problems trying to handle nondescript Bengals defensive linemen such as tackle Shaun Smith (seven tackles, or three more than he had managed all year coming into the game, in the second start of his career) and rookie swingman Jonathan Fanene (one tackle but very disruptive in the first appearance of his career). It will be interesting to see how the Steelers fare against the Bears' front four, arguably the best in the league, and an outfit wholly capable of summarily suffocating not just a running attack, but every facet of an offense.

Good luck, Pittsburgh, because you're going to need it. The right side of the Steelers' line, guard Kendall "False Start" Simmons and tackle Max Starks, has been nothing short of horrible over the past month. The starter at left tackle, rookie Trai Essex, has struggled in replacing the injured Marvel Smith. Not even the unit's top two players, center Jeff Hartings and perennial Pro Bowl left guard Alan Faneca, have been above demerits of late. Coach Bill Cowher was publicly critical of the line two weeks ago and many here felt it was a motivational ploy. Guess what? It wasn't. And if Cowher is ripping the line publicly, can you imagine what the Steelers coach, who was terse and tempestuous on Sunday after his team's latest poor outing, is saying behind closed doors?

The blockers, though, aren't the only glaring problem with the Pittsburgh running-on-empty attack.

Pittsburgh, which hasn't had a 1,000-yard rusher since 2001 and might not have one this season, either (the last time the Steelers went four seasons without a four-digit back was actually an eight-season drought, 1984-91), lacks a feature tailback.

Willie Parker, who has been the primary starter, now looks like a change-of-pace guy, and one who puts the ball on the ground too often, as evidenced by his two fumbles. Future Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis is averaging 2.8 yards per carry. That's good if Bettis is around the goal line, which is where the Steelers were using him, but not so good when he's out in the middle of the field. For some reason, the coaches haven't figured out what just about everyone in their locker room, including most players, seems to know: That, when he is healthy, which he currently is, Duce Staley, reduced largely to third-down duty lately, is the team's best power back.

As for Roethlisberger, who performed nobly with a reportedly broken thumb, well, he's far better when throwing the ball 25-28 times per game. Forced to put it in the air a career-most 41 times on Sunday, he tossed three touchdown passes, but matched that with three interceptions. That's not the formula Pittsburgh rode to a 15-1 record last season, when the Steelers insulated Roethlisberger as though he were a hothouse orchid, and just imposed their will on opponents with an unwavering smashmouth mind-set. These days, it's the Pittsburgh running game that's getting smacked upside the head, and which isn't responding very well. And there has been some obvious fallout for Roethlisberger, who threw no interceptions in his first four starts and now has seven in his last four.

Three times in the third quarter Sunday, the Steelers drove into Cincinnati territory, and that included one possession that originated from the Bengals' 45-yard line. And what did Pittsburgh do with those opportunities? Scored just once, in part because Roethlisberger was notably errant, including one of his three interceptions.

Struggling so mightily in the second half of any season is highly unusual for the Steelers under Cowher, whose first 13 teams had averaged 2.7 defeats after the halfway mark. Usually, by the time the weather turns cold and snowy, as was the case Sunday, the Steelers have hit their stride, and pounded opponents enough to physically erode them. But that's not the case right now.

Cowher's teams have suffered just three losing streaks of more than three games in the second half of the season. To qualify for a wild-card spot, especially in the crowded AFC, Pittsburgh might have to run the table in its remaining four games. But unless the Steelers can come up with some sort of antidote for their impotent running game, and before the Bears arrive here next weekend, a four-game winning streak is wishful thinking, and a four-game losing skid is more likely.

The New York Giants were 4-2 in their first six games of the season and 4-2 over their most recent stretch. But at least on the defensive side, the mirror-image records are about the only things similar about the team's two six-packs. Regarded by some observers as a relatively one dimensional team during the initial 1½ months of the season, the Giants have become a markedly more well-rounded outfit of late, notably because of the upgrade wrought by defensive coordinator Tim Lewis' unit.

Counting the key Sunday afternoon win over Dallas, the New York defense has surrendered just 227.5 yards per game, 13.5 points and a total of six offensive touchdowns over the last six games. Twice in that stretch, the Giants held opposing offenses out of the end zone. The numbers for the first six outings of the year: 22.8 points and 411.8 yards per game and 14 touchdowns surrendered.

Credit Lewis for getting big performances out of his ends, Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora, middle linebacker Antonio Pierce and safety Gibril Wilson. Credit him, too, for being able to find ways to compensate for the lengthy absences of cornerback Will Peterson, outside linebacker Barrett Green and, more recently, much improved tackle William Joseph.

"You can do a lot of things," acknowledged safety Brent Alexander, who sealed the victory Sunday with a late-game interception, "when your front people are pressuring the quarterback like our guys are." Indeed, the Giants can diversify because their blitz quota is a relatively modest one, since Umenyiora and Strahan are wreaking so much havoc. The subject of a lengthy ESPN.com training camp feature (we get so few players right in our assessments, oblige us one brief, self-congratulatory moment), Umenyiora now has 11 sacks for the season, including eight in the last half-dozen games.

General manager Ernie Accorsi ought to thank himself every day for not caving when the San Diego Chargers insisted that Umenyiora be part of the 2004 trade package that brought quarterback Eli Manning to the Giants. Accorsi told us at camp this summer that he wasn't about to part with Umenyiora, even if his intransigence scuttled the Manning deal, and now people see why he was so reluctant to part with such an athletic pass rusher.

Strahan's two sacks Sunday nudged his career total to 127½ and moved him into 10th place on the league's all-time sack list. He's got four quarterback takedowns in the last six games. New York is getting a lot out of role players such as tackle Kendrick Clancy and linebacker Nick Greisen, but mostly it's been a case of the defense coming together, which could serve Lewis well when owners who are seeking to make a change on their sidelines start drawing up short lists of potential candidates.

Jake Plummer

Quarterback Denver Broncos Profile

2005 SEASON STATISTICS Att Comp Yds TD Int Rat 343 211 2414 15 6 91.2

The return of The Old Snake, the careless, casual-with-the-ball, interception-throwin' Jake Plummer? Uh, probably too early to fret about that, Denver fans, particularly since the Broncos still have that running game. But it is notable that, after a streak of 229 consecutive attempts without an interception, Plummer tossed up three steals in his next 30 passes, including two on Sunday in a tautly contested loss at Kansas City.

The defeat narrowed the Broncos' lead in the AFC West to just one skinny game over the Chiefs and San Diego, and Denver finishes the season on the road against the Chargers on New Year's Eve. The good news for nervous Broncos fans: The other three remaining games are against Baltimore, Buffalo and Oakland, teams with a combined record of 12-24. Sunday's bump in the road notwithstanding, the Broncos still remain in the fast lane for their first division title since (can you believe this?) the 1998 season.

The Chiefs face the equivalent an extremely tough schedule, with games at Dallas, at the New York Giants and at home to San Diego and Cincinnati. In addition to facing the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium and hosting the Broncos, the Chargers must play Miami at home next Sunday and then are at Indianapolis on Dec. 18. Unless Plummer really turns back the clock, and suffers a confidence meltdown, Denver should still be in pretty good shape.

Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has done an admirable job in managing Plummer to this point, and Plummer has done nicely managing games, so Sunday might be viewed as a bit of an aberration. That said, look for the Broncos to keep the ball on the ground even more than usual against the Ravens next week. No one wants Plummer to have a chance to revert to what he's been in the past.

Kurt Warner

Quarterback Arizona Cardinals Profile

2005 SEASON STATISTICS Att Comp Yds TD Int Rat 324 207 2212 9 8 84.4

Because it came against the undermanned San Francisco secondary, Kurt Warner's 354-yard performance in the Arizona Cardinals' victory on Sunday is devalued a little. Still, it marked the fifth time in just eight starts this season that the two-time league most valuable player passed for more than 300 yards, and was the third time in his last five outings that Warner had more than 330 yards.

The upshot: Sometime before the end of the season, even though Arizona is uncharacteristically shy of salary cap room, Cardinals officials will approach Warner, whose career has been resurrected at age 34, about a contract extension. Remember, the former St. Louis star signed just a one-year contract, worth $4 million, with the Cardinals this summer.

So, if the financial numbers are in line, should Warner bite on an extension offer? Well, if he wants to finish out his career in a winning situation, that's going to be a difficult call. A chic preseason choice of many league pundits to challenge for a playoff spot in 2005, Arizona has fallen far short, and half of its four victories have come at the expense of the woeful 49ers. But Arizona has a superb wide receiver tandem and, if coach Dennis Green and offensive coordinator Keith Rowen can ever get the running game figured out (a very huge if, certainly, based on what has transpired this season), the Arizona offense could be potent, indeed.

Wideouts Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin again posted individual 100-yard games on Sunday, the fourth time this season they have cracked the century mark together. In the nine games that they've started, Boldin and Fitzgerald have averaged an aggregate 14.3 catches and 200.7 yards. Fitzgerald averaged seven receptions and 104.7 yards in the three contests he played without Boldin, when his partner was injured, but his numbers don't suffer much at all (6.8 catches and 90.4 yards), when they are on the field as a tandem.

But about the dreadful running game: Rookie J.J. Arrington, a second-round pick whom Green fell in love with after he rushed for 2,000 yards last season at the University of California, posted 59 yards against the 49ers. And that modest effort, folks, represented the best outing of the season by a Cardinals tailback. The injured Marcel Shipp has not rushed for more than 54 yards in any of his nine starts.

The smart money says that Warner comes back for 2006 and beyond. But if Warner is smart, he won't sign anything until he gets some assurances that the offensive line and tailback spot will be enhanced. After all, it's no fun, as Warner is finding out, throwing for 300 yards every week when your team is out of the playoff chase by the end of October.

Aaron Brooks

Quarterback New Orleans Saints Profile

2005 SEASON STATISTICS Att Comp Yds TD Int Rat 385 213 2473 12 17 69.0

Good thing that blustery blast of winter weather in the Northeast kept commissioner Paul Tagliabue from making the trip to Baton Rouge, La., to meet with the New Orleans Saints players there in their latest "home" game. As publicly diplomatic as the commissioner is known to be, even Tagliabue might have been screaming about the play of quarterback Aaron Brooks and urging coach Jim Haslett to yank him.

No matter where owner Tom Benson sets up shop next season -- we don't care if it's in Timbuktu -- no Saints fan should be forced to watch Brooks again. Especially after Sunday's debacle. Brooks is arguably the most overrated, and thus overpaid, quarterback in the league. We've long held, and have expressed these sentiments, that Brooks is just good enough to get you beat. On Sunday, he took it one step beyond, playing just badly enough to have the Saints lose a 10-3 decision to the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Not only could Brooks not muster anything more than a John Carney field goal, but he tossed four interceptions. Three of the pickoffs came on snaps that originated from the Tampa Bay 25-, 25- and 30-yard lines. New Orleans officials have always been quick to defend their quarterback. On Sunday, Tampa Bay's Ronde Barber, still one of the NFL's most underappreciated cornerbacks, was quick to defense Brooks, coming up with three interceptions.

We've always preached, as a rule of thumb, that no franchise should dump a starting quarterback until it's certain it has someone better to assume the job. Well, that rule of thumb is getting the thumb, at least as it applies to Brooks. Surely there has to be someone out there, or will be by next spring, better than the Saints' starter. Brooks is owed $13.5 million in base salaries over the next two seasons. The Saints would be crazy to pay it.

David Pollack

Linebacker Cincinnati Bengals Profile

2005 SEASON STATISTICS Tot Ast Solo FF Sack Int 19 15 4 0 3 0

Judging from its play on Sunday afternoon, Cincinnati's 2005 draft class might be a keeper. First-round pick David Pollack, who missed much of camp and has struggled at times in his debut season, notched a sack of Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the Steelers' final series. Starting middle linebacker Odell Thurman, a second-round pick and strong candidate for defensive rookie of the year honors, registered 10 tackles, an interception, one pass defensed and a forced fumble. Third-round wide receiver Chris Henry had five catches for 52 yards. Sixth-round wideout Tab Perry had five kickoff returns for an average of 39.4 yards and his scintillating 94-yard runback, on which he carried Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor for 27 yards, helped the Bengals quickly retain the lead after Pittsburgh had tied the game at 24-24. Seventh-round defensive lineman Jonathan Fanene, who dressed for the first time all season, had just one tackle but was consistently disruptive.

Jacksonville has now won five straight games. The Jaguars defense permitted just 55 yards in the second half Sunday after surrendering 243 yards in the first half. ... Miami's comeback, scoring three touchdowns in the final 11:35 of the game, was the franchise's biggest since 1974. ... Buffalo is now 0-6 on the road this season following a loss in which the Bills led 21-0 at one point. ... After 16 consecutive conversions, Atlanta kicker Todd Peterson finally missed Sunday, as he was wide on a 49-yard attempt early in the game. Peterson made two subsequent field goals. ... The Atlanta loss dropped quarterback Michael Vick to 5-1 in starts against Carolina. The Falcons had won 12 of the previous 14 meetings with the Panthers. Vick was sacked five times on 40 dropbacks. ... With 1,134 points, New England kicker Adam Vinatieri has surpassed Gino Cappelletti as the leading scorer in Patriots history. ... Jets tailback Curtis Martin, held to 29 yards on 15 carries, has now gone eight straight meetings against the Patriots defense without a rushing touchdown. ... Chicago quarterback Kyle Orton completed just six passes Sunday against the Packers. There were 15 individuals who had six or more receptions on Sunday. ... The Bears defense snapped a Brett Favre streak of 26 straight games with a touchdown pass against Chicago. That's a league record for most consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass versus an opponent. ... Chicago's eight-game winning streak is its best since 1985, when the Bears started the season 12-0. ... Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Rams became the first Harvard quarterback to start a game in the modern era of the league. ... The Rams' 210 yards on Sunday against the Redskins represented St. Louis' lowest output of the season. ... The Lions' record under team president Matt Millen is now 20-56. That's two games worse than the record that John McKay had at the outset of the Tampa Bay franchise. ... Redskins first-round cornerback Carlos Rogers has had some uneven moments, but he had an interception for the second game in a row Sunday. ... Peyton Manning of Indianapolis needed just 17 passes Sunday, the second fewest of his career, to defeat the Tennessee Titans. ... The Colts are just the fifth team to start a season 12-0. Coach Tony Dungy won his 100th regular-season game. ... Baltimore defensive end Terrell Suggs had three sacks Sunday after getting only two in the first 11 games of the season.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.