Game Plan (cont.)

Under Pressure

Randy Moss and three other Patriots were sent home this week after showing up late for a team meeting. Getty Images

Jasper Brinkley, MLB, Minnesota. The fifth-round rookie from South Carolina, replacing E.J. Henderson, is a 6-foot-1, 252-pound player whose stock dropped after a mediocre final year in college. The Vikings liked his experience in the middle (29 career starts) and traded up eight spots in the fifth round to get him.

Looking on the bright side, he should be an upgrade over the beat-up Napoleon Harris, who filled in when E.J. Henderson went down for the season four games into 2008. But Brinkley knows there's going to be a leadership void without Henderson and it's something he can't fill. "The one thing I take from him is how relentlessly he plays,'' Brinkley said Thursday. "He plays every play like it's his last.''

And the play in Arizona was Henderson's last for the year, so now it's up to the rookie plugger to back up nose man Pat Williams in defending the run against the plowhorse Bengals Sunday, and in making plays sideline to sideline. "He's smart and instinctive,'' said coach Brad Childress. He'll need to be against a pro like Carson Palmer.

Ten Things I'll Be Watching For This Weekend

1. The kind of effort Randy Moss gives. One of the Patriots' captains was slapped down by Bill Belichick on Wednesday, being sent home for arriving late to a morning meeting because of a winter storm. Moss has seemed diffident at time this year anyway. Let's see how he responds in a game that'll be tougher than everyone thinks Sunday in Foxboro -- against run-happy Carolina.

2. Eli Manning's footwork and accuracy. Manning had a game reminiscent of his lost 2004 rookie season last week against Dallas (11 of 25). He's got plantar fasciitis in one foo, and a near-stress fracture in the other. The Giants need the October Manning on Sunday night against Philly.

3. San Diego's injury bug. The Chargers' defense, already without ace noseman Jamal Williams for the year, could be without Luis Castillo, Shawne Merriman and center-fielding safety Eric Weddle Sunday at Dallas. And the man they need to solidify the offensive line, center Nick Hardwick, has had a setback from his September ankle injury and will miss a couple more weeks at least. I think Dallas will run early and often.

4. The renaissance of Alex Smith. Coming off the first 300-yard passing day of his career, Smith will make Monday night's home game with Arizona interesting for more than just a last 49ers playoff gasp. If he continues to complete 62 percent of his throws with a 2-to-1 TD-to-pick ratio, he'll certainly be in contention for San Fran's quarterback job in 2010.

5. Adrian Peterson's comeback ability. He told me Thursday he feels great physically. "Nothing wrong,'' Peterson said with a smile. He has to be a better, quicker and harder runner against Cincinnati than he was last week in his 13-carry, 19-yard performance in Arizona. With ace run-stuffer Domata Peko (knee) out for Cincinnati and the Bengals sure to send a variety of blitzes at Brett Favre, Peterson needs one of those classic 24-carry, 161-yard days.

6. 16-0speak. By the end of the weekend, particularly if the Colts defeat Denver and the Saints handle Atlanta (neither locks, by the way), we'll all be tired of why Sean Payton's going for it and why Jim Caldwell isn't.

7. The Hall of Fame finalist balloting of my peers. This is the weekend the 44 members have to finalize their cutdown votes from 25 semifinalists to 15 finalists. Ballots are due at the hall next week. So I've failed on my previous pleas for Ron Wolf and Joe Klecko. Any of you guys/gals reading this, could I politic for Rickey Jackson and Steve Tasker to make it to the finals? Please?

8. The Cowboys and December. It's only Dec. 11, and we're sick to death of the theories about why the Cowboys haven't had a winning December in 13 years, and why Tony Romo is 5-9 in the Christmas month. But that doesn't mean 11 hours of pre-game shows this weekend won't beat us over the head with it.

9. The Jags' empty promise. They can't sell out their home field for a game with an in-state rival, but the Jaguars, hosting feisty Miami, could finish the weekend in commanding position for a wild-card berth by improving to 8-5.

10. The MVP picture to get clearer. Will it continue to be a three-horse race -- Manning, Brees, Favre? Or can Philip Rivers or Aaron Rodgers elbow into the top three? With the quality of quarterback play, it's going to be very hard for a lights-out defender (Elvis Dumervil, Charles Woodson, Darrelle Revis) or Chris Johnson to contend.