NFL Notebook: Bills hope Owens will play

By: JournalNow Staff | JOURNAL WIRE REPORT
Published: November 13, 2009

■ Buffalo: Bills coach Dick Jauron remains hopeful that Terrell Owens will play against Tennessee Sunday after a strained hip forced the receiver to miss his second straight practice.

Jauron said yesterday that Owens is "still struggling" with the injury, which flared up during the team's day off on Tuesday. Jauron said that he believed Ownes was feeling better, but not good enough to be on the field.

Owens walked without a limp in the locker room after practice. The Bills (3-5) are coming off their bye to play at Tennessee (2-6).

Defensive end Aaron Schobel worked out on his own for the first time since hurting his groin in a loss to Houston on Nov. 1.

■ Dolphins: Miami starting guard Justin Smiley was sent to a doctor yesterday and remains sidelined because of a shoulder injury, increasing the likelihood he'll miss this week's game against Tampa Bay.

Also sitting out of practice were linebacker Joey Porter (knee), nose tackle Paul Soliai (ankle) and special-teams contributor Erik Walden (hamstring). Tight end Anthony Fasano (hip) was limited for a second straight day.

■ Redskins: A concussion will keep Clinton Portis out of Washington's game with the Broncos on Sunday. He was hurt in a helmet-to-helmet hit in the first quarter of last weekend's loss to Atlanta. He had tests this week and wasn't at the practice complex yesterday.

Ladell Betts could make his first start since 2006, if he can play. He's nursing a sprained ankle and did not practice yesterday. Coach Jim Zorn said he expects him to play.

■ Cardinals: The NFL has given Arizona a 24-hour extension to the TV blackout deadline for Sunday's game with the Seahawks. To air live on local television, league rules require games to be sold out 72 hours before kickoff. This is the fourth time this season that the NFL has given Arizona an extension. As of yesterday, the team said they had about 800 tickets to sell before today's deadline.

■ Broncos: A struggling Denver offense will start Russ Hochstein at left guard on Sunday at Washington in place of longtime veteran Ben Hamilton.

■ Raiders: Oakland's ineptitude on offense has been a boon to Shane Lechler in his bid to break the NFL's single-season punting record. Lechler, who already owns the league record for career average, is having his best season so far and is making his strongest bid yet to beat Sammy Baugh's 69-year-old record of 51.4 yards.

A four-time Pro Bowl pick, Lechler leads the NFL with a 52.3-yard average heading into Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs. That's more than three yards higher than Lechler's club record of 49.1 set in 2007.