Tom Brady hates the New York Jets. Rex Ryan doesn't like the New England Patriots. The verbal sparring has started again and there's still nearly three weeks to go before the fierce rivals begin their seasons. During his contractually mandated weekly appearance on WEEI radio on Monday, Brady was asked about "Hard Knocks," the HBO show giving an inside look at the Jets training...

National championship, regular season or simply an exhibition. The setting doesn't seem to matter, not when Vince Young is playing Matt Leinart. Young outdueled Leinart yet again, Chris Johnson ran for a touchdown and Tennessee beat the Arizona Cardinals 24-10 Monday night in the Titans' preseason home opener.

Scratch two more Dallas Cowboys starters with injuries, making it four this preseason. And it's looking less likely Dez Bryant will play in any exhibition games, either. The bright side, said coach Wade Phillips, is that almost everyone is expected back for the season opener. Free safety Gerald Sensabaugh and inside linebacker Keith Brooking are sitting out because of shoulder injuries.

A.J. Feeley's thumb injury put No. 1 draft pick Sam Bradford on the fast track. The rookie from Oklahoma gets his first start with the St. Louis Rams this week by default, and with two preseason games to go he has a chance to seize the position that everybody knows will be his eventually. "There's no doubt in my mind that he will lead this team," safety Oshiomoghe Atogwe said.

Veteran quarterback Todd Collins made no pretenses about his ambitions after signing a one-year contract Monday with the Chicago Bears. The 38-year-old longtime NFL backup agreed to terms with an eye on taking the backup spot away from injured quarterback Caleb Hanie. "I plan to," Collins said.

Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan met with Albert Haynesworth on Monday and kept the conversation to himself, saying it's "completely ridiculous" to keep talking about it publicly. "If you guys want to talk about football, we'll talk about football," Shanahan said. "But to keep on talking about things outside of football to me is completely ridiculous.

The anchor of the New York Jets' offensive line is about to get a big payday. All-Pro center Nick Mangold and the Jets are close on a contract extension, coach Rex Ryan acknowledged Monday. The deal would make the two-time Pro Bowl selection one of the highest-paid players at his position. Mangold is scheduled to earn $3.3 million in the final year of his five-year rookie deal.

Eli Manning got under the center and everything looked normal, for the most part. He identified the middle linebacker, barked out a few signals and took the snap from Shaun O'Hara. The only thing out of the ordinary was this: Manning was wearing a blue Giants baseball cap to cover his head and the meding 3-inch wound on the left side of his forehead.

Washington Redskins free safety Kareem Moore had arthroscopic surgery Monday on his sprained right knee and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks, ruling him out of the start of the regular season. Moore was hurt in the Redskins' preseason loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday night. He went down without contact when the Ravens ran a fake punt.

Former Ohio State tailback Maurice Clarett has gotten back into the classroom. Now he wants to get back onto the football field. Clarett filed a motion with a judge asking to be allowed to travel to try out with the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League. A review of the motion was tentatively set for Monday afternoon and then later pushed back to Aug.

Brett Favre's latest summer of indecision finally appears to be over. Favre arrived in Minnesota on Tuesday and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him in a Vikings helmet and red quarterback's jersey when the team takes the field for practice on Wednesday. In a scene nearly identical to his signing with Minnesota a year ago, Favre took a private plane from Mississippi on the Tuesday...

Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga was fined two game checks by the NFL on Tuesday and forfeited a two-week share of his signing bonus for a drunken driving conviction. The NFL decided not to suspend Maualuga, who pleaded guilty to drunken driving charges in February. "These past couple weeks and days I was wondering when I was going to find out.

The New Orleans Saints made a move to strengthen their running back depth when they signed former Redskin Ladell Betts to a one-year contract Tuesday. Betts joined his new teammates for a two-hour practice at the Superdome, but didn't wear shoulder pads and was held out of team drills as he continues to work his way back from surgery last fall to repair torn left knee ligaments.

Buffalo Bills rookie receiver David Nelson is out indefinitely after being carted off the field with a right leg injury during practice on Tuesday. Without providing any specifics of the injury, coach Chan Gailey said, "it doesn't look good." Based on the initial prognosis, Gailey added that there is a question as to whether Nelson will recover in time for the Bills' season...

The Tennessee Titans waived injured rookie running back Stafon Johnson, the former Southern California standout whose college career was ended by a weightlifting accident that crushed his neck. As soon as he clears waivers, coach Jeff Fisher said they will put him on injured reserve to keep him around the training facilities during his recovery.

The Seattle Seahawks have released former Chicago Bears running back Adrian Peterson days after signing him. Peterson signed with Seattle on Thursday. His release clears roster room for newly acquired defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer. His boomerang stay continues a pattern of roster turnover that new coach Pete Carroll has had since he arrived in January.

Dave Zastudil was determined to make this season better than his last. The pain won't let him. Zastudil was placed on injured reserve Tuesday by the Cleveland Browns after his surgically repaired right plant leg did not respond enough to rehab and rest for him to kick this season. Zastudil missed half of 2009 with a torn patellar tendon, which was surgically repaired during the offseason.

Scientists funded in part by the NFL say they have found evidence connecting head injuries in athletes to a condition that mimics Lou Gehrig's disease. Dr. Ann McKee said she found toxic proteins in the spinal cords of three athletes who had suffered head injuries and were later diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, or ALS.

Chris Johnson's agent says the running back and the Tennessee Titans have agreed on a revised deal that will ensure he reports with the rest of the team for training camp. Agent Joel Segal confirmed the deal Monday to The Associated Press. Segal would not say how much of a raise Johnson is getting, but did say the running will get a pay increase.

The Bengals have released guard Jason Shirley, who tore an Achilles' tendon while playing in a charity basketball game in April. If nobody claims Shirley off waivers, he will revert to the team's non-football injury list. Shirley was a defensive lineman from Fresno State when the Bengals took him in the fifth round of the draft in 2008.