Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon has a broken vertebra in his neck that will sideline him at least eight weeks. At 38, the age when so many quarterbacks reach the end of their careers, Gannon could be done if the Raiders decide to put him on injured reserve for the second straight season.
Gannon was hit helmet-to-helmet by Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks in the first quarter of the Bucs’ 30-20 victory Sunday night. An MRI exam Monday revealed the break.
“He will be out an extended period,” Oakland coach Norv Turner said. “It’s disappointing … it makes you sick to your stomach when any player puts as much into it as Rich has.”
After spending the last nine weeks of last season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, Gannon vowed to keep his job ahead of Kerry Collins, obtained from the Giants in the off-season.
Gannon was the league’s MVP in 2002 when the Raiders lost to the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl. He had started every game since joining Oakland in 1999 after a career as a journeyman.
Gannon ran 2 yards on third-and-goal and was stopped at the 5 by Brooks. Gannon grimaced in pain on the ground, but walked off the field on his own, looking groggy.
Collins directed the Raiders on four scoring drives Sunday night, completing 16 of 27 passes for 228 yards and one touchdown.
Favre, too
Things got so bad on the NFL injury front in Week 3 that even Brett Favre was affected.
No, the Packers’ indestructible quarterback isn’t about to miss Sunday’s game against the Giants. All he has is a bruised hamstring and a shoulder joint that pops loose–his left shoulder. Favre revealed Monday it has bothered him for quite some time.
“I’m not going to sit here and dwell on my injuries, but I’ve got a bad left shoulder,” Favre said. “It’s as simple as that. If it was my right one, I wouldn’t be playing. But I feel like Mel Gibson in `Lethal Weapon.’ It’s just kind of loose and kind of wobbles around and pops out from time to time. As long as it pops back, I’m OK.”
Favre has started 211 consecutive games, including playoffs. During Sunday’s 45-31 loss at Indianapolis, Favre held his left arm lower when signaling a touchdown after one of his four touchdown passes.
“It’s been hurting for about two years,” Favre said. “It’s just that with each day that passes, believe it or not, it gets worse and worse.”
Favre will turn 35 on Oct. 10, so he still has three years before encountering the 38-year-old barrier for quarterbacks.
“Anytime No. 4 has an injury there’s a level of concern,” coach Mike Sherman said. “He’s not overly concerned by it. But it’s always been a concern of mine. I ask him about it. The doctor will check on it. It doesn’t detract from his performance.”
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Favre missed the final series of Sunday’s game after Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney struck him on the back of the left leg on the previous drive.
“He has a bruise there about the size of a golf ball that probably caused a charley-horse reaction,” Sherman said.
Stat of the week
After three games, including two losses, the St. Louis Rams have yet to force a turnover. Under defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, they led the league in takeaways last season.
Peyton paid a ton
The Colts gave Peyton Manning a seven-year contract worth $98 million last off-season, and his five touchdown passes in the first half Sunday against the Packers made it look like the price was right.
“In training camp, I study a lot of film,” Manning said. “Some guys play cards. But I feel very obligated to earn it and that’s not by playing cards at night.”
Manning is on pace to throw for more than 4,800 yards and 48 touchdowns. On Sunday, the Colts face unbeaten Jacksonville, which has scored only four touchdowns all season. Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich has 391 yards passing this year, two yards fewer than Manning had Sunday.
McNair hurt again
Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair, co-MVP of the league with Manning last season, was scheduled to spend Monday night in a Nashville hospital to recuperate from a bruised sternum, the same injury he suffered in 1997 and 2000.
McNair’s profile includes 30 documented injuries but only eight games missed since 1997. That includes five in 1999 after undergoing surgery for a ruptured disc.
Vikings like bye
The Vikings need their off week after beating the Bears. Starting linebackers E.J. Henderson (left knee) and Chris Claiborne (left calf) and center Matt Birk (left ankle) probably won’t be ready for their next game Oct. 10 at Houston, the Vikings said.
Running back Michael Bennett, however, has been cleared to practice at full speed and will return at Houston after missing the first three games with a sprained right knee.
Things could be worse
Dave Wannstedt’s 0-3 Dolphins don’t even feel at home in the water. In Sunday night’s 13-3 loss against Pittsburgh in the midst of Hurricane Jeanne, quarterback A.J. Feeley failed to make two inches on a fourth down near midfield.
The Dolphins have scored only 23 points. Even as an expansion team in 1966, with Dick Wood and Rick Norton at quarterback, Miami scored 48 points in the first three games.
The Dolphins’ longest completion has been 37 yards, their longest run 14 yards. They’ve been sacked eight times, committed 27 penalties and given away an NFL-high 10 turnovers. The defense has allowed just two touchdowns. Two opposing scores came on interceptions of Feeley.
“This is foreign waters for all of us,” Wannstedt said.
Feeley is still the quarterback despite five interceptions and two touchdown passes since supplanting Jay Fiedler midway through the opener.
“As of this point, nothing has changed,” Wannstedt said. “We’re still talking and looking. … A.J.’s young.”
With Lamar Gordon sidelined by a shoulder injury and replaced by Leonard Henry, the Dolphins are on their fifth running back since July, when Ricky Williams retired.
“This is a coach’s nightmare, going through changes during the season,” Wannstedt said. “When you’re trying to juggle players at this point to improve your team, that’s not a whole lot of fun.”