NFL ROUNDUP | News and notes

Panthers: Carolina's fifth straight victory moved the Panthers to 6-2 and into a tie for the best record in the NFC. But as coach John Fox quickly pointed out, it really only assured them of finishing at least 6-10 this season. That pessimistic attitude is what Fox uses to keep the Panthers from ever getting too high. It worked in 2003 en route to the only Super Bowl appearance in team history, and again last season when the Panthers were beset with injuries and started the year 1-7. Fox said Monday he'll continue preaching that same sermon. "It [celebrating] is allowed -- I don't walk around with a big stick and hit people over the head or anything," Fox said. "I think it still is what it is. We are 6-2 and we are one game away from being the worst team in football. If you just be the same guy and go to work each day with your lunch pail and get your work done, those things take care of themselves. We don't want to get too far ahead or get too far behind, just stay in the now." It works for the Panthers, who kept Sunday's 34-14 victory over the Bucs in perspective. The win put them a game up on Tampa Bay in the NFC South and left them tied with Atlanta and the New York Giants for the best conference record.
Lions: Roy Williams was ready to play. He's still not sure why he didn't. Williams, who expected to see 25 to 30 snaps in Sunday's loss to Minnesota despite a pulled quadriceps, ended up playing only three. "If I've got my uniform on, I'm ready to go," he said Monday. "If I wasn't going to play, I would have been wearing a T-shirt and shorts. If I have an 11 on my chest, I can go." After missing three games with the injury, Williams made his first appearance in the first quarter when Mike Williams left the game with a twisted ankle. After one play, the series ended and Lions coach Steve Mariucci brought his depleted receiving corps together on the sideline. "I was trying to shift the receivers around, and I asked Roy if he could play the Z [flanker] position for the rest of the game," Mariucci said. "He said he didn't think his leg was up to that. I had to base things a lot on his decision. I can't feel how much his leg hurts." Williams played two more snaps in the second quarter, then sat out the rest of the game.
Bills: Sam Adams is more irritated than motivated after spending the final half of Buffalo's last game on the bench. If the Bills want more production out of their Pro Bowl defensive tackle, Adams has a solution: play him more. "I need to be on the field," Adams said Monday. "You put the player in that's going to give you the best chance to win, so there it is." The Bills are coming off a bye week, and Adams' comments were his first chance to react since he spent the second half on the bench in Buffalo's 21-16 loss at New England on Oct. 30. Coach Mike Mularkey wouldn't provide a definitive reason why he benched Adams, but said he hoped the player would be motivated by it when the Bills (3-5) open the second half of their season hosting Kansas City on Sunday. Adams shrugged off Mularkey's comments. "It doesn't hurt my feelings," Adams said. "No, that doesn't motivate me at all. It irritates me and takes away the focus of what I need to do ... I need to play to win."
Ravens: Kyle Boller will reclaim his job as starting quarterback Sunday, hopeful he can revive the team's lackluster offense after missing seven games with a toe injury. Boller hasn't played since hyperextending his right big toe in the season opener against Indianapolis. He was replaced by Anthony Wright, who produced only two wins and will serve as the backup against Jacksonville.
Eagles: Kicker David Akers agreed to a contract extension through the 2010 season. A three-time Pro Bowl kicker, Akers is ranked fifth on the NFL's all-time career field goal accuracy list (82.1 percent). He set an NFL record in 2004 with 17 field goals of 40 yards or longer.
Buccaneers: Tampa Bay is sticking with Chris Simms. The third-year quarterback has struggled in two starts since Brian Griese was lost for the season. But coach Jon Gruden said Monday he has no plans to make a change this week against Washington. "I think he's getting better," Gruden said. Simms completed 25 of 42 passes for 259 yards Sunday, including a perfectly thrown 50-yarder that Joey Galloway ran under in the end zone. But he also was sacked five times for the second straight week, lost a fumble and threw two interceptions.
Cardinals: Pro Bowl defensive end Bertrand Berry has a torn left pectoral muscle and could be out for the season. Berry was injured in the fourth quarter of the Cardinals' 33-19 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. An MRI exam Monday determined the extent of the injury. The team said in a late-afternoon announcement that it had not been determined whether surgery would be required. Initially, the Cardinals indicated it was expected to be a season-ending injury, but later amended the statement to say the injury would be evaluated before making a decision on whether to officially proclaim Berry's season over.
Jets: Brooks Bollinger will start at quarterback against Carolina on Sunday. "I liked what I saw," coach Herm Edwards said of Bollinger's three-drive, two-touchdown performance in relief of gimpy starter Vinny Testaverde in the loss to the Chargers. "One thing we knew going into this game is that Vinny is not good coming off the bench and Brooks is. We knew we had energy coming off the bench in Brooks because he's a different kind of quarterback. It worked out very, very well that way." Edwards' decision was made simpler because Testaverde aggravated his right-calf strain during the game. The injury could drop him to third-QB status at Carolina, with Kliff Kingsbury moving up to No. 2. Whatever the reason for Bollinger's second pro start, it's all right by him.
Wire reports
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