NFL ROUNDUP News and notes

Jaguars: Fred Taylor might go down in history as the best running back to never make a Pro Bowl. Taylor, who leads Jacksonville and ranks fourth in the AFC with 1,120 yards rushing, was overlooked again. Cornerback Rashean Mathis made his first Pro Bowl, giving Jacksonville one representative for the fourth consecutive season. Defensive tackle Marcus Stroud was the only Jaguars player voted to the AFC squad the last three years. The Jags (8-6) had hoped to get more recognition this season, especially with the defense ranked second in the league and the offense ranked second in rushing. But Taylor, defensive tackle John Henderson and the entire offensive line were left out of the league's all-star game in Hawaii. "It's too bad that there aren't too many more of our guys that are on this Pro Bowl ballot," said Mathis, a fourth-year player from Bethune-Cookman who's tied for third in the NFL with seven interceptions. Taylor, a former Florida star, is averaging a career-best 5.0 yards per carry. He ranks 21st in NFL history in rushing, and only two of the top 50 running backs have never earned a trip to Hawaii. Antowain Smith, who ranks 49th, is the other. Henderson was named a Pro Bowl replacement in 2004, but the Jaguars felt like he should have made the Pro Bowl the last two years. He has 58 tackles, 11 quarterback pressures and 31/2 sacks this season.
Bears: Chicago suspended troubled defensive tackle Tank Johnson for one game, almost a week after he was arrested for the third time in the last 18 months. Johnson was arrested on misdemeanor weapons charges Thursday and the next day after he was at a night club when his friend was shot to death. General manager Jerry Angelo said Johnson was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team and will not play Sunday against Detroit. "I don't believe the team has to tell me it's my last chance, I know the opportunity that I have in front of me and it's great, it's immense and to squander that opportunity would be a tragedy at this point and that's not gonna happen," Johnson said at a news conference at the Bears' practice facility in Lake Forest. Angelo said the organization felt it was not the right decision to cut Johnson. "He crossed the line and we acted on that," Angelo said. He said Johnson would undergo counseling. Johnson, who will seek counseling -- his idea, according to Angelo -- said he knows he must change or his career with the Bears will be over. "I don't believe the team has to tell me it's my last chance, I know the opportunity that I have in front of me and it's great, it's immense and to squander that opportunity would be a tragedy at this point and that's not gonna happen," Johnson said. Posey had been living at Johnson's home at the time of the raid. The day after their arrests, they went to Ice Bar in Chicago's River North area where Posey was shot during a fight early Saturday morning. How Johnson's latest arrest will affect an earlier probation is not clear. He is scheduled for a court date Jan. 9.
Colts: Marvin Harrison has played through the tingling in his left hand for nearly a month. Rookie running back Joseph Addai might need to follow the 11-year veteran's lead when it comes to his injured right ankle. The Indianapolis Colts (11-3) need both playmakers to make a playoff charge. Harrison hasn't let team doctors examine the hand nor has he missed any practice time, although coach Tony Dungy acknowledged it has bothered the receiver. "I think it will be that way the rest of the year," Dungy said of Harrison, who had surgery on his elbow in May. "But he doesn't seek treatment and he doesn't seek a diagnosis. I think there's only one person who knows what it is, but I do know that if the ball hits it a certain way, it tingles." Addai rolled his right ankle Monday night on a 41-yard run -- the Colts' longest of the season -- to set up Manning's third touchdown pass to Harrison. Dungy said after the game and Tuesday that it was not a high-ankle sprain and he expected Addai to play Sunday in his hometown of Houston. Addai leads all rookies with 917 yards rushing and is trying to become the fourth Colts first-year player since 1994 to top 1,000 yards. The others were Marshall Faulk in '94, Edgerrin James in '99 and Dominic Rhodes in 2001, when he set the NFL record for non-drafted rookies with 1,104 yards.
Vikings: It's Tarvaris Time in Minnesota. Vikings coach Brad Childress announced Tuesday that rookie Tarvaris Jackson will start at quarterback for the final two games of the season. Jackson, a second-round pick out of Division I-AA Alabama State, takes over for veteran Brad Johnson -- perhaps marking the end of the 38-year-old quarterback's second stint with the Vikings. Childress said Jackson "gives us the best chance to win." "I have high expectations for him," Childress said. "He's prepared. He's ready to go." Childress has benched Johnson three times this season, with the final move coming in the closing seconds of the third quarter of Sunday's loss to the New York Jets. Johnson was 10-of-17 for 96 yards and a touchdown, but failed to move the offense effectively after throwing a TD to Travis Taylor on his third snap of the game. After Johnson was booed off the field by the home crowd, Jackson entered with 25 seconds left in the third period to a standing ovation. He threw for 177 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a performance deemed "OK" by Childress. Jackson will get the first start Thursday night at Green Bay. The rookie has been fiercely loyal to Johnson throughout the season, defending his mentor against mounting criticism and refusing to lobby for a start. But after the Jets game, Jackson was asked if he felt as though he was ready for a start if called upon this week. "Of course," he said. "It'd be fun to go into Lambeau. I've never even been there. I always watch guys play there, so it'd be fun."
Dolphins: Miami placed guard Jeno James on injured reserve because of an injured right knee, and signed guard Dan Stevenson from the practice squad. The Dolphins also waived cornerback Will Poole off the injured reserve list. James had surgery on his knee Nov. 14 and tried to practice last week, but wasn't able to play Sunday when the Dolphins lost at Buffalo 21-0, ending their postseason hopes. Stevenson, a rookie out of Notre Dame, was drafted in the sixth round by New England, which waived him in September. The Patriots then signed him to their practice squad and released him Nov. 7. Miami signed him two days later. Poole hasn't played since the 2004 season because of knee problems.
Associated Press