NFL ROUNDUP \ News and notes

Rams: As if an 0-4 start wasn’t bad enough, things got worse Monday: Tight end Randy McMichael will be lost for the season with a broken right leg. McMichael broke his tibia and tore a ligament in his leg in the Rams’ 31-14 loss to Buffalo Sept. 28. On Monday, the team put him on injured reserve, ending his 2008 season. “He is a guy that is another playmaker on our football team,” said Jim Haslett, who became interim coach a day after the Buffalo loss, when Scott Linehan was fired. “It’s a shame. He’s a good kid. He worked hard. He’s one of our better blockers and he’s a guy who can run and go catch it, so obviously not having him is going to hurt us.” Third-year player Joe Klopfenstein will start end, beginning with Sunday’s game at Washington (4-1). Klopfenstein started as a rookie in 2006 before the Rams signed McMichael as a free agent.

Seahawks: Wide receiver Deion Branch has a bruised heel and will be out indefinitely. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck apparently will be fine. Coach Mike Holmgren said Monday that Branch will decide when he can return based on how much pain he can tolerate in his right heel. The former Super Bowl MVP was injured in the first half of Sunday’s 44-6 loss at the Giants. It was his first game since January following reconstructive knee surgery. Hasselbeck hurt his right knee on the first drive Sunday while getting hit from front and behind. He returned for the next series and played until late in the third quarter. Holmgren said an MRI showed a tweak but that Hasselbeck should be fine to play Sunday when the Packers come to Seattle.

Broncos: Tony Scheffler’s groin injury isn’t nearly as serious as the one that knocked out fellow tight end Nate Jackson last season. Scheffler said it was unlikely he’d play Sunday against Jacksonville, but didn’t speculate about how long he’ll be sidelined. He said he didn’t have a sports hernia. Jackson has bounced back from last year, when he went on injured reserve Oct. 9 with a torn groin. He figures to play a larger role in the offense without Scheffler, Jay Cutler’s biggest target.

Buccaneers: Coach Jon Gruden isn’t in a hurry to declare who will start at quarterback against Carolina this week. Brian Griese hurt his right elbow and shoulder during Sunday’s 16-13 loss at Denver and was replaced by Jeff Garcia, who was slowed by injuries in training camp before losing the job after playing poorly in the season opener. Gruden said he would have a better handle on the situation by Wednesday. Griese, 3-1 as the starter, completed 13 of 19 passes for 88 yards at Denver. Garcia was 13-of-17 for 93 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his first action since struggling in a loss at New Orleans on Sept. 7.

Raiders: Tom Cable’s passion for blocking and the players who take on that all-important task remained the same following his promotion last week from offensive line assistant to head coach. He still spends most of his time at practice during individual drills with the offensive linemen, meticulously arranging blocking pads at the beginning of the sessions. Even if his new job has given him more responsibilities, Cable won’t stray far from his roots. “I’m one of them. I played that spot,” said Cable, who played four years at tackle in college at Idaho. “So, you really understand it and understand how much they go through, you understand what they put their bodies through, you understand that in the middle of camp when they’re dead tired and they’re sore and those big, 300-pound bodies don’t want to go quick anymore, you just have to kind of oil them up and keep pushing them. It is, without question, a tremendous passion for me. So, I always want to be a part of that.”

Eagles: Last place is starting to look too familiar. Philadelphia followed a disappointing 24-20 loss at Chicago with a distressing performance at home against Washington. The Redskins overcame an early 14-0 deficit, dominated on both sides and left Philadelphia with a 23-17 victory that further legitimized their status as an NFC East contender. As for the Eagles (2-3), it might be time for them to accept being the fourth-best team in the NFL’s toughest division. It’s really nothing new. They’ve finished last twice in the previous three seasons after losing the 2005 Super Bowl. “We’re 16 points off. That’s what we’re off,” coach Andy Reid said Monday. “It’s such a small margin between winning and losing in the NFL. These games come down to the wire week after week, so you have to minimize mistakes and you have to maximize consistency. You just keep working and working and working, and as long as you stay aggressive here, I think good things will happen.”

Associated Press