Mike Florio of SportingNews.com writes that because Donovan McNabb and other athletes didn’t know there were ties in the NFL that they don’t love the game of football as much as fans do.

However, a player’s knowledge of the rules should be a factor in the overall process. It’s relevant because it shows whether he truly loves his sport or if he just plays for money and fame. It’s relevant to whether he can be counted on to do whatever is necessary to win — no matter if it’s in the first minute of the first quarter or in the final seconds of overtime.

For players like McNabb, it’s hard to conclude they truly love pro football. If they did, they’d figure out at some point before turning 30 that tie games can happen, even if they don’t happen often.

Here’s what we learned Sunday, when Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb declared with stunning nonchalance that he didn’t know an NFL game could end in a tie: Many pro athletes are motivated primarily by the fact they get paid a lot of money to do what they do.

How else can anyone explain McNabb’s ignorance of a rule almost all NFL fans can recite without advance thought?

As it turns out, several other Eagles didn’t know. Plenty of players on other teams also are saying they didn’t know, either.

The message? They care. But they don’t care. Not like the rest of us, who’d play pro football for free and routinely fork over big money to watch others do it.

McNabb + didn’t know about ties in the NFL = he doesn’t love football? There seems to be a lot missing from that equation.

Ben Roethlisberger said that he didn’t know there were ties in football, but Florio doesn’t mention him, or any players from the Falcons-Steelers tie in 2002 who admitted they didn’t know there were ties either. Maybe these players don’t know about ties because they only happen once every six years. Hell, thousands of players go entire careers without playing to a tie.

This is absolutely ridiculous that this is being made into such a big deal. The bigger deal is how the Eagles were even in this situation to begin with. They should have been running out the clock in the fourth quarter – not playing for overtime. Criticize McNabb for his horrid performance, but don’t focus on something as dumb as this. A gaff in the Steelers-Chargers game cost people roughly $64 million and Florio is writing about this.

McNabb doesn’t love football because he didn’t know there were ties? What an asinine thing to say.

Washington Redskins’ RB Clinton Portis may miss Sunday night’s game against the Cowboys and could miss more time than that as he suffers from a MCL sprain in his left knee.

The good news? “I had 15 injuries two weeks ago,” Portis said. “Now I’ve only got one.”
The bad news? “Right now I can’t straighten it out,” he said of his left leg. “I just started bending it today. So hopefully by the end of the week. We’ve got five days, so hopefully I’ll be ready.”

Will he play Sunday? Steinberg’s synopsis:

He said the pain increased on Thursday night and Friday, leading to another examination and the sprain diagnosis. He said he thought he could help the team even if he wasn’t the main focal point of the offense merely by being on the field and forcing the Cowboys to account for him, but he also said he wouldn’t put himself out there just for the sake of being out there.

Portis has played at MVP-like status so losing him for any amount of time would put a damper in the Skins’ playoff hopes.

The Broncos are reportedly interested in bringing back the suit case stealer.

The Broncos are taking a look at Tatum Bell.

The former Broncos tailback who rushed for 921 yards in 2005 and 1,025 yards in 2006 will work out for the team this morning, according to several NFL sources.

Bell would make sense given team’s extraordinary injury predicament at tailback and his familiarity with the system.

At taiback, the Broncos have lost Michael Pittman, Andre Hall, and Ryan Torain to season-ending injuries and a fourth tailback, Selvin Young has been bothered the past month with a groin strain.
The Broncos selected Bell with their second-round pick in the 2004 draft. He averaged 5.3 yards a carry in his first two seasons, then reached the 1,000-yard threshold in his third. He was then traded to Detroit, along with right tackle George Foster, prior to last season in exchange for cornerback Dre’ Bly.

Bell, 27, opened the 2008 preseason as the Lions’ No. 1 tailback, but he was released Sept. 2.

Not a bad idea. Bell was brutal in Detroit, but had success in Denver’s zone-blocking scheme. The Broncos have had major issues running the ball over the past couple weeks and maybe Bell could provide a spark. At 27 years old, he’s certainly worth a look.