While some might not have understood him, former Chiefs RB Priest Holmes commanded the respect of his teammates. He may have lacked size, speed and most of the physical tools one might deem necessary to be a great NFL back. But Holmes more than made up for it with his heart and effort, evidenced by the fact that he ended his career as Kansas City’s all-time leading rusher.

It’ll remain that way for the foreseeable future, too — some say appropriately — after the Chiefs decided to release disgruntled RB Larry Johnson on Monday following his one-week suspension. Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski writes that the Chiefs made the right move, largely because LJ was definitely no Priest Holmes:

Monday, as you know, the Chiefs released Johnson — with him just 74 yards shy of Holmes’ team rushing record. You know, there were times when Johnson looked to be an even better runner than Holmes. Johnson IS big, and he IS fast, and when he ran hard he inspired images of Jim Brown, even in some of Brown’s former teammates. He ran for 1,750 yards and scored 20 touchdowns despite starting only nine games in 2005, and in 2006 he carried the ball an NFL record 416 times. His teammates appreciated his talents and his intensity, and they probably understood him better than they did Priest Holmes.

But, best I could tell, they did not admire him. They did not respect him. They did not take pride in having him as a teammate. How could they? And I don’t just say this because of the off-the-field stuff — the arrests, the drama, the Twitter rampage.

No, more, they didn’t respect the kind of football player Larry Johnson was. He could not catch. He did not block. His effort seemed intermittent. He griped constantly. You think there was a single guy on this team who pointed at Larry Johnson and proudly said: “That’s what the Chiefs are about”?

Other stories from Around the Web on Tuesday:

• The Patriots-Colts rivalry has been a special one this decade. They meet again on Sunday, and you can read the Indianapolis point of view and get Boston’s take.

• Andy Reid says the Eagles are always “taking the next step,” yet they continue going in circles.

• It’s a nice view atop the NFC East, but the Cowboys better not lose their grip.

• The most powerful man in the Packers organization, team president Mark Murphy, is disappointed with Green Bay’s 4-4 start.

• The Chargers’ three-game winning streak has their confidence at a high level.

The 2009 Bengals are no longer the same old squad, as evidenced by their 17-7 win over the Ravens on Sunday. They are, according to Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty, the New Same Old Bengals (NSOBs).

Which is to say these Bengals are like the last playoff team of 2005, only better:

The New Same Old Bengals (NSOBs) play exacting team defense and score when their quarterback believes it’s required. The Same Old Bengals were fractured and ego-driven.

Even when they were good in 2005 they were immature. “Young and dumb’’ in the words of Carson Palmer.

The new Same Olds believe in the hokey power of trusting each other. They offer without apology that they’re better in 2009 because they, well, they like each other. They get along. They want to do well for the player next to them.

“The camaraderie in here is like nothing I’ve ever seen,’’ Chinedum Ndukwe remarked.

More stories from Around the Web on Monday:

• The Bears got a first-hand look at Cardinals QB Kurt Warner’s brilliance on Sunday.

• Who’s No. 1? Philip Rivers is — not Eli Manning — after he led the Chargers’ 21-20 comeback over the Giants on Sunday.

• The Giants’ season is now on life support.

• Colts first-year coach Jim Caldwell is pushing (almost) all the right buttons.

• Cowboys WR Roy Williams can smile after the Cowboys beat the Eagles 20-16 on Sunday.

• Has two straight come too late for the Titans?

• After dropping their fourth straight on Sunday to Tennessee, the 49ers can forget about the playoffs.

As the Dolphins prepared this week to take on the New England Patriots in an AFC East showdown on Sunday, outspoken Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter told NFL Network that he thinks officials use a different rule book for Pats QB Tom Brady.

On Friday, Brady responded to Porter’s comments, telling The Boston Globe that he doesn’t think he’s ever persuaded an official to throw a flag.

“You may get more calls. I don’t know. I think the ref calls what he sees. I don’t think I’ve ever influenced a call. The refs we have are very good. If they make a call on that, great. If they don’t, that’s fine.”

Porter also revealed on NFL Network that he dislikes the entire Patriots organization. According to the Patriots’ official site, Patriots players just brushed off the latest round of trash talk:

“I love that 55 guy. I do,” said another 55 guy, Patriots linebacker Junior Seau, with a knowing laugh. “He’s a great athlete, a great player, and a good friend. I love what he does out there. You know, everybody has their own identity, and that’s Joey Porter. Joey is who he is, and that’s why I respect that guy so much.”

Except for a brief chat with reporters following last weekend’s 30-6 loss to the Bears, Browns owner Randy Lerner has remained silent while the team and coach Eric Mangini have looked in complete disarray during a 1-7 start.

Until now.

Lerner agreed to answer a lengthy list of questions from the Cleveland Plain Dealer via e-mail, touching on everything from the firing of general manager George Kokinis to Jamal Lewis’ frustrations to now-backup QB Brady Quinn’s status.

You can read the interview by clicking here.

Is there anyone who plays the game with as much vigor and as much intensity as Dolphins LB Joey Porter? Porter is the king of trash talk, and he always seems to turn it up a notch when he faces the Patriots.

Why? Because Porter hates New England. It’s a hatred that runs deep, dating back to his Pittsburgh days. And yet despite Porter’s abhorrence for the Patriots, Boston Globe columnist Christopher L. Gasper writes that New England fans shouldn’t hate Porter back:

You don’t have to like him. You can shower him with boos, but don’t hate him. …

If Porter were a Patriot, fans here would love him — love him — the same way they loved Rodney Harrison, who also had a penchant for talking smack, getting under the opponents’ skin, and ending up on the Sports Illustrated NFL player poll of the league’s dirtiest players, just like Porter.

No one is ripping Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo for his trash-talking and opponent-baiting because he is wearing the uniform of the hometown team. We applaud Rondo’s moxie for not backing down from Chris Paul or Kobe Bryant. He plays with an edge.

So does Porter.

Porter and the Dolphins take on the Patriots this Sunday in a key AFC East matchup.

Other stories from around the Web on Thursday:

• Former first-round picks Vince Young and Alex Smith, who square off Sunday when the 49ers meet the Titans, are getting second chances to thrive as starting QBs.

• Coach Tom Coughlin says the Giants are playing a one-game season.

• The Falcons’ version of “Saving Private Ryan” is protecting their quarterback.

• Bengals WR Andre Caldwell is just taking it all in.

• Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner is sticking to his plan and won’t scale back.

The Chargers will travel across the country this week to play the Giants, who are 5-3 but on a three-game losing streak.

Can the Chargers — who entered this season with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations — take advantage and finally beat a team with a winning record? They couldn’t earlier in the year when a then-struggling Steelers team beat them in Pittsburgh. In fact, San Diego has yet to beat a winning team in three tries this season and is 10-16 against winning teams since 2007, including 3-11 when those games take place on the road.

The San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Sunday’s game at Giants Stadium is, indeed, a defining moment for this Chargers season:

There are certain games that give direction to a season, define a team, make a career.

The Chargers are going to the Big Apple — actually New Jersey, but a big stage nonetheless — to play one of those games.

And no one can dispute it. …

Defensive end Luis Castillo did not hesitate nor hold back when the importance of this Sunday’s game at the New York Giants was brought up.

“This is a heavyweight fight,” Castillo said. “We’ve been in the same position against a great team that’s been struggling a bit. We had a chance to go in there and make a statement, and we didn’t do it. We haven’t done well with those. This is a game we need to step up.”

Other stories from around the Web on Wednesday:

• The slumping Giants are struggling to communicate.

• The Packers are a wild-card team, at best.

• The Patriots are showing more balance on offense.

• Adjusting to the Eagles’ script is the key to the Cowboys having a happy ending.

• Losing at home is testing more than Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt; it’s testing the fans’ patience.

• There is plenty of blame to go around for the Buccaneers’ offensive woes.

The 49ers’ 3-1 start is a distant memory, faded behind a three-game losing streak that has dropped them to 3-4 and surpassed by the Cardinals for first place in the NFC West.

San Francisco now finds itself needing to rebound with back-to-back home wins, but the pressure isn’t so much on the players to do so. Whether or not the 49ers can get out of this rut lies squarely on the shoulders of head coach Mike Singletary, writes San Jose Mercury columnist Tim Kawakami:

He can inspire, we know that. He can enunciate a clear message that resonates in the locker room, the executive suite and on billboards and in commercials everywhere.

As an icon, he’s a keeper: Singletary is colorful, he is straightforward, he is authentic and he long ago earned the right to try to elevate the 49ers. …

Let’s see if Singletary is fluid enough and canny enough to negotiate his team through this lull. Let’s see if pure adrenaline and passionate belief blends into good, consistent coaching.

Other stories from around the web on Tuesday:

• TE Owen Daniels’ injury gives him the opportunity to prove the Texans wrong — again.

• As it turns out, the Vikings have also outperformed the Packers in the offseason.

• The Saints defense is a force, not a farce.

• The play of Panthers DE Julius Peppers has been on the money.

• Steelers WR Santonio Holmes’ sickle cell is not affected by the altitude of Denver.

The Cardinals are not your conventional team. They throw when they should be running the ball. They blitz when other teams play the prevent. Coach Ken Whisenhunt is not apologizing though. He told the Arizona Republic that his team plays its best when, as Kent Somers put it, “they are giving the lecture, not taking notes.”

The Cardinals did not try to run out the clock to close out the Giants on Sunday night. But the aggressive blitz calling did force New York QB Eli Manning to make one of his patented, ill-advised throws to seal the game for the Cardinals. Cardinals S Antrel Rolle intercepted Manning with 1:08 remaining — the third of the game.

Whisenhunt does not back down from being aggressive.

“I really felt that was a chance to win the game,” he said, “and I had a tremendous amount of confidence in our defense. The easy thing to do was run three times and take some time off the clock, but then you are always thinking about, ‘Well, I had a chance to make a play and I didn’t call it.’ “

Other news making its way around the Web on a Friday morning.

• Is there a ‘franchise’ QB to be found in St. Louis’ future? There was a time when QB Marc Bulger pushed veteran Kurt Warner aside. Is that time coming for Bulger to be pushed aside?

• Steelers police locker room themselves. The Chiefs made news this week — in a bad way — when Larry Johnson spoke out against coach Todd Haley (which is putting it mildly). The Steelers do not have such problems because of the veterans in the locker room.

• Ravens’ Rice is living tall. Some doubted that the diminutive Ray Rice could play in the NFL. But not Rice himself.

• Schaub unseasonably cool come rain or shine. Texans QB Matt Schaub has become one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.

The numbers prove that RB Reggie Bush has been slowly phased out of the vaunted New Orelans Saints’ offensive onslaught. So how does the former Heisman Trophy winner out of USC feel about his reduced role?

Guess it depends on when you ask him.

In a story published in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Bush took a humble, in-stride approach:

To his credit, Bush has accepted his reduced role with class. He hasn’t pouted. He competes with zest. He runs decoy routes and carries out play fakes with aplomb.

“We’re winning, things are good right now, we’re undefeated, ” Bush said. “It would be selfish of me to put my own personal goals ahead of this team.”

OK, that’s nice. That’s being a good teammate. But according to a recap on ProFootballTalk.com, Bush had a bit more to say on Sporting News Radio’s The Monty Show:

When discussing the criticism he has faced since entering the NFL and not performing like this generation’s Gale Sayers, Bush seemed to predict that he’ll eventually be named the league’s MVP.

“Once I do win an NFL MVP, once we do win a Super Bowl, once I am in the Pro Bowl, it’s going to be that much more special because of all the criticism that I had to come through,” Bush said.

Other stories around the web on Wednesday:

• With RB Leon Washington done for the season (and maybe beyond), there is no doubting Thomas Jones now for the New York Jets.

• Coordinator Bill Davis has the Cardinals defense flying high.

• Even with the 1-2 punch of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, the Giants are taking a pass on the run.

• Obscure linemen are playing key roles for the Colts defense.

There’s a list of things not going right with disgruntled Chiefs RB Larry Johnson.

He has publicly blasted his head coach, Todd Haley, on Twitter. He allegedly directed a gay slur at the media in the locker room following Kansas City’s loss to the Chargers. And he’s looked nothing like the elite player he once was for quite some time now.

Despite all that, Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock writes that the distraction is just what Haley and general manager Scott Pioli need, and that the problems Johnson is causing are no reason to cut the guy:

Now is not the time to cut Larry Johnson. Pioli could’ve and should’ve done that in February. LJ, pardon the cliche, is what he is. He’s a moody, immature weirdo who pouts when things go poorly and broods when things are going well. …

I’d keep Larry at starting tailback and make him run the ball 20 times a game. Can you think of a worse punishment? You can’t trade him. You might as well let opposing linebackers light him up 20 times a week.

Other stories from around the web on Tuesday:

• Demoted 49ers QB Shaun Hill says he has seen Alex Smith improve during the last four years.

• LB Will Witherspoon had a big Eagles debut in Monday night’s victory over the Redskins.

• Bears coach Lovie Smith’s job is safe — as it should be.

• Now it’s back to Green Bay for Vikings QB Brett Favre.

• Steelers rookie WR Mike Wallace is making the most of his opportunities.

What’s done is done, and could Bengals RB Cedric Benson feel any better about it?

Benson tried to downplay the revenge factor heading into Sunday’s game against the Bears, who gave up on him two years ago. And after going off on his former team for a career-high 189 yards and a touchdown on 37 carries in a 45-10 victory, the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Benson is now ready to move on from the Bears:

Benson had to practically put himself through yoga sessions this week to keep from going into overdrive about this game.

“I didn’t want it to be revenge,” he said. “I knew I was going to be faced with getting over-emotional about it at times.”

Other stories from around the web on Monday:

• Amidst the “sexy” display of offense, it was the Cowboys defense — particularly its pass rush — that deserves credit for the team’s 37-21 win over the Falcons, writes Dallas Morning News columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor.

• Peter Finney of the Times-Picayune writes that the Saints’ comeback victory over the Dolphins is their most impressive of the season, and it showed they have the heart of a champion.

• After beating the Giants on the road for their third straight victory, now comes the hard part for the Arizona Cardinals.

• It might not mean much to the outside world, but a pair of easy wins pulls the Packers together, writes Green Bay Press Gazette columnist Mike Vandermause.

• For the Chargers, beating a good team will be the true test.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave up one of their home games to play in London against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. When the league scheduled the match up, it probably did not expect the Bucs to be winless heading into Week 7. Despite their struggles this season, the Bucs can expect healthy crowd support at Wembley Stadium, according to the Orlando Sentinel. In 1984, a Buccaneers fan club was founded in England, in the midst of a 14-season losing streak. Why? Club founder Paul Stewart told the newspaper how it all started:

“The first game of American football I ever saw was in December 1982. Channel 4, a new TV station over here, started showing a one-hour packaged program with highlights of the previous Monday night game, other game clips and features explaining the rules. The first one I watched was Tampa Bay vs. Miami. The Bucs won 23-17 and I thought, ‘Hey, that team in orange must be pretty good, I’ll support them.’ … DOH! … For other club members, a lot follow the Bucs because they have been to the bay area on vacation, some felt sorry for them during the losing. Some jumped on the bandwagon following the Super Bowl win.”

Other stories around the web on Friday:

• A connection to the Browns’ past returns, as Clay Matthews‘ son comes to Cleveland with the Packers.

• Bucs running back Derrick Ward is no longer conducting interviews with the Tampa Bay media.

• Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams believes he and QB Tony Romo will click.

• Hall of Famer Jack Youngblood will be a featured guest at the Rams-Colts game.

• The New York Jets will take a ‘committee approach’ to replacing nose tackle Kris Jenkins.

• The Miami Dolphins are still looking for an impact from ‘Tri-Rail’ defense.

• Buccaneers return man Clifton Smith says he has ‘no fear’ after taking a big hit last week.

• The Lions aren’t rushing QB Matthew Stafford back from injury.

• How did Rocker Joan Jett become a Green Bay Packers fan?

The Steelers faced a fair amount of skepticism when they announced on Jan. 22, 2007, that Mike Tomlin would replace Bill Cowher as the third head coach in the storied franchise’s history.

Tomlin was just 34 years old at the time of his hiring. And while he had a decent amount of NFL experience — he spent 2001 to 2005 as the Buccaneers’ defensive backs coach — his only season in a coordinator’s role was in 2006, guiding the Vikings’ defense to an eighth overall ranking. Apparently, that was enough to convince the Rooney family.

After Tomlin led Pittsburgh to its sixth Super Bowl championship in February, the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes that, despite questions regarding his age and experience, the coach has proven he was the right man for the job all along:

Still, after the Vikings’ defense ranked eighth in the NFL in 2006 — its highest position since the 1994 season — Tomlin was a somewhat surprising choice to replace Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh.

“I was a little shocked,” Vikings linebacker Ben Leber said. “No doubt he had the characteristics of a head coach. But I was surprised from an experience standpoint, because he had been a coordinator for only one year.”

Yet the decision by the Rooney family to make Tomlin only the Steelers’ third head coach was reinforced in February when, at 37, he became the youngest head coach in NFL history to lead his team to a Super Bowl ring.

Other stories around the Web on Thursday:

• The Bills were big on QB Ryan Fitzpatrick when he came out of Harvard in 2005 and likely will find out Sunday against the Panthers if they were right about him.

• In his third season in Houston, Texans QB Matt Schaub has the full confidence of his teammates and is putting up huge numbers.

• Raiders coach Tom Cable makes no secret about the fact that he likes RB Justin Fargas.

• Chargers veteran WR Chris Chambers is frustrated with being in a rotation.

• Because RB Maurice Jones-Drew’s workload is so heavy, the Jaguars are looking for help.

• Playing in an offense loaded with weapons, Saints WR Robert Meachem is making the most of his touches.

Both the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs entered the 2009 season facing nearly the same predicaments regarding major changes in management, coaching, systems, and on-field personnel. And yet, both teams couldn’t be any more different from each other, writes the Kansas City Star:

“Two teams that began this season with pressing questions and mounting concerns have since gone in far different directions. Both endured an offseason packed with change, turmoil and tested fan bases. Both have new general managers, head coaches, starting quarterbacks and defensive systems.

After that, the similarities are lost. The Broncos are 6-0, and the Chiefs are 1-5. One team started fast and hasn’t stopped, and the other was one loss from its worst start in franchise history.

As both teams move forward, there is one pressing question: How did one team get tangled in all that change, and how did the other win in spite of it?”

Other stories around the web on Wednesday:

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Ron Cook says the Steelers aren’t fantasizing over facing Vikings RB Adrian Peterson, and the defense is intent on keeping alive its streak of 28 straight games — including postseason — without allowing a 100-yard rusher.

• Hall of Fame coach Don Shula is a big fan of the Dolphins’ Wildcat offense.

• Charlotte Observer columnist Tom Sorensen says QB Jake Delhomme and WR Steve Smith will have to start connecting, or else the Panthers will endure a miserable season, even with a solid ground game.

• The Jets offensive line is in a rush to take pressure off of rookie QB Mark Sanchez.

• Columnist Monte Poole of Bay Area News Group says 49ers CB Nate Clements has failed to live up to his lockdown hype and big contract.

• The Colts defense has responded strong after short turnarounds.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher might be Colts QB Peyton Manning’s No. 1 fan. OK, maybe Fisher’s admiration for Manning doesn’t go that far.

Still, even though Manning torched the Titans for 309 yards and three touchdowns in the Colts’ 31-9 rout of winless Tennessee in Week 5, that didn’t stop Fisher from donning a blue-and-white No. 18 jersey when he introduced former Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy to speak at the Rally for Rocketown at Lipscomb University in Nashville.

“I just wanted to feel like a winner,” Fisher said jokingly as he revealed the jersey underneath his button-down shirt and jacket.

You can see a photo gallery and video of Fisher in the Manning jersey here, courtesy of the Tennessean.