Matt Hasselbeck, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks will remain out of their lineup indefinitely.  He has been suffering from a back injury for several weeks now, since hyperextending his knee against the Giants on October 5.  Hasselbeck was out of much of the preseason with another back injury, which he and his coaches denied was related to the current one. Over the weekend, he was in southern California, seein his back specialist, who didn’t clear him to practice.  He was also told that he wouldn’t need surgery, which is a good sign, but he didn’t pass the physical tests he has to in order to play.  His bulging disc prevented him from passing.  So for the time being, the Seahawks will have to deal without him as they turn to their backup, Seneca Wallace, to lead them this weekend against the Eagles.

The Redskins are having a good season so far.  They are at 6-2 and second in the competitive NFC East Division.  Since this division includes the defending Super Bowl champions New York Giants, as well as the ever-strong Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles, second place is not too shabby.  There is no one in the division below .500 this season, so it’s going to be tough competition all the way through November and December.  But all is not well in Redskin-land.  Washington has been piling up injuries this year.  The biggest challenge they have is trying to make up for the injury of Jason Taylor, who was injured in a game against Arizona in September.  He had an emergency operation on his calf and has had more surgery on it this week.  He will probably not play next week against the Steelers and possibly not for a few more weeks.  There are also injuries to one of the Redskin running backs as well as a safety and an offensive tackle. The players will have to be flexible, in order to make up for some of those losses, if they want to stay in contention in this big division.

0-5 looks pretty bad for any NFL team and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to get any better for the Detroit Lions. This past Tuesday, Detroit placed starting quarterback Jon Kitna on the Injured Reserved list for the remainder of the season, which will allow backup Dan Orlovsky a chance to run the show. In addition to that, their best player Roy Williams was recently traded to the Cowboys in return for some key NFL draft picks. Losing the “leader” of the offense and the biggest playmaker on the team is definitely going to affect the strength of the Lions’ offense. Then again, as of this point…what offense?

In a week filled with upsets, last minute comebacks, and general head scratching for football fans, the Dallas Cowboys fell in a big way to the underdog Arizona Cardinals of the NFC west. As a game necessitating extra time to determine the winner, 64,389 fans in the Cardinals stadium witnessed the 30-24 shocking victory for the Cardinals that left each team with a 4-2 record, as well as different perspectives on themselves.

The Arizona Cardinals now feel like a team rejuvenated. To make a crucial stand at a home game against one of the top ranked and toughest teams in the NFL will do nothing less for team morale. The veteran and Super Bowl champion quarterback Kurt Warner, who had considered retirement just a couple short weeks ago, feels this could be a huge turning point for the franchise.

But the mirror of this game reflects much differently for Dallas who, now with a 4-2 record, is in third place in the powerhouse NFC East. The team is comprised of most of the same 13-3 squad from last year and yet they are struggling early on, as compared to last year when they were playing some of their best football at this time. The hope, however, for many players, fans, and coaches, is that working the kinks out right now will lead to quality play in the postseason, when winning matters most. That was the problem for the 13-3 Cowboys of last year, as well as the preceding team.

It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for both the Atlanta Falcons and the Chicago Bears. Then again, it was supposed to be another year where the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots dominated the play. It was supposed to be another year in which Chad Ochocinco dominated at wide receiver. A lot doesn’t seem to add up.

However it does add up, though, the Bears and Falcons are two teams that have surprised the league in both the quarterback and running back spots. The Chicago Bears’ fourth year-veteran quarterback, Kyle Orton, was remembered as being a game manager: Someone who simply had the job to make no mistakes. Instead, he led the league last week in the quarterback spot with 334 passing yards. Rookie running back Matt Forte has also filled his role quite nicely. Filling the relatively “small shoes” of Cedric Benson, Forte is the league leader in running yards by a rookie, and is also coincidentally the favorite passing target for Orton.

Flip to the Falcons side and the story is similar. Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan has accomplished much more than expected from him and running back Michael Turner leads the league in running with 543 yards. They too, like the Bears, find themselves with a 3-2 record and are emerging as a potential playoff team.

This weekend the two will meet in a sort of mirror match. Two teams with similar styles, a similar record, and even losses to the same two teams will now see who can out do the other. The game starts at 1 p.m. ET.

As if holding a 2-3 record in the dominant NFC East Division (The division with 4-0 NY Giants and 4-1 Redskins and Cowboys) didn’t portend enough of a bad season, the Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid released further disheartening news in a press conference on Monday. All star running back Brian Westbrook fractured two ribs in Sunday’s matchup against the Washington Redskins.

Westbrook, who was already struggling through visible ankle discomfort, is now listed as a day-to-day status player. Though he is an invaluable asset to the team’s potent offensive firepower and he insists on often playing through his pain, the Eagles program does not want to further jeopardize his health. Therefore, he will be monitored from day-to-day and assessed as to not only his own feeling of health, but also his potential for contribution to the team.

So for the third week in a row, Westbrook’s status for the upcoming game is uncertain at best. But when the Eagles march into San Francisco next Sunday, Coach Reid has stressed that it is not Westbrook’s absence that will make the difference, but rather how his team plays as a whole on both sides of the ball. He wants a lot less 3-and-outs for his offensive unit and a lot more forced 3-and-outs for his defense. The Eagles will play the 49ers (2-3) this Sunday at 4:15 ET.

It’ll be quite a matchup this upcoming Sunday as the Cincinnati Bengals and the Dallas Cowboys meet for a Week 5 matchup. While the storyline between the two teams’ respective records isn’t all too compelling (Dallas 3-1, Cincinnati 0-4), a lot of eyes will be fixed upon the two poster boy wide receivers of the match: Dallas’ Terrell Owens and Cincinnati’s Chad Javon Johns-I mean-Chad Javon Ochocinco.

Each of these two wide outs is the epitome of excellence that the NFL can offer its fans. Both are amazingly talented athletes who are fully rounded. They have the speed, size, endurance, and moves to be quickly canonized in the NFL Hall of Fame. But if that weren’t enough, these are two players with the most (how should I say it?) “extra flair” in the league.

The showmanship of each player almost precedes their talents anymore and Texas Stadium may not be able to contain both egos. Each team hopes that this doesn’t become problematic on the field and that each receiver can concentrate on the game more than their own image. However it turns out, at least the fans will be entertained.