Well this isn’t good. The New York Knicks are 10-15 and have look like complete dog crap at times this season. And now, things are getting even worse.

Howard Beck of the New York Times says that the Knicks will be without their superstar, Carmelo Anthony, for more than a week due to his strained groin.

“Knicks say Carmelo will be out for 1-2 weeks because of strained right groin. No other tests scheduled,” Beck tweets.

They are only in third place in the division, but they’re eight games back. So, as it is it wasn’t looking like they were making the playoffs. Now, they have to try to gain ground without their best player. Good luck with that.

And if you play fantasy basketball, it’s probably time for you to go on a date soon.

The timing of this report is a bit curious. Just a couple days ago, there was a report from sources who would know about Peyton Manning’s neck condition that said he’d probably never play again.

Now, Chris Mortensen is reporting that Manning has been medically cleared to resume his NFL career. Of course, it’s Mort, so take this with a grain of salt.

“Peyton Manning medically cleared to resume NFL career, per sources. More coming on ESPN now. #NFL32,” Mort tweets.

Doctors said that “if the nerves in his arm had regenerated to a satisfactory performance level.” So basically, he’s safe to play, if he can play. It’s only a medical issue in the sense that he might not have the arm strength to be a stud anymore.

Time will tell, but let the “where will Peyton play” sweepstakes bonanza circus begin.

There has been a lot of talk lately – maybe too much talk – about Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning. He’s gone back and forth in the media with owner Jim Irsay, he’s due a $28 million bonus in March and there has been a ton of speculation about who could sign him if/when the Colts eventually cut him.

But, in the end will any of it really matter? All signs point to Peyton being toast due to his three-time surgically repaired neck.

Two sources with knowledge of Peyton’s neck condition tell Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports that the nerve cells are not healing as hoped and not progressing at a rate that would allow him to play again. They say he began throwing in December, but that his velocity isn’t coming back and they don’t think it ever will.

Photo Caption: “Of course you can’t read it, there’s nothing written on it. So you don’t have a concussion, get back in the game.”

Yeah, that’s not good. OTR’s father-in-law is a doctor and he keeps telling us, “necks are a tricky thing” while shaking his head. So all this talk about where he’ll end up next season is probably a waste of time. Maybe the Colts should just make him their QB’s coach and have him develop Andrew Luck.

Pittsburgh Penguins fans have been worried now for quite some time about star Sidney Crosby and his concussion issues. There were reports earlier that he would be doing some on-ice workouts in Los Angeles, but the latest news kind of cancels that out.

Bob McCown of SportsNet 590 is reporting that Crosby saw a specialist in Utah who found abnormalities in his C1 and C2 vertebrae.

Yikes!

Crosby is supposed to meet with team doctors this week to get an update on his post-concussion symptoms, and I’m not sure if this news will affect any of that.

But, this can’t be good. He’s only 24, but concussion and neck problems aren’t a good thing. While many people hate the guy, the fact remains that the NHL as a whole is better off when this hero/villian is on the ice.

I know, I know. You’re sick of hearing about Tim f’ing Tebow. So are we. But, this isn’t about him loving Jesus or not supporting gay people.

It’s actually about his toughness. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Tebow was seriously banged up last week in the Denver Broncos loss to the New England Patriots.

An NFL source tells Schefter that Tebow “tore cartilage on his first rib where it attaches to his sternum, bruised his lung and had fluid buildup in his pleural cavity.”

Yikes!

No one can say the kid isn’t tough. Supposedly, he wouldn’t have been able to play in the AFC Championship game had the Broncos won. Thank god that didn’t come close to happening!

Tebow, who had trouble sleeping over the weekend due to the pain (why do I think he doesn’t believe in booze or pain killers?), apparently won’t have his offseason regimen affected by the injuries. He should be back throwing those ultra-tight ducks in no time.

But seriously, this could be a concern for Tebow and the Broncos. The way he plays the game, it’s entirely possible that it will take a toll on his body as the years go by.

Normally, it’s not a big deal for the Philadelphia 76ers to hear that Spencer Hawes is dealing with some sort of injury. He’s been a marginal player in the past so who really cares?

But, this year has been different. Hawes has been playing very well at center for the 10-3 Sixers and because of their lack of big men, they really need him. He missed some time recently with back issues, but now, according to Sixers PR guy Mike Preston, he’s also dealing with Achilles problems.

“Coach Collins tells media that Evan Turner didn’t participate walking through plays today, Spencer Hawes now dealing w/ left Achilles strain,” Preston tweets.

Hawes is averaging 10.4 ppg and 8.8 rpg, so they can’t afford to have him out for too long. The Sixers next game is against the Nuggets on Wednesday.

Last night there were a series of trade rumors that cropped up involving the Philadelphia Flyers’ James van Riemsdyk. With Chris Pronger out for the season and the defense not exactly keeping their goalies clean, the Flyers could use some help in the back. It was floated that GM Paul Holmgren would be speaking with the Nashville Predators when the two teams this meet this weekend regarding Ryan Suter. There was also the Toronto Maple Leafs rumor that would have them sending the Flyers Luke Schenn in exchange for JVR.

But, you can probably squash all that talk for now. JVR has been diagnosed with a concussion and is out indefinitely.

“James was hit in the head in each of our last two games,” Holmgren said in a statement. “He reported yesterday not feeling like himself. He will be out indefinitely with a concussion.”

That sucks. JVR had 11 goals this year even though his play is down from the level of last season. He’s only 22-years old and hopefully the Flyers don’t just ship him out for a few Mac Miller CD’s.

“It’s unfortunate it happened, I actually like the way he was moving on that line,” said coach Peter Laviolette. “I like the way it was moving. When guys come out, it’s a setback for them and a setback for the team. Now, Zac [Rinaldo] comes back in the lineup and brings his energy. We’ll move other lines around a bit. We’ve been through it before and we’ll get through this.”

I’ll be curious to see what happens to those trade rumors now.

People in Philadelphia knew that there were going to be some fairly serious changes to their Flyers team this past offseason. Sure, it was shocking that they traded both Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, but you knew one was going to be moved and it was most likely the latter. The Flyers had grown tired of his partying ways, questionable attitude and injuries that routinely keep him out of the playoffs.

And now, the Columbus Blue Jackets are finding out why the Flyers would part with such a prolific goal scorer. The Jackets sent the No. 8-overall pick (used to get Sean Couturier) and Jakub Voracek to the Flyers in exchange for Carter, and we’re guessing that now they are sorry that they did.

Carter separated his shoulder on a hit by Anaheim’s Francois Beauchemin on Sunday and will definitely miss the next two games. Not sure exactly the timetable for his return after that, but it’s not like the team needs him. They are flailing about with 27 points at the bottom of the Western Conference’s Central Division and are already playing under an interim head coach.

Plus, Carter has been a steaming heap for the Blue Jackets. He has 10 goals and 17 points in 30 games, which is not what they traded for. Maybe he needs to be surrounded by more talent. If that’s the case, Columbus should be working on trade offers as we speak.

One of the guys that may have benefited the most from USC’s Matt Barkley’s decision to stay another year was Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill. As of five minutes before he injured his foot, he was rated by many as the third-best QB in this year’s NFL Draft behind Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.

Who knows how this will affect his draft stocks as it’s in late April, but Tannehill’s agent, Pat Dye, confirmed that Tannehill busted the fifth metatarsal in his foot. It’s possible that he’ll need surgery, but it’s definite that he will miss the Senior Bowl on January 28th.

If he does need surgery, that would probably rule out the Combine. Luckily for him though, he’s so good that teams will bend over backwards to make sure they see him throw at some sort of Pro Day before the draft.

Downgrade Tannehill in your 2012 fantasy football drafts even though we don’t know who will draft him, whether or not he’ll start, or whether or not he’s any good at all.

The Dallas Cowboys have three pretty lethal wide receivers in Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and now Laurent Robinson (who they target the hell out of). The Philadelphia Eagles have three excellent cornerbacks (supposedly) in Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuel and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Should be a great matchup, right?

Not exactly.

The Eagles have ruled out Samuel, who injured his hamstring against the New York Jets last week.

Photo Caption: It is next to impossible to replace this kind of production.

So, that means that DRC will be starting in his place. The good thing is that DRC is a natural outside corner and actually pretty much blows in the nickel, where they’ve forced him most of this season.

And that means a more natural nickel/slot corner, Joselio Hanson, will be playing in the middle. That’s a good thing for him, because he sucks donkey balls when he has to play on the outside.

The New Jersey Nets are off to another rip-roaring season, and the season hasn’t even started yet! Not only are they still the Nets, but they just lost their starting center for the foreseeable future.

According to Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star-Ledger, Brook Lopez has a stress fracture in his foot.

“Brook Lopez has a broken bone in his right foot and will have surgery tomorrow,” Stephenson tweets.

The fracture is in the fifth metatarsal and doesn’t sound like much fun. Lopez’ timetable for return is not known at this point.

So, who knows how long it will be before he can get back to the court and start being soft down low again.

And if you play fantasy basketball, it’s time to start looking for new ways to have a social life.

A league source tells ESPNthat Oakland Raiders RB Darren McFadden has been visiting and consulting with some specialist and while he definitely won’t play this week against Kansas City, there is a chance he could return to action in Week 17 against the San Diego Chargers. McFadden hasn’t played since the end of October after suffering a Lisfranc injury.

As a McFadden fantasy owner, I want to thank Darren for trying to play in Week 17. Sure, I’m out of the playoffs in the two leagues where I had him on my team, but who cares about that? Who cares that he’s a big reason that I lost in those leagues?

Now, could/should I have made alternate plans when he injured his foot? Hindsight being 20/20, yes. But, at first it was just some “mid-foot injury” and no one cared to divulge the seriousness of the injury. So, I held out hope thinking he’d be back in a week or so. I did that for about eight weeks. Hence, no playoffs (yes, there were some other factors that may or may not include Jeremy Maclin, but we aren’t talking about that right now).

But anyway, I do appreciate Darren trying to return for Week 17. I’ll be sure to check my fantasy team to see if he helped me win some nonsense consolation round that everyone cares so damn much about. It’ll be great.

But, maybe it’s me, Darren. Maybe I’m to blame. Sure, I had mitigated enthusiasm at the reports out of Oakland in the preseason. That they were keeping you in bubble wrap because you had made it crystal clear that you were by far the most explosive player on the Raiders. And for a team built with explosive players (in theory), that’s saying something. Everyone said how incredible you looked, and I absolutely believed that. My question was: Yeah, but can he stay healthy?

That was the big one. And I knew the answer. But, I got a bit drunk on the stories from the Oakland Tribune and other outlets about how great you looked. I didn’t want to get suckered in. I knew better.

Oh, but seeing that big, fat Darren McFadden just staring at me with those eyes in the second round. I couldn’t do it, could I? Those eyes! Time was ticking down and I had to make a decision. I couldn’t possibly get tricked into making him my second pick, could I?

I did. And I paid the price. McFadden along with another injury or two, sunk two fantasy seasons.

But, hey! He might play Week 17! Thanks!

This is just more bad news for the Los Angeles Lakers. Their trade for Chris Paul was vetoed by the commissioner. Then they shipped Lamar Odom out of town and that irritated Kobe Bryant. Then Kobe’s wife filed for divorce (did David Stern step in to block that too?), creating further turmoil for the megastar.

Now, there are more problems for Kobe. Howard Beck of the New York Times says that Kobe has a torn ligament in his shooting wrist.

Photo Caption: Caron Butler absolutely hates playing basketball.

“Kobe Bryant has a torn lunotriquetral ligament in right wrist, according to Lakers. He’ll miss tonight’s Lakers-Clippers preseseason game,” Beck tweets.

This isn’t good. Right now we’re hearing that he’s planning on playing in Sunday’s season opener, but that doesn’t mean he’ll play well. And who knows if it eventually bothers him to the point where he has to shut it down and rest?

A bigger problem is that Kobe is 33-years old and could be piling up nagging injuries. He’s already been dealing with an irreversible knee injury and now he’s got problems with his shooting hand.

Could be a rough year for the Lakeshow. Is this the year the Clippers finally capture L.A.?

Probably not…they’re still the Clippers.

The Denver Broncos came out strong on Sunday against the New England Patriots and even had a lead for a little bit. It didn’t last all that long, however, as Tom Brady decided to show Tim Tebow how real quarterbacks play.

A bigger concern for the Broncos was that Willis McGahee pulled up lame with a hamstring issue on the second series for the Broncos. He was pretty much out the whole second half, but head coach John Fox said it’s not a big deal.

He actually said that McGahee’s absence was due more to the way the game was going and had less to do with his injury.

“We were kind of doing something different,” said Fox, “playing catch-up.”

This probably means that he should be fine for the Week 16 matchup with the Buffalo Bills. Unless Fox is lying.

Do you remember Mason Raymond of the Vancouver Canucks? If you’re a Canucks fan you surely do. You may also know him as the guy who got folded like a birthday card along the boards in the Stanley Cup Finals last year against the Boston Bruins.

Photo Caption: Yeah, that guy.

Raymond suffered a pretty serious back injury that night and it’s kind of amazing, but he’s going to return to the ice Sunday night against the Calgary Flames.

Supposedly, his return was delayed by some paperwork issues and the fact that his back hurt a lot. But, good for him, that was a nasty play that could have theoretically (or non-theoretically) ended his career.

For all of you who have ridden Chicago Bears RB Matt Forte to many fantasy wins this season, you won’t be happy. Nope, heading into your playoffs, the last thing you need is for Forte to get hurt.

And that’s what has happened.

Forte got banged on the knee by Kansas City Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson. He was in serious pain and went to the locker room. The initial prognosis is that he’s out for the game.

We still don’t know the extent of the injury, but if it’s anything serious for Forte, we feel badly for him. And this would just be more evidence for guys like DeSean Jackson in Philadelphia to continue to dog it when they don’t have a contract.

You thought Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was mum on injuries? He might have nothing on the Philadelphia Flyers. We kept hearing how defensman Chris Pronger has been out with some mysterious illness. Now? They’re telling us that he will miss four weeks after undergoing knee surgery to clean out some loose bodies.

So, was he really sick?

“He’s been playing through it up until this recent bout with the virus,” GM Paul Holmgren said through a translator.

I’m not saying he wasn’t sick, but I’m sorry if I don’t trust the Flyers when it comes to injuries. They are always telling us someone has an “upper body injury.” What is that? Head? Arm? Ribs? Could be anything.

The Flyers have had up-and-down goaltending play this season, so losing Pronger is a pretty big blow.

The Philadelphia Eagles 2011 season just keeps getting better! After a red-hot 4-6 start and their quarterback suffering broken ribs, they get even better news regarding their Dream Team.

According to Reuben Frank, Nnamdi Asomugha was carted off the practice field today with an apparent knee injury.

“Nnamdi knee injury at practice. Has been carted off. More as soon as we know it,” he tweets.

This is especially awesome for the Eagles. With Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie already ailing with an ankle injury, the Eagles would be down to rookie Curtis Marsh playing the outside CB spot if Nnamdi is seriously hurt. That means that this position of embarrassing riches would become one of complete garbage minus Asante Samuel.

Well, that was quick. We mentioned before that the Buffalo Bills had claimed Tashard “about one yard per carry” Choice off of waivers today. And when Fred Jackson was ruled out for this week rather quickly, we knew that he was probably facing a lengthy amount of time with his injury.

Well, “lengthy amount of time” now means that he’s done for the year. The Bills have placed him on Injured Reserve with a broken fibula, ending his excellent season.

“According to Mark Gaughan of The Buffalo News, Fred Jackson has been put on Injured Reserve. Season over. Fracture to fibula bone. #Bills,” tweets Joe Buscaglia of WGR radio.

It’s a real shame for Fred, who some thought was the mid-season MVP (of the AFC maybe). He was running for a new contract that he now won’t get. He’ll play in 2012 for his $1.83 million and try to prove that he’s back and healthy again.

This is a huge opportunity for C.J. Spiller. Now is the time for him to show that he was worth the No. 9-overall pick in the 2010 draft. So far, he hasn’t come remotely close to that.

Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers skate with the mighty and powerful New York Islanders. And they’ll be getting some much needed help as they try to slay the behemoth.

Coming back to the lineup are winger Jaromir Jagr (groin) and defensman Braydon Coburn (bruised kidney).

“I’m glad I’m back, that’s the important thing,” Jagr said. “Hopefully, my legs are gonna be good. That’s the main thing to me.”

It will be good for them to have Jagr back out there with their dynamo Claude Giroux. He’s played very well on that line even though he’s cooled a little bit in the last few games.

Coburn is a much-needed addition to a defense that’s gotten pretty sloppy in front of Bryzgalov and Bob at times.

Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick busted two ribs in Sunday’s awesome loss to the mighty Arizona Cardinals. Andy Reid says it happened on the second play of the game, but no one is buying that and there is a cloud of mystery around the whole situation.

Vick hasn’t been practicing and Vince Young has been taking the practice reps with the one’s. It’s widely believed that Vick has no chance to play against the New York Giants on Sunday night.

However, Marty Mornhinweg is playing the “look at us being all secretive and playing games” card by putting it out there that Vick could play. He says that he is “optimistic” that Vick will be able to play this week.

“He’s a tough guy and he wants to play. He’s tough mentally and physically and he’s doing everything he can, so we’ll see,” Mornhinweg said.

Uh-huh.

Look for Vince Young to be under center on Sunday night.

If you, I don’t know, say, drafted Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden in multiple fantasy football leagues this season, you’re likely pretty irritated. Not irritated that McFadden is hurt yet again and has missed several weeks, but upset with yourself for actually thinking that he’d get through the entire year without getting hurt.

Well, he is hurt again, this time with a mid-foot sprain. The good news is that Hue Jackson says that he’s healing rather quickly.

“He is making huge progress,” Jackson said.

That’s great, Hue. I can’t plug “making huge progress” into my fantasy lineup each week.

McFadden has all but been ruled out for this week’s game, but it looks like he could make it back for Week 12 provided he doesn’t suffer a setback.

Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub injured himself in Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a second quarter quarterback sneak. He busted his foot pretty good, but managed to stay in the game.

Head coach Gary Kubiak said that it’s a “significant” injury that will keep him out even after the team’s bye next week. Matt Leinart will start in his place.

ESPN‘s Adam Schefter is actually hearing that it’s a Lisfranc injury, which is awful. If it’s a Lisfranc sprain, he can probably come back this season and play at some point. But, if there is a break in there, he’d be done for the year.

Just terrible news for a team who finally looks like they’ll earn a playoff berth. Not sure they’re going to go very far with Leinart in there.

In 2009, Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels decided to make Georgia RB Knowshon Moreno the 12th-overall pick in the NFL draft. So far, he’s performed anything like a first-round pick.

The new coaching staff pretty much decided that he was a situational third-down back because his between-the-tackles running has left a lot to be desired. To make matters worse, he tore his ACL on Sunday against the Chiefs and will miss the remainder of the season.

“Fox said Knowshon Moreno will need surgery, and team will “make a move,” tweets Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post.

These things require at least a year to come back from, and then you aren’t yourself (usually) for a good period of time after that. So, when will Moreno get to prove that he’s a top back?

Our guess is: Not with the Broncos. Moreno just hasn’t shown anything “special” at the NFL level and who knows if he ever will.

It looks like the Anaheim Ducks will be without the services of defensman Lubomir Visnovsky for quite a while. And when we say “quite a while,” we mean about four weeks.

According to beat writer Eric Stephens from the Orange County Register, Visnovsky busted his finger blocking a shot in Friday night’s win against the Vancouver Canucks.

“Ducks D Lubomir Visnovsky to miss next four weeks due to broken finger on right hand,” Stephens tweets. “No surgery required for Visnovsky. Broke it while blocking a shot in third period.”

So, this is a head’s up to everyone who plays fantasy hockey: Pack up your tent on Wall St., dust off your resume and start looking for a job. Seriously.

Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning probably won’t play again this year. At least we don’t think he will. Why would he? He’s got nerve problems in his neck and he’d just be rejoining a team that probably would have one or two wins at most. And that’s being generous.

Well, long-time Colts beat writer Phillip B. Wilson thinks the problem could be worse than that. He writes that he thinks there is a good chance that Manning never plays again.

“I’ve [sic] also officially leaning beyond 50-50 on him ever playing in Indy again, if anywhere,” he writes. “Let’s say I’m 40-60 against it being possible. Maybe even 30-70. And if Manning doesn’t talk to us on Dec. 1 and say he’s throwing and getting it all back, if he says there’s still problems with the nerve regenerating and he has fatigue in his arm from a third neck surgery in 19 months, the number plummets to about zilch.”

As OTR‘s father in-law doctor tells us all the time, “necks are a tricky thing.” And the fact that Manning continued to have these surgeries says that something is really wrong there. And only Peyton himself knows if he’s feeling any closer to playing.

We just don’t see the need to risk it. You have your passing records and a Super Bowl and plenty of money. Call it a day and go coach a high school team.

One of the things we were most excited about this season was the Detroit Lions drafting Nick Fairley at No. 13-overall in the draft. There was talk at one point that he could be the first guy taken, but he ended up sliding to 13 for a variety of reasons.

So, Detroit got him and all we could think about was…’what if he can play?’ What if this guy is as good as advertised and you pair him with the monster Ndamukong Suh? That defensive tackle combination could be absolute murder and set the tone for an entire defense.

Except that it hasn’t.

Fairley suffered a stress fracture in his foot back in August, which got him off to a slow start. And he was inactive again on Sunday against the Broncos due to that foot acting up again. It’s kind of troubling that he still hasn’t gotten over this injury.

But, even when he’s been active for games, he’s only used as a rotational defensive tackle. Hardly the stuff of domination. And even then, he’s only played in three games, so who knows what he is really.

Still, it’s early. We’d love to see him get healthy so the Lions can find out what they really have in him. He was dominant at times at Auburn, and if he can regain even some of that at the NFL level, the Lions defense should be pretty fun to watch.

Tyler Seguin has arguably been the Boston Bruins best player this season. However, ESPNBoston.com is reporting that his long-term health could be an issue. The site is told by league and team sources that Seguin has a congenital hip condition that makes him susceptible to hip injuries down the road.

But, Seguin doesn’t necessarily agree with those reports. And when we say “doesn’t necessarily agree with,” we mean he calls BS.

“Tyler Seguin on report he has congenital hip issue: “I’m 100 percent healthy. Anything about my hip is really false. Wasn’t born w/anything,” tweets Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com.

The initial report said that he will develop problems in that area if he doesn’t work to maintain and develop that area of his body. They even went to far to get a doctor to comment on the injury, even though he hasn’t examined Seguin.

“The worst-case scenario is they start to develop recurring symptoms consistent of a groin pull, hip flexor strains, difficulty getting their hips in certain positions, reduced rotation, increase in pain and reduced levels of performance,” renowned hip expert and surgeon Dr. Bryan Kelly tells ESPN.

That is, if the report is true. And according to Seguin, it isn’t.

Chicago Cubs fans must be thrilled about having a new team president that was the mastermind of two Boston Red Sox World Series titles. It’s going to be great! Wait ’til you see who you get now!

Well, while Theo Epstein did some great things for the Red Sox, he hasn’t been stellar as of late. This past offseason, he signed a Carl Crawford, a player the owner never wanted, to a seven-year, $142 million contract. That’s a lot of money for .255 and 11 HR’s. And Epstein’s idea of adding pitching help at the trade deadline was oft-injured, five-innings-per-start Erik Bedard.

But, one of his worst moves came in 2009 and now it looks even worse. Not only is John Lackey’s five-year, $82.5 million contract one of the worst in all of sports, he now won’t be even able to earn any of that money for at least a year or so.

Lackey is undergoing Tommy John surgery.

On one hand, you can say that this makes the 33-year old an even bigger bust as a free agent. But on the other, you can say that it will keep his 5.26 ERA and 1.50 WHIP since signing the deal on the bench.

Great ready, Cubs fans! You thought the Alfonso Soriano deal was bad? You ain’t seen nothing yet!

After rushing out to a quick division lead in the awfully weak NFC East, the Washington Redskins were looking like maybe Rex Grossman was right after all. But, the last two weeks haven’t gone exactly as planned.

As it was, the Redskins were not loaded with talent on offense. Two weeks ago, the lost to the Philadelphia Eagles and benched the same guy that said they were going to win the division this year. This week, they lost to an upstart Carolina Panthers team and have fallen to .500.

Oh, and they lost starting (debate that all you like, I know, it’s Shanahan) RB Tim Hightower this week to a torn ACL. So yeah, he’s done for the year and the team will have to ride Roy Helu and Ryan Torain for the rest of the season. Or, until…you know…they get hurt too.

So that’s not good. And in the passing game, they really only have two playmakers: Santana Moss and Fred Davis. Well, the former just broke his hand and will need surgery. Moss is expected to miss 5-7 weeks. Ouch.

But, there is good news, Redskins fans: Your coach is happy with the play of John Beck, who was really pedestrian in this week’s loss, but don’t tell him that.

“John’s a smart guy. John knows he has to go out there and concentrate on his job, make plays, and I thought he did a great job doing that,” the coach said. “Really proud of the way he played. That’s what he’s got to do. He made some plays with his feet, threw on the run, thought he handled himself well in the drop-back situation. Our goal now is to get a supporting cast around him that can play at a very high level. The better they play, the better he’ll play.”

This was Beck’s first start since 2007…for a reason. Beck is a marginal QB on his best day, but Shanahan is happy with that apparently. Grossman is the better quarterback, but Shanahan has to show everyone that he’s smarter than you.

Things aren’t looking good in D.C.