Denver guard Chris Kuper, who broke his forearm in August, continued to be limited in practice Wednesday. He practiced on a limited basis all last week but didn’t play in Week 4. Denver coach John Fox said Wednesday that Kuper will be a game-time decision Sunday at New England.
If Kuper doesn’t have a setback, I like his chances of playing if he's had two weeks of solid practices.
In other AFC West news:
San Diego linebacker Donald Butler was named the AFC defensive player of the week for his efforts in a 37-20 victory at Kansas City on Sunday. Butler had a 21-yard interception return for a touchdown in the game.
Don’t read much into the fact that the Chargers have Jackie Battle atop the running-back depth chart instead of Ryan Mathews. Battle started last week for Mathews because of the latter's fumbling issues; Mathews did finish the game. The Chargers know their best bet is to go with Mathews, but he must stay healthy and hold on to the ball.
San Diego kicker Nate Kaeding (groin) is still out. He is expected to be week-to-week. The Chargers meanwhile cut receiver/returner Micheal Spurlock to make room for cornerback Chris Carr.
Denver quarterback Peyton Manning is sixth on Mike Sando’s MVP Watch this week. No other AFC West player is on the 10-man list.
Oakland coach Dennis Allen addressed the reason why he was laughing in the middle of the field with Denver coach Fox after a 31-point Oakland loss Sunday. I got many letters from angry Oakland fans about the photo. Perhaps Allen’s explanation will calm the storm. It sounds reasonable to me.
There is a chance the Raiders’ Oct. 21 home game against Jacksonville could be moved to accommodate an Oakland A’s playoff game. If that is the case, the best bet is that the NFL game would be moved to Monday night.
Asked how much different the Denver offense is now than the unit his team saw in the playoffs in January, New England coach Bill Belichick said “95 percent.” Yep, that’s sounds about right when you switch from Tim Tebow to Manning at quarterback.
There's hope yet for the 1-3 Chiefs and Raiders. For the record, the Raiders have never made the playoffs when they started 1-3.