by John Czarnecki

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So, with the NFL trading deadline this Tuesday at 4 p.m. EDT, will teams going nowhere — Detroit, Kansas City and Cincinnati — trade away some of their stars or starters in order to grab some extra draft choices? The most likely answer is "no" because it is rare for NFL teams to do much trading except in and around the college draft. I have always been curious why draft choices seem to be more valuable than proven, productive NFL players.

Which brings us to Detroit's Roy Williams. If he doesn't get hurt Sunday against the Vikings, I'm sure the Cowboys, Bucs and Eagles will call Detroit to ask about his availability.

Williams, who is in the final year of his contract, would love to return to Texas and play for the Cowboys. To the Cowboys, he may be worth their expected low-end first-round pick if he can take some of the defensive pressure off Terrell Owens. The Bucs also need a deep threat, but they expect Joey Galloway back next week. Still, they could use Williams because Galloway seems to be breaking down. The Eagles, who have two first-round picks, would be silly not to surrender one for Williams. Andy Reid's offense is crying for a big-time receiver.

The problem, unlike baseball, is that teams trading for such an unsigned talent like Williams aren't generally given an opportunity to negotiate a contract. Remember, the 49ers thought they had permission to talk with Lance Briggs last year and then got nailed with a tampering charge. By the time a team gives written permission and it's filed with the league office, the trading deadline will be over.

However, teams that have spoken with the Lions believe that interim GM Martin Mayhew is afraid to trade Williams now. Mayhew, they say, prefers to place the franchise tag on Williams and see if he can negotiate a long-term contract. If not, then deal him in the offseason. Until the Lions get a franchise quarterback, Williams is wasted in Detroit.

The Patriots supposedly are still looking for a veteran quarterback and may have interest in Damon Huard of the Chiefs and Jon Kitna of the Lions. However, Kitna is hurt at the moment.

And what about Tony Gonzalez, the all-time receiving tight end? Shouldn't the Chiefs trade him? Gonzalez would be a huge addition for the Giants, Titans and Cardinals. Gonzalez could make the Giants' offense literally unstoppable.

However, no team has offered a second-round pick and Kansas City simply won't give the 32-year-old away for nothing. If Jason Taylor is worth a two, isn't Gonzalez?

Surrendering future picks is one huge reason why there could no trades. The inside word is that next year's draft could be a great one with so many underclassmen coming out, many of them fearful that eventually the NFL will enact a rookie wage scale.

The most attractive receiver probably is T.J. Houshmandzadeh, but the Bengals are telling everyone they won't deal him. Of course, when they sign Houshmandzadeh in the offseason, you can bet that Chad Ochocinco will go ballistic. So, maybe they should trade Ochocinco right now.

GAME: Chicago at Atlanta

TIME: 1 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Good news for Atlanta rookie QB Matt Ryan — he'll have leading receiver Roddy White in the lineup. The Bears, though, don't plan to sit back and let Ryan pick them apart. They plan to bracket White and go after Ryan. Chicago DT Tommie Harris won't start, but he should play most of the game. The Falcons must key on rookie RB Matt Forte, whose 555 yards rank fourth in the NFL on 129 touches. But Bears QB Kyle Orton, who has thrown for seven TDs in his last three starts, is starting to gain some confidence in Devin Hester, Marty Booker and Greg Olsen. Both of these teams like to get off to fast starts; the Falcons have scored 74 first-half points while the Bears had 72, which ranks second and third overall in the league.

CZAR'S SCOOP: Falcons coach Mike Smith has taken an interesting approach with pass rusher John Abraham by reducing his snaps this season, hoping that Abraham is still productive at season's end. It must be working. While playing 60 percent of the plays, Abraham has seven sacks and is even dropping into coverage. The Falcons have pointed out that Ryan was better than expected because last season at Boston College his receivers dropped 67 passes. The Bears were pretty disappointed with Harris, and that's why they suspended him for one game. Remember, Harris signed a four-year contract extension in June that included $10 million in guaranteed money. Harris said he should be held to a higher standard on the field but not because of the money. "I don't believe that money should make it different," Harris said. "But I believe because of the talent that I have that I should be."

GAME: St. Louis at Washington

TIME: 1 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Rams believe they had an excellent week of practice under interim head coach Jim Haslett. RB Steven Jackson apparently is finally in football shape after missing training camp and offensive coordinator Al Saunders has opted to move WR Torry Holt around, put him in motion and move him away from his customary X receiver role. The Rams hope this will open up the offense. The Redskins are relatively healthy and figure to get both DE Jason Taylor and CB Shawn Springs back. Right now, Redskins QB Jason Campbell and RB Clinton Portis are doing little wrong and neither one has turned over the ball. About the only confusion on offense is whether to stick with veteran RT Jon Jansen or return to the more physical Stephen Heyer, who is ready to play.

CZAR'S SCOOP: Although Jim Zorn is reaping plenty of praise for his coaching job, 18 of the 22 starters for the Redskins were acquired during Joe Gibbs' tenure. Gibbs hit on all six of the first-day picks in his four drafts: late safety Sean Taylor, tight end Chris Cooley, CB Carlos Rogers, Campbell, linebacker Rocky McIntosh and safety LaRon Landry. Gibbs was also instrumental in the veteran acquisitions of center Casey Rabach, running back Clinton Portis, defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin, Springs and Pro Bowl receiver Santana Moss. "You look around the locker room and these are all (Gibbs') guys, guys that learned football from him, learned how to handle different situations," said OT Jon Jansen, the only Redskin to play for each of Washington's last six coaches. "Last year, we had a tough year. We had five starters get hurt. We had Sean Taylor die. The leadership that Coach Gibbs had throughout the year is something that everybody still now falls back on." Haslett apparently has a clause in his contract that if he wins a certain number of games he can return next season as head coach. A prospective local buyer of the Rams recently withdrew.

GAME: Carolina at Tampa Bay

TIME: 1 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams is lobbying head coach John Fox to use more of Miami's wildcat formation with him taking the direct snap from center alongside rookie RB Jonathan Stewart. The Bucs have lost five straight home games against the Panthers and are 2-8 in the last 10 against them. Bucs QB Jeff Garcia starts again, and he'll focus on getting the ball to WR Antonio Bryant. Garcia appears to be healthy again and able to buy himself some time in the pocket. The Bucs are still minus WR Joey Galloway, who may return next week against the Seahawks. The Panthers get OT Jordon Gross back, but rookie RT Jeff Otah will be a game-time decision. Geoff Hangartner starts again at center for Ryan Kalil.

Jeff Garcia will start under center for the Bucs Sunday against the Panthers. (Doug Pensinger / Getty Images)

CZAR'S SCOOP: Carolina WR Dwayne Jarrett, a second-round pick last year from USC, will be active Sunday after being inactive the past three games. Coaches and Steve Smith questioned his work ethic and maturity last season. A DWI arrest in the offseason increased the scrutiny, but veteran Moose Muhmmad started to tutor him this summer on how to be a pro. "He grew up a whole lot from Year 1 to Year 2," said Jake Delhomme. "He's kept on working. He hasn't said anything. He hasn't sulked. Other guys have seen it. Coaches have seen it. That's why I expect him to do big things when he gets out there." Jarrett takes the spot of D.J. Hackett, the team's No. 3 receiver, has an MCL sprain. Bucs RB Warrick Dunn moved up a couple notches last week, passing Tiki Barber and Eddie George on the all-time rushing list. He is now 20th with 10,452 yards.

GAME: Detroit at Minnesota

TIME: 1 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Jon Kitna didn't make the trip, so Dan Orlovsky starts at quarterback for the Lions. RB Rudi Johnson also starts ahead of Kevin Smith. But with Orlovsky, how much throwing will the Lions do? The passing game figures to be limited. The Vikings don't believe the Lions can stop RB Adrian Peterson like the Saints did, plus they feel that QB Gus Frerotte is finally starting to find a rhythm with Bernard Berrian. Remember, the Lions have fallen behind in every game and have trailed by 60 points at halftime.

CZAR'S SCOOP: There seems to be no question that Roy Williams would love to be traded prior to Tuesday's deadline. Despite bringing in four punters this past week, Vikings coach Brad Childress decided to stick with punter Chris Kluwe, who was admonished during last Monday night's game and after the game for kicking three punts to Reggie Bush, who returned two for touchdowns. Childress told Kluwe that even if he punted the ball 30 yards, he wanted the kick out-of-bounds. What's weird about the situation is that the Vikings actually felt like "losers" after leaving New Orleans because of how they won and with how well Bush and Drew Brees played against them.

GAME: Dallas at Arizona

TIME: 4:15 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: After pounding Marion Barber last Sunday, the Cowboys will attempt to balance their offense and probably try to get Terrell Owens untracked. T.O. had only three passes directed at him last week, and he's on pace for 61 receptions this season, which would be his lowest total in a full season since 1999 when he caught 60 with the 49ers. Dallas plans to blitz Kurt Warner as much as possible in order to protect a secondary minus Terence Newman and Roy Williams. DeMarcus Ware, who has a sack in each of his last eight games, should be able to dominate Arizona LT Mike Gandy. The Cowboys will attempt to double Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald, who has 31 receptions for 467 yards. His size makes him a mismatch for Pacman Jones, meaning that Anthony Henry should be helping out. Warner believes, if he gets the protections, he will complete some deep passes against Cowboys safety Keith Davis. Dallas needs rookie CB Mike Jenkins to step up, too.

With the Cowboys sticking with their run game recently, T.O. could be on pace to finish with just 61 receptions this season. (Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

CZAR'S SCOOP: A lot has been written about Warner, 37, talking about retirement after he saw Anquan Boldin carted off two weeks ago. But that doesn't mean Warner would turn down a contract extension from the Cardinals. Although he's very mindful of being around and raising his seven children, Warner would love to have the Cardinals start talking contract again. "If I'm going to play, I want to play here. That's one thing I know," Warner said. "If there was no contract done, then I think it would lend itself to take a better look at it. A lot of it would be contingent on whether they want me to continue to play here in Arizona." Of course, Warner was genuinely shaken up by Boldin's injury and it has stayed with him. Warner has a bad index finger on his throwing hand. The NFL hasn't completed its investigation of Pacman Jones' altercation last Tuesday night, but even with owner Jerry Jones supporting the player, it doesn't mean the league wouldn't suspend Pacman for a game or two.

GAME: Philadelphia at San Francisco

TIME: 4:15 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: This could turn into an ugly, low-scoring game because both teams seem determined to focus on their running game. What's weird is that the Eagles, even when they had Brian Westbrook healthy, were averaging just 3.5 yards per carry, the fourth lowest total in the NFL, ahead of only Arizona (3.3), Cincinnati (3.3) and New Orleans (3.2). Besides a missing Westbrook, it looks like receivers Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown won't there to help Donovan McNabb. The Eagles want to get DeSean Jackson untracked deep, but in the last six quarters, the Cal rookie only has two catches for 15 yards. With the Eagles heading into the bye, you can bet defensive coordinator Jim Johnson will throw every blitz scheme imaginable against 49ers QB J.T. O'Sullivan. Johnson has an 8-2 record against teams coached by Mike Martz, either as a head coach or offensive coordinator.

CZAR'S SCOOP: Correll Buckhalter, who is starting for Westbrook, had just two carries for no yards last week against the Redskins but rushed for 66 yards on 16 carries the week before when he replaced Westbrook against the Bears. "There are a few things we need to get better at, and that's one of them," Reid said of his struggling ground game. "I've got to make sure I call the right plays against the defense. McNabb called a team meeting Monday. "We've lost two games back-to-back that we shouldn't have lost. The Dallas game (a 41-37 loss in Week 2), I felt like we shouldn't have lost that game, either. I just tried to let everybody know that it's easy for us to sit and say we could be undefeated right now or we should be 4-1. But we're not. In order for us to correct that and put these four or five games behind us, we have to do it right now. Guys have to dig deep and challenge themselves." In their last four games, the Eagles have scored just 21 points in the second half, 68 in the first half.

GAME: Green Bay at Seattle

TIME: 4:15 ET

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Well, Charlie Frye figures to start for Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck, whose right knee has been very slow to respond. The Seahawks want to run Julius Jones behind tackle Walter Jones and at rookie RDE Jeremy Thompson, who's playing for the injured Michael Montgomery. Green Bay's defense has allowed 161 rushing yards a game this season. The Packers are also without SS Atari Bigby. The Seahawks will start Koren Robinson and Bobby Engram at receiver with Deion Branch (foot) out once again. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers' sprained shoulder didn't appear to affect his zip on the ball last Sunday, and this week he takes aim at a beleaguered Seahawks secondary. Rodgers will mostly avoid CB Marcus Trufant and target struggling Josh Wilson and Kelly Jennings, who was demoted this week. Rodgers didn't throw a single pass all week in practice.

CZAR'S SCOOP: The Packers are second in the NFL with 44 penalties and are first with 419 penalty yards. Looking at film, Seattle guard Mike Wahle hit Hasselbeck's knee last week, not a New York Giant's. Seattle coach Mike Holmgren had a rough week, ripping into his team earlier in the week and extremely disappointed with his defense. Most of them quit last Sunday in the Meadowlands against Brandon Jacobs. None of Seattle's defensive linemen have played well this season and neither has LB Lofa Tatupa, who his banged up. Rodgers doesn't take a painkilling shot, but he does take pain pills because his shoulder hurts every time he throws.

Other Games:

Baltimore at Indianapolis: The Ravens plan to control the clock with their running game and this is bad news for Peyton Manning, who still doesn't look like his old self. He missed an open Marvin Harrison last Sunday for a touchdown, and the two could be seen sharing their viewpoints on the sideline later. Baltimore hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher in 23 consecutive games.

Oakland at New Orleans: This is a homecoming game of sorts for Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell, who starred at LSU and out-played Brady Quinn in the Sugar Bowl to be a first-round draft choice. The Saints stuffed Adrian Peterson on Monday night, and they should see a heavy dose of Justin Fargas and Darren McFadden, whose turf toe will be covered by a steel plate. The Raiders have the cornerbacks to deal with the return of WR Marques Colston and the unflappable Drew Brees, who already has four 300-yard passing games. This is interim coach Tom Cable's for game under Al Davis.

Cincinnati at NY Jets: The big news is that Carson Palmer and his tender throwing elbow is sitting this one out, and you have to wonder if the Bengals keep losing will they opt to sit Palmer permanently rather than risk further damage? The Jets have scored 96 points in their last two games while wearing those ugly Titans' throwback jerseys. Coach Eric Mangini named his third child, a boy, after quarterback Brett Favre. Well, his middle name. He's Zack Brett Mangini. Brett has no worries; the Bengals have a NFL-low three sacks.

While Miami's wildcat formation helped secure wins over New England and San Diego, the Dolphins' defense has been just as important down the stretch. (Doug Benc / Getty Images)

Miami at Houston: Lost in the praise of the wildcat formation, which has led the Dolphins to wins over the Pats and Chargers, is how well the young defense is playing. Miami is ranked seventh overall, and the front seven should be all over Matt Schaub. The Texans are 0-4 for the second time in team history. Houston rookie RB Steve Slaton has 385 yards in total yards from scrimmage and three TDs in last three games.

Jacksonville at Denver: The Jaguars are desperate after being dominated by Ben Roethlisberger last Sunday night. The Broncos will be minus Selvin Young and TE Tony Scheffler. There is a chance that rookie WR Eddie Royal (bone bruise) will play. Jacksonville is hoping that guards Brad Meester and Chris Naeole will be back after the bye. Look for Jay Cutler to go deep against Jaguars' second-team safeties.

New England at San Diego: This marks the fourth meeting in 22 months between the Patriots and Chargers, and Pats coach Bill Belichick says it feels like a AFC East-type matchup. The Chargers have lost all three previous games and will be minus big-play receiver Chris Chambers. LaDainian Tomlinson's toe is not right, and Norv Turner needs a big game from Philip Rivers. The Patriots have won 12 straight on the road, the second longest streak in NFL history. New England quarterbacks have been sacked 16 times this season after allowing only 21 all of last season. Chargers feel they have a score to settle with Patriots with center Nick Hardwick calling Richard Seymour a punk.

NY Giants at Cleveland: ESPN may pay the big bucks for the Monday night TV package, but this is the only time the Super Bowl champs play on Monday. The Browns, who missed the playoffs, have two more prime-time dates. There is a chance that Browns TE Kellen Winslow (discomfit down under) may play. Giants torched the Browns in preseason and rushed for 246 yards last Sunday vs. Seattle. The Browns have only three offensive plays of 20 yards or more.