There is some thought being given to playing future Pro Bowls between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, but the way the early vote totals are coming in on NFL.com, it might not be that great a concept. Fans carry about one-third of the voting power, so they do have a voice. In a year in which there are huge gaps between great and average teams, removing players from two Super Bowl teams could relegate the Pro Bowl to second-class status. Players from New England, Dallas, Green Bay and Indianapolis are dominating the voting. Look at the numbers in the top four spots at each position: The Cowboys have 20 players in the top four, the Patriots and Packers have 19 and the Colts 14. The Steelers are the only other team in double figures (10). Removing special teams from the equation, the Patriots and Cowboys have 16 position players in the top four while the Packers have 15 and the Colts 12. Seven teams are not represented among the top four at each position.

Derek's domino effect: Everyone anticipated a Pro Bowl quarterback would come out of the AFC North, but who would have thought Derek Anderson of the Browns would be more of a favorite than Ben Roethlisberger or Carson Palmer? According to the NFL.com fan vote, Anderson totaled 154,550 nods, leading Roethlisberger (148,217) and Palmer (98,217). It will be a pretty good race down the stretch to see if Anderson or Roethlisberger gets the third quarterback spot in the AFC. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will be the first two.

Big-dollar backups: The Eagles announced Thursday that Juqua Thomas is now starting at defensive end ahead of Jevon Kearse. Trent Cole is starting at the other defensive end spot ahead of Darren Howard. Howard is making $5.083 million this year and Kearse $7.8 million, so it's hard to believe they are backups. Unless they take significant paycuts, Howard and Kearse likely won't be with Philly next season.

Deck stacked against Henry playing: Broncos halfback Travis Henry left the team facility with an ice bag on his knee. After missing two days of practice, Henry doesn't appear to be ready to return to the starting lineup. Henry, who has a partial tear of the posterior cruciate ligament, also has a hearing on his appeal of his one-year drug suspension Friday. He's fighting an uphill battle to play Monday night against the Titans.

Haynesworth ready to go: Titans coach Jeff Fisher is optimistic defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth will be able to play against the Broncos even though he has missed practice all week with an ankle injury. Haynesworth and Shaun Rogers have been the most dominating defensive tackles in the league this season. His absence last Sunday against the Jaguars contributed to the Titans' loss.

Double the damage: 49ers coach Mike Nolan had no choice but to bench quarterback Alex Smith. For weeks, he's been saying Smith has been healthy enough to play well. Smith, coming off a third-degree shoulder separation, has been awful and opponents have noticed him grimacing on most throws. On Wednesday, Smith told the media his right shoulder and right forearm are sore. Smith was either a bad quarterback or an injured one, and all of a sudden Nolan's credibility is under the microscope. Smith is hurt -- he needed to be removed from the starting lineup.