The stadium hosted five high school contests and a Pitt football game during that period. The old field was shot. The middle of the field had lost all of its grass. On Sunday, everything looked great, but the Steelers and the NFL were victims of "The Perfect Storm." The all-day rain Monday soaked the sod to the point of being virtually unplayable.

The forecast in Pittsburgh this week is for drier weather, giving the sod time to dry out. That should allow the Steelers to get through the next-to-last regular-season home game, a Sunday night game against the Bengals.

The condition of the field Monday night was an embarrassment for the NFL and the Steelers, but it was inevitable. No natural grass surface will hold up in late November or early December with seven games played on it in 11 days. If Pittsburgh is going to continue to have five high school playoff games at Heinz Field, an artificial surface has to be the alternative in 2008.

Washington regroups: The Redskins are going to need some help from the league in getting through the Sean Taylor tragedy next week. The schedule is set for this week, and the team has to find a way to focus on the Bills, who come to Fedex Field.

Owner Dan Snyder plans to take the entire team to Taylor's funeral, which will be early next week. The only scheduled day of practice for a Thursday, Dec. 6, game against the Bears is Tuesday, which could cause some need for juggling. Both games are at home, which gives the Redskins the chance to be more flexible. The date of the funeral will determine what the Redskins might need from the league. It's unlikely the NFL would change the time of the game against the Bears.

Colts go without Rice: The Colts' release of Simeon Rice shows he has nothing left for any team this year. With Dwight Freeney out for the season, the Colts were one of the most desperate teams in need of pass-rush help. Rice, who had shoulder surgery in the offseason, showed less in his second game with the Colts than he did in his first even though he recorded a sack. Whether it's the shoulder or age, Rice couldn't get much push off the line of scrimmage and wasn't much of a factor in the pass rush.

Pats face void: The loss of linebacker Rosevelt Colvin will create some holes for the Patriots' defense. Bill Belichick liked his inside linebacker rotation of Tedy Bruschi, Junior Seau and Adalius Thomas. With Colvin gone, the Patriots may have to move Thomas to the outside and then play Seau and Bruschi more, which could cause them to wear down earlier in games. The Patriots re-signed linebacker Chad Brown for insurance and may play him on the inside.

The Patriots have only two rookie draft choices on their roster after Belichick released fourth-round choice Kareem Brown. His release means the eight second-day draft choices -- those taken after Round 4 -- aren't on the active 53-man roster. Brown was inactive most of the season.

Dolphins in hole again: Ricky Williams' season-ending injury, suffered when Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons stepped on his chest, is a big blow to the Dolphins. They are already thin at running back. Jesse Chatman has neck and ankle problems. Patrick Cobbs is the only healthy running back. Rehab for Williams' injury could last until next spring.