Quick Kicks

Falcons lose Chandler The last thing the Atlanta Falcons needed was another injury.

Quarterback Chris Chandler was helped off the field after aggravating a hamstring injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s 35-7 loss to the St. Louis Rams.

Chandler was injured without contact with 3:13 to go and the Falcons trailing 28-0. After making a couple of pump fakes and scrambling, he crumpled to the turf.

Chandler missed the Falcons’ second game, a loss to Dallas, with a hamstring injury sustained in the a season-opening loss to Minnesota.

“We spent about two weeks resting it and rehabbing it, but it doesn’t seem to be getting any better,” Chandler said.

“Hopefully it will come back, but I have no idea.”

In the Monday night loss to the Cowboys that Chandler missed, Falcons lost All-Pro running back Jamal Anderson to a season-ending knee injury.

Carter hurts knee

Things also got worse for Cincinnati when Ki-Jana Carter, the oft-injured first overall pick in the 1995 draft, went down again, this time with a dislocated right kneecap in the first quarter of the Bengals’ loss to Carolina.

The Panthers lost center Frank Garcia, who left in the second quarter with a concussion and did not return.

The Kansas City Chiefs, despite beating previously unbeaten Detroit, were down to their third-team running back in the second half. Bam Morris, starting in place of Kimble Anders, went out with a hamstring injury. Rookie Rashaan Shehee replaced Morris and scored a touchdown.

The San Diego Chargers lost two defensive backs while getting buried by Indianapolis. Safety Rodney Harrison strained his right hamstring and cornerback Terrance Shaw sprained his right ankle.

Jaguars defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn left Jacksonville’s loss to Tennessee in the second quarter with an injured left ankle. Titans tight end Jackie Harris left with a strained hamstring, and Jaguars receiver Reggie Barlow left after suffering a concussion.

Super tribute

At halftime of their win over the Lions, the Kansas City Chiefs honored former players, including members of the Super Bowl IV championship team. Hank Stram, the coach of that team, was also honored.

Dandy Dilfer

The fan holding the “In Dilfer We Trust” sign at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa didn’t look like quite the idiot that he would appear on most Sundays.

But quarterback Trent Dilfer was playing against the Denver Broncos. And the Broncos have become a traveling rehab center for incurably average quarterbacks.

Tampa Bay’s offense - borrowing here and there from Army, Notre Dame and Ohio State of decades past - may just be the NFL’s most boring unit. They, in fact, bored the Broncos to tears, if not to death.

And for the second-straight week, a team struggling offensively has found enough offense against Denver to win the game. The formula is getting, well, formulaic.

Dilfer threw the ball just 18 times, but he completed 15 of those attempts.

The last word …

“People talk about (Peyton Manning) being a second-year player. I don’t care what year he’s in, he’s a great player.”

- Colts coach Jim Mora