Matt Light and Channing Crowder have been fined $15,000 apiece by the NFL for what the league called "a verbal and physical altercation" in last week's game. Neither will be suspended. That's good news for Pats fans, as it means that Light will be available to try to stop the blitzes of Pittsburgh and its stud outside linebacker, James Harrison. Here's a video of the Light-Crowder battle. (Thanks to the ever-insightful Dan Dierdorf for pointing out that "this isn't hockey." Really?)

ABOUT THAT PASS RUSH: Light or no Light, the Patriots will have their hands full with the Steelers, who are second in the NFL (behind only the Eagles) with 37 sacks. The Pats, by comparison, are tied for 19th in the league with 21. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh and New England are tied for fifth-worst in the league in terms of giving up sacks (they've both surrendered 35). They are, in fact, the only two teams in the league's bottom eight in this stat category that are not awful (the others are the Lions, 49ers, Bengals, Rams, Raiders and Chiefs).

THE OPTIONS ON MATT: The Matt Cassel talk is really heating up now, and the Globe's Mike Reiss spoke to former NFL GM Floyd Reese about how the Patriots might play it this offseason, when Tom Brady's longtime backup becomes a free agent. Reiss notes that although the spirit of the "franchise player" rule is for a team to use it on a player it intends to keep, there are several examples of teams "franchising" a player and then trading him away. The bigger question is whether the Patriots want to risk tying up close to $30 million in salary in two players who play the same position. Reese's take: "That would be a giant concern, tying up a fourth or fifth of your cap on two players. That is extreme. The other side of it is that quarterback is the most important player, and you have two that are very, very good. So it's a risk assessment, and you ask, 'Would it be worth it to do this?' It wouldn't shock me either way."

THE UNSPEAKABLE POSSIBILITY: A lot of folks think the notion is ridiculous -- and I include myself among them -- but ColdHardFootballFacts.com lays out the cold, hard argument for why the Pats should consider trading Brady and keeping Cassel.

AN UNANSWERABLE QUESTION: If the Patriots' defense is as bad as everyone seems to think it is, how is it that the Pats are eighth in the NFL in fewest points allowed? (Boston.com)

STEELER CASUALTIES: Defensive end Brett Keisel is definitely out for Sunday's game, and the Steelers might be without running back Willie Parker, cornerback Deshea Townsend and left tackle Marvel Smith (projo.com).

NO ROOM FOR ERROR: That's what the Patriots have against the tough Steelers, according to Bill Belichick (projo.com). But the Steelers also don't have the luxury of tripping in this game, because their schedule coming down the stretch is a real slog. After they leave Foxboro, Pittsburgh faces Dallas, Baltimore and Tennessee -- with only the Cowboys game at home. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review calls it the Steelers' toughest stretch of games under Mike Tomlin.

TWO-TITLE TOWN: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is considering the possibility that both the Giants and the Jets will host the conference championship games in January. Since the teams share the same stadium, it would be very difficult to hold the games back-to-back two Sundays before the Super Bowl, as has been tradition. Goodell yesterday told WFAN in New York that the NFL would probably hold one game on Sunday, and the next one on Monday -- giving the league the option of two consecutive prime-time games to determine the Super Bowl teams.

AND IT COULD HAPPEN: Vic Carucci of NFL.com has the Giants and the Jets first and second, respectively, in his latest league power rankings. He's got New England 12th and Pittsburgh fourth. ESPN has the Jets third, behind the Giants at number one and the Titans at number two, with the Steelers fourth and the Patriots eighth.

ASANTE'S HURTING: Former Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel, who injured his neck against Baltimore on Sunday, missed practice yesterday for the second straight day and must be considered extremely doubtful for Thursday night's Eagles game against the pass-happy Arizona Cardinals (Rotoworld).

IMMUNE TO THE BLITZ: One thing Philadelphia still has going for it is a pretty good pass rush -- the best in the league in fact. But the quarterback the Eagles will be facing this week, Arizona's Kurt Warner, is remarkably good against the pressure. He's completed more than 70 percent of his passes against the blitz, with 10 touchdowns and just one interception. He's been sacked just four times in 135 blitzes (Arizona Republic).

THANKSGIVING STORY LINES: With the Eagles fading into oblivion, the three Thanksgiving Day matchups all look more like mismatches. But there are a couple of things to watch out for. Seattle running back Julius Jones, still bitter over the Cowboys' decision to send him to the bench last year in favor of Marion Barber, is hoping to make a statement in Dallas (Dallas Morning News). And Jim Nantz, who will broadcast the Titans-Lions game for CBS, says that if Detroit wins, it will be one of the greatest upsets in NFL history (NFL.com).

PARDON ME, PARDON HIM: Place kicker Lawrence Tynes, who got to visit the White House earlier this year with the world champion Giants, is pursuing a White House pardon of his brother, a convicted drug trafficker who has exhausted all appeals of his 27-year prison sentence (N.Y. Daily News).

NOT SO FAST: Bloomberg reports today that the NFL Players Association will try to block any attempt by the league to reduce debt levels and limit the amount teams can borrow. Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league had an obligation to examine its debt level each year, and that the current global financial crisis only increased that obligation. But the NFLPA says that limiting club debt is a concern because it effects contract negotiations.

COLD WATER THROWER: Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith recently praised his team for recovering eight of the 11 fumbles that their defense has forced, but Michael David Smith of the FanHouse blog has some hard words for Smith to hear: Recovering fumbles is mostly about luck; forcing them is a skill, and the Bears are not doing a good job of it.

URLACHER SPLIT CHARGES GET WEIRD: Speaking of the Bears, the mother of linebacker Brian Urlacher's 3-year-old son is threatening to block Urlacher from seeing the boy, because Urlacher and his current girlfriend supposedly dress the boy in pink Cinderella diapers and paint his toenails blue (Joliet Herald News). Urlacher's lawyer said this of Tyna Robertson's charges: "Typical Tyna, talking to the press, as in virtually every other instance."

A VERY BRADY ENDING: In case you haven't heard already, all the unnamed sources in Cleveland are reporting that Brady Quinn is going to miss the rest of the season because of his broken right index finger (Fox Sports). Tony Kornheiser no longer has any reason to watch Browns games.

PLOTTING HIS RETURN: ESPN's John Clayton reports that Michael Vick has been in contact with Goodell's office during his prison stay and is trying to be careful that he does all the right things to guarantee a return to the NFL next season.