-Coach Bill Belichick had a smile on his face before the start of last night's exhibition game against the Bengals, but as the action on the field proved, these games must create all kinds of anxiety in coaches. On one had, Belichick needs Tom Brady to reestablish his rhythm on the playing field, to test how his knee responds to contact and to experience the psychological stress that Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer found is the toughest part of coming back from a major injury.

In dismantling the Eagles' defense in the first week of the preseason (except for one underthrown pass that was intercepted by Sheldon Brown), Brady looked ready for the start of the season. Last night he looked like he needed the practice, as he appeared rattled after taking hits from Keith Rivers and Robert Geathers. We know that Brady is going to be blitzed aggressively all season long -- it was the strategy that worked for the Giants in the Super Bowl, and it is really the only defense that teams have against New England's explosive passing game. Brady has always been brilliant at standing his ground against the blitz, showing courage and conviction amid a collapsing pocket and making throws under pressure. As he continues to face pressure in exhibition and early-season action, he will probably regain some of his trademark confidence.

But was there a Pats fan watching Thursday night who wasn't a little nervous about those hits, who didn't hold his breath until he saw Brady back on his feet, walking away? Belichick -- and other coaches -- must always face a difficult balancing act in deciding between playing their stars so that they can prepare for the season, and not putting them at unnecessary risk of injury. In football, there is no safe strategy.

-Lots of accidents happen in practice, too, and yesterday Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger proved it by limping off with an ankle or foot injury. A tight-lipped coach Mike Tomlin said Roethlisberger would be fine, but Big Ben might not be able to go in Saturday's preseason meeting with Washington.

-Last night's game was, all in all, exceedingly dull, as Jim Donaldson wrote in today's Journal.

-Tonight's preseason game in Minnesota will get a lot of attention because of the Vikings' starting quarterback, who you might have heard will be Brett Favre. But the Chiefs' starter, Matt Cassel, will be getting a lot of attention as well. Cassel signed a big contract in the offseason, yet he is being pushed hard in training camp by Brodie Croyle, head coach Todd Haley has declined to endorse Cassel for the starting job, and tonight appears to be a big game for Cassel. Columnist Jason Whitlock sees all the essentials in place for a major quarterback controversy: "an overpriced starter, a reckless head coach, a frustrated fan base and bored, ratings-starved journalists and broadcasters." Still, Whitlock doesn't believe there is any chance that Croyle ultimately gets the nod.

-The other "big" preseason game tonight -- and the one you'll be able to watch on standard cable -- is the Titans-Cowboys game that marks the opening (for football) of Jerry Jones' $1.2-billion new stadium. How big is this thing? According to The Dallas Morning News, you could drop the Statue of Liberty at midfield, close the retractable roof and not scrape the torch.

-On the topic of Favre, former broadcaster John Madden told Bloomberg that he sees a serious risk of injury in the soon-to-be 40-year-old's comeback tour: "It's not necessarily how is he today, how is he next week, how is he a month from now. It's how is he going to be when he gets into playoff time? I don't know that he can hold up."

-Eagles coach Andy Reid was uncharacteristically harsh on his team after it was pushed around by the Colts in preseason action last night in Indianapolis. "All in all, that was an embarrassing performance," Reid said. Former Patriot Ellis Hobbs had to have been embarrassed, at least, when he turned Reggie Wayne loose on what turned out to be a 76-yard touchdown play.

-A friendly scrimmage between the Saints and the Texans, in Houston, turned nasty yesterday when the two teams engaged in several skirmishes, including this one instigated by Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey:

-Redskins tight end Chris Cooley has started a side business: life coach. When a false rumor surfaced that Tony Romo's ex-girlfriend, Jessica Simpson, was romantically involved with Cooley's Washington teammate, Colt Brennan, Cooley told Brennan that the story was too good to kill off. So Brennan, when asked about the rumors, said: "My life coach, Chris Cooley, said that I should neither confirm nor deny it."

-Injuries to the backfield plagued Mike Shanahan's last season as Broncos coach, and they are already starting to pile up on Josh McDaniels. Rookie Knowshon Moreno sprained a knee in the preseason opener, LaMont Jordan has missed practice time with a leg injury, Correll Buckhalter has had his work limited in practice because he is an injry waiting to happen, and Ryan Torain was waived after spraining a knee in practice.

-David Ramsey of the Colorado Springs Gazette sees no chance of wide receiver Brandon Marshall accepting his lot in Denver, and says he will surely complain his way right out of town just like Jay Cutler did.

-Multiple reports have the Bills finally coming to terms with first-round draft pick Aaron Maybin, a defensive end out of Penn State. The first one to break the news? Terrell Owens, of course.

-Lions coach Jim Schwartz won't reveal yet who will start at quarterback for Saturday's preseason game against Cleveland (although it will probably be Matthew Stafford), and he's not near deciding whether Stafford or Daunte Culpepper gets the nod on opening day.

-Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill plans to plead not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession, but the league could still discipline Hill before his case is resolved.

-Pro football players seem incapable of staying out of trouble, particularly when it comes to driving under the influence. Titans wide receiver Chris Davis was charged with DUI after he was stopped at 4 this morning with, according to Nashville police, a blood alcohol level of .11.

-Tampa Bay cornerback Aqib Talib, who was arrested Thursday on charges of assaulting a cab driver, told his teammates that he doesn't remember what happened, according to ProFootballTalk.com, which notes that Talib at least deserves credit for not being behind the wheel.

-Former Giants teammates expressed anguish over the prison term awaiting Plaxico Burress. Wide receiver Steve Smith said, "I think they wanted to set an example. It [stinks], being assigned to a cell when he didn't hurt anyone else."

It may be true that the sentence was excessive, but one would hope that the lesson Smith and others learn is that players cannot show reckless disregard for the law, or for the safety of themselves and others around them. Burress only hurt himself; he is going to prison because he easily could have hurt anyone. Unfortunately, the more NFL players are punished for misdeeds, the more we read stories about the Talibs and Davises of the world who cannot keep themselves out of trouble, even as the season starts and they should be getting down to serious business. Sad.