QUICK SNAPS

Fuel for the fire

Back in September, in the heat of the Spygate scandal, some Philadelphia players chimed in with their opinion on New England videotaping the New York Jets’ defensive hand signals.

Eagles punt returner Reno Mahe half-joked that his team should get a championship ring from Super Bowl XXXIX, in which the Patriots beat Philadelphia, 24-21.

“I think they should forfeit, man,” Mahe said, smiling, according to the Associated Press. “We won the Super Bowl. I think we should get it.

“I’m going to go trade my NFC championship ring for a Super Bowl ring.”

Last week, while preparing to play Philadelphia tonight, Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs was asked about those comments. Clearly, he didn’t take them as jocular.

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s his opinion,” Hobbs told reporters. “Oh well, tough tears. . . . Talking trash is just what it is.

“It’s a bunch of trash. It’s garbage. It’s worthless. [For] some guys it’s psychological, for some guys it’s not. I’d rather not even do it off the field. Let it all be done with your pads on the field on Sunday.”

--

Hold the champagne

It’s not as if this was ever in doubt, but the Patriots can clinch the AFC East with a victory over Philadelphia tonight.

That’s why linebacker Tedy Bruschi is calling it a “hat and T-shirt game.”

Chances are, though, you won’t see New England players donning the division-title gear. They have some bigger goals in mind.

--

Quite a scare

Baltimore cornerback Samari Rolle disclosed last week that he suffers from epilepsy and has had three seizures this season, keeping him out of eight games.

“I didn’t know if I could play, if I would be all right or anything,” Rolle told reporters. “It was very scary.”

Rolle, 31, said he finally felt comfortable discussing the neurological condition “because it’s under control now. Right now, I’m not scared.”

Several NFL players suffer from epilepsy, among them Pittsburgh All-Pro guard Alan Faneca.

--

Slow starters

The Raiders play at Kansas City today, and neither team has been racing out of the gates in games. They have combined for only 12 points on their first offensive possessions this season -- all on field goals.

--

Can’t Bear it

The way things are going, Chicago will become the sixth Super Bowl loser in seven years to miss the playoffs the following season.

Bears quarterback Rex Grossman will have none of that talk, however.

“No doubt we’re still competing for the championship. I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Grossman told a skeptical reporter last Sunday after his team dropped to 4-6 with a loss at Seattle.

“We have six losses, which is bad at this point, but by no means are we out of it. We have a couple of home games coming up. We play one game at a time. We’re not out of it until someone tells us we’re out of it.”

--

Retirement talk

The Giants’ Michael Strahan says he’s determined to walk away from football at the top of his game.

Newsday’s Bob Glauber compared that to the way Jerry Seinfeld ended his show when it was TV’s most popular sitcom.

“Exactly,” Strahan told him. “Then again, if I had all the money Seinfeld has made in reruns, I’d have been long gone by now. . . . Nah, not really. But I absolutely feel that way. I want people to still want me to play when I decide it’s time to retire.”

--

Red-flag alert

The good news for Cleveland Coach Romeo Crennel? He has won two instant-replay challenges in the last two games.

The bad news? Crennel is 3-21 in those challenges as coach of the Browns.

-- Sam Farmer