By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HOUSTON - The Patriots practiced for 90 minutes in pads Wednesday at the Houston Texans' indoor facility next to Reliant Stadium. Weekend rains forced them from outdoor fields at Rice University.

Coach Bill Belichick said his team practiced at a "decent tempo" but still had "things to tidy up."

Linebacker Tedy Bruschi (calf) did practice and was listed as probable for Super Bowl XXXVIII on Sunday against Carolina.

The Panthers practiced for an hour and 45 minutes earlier at the University of Houston and listed no players on their injury report. Tailback Stephen Davis worked with the first-team offense, and wide receiver Steve Smith and safety Deon Grant narrowly avoided a collision on a crossing pattern.

Carolina practiced in shells and shorts. Coach John Fox said the team will be in pads today.

COACH SEARCH: The Raiders' hiring of Norv Turner filled the final NFL head coaching vacancy, leaving New England coordinator Charlie Weis (offense) and Romeo Crennel (defense) locked out again.

There is a sense that the two missed opportunities again because of the Patriots' second Super Bowl appearance in the past three years.

"There should be some revisiting the policy after the season is over to see how it can be a fair playing field for everyone," Weis said.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, a high-profile defensive coordinator from the Super Bowl-winning Ravens of 2000, has a solution.

"If I were an owner and wanted to hire Romeo or Charlie, I would wait to do that, and that would be worth my while," Lewis said while working media day as an NFL Network analyst.

JUCO: How's this for a wide receiver duo: Bengals Pro Bowler Chad Johnson and Smith, the Panthers' featured receiver, were teammates at Santa Monica Junior College in 1997.

Johnson, the Bengals' second-round pick from Oregon State in 2001, played in 1997 and 1999 at Santa Monica and had 120 receptions for 2,100 yards and 23 touchdowns. Smith, drafted by Carolina in the third round in 2001 from Utah, had 83 receptions for 1,106 yards and 15 touchdowns in two seasons at Santa Monica.

"He had a lot to prove back then," Smith said Wednesday of Johnson. "It is kind of nice we're the only two guys from then who are in the league. We were doing it back then, and we're doing it now."

RUDI, RUDI, RUDI: Bengals running back Rudi Johnson will analyze the game on the We Are There radio show, which airs on FOXSports Radio network at 1:05 p.m. Saturday. Johnson also provided playoff analysis for the show.

ROLE REVERSAL: Veteran Carolina kicker John Kasay won a heated competition with Shayne Graham in training camp, leading to Graham's Aug. 31 release. The Bengals signed him the next day, and Graham's 88 percent success rate on field goals (22-of-25) was the highest in Bengals history.

"He kicked really well in training camp, and I said it then and I'll say it now, the situation could have easily been reversed," said Kasay, who made 32 of 38 field goal attempts.

MORE EXES: Carolina offensive lineman Melvin Tuten, the Bengals' third-round draft choice in 1995, played in 32 games in two seasons for Cincinnati with nine starts at left tackle. The Bengals waived him in training camp in 1997.

Tuten made seven starts for the Panthers in 2002 but missed the Super Bowl season because of a training camp injury.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com