Labor fight could leave Los Angeles without a team for another five to 10 years

Scribblings from the Week 5 notebook:

If the NFL Players Assn. makes good on its threat to decertify as a union and the labor fight gets dragged into the courts, that pushes back the NFL-to-L.A. timetable at least five years and maybe 10 …

Was Matt Leinart really so bad that the Cardinals opted for Derek Anderson instead? That’s the same Anderson, mind you, who’s been replaced as the starting quarterback by undrafted rookie Max Hall …

NFL TV numbers are higher than they have ever been at this point in the season. Not this weekend in Buffalo, though. The winless Bills are blacked out for the first time since 2006 …

Speaking of Buffalo, the Bills led the AFC with 33 takeaways last season. They have one in their first four games …

It isn’t often you see a team lead the league in total offense and defense, as San Diego did through the first three weeks. The Chargers still have the No. 1 offense (450.8 yards per game), but Baltimore just edged them for the No. 1 defense (235.8 to 238.0) …

The Chiefs are the NFL’s only undefeated team — and tied for the biggest underdogs of the week. The Indianapolis Colts are favored to beat them by a touchdown …

Peyton Manning has to be excited about a Kansas City secondary that includes a couple of rookie safeties, and a rookie nickel back …

Reggie Bush, who suffered a broken right leg Sept. 20, says he could be back as early as the Oct. 24 game against Cleveland. The Saints would love to have him back for their Halloween night game against Pittsburgh at the Superdome …

No matter what the statistics say, Randy Moss attracts double coverage. The Patriots are going to miss that. Said his former teammate with the Vikings, ESPN’s Cris Carter: “There’s no way you take Randy Moss away from any quarterback in this league, and that quarterback gets better. It’s not possible. This is a game about talented players. But you can only do so much if you don’t have the weapons.”…

If you think New England is going to fall apart, remember the Patriots won three Super Bowls without Moss and without a superstar receiver. They have two very capable tight ends, the best slot receiver in the NFL and a quarterback who can spread the ball as well as anyone. They will be fine …

Moss got a chuckle in Minnesota when asked about his previous problems there. He referenced the infamous “Love Boat” scandal that didn’t involve him and happened the year after he was traded. “Yeah, I did have a few mix-ups here, but who didn’t? What if I’d have been on that boat? There really would have been some problems.”

With the way Washington’s Ryan Torain rolled over Eagles safety Quintin Mikell last Sunday, you might call the Redskins running back an all-Torain vehicle …

It’s entirely possible that all four 0-4 teams — Buffalo, Carolina, Detroit and San Francisco — could emerge from the weekend with a victory. From most to least likely, that would be Lions over Rams, 49ers over Eagles, Bills over Jaguars, and Panthers over Bears …

We now know at least one member of the Jets watches cartoons. Linebacker Bart Scott told ESPNNewYork.com’s Rich Cimini that the team is “not fully Voltron now,” referring to the 1980s animated series featuring futuristic fighting robots. “We’re like a Voltron, missing an arm.”…

That missing arm can’t be the one belonging to Mark Sanchez. The Jets quarterback has eight touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 105.3, second in the AFC only to Manning and Tom Brady …

In a Week 1 loss to Seattle, San Francisco Coach Mike Singletary thanked Pete Carroll for “whipping our tails.” But after the Falcons beat the 49ers in Atlanta last week, Singletary couldn’t even muster the stomach for a postgame handshake with Falcons Coach Mike Smith. You’ve got to wonder if the emotional Singletary is cracking under the strain of it all …

Singletary said rookie right tackle Anthony Davis “grew up” last week. Yeah, but he still can’t order a drink. Davis doesn’t turn 21 until next week.

sam.farmer@latimes.com

twitter.com/LATimesfarmer