Training Camp Update
Volume 3, Issue 2 – 8/08/07
Training Camps are in full swing and we want you to feel like
you have attended every practice and seen every preseason
game.
To keep all our Footballguys subscribers on top of everything,
we've created our incredibly detailed Camp Updates. They're
an exhaustive look each week covering every bit of news you
need to know to stay completely on top of every team. Quite
simply, they're the key to Dominating Your Draft.
This is the second of five training camp updates from us.
We'll break down every team's skill positions and position
battles. It's the stuff you'd see if you were there at every camp.
This Camp Update was created by our own Bob Henry (and
several contributing staff writers). It reflects the most up-todate info regarding each of these teams.
Happy reading and let's have a great 2007 season,
Joe Bryant and David Dodds
Owners, Footballguys.com
Arizona Cardinals
QB: Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner are both looking good
through the first week of camp. At the end of last Friday’s
practice, the two gave the crowd of 2,000 fans on-hand some
entertainment with an accuracy drill. From 40 yards out, each
QB had 10 chances to throw footballs into the tops of a 6-foot
tall barrel. When they connected the crowd responded with big
cheers. The Cardinals new head coach Ken Whisenhunt is
implementing a new offense that will emphasize the run more
(the team ranked last in the NFL in rushing a year ago).
Throwing fewer passes doesn’t upset Leinart though, “As a
quarterback and as an offense, if you can't run the football, no
matter if you have the best receivers or whatever, you're going
to struggle to win," he said, "because the defenses are too
good."
RB: One drill this week caused more attention than all of the
others – the Cardinals goal line offensive drills. Edgerrin
James has never been a great goal-line back, so the drill raised
some questions amongst the fantasy community if Whisenhunt
was looking to get Marcel Shipp, or another back, involved at
the goal line. On the first set of downs, the first-string offense
was shut out in four straight plays beginning at the 5-yard line,
stuffing Edgerrin James on fourth down. The second-team
offense needed just one play for redemption. Backup RB
Marcel Shipp pounded his way for a touchdown. “We got a
chance to lay a hat on them,” said starting LB Karlos Dansby.
“Coach did a great job planning it, giving us a chance to go
live. It keeps you motivated. It teases you a little bit with a
little live action. It keeps you going.” Whisenhunt
acknowledged Thursday he is looking for his goal line running
back, but added that it’s unfair to judge James yet, “I know
Edge can run on the goal line,” Whisenhunt said, while adding
that James needs more reps. With that said, look for Edge to
get a bit more preseason work this year. Edge totaled seven
carries in last year’s preseason. Whisenhunt added, “We will
get a feel for that next week,” he said. “I’d like to get him a
little bit of work just so he can be working with the line. But
he is getting a lot done on the practice field.” One change that
could help the Cardinals plight at the goal line is the addition
of a fullback. Terrelle Smith isn’t much of a runner or
receiver, but he can block. The change is just one of many
tweaks implemented by new head coach Ken Whisenhunt.
“He is a proven commodity. You like those tough football
players,” said Whisenhunt when discussing Smith.
WR: The Cardinals top three receivers Anquan Boldin, Larry
Fitzgerald and Bryant Johnson are all having strong camps,
but the focus of the coaching staff isn’t on them either. It’s on
the players competing for the two or three open roster spots.
The leading contenders change almost daily according to
offensive coordinator Todd Haley. “It's going to be a tough
competition," Haley said. "A couple of good players are
probably going to have to be let go." Sean Morey is a good bet
for one spot based on his prowess as a special teamer, but he’d
like to contribute on offense, too. Rookie fifth-round pick
Steve Breaston is the all-time leader in punt return yards at
Michigan, and another contender for a roster spot. Todd
Watkins was a 7th round pick a year ago who "has made
tremendous progress" according to Haley. Michael Spurlock, a
rookie free agent last year, has made some nice catches, too.
Whoever contributes most on special teams probably has the
inside track. "That's what we've been preaching from the
start," Haley said. "You might be the fourth best receiver, but
the guy who is the big-time special teamer will be the guy
going to the game."
TE: Whisenhunt chased free agent TE Reggie Kelly during
the offseason because he wants to emphasize the run more
than the previous regimes. Unable to land Kelly, he’s been
working with the tight ends on the roster, but he’s still
searching for one that he can trust for the ground game to be
effective. Leonard Pope, Troy Bienemann, Tim Euhus, John
Bronson, Alex Shor and rookie Ben Patrick all have
deficiencies as blockers. In the goal line drills, Whisenhunt
pointed out that it was the tight ends who caved in on the first
dialed play. “We are looking for consistency and we are
looking for someone who will take the reins,” Whisenhunt
said. “Fortunately, we have some time before we have to make
that decision.” Pope enters his second season as the
incumbent, but Whisenhunt will give the others a long look
before committing to Pope as the starter.
Defense: The battle for the starting free safety job is heating
up between veterans Terrence Holt and Aaron Francisco. “It’s
a great battle between those two,” Coach Ken Whisenhunt
said. “Eventually, they’re both going to play a lot. So it’s
going to be hard to say one will come out on top.” Holt signed
as a free agent after spending five seasons in Detroit while
Francisco cut his teeth on special teams for the past three years
as an undrafted free agent. “Aaron has done it the right way,”
Whisenhunt said. “I respect the way he’s gone through the
process.” Whisenhunt then added, “Matt Ware is coming on…
He’s made some plays… Any time you have competition,
especially with the type of players we have, I feel comfortable
about them progressing.”
Ken Whisenhunt was asked to name the camp’s early
standouts after the first week. On defense, he listed all three
players who are adjusting to new positions — Bertrand Berry,
Chike Okeafor and Karlos Dansby — plus Gerald Hayes,
Gabe Watson, Antonio Smith and Darnell Dockett. Rookie DT
Alan Branch appears to be motivated in camp after sliding out
of the first round on draft day. The Cardinals moved up,
dealing a 4th round pick, to land the 6’5” Branch. "He's
getting a lot of pressure from the way the defensive line is
playing and he's improving," Whisenhunt said. "He wants to
be good, and that's one thing about Alan I really like, that he
wants to be a good football player and he's trying to do it the
right way." The Cardinals signed safety Oliver Celestin
Thursday.
Offensive line: The Cardinals had Levi Brown, their first
round pick (5th overall), in camp after missing the first eight
practices while getting his contract hammered out. Brown
signed a 6-year, $62 million deal with $18.5 million
guaranteed. Brown took his conditioning test on Friday and
reported to camp for his first practice on Saturday.
Special Teams: Kicker Neil Rackers spent the offseason
working out and trying to lose a few pounds, in an effort to
improve his long range accuracy which faltered last year.
According to him, he was “a little overweight last season ...
which might have caused my plant foot to be back. I wasn’t
getting through the ball quite as well. Now I’m sitting right at
198-200. I feel great, I’m a lot stronger, so I don’t need to kick
the ball quite as hard.” He also spent the offseason continually
practicing field goals from the spot where he missed a
potential game winner in last year’s devastating Monday night
loss to Chicago. On the plus side, he’s working to correct his
mistakes. On the negative side, that is contrary to the accepted
notion of putting a missed kick behind you and moving on.
Rackers missed some practice last week due to a death in his
family. Rookie WR Steve Breaston, CB Rod Hood, WR
Bryant Johnson and WR Michael Spurlock have been
practicing on punt returns. Hood missed a day of practice with
a minor ankle sprain.
Cardinals Depth Chart
QB: Matt Leinart, Kurt Warner, Shayne Boyd, Toby Korrodi
RB: Edgerrin James, Marcel Shipp, J.J. Arrington (KR),
Diamond Ferri, Steve Baylark
FB: Terrelle Smith, A.J. Schable (inj), Tim Castille, BranDon
Snow, Roshon Vercher
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Bryant Johnson,
LeRon McCoy, Sean Morey, Steve Breaston (KR/PR), Todd
Watkins, Greg Lee, Michael Spurlock (KR/PR), Ahmad
Merritt, Matt Trannon
TE: Leonard Pope, Ben Patrick, Troy Bienemann, Tim Euhus,
Fred Wakefield (inj), John Bronson, Alex Shor
K: Neil Rackers
DT: Alan Branch (NT), Gabe Watson (NT), Chris Cooper,
Ross Kolodziej, Jonathan Lewis (inj), Ray Blagman
DE: Darnell Dockett (DT), Antonio Smith, Joe Tafoya,
Rodney Bailey
ILB: Gerald Hayes, Karlos Dansby (W/S), Buster Davis,
Monty Beisel, Pago Togafau, Nathan Hodel
OLB: Bertrand Berry (DE)(inj), Chike Okeafor (S/DE),
Calvin Pace (S/DE), Darryl Blackstock (W), Brandon
Johnson, David Holloway
CB: Antrel Rolle, Eric Green, Roderick Hood, Ralph Brown,
Matt Ware, Darrell Hunter, Travarous Bain, Michael Adams
S: Adrian Wilson (SS), Aaron Francisco (FS), Terrence Holt
(FS), Hanik Milligan, Brandon Keeler (FS), Oliver Celestin
Atlanta Falcons
QB: Joey Harrington is pleased with his receivers so far
during training camp, remarking on Thursday, "I tell you
what; this is the best group of receivers that I've played with.
The most talented, hard-working group of receivers I've seen."
Harrington also said, “I feel great, honestly.” He further
elaborated, “I was talking to coach Jackson after practice and I
told him I haven’t felt this good in five years. The team is
really working hard and coming together. We are starting to
pick up this offense. There is a lot of detail to this offense and
we need to be on top of it. I am really encouraged that it is day
(eight) and the guys are still running. We are starting to hit
that wall where you see who can push through it and who
folds. We have a lot guys who are still running, so that is very
encouraging.” QB coach Bill Musgrave likes what he sees
from the QB stable so far, “I’d say we’re going to have a
tremendous year,” he said on Friday. “I’m confident of that.
The guys are working hard in our offense and really our entire
team is coming together…We have a great group. Our
meeting room is real lively. All four of them have immersed
themselves in our system and they’re learning just as fast as
they can.” Harrington is comfortable working with Musgrave,
stating “His demeanor, his approach to the game and his
knowledge of the game are incredible. I feel extremely lucky
to be working with him this year.”
RB: On Wednesday (8/1), head coach Bobby Petrino
commented on the rushing/passing mix during 2007, “Well,
we have to be able to do both and there is no question about
that. We need to be as balanced as we can on first-and-10
between run and pass plays. If we get positive yardage on first
down, that will help us out a lot. We can’t just run the ball and
we can’t just throw the ball. It would be nice for us to run the
ball well early to take some pressure off of Joey (Harrington)
and get him into a comfort zone between run and play action. I
think it is going to be paramount if we can throw the ball deep
too. Teams are going to drop safeties down and blitz early on
us, so we are going to have to hit some big plays down the
field.” On Saturday morning (the Falcons held an open
practice in Atlanta at Piedmont Park Saturday afternoon),
Jerious Norwood made several praise-worthy plays according
to reports in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
WR: Offensive Coordinator Hue Jackson is pleased with his
receiving corps so far, according to comments made last
Thursday, "I've never been around a harder working group.
They have really made strides. I'm looking for them to
continue to make strides. They need to really step up, create
and make plays for us, and I think they will." Free agent
import Joe Horn impresses his new QB – on Thursday
Harrington said, "I'm surprised that Joe Horn has been out
here at every practice. That's a testament to what kind of
worker that he is." Harrington also commented on the entire
WR stable, “I don’t know anything about this group of
receivers that people are asking me about from last year. All I
know is what I see this year and they are the best group of
receivers I have played with. They are the most talented and
hardworking group of receivers I have ever seen. Right now I
have nothing but confidence in them. It seems like we have a
guy for every situation. They are running and they are working
out here and I respect that.” Harrington also had praise for
rookie Laurent Robinson, saying “He is going to be a
tremendous receiver. He’s got great size, great hands, good
speed and a great stride. He has a huge stride and he can get to
defensive backs and close that cushion. He is learning the
game well. He has a great mind; he is open to criticism and
open to learning. He is asking questions and trying to figure
what he can do to get better. That’s all you want to see from a
rookie.” Coach Petrino commented on Roddy White and
Laurent Robinson on Wednesday, stating “Roddy is much
faster and he’s doing a nice job catching the deep ball. Laurent
certainly has the speed and the stride. I think the thing that
surprises everyone about Laurent is his stride. He gobbles up
the turf quickly on defensive backs. He’s done a nice job
adjusting to the ball as well. I think we’ll definitely throw the
ball downfield to those two guys. Joe (Horn) has gone deep
and he’s been able to catch the ball too.”
TE: Alge Crumpler sat out of Thursday’s morning practice by
design. Coach Petrino commented, “We’re trying to get Alge
in one practice a day so; hopefully, we will get him in this
afternoon. He did a great job yesterday so we are just trying to
let him get some rest.”
Defense: LB Keith Brooking sat out of practice on Friday due
to soreness in one of his knees. RCB Lewis Shepherd is
locked in a positional battle with rookie Chris Houston, and he
may hold off Houston and retain the starting job, according to
reports out of Atlanta. Shepherd commented on Friday, "For
me, it's all about winning, so I'm trying to get everybody ready
to go. I never know what could happen to me tomorrow in
practice. I could go down or something could happen. The
next person's got to be ready to go. I'm going to do what I've
got to do. At the same time, I've got to make sure that if
something happens to me, the next guy is ready to go." Coach
Petrino also chimed in on Shepherd’s performance: "Lew is
doing a real nice job. He understands the game. He knows the
routes. He knows how to cheat and jump routes sometimes.
He really does a nice job of reading routes, and he's also
helping Chris a lot." DT Grady Jackson returned on Tuesday
after settling a defamation suit against the team. "I'm just
happy to be back out there," Jackson said. "I'm playing
football, and that's the only thing that matters. All the other
stuff is behind me. I don't even look back. You have to turn
the page…It felt good out there. It was just something to get
going. I haven't taken any reps since January." Jackson
rehabbed a right knee surgery during the offseason, but
reported in decent shape according to Petrino, “I think he's in
fairly good condition right now. We just have to make sure we
don't have any setbacks with the knee.” On Thursday, Lawyer
Milloy sat out of practice – Coach Petrino stated, “It is the
same situation with Lawyer (same situation as Alge
Crumpler). Some of the veterans have (injuries) to manage or
need some rest. We are trying to monitor and take care of it.”
S Chris Crocker and RCB Houston, engaged in competition
for starting jobs, did not take part in Saturday morning's
practice because of inflammation in their knees. "It was kind
of a precautionary deal," Petrino said about holding Houston
and Crocker out. "They'll be back Monday."
Special Teams: The Falcons released Aaron Elling, leaving
Billy Cundiff as the only kicker on the roster. Punter Michael
Koenen has been available in recent years for long field goal
attempts, although he may not be needed for that this year.
Cundiff has the range to hit long ones, so Koenen will
probably stick to punting this year. Head coach Bobby Petrino
recently noted, “I like what Michael Koenen's doing. He's
punted as well as he has since I've been here. He's punting it
nice and high, and his location has been very good." Kickoff
and punt returns will most likely be handled by CB Allen
Rossum and/or WR Adam Jennings. The dark horse candidate
is WR Noriaki Kinoshita. He got off to a limited start, "I can't
be given many chances, because I haven't really memorized
the plays and the tempo (of the camp) is pretty fast."
DB/ST player David Irons is making a god impression in
training camp so far, according to Petrino, “David Irons is the
type of guy that is going to come out, work hard every day and
be competitive. He should be a very good player for us on
special teams. He has to get use to the NFL rules in terms of
the 5-yard area and when your hands can be on a receiver.
Once he does that, he’ll have great recovery speed. Also, I
think his competitiveness and his ability to catch up will really
help him to be a player.”
Falcons Depth Chart
QB: Joey Harrington, D.J. Shockley, Chris Redman, Lang
Campbell, Michael Vick
RB: Warrick Dunn (inj), Jerious Norwood, Jamal Robertson,
Jason Snelling, Justin Vincent, Taurean Henderson, Sha-Ron
Edwards, Arlen Harris
FB: Ovie Mughelli, Corey McIntyre
WR: Michael Jenkins, Joe Horn, Roddy White, Laurent
Robinson, Adam Jennings, Jamin Elliot, Vincent Marshall,
Eric Weems, Eric Newman, Noriaki Kinoshita (KR), Ben
Nelson, Brian Finneran (IR)
TE: Alge Crumpler (inj), Dwayne Blakely, Martrez Milner,
Daniel Fells
K: Billy Cundiff, Aaron Elling
DT: Grady Jackson (NT), Rod Coleman (inj), Darrell
Shropshire (NT), Jonathan Babineaux, T.J. Jackson (NT),
Trey Lewis (NT), Michael Bozeman ,David Patterson, Kelly
Talavou
DE: John Abraham, Jamaal Anderson, Paul Carrington,
Chauncey Davis, Josh Mallard, Nic Clemons
MLB: Keith Brooking (W), Jordan Beck, Tony Taylor
OLB: Michael Boley (S), Demorrio Williams (W)(inj),
Stephen Nicholas (W), Orlando Huff (W), Marcus Wilkins
(S), John Leake (S), Travis Williams
CB: DeAngelo Hall, Chris Houston, Lewis Sanders, Allen
Rossum (KR), David Irons, Brent Grimes, Antoine Harris
S: Lawyer Milloy (SS), Chris Crocker (FS), Jimmy Williams
(FS), Omare Lowe (SS), Daren Stone (FS), Nick Turnbull
(FS), Jeramie Johnson (SS)
Baltimore Ravens
QB: In Saturday’s scrimmage against the Redskins, QB Steve
McNair looked calm and collected. On a third-and-6 he hit TE
Todd Heap for a 12-yard completion down the middle of the
field, and then he hit Demetrius Williams for 14 yards on a
2nd-and-8. Kyle Boller also connected with Demetrius
Williams, who showed signs that he may indeed be ready to
breakout this year, for two potential TDs. Williams also
caught passes for 5, 14 and 18 yards during the scrimmage.
“When you play against the No. 1 defense in the NFL, it's kind
of hard to see how good our offense really is," quarterback
Steve McNair said. "Coming out today, we moved the ball and
made some plays down the field. That shows where we're at
and how far we've got to improve." McNair finished 3-of-5 for
33 yards. He had his worst practice just a couple days earlier
on the fourth day of training camp. Boller took the majority of
the snaps, finishing with 88 yards on 5-of-8 passing. "I just
feel really comfortable out there," Boller said. "I'm not
nervous. I just kind of go out there and go through my reads
and just have fun." Boller’s 39-yard pass to TE Daniel Wilcox
was the biggest play of the scrimmage.
RB: Willis McGahee didn’t set the world on fire against the
Redskins defense. He gained nine yards on four carries,
including a 5-yard burst up the middle on 1st down. "I can get
used to this. I can't wait until the opener," McGahee said. "I'm
ready." He said he wasn't affected by the sweltering heat
either. "What heat? I wasn't complaining about it," McGahee
said. "I'm [an] all-terrain guy." In the locker room afterwards,
McNair was talking about the heat, “"My toes are still
burning.” The Ravens were shut down on one series despite
having a 1st-and-goal from the 4-yard line; settling for a Matt
Stover 22-yard FG. P.J. Daniels, with a 1-yard TD run,
finished off a drive by the second team offense that covered
60-yards. "I dedicate that to my offensive line," said Daniels.
"They kept pushing, and they never gave up."
WR: Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun reporter, reports the
Ravens offense is developing a “nasty streak”. In years past
the offense would be dominated and taunted by the defense.
This year, when a fight broke out between TE Marcus
Freeman and LB Jarret Johnson, the offense reacted in a much
different way. Instead of going back to the huddle and getting
abused by the defense the rest of practice, the offense scored
on the first three plays following the scuffle, including TD
catches by Demetrius Williams and Derrick Mason. As
Preston suggests, for the first time in years, the offense didn’t
flinch. Even reserve WR Devard Darling wasn’t taking any
flak, getting into the defensive players’ faces along with
several other young players like Williams; rookie tackles Jared
Gaither, Marshal Yanda and guard Jason Brown. Darling also
tangled with Redskins safety Sean Taylor on Saturday, which
led to Darling ripping Taylor’s helmet off during 11-on-11s.
Williams is becoming a fan favorite, too. Fans went nuts on
Friday when he leaped high into the air over corner Willie
Gaston to haul in a touchdown pass from rookie QB Troy
Smith. Williams looks like the most improved receiver in
camp. He is fast and he’s running more physical routes. "We
all saw what Demetrius could do last year, and he needs to
build on that," Coach Brian Billick said. Added Boller:
"Demetrius runs great routes. All of them do." Williams said
his comfort level within the Ravens offense has grown, too.
"I'm a little bit more comfortable, especially with this training
camp and everything," he said. "This year, I have a better
sense of what to do. So this year, it's more about working on
the technique. There's not as much thinking. Once you get rid
of the thinking, I think your ability starts to come out, and you
can play your game." Clarence Moore was not active for
Saturday’s scrimmage, despite practicing all week. Moore felt
his left hamstring tighten up during warm-ups so he played it
safe. "I just know that with the competitive nature of going
against another team, I would've tried to push it that extra
mile," Moore said. "So I just said that it wasn't worth it for a
scrimmage. I'd rather just get back to training on Monday and
get ready for the preseason game against the Eagles [on Aug.
13]."
TE: On Friday, the first big scare of training camp occurred
when Todd Heap was shoved to the ground and was slow
getting up. The crowd became nervous when Heap initially
favored his right ankle, but he quickly walked it off and the
trainer checked him out just to be sure. Soon after, Heap was
back on the field and everything was fine. In Friday morning’s
practice McNair connected often with his tight ends. He hit
Heap for a 25-yard TD behind safety Dawan Landry. Later,
McNair dropped a 4-yard TD to TE Daniel Wilcox. Wilcox
also had a nice scrimmage against the Redskins catching 2
passes for 53 yards. Tipping his hat to the Ravens D, Wilcox
said, “The Redskins were the closest thing we've seen to a
regular defense this year.”
Defense: Despite playing the 2nd unit during most of the
scrimmage, the Ravens defense dominated the Redskins
during 11-on-11 drills. Mark Brunell was playing for starter
Jason Campbell, but the Skins offense mustered only two first
downs, failed one third down conversion and didn’t cross
midfield in 10 plays. LB Edgar Jones recorded a sack off the
left edge. "It felt good, getting a sack in front of all those
fans," said Jones, who said he also made a couple of mistakes.
"Just hearing the fans and playing against the Redskins, it was
a pretty good experience." NT Kelly Gregg (bruise) and LB
Antwan Barnes (ankle) didn’t play. On Friday, one day after
deflecting a pass that led to an interception by Jamaine
Winborne, safety Gerome Sapp intercepted a pass himself
during a seven-on-seven, two-minute drill. Sapp picked off a
Kyle Boller pass intended for receiver Damien Linson.
Special Teams: Kicker Matt Stover made a 22-yard field goal
in a scrimmage against Washington. He’s been busier than
expected early in camp, since British camp leg Rhys Lloyd has
been delayed joining the team due to visa problems. On
kickoff and punt returns, DB B.J. Sams looks to be fully
recovered from last year’s broken ankle, and rookie WR has
looked promising so far in practices. That is not good news for
the job security of RB Cory Ross, the primary backup on
returns last year. He noted, "Competition is competition
wherever you're at. The only thing I can do is just have fun
and do what I do." In other words, he realizes the writing is on
the wall.
Ravens Depth Chart
RB: Head coach Dick Jauron still maintains that the Bills will
use a committee approach at RB this year no matter who
winds up with the starting job. Anthony Thomas continues to
take most of the reps with the first unit and has looked quick,
making several impressive cuts to get extra yardage in the
open field. Marshawn Lynch has been impressive in most
drills thus far, demonstrating great balance and soft hands out
of the backfield. He was inconsistent in pass protection during
the week but showed signs of improvement and recognized
how important it was to his development, “It is key. It’s
something we go over. I felt with today’s practice I was well
prepared for it and that’s why I was able to get out on those
edges and pick those guys up.” Rookie Dwayne Wright has
been running hard and demonstrated his blocking ability, but
also took a few big hits this week, including one that forced a
fumble in the backfield.
QB: Steve McNair, Kyle Boller, Troy Smith, Drew Olsen
RB: Willis McGahee, Musa Smith, Mike Anderson, P.J.
Daniels, Cory Ross, Greg Pruitt Jr.
FB: Justin Green, Le'Ron McClain
WR: Mark Clayton (PR), Derrick Mason, Demetrius
Williams, Clarence Moore, Devard Darling, Yamon Figurs
(KR/PR), Romby Bryant, Damien Linson, Matt Willis, Leo
Bookman
TE: Todd Heap, Daniel Wilcox, Quinn Sypniewski, Marcus
Freeman, Kendrick Ballantyne
K: Matt Stover, Rhys Lloyd, Brendan Carney
DT: Kelly Gregg, Haloti Ngata, Justin Bannan, Dwan
Edwards, Keyonta Marshall, Anthony Bryant, Atiyyah Ellison
DE: Terrell Suggs, Trevor Pryce, Travis Leitko, Bill Swancutt
MLB: Ray Lewis, Mike Smith, Prescott Burgess
OLB: Bart Scott (W), Jarrett Johnson (S/DE), Gary Stills
(S/DE), Dan Cody (S) (inj), Antwan Barnes, Dennis Haley,
Edgar Jones, Joe Martin, Jamar Enzor, Ryan Riddle
CB: Chris McAlister, Samari Rolle, Corey Ivy, Ronnie Prude,
David Pittman, Evan Oglesby, Derrick Martin, B.J. Sams
(KR/PR), Willie Gaston, Terrell Maze
S: Ed Reed (FS), Dawan Landry (SS), Jamaine Winborn,
Gerome Sapp, Donnie Johnson, Bobby Blackshire
WR: Lee Evans is clearly the star of this group and as Dick
Jauron said, “We look for him to put fear in the defense we’re
playing.” Given all the attention Evans will receive from
defenses, the Bills will need some other players to play better
than they did a year ago. Josh Reed took a big step in that
direction with a great week of practice, including a onehanded grab over the middle and a long TD where he was
wide open after beating CB Terrence McGee on a double
move. Roscoe Parrish missed some time with heat exhaustion
but has also shown the potential to be a big-play threat for this
offense. Peerless Price, the projected starter, had a quiet week
in practice and could lose some playing time to Parrish.
Buffalo Bills
Defense: Early on in training camp, the offense was beating
the defense pretty regularly but in Week 2 the defense started
to turn things around. Linebackers Keith Ellison, Coy Wire,
and Angelo Crowell have been forcing plenty of turnovers and
hitting anything that moves. DT John McCargo had been
playing well, including a burst through the line to drop RB
Josh Scobey in the backfield, but he suffered a strained
oblique muscle on Friday and may be out for a little while. In
the competition to replace Nate Clements at CB, veteran Jason
Webster remains the favorite but he missed a few days with a
leg injury this week and durability was already a major
concern for him to begin with. Kiwaukee Thomas replaced
Webster with the first unit. Rookie Paul Posluszny has been
taking reps at MLB with the first unit while John DiGiorgio
recovered from a hip flexor injury, and Coy Wire has filled in
at MLB with the second unit.
QB: J.P. Losman has continued his strong play in Week 2 of
training camp and the Bills are showing signs of what should
be a more potent passing attack this season. Losman has been
doing a great job of executing play fakes and connecting with
WRs on long pass plays, although the defense was able to
make him pay for the few mistakes he made. On Tuesday
night, in one of the week’s highlights, Losman rolled to his
right and launched a 60-yard touchdown bomb down the left
sideline to Roscoe Parrish, who caught it in stride. Not
surprisingly, there appears to be a pretty big dropoff in play
between Losman and the two backups. Craig Nall’s accuracy
has been improving and he is still the favorite for the backup
job, but rookie Trent Edwards has shown flashes of potential
and could put some pressure on with a solid showing in the
first couple preseason games.
TE: The Bills have 6 TEs in training camp and any of them
could be used in the backfield or sent in motion, but OC Steve
Fairchild indicated that starter Robert Royal and backup Kevin
Everett would primarily be used on the line of scrimmage. The
two players most likely to play H-back are Ryan Neufeld and
Brad Cieslak and they will likely compete for snaps all
preseason long. The goal of using an H-Back in place of a true
fullback this season is to make the offense more versatile.
Defenses won’t be able to anticipate run or pass when the Hback is in there, and it will also free up the tailbacks,
especially Marshawn Lynch, to be a receiver out of the
backfield. Neufeld suffered a hyper-extended knee in practice
but it isn’t expected to be serious.
Special Teams: CB Terrence McGee, WR Roscoe Parrish,
RB Fred Jackson and WR Jonathan Smith continue to practice
on kickoff returns. Missing from the mix was RB Josh
Scobey, who was out with a calf injury. RB Shaud Williams
and RB Dwayne Wright have lined up in the upman position
on returns. Smith rejoined the Bills this year, after playing
briefly for the division rival Patriots last year. He noted that
practice wasn’t really any different between the two teams.
Bills Depth Chart
QB: J.P. Losman (PUP), Craig Nall, Trent Edwards, Kevin
Eakin
RB: Marshawn Lynch, Anthony Thomas, Dwayne Wright,
Shaud Williams (3RB), Josh Scobey, Fred Jackson
WR: Lee Evans, Peerless Price, Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish
(PR), Sam Aiken, Donovan Morgan, Scott Mayle, Jemalle
Cornelius, Jonathan Smith, Justin Jenkins
TE: Robert Royal, Kevin Everett, Matt Murphy, Ryan
Neufeld (FB), Brad Cieslak (FB), Derek Schouman (FB)
K: Rian Lindell, D.J. Fitzpatrick
DT: Larry Tripplett, Kyle Williams, John McCargo, Tim
Anderson, Jason Jefferson, Corey Mace
DE: Aaron Schobel, Chris Kelsay, Ryan Denney, Anthony
Hargrove, C.J. Ah You, Eric Powell, Ryan Neill
MLB: Paul Posluszny, John DiGiorgio (S/M), Thaddeus
Washington
OLB: Angelo Crowell (S/M)(inj), Keith Ellison (W), Mario
Haggan (W/M), Coy Wire (S/FS), Josh Stamer (S/W), Roy
Manning (W), Kevin Harrison (W)
CB: Terrence McGee (KR), Jason Webster, Kiwaukee
Thomas, Jabari Greer, Ashton Youboty, Riley Swanson,
Reggie Lewis, Eric Bassey
S: Donte Whitner (SS), Ko Simpson (FS), George Wilson
(SS), John Wendling (SS), Jim Leonhard (FS), Trevor Hooper
(FS), John Sorto (FS)
WR: The competition for the spots behind Steve Smith is
heating up. Keary Colbert and Drew Carter have been splitting
the reps with the starters so far, with Dwayne Jarrett in the
background. The extra reps should help fantasy owners
evaluate the best prospect for the team’s #2WR position. Ryne
Robinson has expectedly made his mark as a kick/punt
returner, but has unexpectedly contributed at both split end
and flanker in passing situations. Reports indicate that
Colbert looks like the promising player we glimpsed in 2004 –
he’s said to be catching everything thrown his way.
TE: Jeff King is reported to be in great shape this year – he
appears to be a slight favorite to start at TE as of the second
week of training camp. On Saturday (8/4), King, Michael
Gaines and Chad Upshaw all had solid plays to their credit.
The competition at TE is tight at this point. On Friday (8/3),
King commented, “I’m extremely excited. Anytime you have
an opportunity to work with the #1 offense, it’s a great feeling.
But, at the same time, you have to realize you’ve got to get
better every day.”
QB: Jake Delhomme and David Carr are growing together
during training camp. On Saturday, Delhomme stated,
“David's started more games in this league than I have, so he
has the experience. So that's always great to draw back on and
get feedback, and sometimes he needs to ask me a question.
We don't hold anything back, and I mean that in a good way.
I've been in situations where it's not a healthy environment,
and that doesn't do anybody any good. We're trying to get
everybody better, and that's when you have fun, when you
win." According to reports out of Charlotte, Delhomme
looked sharp in practices this past week.
Defense: Carolina Panthers rookie LB Jon Beason ended his
eight-day holdout Sunday (8/5) when he signed a five-year
contract that includes more than $6 million in guaranteed
money. Agent Michael Huyghue said Beason, the 25th pick in
the draft, will get a $3.2 million signing bonus to make up for
the lack of a second-year option bonus, which was the main
stumbling block in the negotiations. Panthers’ DE Julius
Peppers sat out on Friday because he was ill. Safety Mike
Minter announced his retirement this week, ending speculation
about his future with the team. The Panthers acquired veteran
S Chris Harris from Chicago to bolster their thin DB roster; a
timely move in light of Minter’s decision. S Nate Salley, WR
Ryne Robinson, LB Brandon Jamison and DB Derrick Strait
all sat out with minor leg complaints on Friday. The Charlotte
Observer noted on Wednesday that LB Dan Morgan has been
seeing an increasing work load: “Linebacker Dan Morgan,
recovering from concussions, had a strong practice that
included an end zone interception of a pass from quarterback
Dalton Bell. Morgan has had his workload increase gradually
with no ill effects so far.” Head coach Fox commented on
Morgan’s situation Thursday, stating, “When Dan's healthy,
he's as good as there is. We're being cautious. Every time you
throw him in there you hold your breath. But he's taking more
and more reps in the contact drills.” LB Na’il Diggs missed
practice on Tuesday, but the tweaked hamstring that held him
out is not considered serious at this time. James Anderson is in
the mix to start at weakside LB (along with Diggs and Beason)
according to Panthers.com. Stanley McClover has had a
strong camp to date playing in place of the injured Mike
Rucker. He’s a guy that IDP owners will want to monitor as
training camp moves along.
RB: DeShaun Foster has been working as the Panthers’
starting RB during training camp, according to the Gaston
Gazette: “DeShaun Foster, who has been working as the
team’s starting running back, also looked good on the drive
(Saturday’s intra-squad scrimmage) with three carries for 17
yards.” Coach Fox commented after the scrimmage, “We had
some guys run the ball hard. I though DeShaun (Foster) and
DeAngelo (Williams) and even Alex Haynes there at the end.”
Special Teams: Kicker John Kasay attempted field goals of
59 and 62 yards the other day, but came up short on both. The
Panthers have never hesitated to let Kasay try long attempts,
and he makes his fair share of them. Rookie WR Ryne
Robinson is being given every opportunity to be the return
specialist this year. After missing a morning practice due to a
tight leg muscle, he subsequently fumbled a kickoff return in
the next practice. But that was the only bad news. Otherwise
Carolina Panthers
he has shown good judgment, good ball handling, and good
moves once he catches the ball. The returner job is currently
his to lose. Robinson has also shown early promise on offense.
WR Chris Horn has also been practicing on punt returns.
Panthers Depth Chart
QB: Jake Delhomme, David Carr, Brett Basanez, Dalton Bell
RB: DeAngelo Williams, DeShaun Foster, Eric Shelton, Nick
Goings, Alex Haynes
FB: Brad Hoover, Billy Latsko, Steven Jackson
WR: Steve Smith, Drew Carter, Dwayne Jarrett, Keary
Colbert, Taye Biddle, Kevin Youngblood, Ryne Robinson,
Josh Davis, Justin McCullum, Chris Horn, Jahkeen Gilmore
TE: Jeff King, Michael Gaines, Dante Rosario, Chad Upshaw
K: John Kasay, Andrew Wellock
DT: Ma'ake Kemoeatu, Kris Jenkins, Damione Lewis, Chad
Lavalais, Kindal Moorehead, Stephen Williams, Brent Curvey
DE: Julius Peppers, Mike Rucker (inj), Charles Johnson,
Stanley McClover, Dave Ball, Otis Grigsby, Jason Hall (inj),
Rondell Biggs, Gary Gibson
MLB: Dan Morgan (inj), Adam Seward
OLB: Thomas Davis (S), Na'il Diggs (W) (inj), Jon Beason
(W/M), James Anderson (W), Tim Shaw, Brandon Jamison,
Philippe Gardent, Mickey Pementel, Terrence Melton (IR)
CB: Chris Gamble (PR), Ken Lucas, Richard Marshall, Curtis
Deloatch, Derrick Strait, Kevin Garrett, Christian Morton
S: Nate Salley (FS), Chris Harris (SS), Deke Cooper, C.J.
Wilson, Cam Newton, Quinton Teal, Jermaine Hardy
Chicago Bears
QB: Grossman continues to have a strong training camp but
there hasn’t been much contact yet so a better test of how he
handles pressure will come in the preseason. Grossman often
got into trouble last year by throwing the ball away when
pressured, so this year he has pledged to tuck the ball and run
a bit more. While that may cut down on his interceptions, it
also will make him more susceptible to injury. With Grossman
firmly entrenched as the Bears starter for now (he’s in the last
year of his contract), Brian Griese may be in a battle with Kyle
Orton for the backup job. Griese’s experience should win out
in the end, but Orton had a strong offseason and the coaching
staff has rewarded him with some 2nd unit reps.
RB: Cedric Benson probably isn’t in serious danger of losing
his starting job, but Adrian Peterson took most of the first
team reps over the weekend. Benson has had some fumbling
problems in camp early on and was apparently “a little sore”
according to head coach Lovie Smith. The Bears are likely just
being careful with their new starter here, but it’s not a great
sign for a player who is coming into the season with durability
concerns. Rookie Garrett Wolfe recently returned to practice
after suffering a hamstring injury on the second day of camp
but is still limited.
WR: Muhsin Muhammad has missed 5 straight days of
practice due to an unspecified injury that was simply referred
to as “general soreness” by the Bears. In his absence, Bernard
Berrian has been playing like the team’s #1 WR and seems
headed for a big season. “Bernard has already started that
ascension to being an elite receiver,'' position coach Darryl
Drake said. ''He's making himself into a complete football
player.'' Other players taking advantage of Muhammad’s
absence include Mark Bradley and Mike Hass. Bradley is
entering his third season and the Bears think he’ll have a
breakout season if he can just stay healthy. Mike Hass has a
decent chance to make the team as a 6th receiver after spending
all of last year on the practice squad.
TE: Desmond Clark and rookie Greg Olsen both continue to
practice with the first unit. Having both players on the field at
the same time should give the Bears a new dimension on
offense this year, although neither is particularly well known
for their blocking. Third TE John Gilmore also figures to get
regular playing time since he is the best blocker of the group
by far.
Defense: Although the Bears return nearly every starter from a
year ago, they will have a new weapon this season in SS
Adam Archuleta. One of the league’s best pass rushers from
the safety position, Archuleta has been lining up like an extra
linebacker and could make the Bears defense even scarier for
opposing QBs this year. The team also signed newly acquired
DT Darwin Walker to a 5-year, $25 million contract with $8.5
million guaranteed. Walker is expected to back up Tommie
Harris at the three-technique spot, but could also receive
playing time at NT. Chris Harris, who had fallen to 6 th on the
safety depth chart in Chicago, was traded to the Panthers
where he’s expected to compete for a starting job. CB Dante
Wesley was traded to the Patriots to make room for young
players like rookie Trumaine McBride, who caught the
attention of the coaching staff early in camp and has been
playing with the second unit.
Special Teams: Camp leg Nick Novak came close to being
Chicago’s kicker back in 2005, but they opted to go with the
experienced veteran, Doug Brien. This time he’s just
auditioning for the rest of the league, since Robbie Gould will
remain the Bears’ kicker. Special teams coordinator Dave
Toub said of Novak, "There's only 32 jobs out there, and he's
in the top 35. We think Nick is a very good, quality kicker,
and we're lucky to have him at camp. He's on the verge of
breaking out to be on a squad." WR Devin Hester, WR
Rashied Davis, WR Timon Marshall, FS Danieal Manning,
rookie WR Drisan James and rookie RB Josh Allen have
practiced on kickoffs. Hester missed two days of practice with
a sore hamstring.
Bears Depth Chart
QB: Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, Kyle Orton, Chris Leak
RB: Cedric Benson (inj), Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe, Josh
Allen
FB: Jason McKie, Obafemi Ayanbedejo, Jon Goldsberry,
Quadtrine Hill
WR: Muhsin Muhammad, Bernard Berrian, Mark Bradley,
Rashied Davis (PR), Devin Hester (KR/PR), Mike Hass, Dave
Ball, Brandon Rideau, Drisan James, Timon Marshall, Clinton
Solomon
TE: Desmond Clark, Greg Olsen, John Gilmore, Fontel
Mines, Brett Pierce
K: Robbie Gould, Nick Novak
DT: Tommie Harris (inj), Darwin Walker, Dusty Dvoracek
(NT), Anthony Adams, Antonio Garay, Tory Collins
DE: Adewale Ogunleye, Mark Anderson, Alex Brown, Dan
Bazuin, Israel Idonije (DT), Copeland Bryan, Greg White,
Chris Frome
MLB: Brian Urlacher
OLB: Lance Briggs (W), Hunter Hillenmeyer (S/M), Michael
Okwo (W), Jamar Williams (W), Brendon Ayanbadejo (S),
Leon Joe (W), Darrell McClover, Rod Wilson, Danny VerdunWheeler
CB: Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher, Ricky Manning, Corey
Graham, Trumaine McBride, Tim Mixon, Greg Fassitt
S: Mike Brown (FS/SS), Adam Archuleta (SS), Danieal
Manning (FS/CB), Brandon McGowan (SS), Kevin Payne,
Tyler Everett (SS), Jay Staggs, Andrew Shanle
Cincinnati Bengals
QB: If the first ten days of camp are any indication, Carson
Palmer is back in 2005 form when he completed nearly 68%
of his passes with a 32-12 TD-INT ratio. Palmer has been
crisp and on target all week long despite working with a
merry-go-round of third and fourth receivers due to injuries to
the wide receiver corps. Palmer capped the week with a 7-for9 effort in the annual intrasquad scrimmage, including an
efficient 5-of-5 for 69 yards during his first 11 snaps. The
Bengals are making every effort to keep Palmer fresh during
camp, holding him out of the morning practice during two-adays for weight room and conditioning work. Backup Doug
Johnson had an up-and-down week. After the coaching staff
singled him out for his good work in the two-minute offense
earlier in the week, Johnson was picked three times during the
team’s mock game. Johnson is in no jeopardy of losing his #2
role to rookie Jeff Rowe, however. Rowe had a nice outing in
the Saturday mock game, going 7-for-12 with no major errors.
RB: Although Rudi Johnson finished the first series of the
intrasquad scrimmage with a 6-yard touchdown run, the talk
of the weekend’s scrimmage and mock game was rookie
Kenny Irons. Irons showed the quickness and breakaway
speed the team felt they were getting when they selected Irons
in the April draft. He ripped off 65 yards on ten carries,
including an impressive 24-yard cutback run. Unfortunately,
Irons fumbled at the end of the run getting tackled from
behind, prompting head coach Marvin Lewis to say, “If you
keep doing that you end up in the press box…” Offensive
coordinator Bob Bratkowski continues to praise Irons, noting
that although he needs to continue to work on pass protection
and maintaining his pad level, Irons is “everything we thought
and more.” Running backs coach Jim Anderson, one of the
most respected and tenured position coaches in the league, is
also impressed. “He runs like he’s 220 pounds,” Anderson
said. “He has that slashing ability Corey [Dillon] had early in
his career. He’s only about 15 pounds lighter than Corey, but
he runs with that same kind of style. And the thing is, he’s
always looking to make the big play.” Don’t get carried away
listening to the coaches’ comments, though. Rudi Johnson
will still get the bulk of the carries this season. Ball security
and blitz pickup are every bit as important as breakaway speed
and big play ability. Fullback Jeremi Johnson may be back at
practice after sitting out last week with a vague leg injury and
conditioning issues.
WR: Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are in
midseason form. Each performed well during the intrasquad
scrimmage, Johnson catching three passes for 44 yards and
Houshmandzadeh three for 33 yards and a TD.
Houshmandzadeh also added a 17-yard end around. While the
Bengals’ two stud receivers are clicking with Palmer as usual,
the competition for the third wide receiver job is a mess. Tab
Perry, who went into camp with a tenuous hold on the job, felt
some soreness in the hip that cost him most of the 2006
season. An MRI apparently showed no evidence of a
recurrent injury. However, despite Perry’s protests to the
contrary, doctors held him out of the intrasquad scrimmage
and mock game last weekend. Perry expects to be eased back
into practice this week. The next three receivers on the depth
chart (Antonio Chatman, Glenn Holt, and Bennie Brazell) also
missed time with leg injuries. All three should be back to
practice soon. The rash of injuries opened the door for last
season’s fifth round pick, Reggie McNeal, to impress the
coaches and make an impact as the team’s 3rd WR over the
weekend. McNeal had three drops in the intrasquad activities,
but he also made some nice catches, too. McNeal caught a
deep pass down the sideline from Doug Johnson. On another
play, he came back for a reception, cutting across the middle
as Johnson rolled out to his left when protection broke down.
"He sees things conceptually, big-picture, like a quarterback,"
said WRs coach Mike Sheppard of McNeal.
TE: The Bengals were reduced to pulling bodies in off the
street last week after three tight ends were injured during
consecutive practices, with two taken to the hospital with back
injuries. Starting tight end Reggie Kelly remains healthy. The
injuries to the competition opened up a number of repetitions
for undrafted free agent Daniel Coats. Coats took the
opportunity to impress the coaching staff with his blocking
ability, route running and quick grasp of the pass offense. He
appears to have separated himself in the race to earn the
backup tight end role. The Bengals aren’t afraid to use their
tight ends around the goal line, so Coats may end up with a
significant role if he continues to progress.
Defense: The same issues that plagued the Bengal defense in
recent seasons have continued to be issues early in camp. The
intrasquad scrimmage and mock game saw the defense make
plays (both “final scores” were very close) but give up a
number of long gainers along the way. The defense got high
marks for stuffing Rudi Johnson on two third-and-short plays
but defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan was disappointed
in the five plays over 12 yards given up by the unit. "Tackling
wise, I wasn't pleased. Assignment wise I don't think we were
too bad," said Bresnahan. "We have to lead the league in
turnovers. We need more than three in each game. Five big
plays. Not good enough.” The team has been pleased with the
play of its linebackers. Ed Hartwell, competing for the WLB
job, has been healthy and disruptive. He was responsible for
one of the stuffs of Rudi Johnson and added an interception
off a tipped pass in the mock game. The highest praise this
week was for MLB Ahmad Brooks, who looks like a new
player after last year’s inconsistent rookie season. Brooks has
impressed everyone with his grasp of his assignments and
those of his teammates, and the team has given him control of
the huddle. Said Marvin Lewis, “Last year he was trying to
get himself lined up, for the most part. Now he is able to put
other people in position, and that is a good thing. He is able to
get us correct if there are adjustments that need to be made. I
hear him making those adjustments from the sideline. I think
those are things that a year ago, he would have to get on the
second time around." On the injury front, the team expects to
get CB Johnathan Joseph (broken foot) back at practice soon
but is still waiting for DE Frostee Rucker to get back on the
field after suffering an undisclosed leg injury during the first
practice of camp.
Special Teams: In recent years, Shayne Graham has been one
of the most accurate kickers in the NFL, although last year he
missed two big kicks towards the end of the year. In last
weekend’s intrasquad scrimmage, he was only 3 of 6 on field
goals. He was good from 32, 35 and 39 yards, but missed on
attempts from 27 (hit right upright), 42 (wide left) and 46
(wide right). The returners are having injury problems.
WR/PR Antonio Chatman remains sidelined after hurting his
hamstring on the first day of camp. WR/KR Tab Perry is dayto-day after his bad hip flared up. WR/KR Glenn Holt missed
the scrimmage with a hamstring injury. In their absence, WR
Skyler Green has looked good on returns. Green was drafted
by Dallas last year, and spent his time there in and out of Bill
Parcells’ dog house and on and off the practice squad before
eventually being released.
Bengals Depth Chart
QB: Carson Palmer, Doug Johnson, Jeff Rowe, Jeff Smith
RB: Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson (3RB), Kenny Irons, Chris
Perry (PUP), Quincy Wilson, Curtis Brown
FB: Jeremi Johnson, Chris Manderino, Stan White
WR: Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry
(susp), Tab Perry, Antonio Chatman, Reggie McNeal, Glenn
Holt, Benny Brazell, Skyler Green (PR), Tony Kays, Jesse
Holley
TE: Reggie Kelly, Bobby Blizzard, Tim Day (inj), Daniel
Coats, Erik Jensen, Nate Lawrie, Sean Mulcahy (inj)
K: Shayne Graham
DT: John Thornton, Domata Peko, Michael Myers, Kenderick
Allen, Matt Toeaina
DE: Justin Smith, Bryan Robinson (DT), Robert Geathers,
Frostee Rucker, Jonathan Fanene, Xzavie Jackson, Jimmy
Verdon, Bryan Andrews
MLB: Ahmad Brooks (M/S), Caleb Miller (W/M), Earl
Everett, Odell Thurman (susp)
OLB: Rashad Jeanty (S), Landon Johnson (W/S), Ed Hartwell
(W/M), Andre Frazier, Eric Henderson, Matt Muncy, David
Pollack (IR)
CB: Johnathan Joseph, Deltha O'Neal, Leon Hall, Keiwan
Ratliff (PR), Blue Adams, Brandon Williams, T.J. Wright
S: Madieu Williams (FS), Dexter Jackson (SS), Marvin White
(SS), Chinedum Ndukwe, Herena-Daze Jones (SS), Ethan
Kilmer (FS), John Busing (SS)
Cleveland Browns
QB: After 15 days of practice, 22nd overall pick Brady Quinn
finally signed a contract and will begin his tenure in
Cleveland. After two weeks of disagreements, largely over the
escalator incentives that would kick in should Quinn earn
starting time, the team finally acquiesced with a 5-year,
$20.2mm deal with an additional $10mm in escalators. The
question now becomes, is it too late for Quinn to make a claim
on the starting job? Romeo Crennel sounds unconvinced of his
chances, "He's pretty far behind…We have a lot of offense,
and we're putting it in every day. It takes a while to get this
down and get caught up on it." Don’t count Quinn completely
out of the picture though, because neither Charlie Frye nor
Derek Anderson has distinguished himself as the starter.
When asked who was ahead in the competition last week,
Crennel quipped, “That Wimbley is playing well.”
RB: Jamal Lewis continues to impress the coaching staff with
his quickness and strength during the early stages of camp.
Lewis has been pleased with the outcome of his offseason
surgery to remove bone spurs from his ankle, telling team
observers that “I’m now making cuts I haven’t made in a long
time.” Lewis also had high praise for his new offensive line,
saying, “I haven’t seen a line like that in a long time. They
look magnificent.” While that may amount to little more than
a player saying all the right things about his new teammates,
it’s significant coming from a guy who ran behind future Hall
of Famer Jonathan Ogden and a solid Baltimore offensive line.
Romeo Crennel brushed off concerns that Lewis would be
unable to carry the full load all season long. “He’s been out
there every day and hasn’t missed a beat. Everybody is saying
how old he is and how he’s lost a step and isn’t what he used
to be but he’s been doing it and taking the reps.” Jerome
Harrison may have an early leg up on the backup role.
Browns’ beat writers have noted that he looks “much more
prepared mentally and physically” and has been consistently
good in practice.
WR: With Braylon Edwards and Joe Jurevicius entrenched as
starters, the focus remains on the battle to win the third wide
receiver job. Second year man Travis Wilson may have edged
ahead of the group with a good week of practice. The coaches
took note of Wilson’s effort on a leaping grab over rookie
corner Eric Wright on a deep sideline route. “I tell these guys
all the time: one way to get noticed is make plays," head coach
Romeo Crennel said. "Coaches notice guys who make plays
and do good things. If [Wilson] continues to do that he can
elevate his status." Special teams’ standout Josh Cribbs also
looked good during practice and looks to be more comfortable
as a wide receiver this season. Offseason acquisition Tim
Carter continues to struggle with the same issue that has
always held him back – health. He missed practice last week
with a hamstring injury and could slide down the depth chart
while he watches from the training room.
TE: Kellen Winslow has held up well after his first week of
camp practices. The Browns are still treating him carefully,
though, limiting his practice time to keep him as fresh as
possible. Romeo Crennel thinks it’s working so far, "He looks
strong, but he's not taking all the practices. “We're trying to
take care of him so we can get into the game on Sundays,
hoping he'll continue to look as strong is he does now." As
was noted in the first camp report, Winslow will be featured
prominently in the new offense and has already made his
presence felt in the huddle by making sure he points out when
he’s been open and not gotten the ball in team drills.
Defense: The Browns front seven was dealt a potentially
significant blow during the first week of practice when DE
Orpheus Roye was forced out of drills and later underwent
arthroscopy to clean out of his troublesome knee. Roye will
be out for the remainder of the preseason and is not a lock to
play in Week One. Simon Fraser, Shaun Smith and J’Vonne
Parker will compete for snaps with Roye sidelined. Another
veteran, LB Willie McGinest, has been holding up better.
Romeo Crennel hopes that new addition Antwan Peek will be
able to rotate in for McGinest to keep the 35 year old fresh.
The Browns also welcomed back CB Gary Baxter last week,
who returned to practice after rupturing both patellar tendons
in 2006. With Leigh Bodden, Daven Holly, Eric Wright and
Gary Baxter, the team hopes to be able to use its safeties more
often in run support. One of those safeties, Brodney Pool, is
settling into his full time FS role nicely after playing a number
of positions last year. Crennel singled out Pool last week as a
bright spot on the defense and is pleased with his progress and
playmaking ability.
Special Teams: Special teams coordinator Ted Daisher
discussed the technique tweaks on which kicker Phil Dawson
has been working, "He made little corrections with his
approach. He's made some changes with his footwork. Phil is
very knowledgeable with the mechanics of kicking. He knows
what he's doing right and wrong. It's very, very minor, but
hopefully it will help him become more consistent." Starting
kickoff returner WR Joshua Cribbs has done very well fielding
punts, and area in which he struggled last year when he filled
in for the now departed Dennis Northcutt. Rookie WR Syndric
Steptoe is looking like the strongest challenger to Cribbs for
the lead punt returner role. Rookie CB Brandon McDonald is
the third candidate. He had troubles fielding punts in the first
few practices, but has looked better recently.
Browns Depth Chart
QB: Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey
RB: Jamal Lewis, Jason Wright, Jerome Harrison (3RB),
Chris Barclay, Jerome Jackson
FB: Lawrence Vickers, J.R. Niklos, Charles Ali
WR: Braylon Edwards, Joe Jurevicius, Tim Carter, Travis
Wilson, Josh Cribbs (KR/PR), Syndric Steptoe, Maurice
Mann, Kendrick Mosley, Steve Sanders, Efrem Hill, Mike
Mason
TE: Kellen Winslow Jr (PUP), Steve Heiden, Darnell Dinkins,
Ryan Krause, Buck Ortega
K: Phil Dawson, Jesse Ainsworth
NT: Ted Washington, Shaun Smith, Ethan Kelley, J'Vonne
Parker, Babatunda Oshinowo, Alvin Smith
DE: Robaire Smith, Orpheus Roye (inj), Chase Pittman,
Melila Purcell, Simon Fraser, Orien Harris
ILB: Andra Davis (L), DQwell Jackson (R), Chaun
Thompson (R), Leon Williams (L), Mason Unck
OLB: Kamerion Wimbley (S/DE), Willie McGinest (S/DE),
Antwan Peek, Matt Stewart (S), David McMillan (W), Jason
Short, Kris Griffin, Clifton Smith
CB: Leigh Bodden, Gary Baxter (PUP), Eric Wright, Kenny
Wright, Daven Holly, Brandon McDonald, Jereme Perry,
Therrian Fontenot
S: Sean Jones (SS), Brodney Pool (FS), Justin Hamilton (FS),
Mike Adams (FS), DeMario Minter (FS), Jeremy Lasueur,
Justin Sandy
Dallas Cowboys
QB: Tony Romo continues to look sharp and is making the
decision to keep him on the bench for three-plus seasons seem
foolish. In 7-on-7 drills on Sunday (8/5) Romo went 12-of-16
completing passes including four passes to Sam Hurd. Veteran
backup Brad Johnson was less effective during the drills,
dumping off his first four passes. Johnson needs to show an
ability to get the ball downfield, something that he struggled
with in Minnesota last season.
RB: The Julius Jones versus Marion Barber III camp battle is
turning out to be a non-event, at least judging from their
respective workloads. Jones has been primarily running with
the first team offense and has gotten what seems like 2x the
carries overall. Barber is being used at times with the first
team, and has been featured in the short-yardage drills. Tyson
Thompson appears a stone-cold lock to once again play third
fiddle as his only real camp competition, rookie Jackie Battle
simply hasn’t made many memorable plays.
During Monday’s practice, Julius Jones and safety Pat
Watkins were the center of a team battle royale. Jones was put
on his back by Watkins on a safety blitz, which led to some
jawing. Punches were thrown and ultimately it became and
offense vs. defense battle. Teammates laughed off the fight
afterwards, but Jones seemed noticeably fired up for the rest of
practice.
WR: After last week’s news that Terry Glenn had a minor
scope and would be out for 2+ weeks, the Cowboys can ill
afford for Terrell Owens to also come up lame. Yet, T.O.
didn’t practice for most of this week. At first dubbed “tired
hamstrings”, he has also been held out with tightness in his
back. The good news I results of an MRI were negative. Don’t
bet that this is anything more than a veteran wanting to take it
easy during training camp. With Glenn, Owens and rookie
Isaiah Stanback out with injuries, Patrick Crayton and Sam
Hurd have been getting a ton of reps; trying to stake their
claims on the #3 job. Crayton is the heavy favorite, but Hurd
has been putting on a clinic the last few days. During an
intrasquad scrimmage this week, Hurd caught four passes
from Tony Romo (out of 12 completions) including one
particular deep bomb where Hurd had to extend without
breaking stride. Another receiver making the most of the
injury situation is 2nd year backup Miles Austin. Austin has
been hustling and made a few highly reel catches over the
weekend. He may not make the roster if the Cowboys don’t
keep six WRs, because Jamaica Rector has value as a special
teamer.
TE: Jason Witten is going to be a big part of Jason Garrett’s
offense, which really isn’t a surprise. He has been catching
passes all over the practice field, and has been particularly
effective when matched up against linebackers. On one play,
he got loose on crossing pattern as LB Bradie James couldn’t
stay with him, and then turned upfield for a long scoring play.
Anthony Fasano has had his share of impressive plays,
including a diving catch in between two defensive backs on
Sunday during 9-on-9s. But he’s also had a few drops,
including several that hit him right between the numbers.
Defense: The addition of safety Ken Hamlin may be the
missing piece to the defensive puzzle, and he and Roy
Williams are starting to look like enforcers. In one practice
last week, Hamlin absolutely leveled a pair of tight ends
(Andy Thorn and Rodney Hannah); not to be outdone, Roy
Williams laid the hammer on Anthony Fasano shortly
thereafter. DeMarcus Ware has been crushing it, racking up
sacks seemingly every set of downs. When Ware isn’t
participating in team drills, he’s been spending a noticeable
amount of time in one-on-one tutelage with LB coach Paul
Pasqualoni.
Special Teams: It appears that QB Brad Johnson will be the
holder on kicks, which makes kicker Martin Gramatica happy,
"With Brad it is unbelievable. I get so much more time to see
the ball. He held for me in the past [Tampa Bay], and knowing
what kind of guy he is, I was very comfortable with Brad." Of
course that will be a moot point if Gramatica fails to beat out
rookie Nick Folk for the kicking job. After the early part of
camp that appears to be a distinct possibility, as Folk has been
the better kicker so far. He has been stronger on kickoffs. He
was perfect on field goals through the first week of camp, but
finally did miss one the other day. The closest competition on
special teams may be at the kickoff returner position. As
expected, incumbent WR Miles Austin and former incumbent
RB Tyson Thompson are the two contenders. Two of the punt
returner candidates are day-to-day with minor injuries: WR
Jamaica Rector (knee) and WR Isaiah Stanback (foot).
Cowboys Depth Chart
QB: Tony Romo, Brad Johnson, Matt Moore, Richard Bartel
RB: Julius Jones, Marion Barber III (3RB/SD), Tyson
Thompson (inj), Jackie Battle, Alonzo Coleman
FB: Lousaka Polite, Deon Anderson, Oliver Hoyte
WR: Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn (inj), Patrick Crayton, Sam
Hurd, Jamaica Rector (PR), Miles Austin, Isaiah Stanback,
Jerheme Urban, Jamel Richardson, Jerard Rabb, Mike
Jefferson
TE: Jason Witten, Anthony Fasano, Adam Bergen, Tony
Curtis, Andy Thorn, Rodney Hannah
K: Nick Folk, Martin Gramatica
NT: Jason Ferguson, Montavious Stanley, Ola Dagunduro,
Remi Ayodele
DE: Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, Jay Ratliff, Jason Hatcher,
Stephen Bowen, Marcus Smith
ILB: Bradie James (M), Akinola Ayodele (S), Bobby
Carpenter (S/I)
OLB: Demarcus Ware (W), Greg Ellis (S)(inj), Anthony
Spencer (S), Kevin Burnett (S/I), Junior Glymph, Dedrick
Harrington, Blair Phillips, Alex Obomese, John Saldi
CB: Terance Newman, Anthony Henry, Aaron Glenn, Alan
Ball, Courtney Brown, Jacques Reeves, Nathan Jones, Quincy
Butler, Joey Thomas
S: Roy Williams (SS), Ken Hamlin (FS), Keith Davis (SS),
Pat Watkins (FS), Damarius Bilbo, Abram Elam, Jasper
Johnson
Denver Broncos
QB: Once again, we here at Footballguys.com are proud to
have two of our very best on hand, Cecil Lammey and
Sigmund Bloom, at Dove Valley covering the Broncos
training camp from the sidelines. In Friday’s practice,
Lammey said the play of the day came when D.J. Williams
blitzed through a huge gap up the middle, when Jay Cutler
quickly spotted him and rolled to his right as Williams over
pursued. Cutler found Javon Walker, who got behind Champ
Bailey, and threw the ball 55 yards in the air with little effort
as Bailey closed the gap and tipped the ball at the last second,
but Walker still hauled it in showing amazing concentration. It
got the largest crowd reaction of the day by far. You can view
the video of this play here. In 3rd down drills, Cutler showed
poise and demonstrated great field vision. On one play, a
rollout, he hit Daniel Graham, who extended fully to snag the
ball with his soft hands. One another play, Cutler executed a
play fake and rollout to connect with TE Nate Jackson.
RB: On Saturday, the team had a big scare when Travis
Henry had to sit out of the morning practice and drills with a
sharp hip pointer. He stretched out and then returned for three
plays before staying on the sidelined the rest of the morning.
"I had a little hip pointer yesterday," Henry said. "I kind of reaggravated it today but I'm cool. I nicked it up again and didn't
feel like I could go the way I wanted today." He said he would
get it treated and be back for Monday’s practice. In Saturday’s
midfield drills, Cecil Sapp initiated contact a few times while
displaying sharp, crisp cuts. Two or three defenders tried to
sandwich Sapp, but took the worst of it on that play. Andre
Hall continued to give the team a different look than the rest
of the Broncos backs, showing great “quicks” and moving
well in space. Mike Bell attempted a spin move, but got nailed
before he could pull it off. On another play, Bell showed good
balance while navigating through some small holes. Bell tried
to get to the corner on one play, but Karl Paymah beat him to
the spot and nailed him. Selvin Young, on the other hand, was
able to get to the corner more than once, surprisingly.
In goal line drills, Andre Hall burst through the hole and left
safety John Lynch grasping for air as he scored a TD. On
another play, Hall put in a great second effort, keeping his feet
churning and moving the pile for a score. Selvin Young tried
to go airborne but got blown up. FB Kyle Johnson was stood
up at the goal line on his only run and he had the ball knocked
out of his hands by Nick Ferguson after getting open on his
route for what looked like it would’ve been a TD.
In Friday’s two minute drill, Henry showed great hands the
few times he was targeted. He and Mike Bell both lined up
wide on some plays as the team went with an empty backfield.
Henry continued to make himself small going through the
hole. Andre Hall was able to get to the corner easily on a few
plays and Cecil Sapp displayed some nice cuts that allowed
him to run to daylight. Hall appeared to be the quickest of the
backs in that drill.
WR: Brandon Marshall (quad) remains on the PUP list, but he
is expected to return to practice sometime next week.
Domenik Hixon returned to practice after sitting out Tuesday
with a shoulder separation. Upon returning, HC Mike
Shanahan noted, “When guys get hurt, it really hurts their
chances of making the team," Shanahan said. "For a guy like
Domenik to come in after a first-degree shoulder separation is
pretty impressive. He worked through it, and that is what you
are hoping a guy is going to do.” In Saturday’s midfield drill,
Javon Walker made a beautiful catch in stride on a ball that
was deflected at the line of scrimmage by a d-lineman.
In Friday’s end zone drills, there was a lot of action. Dre Bly
showed why he has one of the best sets of hands in the league,
but he also showed how he’s prone to gambling – consistently
selling himself out to make plays. David Kircus had trouble
getting away from Bly, especially once Bly got his hands into
him at the line. Kircus has the quicks to gain separation, and
on one play, he drew a holding call. Brian Clark seems
hesitant at the line, but fought hard for the ball and attacked
each ball at its highest point. Domenik Hixon did the same,
and on one play, he made a nice stutter step to get both feet in
on a catch.
In two minute drills, Quincy Morgan was going all out and
made a fully extended diving catch that elicited a huge cheer
from the crowd on hand. Kircus was guilty of a bad drop, as
has been the case throughout camp (he makes the tough ones,
but drops too many easy ones). Hixon showed some good
instincts running after the catch, while Clark showed natural
hands throughout the drill – one catch he snagged was no
more than 6” off the ground.
TE: Tony Scheffler remains on the PUP list and is expected to
return to practice sometime within the next week. "We've got
to have guys who can stay healthy," HC Shanahan said,
referring to Scheffler and WR Brandon Marshall. In
Saturday’s midfield drill, Daniel Graham made a big play
downfield when he gained inside position on Nick Ferguson
for a catch and run. In the two minute drill, Graham was
targeted frequently as he consistently got open and caught
nearly everything thrown in his direction. Nate Jackson had a
bad drop on an easy pass, and then made a sprawling catch
that drew a cheer from the crowd.
Defense: On Monday morning first round pick DE Jarvis
Moss hit the ground after making a spin move during a oneon-one drill midway through the practice session. The extent
of the injury was not immediately known. “(The medical staff)
really does not know,” HC Shanahan said. “They think it’s a
twist(ed) knee. It’s not loose right now, which is a good sign.
But until you look at that MRI, you’re not really sure.” If we
hear anything new on Moss, we’ll be sure to pass it along via
our FBG News Blogger. Prior to the injury, Bloom and
Lammey reported that “Moss is not looking small, or lost, but
the buzz around camp is much more about Tim Crowder than
Moss. Most observers feel Moss is only going to be a pass
rush specialist, while Crowder is looking like a three down
end, who can also move inside - a similar player to Ekuban.
Moss is getting more confident and flashing some of the
moves he showed at Florida. Talking to people around camp
about the DEs, the word is that Jim Bates LOVES Dumervil”.
Earlier in the week, LB Warrick Holdman scared the team and
on looking crowd when he went down with an apparent
neck/spinal injury. It was later diagnosed as a spinal cord
contusion after he was rushed to the hospital. "We all know
the risk about playing this game," HC Mike Shanahan said. If
Holdman is ok, he’ll be back and competing for the team’s
starting SLB job.
The defensive line performed very well in third down drills,
clogging running lanes and applying pressure. Ebenezer
Ekuban destroyed just about any of the blockers that lined up
against him as he blitzed from the rush end position. Ian Gold
owned Erik Pears on a blitz and got to Cutler. In two minute
drills, Tim Crowder and Jarvis Moss lined up on the strong
side over the tight end. Crowder lined up inside a few times.
Jeff Shoate dropped two interceptions on back to back plays;
one of which would’ve been an easy “pick six”.
In Saturday’s midfield drills, D.J. Williams did a nice job of
resisting his incessant urge to over pursue, and he stuffed a
cutback run. Dominique Foxworth smothered Brian Clark on
two straight passes that he was able to break up. After
dropping two INTs, Shoate made a beautiful interception on a
pass he read perfectly. On another play, Shoate broke up a
deep pass easily as he had the inside position on David Kircus.
Hamza Abdullah made a nice strip on Daniel Graham after the
catch, while Jarvis Moss looked like a beach volleyball player
on another play as he batted a Jay Cutler pass down.
Special Teams: One person on special teams for the Broncos
has been generating a lot of hype in camp. And no, it’s not
WR Domenik Hixon, despite the fact he suffered a first degree
shoulder separation one day last week and returned to practice
the following day. Hixon by the way is currently the top punt
returner and the second string kickoff returner (behind WR
Quincy Morgan). The hype has been for Scott O’Brien, the
new special teams coordinator. His approach, his intensity, his
sideline quizzes, and his new playbook have been winning
over the players. Punter Todd Sauerbrun elaborated, “I think
the attitude used to be that let's not have special teams lose the
game. But now, with Scott, his attitude is, 'No, we're going to
win games for the Broncos. Let's put it on us.' People talk
about special teams being one of the three phases of the game
(along with offense and defense), but I think it's just talk some
places. Here, this year, we mean it." One area that hasn’t been
a bright spot in camp have been more misses than usual by
kicker Jason Elam. The problem appears to be the holder,
where Jay Cutler, Todd Sauerbrun, or Paul Ernster will replace
the departed Jake Plummer. Elam noted, "The last couple of
years I had Jake Plummer - he was a great holder. He had
really quick hands and got the ball down fast for me so I could
have a real long look." He hopes the team determines who the
new holder will be by the third preseason game, "Whoever it's
going to be, I would probably push: Please, let me have the
guy who's going to be the guy so I can really start honing it on
it and get into a real good rhythm."
Broncos Depth Chart
QB: Jay Cutler, Patrick Ramsey, Preston Parsons, Darrell
Hackney
RB: Travis Henry, Cecil Sapp, Mike Bell, Andre Hall, Selvin
Young
FB: Kyle Johnson, Paul Smith, Troy Fleming
WR: Javon Walker, Brandon Stokley, Brandon Marshall (inj),
Rod Smith (PUP), Domenik Hixon (KR), Brian Clark, David
Kircus, David Terrell, Quincy Morgan, Glenn Martinez,
Marquay McDonald
TE: Daniel Graham, Tony Scheffler, Stephen Alexander, Nate
Jackson, Teyo Johnson, Chad Mustard
K: Jason Elam, Brandon Pace
DT: Gerard Warren, Sam Adams (NT), Jimmy Kennedy,
Elvis Dumervil, Demetrin Veal, Marcus Thomas, Alvin
McKinley, Antwon Burton, Amon Gordon, Steven Harris
DE: Ebenezer Ekuban, John Engelberger, Kenard Lang, Tim
Crowder, Jarvis Moss (inj), Carlos Hall, Kenny Peterson
(susp)
MLB: D.J. Williams (M/S), Nate Webster (W/M)
OLB: Ian Gold (W), Louis Green (S), Warrick Holdman
(S)(inj), D.D. Lewis (S/M), T.J. Hollowell, Wesly Mallard,
Cameron Vaughn
CB: Champ Bailey, Dre' Bly, Dominique Foxworth, Karl
Paymah, Jeff Shoate, Lamont Reid, Bill Alford
S: John Lynch (FS), Nick Ferguson (SS), Curome Cox (SS),
Hamza Abdullah (FS), Quentin Harris, Steve Cargile,
Roderick Rogers
Detroit Lions
QB: Offensive coordinator Mike Martz has been pleased with
quarterback Jon Kitna, who threw for 4,208 yards last season.
Kitna was given the day off Sunday. "Jon's far enough along,
we could start tomorrow," Martz said. "We gave him the
whole day off yesterday to rest his arm. We have to take care
of him. He's playing at such a high, high level. We're trying to
be careful with him. When other guys are all (aware) of
protections and routes and we're just working through those
things ... there's just nothing you can give him that he can't do
right now." The news wasn’t as good regarding Drew Stanton.
The second round draft pick had arthroscopic knee surgery to
repair cartilage damage. The Lions placed him on injured
reserve. Stanton can’t practice with the team while on injured
reserve, but he probably wasn’t going to get many reps
anyway during the season. He can still sit in on meetings to
learn the offense and work out at team headquarters. This
means the Lions have decided journeyman J.T. O’Sullivan is
probably good enough to make the roster. The Lions haven’t
even seen O’Sullivan in an exhibition, but he has been
impressive in camp. O’Sullivan will battle Dan Orlovsky for
the backup job.
RB: Kevin Jones had a successful 30-minute workout in
Thursday's late afternoon practice that included forward,
backward and side-to-side cuts to test his recuperating left
foot. Jones has been out since the Dec. 10 loss to Minnesota, a
game in which dislocated and broke the foot, creating
speculation that it could be a career-ending injury. One of the
drills he participated in involved short runs while being
strapped to a harness pulled by another person. Jones seemed
to have no problem with the resistance. His status for Week
One is still up in the air. Tatum Bell continues to impress the
coaches in camp. Martz said Bell has, in some ways, been a
surprise to him. "Tatum right now is a different level," Martz
said. "He's better than I thought he'd be, to be honest with you.
T.J. Duckett is getting some reps at fullback, but don't read too
much into it. While Duckett is expected to play that role in
some two-back formations, it's not going to be his primary
responsibility. Martz is notorious for moving players around
during training camp to see how many different roles they can
fill. Martz also said that Brian Calhoun has stood out in camp.
Marinelli spoke of the versatility of Aveion Cason “The thing
about him is he does everything; the kicking game, coverage
kicks, he returns kicks, good pass blocker, good runner, and
good receiver. You just let all that work out now.” The Lions
signed fullback Alan Ricard. He is the only true fullback on
the roster.
WR: The Lions signed first round pick Calvin Johnson to a
six-year contract worth $64 million, which includes $27.2
million in guaranteed money. After Rod Marinelli's speech
about why players like Johnson are so important, he threw the
rookie right into the fire. Johnson worked on first-team
offense and caught balls over the middle during a two-minute
drill. "They brought me in for that purpose. There is no sense
having me out here for no reason," Johnson said. "I kind of
expected to be out there with the ones." The Lions practiced at
Ford Field Saturday, and it was open to the public. The fans
shouted encouragement, chanted "Let's Go Lions" and buzzed
anytime a player got hit. But mostly, they kept track of
Johnson. Though Johnson was the center of attention, it was
Roy Williams who made most of the night’s highlight plays,
including a spectacular, outstretched, tip-to-himself grab as he
fell out of the end zone. Martz said Mike Furrey and Troy
Walters have been very good in camp. WR Shaun McDonald
(knee) was held out of Monday's afternoon workout, but was
back at practice on Tuesday. Kevin Kasper (hamstring)
remains sidelined and his status is day-to-day. Devale Ellis
remains on the PUP list. Kick returner Eddie Drummond is out
with a minor hip injury; Marinelli said he would be back soon.
TE: Marinelli has been pleased with the work of Darnell
Sanders. The Lions will take it easy with starting Dan
Campbell, who is returning from an injury.
Defense: Defensive tackle Shaun Rogers remains on the PUP
list. The Lions are pleased with the leadership shown by Corey
Redding. Shawn Cody is versatile and is playing both nose
tackle and under-tackle. The Lions like what they have seen
from Langston Moore and Jon Bradley. "I want to develop a
fourth tackle, and they're both exploding right now," Marinelli
said. Defensive end Kalimba Edwards is making moves he
wouldn’t have made last year. He is much more decisive and
is finishing stronger. Dewayne White remains out with a groin
injury. Marinelli said rookie Ikaika Alama-Francis needs to
work on getting aligned correctly. LB Ernie Sims has been
impressive in camp, and is seeing things faster and reacting
faster. Marinelli said linebacker Teddy Lehman (shoulder)
was week-to-week. Paris Lenon has been solid in camp. Boss
Bailey is playing only strong side linebacker this year.
Anthony Cannon continues to impress the coaching staff.
Johnny Baldwin used film and extra drills to feel more
comfortable in the middle linebacker position and make fewer
mistakes, and the coaches say he has improved. Barry said
Fernando Bryant and Kenoy Kennedy are providing great
leadership. Marinelli praised Daniel Bullocks, a second-round
pick last year, who has become the starting free safety. Keith
Smith is having a very good camp. The Lions have just left
him at one spot, doing one thing, and he’s playing well.
Stanley Wilson has stepped up of late. Travis Fisher has lined
up as the nickel corner.
Special Teams: Kicker Jason Hanson has been with the Lions
a very, very long time. He discussed the current optimism in
camp compared to prior years, "Every team in the NFL that's
being interviewed right now is excited and has big plans for
the season. Myself and everyone else has had them for the last
six years and by midseason it's been, 'Ok, I shouldn't have said
that.' But all I can say is, the atmosphere of the team, the way
guys relate and the way they take the field and practice is
different." Potential returner WR Devale Ellis was on the PUP
list. Head coach Rod Marinelli discussed using WR Shaun
McDonald on punt returns, "He gives you more guys
competing for that spot. You can't have enough of those guys."
Already in jeopardy of losing his job, WR Eddie Drummond
missed practices with a sore hamstring. Further jeopardizing
his job has been the strong play of Troy Walters which elicited
praise from OC Mike Martz.
Lions Depth Chart
QB: Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, J.T. O'Sullivan, Drew Stanton
(IR)
RB: Kevin Jones (PUP), Tatum Bell, T.J. Duckett, Brian
Calhoun, Aveion Cason, Anthony Sherrell
FB: Alan Ricard
WR: Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Mike Furrey, Shaun
McDonald (PUP), Eddie Drummond (KR/PR), DeVale Ellis
(PUP), Edell Shepherd, Troy Walters, Cliff Russell, Kevin
Kasper, Brandon Middleton, Ron Bellamy, Reggie Ball,
Marcus Robinson (IR)
TE: Dan Campbell (PUP), Casey Fitzsimmons, Darnell
Sanders, Sean McHugh, Rudy Sylvan
K: Jason Hanson, Kenny Byrd
DT: Shaun Rogers (PUP), Cory Redding, Shaun Cody,
Cleveland Pinkney, Langston Moore, Jon Bradley, Marcus
Lewis, Salomon Solano
DE: Dewayne White, Kalimba Edwards, Ikaika AlamaFrancis, Jared DeVries, Corey Smith, Claude Harriott
MLB: Paris Lenon, Ted Lehman (inj), Johnny Baldwin
OLB: Ernie Sims (W), Boss Bailey (S), Alex Lewis (S),
Anthony Cannon (W), Donte' Curry, James Hargrave
CB: Fernando Bryant, Stanley Wilson, Travis Fisher, A.J.
Davis, Keith Smith, Ike Charlton, Tony Beckham, Dee
McCann, Ramzee Robinson, Israel Route, LaMarcus Hicks
S: Kenoy Kennedy (SS), Daniel Bullocks (FS), Gerald
Alexander, Idrees Bashir
Green Bay Packers
QB: Since Favre returned to the team on Thursday, the
playing time for the backup QBs decreased significantly.
Favre was gone for a few days to attend a funeral. Aaron
Rodgers got the majority of snaps when Favre wasn’t on the
field, while Ingle Martin gets a couple after that and Paul
Thompson, a rookie free agent from Oklahoma, gets none. HC
Mike McCarthy and staff are tweaking Thompson’s footwork
and mechanics. "Paul is definitely a prospect as far as the
ability part of it," McCarthy said. "He's picked up the scheme
very well." Perhaps the best moment for Favre in camp so far
occurred when the defense blitzed and Favre hit receiver Greg
Jennings on a post pattern for a 22-yard touchdown against Al
Harris. On another play, Jennings made a nice catch on a fade
route with one hand in the back of the end zone, while getting
both feet down during a pass-catching drill. Later in Friday’s
practice, Favre hit tight end Donald Lee for a touchdown, as
Lee made a sliding catch near the sideline, and then he lofted a
pass to the corner of the end zone finding RB P.J. Pope who
hauled in one-handed catch that might be the best catch so far
in camp. Fumbles were almost non-existent in camp before
QB Ingle Martin bobbled a shotgun snap in one of evening
practices. It was Favre’s first practice back, and he showed off
his fresh legs on a pair of scrambles that drew cheers from the
crowd. Earlier in the week, Rodgers produced the best throw
when he threw a bullet to Calvin Russell for 40-yards. On the
next play, he completed a 35-yard pass to Ruvell Martin, who
got behind Patrick Dendy. In Saturday’s annual family night
at Lambeau Field, Favre was his usual self – sharp on the first
drive. He connected with Driver for a TD and completed
several other passes to Jennings, Driver and one to RB
Brandon Jackson that got the offense down to the goal line.
Rodgers didn’t fare as well going against the first team D, but
generally Rodgers is having a solid camp.
RB: Vernand Morency is the team’s projected starter at RB,
but he suffered a knee injury in the team’s first practice.
Morency is expected to miss up to a month, according to
McCarthy. Since injuring his knee, Morency has been
rehabbing two and sometimes three times a day, while still
watching practices from the sidelines. "I want to be out there
with my guys," he said. "Sweat, blood and tears, that's what
it's about in training camp. It's the dog days, and you definitely
want to be out there with your teammates. It pains me every
single day to go out there and watch those guys in practice and
get better, and me not out there." Friday’s practice was chock
full of poor pass blocking by the remaining running backs.
Rookie Brandon Jackson showed his deficiencies getting
beaten repeatedly by linebackers, who went practically
unabated to the quarterback. On Saturday night at Lambeau,
Jackson redeemed himself somewhat with a real nice catch
and run that got the first team offense down near the goal line.
From there, Jackson punched it in a few plays later after
getting stuffed once at the goal. Noah Herron worked with the
first team and, outside of Jackson’s catch; he was the only
back who produced much on the ground for the offense. P.J.
Pope underwent arthroscopic surgery on Monday after
injuring his knee on Saturday night. He will be out two to four
weeks.
As for the blocking woes in the backfield, Jackson wasn’t the
only guilty party. Corey White was run over by LB Tim
Goodwell on one play and Korey Hall struggled within in the
blocking drills, too. Rookie free agent Juwan Simpson tossed
Jackson aside on one turn and rookie Desmond Bishop juked
KB Ryan Powdrell on another play. Noah Herron and
Brandon Miree were the top two blockers, but neither is a lock
to make the roster. Teammates call Miree “the technician” for
his sound fundamentals and pass blocking abilities. "We've
got a lot of ability there," McCarthy said, when asked about
the blocking. "We just have to get them trained and get them
experienced." Rookie 7th round pick DeShawn Wynn missed
several practices at the beginning of camp, but by the
weekend, he took a handful of snaps with the first team
offense as the lone tailback. With Morency injured and
Jackson struggling, Wynn could take advantage of the extra
snaps this week, but he appears to be struggling with
conditioning. He’s big, but seems slower and he’ll have to
pick it up if he’s going to make a name for himself.
WR: After failing his initial physical due to a sore shoulder,
Donald Driver rejoined the team and took part in two practices
last Tuesday. With Driver out for the first several days, rookie
James Jones took advantage, clearly separating himself from
the pack by catching everything in sight and showing good
strength at the line of scrimmage. "He's done really well," QB
Ingle Martin said. "I think he's going to help the Packers for
sure this year." By the end of the OTAs, the team already
viewed Jones as their third-best WR. One week into camp,
Jones has made more plays than any of his peers. "My
expectations for myself are very high," Jones said. "What I'm
doing right now, I still expect more. I still don't think I'm
making enough plays. I think I'm actually playing under my
standards. I need to step my game up." At 6 feet ½ inch and
209 pounds, Jones is strong enough to create space and his
strong hands allow him to consistently catch the ball with his
hands, away from the body.
The next morning, Jones scored two touchdowns during
extended red-zone drills, where the Packers ranked a lowly
31st in efficiency last year. First, Jones took CB Patrick
Dendy into the right corner of the end zone, where he snagged
a TD over Dendy, who turned back to the ball too late. Later,
Jones lined up in the slot where he beat a linebacker and safety
Aaron Rouse on a post pattern for a completion from Paul
Thompson. "I don't know what catch was better," Jones said.
"I just try to catch everything. When it comes down to the
point of who would you count on and who can catch the ball, I
want my name to come up. Leave them no doubt." The way
Jones is playing, last year’s hot rookie Greg Jennings faces a
possible battle for the starting job opposite Donald Driver.
Corner Charles Woodson was asked to compare Jennings and
Jones, but he hesitated, saying, “From what I've seen, (Jones)
has real good hands, but this is camp. I think it was kind of
different with Jennings last year. There was just something
about him that everybody just kind of saw. Jones, he catches
some good balls, but I've got to see him in a game first."
Jones had one dropped pass through the first five practices.
Overhearing Woodson’s comments, he said that he
understands. It’s a process and he’s in it for the long haul. "I
don't try to get into whether I'm competing against (Robert)
Ferguson or competing against Jennings," Jones said. "If it's
catching 100 balls or catching 10 balls, my main goal is just
help this team win." With that said, Jones won’t displace
Jennings in the starting lineup anytime soon, but he could send
Robert Ferguson to the waiver wire. The battle for the No. 3
will come down to Jones, Ferguson and Ruvell Martin, who
had a big day on Thursday, when he beat CB Frank Walker on
a post-corner route for a long TD. Martin also dropped a TD
on Saturday night and was called for pass interference. Back
to Jennings, he looked great on Saturday night. He was
consistently open and caught a handful of balls from Favre.
Where Jones has impressed, 5th round pick David Clowney
has disappointed. Clowney has struggled mightily so far. He
dropped a perfectly thrown pass in the corner of the end zone
after Will Blackmon fell down on coverage. Later, he caught a
pass only because the ball wedged itself into his facemask
after going through his hands. Clowney quit running on
another play, a drag route from the 10-yard into the end zone,
allowing Favre’s pass to go incomplete. On the positive side,
Clowney showed his speed on a kick return that went for a TD
on Saturday night at Lambeau Field.
TE: The Packers will have to wait for another draft or two to
find a tight end with stretch-the-field ability, but they remain
cautiously optimistic that Bubba Franks is “back”. Bubba
changed his eating habits during the offseason in a concerted
effort to reduce his body fat and stimulate his metabolism. He
started eating five times a day and reports that his body fat is
2% to 3% lower than ever before. Franks reported to camp at a
svelte 260 pounds, five pounds less than most seasons. In the
previous power-gap blocking scheme, Franks routinely
blocked defensive ends by himself. In McCarthy’s zone
blocking scheme adopted last season, Franks’ role is different.
In better shape, Frank hopes to rebound this season. A week
ago (Tuesday), Franks suffered a scratched cornea forcing him
out of practice for a few days. "I still can't see real good out of
it," Franks said. "In my line of work you need both eyes,
especially with Brett (Favre) throwing the ball." Also last
week, Tory Humphrey was placed on injured reserve. On
Wednesday, Humphrey underwent surgery to repair the
broken ankle suffered on July 28. Zack Alcorn (foot) and
rookie Clark Harris (ankle) both missed practice on Friday,
leaving the team with only starter Donald Lee and recentlysigned rookie free agent Joe Werner available to practice.
Defense: There are a couple of key battles going on in camp.
One is the battle for the No. 3 corner between incumbent
Patrick Dendy and Jarrett Bush. "Bush had an exceptional
offseason and is off to an excellent start," McCarthy said.
"You're seeing his play come up a lot. He's a tough kid.
Always liked him. Dendy is stronger this year and playing
with more confidence. Frank Walker is in the hunt. Tramon
Williams is a guy who just keeps getting better. That group
will be very competitive." McCarthy didn’t mention Will
Blackmon, last year’s fourth-round pick, who was beat for a
few long completions and touchdown passes during the week.
The other battle is at strong safety between veteran Marquand
Manuel, last year’s starter, and 2nd year safety Atari Bigby,
who at 5’11” and 211 pounds brings the wood. Bigby has just
one interception in camp, but he is more physical and can play
closer to the line where he can punish RBs. Manuel is doing a
better job of making calls in the secondary than he did a year
ago. He’s running better and seems to be holding up better in
coverage, but Bigby has made a name for himself so far,
forcing himself into the mix. Marviel Underwood, Tyrone
Culver, Charlie Peprah and third-round pick Aaron Rouse are
also in the mix for playing time.
T Ryan Pickett had to sit out four practices because he failed a
conditioning run. He still isn't in great shape, according to
coaches. DL Cullen Jenkins burned Jason Spitz with a nice
spin move during the 1-on-1's. "I think Cullen Jenkins is off to
an incredible start," McCarthy said. "He's having about as
good a camp as I can recall."
Special Teams: Right now, two of the better looking kickers
around NFL camps happen to both play for Green Bay.
Through this past weekend, Dave Rayner was 40 of 47
(85.1%) on field goals, while rookie Mason Crosby was 37 of44 (84.1%). Two of Rayner’s misses were blocked and two
were from 50+ yards. Both have done well on kickoffs, with
Crosby getting slightly better distance and Rayner getting
slightly better hang time. If they continue at this pace, the
“loser” could very well end up kicking for another NFL team
during the regular season. Special teams coordinator Mike
Stock is making sure they get plenty of kicks in practice,
"That's why every kick counts. That's why every kick is
important. We didn't get that many game kicks last year [in
preseason].'' It appears that punter Jon Ryan has edged out
WR Ruvell Martin as the holder on kicks. During a
scrimmage, WR Shaun Bodiford had a 53-yard kickoff return
negated by a penalty. Shortly thereafter, rookie David
Clowney returned a kickoff 103 yards for a score.
Packers Depth Chart
QB: Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers (inj), Ingle Martin, Paul
Thompson
RB: Vernand Morency (KR)(inj), Brandon Jackson, Noah
Herron, P.J. Pope (inj), DeShawn Wynn
FB: Brandon Miree, Korey Hall, Ryan Powdrell, Corey White
WR: Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Robert Ferguson (inj),
James Jones, Ruvell Martin, David Clowney, Carlyle Holiday,
Shaun Bodiford, Calvin Russell, Chris Francies, Carlton
Brewster, Koren Robinson (susp)
TE: Donald Lee, Bubba Franks, Zac Alcorn, Clark Harris, Joe
Werner, Tory Humphrey (IR)
K: Dave Rayner, Mason Crosby
DT: Ryan Pickett (NT), Justin Harrell (inj), Corey Williams
(NT), Colin Cole, Johnny Jolly (NT), Daniel Muir
DE: Aaron Kampman, Cullen Jenkins, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila,
Mike Montgomery, Jason Hunter, DeVon Hicks, Larry
Birdine
MLB: Nick Barnett, Abdul Hodge, Desmond Bishop (W),
Tim Goodwell, Carl-Johan Bjork
OLB: A.J. Hawk (W), Brady Poppinga (S), Tracy White (W),
Spencer Havner (S), Juwan Simpson (S), Rory Johnson (W)
CB: Al Harris, Charles Woodson, Patrick Dendy, Jarrett Bush,
Frank Walker, Will Blackmon (PR), Tramon Williams,
Antonio Malone
S: Nick Collins (FS), Marquand Manuel (SS), Aaron Rouse
(FS), Marviel Underwood (SS), Atari Bigby (SS), Tyrone
Culver (FS), Charlie Peprah (FS), Alvin Nnabuife (SS)
Houston Texans
QB: On Wednesday, QB Matt Schaub underwent X-rays on
his knee after practice following a collision with DE Jason
Babin. The X-rays were negative and the injury was classified
as a bruise. "He and Babin just ran into each other," Head
coach Gary Kubiak said. "I think Matt was so tired, he
couldn't get out of the way, but he's OK." Later in the week,
Kubiak said he’s impressed with Schaub’s progress, noting his
work in two-minute drills during Thursday’s practice. "He's
getting better," Kubiak said. "The first day of training camp he
was nervous; he was on a stage that he's never been on, but I
think he's slowly gotten better. He did some things in the twominute drill at the end of practice that big-time quarterbacks
do. He handled some situations to me that were very
impressive to me and his teammates, and that's what he's got
to do. That's what he's here to do and (we've) just got to keep
getting better." Schaub juked everybody in Thursday
morning’s practice, even the fans, when he faked a spike
during a hurry-up drill, then hit Kevin Walter for a 20-yard
touchdown pass
RB: Ahman Green is having a solid camp so far, enough to
give HC Gary Kubiak a distinct impression. Kubiak said that
Green has the same big-play ability that Terrell Davis had, and
he can’t wait to use his new weapon. "He reminds me of
Terrell (Davis), when I watch the way he runs," Kubiak said.
"He’s a downhill runner. He’s bigger than you think. He likes
the physical part of football. He likes to bang around, and if he
gets a big enough crack, he’s capable of going the distance. He
reminds me of him quite a bit." Green and Ron Dayne
alternated with the first team throughout the week with Sam
Gado and Wali Lundy working with the 2nd and 3rd teams.
A week after Darius Walker was released by the Texans; Chris
Taylor suffered a season-ending knee injury. Walker got a call
from the Texans shortly thereafter and described it as "almost
like a call from God." The question now is whether or not
Walker has a prayer of making the team. Since rejoining the
team, Walker has impressed the coaches. He has hit holes in
practice, like he didn’t do two weeks prior, prompting the staff
to shout "Nice play, (No.) 37!" on a few occasions. "It's
interesting how things happen in this league," Kubiak said.
"The kid had a tremendous career at Notre Dame, and last year
he was one of the top backs in the country. He enters the draft
and doesn't get drafted. That can be devastating for guys. I
think it was disturbing for him."
After placing FB Jameel Cook on the PUP list, the Texans
signed free agent RB Patrick Pass, a versatile veteran who can
play both the RB and FB as well as contribute to special
teams, to a one-year deal.
WR: The Texans WR corps is suffering myriad injuries.
Perhaps the worst, a strained quad, was suffered by recent free
agent addition Keenan McCardell. "We really need to get him
back out there. He knows his body better than anybody, and
we’ve got to get him healthy," Kubiak said, who said that
David Anderson should be back on the field Monday and
Andre' Davis likely would return that day, too. Charlie Adams
was impressive on Friday afternoon, soaring high into the air
to make a TD catch on one play. Adams benefited from the
injuries to Anderson, McCardell and Davis, allowing him
extra playing time. Another receiver that is finally healthy and
turning heads in camp is Jerome Mathis, who finally returned
to practice at full speed this past week. Following Thursday
night’s practice, where Mathis got the crowd going with
several nice catches.
“Best football practice he’s had since I’ve been here,” Kubiak
said. “There’s a little buzz tonight, there’s some people out
here and you can tell his juices are flowing. If he keeps this up
and stays on the field, he’s going to have a special year.”
Mathis knew he was running out of opportunities, so he made
fitness and conditioning a top priority during the offseason. "I
feel like I put my time in during the offseason," Mathis said.
"Now I’m looking forward to making it through this camp."
Kubiak then added more thoughts on Mathis’ play. “I think
Jerome is heading in the right direction, and his conditioning
level is much better than it has been in the past,” Kubiak said.
“Let’s face it, this is as long as Jerome (Mathis) has been on
the field with us over a period of time, and that’s a positive. I
think he’s gotten better. At the last play in practice just now,
Sherm (offensive coordinator Mike Sherman) called ‘Double
Go.’ Our whole team is tired, and I watched him run his route
specifically, and he gave them a chance over there to win at
the end of a practice.”
Rookie Jacoby Jones had an excellent practice, too. He made a
leaping catch on one play and he got downfield on a reverse
on another play. Harry Williams had a couple nice practices.
During a one-on-one receiving drill with cornerbacks at the
goal line, Williams beat his man cutting towards the goal post
on an inside route instead of breaking toward the back pylon.
On another play, he pulled the ball down for a TD on a jump
ball.
TE: Owen Daniels and Jeb Putzier are getting most of the
work. Daniels and Putzier, at times, are being used in double
TE sets with Daniels on the line and Putzier in the slot. In
other situations, the Texans went with an empty backfield
using Daniels and Putzier lined up on the line of scrimmage.
Defense: LB DeMeco Ryans led the highlight reel for the
defense on Thursday night jumping nearly three feet into the
air to intercept a pass during a red zone drill. DE Mario
Williams missed Thursday’s practice due to a tight hamstring.
Kubiak said it wasn't serious. "I just don't want something to
happen right now in training camp," Williams said. "This is a
very important season coming up for the team, and I want to
be a part of that. So I'm going to try to be as cautious as
possible."
Corner Dunta Robinson, known for his physical play, talked
about the final practice of the week being a good preparation
for the real games ahead. “If you are going to put the pads on,
you might as well use them,” Robinson said. “If we are going
to be out here you might as well have some fun. Guys are just
flying around making plays. It’s nothing personal, we just
want to give each other game speed looks, and that’s what
we’re doing.” On Saturday, Robinson showed why he’s
ranked among the best at his position. Matched up with Andre
Johnson 1-on-1, Robinson consistently denied the 6’3”
Johnson catches by playing smothering defense and using
keen ball skills. “He made a lot of plays today,” Kubiak said.
“That’s what makes him better. In practice, you’re not going
to sit there and go away from a player, you’re going to
challenge. Everybody’s got to get ready to play. Any time
Andre (Johnson) is going against Dunta our football team is
getting better.” If Robinson’s reputation prompts teams to
begin throwing in the other direction, he said that won’t be a
problem with DeMarcus Faggins opposite him. “I trust Petey,”
Robinson said. “I believe in him and he believes in me. When
the ball goes to his side, I don’t worry about it. I know he’s
going to make the play, and when the ball comes to my side,
vice versa. I wouldn’t rather have any other player on the
other side of me.”
The other player separating himself from his peers in camp
has been LB Charlie Anderson, who hasn’t made a start in his
three-year career. That is likely to change if he continues his
current level of play according to Kubiak. “When I look at the
defensive side of the ball, I think Charlie Anderson’s really
separated himself,” Kubiak said. “When you look at the
linebacker group, you look at Morlon (Greenwood), you look
at DeMeco (Ryans), and you look at Charlie. Then right away
you go to Zac Diles, and you go to Danny Clark. Shawn
(Barber) is missing time, but Shawn looked good. You look at
those six, and chances are you’re going to keep six. Those
guys have kind of distinguished themselves day in and day
out.”
Special Teams: Head coach Gary Kubiak discussed several
players that will be competing for kickoff and/or punt returner
roles. After entering the coach’s doghouse in minicamp, WR
Jerome Mathis appears to have emerged, “He's gotten better.
This is as long as Jerome has been on the field with us over a
period of time, and that's a positive. His conditioning level is
much better than it has been in the past.” WR Bethel Johnson
has some work to do to make the team, "He's a very talented
young man, very talented. On any given rep, he's as talented as
we got out here right now at receiver. Consistency and
struggling a little bit mentally are the things that hold Bethel
back from being a full-time player and starter in this league.
He's getting better. But he's going to have to continue to do
that to make it as part of this team.” Rookie WR Jacoby Jones
also has work to do, but will probably get more leeway, "The
thing that's been disappointing with him is he's not clean
catching the ball all the time, and we've got to clean that up. If
he does, there's no doubt that there's a player there that can
help our team as a returner and a receiver. He's got a lot of
confidence in what he can do — what he thinks he can do. But
he's got to do it at this level."
Texans Depth Chart
QB: Matt Schaub, Sage Rosenfels (inj), Bradlee Van Pelt,
Quinton Porter, Jared Zabransky
RB: Ahman Green, Ron Dayne, Wali Lundy (3RB), Samkon
Gado, Darius Walker, Chris Taylor (IR)
FB: Vonta Leach, Jameel Cook (inj), Patrick Pass
WR: Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Keenan McCardell,
David Anderson, Jacoby Jones, Jerome Mathis (KR/PR),
Andre Davis, Bethel Johnson (KR), Charlie Adams, Harry
Williams, Terry Richardson
TE: Owen Daniels, Mark Bruener, Jeb Putzier, Ben Steele
(inj), Joel Dreessen
K: Kris Brown
DT: Travis Johnson (inj), Anthony Maddox, Amobi Okoye,
Thomas Johnson, Jeff Zgonina, Tim Bulman, Thomas Smith,
Cedric Killings, Deljuan Robinson
DE: Mario Williams, Anthony Weaver, Jason Babin, Ndukwe
Kalu, Earl Cochrane, Victor DeGrate, Alfred Malone (inj)
MLB: DeMeco Ryans, John Abbate
OLB: Morlon Greenwood (W), Charlie Anderson (S), Danny
Clark (S), Shawn Barber (W/S), Shantee Orr, Zac Diles, Trent
Bray, Eduardo Castenada
CB: Dunta Robinson, DeMarcus Faggins, Jamar Fletcher,
Von Hutchins, Dexter McCleon, Jason Horton, Fred Bennett,
Dexter Wynn, John Walker, Derrick Roberson, Roc Alexander
(IR)
S: Glenn Earl (SS), C.C. Brown (FS), Jason Simmons (FS),
Brandon Harrison (SS), Brandon Mitchell (FS)
Indianapolis Colts
QB: Saturday morning as the Colts annual Blue-and-White
scrimmage. HC Tony Dungy was pleased with the outcome
after Peyton Manning led the first team offense on two drives
that produced a pair of FGs. “I really like our attitude and the
way we’re going about things… Some of our young guys
made some plays all week. I think we’re going to be a fast
team. We’re going to be an explosive team on offense, so I see
a lot of good signs,” said Dungy. “It’s been a good week…
We’re off to a good start. We put a lot of things in. It’s always
nice to see these guys for the first time in pads. Some of the
young guys have gotten off to a good start with the
knowledge,” added Manning. “That’s the main thing you
want to see, as few mental mistakes as possible.” Manning
noted that some of the rookies like Anthony Gonzalez and
Tony Ugoh were not all “wide eyed” out there, “You can tell
they’ve kind of been in their playbooks, which is good. That’s
what you want to see out of these guys, guys who are doing
things on their own to get ready to play.” Manning threw an
apparent 16-yard TD to Marvin Harrison on the first drive, but
it was negated on a penalty. Manning also connected with TE
Dallas Clark for a 26-yard gain on the same drive. On the third
series, with Jim Sorgi at the helm, the offense converted a 3 rdand-15 with a 22-yard strike to rookie WR Roy Hall. Four
plays later, Sorgi found Hall again for 35-yard completion
down to the 14-yard line (and another FG). With 3.4 seconds
in the half, Josh Betts threw a 22-yard TD to rookie Anthony
Gonzalez. The second half was marred by turnovers (Betts
fumbled a snap for one).
RB: In the first week of camp, 2nd year running back Joseph
Addai has consistently stood out amongst the offensive
players. In the first three days, Addai had several long runs
and was effective as a receiver. On Wednesday, Addai had
one of the morning practice’s best plays, a 10-yard reception
from Manning on a back-shoulder pass in the corner of the end
zone. On Friday, Addai caught a short TD from Manning in
the morning then another in the afternoon.
WR: Starting wide receivers Reggie Wayne and Marvin
Harrison continue to have strong camp. In Wednesday
morning’s practice, they both caught several short passes.
Harrison caught several passes in the night practice; he and
Manning connected several times over the middle and on the
sidelines. On Friday, Harrison caught a touchdown pass from
Manning in red zone drills in the afternoon. Wayne caught a
TD pass in the corner of the end zone in the same drills.
Wayne had a nice quote this week, when asked if he’s giving
any advice to rookie WR Anthony Gonzalez. “I’ve been kind
of taking it easy on him. He’s got a million things being
thrown at him, so once he sort of gets comfortable, I’ll give
him something (advice). I just feel like there’s no sense of me
telling in him something when you’ve got (wide receivers
coach) Clyde Christensen, then you’ve got (offensive
coordinator) Tom Moore, then you’ve got (quarterback)
Peyton (Manning). You feel like you’re in calculus class.
Once he gets comfortable, then I’ll say, ‘Hey, look . . .’’’
Gonzalez is fighting for a starting role as the team’s slot
receiver. So far, he’s been as good as advertised.
The Colts offense may have two former Buckeyes making an
impact this year. 5th round pick Roy Hall is commanding a lot
of interest based on his play through Week One. The 6-foot-3,
240-pound rookie is really standing out at times. "He might be
a Marcus Pollard-type...,” said Dungy. “I don’t know what
Marcus looked like when he first got here, but he was
probably very similar…" It’s almost certain that Hall will
contribute in multiple ways, as an outside receiver, slot
receiver, maybe even a little tight end or H-back on occasion.
He’s almost a sure bet for special teams, too. “We’re really
finding out things that Roy can do. I have a feeling he’s going
to be an excellent special teams player. We’ve got him doing
things on the coverage units as a gunner and a kickoff
coverage guy. We are looking at him in the slot,” Dungy said.
Hall is down for whatever, but he’s pretty clear that he wants
to be a receiver first and foremost. “I’ve got to do the wideout
thing first, but I think the biggest thing about moving inside is
just learning the technique blocking. Dallas is about 240 or
245 and he hangs in there with those guys who are close to
300 pounds and does a great job day in and day out. Right
now, I’m comfortable at wideout, but if they decide to make
that move...” Hall then added that conversation is for another
time. His sights are set on making the team, making a name
for himself and making an impact on special teams.
“Hopefully, I won’t be doing it for my whole career, but for
now that’s what my role is partially,” Hall said. “I’m trying to
do it to the best of my ability… The fun part to me is blocking
a punt or making a big block to spring a touchdown. They’re
all huge plays. You don’t learn how much special teams can
affect the game until something devastating happens on the
special teams.”
TE: Mike Seidman suffered a knee injury and he’ll miss the
entire season. With the loss of Seidman, the Colts have starter
Dallas Clark along with Ben Utecht, Bryan Fletcher and
rookies Gijon Robinson and Jonny Harline. On Wednesday,
Utecht caught a TD pass from Manning on a slant pattern
during seven-on-seven drills. Clark caught a 15-yard pass near
the sidelines in same practice. On Friday, Fletcher caught a
Manning TD pass in red zone drills during the morning, and
then he proceeded to catch two more TDs in the afternoon.
Defense: The Colts finally severed ties with DT Corey Simon
on Saturday, and then on Sunday, the Colts lost DT Anthony
McFarland with a season-ending torn ACL. Making matters
worse, LB Rob Morris and DE Robert Mathis had MRIs,
missing Saturday morning’s practice. Morris was back in
practice on Monday while Mathis, wearing a knee wrap, was
held out for precautionary reasons. He is expected to be fine,
though. Dwight Freeney left Friday morning’s practice with
his left shoulder wrapped. The injury wasn’t serious, but
Freeney didn’t practice in the afternoon. “He got it bumped
[Friday], but I don’t think it’s anything serious,” Dungy said.
On Thursday, third round pick DT Quinn Pitcock, signed a
four-year contract. Safety Bob Sanders (shoulder) is still
rehabbing and was placed on the team’s PUP list. Sanders
hopes he can be ready for the regular season opener with the
Saints. “I’m doing good, still rehabbing. Still working out
every day… Just trying to get back… I should be back in a
few weeks and we’ll see how things go from there,” he said
Wednesday night. “I feel good. But you never know until you
actually get out there and start making a little bit of contact…
but right now I definitely feel like I’m in shape. I’m running
every other day, still working out. I can’t wait until I get back.
Right now, I’m a little over four months [since his latest
surgery]. I’m looking forward to getting back.” In Friday
afternoon’s practice, safety Melvin Bullitt intercepted a Jim
Sorgi pass and returned it for a long touchdown.
Special Teams: On a nationally televised night practice, Colts
fans got to see successful field goals from 43 and 52 yards.
No, it wasn’t Adam Vinatieri; rather it was camp leg Shane
Andrus. So far in camp, CB T.J. Rushing has done nothing to
lose the return specialist role. Special teams coordinator Russ
Purnell is pleased with Rushing’s progress, "Most of all, he
has made good decisions, which is important. Sometimes
those returners are like quarterbacks; a quarterback has an ego
in his arm and a returner has an ego in his legs. They're going
to field that ball seven yards deep in the end zone and take off
running or they're going to return a ball that they should fair
catch. We all felt confident T.J. has demonstrated the maturity,
decision-making and skill level that he could help us." Purnell
also indicated that Rushing is doing very well fielding the ball,
"One of the things we really stress in catching the football on
kickoffs is catching it with some momentum, rolling into the
catch, not backing up, not being flat footed so you can make
that quick first step. He's doing that pretty consistently. As a
punt returner, in particular, you've got to have a quick first
step to set [up] your blocks and to make that guy miss. He has
that." The backup kickoff returners have also done well,
and/or the defenders have done a poor job of stopping them.
WR Craphonso Thorpe had a 47 yard return and RB DeDe
Dorsey had a 48-yard return in practice.
Colts Depth Chart
QB: Peyton Manning, Jim Sorgi, Josh Betts, Mike McGann
RB: Joseph Addai, DeDe Dorsey, Kenton Keith, Clifton
Dawson
FB: Luke Lawton
WR: Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Anthony Gonzalez,
Roy Hall, Aaron Moorehead, John Standeford, Craphonso
Thorpe, Brian Hare, Trent Shelton
TE: Dallas Clark, Ben Utecht, Bryan Fletcher, Jerome
Collins, Gijon Robinson, Jonny Harline, Justin Snow, Mike
Seidman (IR)
K: Adam Vinatieri, Shane Andrus
DT: Raheem Brock (DE), Darrell Reid, Quinn Pitcock (NT),
Dan Klecko, Ramel Meekins, Tom Johnson, Anthony
McFarland (inj)
DE: Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis (inj), Josh Thomas, Bo
Schobel, Keyunta Dawson, Jeff Charleston, Ben Ishola, Ryan
LaCasse
MLB: Gary Brackett (W/M)
OLB: Rob Morris (S) (inj), Freddie Keiaho (W), Tyjuan
Hagler (S), Clint Session, Rocky Boiman, Keith O'Neil (inj),
Brandon Archer, KaMichael Hall, Ramon Guzman
CB: Marlin Jackson, Kelvin Hayden, Daymeion Hughes,
Michael Coe, T.J. Rushing (KR), Antonio Perkins, Tim
Jennings, Cedric Holt, Duane Coleman
S: Bob Sanders (SS) (PUP), Antoine Bethea (FS), Matt
Giordano (FS), Brannen Condren, Tanard Davis, Norman
LeJeune, Melvin Bullitt, Scott Ware
Jacksonville Jaguars
QB: In Friday’s intrasquad scrimmage, fans had reason to be
excited, as Byron Leftwich led the offense to a romp over the
defense (46-13). Leftwich completed 12-of-17 for 181 yards
and a TD. David Garrard finished 9-of-16 for 125 yards and a
TD. Last year, those two combined for 50 yards on 9-of-16
passing in the same scrimmage. "What you just got a glimpse
of, I think, is what our offense is going to be about this year,"
Jaguars head coach Jack Del Rio said. "We're going to have an
explosive offense." Added receiver Ernest Wilford: "I just
know it's going to be a special season." Whenever you read
things like this, it’s important to put the brakes on and say,
“It’s only training camp”. It’s also important to note that the
team’s starters on both sides only matched up for one series all
night, though Leftwich went 2-for-2 for 30 yards on that drive,
which ended with a 23-yard TD to Matt Jones. Even against
the team’s 2nd defense, the offense was crisp, effective and
most importantly, free of turnovers. Leftwich, Garrard, and
Tim Couch combined to complete passes to 12 different
receivers. Leftwich completed nine straight passes to start the
“game”, but he was also indecisive on two plays that would’ve
been sacks in the regular season. "Byron's timing and his
footwork are right on," new OC Dirk Koetter said. "The ball is
coming out on time. He knows exactly where he's going with
the ball and when to go there. Any quarterback in that kind of
rhythm is tough to stop."
Quinn Gray took snaps Friday morning for the first time in
training camp. Gray was placed on the team’s PUP list before
camp started, but they took him off the list before Friday
morning’s session. By Saturday, Gray received a lot of
repetitions during the morning’s mock game. He missed on a
few passes, but otherwise was on target. Leftwich connected
on almost all of his throws and Garrard was sharp as well.
While Gray was out, the Jags signed Tim Couch to a two-year
deal to give them another arm for camp, at least until Gray
returned. "He'll help us out in camp with Quinn down,"
receiver Dennis Northcutt said of Couch, with whom he
played in Cleveland. "It's good to see him." The team offered
Daunte Culpepper a three year deal, but he opted for Oakland,
instead seeking a year deal. Rookie Lester Ricard struggled in
his first few days of camp.
RB: Last year, Maurice Jones-Drew ran with a chip on his
shoulder. This year, it’s 10-year veteran Fred Taylor, who is
487 yards shy of 10,000 yards rushing for his career. There are
20 players in NFL history to reach that plateau, most are in the
Hall of Fame, but Taylor feels like he doesn’t get that kind of
respect nationally – and it bothers him. The Sporting News
recently ranked the league’s runner and tabbed Taylor 28th.
"When I heard they had ranked Joseph Addai ahead of me,"
Taylor said, "I was like, 'What the [expletive] is going on in
this business?' People make predictions, and if they're right,
people think they're Muhammad. But no way in [expletive]
he's better than me. I can tell you that." Taylor is healthy this
year in camp, something he wasn’t able to say last year. "The
first couple days, I was kind of finding myself [in the new
offense] but now I'm feeling it," he said. "I'm starting to get in
the same rhythm with these guys." In Friday’s practice, Fred
Taylor and Maurice Drew combined for 27 yards on four
carries. Greg Jones (knee) didn’t participate.
WR: Charles Sharon did not practice all week after he
suffered a slight concussion last Monday. As a result, Sharon
was held out of Friday’s scrimmage. Sharon finally returned to
the field for Saturday’s mock game. "They're taking
precautions just to make sure," Sharon said. "I'm happy they're
doing it for my sake as well as theirs." Entering camp, Sharon
hoped his days of watching and waiting were coming to an
end. Up until the injury, he was competing for a starting role
hoping to surpass Matt Jones, Reggie Williams, Ernest
Wilford and Dennis Northcutt. HC Jack Del Rio made it
perfectly clear when camp started that all of the positions were
open for competition amongst the WRs. "We need somebody
to step up and take charge," Del Rio said. "We're going to let
the most productive guys emerge and play." John Broussard,
the team's seventh-round pick said, "Whoever does the best,
the word is, they're going to play. I just try to focus on practice
and making plays." At least Matt Jones and Reggie Williams,
the incumbent starters, managed to stay healthy throughout the
first week of camp. "I think they've been dutiful," said Del Rio
when asked for an assessment of his two veteran receivers. "I
think they've been working hard. You just want to see
improvement. I'm beginning to see signs of improvement, and
we need to continue to build, and it's only [done] through hard
work." Sharon brings sure hands to the table, Mike Walker
great athleticism and poise, and Broussard brings speed. In
Friday’s scrimmage, Broussard led the club with three catches
for 62 yards while Jones and Isaac Smolko each scored TDs.
Walker (knee) didn’t practice during Friday morning’s
session. Sharon and Williams stayed on the field after the
morning practice and caught extra passes from a ball machine.
In Saturday’s mock game, Ernest Wilford caught the gamewinning pass with 2 seconds left, a 44-yarder from David
Garrard that was reviewed and ruled a TD by officials.
TE: George Wrighster is close to returning from offseason
shoulder surgery. He was hitting a blocking dummy on the
sidelines and he could return within the next two weeks. In the
meantime, Marcedes Lewis and Jermaine Wiggins are getting
most of the reps.
Defense: Cornerback Scott Starks was practicing with a cast
on his left hand to protect a broken bone. DE Reggie
Hayward returned to the field last week. Bobby McCray is
currently running with the starting unit opposite Hayward on
the other side at DE. First round pick Reggie Nelson is
adapting to the NFL. "It's a lot different and any rookie will
tell you that," said Nelson. "I feel different, too. I've gained a
few pounds and I think it's all muscle. I don't have any
problem sleeping because they've worked me so hard. And
man…the school work. I almost feel I'm doing as much
studying here as I did at Florida with football and classes
combined."
Special Teams: In scrimmage, the offense did an excellent
job of setting up kicker Josh Scobee. He was good on field
goals from 17, 22, and 26 yards. Fourth round draft pick
Adam Podlesh will almost certainly be the Jaguars’ punter this
year, although camp leg Tony Yelk is making him work for it.
Head coach Jack Del Rio noted following a recent practice,
"Based on the two or three kicks they each got, Tony had a
better night kicking. But it's kind of like a golf swing. You
could go out with Tiger Woods, and he might dump one, and
you might hit one right down the middle. But that doesn't
mean you're better than Tiger." If practices are any indication
it looks like RB Maurice Jones-Drew will retain the top
kickoff returner role. WR Dennis Northcutt has been working
as the primary backup, and rookie WR John Broussard has
been working with the third-string unit. RB Derrick Wimbush
will likely be in the no. two or three spot once the regular
season arrives.
Jaguars Depth Chart
QB: Byron Leftwich (inj), David Garrard, Quinn Gray, Tim
Couch, Lester Ricard
RB: Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew (SD/3RB/KR) ,
LaBrandon Toefield (KR), Alvin Pearman (PR), Montell
Owens, D.D. Terry
FB: Greg Jones, Derrick Wimbush (KR)
WR: Reggie Williams, Matt Jones (inj), Ernest Wilford,
Dennis Northcutt, Charles Sharon, Mike Walker, John
Broussard, Jimmy Farris, D'Juan Woods, Roosevelt Kiser
TE: George Wrighster, Marcedes Lewis, Jermaine Wiggins,
Richard Angulo, Greg Estandia, Isaac Smolko
K: Josh Scobee
DT: Marcus Stroud, John Henderson, Rob Meier (DE), Derek
Landri, Tony McDaniel, Walter Curry
DE: Reggie Hayward, Bobby McCray, Brent Hawkins, Paul
Spicer, James Wyche, Jeremy Mincey, Brian Smith
MLB: Mike Peterson (M/W) (inj), Tony Gilbert
OLB: Daryl Smith (W/M), Clint Ingram (S), Nick Greisen
(W), Justin Durant (W), Jorge Cordova (W/S), Pat Thomas
(inj), Kenneth Pettway, Brian Iwuh, Chad Nkang
CB: Rashean Mathis, Brian Williams, Terry Cousin, Scott
Starks, Bruce Thornton, Dee Webb, Chris Roberson, Rashod
Moulton, Jamar Landrom
S: Reggie Nelson (FS), Gerald Sensabaugh (SS), Josh Gattis
(SS), Nick Sorensen, Kevin McCAdam, Jamaal Fudge
Kansas City Chiefs
QB: In the Chiefs scrimmage against the Vikings on Saturday,
QB Brodie Croyle opened the 11-on-11 team period with the
first-team offense. He completed his first pass on a checkdown route to FB Kris Wilson. Croyle looked good with his
throws on 10-yard outs and completed another nice pass to
Eddie Kennison in stride on a slant route for 15 yards. Damon
Huard got his share of snaps with the first-team offense
midway through the team session. In the Saturday night
scrimmage, during the passing segments, Huard was with the
first team and things didn’t go very well. Huard completed all
three of his passes, but for only short yardage, and he was
sacked once. Croyle didn’t fare much better with the 2nd team
offensive line. His foot was stepped on by his own lineman on
the first play, and then two plays later he was knocked down
by the Vikings pass rush. Casey Printers played two downs
with the third string line and was sacked, too. The weather
conditions didn’t help; the field was wet and the night was
damp in general. In the team offense portion, Huard looked
good hitting Kris Wilson for a nice gain, then Tony Gonzalez
for a 30-yard TD. RB Kolby Smith dropped Huard’s last pass
in that segment. Croyle came in for four plays; going 1-of-3
with a pick that was dropped by a Vikings LB. Printers went
1-of-2 with a nice pass to Titus Ryan that went for 20-plus
yards. All three offensive lines struggled with pass protection
against the Vikings.
On Friday, Croyle connected with rookie Brad Ekwerekwu for
what appeared to be a great catch in the back of the end zone,
but Ekwerekwu was ruled out of bounds. Croyle threw the ball
with more zip than Huard, and he was more accurate. Huard
looked great at times, too, including a pair of completions to
Rod Gardner over the middle. In Thursday morning’s practice,
Printers had a good showing throwing between defenders
multiple times throughout the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills.
Printers showed good accuracy on a quick slant bullet to Brent
Little through traffic.
RB: Larry Johnson remains a holdout, with neither side
showing signs of flinching at this stage. Priest Holmes is in
camp, but he didn’t play in Saturday’s scrimmage. Kolby
Smith was impressive though. He made a couple of long runs.
Michael Bennett also had a nice run over right guard. In
Wednesday’s practice, Bennett had some nice runs in the early
workout in full pads. He also dropped a perfect pass over the
middle. Derrick Ross ran over safety Chad Williams on one
run and FB Kris Wilson made a nice, over-the-shoulder catch
for a TD from Brodie Coyle.
WR: Dwayne Bowe, the team’s first round pick (23 rd overall)
finally signed a 5-year contract on Sunday and reported to
camp on Monday. Having missed 10 days of camp, it’s going
to be tough for Bowe to make an immediate impact, but HC
Herm Edwards isn’t ruling it out. "He's going to compete. We
rotate those receivers a lot," Edwards said. "He has the
potential (to be a starter). But when I look at starters, those
receivers, to me, are going to play in this system on a rotation,
with three or four of them. We want to keep them fresh."
Samie Parker struggled last Wednesday, dropping four passes,
and then on Thursday, he continued with two more drops,
including one that drew boos from the crowd when the ball hit
him in the numbers. Veteran Rod Gardner felt like the
forgotten receiver, but he’s been a pleasant surprise so far and
made some nice catches throughout the last week. "His first
couple of years in the league he was a very, very good
receiver. I'm hoping he continues to do that and really
challenges." HC Herm Edwards said, "I thought our receivers
made some good catches today. I thought they made some on
the other field, too, today. We'll look at it all."
Elsewhere in practice throughout the week, Ean Randolph
made a spectacular play with a one-handed diving catch on a
streak route down the left sideline for a 40-yard gain inside the
five-yard line. CB Mike Hawkins provided excellent coverage,
but QB Jeff Terrell’s accurate pass, along with Randolph’s
effort, was too much to overcome. Gardner stretched out to
make an impressive catch over the middle on one play.
Maurice Price made a diving catch on a slant route from
Huard. Safety Greg Wesley delivered a huge hit to WR
Chandler Williams when the rookie attempted a crack block
on a rushing play. Williams was shaken up and had to go to
the sidelines. Jeff Webb made a great double-move against CB
Jerron Wishom to catch a deep post route over the middle. KC
fans were excited to see former Mizzou WR Brad Ekwerekwu
match up against Charles Gordon in one-on-one drills (a MU
vs. KU match-up). Ekwerekwu had the upper hand thanks to a
highlight catch where he kept both feet in-bounds on a leaping
catch down the sideline for a 15-yard gain. Brent Little, who
grew up in KC, made a leaping catch over the middle for a big
gain in Saturday’s scrimmage. He made a pair of nice catches
in the night scrimmage holding on to the ball both times after
taking some pretty good hits.
TE: Tony Gonzalez has been his usual self, nothing new
there. On Friday, rookie TE Michael Allan made his best play
so far in camp on an athletic grab of a Casey Printers pass.
Defense: The Chiefs defense is looking good so far in camp.
They’ve been physical, especially the secondary, who dished
out several tasty tributes to the Chiefs RBs. Bernard Pollard,
Jarrad Page, Greg Wesley and Jon McGraw have all been
flying to the ball and levying timely hits. Chad Williams was
crushed by Derrick Ross on one play, but it didn’t bother
Williams for long. He dished out blows of his own to T Chris
Terry and RB Kolby Smith just a few plays later. On Friday
evening, the Chiefs D played well again. They shut down the
Vikings on four of the first five plays during 9-on-7 drills.
MLB Napoleon Harris stood out in that session flying all of
the field and shutting down the Vikings ground game. In the
first play of the team session on Saturday, DT Ron Edwards
sacked QB Tarvaris Jackson. LB Derrick Johnson blew up RB
Mewelde Moore on the second play for a three-yard loss. DE
Jared Allen used his quickness to get around All-Pro T Bryant
McKinnie a few times and put himself in position for at least
two sacks. LB Keyaron Fox dove to break up a pass during 7on-7 drills and LB Justin Phinisee intercepted a pass during
the same drills. Rookie DT Tank Tyler worked with the first
team d-line. Backup safety Greg Wesley appeared to have a
nice pass break-up but was called for interference instead.
On Thursday, the MVP of practice was LB William Kershaw,
who picked off one pass and tipped another that led to an
interception. LB Kendrell Bell made a nice play on a stretch
play where he fended off a reach block to string Kolby Smith
out for a 3-yard loss. Derrick Johnson displayed incredible
balance on Wednesday, when he had to extend fully to
intercept a Damon Huard swing pass for a TD. Johnson has
made it a habit of lambasting rookie RB Kolby Smith this
week. He flattened Smith at the line of scrimmage on one
play. Benny Sapp made a shoestring interception during the
afternoon workout and Jarrad Page broke up a would-be
touchdown pass to Tony Gonzalez.
Special Teams: Rookie kicker Justin Medlock has looked
very good in camp, except for last Tuesday when he went 0for-4 on field goals. Otherwise he has shown both accuracy
and range. Although Medlock is the only kicker in camp,
special teams coordinator Mike Priefer noted, "I told him as
soon as he got here that he is competing against all NFL
kickers that don't have a job." Priefer also discussed why
Dante Hall is no longer with the team, “He was treated
differently by the previous staff. This head coach and myself
are not into babying players. I’m going to treat them like men
and treat them with respect. I guess it wasn’t enough. He was
in the tank a lot. His attitude wasn’t what it should have been.
After a while, I don’t know if he wanted to buy into what the
head coach was preaching or what I was trying to get done.”
What they are trying to get done is hitting the hole, and northsouth running for positive yardage on every return, rather than
Hall’s all or nothing style. If rookie WR Ean Randolph can fit
that mold, he will probably win the punt return job. If he has
trouble handling the ball and/or spends too much time behind
the line, the job will probably default to WR Samie Parker.
Priefer says that WR Jeff Webb isn’t a lock for the kickoff
return job, but that is probably just coach speak.
Chiefs Depth Chart
QB: Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard, Casey Printers, Jeff Terrell
RB: Larry Johnson, Priest Holmes, Michael Bennett, Kolby
Smith, Derrick Ross, Marcus O'Keith
FB: Boomer Grigsby, Greg Hanoian, Gilbert Harris
WR: Eddie Kennison, Samie Parker, Chris Hannon, Jeff
Webb, Dwayne Bowe, Rod Gardner, Ean Randolph (KR),
Maurice Price, Brent Little, Ryan Titus, Brad Ekwerekwu
TE: Tony Gonzalez, Jason Dunn, Kris Wilson, Michael Allan,
Mike Pinkard, Keith Willis
K: Justin Medlock
DT: James Reed, Ron Edwards, Turk McBride, Tank Tyler,
Alfonso Boone (NT), Kiki Gonzalez, Patrice MajondoMwamba
DE: Tamba Hali, Jared Allen (susp), Jimmy Wilkerson,
Michael Heard, Chris Harris, Montez Murphy
MLB: Napoleon Harris, Rich Scanlon
OLB: Derrick Johnson (L), Donnie Edwards (R), Kendrell
Bell (R), Keyaron Fox (R/L), William Kershaw, Nick Reid,
David Hicks, Nate Harris, Brian Crum
CB: Patrick Surtain, Ty Law, Benny Sapp, Marcus Maxey,
Michael Bragg, Justin Phinisee, Dimitri Patterson, Will Poole,
Tyron Brackenridge
S: Bernard Pollard (SS), Jarrad Page (FS), Greg Wesley (FS),
Jon McGraw, Chad Williams, Marlon Fair
Miami Dolphins
QB: Trent Green’s performance has been erratic thus far.
Green continues to run with the 2nd team primarily, while Cleo
Lemon takes more 1st team snaps. Rookie John Beck is
handling 3rd string duties. Green has thrown several
interceptions and bad passes in the first week of camp, but
also produced some nice, crisp plays. Green is still expected to
be the team’s starter come regular season, but head coach Cam
Cameron is making him earn it, so Lemon remains in the
driver’s seat for now.
Under the lights on Friday, Green shined when he connected
with Chris Chambers in traffic for two consecutive
completions. Later, he found a wide-open Ronnie Brown in
the flat for an easy TD. On Green’s last drive, he capped off a
drive with a 20-yard TD to Marty Booker down the middle.
The team’s offense had mixed success in 9-on-7 passing drills,
where the team focused on third-and-short situations. Green
avoided pressure on one play and found Kerry Reed on a deep
slant for a completion. Lemon showed nice touch on a short
pass over the middle to Ronnie Brown. However, on the next
play, Lemon was picked off by corner Travis Daniels, who is
having a strong camp and is fully recovered from the ankle
injury that limited him in 2006. On the next drill, Lemon ran
the first-team offense against the third-team defense, but
quickly fell behind with a third-and-long situation. From the
shotgun, he dumped off a pass to Brown with Rodrique
Wright in his face. Brown got the first down on the next play,
then Green returned and hit FB Corey Schlesinger out of the
backfield for another first down. Beck then got his first action.
He threw a perfect pass to David Sutton for 25-yards, except
Sutton dropped it. Lemon returned and threw a nice bomb
down the middle to Chambers, who made a diving catch.
RB: Ronnie Brown knows he’s being counted on more this
year. He’s being expected to carry the offense on his
shoulders, and he looks more like a guy that’s prepared to do
that than he did a year ago. Brown reported to camp at 235 lbs
looking more confident, and his teammates are picking up on
it. "That's what's going to be asked of me to do," Brown said.
"Hopefully, I can do that and carry the load. I'm going to go
out every day and work toward that, so when guys feel like
they need to lean on me, I'm going to be able to carry the
load." Brown won’t get all of the touches though. The
Dolphins will mix rookie Lorenzo Booker into the game as a
change-of-pace and 3rd down back. Both Brown and Booker
catch the ball extremely well, but Booker adds more
suddenness – he can start/stop on a dime and he’s fast. ''This
guy is quick, fast, I can't wait to see him actually get into a
preseason game and get some catches out of the backfield,''
said veteran DT Vonnie Holliday. ”His ability to make a move
and get north-south is very impressive.'' Holliday said he
couldn't remember very many backs with Booker's quickness
and shiftiness. Booker faces competition from Jesse Chatman
as the primary backup though. If Brown were to miss
significant time, Booker might not be the team’s featured
back. That’s where Chatman becomes a factor. During Friday
night’s practice the team ended with a goal line drill. Chatman
scored on the first play when he bounced it to the outside.
After that, the defense tightened up, denying Booker and then
Chatman on the next play. Keep an eye on this competition.
Booker will play, but Chatman could wind up being a free
agent sleeper if injuries strike the Dolphins backfield this
season.
WR: No news can be good news sometimes. Chris Chambers
and Marty Booker aren’t drawing much publicity so far in
camp, but that’s a good thing according to Chambers. “We're
under the radar right now. My mom called me [Friday] and
said, "I don't hear anything about you guys? What's going
on?” said Chambers. The Dolphins are looking at several
receivers in the background, hoping one or more of them can
add quality depth or even make an impact. Ted Ginn Jr., of
course, has the highest expectation as the team’s top pick.
He’s generally looked good, showing his trademark speed and
he has caught most of the balls thrown to him, but he dropped
a perfectly thrown deep ball by Trent Green on Friday night
and then another from Green went off his fingers in the same
session. After Ginn, veteran Az-Zahir Hakim is in camp, but
he was in shorts for the full pad workouts Friday night. HC
Cameron said it was the trainer’s decision, not Hakim to sit
out. Hakim was back for the afternoon practice in helmets and
shoulder pads. There are a couple other players of interest
after that: P.K. Same, David Sutton and Michael Malone. P.K.
Sam is a 24-year old former 5th round pick of the Patriots who
spent the spring in NFL Europa. Sam was on the Dolphins
practice squad last year. At 6’3” 210 pounds, Sam is usually
one of the biggest WRs in the locker room, but that’s not the
case in Miami. There are ten WRs in camp, two who are
bigger than Sam – David Sutton (6’6”, 222 pounds) and
Michael Malone (6’4”, 210 pounds). Cameron covets larger
receivers. "Being able to maneuver like he does and run the
kind of routes he runs at his size is pretty impressive," rookie
quarterback John Beck said. "You do have Sutton on this
team, and he's a monster, but you look at everyone else, P.K.
is a pretty big, physical receiver."
David Sutton excelled at basketball, volleyball, baseball and
track in high school, but he never played much football. He
bounced around before landing at UTEP, where he was the
blocking complimentary WR to Johnnie Lee Higgins. Sutton
had a nice workout when scouts came to see Higgins, who was
drafted in the 3rd round by Oakland. Sutton was signed by the
Dolphins as an undrafted free agent. ''I'm new to the game,'' he
admitted. ``I'm just trying to learn every day. I'm so far
behind; I still have so much to learn. When I'm out there, I
don't feel as comfortable, but I have teammates that help me
out.'' On Saturday, he was about to catch a 25-yard pass from
John Beck, but it went right through his hands. Sutton is a
project, no doubt about it, but the team is taking a long look.
In Thursday’s drills, Michael Malone made a few noteworthy
plays. The first was a catch over the middle from Trent Green
in which Malone was greeted quickly by safety Christopher
Vedder. On the last play of that drill, Green found Malone
again downfield as he made a nice catch over an outstretched
Shirdonya Mitchell.
TE: A month ago, David Martin looked like a nice late round
sleeper if he, as expected, won the starting job. Then, last
week, Courtney Anderson was cut by the Raiders and then
signed/claimed by the Dolphins. All of a sudden, the Dolphins
have some competition and improved depth at TE. Think
Martin minds the competition? Martin said he married
competition. ''We're both competitors,'' Martin said of him and
his wife Kameisha. ”We compete over everything. Before we
had kids, whenever we would go out to eat we would drive
separate cars, so we could race home. We would just haul
[tail]. Once we had kids, we had to stop that. But everything's
competition for us.'' Kameisha was 1.2 seconds away from
qualifying as an Olympian in the 800 meters in 2004. ''I mean,
we do push-ups together,'' Martin said. ”I kill her. She just had
a baby, so she's trying to get back in shape, so we run. Maybe
we'll do sprints one day and I'll beat her. If we do long
distance, she'll leave me.'' Martin was never able to unseat
Bubba Franks in Green Bay; mostly because of injuries
(Martin’s missed 16 games in the past three years). In
Thursday’s morning drills, Martin made a pair of nice juggling
catch over the middle during 9-on-7s. The second catch wasn’t
a clean grab, but the first one was a diving, one-handed grab
on a dart over the middle from Trent Green.
Defense: CB Travis Daniels and S Yeremiah Bell collided
during Friday night’s practice on an errant throw by Trent
Green. Bell hobbled off the field and didn't return. He was
replaced by Travares Tillman. Later Bell said he’s fine, but
sustained a hip flexor. "I'm feeling fine. I just fell on my hip
yesterday but everything's okay," Bell reported on Saturday
morning. LB Joey Porter may miss the rest of the preseason
after having his knee scoped for the third time in two years.
CB Andre Goodman might also be out for the rest of training
camp with a shoulder injury. Corner Jason Allen was beaten
by WR Derek Hagan in a 1-on-1 passing drill for a 35-yard
reception. Hagan managed to gain about a 5-yard separation
before catching the ball. Allen had a chance to redeem himself
a few plays later on a bad pass intended for Marty Booker, but
the ball bounced off Allen’s hands and onto the ground. Travis
Daniels has played well, breaking on the ball and showing
good instincts while picking off Trent Green several times
during the week. 2nd year DT Rodrique Wright showed some
pass rushing ability in team drills and is having a solid camp
after missing all of his rookie year with a shoulder injury.
Special Teams: In between kicking practices, Jay Feely has
been seen fielding punts and catching passes from the
quarterbacks. He explained, ''It keeps me active and it's a good
workout rather than just standing around. When you have to
make a tackle, and you haven't been moving around, doing
things, change of direction, then you can get hurt. That helps
me just to have your body prepared to do a football move
besides kicking the ball. 'No. 2, I have fun doing it. I feel like
I'm back in high school, getting to actually play football rather
than just kick. The third thing is, it generates a little more
respect from your teammates, rather than just as a kicker. . . .
When I go down there and make tackles on kickoffs or I'm
catching balls from the quarterback, it develops an additional
relationship and respect. They know I'm also an athlete, not
just a kicker.'' The winner of the punting competition between
Brandon Fields and Ryan Flinn could also be the holder on
kicks. HC Cam Cameron indicated Feely would make the final
decision between that or the backup plan, ''They're both good
athletes. They both have good hands. I think Jay likes the
development of both those guys, and you're sitting there with a
guy like [WR] Marty Booker, who can hold.'' Word out of
camp is that WR/KR/PR Ted Ginn Jr. is fast, but you already
knew that. RB Lorenzo Booker, the likely backup on returns,
has done a better job of hanging onto the ball recently on punt
returns.
Dolphins Depth Chart
QB: Trent Green, Cleo Lemon, John Beck, Gibran Hamdan
RB: Ronnie Brown, Lorenzo Booker, Jesse Chatman, Patrick
Cobbs, Ray Perkins
FB: Corey Schlesinger, Kyle Eckel, Reagan Mauia
WR: Chris Chambers, Marty Booker, Derek Hagan, Ted Ginn
(KR/PR), Az-Zahir Hakim, David Sutton, Kerry Reed, P.K.
Sam, Michael Malone, Marvin Allen
TE: David Martin, Justin Peelle, Courtney Anderson, Tim
Massaquoi, Aaron Halterman, Jason Rader
K: Jay Feely
DT: Vonnie Holliday, Keith Traylor (NT), Paul Soliai (NT),
Rodrique Wright, Kevin Vickerson, Marquay Love, Steve
Fifita, Chase Page, Brian Soi
DE: Jason Taylor, Matt Roth, Mkristo Bruce, John Denney
(LS)
MLB: Zach Thomas, Robert McCune
OLB: Channing Crowder (W), Joey Porter (S), Donnie
Spragan (S), Derrick Pope (W), Kelvin Smith, Abraham
Wright (S), Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Edmin Miles, Jim Maxwell
CB: Will Allen, Andre Goodman (PUP), Travis Daniels,
Jason Allen, Michael Lehan, Derrick Johnson, Shirdonya
Mitchell, Tuff Harris, Geoffrey Pope
S: Renaldo Hill (FS), Yeremiah Bell (SS), Travares Tillman
(SS), Cameron Worrell, Chris Harrell, Courtney Bryan,
Christopher Vedder
Minnesota Vikings
QB: After a couple of shaky practices earlier in the week, the
Vikings offense began to show improvement on Wednesday
and Thursday. Against the Chiefs in Friday night’s scrimmage
QBs Tarvaris Jackson and Brooks Bollinger each spent time
with the first team and continued their improved play from
earlier in the week. Jackson completed three straight passes at
one point to rookies Sidney Rice and Chandler Williams along
with one to Jason Carter. Drew Henson hooked up with Jason
Carter on a nice lob pass down the right sideline over CB
Ronyell Whittaker in Thursday’s practice. On Saturday, both
Jackson and Bollinger were more consistent than they were on
Friday night. Jackson threw one of his prettiest passes so far in
camp, a tight spiral in the seam to Jason Carter. Unfortunately,
the ball slipped through Carter’s hands. Meanwhile, Bollinger
found WR Martin Nance for a 15-yard touchdown in red zone
drills. "They picked it up from [Friday] night," Childress said.
RB: Adrian Peterson signed a five-year, $40.5 million deal
with the Vikings last Sunday, ending the seventh overall pick's
three-day holdout. After his first two days in camp, HC Brad
Childress was asked about his star rookie. “Adrian is awashed
in it a little bit right now. By design we weren't going to give
Chester any snaps in this scrimmage; we were going let
Adrian jump in there, and you saw (running backs coach) EB
(Eric Bieniemy) jump in and out of the huddle with him a little
bit, which is to be expected. He has only been here less than
48 hours or so, but you get to see the innate skills and ability.
Once those eyes get trained and he has complete
understanding, you'll see him get more and more comfortable I
think with what he is doing." Earlier in the week, Chester
Taylor gave the team a scare when he was carted off the field.
It turns out Taylor suffered only a bruised arm, but it was
thought to be broken at first. Taylor returned to practice on
Thursday, but then Peterson limped off the field with a hip
pointer. Neither back participated in practice sessions with the
Chiefs over the weekend, opening the door for Mewelde
Moore and the other Vikings backs to make an impression.
Moore is having a solid camp. "I think on offense the guy that
probably gets overseen, Mewelde (Moore) has had an
excellent camp," Childress said. "He really has, and you see
him pop out here and do a couple of things today but he has
done everything we've asked him to do and then some. He just
keeps his nose to the grindstone there and he wants to be a
good football player.”
WR: Justin Surrency, who is having a nice camp, continued to
impress coaches by making some great catches against the
Chiefs in Friday night’s scrimmage. Surrency made a great
catch on a fade route on one play, and then he leaped over the
Chiefs Michael Bragg for another catch while keeping his feet
in bounds. His last one was a tight-rope catch along the
Vikings sideline later in the practice. Billy McMullen worked
on the sidelines this week and didn’t play. Other WRs that
were held out include Troy Williamson (infection) and
Aundrae Allison (leg). With Allison, Sidney Rice, Chandler
Williams and Williamson all sitting out, the rest of the
receiver corps got a chance to for extra reps. At one point,
both Jason Carter and Surrency were playing with the first
string unit, catching passes from QB Tarvaris Jackson. On
Thursday, Bobby Wade and Martin Nance made nice catches
for first downs in the morning session during 11-on-11s.
TE: Some folks in Minnesota are still trying to figure out how
to say Visanthe Shiancoe’s name. "Just call me Shank-dog,"
he said with a smile. Shiancoe struggled with dropped passes
during OTAs and he appeared to be held back by a nagging
quad injury early in camp, but he outran speedy LB
Dontarrious Thomas later in the week on a pass, so he appears
to be fine. The Vikings TEs caught 59 passes a year ago, so
Shiancoe could be a solid sleeper if he emerges as the player
the team envisioned during free agency. Shiancoe runs a 4.5
40 and weighs 250 pounds, but he caught only 35 passes in
four seasons as a backup to Jeremy Shockey. "I'm going to put
up some pretty solid numbers," Shiancoe said, his head
nodding confidently. "That's what I will say. Very solid
numbers. Very high numbers."
Defense: In Saturday evening’s scrimmage with the Chiefs,
LB Heath Farwell intercepted a pass on the first play of thirddown drills. He dropped into zone coverage, then he while
sliding over, he simultaneously caught the pass with Chiefs
WR Rod Gardner. Farwell wrestled with Gardner and came
away with the ball. Safety Mike Doss and corner Mike
Hawkins each broke up a pass during 7-on-7 drills. Friday
night, against the Chiefs, defensive backs Charles Gordon and
Cedric Griffin recorded interceptions during the one-on-one
drills and Gordon recorded another one during seven-on-seven
work. Safety Greg Blue had the biggest hit of the night,
stopping the Chiefs Derrick Ross dead in his tracks with a hit
that drew a rise from teammates and fans. Rookie LB John
Kerr made a nice play during the 11-on-11 session when he
leapt to intercept a pass along the right seam. On Thursday,
cornerback Ronyell Whitaker was carted off the field with a
sprained ankle, but DC Leslie Frazier didn’t think it was
serious. Another player having a strong camp is DE Ray
Edwards, who has played like a man on a mission. Darrion
Scott and Kenechi Udeze’s battle for one DE spot remains
mostly a dead heat. Scott has been used inside on occasion
alongside Kevin Williams for passing downs. Dontarrious
Thomas is also having a good camp. He’s filled in for Ben
Leber and can backup all three of the LB positions.
Special Teams: In an effort to improve his leg strength and
kickoffs, kicker Ryan Longwell borrowed the workout ethic
and routine of one of his neighbors, Tiger Woods. "I would
just kind of watch him and watch what he does and talk to him
on the range a little bit. This guy, on a Tuesday of a
tournament week, he's out there running three, four, five
miles. On a Tuesday! He says he gets up and works out, even
on days that he has a round." Longwell noted that the change
was triggered by last year’s poor kickoffs, "Our percentage
was great, but a couple of kicks and kickoff-wise, I thought I
ran out of gas toward the end of the season. If the best athlete
in the world [Tiger Woods] is trying to get better and still
running and lifting while he's playing, then I think there's
something to be learned from that." If Longwell does not
improve on his kickoffs it might impact the punter position.
Incumbent Chris Kluwe will likely keep his job. Undrafted
rookie Alex Reyes out of Texas Tech is not a serious threat to
take the job away, although he could become a legitimate
challenger of kickoffs become a factor, since that is a job he
can also handle.
Vikings Depth Chart
QB: Tarvaris Jackson, Brooks Bollinger, Drew Henson, Tyler
Thigpen
RB: Chester Taylor, Adrian Peterson, Mewelde Moore
(3RB/PR), Artose Pinner, Ciatrick Fason, Wendell Mathis
FB: Tony Richardson (inj), Naufahu Tahi
WR: Bobby Wade, Troy Williamson, Sidney Rice, Billy
McMullen, Martin Nance, Cortez Hankton, Aundrae Allison,
Jason Carter, Todd Lowber, Chandler Williams, Justin
Surrency
TE: Jim Kleinsasser, Visanthe Shiancoe, Jeff Dugan (FB),
Richard Owens (FB), Stephen Spach, Braden Jones
K: Ryan Longwell
DT: Pat Williams (NT), Kevin Williams (DE), Spencer
Johnson, Howard Green, Joe Bradley, Conrad Bolston, Alex
Guerrero
DE: Kenechi Udeze, Ray Edwards, Erasmus James (inj),
Darrion Scott, Brian Robison, Jayme Mitchell, Khreem Smith
MLB: E.J. Henderson (M/W), Dontarrious Thomas (W/M),
Vinny Ciurciu
OLB: Ben Leber (S), Chad Greenway (W/M), Rufus
Alexander (W), Heath Farwell (S), Jason Glenn, John Kerr,
David Herron
CB: Antoine Winfield, Cedric Griffin, Dovonte Edwards,
Marcus McCauley, Charles Gordon, Ronyell Whittaker, Jerron
Wishom, Sergio Gilliam
S: Darren Sharper (FS), Dwight Smith (SS), Mike Doss (SS),
Tank Williams (SS), Greg Blue (FS/SS), Patrick Body, Mike
Hawkins
New England Patriots
QB: In Sunday’s practice during red zone drills Tom Brady
dropped back and saw Wes Welker open on the end line
running toward the back pylon. Brady threw a perfect pass off
his back foot for a 20-yard TD between two defenders for the
best play of the session. On Thursday, the team did plenty of
situational work as they continued their 2-a-days. The offense
worked primarily on the passing game and Tom Brady played
extremely well. Brady led the offense up and down the field
almost at will. His play was highlighted by a perfectly thrown
laser to Ben Watson’s back hip who was being closely
covered by safety Mel Mitchell. The 2nd and 3rd units also got
some chances. Matt Cassel and Matt Gutierrez each had
flashes in their reps, though Cassel seemed to struggle with his
consistency. On Sunday, Cassel was just eager for the team’s
first preseason game on Friday. He expects to see a lot of
action against Tampa Bay. "I hope so," he said after practice.
"I haven't been told anything, but we'll see how it all unfolds,
and I'm looking forward to going out there and getting some
playing time and competing." Now in his third season, Cassel
is a bit more confident than he was as a rookie. "I feel a lot
more comfortable…There's definitely been an acceleration of
the learning curve from year one to year three."
RB: Laurence Maroney said he’s not going to change his
running style despite missing two games as a rookie from torn
rib cartilage and having shoulder surgery following the season.
His style exposes him to injury, but it’s also the same style
that makes him a threat to score whenever he touches the ball.
"I'm not making any changes," Maroney said. "I feel like that's
what got me here, so I'm going to stay with it." But he might
change the way he approaches the game mentally in his
second season. "Just reading defenses and learning this
playbook," said Maroney. "Last year everything went by so
fast I really probably didn't learn it as well as I needed and it's
making it a little easier this year now that I know it a little bit
better." Sammy Morris was signed to be Maroney’s backup,
whose versatility could come in handy. Yet in the first week of
camp, Morris has struggled with his blitz pickups against LBs
and, uncharacteristically, he’s having a difficult time catching
the ball. He dropped two catchable balls in team drills on
Thursday. Justice Hairston, the team’s 6th round pick out of
Central Connecticut, was waived last week, but he wasn’t
claimed by another team allowing the Patriots to retain his
rights. Hairston will remain with the club on injured reserve.
WR: Randy Moss had to leave Wednesday’s practice early
when he pulled up lame chasing down a Tom Brady deep
pass. HC Bill Belichick described Moss as “day to day”.
Moss, who has some history with leg problems, missed both
practice sessions on Thursday. "I think we just take it as it
comes," Belichick said. "If there is a problem, then you deal
with it. We take everybody's physical condition into account
when we set up our practices. That includes everybody, and
then if there is a problem along the way, we deal with it. It's
no different than any other guy." Moss returned to the
practice field on Friday, though only for a walkthrough,
jogging lightly through the drills. Several other players on the
PUP were also allowed to participate like Donte Stallworth,
Troy Brown and Chad Jackson. "It's good to see guys out there
that haven't been out there," Welker said. "The more we can
have the full squad out there, guys getting going, the better
we're going to be." Stallworth returned to practice on Sunday.
Before Moss’ injury on Wednesday, he had been excellent in
camp, lining up and taking reps at the front of the line
followed by Welker, Jabar Gaffney, then Reche Caldwell and
Kelley Washington next in line. Welker quickly emerged as
the team’s top option in the slot. With Moss and Stallworth on
the outside, Welker should benefit greatly. Gaffney has been
the most pleasant surprise in camp, taking full advantage of
Donte Stallworth opening camp on the PUP list. "He had a
great offseason, and he's having a real good camp," Belichick
acknowledged. "He's showed up and made plays out there
every day." Keep in mind, Gaffney put together back-to-back
100 yard games in the playoffs last season, but that didn’t
make him feel secure when the club added Moss, Welker and
Stallworth in the offseason. "We're a deep and talented group,"
Gaffney said. "It's important to come out here every day and
do something that stays in the coaches' minds."
TE: With Kyle Brady on board, Ben Watson won’t be counted
on heavily as a blocker, but to become an every down TE
Watson knows he must improve. "You've got to be able to do
everything," said Watson, who is entering his fourth season.
"You can't just be one-dimensional. As a tight end, you're
called on to block, so you've got to work on it." So, that’s
precisely what Watson has done since joining the Patriots and
this could be the year he finally breaks through in that area.
Daniel Graham wasn’t a great blocker when he entered the
league, but became one of the league’s best after working hard
at it his first few years. "I've seen him block Roosevelt Colvin
and Mike Vrabel time and time again," said former Patriots
TE Christian Fauria. "I've seen those guys beat him, too."
Watson said he learned plenty from Graham and Fauria. "Each
of them has their unique style, and in blocking, you have to
find your unique way of doing it," said Watson. "Whereas
Daniel would come and just blast you off the line, Christian
was more of a technician. I think I'm a little bit of both. I
think I'm starting to develop an idea of what my strengths are
and what my weaknesses are and just try to develop." Reserve
TE Matt Kranchick was shaken up near the end of the second
practice on Friday. The Patriots have been without Garrett
Mills since the first day of camp save for a walkthrough on
Sunday. Kyle Brady didn’t practice all of last week. David
Thomas remains on the PUP, and while the rest of the PUP
guys have been in the field during the team’s walk through,
Thomas did not make an appearance.
Defense: Safety Eugene Wilson was thrown into the fire as a
rookie in 2003. So, with Asante Samuel holding out as the
team’s franchise player, he’s watching the same thing happen
to this year’s first-round pick, defensive back Brandon
Meriweather. So far he likes what he sees, too. "He's a tough
guy. He's out there getting a lot of reps right now, he's fighting
through, and that's what we need," Wilson said. "We need a
warrior like him out there to help us." Meriweather has been
paired with Tory James as the corners on the second team in
camp. Adalius Thomas was absent in Friday’s practice
allowing Oscar Lua a chance to play with the first team
defense. "It shows that if something happens, they are
confident with me in there," Lua said. "But at this point it's all
just filling in for the guys, just trying to learn, trying to take
advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. Today
was an opportunity to go out there and run with some of the
first-team reps. I did my job, took care of it.” Randall Gay has
been strong through the first week of camp routinely holding
his own regardless of how was lined up opposite him.
Pierre Woods, an undrafted free agent out of Michigan in
2006, made the team a year ago and worked his way onto the
field by the end of the season. Woods was recently named one
of the Patriot’s offseason program award winners. Woods has
been one of the most improved players in camp, so the work is
paying off, but it also means that he’s earned another perk – a
preferred parking spot. "It's a great privilege to have a parking
spot," said Woods, "but at the same time you've just got to go
out there and stay focused. It's all about what you do on the
field. A parking spot is not going to get me a spot in the locker
room." Other winners of the award included Chad Scott, Ty
Warren, Adalius Thomas, Tom Brady, Kevin Faulk, Matt
Cassel, Stephen Neal and Wes Welker.
Special Teams: One of the hottest kickers early in camps
around the NFL has been the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski. In
four recent practices he went 6-of-8, 8-of-8, 6-of-6, and 8-of-8
on field goals. He feels a little more comfortable this year,
"Last year, I had no idea what to expect. I was brand new
coming into the situation, and I still feel pretty brand new. I've
got just one year under my belt, and I still have to go out and
prove myself every day. I haven't been here for that long to
feel any comfortability, so I've got to go out there every day
and prove it to my team and to my coaches." The team
continues to practice on the return game. RB Kevin Faulk,
WR Wes Welker and WR Bam Childress have been fielding
punts. CB Ellis Hobbs, CB Willie Andrews, RB Sammy
Morris, WR Wes Welker, CB Gemara Williams and WR Bam
Childress have been fielding kickoffs. Andrews has stood out
in special teams’ practices, both as a returner and especially as
a gunner.
rookie. But that’s not all Bush wants to do on special teams,
he’d like to add kick returns to his repertoire. “A lot depends
on some of those other guys that are working back there, but
he’s kind of lobbying for that,” Payton said. “So we’ll see.
Right now, he is taking reps at both skills. We’ve got
candidates, but it’s an important area. It was brought up a few
days ago, and it’s one of the things up on our grease board.
We’ve got to find a kick returner.”
Patriots Depth Chart
QB: Tom Brady, Matt Cassel, Matt Gutierrez
RB: Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk (3RB), Sammy Morris,
Quinton Smith, Justice Hairston (IR)
FB: Heath Evans
WR: Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wesley Welker
(KR/PR), Reche Caldwell, Jabar Gaffney, Troy Brown (PUP),
Chad Jackson (PUP), Kelley Washington, Bam Childress,
Kelvin Kight, Chris Dunlap, C.J. Jones
TE: Ben Watson, David Thomas (PUP), Kyle Brady, Garrett
Mills (FB)
K: Stephen Gostkowski
NT: Vince Wilfork, LeKevin Smith, Mike Wright
DE: Richard Seymour (DT)(PUP), Ty Warren (DT), Jarvis
Green, Kareem Brown (DT), Kenny Smith, Rashad Moore
ILB: Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel (S/I), Junior Seau, Eric
Alexander, Oscar Lua, Justin Rogers, Justin Warren
OLB: Adalius Thomas (S/I), Rosevelt Colvin (W/DE), Larry
Izzo, Pierre Woods (S), Chad Brown, Corey Mays
CB: Asante Samuel (UFA-F), Ellis Hobbs (KR), Tory James,
Brandon Meriweather (FS/CB), Randall Gay, Dante Wesley,
Mike Richardson, Eddie Jackson, Willie Andrews, Gemara
Williams, Chad Scott (IR)
S: Rodney Harrison (SS), Eugene Wilson (FS), Artrell
Hawkins (SS), James Sanders (SS/FS), Rashad Baker, Mel
Mitchell, Denny Poland
New Orleans Saints
QB: The Saints might want to quickly forget about the Hall of
Fame game, go back to practice and prepare for their next
game after losing 20-7 to Pittsburgh Sunday night. "In the first
preseason game, you are finally getting a chance to go against
someone else, and see where you have progressed," QB Drew
Brees said after going 1-for-6 for 6 yards while barely playing
one quarter with the rest of the starters. "Obviously, we still
have some work to do." If there was a silver lining in the
opener, it was the third string offense, led by QB Jason Fife,
driving 72 yards on 16 plays to put the Saints on the board to
open the second half. Fife finished with 47 yards on 5-of-8
passing with a 1-yard TD to FB Kevin Dudley. Tyler Palko
got some work, too. Palko completed 4-of-8 for 53 yards, but
was intercepted once. He also took off running on one play
that netted 13 yards. Jamie Martin worked briefly throwing 8
passes, completing three of them for 26 yards.
RB: Reggie Bush has been “dubbed” by his teammates “The
President” due to his surname, but in camp he’s actually been
more of a lobbyist as one of four vying for the punt return
duties after averaging a modest 7.7 yards per return as a
Undrafted rookie Pierre Thomas got some work Sunday night
with 4 carries for 17 yard and 2 catches for 35 yards. Aaron
Stecker combined for 24 yards on 6 carries (16 yds) and one
reception (8 yds). Antonio Pittman had the most carries for the
offense rushing for 20 yards on 7 attempts. Reggie Bush
started the game, but carried just twice for 8 yards. The
coaching staff didn’t need to see Deuce McAllister. Instead,
they wanted to get more looks from Thomas and Jamaal
Branch, who was productive at times in last year’s camp.
WR: Devery Henderson continues to lead the pack in the race
for the WR2 job. The competition for the slot job is coming
down to Terrence Copper and veteran David Patten, which
leaves Robert Meachem’s current role unclear, but as the
team’s 1st round pick his roster spot is definitely not in
question. In Sunday’s Hall of Fame game, Meachem was
welcomed to the NFL by Steelers corner William Gay, who
laid out Meachem with a super hit in the fourth quarter.
Meachem stayed on the ground for a bit, before walking off
the field under his own power, albeit a little woozy. Marques
Colston and Devery Henderson started the game for the
Saints. Terrence Copper led the Saints with three catches for
39 yards while Lance Moore caught two balls for 11 yards;
Meachem and Colston caught one ball each for 6 yards.
Earlier in the week, the Saints waived Rhema McKnight and
signed free agent Chris Jackson.
While Meachem got a ringing endorsement from the Steelers
in his NFL debut, he’s been working hard in practice to
improve and continues to make progress after struggling with
dropped passes earlier in camp. He had his best practice last
Tuesday. “We keep talking about making steps and making
progress,” Payton said. “He’s got a lot of ability and he’s
working extremely hard, so I was pleased to see him get his
hands on some balls today. He’s a big target. It’s just the
definition of the route-running and exactness of the
assignment. Those are things he’ll continue to work on. But I
was encouraged.”
TE: Mark Campbell was in the starting lineup for Sunday
night’s game. Most observers expect newcomer Eric Johnson
to eventually emerge as the team’s starter, but so far, veterans
Billy Miller and Campbell continue to hold the upper hand,
mainly because of their familiarity with the offense and QB
Drew Brees. For his part, Johnson continues to work with
Brees in an effort to develop the rapport needed to win the job.
John Owens is also in camp, but he’s considered a long shot to
stick with the club for the regular season. On Wednesday, the
Saints added one more body to the mix, signing former
Bengals TE Ronnie Ghent and DE Scott Scharff to contracts.
Defense: Some new faces in the Saints starting lineup Sunday
night included SS Kevin Kaesviharn, MLB Mark Simoneau
and DTs Antwan Lake and Hollis Thomas. LB Troy Evans,
DB Curry Burns and DE Will Smith led the way with four
solo tackles each; Smith collected a sack as did Simoneau and
DE Josh Cooper. Simoneau is doing his best to fend off Brian
Simmons for the starting job at MLB. Simmons is still
recovering, somewhat, from offseason knee surgery and he
may eventually take over at some point this season, but in the
here and now world of the NFL, Simoneau is performing
better than anyone else competing for the spot. "He's playing
extremely well right now," HC Sean Payton said. "He's having
a very good camp. He had a good offseason." In the
secondary, 2nd year SS Roman Harper and 3rd year FS Josh
Bullocks are practicing with the first team, but Harper isn’t
100% healthy as he continues to recover from offseason knee
surgery. Bullocks is leading the way at FS, but Kaesviharn is
right on his tail and, regardless of how that competition
evolves, will likely hold a significant role whether he starts or
not. On Wednesday, the club placed DT Lance Legree on
season-ending IR after he suffered a left knee injury. Also on
the injury front, 2nd year DE Rob Ninkovich, who blew out his
knee as a rookie after having a promising camp, sustained a
sprain to his MCL which means he should be sidelined for
about a month. Ironically, the news was positive as the team
was worried that his knee was considerably worse and would
require months of recovery and rehab. "It's encouraging
compared to what it might have been," Payton said. The team
waived DE Jon Hamm last week.
Special Teams: Kicker Olindo Mare did not get any field goal
attempts in the Hall of Fame game. His lone kickoff was a
touchback, which is one of the reasons the Saints traded for
him. HC Sean Payton noted, "I think clearly he's someone that
has confidence in his kickoffs. He had 24 touchbacks last year,
so he's somebody that's got a strong leg. What you're hoping
for is the consistency and accuracy on field goal attempts, and
then the distance on kickoffs. And when you can get that from
one player, that's a plus." In the game, WR Lance Moore and
WR Tramain Hall handled punt returns, while Rookie RB
Pierre Thomas and Hall handled kickoff returns. During the
regular season, returns will primarily be handled by RB
Reggie Bush and WR Lance Moore. Bush discussed the
scenario, "I don't like to be limited to outside, inside or
returning punts or kicks. I like to do it all. I'm obviously not
going to be the starting kick returner or the regular kick
returner -- only in situations where [Payton] might need a big
play. We spoke about that. He's all for it and I don't see why
not." Others practicing on returns have included CB Jason
David, RB Aaron Stecker, rookie RB Antonio Pittman, WR
Devery Henderson, WR Terrance Copper, WR Jamal Jones
and rookie WR Robert Meachem.
Saints Depth Chart
QB: Drew Brees, Jamie Martin, Jason Fife, Tyler Palko, Matt
Baker
RB: Deuce McAllister, Reggie Bush (KR/PR), Antonio
Pittman, Aaron Stecker (3RB/KR)
FB: Mike Karney, Keith Joseph (inj), Kevin Dudley
WR: Marques Colston, Terrance Copper, Devery Henderson,
Robert Meacham (inj), David Patten, Jamal Jones, Lance
Moore, Dante Ridgeway, Aaron Hosack, Tramain Hall
TE: Mark Campbell, Billy Miller, Eric Johnson, Robert
Johnson
K: Olindo Mare, Brett Bergstrom
DT: Kendrick Clancy (NT), Brian Young (inj), Antwan Lake,
Hollis Thomas (NT), Rodney Leisle, Brandon Villareal,
McKinley Boykin, Lance Legree (IR)
DE: Charles Grant, Will Smith, Rob Ninkovich (inj), Tommy
Davis (inj), Willie Evans
MLB: Mark Simoneau (W/M), Brian Simmons (W/M), Alfred
Fincher, Marvin Mitchell, Trev Faulk
OLB: Scott Fujita (S), Scott Shanle (W), Dhani Jones (S),
Troy Evans (W), Cornelius Wortham
CB: Mike McKenzie, Jason David, Fred Thomas, Usama
Young, Jason Craft, Anwar Phillips, David Jones
S: Josh Bullocks (FS), Roman Harper (SS), Kevin Kaesviharn
(FS/SS), Jay Bellamy (FS), Steve Gleason (IR), Chris Reis
New York Giants
QB: QB coach Chris Palmer continues to work intensively
with Eli Manning on his erratic mechanics. It will be tough to
judge the progress until preseason games are underway, but
Eli seems happy with the early returns, “I’m just trying to
work on that and get comfortable. Just working on scrambling,
getting your shoulder lined up, getting aimed, getting good
torque and twist and getting something on the ball.” A major
concern has to be the poor play of tackles David Diehl and
Guy Whimper. The defensive ends have been having a field
day against them, and Manning would be feeling a ton of
pressure were this real game conditions.
Jared “Hefty Lefty” Lorenzen has been running with the 2 nd
team, and may break camp as the backup which would be
mildly surprising given the presence of veterans Tim
Hasselbeck and Anthony Wright. Both Wright and Hasselbeck
have started NFL games, something Lorenzen has yet to do.
Tom Coughlin has kind words for the young passer. "I've been
relatively impressed with where he's going and what he's been
doing," Coughlin said, noting the overall improvement in
Lorenzen's game. "He certainly goes out there and gives
everything he's got. He's doing a good job with his audibles,
and over the ball he's better than he's been."
RB: Brandon Jacobs has taken his new role with the team
seriously, and is becoming a vocal leader as well as the lead
back. On Monday (8/6) he took fullback Robert Douglas to
task for dogging it during sprint drills, something you
wouldn’t have seen Tiki Barber do in prior camps. Anyone
expecting a big rivalry between Jacobs and Reuben Droughns
has been disappointed, as they seem to be fast friends and
have nothing but compliments for one another. "We are
definitely similar, although he's going to be a little tougher to
bring down than me," said Droughns. "We're both aggressive,
we both have some type of elusive skills and I know we can
both catch the ball out of the backfield.” Even though Jacobs
appears set to receive the heavier workload, he thinks there
could be games where Droughns earns more playing time.
"You never know," Jacobs said. "Reuben could get on a tear,
hitting it, hitting it, doing good, making everything go. Me,
myself, I would want to stick with him then, and I hope he
feels the same way about me. It all depends on who's hot, one
guy gets out, gets in a zone, and there it is.”
which prompted new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo
to move Gibril Wilson to free safety. Veteran CB Sam
Madison may have difficulty making the final roster; he’s
been out of position and outplayed by Corey Webster and
R.W. McQuarters thus far.
WR: The Giants WR corps appears vastly improved, as 2 nd
year Sinorice Moss and rookie Steve Smith have been shown
the potential to play major roles if the opportunity presents
itself. Moss looks nothing like the non-factor he was as a
rookie, and clearly has the deep speed back that was his
hallmark at the University of Miami. He caught deep
touchdown passes from both Eli Manning and Jared Lorenzen
in Monday (8/6) practice.
Special Teams: Neither Giants’ kicker, Josh Huston and
especially Lawrence Tynes, has looked very solid during the
beginning of camp. That was compounded last Tuesday when
long snapper Ryan Kuehl suffered a severely strained calf. He
will probably not be ready for the regular season opener. OL
Grey Ruegamer replaced him on snaps. Tynes expressed
concern over his subsequent field goal attempts, “All those
kicks would have been blocked.” In a recent kicking
competition, Tynes earned an extra hour of curfew for the
offense, while the defense had to go to bed at the usual time
since Huston was the first to miss a kick. Rookie DT Jay
Alford has handled the snapping more recently, and things
look a little less bleak. The project starting punt returner,
rookie CB Aaron Ross, missed some practice time with a sore
glute.
Plaxico Burress continues to miss practice with a sprained
ankle. Although the coaches don’t appear concerned, the
missed practice time is beginning to mount. Amani Toomer,
coming back from an ACL injury last year, has been sitting
out the evening practices during two-a-days, but looks
comfortable catches Manning’s passes in the early workouts.
"I thought I'd be sore and I thought my knee would swell up a
lot, which it hasn't. I'm pretty encouraged," Toomer said.
TE: Jeremy Shockey had the play of the day on Monday,
catching a diving TD in between starting safety James Butler
and LB Antonio Pierce. Earlier in the week, Shockey missed a
few practices with “sore legs” and rookie Kevin Boss ran with
the first team in his place. Boss is a natural pass-catcher but if
he’s going to cement his place as the team’s new TE2, he’s
going to have to improve his pass-blocking.
Defense: Will he or won’t he? Michael Strahan continues to
steer clear of training camp but it’s unclear whether this is
veteran posturing or a genuine career crossroads. This
weekend Strahan released a public statement directed to the
Giants fans, and dismissed the notion that his holdout is
financially motivated. “Despite what some might believe there
are those of us who make decisions that have nothing to do
with money. Many athletes ask themselves daily if they are
emotionally and psychologically at the level where they can
compete at the highest level for twenty-four weeks. For them
also it isn't about the money, rather a serious athlete asking
serious questions about his future. All that I ask, after fourteen
seasons, is that you afford me the patience so that I might
arrive at my decision on my own terms.” The Giants seem
ready to move on without Strahan, but until the DE files his
retirement papers, we’re betting he joins the team at some
point before the season opener. Strahan’s running mate, Osi
Umenyiora has looked more like the Pro Bowler in 2005 than
the average pass rusher we saw last year. Part of his success
has come from beating new left tackle David Diehl like a
rented mule, but there’s no mistaking Osi’s renewed focus.
"When we're out there, they're just leaving me one-on-one, so
you can't look at that and say that's going to happen in a game.
[Diehl] is a very good tackle, but I don't think there's a tackle
in this league who can stay with me one-on-one."
In the secondary, the talk of camp has been safety James
Butler, who has been running with the first team in place of
the demoted Will Demps. Butler is playing strong safety,
Giants Depth Chart
QB: Eli Manning, Anthony Wright, Jared Lorenzen, Tim
Hasselbeck
RB: Brandon Jacobs (SD), Reuben Droughns, Derrick Ward,
Ahmad Bradshaw, Cedric Humes
FB: Jim Finn (IR), Robert Douglas
WR: Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer (inj), Sinorice Moss,
Steve Smith, David Tyree, Michael Jennings (PR), Anthony
Mix, Brandon London, Marco Thomas, Kevin McMahan
TE: Jeremy Shockey, Kevin Boss, Darcy Johnson, Charles
Davis, Michael Matthews, Rodney Burgess
K: Lawrence Tynes, Josh Huston
DT: Fred Robbins, Barry Cofield, William Joseph, Jay Alford
(DE), Marcus Bell, Jonas Seawright, Ahmad Childress
DE: Michael Strahan (inj), Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck (inj),
Adrian Awasom, Marquies Gunn, Charrod Taylor
MLB: Antonio Pierce (M/W), Chase Blackburn
OLB: Kawika Mitchell (W), Mathias Kiwanuka (S), Reggie
Torbor (S), Gerris Wilkinson (W) (inj), Zak DeOssie, Tyson
Smith
CB: Sam Madison, Aaron Ross, Corey Webster, R.W.
McQuarters (FS/PR), Kevin Dockery, Gerrick McPhearson,
E.J. Underwood (inj)
S: Gibril Wilson (SS), James Butler (FS), Will Demps (FS),
Michael Johnson, Michael Stone, Craig Dahl, Jason Bell (IR)
New York Jets
QB: On Thursday, the team had a game condition practice
that was closed to the public. Among the top plays of the
night: Chad Pennington hit Laveranues Coles for a 44-yard
completion that setup a Thomas Jones touchdown run, Leon
Washington’s 60+ yard run and Brad Smith’s 21-yd TD catch
from Kellen Clemens. The practice was a good setup for the
weekend’s Green & White game held at Fordham, where
Clemens got the White team out to an early 7-0 lead with a 66-
yard TD pass to Justin McCareins. Clemens hit McCareins
again for another TD, and an 11-point lead, when he left the
game. Pennington, quiet in his previous drives, struck quickly
to get the Green within three points, 24-21. It started with a
30-yard completion to Chris Baker amidst tight coverage from
LB Victor Hobson and DB Justin Miller. Two plays later,
Pennington hit Jerricho Cotchery going to the corner over Erik
Coleman for a 20-yard score, then a 2 pt conversion on a
Thomas Jones run. Clemens had the best night statistically, 14
of 18 for 205 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Pennington finished 19-of-30 for 186 yards, a TD pass to
Jerricho Cotchery and no INTs. Marques Tuiasosopo played
the second quarter and completed 11-of-18 for 103 yards, one
TD and no INTs. Tuiasosopo led the Green on a scoring drive
capped by a 9-yard TD pass to RB Alvin Banks. Brett Ratliff
couldn't move the White offense in his drives. Head coach
Eric Mangini thought Kellen Clemens played well,
"(Clemens) looked very sharp... That drive to start the second
half looked very good. His command of the offense working
with that group I thought was very good."
RB: Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are both enjoying
strong camps after the first week. Jones is the consummate
professional and Washington looks like he’s primed for
another year of making big plays for the Jets out of the
backfield. In Thursday’s practice, Chad Pennington threw
numerous passes to Washington, more than any other receiver,
and Washington caught all but one of his targets. He took one
for 30 yards after burning the corner covering on the play.
Washington will likely see fewer carries this year, with
Thomas Jones now starting, but if practices are foreshadowing
the regular season at all, then Washington will be catching the
ball and making some big plays and complimenting Jones
nicely. “You love when you have a tailback who can split
out,” said Mangini. Washington had just 25 receptions as a
rookie, but he averaged 10.8 yards per catch. Mangini said he
can create mismatches with Washington by lining him up as a
receiver and forcing defenses to declare man or zone. On July
31st, the Jets signed Tony Hollings and cut Tony Fisher, who
signed with the team in the week prior after Cedric Houston
unexpectedly left camp.
WR: Brad Smith might start going by the nickname Optimus
Prime. He’s already seen the Transformers movie four times;
and he’s also working on his own transformation from
receiver to quarterback. Smith is still playing receiver in camp
but he’s listed at QB and he’s playing there, too. Last year,
Smith concentrated on receiver to make the team, but in the
final preseason game, with about 20 minutes of notes in the
team hotel, Smith got behind center and led the team on two
fourth-quarter drives that netted 10 points, including a 9-yard
TD run from Smith himself. "We figured if we put more than
20 minutes into it, it might work out," Mangini said about
getting Smith in the mix at QB. Mangini says he’s working
with the QBs on a part-time basis, but he’ll compete there fulltime for the role as a backup QB. The Jets plan to use him as a
“change of pace” QB, not just for trick plays, but for entire
drives – and just one more thing for defenses to have on their
minds. As a receiver, Smith has been excellent, exciting the
crowd with several acrobatic catches. “It's just jaw-dropping to
watch him and see all the things that he can do," said Kellen
Clemens, whose anticipated role as second string to Chad
Pennington could also be in trouble due to Smith's
development. Smith says there’s always a special feeling
anytime he dons the red jersey. "It's about leadership and a
level of production," he said of the shirt. "You have to be
ready to go out there and be able to lead the team. I take great
pride in that."
The Jets WRs had a Hall of Fame visitor on Friday when Jerry
Rice dropped in. "Personally, I just wanted an autograph,"
Laveranues Coles said. "He said we're going to work it out.”
Mangini wanted give his WRs some perspective and Rice
helped him accomplish that. "I just believe in the value of
letting players hear how these successful people became
successful." As for Coles, it looks like he’ll be voted as the
team’s captain after being selected as the team’s MVP last
season. "I don't view myself as one of those guys who is real
vocal," Coles said. "I try to keep things light because I think
that's what my job is." But some, like Jerricho Cotchery, think
he's a perfect fit. "He's a true leader," Cotchery said. "He's a
guy who works hard and keeps the team level-headed. He
talks a lot of smack in the locker room, but when it's time to
go out and perform, he does it." Get a firsthand look at Coles
going to work in training camp in this video. In the Green &
White game, Justin McCareins shined, finishing with three
catches for 119 yards and two TDs.
Defense: Rookie CB Darrelle Revis remains one of two
unsigned rookies (the other is JaMarcus Russell), and the issue
appears to be the Jets unwillingness to grant Revis a 5-year
deal instead of their standard 6-year deal. The Jets are
enjoying the rebirth of former DE turned LB Andre
Wadsworth. Wadsworth has undergone 12 surgeries since he
last played in the NFL, but he’s dead set on making a
comeback and defying the odds. "It is a completely new
position for him as opposed to what he's been used to and he's
coming back from the long layoff. This is multiple days now
in pads, so we'll take it day by day and he'll take it day by
day," HC Eric Mangini said. The Jets are happy with
Wadsworth so far in camp, as they are with another grizzly
veteran in DE Eric Hicks. In Wednesday’s practice, DE Bobby
Hamilton went down with an injury. He lay on the ground for
several minutes before limping off the field. In the ‘Green and
White’ game, the defense recorded several sacks, nine by the
first team D on the White team; two by Dewayne Robertson,
and five by the Green defense including two by DT Sione
Pouha. The team was enforcing the college halo rule to protect
the QBs, so the sack total was higher than usual. The New
York Jets signed free agent rookie LB Jerry Mackey over the
weekend. On Friday, they waived LB Mark Zalewski. On
Thursday, they signed free agent cornerback Manny Collins.
Special Teams: Kicker Mike Nugent fixed his accuracy
following Week 1 last year. During the offseason he appears
to have fixed his kickoffs. His increased strength has been
apparent on both kickoffs and long field goals, although he did
miss a last minute potential game tying 65-yarder in the
intrasquad scrimmage. Rookie CB Darrelle Revis remains one
of the last players in this year’s draft yet to sign a contract.
The main beneficiary of his absence has been CB Justin Miller
on both defense and special teams. Already one of the league’s
top kickoff returners, he has now also been practicing punt
returns. HC Eric Mangini discussed Miller’s progress,
"Sometimes early on you take the ball and you run and don't
really understand how the whole scheme is unfolding, but he's
working there as well. It's getting better and better each day,
and I'm happy with that." Miller left the scrimmage in the
fourth quarter with an apparent hamstring injury.
Jets Depth Chart
QB: Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemens, Marques Tuiasosopo,
Brett Ratliff
RB: Thomas Jones, Leon Washington (3RB), Alvin Banks,
Danny Ware, Tony Hollings
FB: Darian Barnes, Stacy Tutt
WR: Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery, Justin McCareins,
Brad Smith (QB), Tim Dwight (PUP), Chansi Stuckey,
Wallace Wright, Frisman Jackson, Jessie Pellot-Rosa, Evan
Prall, Iiro Luoto, Juan Wong, Chris Davis
TE: Chris Baker, Jason Pociask (inj), Sean Ryan, Joe
Kowalewski, James Dearth (LS)
K: Mike Nugent, Brian Wingert
NT: Dewayne Robertson, Rashad Moore, Monsanto Pope,
C.J. Mosley, Sione Pouha (inj)
DE: Shaun Ellis, Kimo Van Oelhoffen, Kenyon Coleman,
Bobby Hamilton, Eric Hicks, Michael Haynes, Andre
Wadsworth, Matt King, Jason Trusnik
ILB: Jonathan Vilma, David Harris, Eric Barton, Brad
Kassell, Anthony Schlegel
OLB: Victor Hobson (S), Bryan Thomas (DE), David
Bowens, Jerry Mackey, Matt Chatham (S)(PUP)
CB: Andre Dyson, Darrelle Revis, David Barrett, Drew
Coleman, Justin Miller (KR), Hank Poteat, Manny Collins
S: Kerry Rhodes (FS), Erik Coleman (SS), Rashad
Washington, Eric Smith (SS)
Oakland Raiders
QB: The Raiders signed their strong armed behemoth QB on
Tuesday to a one-year, $3.2 million contract. Of course, it
wasn’t JaMarcus Russell, but Daunte Culpepper. Russell
remains unsigned heading into the 2nd week of camp, despite
the 2nd overall pick, Calvin Johnson, agreeing to a deal late
last week. Raiders HC Lane Kiffin doesn’t think that will
make any difference in Russell’s ongoing negotiations.
"Sometimes it does," Kiffin said after a morning practice
Friday. "If he signs for a lot, then it works for one side. If he
doesn't, it works for the other side. That does somewhat have
to do with it, but it's just another contract being posted." The
holdup doesn’t appear to be money, but an option bonus.
Meanwhile, Culpepper is in camp and hoping to win the
starting job competing against Andrew Walter, Josh McCown
and, at some point, Russell, too. On signing Culpepper, Al
Davis said, “Lane made the final decision, but I wanted it to
happen. I like to take chances like that. I don't know what the
risk is. I don't see any real risk." Culpepper practiced without a
brace on his rebuilt right knee and proclaimed himself healthy.
"My mind-set is to continue to work to get better to be the
starter ...," Culpepper said. "I'm ready to go now. I'm just
going to continue to work and progress every day in this
offense. Physically, I feel great and I'm going to continue to
get better and stronger every day." In the meantime, McCown
and Walter received the bulk of the work with the first team
throughout the week, but Culpepper’s reps are increasing as he
gets comfortable. On Saturday, the team had a 56-play
scrimmage. Culpepper provided one of the few highlights on a
20-yard TD to Carlos Francis on the final play. Culpepper
finished 6-of-14 for 74 yards and the TD, which was with the
third team offense. Walter ran with the first team and went
only 3-of-8 for 22 yards. McCown went 4-of-8 for 36 yards,
no TDs, but he led the team on a TD scoring drive.
RB: In Saturday’s scrimmage, Justin Fargas carried the ball
12 times for 55 yards. LaMont Jordan has been taking it easy
after missing some practices. Kiffin wasn’t concerned saying
that he’d be able to play if it was a game day. He was more
interested in other players in Saturday’s scrimmage. Kiffin
said Jordan would be back by Monday, for at least one of the
two practices. Kiffin also dished out some praise for RB
Adimchinobe Echemandu, or just "Joe" to the coaching staff.
"Joe has had a really good camp," Kiffin said. "Actually, we
used a phrase two nights ago to our coaches that he might be
the surprise player of the camp, as far as coming in and doing
things right and really working extremely hard running the
ball and taking care of it.” Kiffin also added that rookie
Michael Bush is not ready to come off of the PUP list yet. It's
uncertain what Bush’s timetable is during training camp.
WR: Ronald Curry is having a nice camp. On Friday, he had a
spectacular one-handed catch in the back of the end zone from
Josh McCown. Curry came back with a second touchdown
pass in the end zone on a quick slant from Culpepper in the
same practice. In Saturday’s scrimmage, Carlos Francis caught
2 passes for 38 yards (including a 20-yard TD). He’s trying to
make the roster and stay healthy this year after his injuryriddled past. "I take every day like it’s my last," Francis said.
"Just take care of my body, that’s a big thing for me. I’m
playing football. You’re away from it awhile and you forget.
But it’s football and it’s fun to me." Mike Williams dropped a
20-yard pass from McCown. "You can't write about that
dropped post," Williams implored to a reporter. "I don't drop
balls. That's an anomaly. It doesn't happen." On Friday, Lane
Kiffin was asked about Mike Williams and whether the
Raiders can draw the talent out of him. Kiffin said, “Well
obviously that’s our job, to get the most out of every one of
our players, but there comes a point where they either buy in
and they do it or they’re not here anymore. He has bought in
and he is close, he’s doing good things, we just have to make
sure that he’s doing it every day and he’s being consistent so
he has a chance to make the team.”
In one practice last week, Williams beat corner Nnamdi
Asomugha for a touchdown twice in three plays, showing why
he was so touted after two years at USC. Kiffin said he still
has to get in better shape, but the Raiders want him at 235
pounds, not the 220 lbs. the Lions wanted him. "That is a
value, obviously – his size and being able to keep people away
from him," Kiffin said. "That goes back to when he's right;
he's a dangerous red-zone player. He played for us two years;
he caught 30 touchdowns in two years for us. There is good
ways to use him down there. But he's got to get better." In
Friday’s practice, Williams caught three TDs in the early
session, all from short range, and also ran under an excellent
throw by Josh McCown that went for 40 yards. Earlier in the
week, rookie Johnnie Lee Higgins showed his deep speed by
racing down the left sideline under a 40+ yard pass by Andrew
Walter for a completion despite tight coverage from Chris
Carr. Later, after practice in the hotel lobby, Higgins ran into
DC Rob Ryan, who told him “you keep running deep on us
and I’m going to start crying.”
Janikowski and punter Shane Lechler. While some teams have
been practicing special teams with vengeance (some several
times a day), it was almost a week before Oakland first
practiced kickoff returns. When they did, CB Chris Carr,
rookie WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, WR Doug Gabriel, and DB
Chris Johnson fielded kicks. When the regular season arrives,
both kickoff and punt returns are expected to be handled by
Carr and/or Higgins.
TE: Randal Williams returned to camp but the Raiders placed
him on waivers Friday. Fellow TE Tony Stewart is now
wearing his number (86). In Lane Kiffin’s Q&A sessions this
week he answered some key questions regarding rookie TE
Zach Miller. How quickly has Miller caught on? Kiffin
answered, “Extremely quick, he is great, he is everything we
thought as far as a competitor the way he works, the way he is
in the classroom, he comes out here and rarely does he make a
mental mistake. You start to feel like he is not a rookie, but we
still have to make sure we're going through all the steps like
we would with another rookie.” Is Miller a pretty good
blocker? “Yes he is doing real well he is not afraid of
anything. We still have to do a little technique work with him,
but as far as putting his face on people he is right where we
need him to be.” Miller put on a show in Thursday’s practice
scoring four TDs in a short span from three different QBs. The
man was on fire. "Yeah, I felt good today," Miller said after
his performance. "I got good opportunities and I took
advantage, was able to make a few nice plays. So, I was pretty
happy with myself."
Raiders Depth Chart
"He's great," Kiffin said. "He's everything we thought, as far
as a competitor, the way he works, the way he is in the
classroom. He comes out here and rarely ever does he make a
mental mistake. You got to be careful because you're starting
to feel like he's not a rookie, he's been here a long time. But
we still have to make sure that we're going through all the
steps we would with another rookie." John Madsen is having a
great camp and appears to be a lock to make the roster
alongside Miller with Tony Stewart and Fred Wakefield
competing for the third spot.
Defense: Linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski is out with a knee
injury, and Kiffin said he could miss up to a month.
Thursday’s play of the day was a diving, finger tip
interception of an Andrew Walter pass by Fabian Washington.
Taylor Brayton continues to get most of his reps at tackle
rather than end. Pro Bowl DE Derrick Burgess continues in his
recovery from hernia surgery. He hopes to return for next
week's pre-season opener. "Burgess is really close and he'll be
here within the next couple of days," Kiffin said. Rookie
Quentin Moses has gotten many of Burgess' first-team snaps.
On Friday, Oakland made one other roster move, signing LB
Kurt Campbell who was with the team in the offseason.
Special Teams: Kicker Sebastian Janikowski has been
displaying his range lately. He made a 50-yard field goal
against the wind in practice, and made a 58-yarder in
Saturday’s scrimmage. He entered camp as the only kicker on
the roster; however the Raiders recently signed a camp leg,
Tyler Frederickson who was released by Washington last
week. He can both kick and punt, providing relief for
QB: Josh McCown, Andrew Walter, Daunte Culpepper,
JaMarcus Russell, Josh Booty
RB: LaMont Jordan (inj), Dominic Rhodes (susp), Justin
Fargas, Michael Bush (PUP), Joe Echemandu, DeJuan Green
FB: Justin Griffith, Zack Crockett, Joe Hall (inj), Oren ONeal
WR: Jerry Porter, Ron Curry (PR), Doug Gabriel, Travis
Taylor, Mike Williams, Alvis Whitted, Johnnie Morant,
Johnnie Lee Higgins (PR), Carlos Francis (inj), Johnathan
Holland (inj)
TE: Zach Miller, Tony Stewart, John Madsen, James
Adkisson, O.J. Santiago, Jake Nordin
K: Sebastian Janikowski, Tyler Fredrickson
DT: Warren Sapp, Tommy Kelly (DE), Terdell Sands (NT),
Jay Richardson (DE), Anttaj Hawthorne, Michael Quarshie
(inj), Larry Brown
DE: Derrick Burgess, Tyler Brayton (DT), Quentin Moses,
Kevin Huntley
MLB: Kirk Morrison (I/W), Isaiah Kacyvenski (IR)
OLB: Thomas Howard (W), Sam Williams (S), Robert
Thomas (S/W), Isaiah Ekejiuba (inj), Keith Charlton, Ricky
Brown, Chris Clemons
CB: Nnamdi Asomugha, Fabian Washington, Stanford Routt,
Duane Starks, John Bowie, Chris Carr (PR)
S: Donovin Darius (SS), Michael Huff (FS/CB), Stuart
Schweigert (FS), Colin Branch, Eric Frampton, B.J. Ward (inj)
Philadelphia Eagles
QB: When training camp started, Donovan McNabb
diagnosed himself at 75%, which seemed reasonable given his
ongoing rehab after tearing his ACL last season. Two weeks
into camp and McNabb now puts himself at “80% to 90%.”
He’s been wearing a bulky knee brace, which has an impact
on his mobility but hasn’t hurt his passing accuracy at all.
"He's been very accurate, very strong," HC Andy Reid said of
McNabb. "So far, he's had a great camp." Whether McNabb
wears the brace during the regular season remains a point of
contention; McNabb has said he might wear it all season
whereas HC Andy Reid has expressed a belief that the brace
will be gone to start the season.
Rookie Kevin Kolb is off to a fast start. While he still sits
solidly behind A.J. Feeley, it would be difficult to question his
progress in the first two weeks. "He's pretty sharp . . . and he's
had a lot of game experience. That was at the college level,
but that experience is showing up a little bit," OC Marty
Mornhinweg said. "I think he certainly has a natural feel for
the game, which shows up . . . There are very few times where
he hasn't at least known what his responsibility in his
progression and read was."
RB: Brian Westbrook was the team’s offensive linchpin last
year and also became a more vocal leader. He’s apparently not
ready to give up the role of team leader, even with McNabb
back under center. "I think I will continue in (a leadership)
role," Westbrook said. "Donovan says his things sometimes.
He has one point of view, and I have another point of view.
We both have the same common goal and that's to win
football games."
Westbrook and backup Correll Buckhalter have missed time
intermittently with knee soreness. Rookie Tony Hunt has
made the most of his increased playing time with the first unit,
most notably leading the way on an 80-yard scoring drive in
during a weekend practice. "It's always nice when you get a
nice run drive going, it's tough and physical. You kind of
make a statement out there," Hunt said. "It was good to get in
a rhythm . . . It's football. Somebody hits you one play, you hit
somebody the next play."His competition for the backup role,
Ryan Moats, seems to be falling further behind thanks to his
difficulties holding onto the ball. Moats coughed the ball up
near the goal line when LB Chris Gocong popped the ball
loose on a tackle.
At linebacker, Chris Gocong has been consistently running
with the first team at SLB; but the coaches are taking a
cautious approach until they see him in game action. Takeo
Spike (WLB) and Jeremiah Trotter (MLB) are set as starters,
but Gocong could still be pushed by Matt McCoy and Omar
Gaither.
Special Teams: Are they ever apart? In addition to working
together on the field, kicker David Akers, long snapper Jon
Dorenbos, punter Dirk Johnson, and punter Sav Rocca share a
four-person suite in the training camp dorm. The latter two are
competing for the punting job, and the winner will also likely
be the holder on kicks. WR Jeremy Bloom has done nothing to
lose the return specialist role that was placed in his lap.
Special teams coordinator Rory Segrest is very pleased so far,
"We didn't get to see Jeremy a lot last year. We got to see him
early in the season, and he was coming in after skiing for a
while, so he's obviously had a little more time to work on
things here and he's looking real solid right now." In addition
to looking good on returns, Bloom has also been a pleasant
surprise on offense.
Eagles Depth Chart
WR: Kevin Curtis has been a quick study in Philadelphia, and
he and Reggie Brown are set as the starters. The battle for the
third position and main slot receiver has been more
competitive than many expected, as Jason Avant has played
well throughout camp, putting the pressure on Hank Baskett,
last year’s WR3. OC Mornhinweg loves the versatility the two
provide: "We have multiple guys that are good inside. You
can have two different types inside: One is a smaller, very
quick and fast receiver, and the other is a big, physical guy. In
both cases, you can get pretty good matchups, depending on
how you use them against a safety or linebacker."
TE: L.J. Smith sat out of full-contact drills again this week as
he recovers from offseason hernia surgery. His recovery is, by
all accounts, going well and Smith is expected to resume
practicing at full speed this week (stay tuned for next week’s
report to see if he kept his word). Rookie Brent Celek appears
to have an edge over Lee Vickers for the 3rd TE slot. Celek has
seen reps with the first team (as has Matt Schobel) in Smith’s
absence from full-contact drills.
Defense: Brian Dawkins, the team’s defensive heart and soul,
continues to miss practice with a sore Achilles. Dawkins has
downplayed the significance of the injury but he hasn’t
practiced in team drills since the first day of camp.
In more encouraging news, the Eagles appear to have an
embarrassment of riches on the defensive line this year. Jevon
Kearse is making steady progress in his return from an ACL
injury while Trent Cole is running with the first team at times
in place of Darren Howard. 2nd year Brodrick Bunkley has
turned on the light switch, after flailing last year due to a
lengthy training camp holdout. "We'll see what happens when
the season starts," said DC Jim Johnson. "But right now he's
70 percent better than he was at this time last year. He wasn't
ready to play last year when he came to camp. Now he is."
There are going to be a number of solid linemen who don’t
make the final roster.
QB: Donovan McNabb (inj), A.J. Feeley, Kevin Kolb, Kelly
Holcomb
RB: Brian Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter, Ryan Moats, Tony
Hunt, Antoine Bagwell
FB: Thomas Tapeh, Jason Davis (inj), Nate Ilaoa
WR: Reggie Brown, Kevin Curtis, Hank Baskett, Jason
Avant, Greg Lewis, Jeremy Bloom (KR/PR), Zac Collie,
Dereck Faulkner, Michael Gasperson
TE: L.J. Smith, Matt Schobel, Brent Celek, Mike Bartrum,
Kyle Hunt
K: David Akers, E.J. Cochrane
DT: Mike Patterson, Brodrick Bunkley, Monte Reagor, Ian
Scott, LaJuan Ramsey, Jeremy Clark, Mauricio Lopez
DE: Jevon Kearse (inj), Darren Howard, Trent Cole, Juqua
Thomas, Victor Abiamiri, Jerome McDougle, Marcus Murrell
MLB: Jeremiah Trotter
OLB: Takeo Spikes (W), Chris Gocong (S), Omar Gaither
(W/M), Stewart Bradley (S), Matt McCoy (W), Dedrick
Roper, Torrance Daniels, Akeem Jordan
CB: Sheldon Brown, Lito Sheppard (PR), Joselio Hanson,
William James, Rashad Barksdale, C.J. Gaddis, Nick Graham
S: Brian Dawkins (FS), Sean Considine (SS), Quintin Mikell
(FS), Marcus Paschal, Chris Smith
Pittsburgh Steelers
QB: Ben Roethlisberger came out of the gate in midseason
form in the Hall of Fame game, piloting the game opening
touchdown drive to perfection. He hit Cedrick Wilson deep
downfield in stride on a play action pass, and followed that
with a quick hitter to Wilson that was a perfect strike,
allowing him to run after the catch down to the four yard line.
Roethlisberger also reportedly took the role of pumping up his
teammates as a leader before the game to heart. He clearly did
not struggle at all with the new Bruce Arians offense. Arians
said, "For those third and fourth progressions, it's not even
close. He's so much better in looking over the whole field.
He's better in the red zone. And he's improved in his check
down calls against the blitz." Roethlisberger seems to be
taking to the new freedom he has in the offense to call
audibles. Charlie Batch was efficient in his stint in the game,
completing four out of six passes for 51 yards. Brian St. Pierre
was outstanding, completing 8 out of 14 passes for 129 yards
and a touchdown. He should have a secure hold on the #3 QB
job after the Steelers were looking at Aaron Brooks as
possible competition for “The Saint” a few weeks ago.
RB: Willie Parker has developed some soreness in his left
knee. He was held out of practice last week and did not play in
the Hall of Fame game. While the team has not been
forthcoming about the nature of the soreness, there have been
no signs that the condition is more serious than they are letting
on. Najeh Davenport started in Parker’s place and scored the
game’s first touchdown on a four yard run, going through New
Orleans safety Kevin Kaesviharn along the way. Davenport is
the clear backup, and the roster battles are now focused on the
third and fourth running backs. Carey Davis has made a great
case for himself this entire offseason, and did not let up in the
game, leading the team in rushing with 68 yards on seven
carries, including a 56-yarder, and catching two balls for 32
yards. Coach Mike Tomlin joked when asked about Davis’s
performance, “He showed me he needs to do a little more
conditioning. He got tired after that long run. But, no, in all
seriousness I thought he ran hard.” Davis has also been third
in the pecking order during practices. Gary Russell had a
decent game with 41 yards on eight carries. Tomlin also
commented that both players “ran downhill”. Kevan Barlow
did nothing to distinguish himself with 13 yards on seven
carries, and it’s looking like he’s going to be an early cut. It is
looking like standout fullback Dan Kreider will see the field
less this year, as Arians’ offense uses more one back sets.
WR: Cedrick Wilson made waves twice this week, once by
airing his grievance to the media about lack of reps. "I come
out here and work hard just like everybody else. I deserve a
couple of passes,” he said after a practice session that ended
with him wide open and forgotten. Charlie Batch was picked
off by Jovon Johnson when he went short instead. Wilson had
an outburst on the field. He later commented, "Yeah, then you
all talk about how I ain't [expletive] and I never get the
[expletive] football." Wilson was then targeted five times in
the first quarter of the Hall of Fame game, catching four for 99
yards, including a 55-yard bomb on the game’s opening drive.
Mike Tomlin refused to link the two events, “Oh, boy, I’ll tell
you what: You guys don’t let old dogs lie. No, Ced’s a guy
who’s capable of making plays. We called his number a few
times tonight. He delivered. That’s what it is: It’s not
necessarily about the number of opportunities you get; it’s
about what you do with them when you get them. I know that
he understands that.” Santonio Holmes also asserted himself
after missing the early part of camp with a non-football injury.
He also got free deep and caught a fade for a touchdown,
although it was with the second team and against New Orleans
second team defense.
Nate Washington had two bad drops in the game, but Tomlin
also refused to take issue with that. “Again, I’m not going to
pass judgment on these guys over what’s happened in the past.
It was a problem tonight. We’d like to make that disappear
and hopefully next week it will.” Willie Reid caught only one
pass for 11 yards, but he is clearly gaining on Washington
with some sensational practice performances. Coach Tomlin
said "It's still early, but I like his attitude. He comes out with
the same approach every day." Reid is making plays in the air
and also making noise with his run after catch ability in
practice and should make an impact this year if he can stay
healthy. Dallas Baker made one outstanding catch on a Hail
Mary and is getting some positive buzz, but he’s likely headed
for the practice squad. Walter Young is putting on his annual
camp show, and capped it with two catches for 35 yards. Sure
handed Eric Fowler, an undrafted free agent rookie out of
Grand Valley State, hasn’t been able to carry over the
momentum he built in a great minicamp.
TE: The demise of the TE in Bruce Arians offense has been
greatly exaggerated. The Steelers had multiple TE sets on 8
out of 21 snaps in the first quarter of the Hall of Fame game,
and they were successful on them, averaging 12.25 yards. The
team even had one three TE set. This bodes well for Heath
Miller. Matt Spaeth has all but locked up the #2 spot, and is
healthy after missing some time in the first week of camp.
Jerame Tuman is fending off towering, undrafted free agent
rookie Cody Boyd for the #3 spot.
Defense: The Steelers had to be happy to see LaMarr
Woodley break up a third down pass fifteen yards down the
field in coverage to force a New Orleans punt on the first
defensive appearance of the game. Woodley has been a
revelation in camp, and he is looking like he’s going to make
people forget about Joey Porter while wearing his familiar
#55. Tomlin refused to gush after the game. “It felt like he was
solid, but nothing stood out positively or negatively, so we’ll
take a look at the tape and grade him and see where he is
technically.” While the second round pick has been
outstanding, first round pick Lawrence Timmons is still yet to
practice because of a groin injury first suffered in minicamp,
and the guy he’s backing up, James Harrison, is still out
because of a rib problem. William Gay turned heads late in the
Hall of Fame game by laying out Robert Meachem. The hit
seemed to affect Meachem who had trouble when he went
over the middle later in the game. Gay also recorded an
interception. The first impression of the Steelers defense with
Tomlin as head coach is that it will not be different from past
Dick LeBeau versions.
Special Teams: In the Hall of Fame game, kicker Jeff Reed
was good on field goals from 28 and 39 yards, and added two
PATs. He missed wide right on a 42-yard attempt. CB Ricardo
Colclough was practicing punt returns early in camp, much to
the dismay of Steelers’ fans. But once WR Santonio Holmes
returned to practices, Colclough was relived of that duty. WR
Willie Reid is looking to be the return specialist for the team,
and is typically the deep back. HC Mike Tomlin noted,
“Essentially there’s one deep. There’s another guy back there,
but you don’t want him to get the ball. You just want him to
lead the way. There’s one and a half, if you will, in terms of
guys deep.” In Sundays’ game Reid averaged 7.0 yards on two
punt returns, and returned a kickoff 31 yards. The bad news is
that he had a few problems handling the ball. WR Cedrick
Wilson averaged 8.5 yards on his two punt returns, while DB
Jovon Johnson fair caught his one opportunity.
Steelers Depth Chart
QB: Ben Roethlisberger, Charlie Batch, Brian St. Pierre
RB: Willie Parker, Najeh Davenport, Kevan Barlow, Verron
Haynes (PUP), John Kuhn, Gary Russell, Larry Croom
FB: Dan Kreider
WR: Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Cedrick Wilson, Nate
Washington, Willie Reid (KR/PR), Dallas Baker, Eric Fowler,
Dan Sheldon, Gerran Walker
TE: Heath Miller, Jerame Tuman, Matt Spaeth, Cody Boyd
K: Jeff Reed
NT: Casey Hampton, Chris Hoke
DE: Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, Ryan McBean, Travis
Kirschke, Nick Eason, Derrick Jones
ILB: James Farrior, Larry Foote, Rian Wallace, Clint
Kriewaldt
OLB: Clark Haggans (S), James Harrison (W), Lawrence
Timmons (W) (inj), LaMarr Woodley (S), Arnold Harrison
(inj), Marquis Cooper, Derek Rehage (PUP), Matt King
CB: Deshea Townsend, Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden,
Ricardo Colclough (inj), William Gay, Chidi Iwouma,
Anthony Madison
S: Troy Polamalu (SS), Anthony Smith (FS), Ryan Clark (FS),
Tyrone Carter (SS/CB)
St. Louis Rams
QB: The Rams quarterbacks are pretty well set at the top;
Marc Bulger, fresh off a contract extension, is the starter and
Gus Frerotte the backup. The primary competition is between
Ryan Fitzgerald and Brock Berlin for the QB3 job. In
Saturday’s scrimmage, Berlin turned in the stronger showing,
completing 6-of-7 passes for 42 yards, no interceptions and a
20-yard TD to TE Mark Anelli for the only TD in the session.
Fitzgerald went 7-of-14 for 77 yards, but was intercepted and
had a couple problems with the exchange from the center. "I
thought both of them did a few good things," HC Scott
Linehan said. "It's hard to say right now where those two
stand."
RB: Steven Jackson seems to be in midseason form already. “I
Believe” is the Rams marketing logo for the 2nd year in a row,
and without question, that sums up Jackson’s attitude to a tee.
Jackson, fresh off a breakout season in which he amassed
2,334 yards from scrimmage, believes he can top his
production last year. He’s firmly set his sights on 2,500 yards
this year – a total that would break the NFL record held by the
Rams great Marshall Faulk in 1999 (2,429 yds). Jackson was
asked point blank what he could do for an encore to last
season. Pulling no punches, Jackson retorted, “Twenty-five
hundred total — total yards from scrimmage." Does Jackson’s
confidence worry Linehan at all? "I hope he does (get 2,500),"
Linehan said. "There should be a lot of points on the board
and wins to go with it. He's vocal, because he's emotional…
He plays with that emotion, which is really a big part of why
he's good. He uses it for the positive.” That may be true, but
Jackson was also involved in a scuffle with safety Corey
Chavous in Saturday’s scrimmage. "It's that time of year,"
Linehan said. "These are the dog days. I think that was just an
example of where you've got to keep your composure. It's
unacceptable, and it is non-negotiable. So we've got to get that
corrected."
If Jackson is to achieve his stated goal why would the Rams
draft RB Brian Leonard in the 2nd round with the intent to
lighten Jackson’s load? Jackson joked about Leonard’s
presence and the need to give him breaks during games. "He
can give me a break in practice," Jackson joked. Leonard is
like the Swiss Army Knife of running backs. A week into
camp, there’s no question that Leonard is the player the Rams
envisioned when they drafted him. “He is exactly what we
thought he was,” said Linehan. “He wears a lot of hats and he
wears them well. He can run the ball downhill. He can block.
He’s a great pass protector on third down and on blitzing
downs. He also has excellent hands. The only thing he doesn’t
have is experience. That will come. He has been outstanding.”
“I’m a guy that can catch the ball out of the backfield, I can
do the single back, I can even do the fullback set,” Leonard
said. “That’s my specialty. I can do a little bit of everything
and I think the coaches are seeing that and they have put me
there.” So far, Leonard is working as Jackson’s backup and
also in third down packages where he’s a natural receiver.
Those are the roles he was drafted to fill, but by no means is
he limited to those. Leonard is also working at fullback and on
almost every special teams unit. “I just want to be on the field
whether I’m a running back or fullback,” Leonard said. “I just
want to help this team win.”
WR: Perhaps the biggest news out of Rams camp this week
was Torry Holt estimating that his surgically repaired knee is
just 70% at the moment. As a WR that is routinely being
selected in the 2nd/3rd round of fantasy drafts, that not the
kind of thing fantasy owners like to hear heading into the
regular season. “It’s feeling pretty good,” Holt said. “It’s
coming on around. I am cutting and doing the things I have
done in the past so that’s a good sign. I’m just going to keep
building on it and keep stripping it and keep icing it and
picking my spots in this training camp so I get to the point
where I am ready to roll once we open up against Carolina.”
Holt has been participating in almost every practice, so it’s not
like he’s on the PUP list. He runs a few routes then rests the
knee, and then he gets back up and does it some more. On
Thursday, Holt said he started running more of the type of
route that have made him the perennial Pro Bowler that he is –
those requiring cutting and planting. Holt admitted to being a
little sore afterwards, but just a couple of hours later, he was
out and about the facilities dribbling a basketball. Maybe Holt
is just being conservative. For the most part, he seems to be
quite normal and getting his knee cleaned up, in the long term,
has him feeling quite confident.
“It feels good to actually get it nipped in the bud,” Holt said.
“It’s kind of like starting from scratch again. It’s cool. I don’t
mind the work of rehabilitation and getting stronger and
allowing me to be able to perform at the level I would like to
perform at. I am excited about getting it over with and getting
it done and just continuing to keep it strong and play well.”
Like Jackson, Holt has set high goals for himself again this
year. He set his sights on returning to the 1,300 yard plateau
with 90+ catches, but he’s upped the ante in the TD
department; he doesn’t want just 10 TDs, instead he’s
shooting for 12 to 15.
The other biggest story at WR this camp has been the addition
of Drew Bennett. It didn’t take Bennett long to put on a
demonstration of exactly why the team targeted him in free
agency to be their No.3 WR. During drills, corner Tye Hill
had Bennett covered like a blanket. Any separation that
Bennett was able to gain was negligible, but Marc Bulger
threw a near perfect pass to the 6’5” receiver on a fade route
that went for 25 yards over the outstretched 5’10” Hill.
Adding a player with that kind of size, along with an athletic
pass catching TE in Randy McMichael and a complimentary
RB in Brian Leonard have the Rams feeling giddy. "I hope
so," Bennett said, when asked if he can be difference maker
compared to the Rams previous No. 3 WRs. "We have the
quarterbacks. Both Bulger and Gus (Frerotte), those guys are
so accurate that we can utilize that on the sidelines. If a DB
does have good coverage, they can throw it high and away.
The throw that I personally really like is the back shoulder up
high — where again, only you can get it. It's been working
well in camp, and I hope it works well all year."
TE: In addition to Drew Bennett, Randy McMichael’s
addition also has the team excited. McMichael wasted no time
before he started making ridiculous catches. Last week,
McMichael gave fans and coaches a glimpse of his ability
when he was smothered in coverage by safety Corey Chavous.
McMichael turned just as the ball was arriving to make a
difficult grab down the middle of the field. "Randy, he's just a
real shifty guy," Bulger said. "You can throw it on his back
shoulder and he's able to make those tough catches. Not only
that… he's a great blocker." He averaged 57 catches during his
first five seasons as a pro. He’s without question the best passcatching TE on the Rams roster, and he might be the best TE
the team has had since moving to St. Louis. "When you have
so many playmakers, you want to try to get everybody their
fair touches," McMichael said. "If I have 60 (catches), or if I
have 30, as long as we're winning, everything's fine."
McMichael’s going about his work the right way, too. He’s
been spending a lot of extra time with Bulger in an effort to
establish that magical chemistry. "What I want Marc to
understand is that he can trust me; that I'll be able to make a
play for him," McMichael said. "That's the one thing you've
got to do when you're coming into a passing attack that's as
good as the Rams were last year. You're trying to be another
part to that puzzle… Some of the throws that we were just
missing, we're starting to make…by the end of camp, we
should be hitting on all cylinders." Second year TE Dominique
Byrd, whose roster spot seemed in question at the beginning of
camp, has turned in consistently strong performances heading
into the weekend to strengthen his cause.
Defense: The Rams cut corner Mike Rumph to create a roster
spot for LB Larry Edwards, an undrafted rookie from North
Carolina. Edwards passed his physical and joined the team for
Thursday night's practice. LB Chris Draft returned to practice
on Friday after missing several days of practice following
complications of his asthma condition. Draft passed a
treadmill test o Thursday and was on the field for the evening
workout. On August 1st, CB Tye Hill was held out of practice
to get treatment for a staph infection on his left thigh. "It could
be from a bug bite or an ingrown hair, something like that,"
Hill said. "The important thing now is just to heal it." A
pleasant surprise in camp has been the ascension of two
undrafted rookies who are working with the second team
defense. Keep an eye on LB Quinton Culberson and CB
Darius Vinnett in the team’s preseason games to see if they
can maintain their status.
Special Teams: Return specialist WR Dante Hall has missed
practice time with a sore hamstring. He was originally
expected to be ready for the first preseason game, although it
now sounds like the Rams will hold him out of that game as
precaution. Hall is planning to improve St. Louis’ returns
production, "The fact that they traded for me and gave up a
couple of picks, it had to be pretty bad. They haven't had a
return in how long? Since Tony Horne or something like that?
That's not good. We, as a unit, we're definitely going to get
that turned around this year." New special teams coordinator
Al Roberts noted, "I'm getting a bunch of guys that want to be
on this, want to be here, want to block." Regarding Hall he
added, "I want him to do what he does. I don't ever want to
take that from him. He goes laterally so quick. And he's real
good at it. He gets 10 yards [on punt returns] easier than I've
ever seen anybody do it."
Rams Depth Chart
QB: Marc Bulger, Gus Frerotte, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brock
Berlin
RB: Steven Jackson, Travis Minor, Kay-Jay Harris
FB: Brian Leonard, Madison Hedgecock, Chris Massey, Brad
Lua
WR: Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Drew Bennett, Dante Hall
(PR/KR), Dane Looker, Derek Stanley, Dominique
Thompson, Lamart Barrett, Nate Morton
TE: Randy McMichael, Joel Klopfenstein, Dominique Byrd,
Aaron Walker, Mark Anelli, Steve Buches
K: Jeff Wilkins, Kevin Lovell
DT: Adam Carriker (DE), La'Roi Glover, Claude Wroten,
Clifton Ryan, Keith Jackson
DE: Leonard Little, James Hall (inj), Victor Adeyanju (inj),
Ryan Willis
MLB: Will Witherspoon
OLB: Pisa Tinoisamoa (W), Brandon Chillar (S), Chris Draft
(S/W), Jon Alston (W), Raonall Smith, Tim McGarigle,
Quinton Culberson, Kevin McLee, Larry Edwards
CB: Fakhir Brown (susp), Tye Hill, Jonathan Wade, Lenny
Walls, Darius Vinnett, Josh Lay
S: Corey Chavous (SS), Oshiomogho Atogwe (FS), Ronald
Bartell (FS/CB), Todd Johnson (FS), Jerome Carter (SS), J.R.
Reed (FS), Jeffrey Dukes (FS)
San Diego Chargers
QB: Philip Rivers is noticeably more muscular than he was
last year, and by all accounts has looked sharp throughout
camp so far. Many training camp observers have pointed out
that he is going downfield more often this year, dumping the
ball off to the running backs less frequently. Rivers seems to
be developing nice chemistry with his top three wide receivers
in Vincent Jackson, Craig Davis, and Malcom Floyd. He has
shown his characteristic accuracy. There is a steep drop-off
from Rivers to the backups, however, as neither Billy Volek
nor Charles Whitehurst has been impressive. Volek continues
to work with the second team during most practices, only
occasionally switching it up to get Whitehurst more reps
(since the third team gets few reps during the teamwork
portion of practice). Whitehurst struggled during the first few
days of camp; he has had some good practices since then but
is still inconsistent.
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson hasn’t lost a step yet, as training
camp observers have consistently remarked on how fast he
looks. Tomlinson spent the offseason working on his pass
routes as he expects to have more receptions this season than
he did in 2006. "That's why I spent the offseason making sure
I was in shape, to run those pass routes," said Tomlinson, who
believes he should have "70-plus catches and 315 carries."
Backup Michael Turner is working with the second team and
Darren Sproles is working with the third team. Tyronne Gross
will have to improve his pass-blocking to beat out Sproles for
a roster spot. Legedu Naanee, meanwhile, continues to line up
at a multitude of positions. He is built like a fullback, but has
the athleticism to be used like a WR, and is seeing a lot of
time lining up in the slot. He is somebody to watch during the
preseason. Lorenzo Neal has slimmed down during the
offseason; it remains to be seen whether dropping fifteen
pounds or so will detract from his power when taking on
linebackers in the hole.
WR: There is good news and bad news at the WR position for
the Chargers. The bad news is that Eric Parker will miss up to
ten weeks with a toe injury, meaning that he will probably
begin the season on the PUP list. The good news is that
Vincent Jackson, Craig Davis, and Malcom Floyd have all
been consistently impressive. We mentioned in last week’s
report that Craig Davis had been the talk of training camp up
to that point, and the same held this week, as well. He did miss
two practice sessions during the week with soreness in his
knee, but returned after that and continued to make highlightreel-worthy catches. Expect Davis to open the season as the
starter alongside Jackson. “Regardless of Eric’s situation,
Craig has come in here and been impressive from the start,”
said head coach Norv Turner. “We want to get Eric back as
soon as we can, but Craig is going to be a factor on our
football team.” Malcom Floyd has also been on the receiving
end of some big plays, and Vincent Jackson is living up to
expectations that he fulfill the WR1 role on the offense. With
Parker’s injury, Greg Camarillo’s chances to make the team
are improved. Camarillo has some of the same characteristics
as Parker – good route-running and hands, but a lack of deep
speed. Kassim Osgood has been inconsistent catching the ball,
but his roster spot should be assured due to his special teams
prowess.
TE: Norv Turner aims to move Antonio Gates around, lining
him up at different spots at the snap, to create matchup
problems. Gates has shown the quickness and hands he is
known for, and looks primed for another standout fantasy
season. Brandon Manumaleuna is being used mostly as a
blocker, and hasn’t been too involved in the passing game.
Rookie Scott Chandler is a big target with surprising speed
who has caught everything thrown to him in camp, but playing
behind Antonio Gates he will probably not be a major factor in
the offense.
Defense: The defense is running the same scheme as it has in
previous years. It is still doing a lot of blitzing up the middle.
LB Shawne Merriman sometimes lines up in a three-point
stance on the edge in passing situations as Luis Castillo moves
inside to DT. One of the big training camp battles that people
were on the lookout for this season – between Clinton Hart
and Eric Weddle at safety – has failed to materialize. Hart has
gotten all of the first-team reps when he’s suited up, and has
looked solid. Weddle has been working in the dime package.
Weddle did get some first-team reps at safety when Hart sat
out of last Thursday’s practice, and was continually around the
ball. But the starting job looks like it clearly belongs to Hart at
this point. The other much-hyped training camp battle has
shaped up to be everything it was expected to be: Drayton
Florence and Antonio Cromartie have taken turns making big
plays from the cornerback position. Cromartie has made more
spectacular plays on the ball, but has also been less consistent
than Florence. Florence is considered the starter right now;
they are really about even money to begin the season starting
across from Quentin Jammer. Many observers have indicated
that Florence and Cromartie look like the two best corners on
the team, but it is unlikely that they would both start over
Jammer barring injury. At inside linebacker, rookie Anthony
Waters is backing up Matt Wilhelm while Tim Dobbins is
backing up Stephen Cooper. Rookie Brandon Siler is working
with the third-team.
Special teams: Darren Sproles, Craig Davis, and Antonio
Cromartie are getting most of the work in the return game,
although Cletis Gordon and Steve Gregory have gotten a few
reps as well. The injury to WR Eric Parker narrows the field of
competitors to two for the starting punt returner role. Each
candidate sounds equally confident. RB Darren Sproles noted,
"I feel pretty high about it. They have me running with the
[first team], and I've looked pretty good out there." Rookie
WR Craig Davis counters, "I feel comfortable back there, just
being an athlete and doing things. I think that's one of the
reasons they brought me in here, because I have multi-talents."
So far, Davis has looked smoother catching the ball (while
Sproles has had his share of bobbles), but Sproles has been the
more explosive runner with the ball in his hands. Kicker Nate
Kaeding ended practice the other day by making a 58-yard
field goal. Although there is no pure kicker camp leg this year,
punter Brian Monroe can also handle kicking, in addition to
spelling starting punter Mike Scifres, but Monroe is not
expected to make the final roster.
Chargers Depth Chart
QB Philip Rivers, A.J. Feeley, Charlie Whitehurst, Brett
Elliott
RB LaDainian Tomlinson, Michael Turner, Larry Croom, Ray
Perkins, Tyrone Gross, Bryson Sumlin, Darren Sproles (IR)
FB Lorenzo Neal, Andrew Pinnock, Jonathan Evans, Shawn
Willis
WR Keenan McCardell, Eric Parker (inj), Vincent Jackson,
Kassim Osgood, Malcolm Floyd, Mark Simmons, Sean
Coffey (inj), Gerran Walker, Robert Ortiz
TE Antonio Gates, Brandon Manumaleuna, Aaron Shea, Ryan
Krause
K Nate Kaeding, Kurt Smith
DE Igor Olshansky, Luis Castillo (NT), Jacques Cesaire,
Derrick Robinson, Chase Page (inj), Patrick Massey
NT Jamal Williams, Ryon Bingham, Brandon McKinney,
Alvin Smith
ILB Donnie Edwards (inj), Randall Godfrey, Matt Wilhelm,
Stephen Cooper, Tim Dobbins, Carlos Polk
OLB Steve Foley (W), Shawne Merriman (S), Shaun Phillips
(S), Marques Harris (W), Jonathan Pollard
CB Quentin Jammer, Drayton Florence, Antonio Cromartie,
Markus Curry, Cletis Gordon, Steve Gregory, Anthony Mims
S Marlon McCree (FS), Terrence Kiel (SS), Bhawoh Jue
(SS/FS), Clinton Hart (FS/SS), Hanik Milligan (FS), Andre
Lott (FS), Richard Yancy
San Francisco 49ers
QB: Alex Smith is expecting to run more this season. Last
year, Smith ran for only 147 yards, but lest we forget the
athletic QB rushed for 631 yards and 10 TDs his last season at
Utah. "You look at what Steve Young did when he was here,"
Smith said. "There were two or three times in a game when he
was able to take off and run. Those were big plays." OC Jim
Hostler added, "Five or six times a game, he's going to have to
come alive with his feet. He's going to have to come out of the
pocket and make a play running or by finding a receiver
downfield after a scramble. And that's five or six (times)
guaranteed. Last year, it was one or two here and there." Last
year, Smith made small improvements like keeping his eyes
focused downfield as he stepped to the inside of the pass rush,
something Hostler calls the “slide and move”. Hostler believes
these are the times where Smith’s opportunities arise; big runs
tend to come when a QB makes small movements within the
pocket as it collapses or just keeping the play alive. "It's about
making the best thing out of what we have," Hostler said. "If
it's bad, make it good. If it's good, make it great. If it's really
bad, make it halfway bad." So, Hostler was asked, will Smith
step up and throw the ball to an open receiver, or take off
running like Young did so well in his prime? The OC flashed
a wide grin and said, "I don't know. That's why we pay him all
that money."
RB: With Frank Gore out for possibly the rest of the
preseason, the other RBs have a chance to make an impact. On
Saturday afternoon the team held a scrimmage which featured
several big plays from both sides of the ball. Working against
the 2nd team defense, Maurice Hicks had a 15-to 20-yard run
on the first play from the first team offense. After a few runs,
Alex Smith completed short passes to Hicks and Michael
Robinson, followed by longer ones to Vernon Davis and WR
Taylor Jacobs. Later, the first team defense lined up against
the 2nd team offense led by Trent Dilfer, who completed a nice
pass to Brandon Williams in traffic. Then, he was picked off
by Nate Clements. Later the offense rebounded and got into
the end zone on a 1-yard plunge by Robinson, who returned to
practice on Friday for the first time since suffering from
hydration on Tuesday, in which he was taken to the hospital.
Meanwhile, FB Moran Norris suffered from a lacerated lip
that forced him to don a special pad over his mouth when he
plays. Helping to fill the void, LB-turned-FB Zak Keasey has
stepped right into the mix, even taking some snaps at halfback
in single-back formations. He’s leaving an impressing on HC
Nolan, who jokingly called Keasey’s running style “ugly”
before adding, "He's doing a really good job. He's a fullback
but there's also times he carries the ball. He's hard-nosed, more
of a straight-ahead guy but he's a tough kid." Maybe it’s
Keasey’s long, braided hair flowing out of the back of his
helmet, or not. "It makes me feel real good to hear him say
some nice things about me," Keasey said. "I'm going to
continue to work hard but I'm not too fancy of a runner."
WR: On Friday, Arnaz Battle returned to practice after resting
his sore knee for the two previous days. Battle and Darrell
Jackson seem firmly entrenched as the team’s starting
receivers, but there’s a battle royale brewing for the remaining
three or four roster spots between newcomers Ashley Lelie
and rookie Jason Hill along with holdovers Bryan Gilmore,
Taylor Jacobs, Brandon Williams and Marcus Maxwell.
"We've got more speed and the best skill level that we've ever
had since I've been here," said WRs coach Jerry Sullivan. "I
want to see us making more plays and getting our quarterback
feeling a great deal of confidence in our skill level and ability.
I'd like to see our passing game jump up about 10-12 notches
from where we were ranked last year." QB Alex Smith thinks
this group is the deepest one he’s worked with since in his
short tenure with the club. "It's nice to have so much more
depth," Smith said. "It seems like that's the biggest difference,
to have so many different guys out there that can make plays
with the ball in their hands. I'm excited about that, to not have
to go out there and worry about losing the game, because
everyone out there can make plays. Now, I can just stay within
myself and go wherever the defense is telling me I need to go
with the ball. It's nice to have that." Battle and Jackson are
competing with each other to be Smith’s #1 target, although
that honor may go to TE Vernon Davis when all is said and
done. Battle is playing the flanker position, due his tenacious
blocking (Sullivan said only Hines Ward is a better blocker
than Battle amongst the NFL WRs), while Jackson has moved
over to the “X” spot, where Antonio Bryant played a year ago.
None of that seems to matter to Jackson. "My job is to be
open, and I'll be open," Jackson said. "We're expecting big
things from our receiving corps. We want to turn it up. We
want to get on the map. We're going to work hard and catch
every ball. We're going to be ready when they stack the box
for the run. That's going to give us more opportunities for 1on-1 and make more big plays down the field."
TE: Vernon Davis is ready for some football. The 2 nd year
tight end got into a scrap with veteran guard Larry Allen in
one scrimmage. The two had to be separated by a contingent
of players, coaches and staff. Davis has been vocal throughout
camp, jawing with several members of the defenses, but this
one was slightly different – it was with a fellow offensive
player. HC Mike Nolan offered up this answer when asked if
the incident was a concern. "Yes and no," he said before
pausing. "I don't like guys fighting for someone to get hurt but
I do like ... let's put it this way. If you're fighting about
something, it means something to you. And that's really
important. A lot of times, you'll find teams that are warm and
fuzzy all the time. And in my opinion, those teams typically
struggle in games because something's not important to them."
Nolan said he doesn’t want Davis to pick up bone-headed
penalties for silly stuff, but he liked Davis’ spirit and he didn’t
mind the trash talk providing that he backs it up with his play.
Davis later acknowledged his willful role in camp as
somewhat of a practice antagonist. "If I see things are quiet
and the guys aren't getting rowdy," the freakishly fast TE said,
"I'm going to take it upon myself to do something about it."
Asked if he’s worried about becoming a marked man because
of his brashness? "I want that 'X' on my back," he said. "Put it
on me. Come and get me."
Defense: First round pick Patrick Willis is making an impact
and pushing veteran Derek Smith for playing time in the
middle. "He's a young (guy) that's coming in advertised as this
great athlete, and that's obviously the first thing you see about
him," fellow LB Jeff Ulbrich said. "But beyond that, he's got
some un-teachable instincts, stuff in the pass game, the run
game where he's doing things that took a lot of us years to
recognize. I'm not sure if he knows what he is doing half the
time, but he's getting it done. He's doing it and it's just a
special deal, you know?" Throughout the week, Willis flashed
his vast potential and natural instincts on a few occasions. One
was a screen pass that seemed to be developing nicely for
Michael Robinson, who seemed to go unnoticed amidst a
heavy pass rush, but Willis saw it and flew over to Robinson
as the ball arrived to stop him for no gain. In 7-on-7 drills,
Willis displayed his 4.5 speed going down the sideline step for
step with Robinson and tipping the ball away on a well-thrown
pass from Smith. During team drills, Willis’ instincts were
noticeable as he stuffed the runner at the line of scrimmage on
one play, then he chased down another runner from the
backside on another play. As if that weren’t enough, he also
had interceptions on back to back days, too. On Saturday, NT
Aubrayo Franklin returned to practice after an MRI on his
strained elbow showed no serious problems. On Friday, DE
Bryant Young participated in his first contact drills in training
camp after being held out with lower back pain.
Special Teams: What does kicker Joe Nedney like about
camp? “I love the interaction with the fans. I love the fact that
I don’t have a roommate. I love the food, and the anticipation
of the start of the season.” Nedney went 2-of-3 on field goals
in Saturday’s scrimmage. Camp leg MacKenzie Hoambrecker
has his field goal attempt blocked. RB/KR Maurice Hicks
started the scrimmage by returning the opening kickoff across
midfield to the 48-yard line. Backup punt returner WR Arnaz
Battle missed two days of practice with a sore knee. WR
Taylor Jacobs wasn’t on the radar for offense or special teams
heading into camp, but in the early going he is making people
take notice. That includes returning kickoffs and punts. He
summed it up simply, "I'm trying to do everything I can to
make this team.”
49ers Depth Chart
QB: Alex Smith, Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill, Luke Getsy
RB: Frank Gore (inj), Michael Robinson (SD/3RB), Maurice
Hicks, Thomas Clayton, Arkee Whitlock
FB: Moran Norris, Zak Keasey, Steve Dildine
WR: Darrell Jackson, Ashley Lelie, Arnaz Battle, Bryan
Gilmore, Brandon Williams, Jason Hill, Taylor Jacobs,
Marcus Maxwell, Dominique Zeigler, C.J. Brewer
TE: Vernon Davis, Delanie Walker (FB), Billy Bajema, Zach
Hilton, Zac Herold
K: Joe Nedney
NT: Aubrayo Franklin (inj), Isaac Sapoaga, Joe Cohen,
Ronald Fields
DE: Marques Douglas, Bryant Young, Sam Rayburn, Ray
McDonald, Jerry DeLoach, John Syptak, Melvin Oliver (inj)
ILB: Brandon Moore (O), Patrick Willis, Derek Smith, Jeff
Ulbrich, Colby Bockwoldt
OLB: Manny Lawson, Tully Banta-Cain, Parys Haralson
(inj), Jay Moore (S), Roderick Green, Hannibal Navies, Mark
Washington, Andre Torrey (inj)
CB: Nate Clements, Walt Harris, Shawntae Spencer, Tarell
Brown, Marcus Hudson, Donald Strickland (inj), Markus
Curry, B.J. Tucker (IR)
S: Michael Lewis (SS), Mark Roman (FS), Keith Lewis
(FS/SS), Darnell Bing (SS), Dashon Goldson, Vickiel Vaughn
(inj)
Seattle Seahawks
QB: Matt Hasselbeck appears to be right on track in his return
following a disappointing 2006 campaign that was beset by
injuries. Hasselbeck’s backup, Seneca Wallace, is producing
some nice highlights, as well. On the 7th day of camp,
Wallace threw a perfectly placed pass to D.J. Hackett for a 39yard TD. That pass marked Wallace and the team’s longest
completion for the second day in a row. On Saturday, David
Greene showed some nice accuracy in his two series with the
second-team o-line. Greene completed 8 out of 9 passes on the
drive.
RB: Last week Shaun Alexander made an appearance on
Seattle radio KJR-AM in the morning where he’s been on a
role with his one-liners. "Sometimes I make people miss and
sometimes I make people miss badly," Alexander said. Later
the same day, Alexander was talking about new TE Marcus
Pollard, "I told him that I expect him to catch a lot of balls in
the red zone -- and fall on the 1-yard line." Fullback David
Kirtman broke his hang on Wednesday. He’ll undergo surgery
and be out for a week to 10 days.
WR: Ben Obomanu returned to practice on Sunday afternoon
after suffering a neck injury in Saturday’s scrimmage.
Obomanu told coaches that he could have returned to the
game, but was taken to a nearby ambulance for further
examination to play it safe. Obomanu said he mostly went
through range-of-motion tests. Otherwise, Obomanu has
looked impressive during camp earning praise and attention
from the team’s coaching staff. He caught three passes in the
scrimmage. Also playing extremely well was rookie Courtney
Taylor. On Sunday, Taylor injured his left knee and he’s
expected to miss four weeks according to HC Mike Holmgren.
D.J. Hackett caught five passes and was the top target in the
scrimmage. The top play, as mentioned above, was Hackett’s
39-yard touchdown catch after he beat corner Josh Wilson
who was attempting to cover Hackett on the play. The team
believes they have more depth at the position than in years
past, which should help given the injury to Taylor and the loss
of Darrell Jackson in the offseason. One player who is battling
for a spot is Joe Fernandez, whose father might ring a bell. Joe
is the son of former Raiders WR Mervyn Fernandez. Here’s
the full story on Joe. Wednesday’s practice saw Nate
Burleson make a couple of great plays. Burleson leaped for a
catch in front of corner Marcus Trufant on one play, then later
in the practice, he curled in front of Kelly Jennings for another
catch. D.J. Hackett missed that practice to be with his wife,
who gave birth to a son last week. Bobby Engram made a
diving catch on a ball from Matt Hasselbeck, despite great
coverage from Josh Wilson, while Courtney Taylor made
another nice catch in the same session.
TE: Leonard Stephens continues to have a strong camp
making a couple more impressive plays last week in practice.
He caught one ball behind Julian Peterson, who might be the
team’s best cover LB. Stephens is a FB/TE tweener, so keep
an eye on where he ends up being put on the final depth chart.
He’s said to have the best hands on the team, so he bears
watching in the preseason games as a deep sleeper considering
that starter Marcus Pollard’s best years are most likely in the
rearview mirror. Ben Joppru suffered a serious hip pointer in
Sunday’s scrimmage; Holmgren didn't provide a timetable for
his return. On Thursday, Will Heller sprained his ankle injury
during the morning practice. He is day-to-day. He did not take
part in the afternoon session, which was a relatively quick
workout.
Defense: On Sunday, the defense put on a hit parade. LB
Marcus Rucker put the wood to TE Benny Joppru near the
right sideline as he continued to show promise since making a
positional change a year ago. Patrick Kerney flashed his
trademark speed off the edge, by getting around the line and
flushing Seneca Wallace from the pocket despite being held
on the play. 3rd round pick DT Brandon Mebane is playing
with a low center of gravity and he’s proving to be a load to
move off the line. His play is giving the team added hope that
they can remedy last season’s weakness of stopping the run,
especially as DT Marcus Tubbs continues to rehab from
injuries. "He has a bright and long future in this league," said
Chuck Darby, a fellow defensive tackle. "He's so explosive off
the rock; he gets off blocks and is a good pass rusher." LB
Leroy Hill suffered a hamstring injury, but it wasn’t severe
and he’s listed as day to day. Corner Kelly Jennings
intercepted Seneca Wallace in one practice, returning it from
one end zone to the other for a TD. Incredibly, the athletic and
speedy Wallace almost chased Jennings down. Jordan
Babineaux, Floyd Womack, Marcus Tubbs and Patrick Ghee
were all sidelined by injuries last week.
Special Teams: Kicker Josh Brown has looked solid in
practices, and kicked a 48-yard field goal in Friday’s
scrimmage. He also has been doing better on kickoffs than
camp leg Kurt Smith, who was a kickoff specialist in college.
Early in camp, rookie CB Josh Wilson was not utilized on
returns so that he could focus on defense, but recently he has
joined the fray on special teams. Also practicing on returns
have been WR Nate Burleson, WR Bobby Engram, WR Ben
Obomanu, and QB Seneca Wallace. Obomanu left the
scrimmage with an apparent neck injury. Special teams’
practices have been less intense this year compared to the
prior two years. Is that a cause for alarm? Not necessarily,
because that was intentional. Former special teams coordinator
Bob Casullo was let go in the offseason and replaced with
Bruce DeHaven, whom HC Mike Holmgren felt was a better
fit with his way of approaching things.
Seahawks Depth Chart
QB: Matt Hasselbeck, Seneca Wallace, David Greene, Travis
Lulay, Erik Meyer
RB: Shaun Alexander, Maurice Morris, Marquis Weeks
FB: Mack Strong, Leonard Weaver, David Kirtman (inj), Josh
Parry
WR: Deion Branch, D.J. Hackett, Bobby Engram, Nate
Burleson (PR), Ben Obomanu, Courtney Taylor (inj), Jordan
Kent, Logan Payne, Joe Fernandez, Chris Jones
TE: Marcus Pollard, Will Heller, Benny Joppru (inj), Joe
Newton, Ronnie Ghent
K: Josh Brown
DT: Chartric Darby, Marcus Tubbs (inj), Robert Bernard,
Brandon Mebane, Craig Terrill, Russell Davis, Marcus Green
DE: Patrick Kerney, Bryce Fisher, Darryl Tapp, Baraka
Atkins, Brandon Green, Jeb Heckuba, Robert Pollard, Scott
Scharff
MLB: Lofa Tatupu, Niko Koutouvides
OLB: Leroy Hill (L), Julian Peterson (R), Kevin Bentley (L),
Will Herring, Lance Laury
CB: Marcus Trufant, Kelly Jennings, Josh Wilson
S: Deon Grant (SS), Brian Russell (FS), Michael Boulware
(SS), Jordan Babineaux (SS) (inj), Mike Green (FS) (inj),
Kevin Hobbs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
QB: In Sunday’s 7-on-7 passing drills, Jeff Garcia looked
sharp. He threw a bullet to Michael Clayton on the first play,
then on the next play, he did the same thing to Ike Hilliard
down the left seam. Two plays later, Garcia threw a perfect
pass on a quick slant to David Boston, hitting him in stride.
QB Luke McCown finished off the "move-the-ball" twominute drill on a strong note. McCown moved the team into
field goal range, where he was able to stop the clock with 18
seconds left. Chris Simms didn’t participate in 11-on-11s for
nearly a week, but HC Jon Gruden said Simms will likely play
in the preseason opener. On Sunday, Simms threw under QB
coach Paul Hackett’s watchful eye for about 30 minutes in the
morning practice. "He needs to play, obviously," Gruden said.
"But there's a lot of things that go into that. Do you get the ball
and can you do something with it and look at some guys?
We'd like to do that. Physically, he looked good today from
what I saw and hopefully he can work himself back into a
ready position this week."
Simms seems to be fine mentally, but his arm isn't reacting
as quickly or sharply as he expects. "My mind is not the
problem as far as dropping back and finding the open
receiver,'' Simms said. “It's just that I'm a little late trying to
get it to him or a little inaccurate with it. It's like my mind
says, 'Okay, there he is, he's open.' I'm just not quick and sharp
with it. I don't know if anybody really knows. It's not an injury
you can go back and look at the records of and say, 'This guy
had it in '98.' It's an unknown thing, I think, to a lot of people.
I'm just going to keep trying to plug away and we'll see what
happens.” Simms condition was described as “irregular
proprioception”, which is not uncommon following abdominal
surgery. Simms feels healthy, but he is considerably behind
starter Jeff Garcia and backups Luke McCown and Bruce
Gradkowski.
RB: The teams RBs put in some good work on Wednesday
during the “3rd and 1” drills at midfield. The offense converted
a majority of its attempts, but the defense stood its ground
forcing fumbles by Earnest Graham and Lionel Gates on
consecutive plays. S Will Allen and CB Torrie Cox each had a
recovery. Gruden voiced his displeasure with the gaffes,
adding that players don't last long at camp if they can't hold on
to the football. Cadillac Williams was sharp in the drills,
darting through the defense for a first down easily. FB Mike
Alstott didn’t have much trouble either getting the first down.
Trying to redeem himself, Graham pulled off a sweet move on
DE Patrick Chukwurah, allowing him to get to the corner, but
a hold on WR Maurice Stovall brought it back. In full team
drills, Garcia and Caddy worked well together starting from
inside the defense’s 20-yard line. The offense drove to the 8yard line, where Garcia freelances as protection broke down.
The veteran QB scrambled out of the pocket toward the line,
where he spotted Cadillac coming open in the end zone. At the
last second, Garcia backhanded the ball through a crowd into
Williams’ arms for a TD.
WR: Michael Clayton has his hands full in the battle to keep
his No. 2 WR job. Clayton’s been plagued by an assortment of
injuries for the past two seasons. It didn’t help matters when
he tweaked his back on Thursday. He was able to practice
Friday, but then had to rest on Saturday. The back tightened
up on him overnight, so he took the day off. “After the back,
everything else starts to go, and I didn't want anything to get
hurt," Clayton said. "Just staying healthy. I took the day off to
be ready to go today." The 4th year WR is locked into one of
the most heated battles in camp with 2nd year Maurice Stovall
and, the dark horse, former Pro Bowler David Boston, who is
back and looking as big and quick as ever. Clayton and
Stovall are usually side by side during drills. Both players
routinely stay after practice to catch extra balls, too. HC
Gruden is enamored by Stovall’s size (6’5”) and there’s no
question that Clayton has to earn his spot in the lineup this
year. That said, Gruden is riding Stovall hard just the same.
On Saturday, Gruden barked out, “Come on, Stovall! That’s
the ugliest route I’ve seen! Carry your pads, Stovall!” To
Clayton’s credit, he’s working overtime and it may be starting
to payoff.
It looks as if Clayton is gaining on Stovall and David Boston,
who wasn’t even in the NFL last season. "People have totally
forgotten about him, don't even know he's alive," Gruden said.
"If he can come back, it will be one heck of a story." He’s
running double moves, catching the ball very well and getting
in and out of his breaks quicker than before. "Last year, I was
trying to play the recovery game from practice to practice. I
wasn't ready," Boston said. "This year, I'm able to recover
from the morning practice to the afternoon practice and keep
my explosiveness." CB Ronde Barber thinks Boston looks
good, too. "Last year, he didn't look like the David Boston that
everybody remembers from his years at Ohio State and his
first couple years in the league," Barber said. "He couldn't run.
He wasn't explosive. But I noticed in the offseason that he was
showing it again, and he's showing it now. Barring anything
unforeseen, I can't imagine him not exploding back." Boston,
who turns 29 this month, said, “I haven't made any big plays
or done anything in three years, but I played the first five years
and I'm trying to pick up where I left off. It's not easy."
TE: On Saturday, the team signed TE C.J. Leak. Leak
participated in the Bucs' rookie minicamp in May and was
with the team during OTAs. Leak is the brother of former
Florida QB C.J. Leak and the son of former Bucs WR Curtis
Leak.
Defense: With Barrett Ruud unavailable to practice, the Bucs
are getting former SLB starter Ryan Nece a lot of reps with
the first team defense at MLB. Nece and third round pick
Quincy Black have switched positions. "Those guys kind of
switched roles," said linebackers coach Gus Bradley. "We're
trying to get (Nece) as many reps as we can. With Barrett not
being able to practice, it's benefited Ryan and Antoine Cash.
He's pretty versatile, Ryan is. He could, at the drop of a hat,
play any one of the three positions and we'd be in good
shape." Safety Sabby Piscitelli didn’t practice on Sunday due
to what Gruden called “sore lowers”. Ruud (bruised knee) and
DT Ryan Sims (hamstring) were also held out. Ruud said he
tweaked his knee following what he called a “a funny plant”.
He should be able to return in a day or two. Sunday’s play of
the day came from Ronde Barber, who showed why he’s such
a tough defender in the slot. Barber broke up a pass from Luke
McCown intended for Ike Hilliard allowing Will Allen to
intercept the deflection. Rookie DE Gaines Adams was slowed
by a triceps strain this week, but on Friday, he took reps with
the first team during 11-on-11s. At the under tackle position,
Ellis Wyms was back at work Sunday but he’s fallen behind
Jovan Haye in the battle for reps. The Bucs signed DE Greg
White over the weekend. White played for Bucs offensive
assistant and Orlando Predators coach Jay Gruden in the
Arena League. White set the AFL record with 15 sacks in
2007. To make room, the team released LB Evan Benjamin
and DT Justin Frick.
Special Teams: The Bucs are breaking in a relatively new
long snapper this year. Andrew Economos did snap in two
games last year, filling in for an injured Dave Moore, who has
since retired. The holder on kicks, punter Josh Bidwell, is
happy with the early results, "Andrew has been doing a great
job. He's solid. His protection has gotten a ton better and Matt
has great rhythm with him. I'm real, real confident with him
up there." Kicker Matt Bryant has also looked solid so far.
WR Mark Jones and WR Chad Owens are expected to battle
for the return specialist role, but don’t rule out CB Philip
Buchanon, particularly on punt returns. The Bucs realize he
may be the closest thing they have to current gold standard
Devin Hester, so they are looking for more ways to utilize
him. WR Michael Clayton has also been practicing on returns.
Buccaneers Depth Chart
QB: Jeff Garcia, Bruce Gradkowski, Chris Simms, Luke
McCown, Bruce Eugene
RB: Cadillac Williams, Michael Pittman (3RB), Earnest
Graham, Ken Darby
FB: Mike Alstott, B.J. Askew
WR: Joey Galloway, Michael Clayton (inj), Maurice Stovall,
Ike Hilliard, David Boston, Paris Warren, Mark Jones
TE: Jerramy Stevens, Alex Smith, Anthony Becht, Keith
Heinrich, C.J. Leak
K: Matt Bryant
DT: Chris Hovan (NT), Kevin Carter (DT), Jovan Haye, Ellis
Wyms, Ryan Sims (NT), Greg Peterson
DE: Greg Spires, Gaines Adams, Patrick Chukwurah, Julian
Jenkins, Greg White, Charles Bennett (IR)
MLB: Barrett Ruud, Adam Hayward
OLB: Derrick Brooks (W), Cato June (S), Ryan Nece (S),
Quincy Black, Jamie Winborn (S)
CB: Ronde Barber, Brian Kelly, Phillip Buchanon (PR), Alan
Zemaitas, Torrie Cox (susp), Marcus Hamilton, Sammy Davis,
Marcus Hamilton
S: Will Allen (FS), Jermaine Phillips (SS), Sabby Piscitelli
(SS), Tanard Jackson (FS), Kalvin Pearson (SS), Eli Ward
(FS)
Tennessee Titans
QB: Vince Young got into a skirmish with Donnie Nickey last
Wednesday, throwing a punch with his passing hand. Luckily,
neither Young nor Nickey were hurt in the incident.
Afterwards, everyone involved downplayed the incident with
Young saying, “We’re all a big family. We’re still a family.
You know family members fight, too. We got it off our chest
and now we’re going to go shower.” Young is still receiving
the bulk of the first team snaps and the defense is playing a
heavy amount of zone against the Titan offense, showing that
offensive coordinator Norm Chow doesn’t expect the very
mobile quarterback to see much man-to-man defense. In an
interview, Young was asked about being on the cover of
Madden 08 and responded, “ “I feel like they have our
Tennessee Titans overall rating pretty low, but that’s how we
like to keep it,” he said. “We like to come into the season
showing them what we can do.”
RB: Chris Brown and LenDale White are sharing snaps with
the first and second teams. Jeff Fisher commented, “Both of
them at the end of the play are going to gain yards. They just
do it a little differently. LenDale’s more of an inside runner
but has the ability to bounce outside. Chris can start outside
but cut back inside. Both of them have the ability to take the
ball the distance, which is good. Both of them have proven
themselves – Chris already at this level, and LenDale,
obviously, at the collegiate level. He’s shown some things
over the last year, that he can be a quality back as well.”
White was held out of Wednesday’s practice with a sore
shoulder, leading to extra reps for Quinton Ganther and
Dontrell Moore, who are fighting for a single roster spot.
WR: The Titans are allowing virtually every receiver an
opportunity to run with the first team. Courtney Roby,
Brandon Jones and Paul Williams received praise from Coach
Fisher who, when asked what players have caught his eye in
camp, responded, “We’ve seen improvement in a lot of areas.
I’d rather talk about positions. You’ve got receivers like
Courtney [Roby] making catches and Brandon [Jones]
consistently making catches. Paul Williams, yesterday, had
some great catches.” Fisher seems to think that Eric Moulds is
doing well and “not making any mistakes.” The coach stated
that he thought one more week in the system would allow
Moulds to have a strong understanding of the Titans offense
and his role in it.
TE: The Titans still have 5 tight ends in camp and Fisher
indicated that the team could well have 3 tight ends active
each Sunday. Said Fisher, “That’s one position we really
haven’t identified. It’s a competitive position only because
we’re going to potentially use three in a game. We’re trying to
take advantage of the strengths of all three of them. Ben
[Hartsock] is more of an on-the-line blocker and knows
exactly what to do, yet can get down the field. And Ben
Troupe is more of a receiver-type. Bo [Scaife] is kind of a
combination of both. He’s more versatile. So it’s a good
combination to have with the first three. And then of course
we have depth there, too. Coop [Cooper Wallace] is having a
good camp and Jamie [Petrowski]’s starting to get his legs
back underneath him a little bit. Casey [Cramer]’s kind of a
jack of all trades. He plays fullback, he plays tight end, he
does everything for us. It’s as much depth as we’ve had for a
number of years at that position.”
Defense: The battle for the starting MLB job continues as the
Titans head into week two of camp. LBs coach Dave
McGinnis' plan is to give Stephen Tulloch and Ryan Fowler
both equal reps with both the first and second units in each
practice. "They're alternating and both getting equal reps with
the first unit," McGinnis said. "Whoever ends up winning it,
it'll make them a better player, both of them better players and
it'll make us a better team." Rookie DT Antonio Johnson will
have season-ending surgery on his left knee. "We felt he had a
chance to help us," HC Jeff Fisher said Saturday. "It's an
unfortunate [situation] ... There will be no issues as far as
returning for the offseason program." The Titans signed free
agent DT Lauvale Sape following Johnson’s. Sape was
recently released by the Oakland Raiders. Free agent DE
Simeon Rice visited the Titans headquarters on Friday.
Special Teams: It was revealed recently that kicker Rob
Bironas underwent two offseason surgeries, including one on
his knee. Special teams coordinator Alan Lowry noted, “The
hardest part for him has been his injury situation, because he's
had two surgeries this offseason. He's had to overcome that
and he's really still working his way back into kicking. He's
not full speed by any means, you can tell with his kickoffs he's
not where he hopefully will be when we start the regular
season." If he is not ready to go, that could open up the
opportunity to camp leg John Vaughn. HC Jeff Fisher said of
Vaughn, "It's a very competitive situation. I've been very
impressed with what John's been able to do and his leg
strength and his accuracy. We haven't had this in as long as I
can remember, two guys who can consistently put the ball
through the uprights from way out. It's going to be interesting
to see how it unfolds."
Right now, Courtney Roby is also returning kicks and rookie
Chris Davis, who is seeing lots of time in the slot position, is
returning punts. Another candidate to take over on returns is
DB Cortland Finnegan. Lowry discussed Finnegan, “He's got
the most quickness, and he's really explosive. He's strong for
his size a lot like Pac was. So we'll give him the first shot and
see what happens." Team members have recently commented
that Finnegan is actually faster than Pacman Jones. Finnegan,
once thought of as battling for a roster spot, is making the
most of his opportunity in the return game by fielding lots of
punts, making a play for the position in Adam Jones’s
absence.
Titans Depth Chart
QB: Vince Young, Kerry Collins, Tim Rattay
RB: LenDale White, Chris Brown, Chris Henry, Quinton
Ganther, DonTrell Moore
FB: Ahmard Hall, Casey Cramer (TE), Jonathan Evans
WR: Brandon Jones, Eric Moulds, Courtney Roby, Roydell
Williams, Justin Gage, Paul Williams, Chris Davis, Jonathan
Orr, Joel Filani, Biren Ealy, David Givens (inj)
TE: Ben Troupe, Bo Scaife, Ben Hartsock, Cooper Wallace
K: Rob Bironas, John Vaughn
DT: Albert Haynesworth, Randy Starks, Jesse Mahelona, Rien
Long (inj), Tony Brown, Lauvale Sape, Antonio Johnson (IR)
DE: Kyle Vanden Bosch, Antwan Odom (inj), Travis LaBoy,
DeQuincy Scott, Josh Savage (inj), Jacob Ford, Sean Conover,
Jermaine McElveen
MLB: Stephen Tulloch, Ryan Fowler
OLB: Keith Bulluck (W), David Thornton (S), Cody Spencer
(W), Gilbert Gardner (W), Ken Amato, LeVar Woods, Terna
Nande, Spencer Toone
CB: Nick Harper, Kelly Herndon, Reynaldo Hill, Michael
Griffin, Andre Woolfolk, Ryan Smith, Michael Waddell, Eric
King, Pacman Jones (susp)
S: Chris Hope (SS), Lamont Thompson (FS), Calvin Lowry
(FS), Bryan Scott (FS), Cortland Finnegan (FS/CB), Donnie
Nickey, Vincent Fuller (FS), Brandon Sharp
Washington Redskins
QB: Expectations are high for Jason Campbell this season and
two weeks into camp, the jury is definitely still out. Campbell
was held out of Saturday’s scrimmage against the Baltimore
Ravens during the 11-on-11 drills, and that was probably for
the best given how much he struggled in the 7-on-7s.
Campbell has been erratic throughout camp, having sessions
where he looks fantastic and others where he looks lost. Coach
Gibbs didn’t sound very excited about Campbell’s
performance on Saturday, saying, "For Jason, it's about getting
the right reads…He was checking down a bunch."
Mark Brunell has looked OK in camp thus far, and seems to
have chemistry with Santana Moss much like we saw in 2005
when they started together. Rumors that Brunell could be
traded to Atlanta won’t go away, as a story in the AtlantaJournal Constitution (8/5) brought up the premise again. With
Todd Collins and rookie Jordan Palmer (Carson’s younger
brother) also in camp, it’s not completely illogical to see
something happening. Remember, Brunell was coached by
Falcons HC Bobby Petrino when they were in Jacksonville.
Casey Bramlet was released this week.
RB: Clinton Portis owners have to be getting nervous in
fantasy football circles. Portis missed practice this past week
with knee tendinitis. Even though HC Gibbs says it’s merely
precautionary, it’s notable that the team had Portis undergo an
MRI exam this week just to be sure. The good news is the
MRI showed no incremental damage beyond the preexisting
tendinitis. Portis didn’t participate in the scrimmage against
the Ravens, but Gibbs believes he would have if this had been
a regular season contest. "I have every confidence that had
that been a game today, he would have played," Gibbs said
after the scrimmage.
Ladell Betts and RB3 Derrick Blaylock saw the bulk of action
this week, and each were heavily involved in the passing game
during the 7-on-7 portion of the Ravens scrimmage. The main
workhorse on Saturday was rookie Marcus Mason, who toted
the rock 12 times for 34 yards. Mason faces long odds to make
the roster, but has done everything coaches could ask in the
process.
WR: It was a quiet week for the Redskins starting receivers.
Santana Moss has been bothered by a hip flexor and missed
some time intermittently. His injury isn’t considered serious.
Brandon Lloyd had a quiet week and sat out the Ravens
scrimmage with shin splints. The Redskins haven’t officially
named a starter opposite Santana Moss but Antwaan RandleEl has been more productive in the first two weeks of camp.
James Thrash was considered the odd man out before camp
started, but he’s been a favorite target of both Jason Campbell
and Mark Brunell during the early part of camp. He caught a
handful of passes against the Ravens including a TD from
Jason Campbell.
TE: Unlike Clinton Portis, Chris Samuels and Brandon Lloyd,
Chris Cooley has been in regular season form from the start of
camp. Last year, Cooley got off to a slow start but ended up
leading NFL tight ends in yards after the catch. If we’re to
believe OC Al Saunders, he could be an even more potent
threat this season. "He is used in the same vein as we used
Tony Gonzalez in Kansas City," said Saunders. "I expect
Chris Cooley to be one of the dominant forces in what we
do offensively."
Defense: The Redskins defense, which was among the
league’s least effective in 2006, looks to reassert themselves
and force more turnovers this year. The good news is that the
team has been intercepting and deflecting passes in practice
quite a bit. The bad news is the defense got shredded in 11-on11 drills against the Ravens. To be fair, newly re-acquired CB
Fred Smoot intercepted a Steve McNair pass.
DC Gregg Williams has been toying with new positional
designations, including moving Sean Taylor to free safety with
an eye toward rookie LaRon Landry playing the strong.
Another idea, at least in certain downs and distances, will be
lining up LB Marcus Washington at end and moving DE
Phillip Daniels inside to tackle. Williams hopes the moves will
add speed to the front four in obvious passing situations.
Special Teams: After camp leg Tyler Fredrickson was
released, HC Joe Gibbs discussed the scenario, "I didn't like
[cutting Fredrickson] earlier in the week, because that puts us
in a little bit of a bind. I think what happens there is we got
kind of critically short, and then what happens is you get short
at just one spot, and it costs you all your practice because you
can't stay out there if you're not getting work. And lots of
times you're deep at other areas and need work, and you can't.
So we had pressure at fullback, and we had tight end pressure,
so we decided to make that move, and we didn't like doing
that." Kicker Shaun Suisham response was not necessarily
politically correct, but it was honest, "From a selfish
standpoint, outside of Tyler as a person, it's great. I want all
the kicks. I don't want anyone else taking the kicks. I don't
want anyone else taking the reps. I want everything. I know
it's a selfish thing, but I like being the guy, and I want to
continue being the guy, and I don't want to give it to anyone
else. I kind of like what I'm doing right now." Suisham opened
the teams scrimmage at Baltimore with a 75-yard kickoff for a
touchback. WR Carl Berman has been practicing on kickoff
and punt returns, but he is currently day-to-day with a strained
hamstring.
Redskins Depth Chart
QB: Jason Campbell, Mark Brunell, Todd Collins, Jordan
Palmer
RB: Clinton Portis (inj), Ladell Betts (3RB), Rock Cartwright,
Derrick Blaylock, Marcus Mason
FB: Mike Sellers, Peter Schmitt, Nehemiah Broughton (IR)
WR: Santana Moss (PR), Antwaan Randle El (KR/PR),
Brandon Lloyd, James Thrash, Corey Bradford, Mike Espy,
Ryan Hoag, Jason McAddley, Deyon Williams, Bill Toler
TE: Chris Cooley, Todd Yoder, Tyler Ecker, Pete Schmitt
(inj)
K: Shaun Suisham, Tyler Fredrickson
DT: Cornelius Griffin, Joe Salave'a, Kedric Golston, Anthony
Montgomery, Ryan Boschetti, Matt Sinclair, Vaka Manupuna
DE: Philip Daniels, Andre Carter, Renaldo Wynn, Demetric
Evans, Justin Hickman
MLB: London Fletcher, H.B. Blades
OLB: Marcus Washington (S), Rocky McIntosh (W), Lemar
Marshall (W), Khary Campbell (S/M), Dallas Sartz
CB: Shawn Springs, Carlos Rogers, Fred Smoot, David
Macklin, Jerametrius Butler, Ade Jimoh, Daniel Francis
S: Sean Taylor (FS), Laron Landry (SS), Omar Stoutmire
(SS), Pierson Prioleau, Vernon Fox (SS), Reed Doughty (SS)