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Volume 8, Issue 114 (Thursday, August 16th)
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Hi Folks, Welcome to Friday. It's a great time of the year to be a football fan and we hope you're enjoying it. We've got a ton of new content on the website for you plus lots of News and Notes. If you'd like to be able to access every bit of content we have available on the website from now until the Super Bowl, the Footballguys Subscription is for you. For more information about subscribing click here. It's everything you need to Dominate Your League. And remember, we have a money back guarantee so you've got nothing to lose. Enough talk from me. Have a great Friday and let's get to it. JSITE NEWS A.
Footballguys Podcast - The Audible - News & Notes Review
B.
New Cheatsheets
C.
New Projections
D.
New Staff Rankings
E.
New Draft Dominator
F.
New VBD App
G.
Projection Tweaks
INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1. CIN - Bengals OT Anderson Had Foot 'Procedure'2. ATL - Falcons RB Snelling Expected To Start On Friday 3. HOU - Texans WR Jones Seeing Time With First Unit 4. NYJ - Jets RB Jones, CB Revis Likely To Sit Out Vikings Game 5. OAK - RB Rhodes To Start Next Game 6. PHI - QB McNabb Ready For His First Start 7. CIN - Bengals Injury Update 8. OAK - Raiders HC Kiffin Likes WR Higgins 9. OAK - Raiders To Start QB Walter This Weekend 10. BUF - RB Lynch To Get Starting Nod 11. OAK - Raiders RB Job Still Open 12. IND - Can Colts RB Addai Shoulder The Load? 13. IND - Colts Backup RB Job Still Open 14. NE - Patriots QB Brady To Limit Number Of Throws 15. TB - Bucs HC Gruden Won't Put QB Simms On IR 16. DAL - Cowboys WR Owens Reports 20 Minutes Late To Practice 17. DEF - IND - Colts S Sanders Could Practice Next Week CIN - Bengals OT Anderson Had Foot 'Procedure' Source: Mark Curnutte, Cincinnati Enquirer Cincinnati RT Willie Anderson underwent a procedure on his foot recently, stemming from an injury in the 2006 season. He was wearing a protective boot around his right foot and lower leg. Anderson said his foot "is a major concern....Either this procedure works or it's bad news." HC Marvin Lewis, however, said that Anderson "was doing fine". [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Sort of a weird situation here as Anderson described the procedure as "shock treatments". Anderson said doctors "basically injure the area around the injury to get it to heal back. I'm being optimistic about it. I believe our training staff can get me back ready to play. It's a disappointment for me because to find out this late in the year, the reality is not good. But I'm being optimistic the procedure will work." Doesn't sound good to us. The Bengals offensive line is in shambles with the other tackle, Levi Jones out with a knee injury. Jones hopes to return next week. Watch this one very closely as it'll directly affect what we see from Carson Palmer and Rudi Johnson.ATL - Falcons RB Snelling Expected To Start On Friday Source: Craig Custance, Atlanta Journal-Constitution Atlanta Falcons running back Jason Snelling is expected to start and expected to see extended playing time in the team's Friday preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, while running backs Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood continue to get healthy. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Warrick Dunn is returning from back surgery. He practiced this week but will likely sit the game out. Jerious Norwood's been battling a stomach infection issue and is being called "very questionable". Both Dunn and Norwood should be OK. In the meantime, Snelling gets the start. HOU - Texans WR Jones Seeing Time With First Unit Source: Will Flaherty, HoustonTexans.com Houston Texans wide receiver Jacoby Jones has recently been moved up to the first team in several offensive formations, and he may start as the team's #2 wide receiver during their preseason game on Saturday. "He just continues to make plays," head coach Gary Kubiak said. "This kid just handles himself like he's been doing it a long, long time. We need to study him pretty hard and make sure we go get some more like that because he has made a lot of ground pretty quick." [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] For you guys in deeper leagues, keep an eye on Jones here. Matt Schaub is still an unproven guy at this level but if he lives up to the hype, Jones could be a steal. NYJ - Jets RB Jones, CB Revis Likely To Sit Out Vikings Game Source: Associated Press, NFL.com According to reports, New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis and running back Thomas Jones are currently considered unlikely to play in the team's upcoming preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Friday, although Jets head coach Eric Mangini remained coy on the subject. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] We'll likely get more Thomas Jones information from Drew Rosenhaus than we will Eric Mangini but most feel that Jones is still at least another week away. I'm not ready to panic on Jones, but I'm cautious here. Stay tuned. OAK - RB Rhodes To Start Next Game Source: Jerry McDonald, Oakland Tribune Although he is suspended for the first four weeks of the regular season, RB Dominic Rhodes will get the start at RB for the Oakland Raiders in their game against the San Francisco 49ers. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] I still don't know that I get this rule about allowing suspended players to play in preseason. But even if he can play, is that the best use of Oakland's preseason snaps with the first team? I guess we'll see. PHI - QB McNabb Ready For His First Start Source: Associated Press QB Donovan McNabb is looking forward to his first start since tearing a knee ligament last November. McNabb will start for the Eagles Friday night against the Carolina Panthers. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] I'd look for McNabb to play about a quarter or so. Don't expect anything wild from him. He just wants to go out, complete some passes, make a few handoffs and get a baseball cap on. Fingers crossed. Source: Mark Curnutte, Cincinnati Enquirer Cincinnati Bengals RB Rudi Johnson was not on the field for the afternoon practice with the Saints today. He injured the top of his right foot in the morning practice. In other injury news, WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh was back in practice after missing the morning workout yesterday. CB Keiwan Ratliff missed both Thursday practices and the Tuesday and Wednesday practices, because he had all four of his wisdom teeth pulled. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Jones looks like he'll be OK but we'll keep an eye on it. With Kenny Irons out, this team will lean on Rudi Johnson even more. So it's not surprising they might want to be careful with him. OAK - Raiders HC Kiffin Likes WR Higgins Source: Jerry McDonald, ANG Newspapers When asked which player had caught his eye of late, Oakland Raiders HC Lane Kiffin's answer was direct: rookie third-round draft pick WR Johnnie Lee Higgins. "Johnnie Lee has really made a great transition and is going after balls and doing things really well and he has football speed. There's track speed, the guy running a 40 who runs track, that I could care less about. I want to see football speed. He had it in college, he showed it on film and in the game. He has football speed. He puts cleats on and pads on and has to change direction and the ball is in his hand, he's really fast. That's football speed. So we're really excited with him," Kiffin said. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] This is one of those guys to file away. We don't think Higgins will be a contributor in 2007 but for you guys in dynasty leagues, listen to what the coach is saying. OAK - Raiders To Start QB Walter This Weekend Source: Jerry McDonald, ANG Newspapers The Oakland Raiders will turn to QB Andrew Walter to start Saturday night against the 49ers in San Francisco. Daunte Culpepper and Josh McCown will follow him. This is the reverse order of when they appeared against Arizona. "We feel that Andrew played well in the first game and it also gives us a chance to see guys in different settings," HC Lane Kiffin said. " (It gives) Andrew a shot to go in with the first unit against the first defense too. It gives Daunte a chance to play in the first half and not sit the whole time. Then it will give us a look at Josh coming off the bench to see how well he does as well." [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Andrew Walter really didn't get a fair shake last year on Oakland's terrible offense. He actually looked pretty good at times last week and I'm anxious to see how he looks with the first team. We still think it'll be McCown but stay tuned. BUF - RB Lynch To Get Starting Nod Source: Chris Brown, BuffaloBills.com Buffalo Bills RN Marshawn Lynch is expected to start Friday night against the Falcons. "Right now we'd like to see more of Marshawn so to ensure that we're thinking of putting him out there with that first group and see how he looks," HC Dick Jauron said. Lynch only appeared in seven plays last week and had just two carries for three yards. "It's going to be my first home game and I'm real excited about that," said Lynch. "I got some action last week and this week I'm looking to get a little more so I'm excited about that as well." [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Should be the first of many starts for Lynch. I like his prospects in this offense and like you, I'll be anxious to see how he fares as a starter. OAK - Raiders RB Job Still Open Source: Steve Corkran, San Jose Mercury News Raiders RB Lamont Jordan is energized and having fun again. Part of that is due to RB Dominic Rhodes, whose signing lit a fire under Jordan during the offseason. "(Coach Lane) Kiffin has definitely put back the fun in Raider football, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this thing comes together," Jordan said. How the running back situation comes together remains to be seen. Jordan considers himself the starter, but Kiffin said the job is still open despite Rhodes four game suspension to start the season. "We don't know who the starter is," Kiffin said. "They've got to compete and they'll figure that out by the way they practice and the way they play in preseason." [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Watching Kiffin manage his new RBs has been fun. He clearly lit a fire under Jordan and it seems to have stayed hot. Jordan is talking about knowing he's not yet worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as some of the elite backs in the league and wanted to change that. We'll see. IND - Can Colts RB Addai Shoulder The Load? Source: Todd Golden, Terre Haute Tribune-Star Colts HC Tony Dungy hasn't outright announced that RB Joseph Addai will be the feature back this season and has maintained he prefers a two-back system. But teammates and coaches alike feel Addai is ready to take over as the feature back of the team. "We haven't changed up anything with our techniques or gameplan," Colts OT Ryan Diem said. "I'm sure he can handle the load of carrying the ball 35 times if he needs to." The team has resigned itself into believing that whoever is on the field acts as if they're the feature running back at that given time. It's just widely believed that Addai will be in the backfield more often than his running back brethren. "He'll certainly play more than he did last year, he'll probably have more reps," RB coach Gene Huey said. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Whether Addai will be the feature guy or whether he'll play more a role like he did last season sharing time is one of the bigger questions of the year. As is the case with most team situations, it's about the personnel. And at this point, it doesn't look like another back is making a great case to be the running mate. So look for Addai to carry more of a load. But we're not 100% sold he'll be as successful as some are projecting. We see him as the #8 RB right now and that feels about right. IND - Colts Backup RB Job Still Open Source: Phillip B. Wilson, Indianapolis Star It's still a three-way race to win the backup running back job in Indianapolis. DeDe Dorsey, Clifton Dawson and Kenton Keith are still battling for the right to backup starting RB Joseph Addai. Dorsey was a special teamer last season and is currently listed second on the depth chart. Dawson set Ivy League records with 4,841 yards and 60 touchdowns at Harvard is picking up the offense well, according to HC Tony Dungy. And Kieth is a former CFL standout, but has been limited with a left ankle injury. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] As I said with the Joseph Addai story, whether a RB can emerge to work in tandem with Addai is a big question. But as of yet, no one has risen to the task. I'm still leaning toward DeDe Dorsey but that's far from settled right now. NE - Patriots QB Brady To Limit Number Of Throws Source: John Tomase, Boston Herald Now that he's hit the so-called peaked age of 30, New England QB Tom Brady is taking a more cautious approach with the number of balls he throws during practice to prevent "tired arm". He ran into some trouble last offseason with the condition and had to miss a few practices. "One thing I'm doing that's a little bit different is I'm really monitoring my throws in the preseason," Brady said. "Before I'd come out and I'd throw 100 balls a day, and after a while you throw 100 balls every practice, and it's 200 balls a day in two-a-days and you go, ‘Gosh, after four days why is my arm sore?' Brady hasn't missed a start since the 2001 season. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Tom Brady's getting even smarter with his training? Bad news for the rest of the league. TB - Bucs HC Gruden Won't Put QB Simms On IR Source: Rick Stroud, St. Petersburg Times Tampa Bay HC John Gruden made it very clear that struggling QB Chris Simms will not be placed on the injured reserve this season and that Simms will play when he performs at an acceptable level. "He's healthy. Why the hell would he go on IR? - If he was injured, he wouldn't be practicing and throwing 125 balls a day. It's the performance that needs to improve," Gruden said. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] The video on this was even better. Gruden looked at the guy like he had three heads when the question was asked. Fun video aside, the serious point is clearly that Simms has to improve. DAL - Cowboys WR Owens Reports 20 Minutes Late To Practice Source: Associated Press, NFL.com Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens showed up 20 minutes late to practice on Thursday morning. However, Owens, head coach Wade Phillips and team owner Jerry Jones said later in the day that the situation has been resolved. "He and Wade worked that out, and that's good," Jones said. "And both were very satisfied with how it worked out." [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Anyone want to guess Jones "resolved" this with a "Hi Wade. I'm gonna need you to not worry about T.O. here. Thanks. That would be greaaaaat." No big deal. Just bringing you everything you need to know. Plus a couple of things like this you might could live without, but it wouldn't be as much fun... DEF - IND - Colts S Sanders Could Practice Next Week Source: Phillip B. Wilson, Indianapolis Star Indianapolis FS Bob Sanders will aim to hit the practice field next Wednesday, according to Sanders and to a lessor extent HC Tony Dungy. Sanders took part in conditioning drills Wednesday and hopes to play in the teams' third preseason game against Detroit, August 25. The plan was to bring me back next week and play in the third preseason game, get some (repetitions)," Sanders said. "Right now, I'm on schedule. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Good news for Sanders and especially for the Colts. The sooner he's back on the field, the better. That'll do it for today, Folks. Have a great Friday and we'll see you tomorrow with the update. J |
