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Volume 8, Issue 130 (Saturday, September 1st)LIMITED TIME OFFERS Hi Folks, Good Sunday to you. The College games kicked off in full force today and that means the pros can't be far behind. We've got lots of news and notes for you so let's get to it. JSITE NEWS A.
Redraft Overall Rankings
B.
Stat Projections
C.
Draft Dominator Application
D.
VBD Application
INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1. DET - RB Kevin Jones To Start Season On Active Roster2. JAX - Jaguars Release 19 Players Including QB Leftwich 3. WAS - Redskins Sign TE Cooley To 6-Year Extension 4. KC - RB Holmes Placed On Non-Football Injury List 5. DAL - Cowboys Move K Gramatica to IR - Folk To Kick 6. IND - Colts Release RB Dorsey 7. ATL - Falcons Release 22 Players - Prater To Be Kicker 8. JAX - WR Walker To Injured Reserve 9. DAL - Dallas QB Coach Wilson Suspended 10. CIN - STL - Bengals Complete Trade For QB Fitzpatrick 11. SD - RB Turner Expects To Practice This Week 12. OAK - Raiders Starting QB Will Be Kept Secret 13. ATL - Falcons Not Interested In QB Leftwich 14. TB - QB Simms Survives Cuts 15. DEF - NE - DT Seymour Officially On PUP List 16. DEF - HOU - SEA - Texans Complete Trade For DB Boulware DET - RB Kevin Jones To Start Season On Active Roster Source: Tom Kowalski, Mlive.com On Thursday, it appeared Lions running back Kevin Jones would miss the first five games of the regular season. By Saturday, coach Rod Marinelli kept open the possibility that Jones might play in the regular season opener next Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. How did Jones' fortunes change so rapidly? According to Marinelli, it was a conversation that Lions officials had with the surgeon, Dr. Robert Anderson, who performed the Lisfranc surgery on Jones' left foot back in December. "The biggest thing I wanted to know from the surgeon is 'Will this hurt his career? Can he get hurt?''' Marinelli said Saturday. "The surgeon assured us all that his foot is healthy, it's strong and there's no risk to that foot -- that surgery -- at this point. In another six weeks it wouldn't make that much difference.'' Marinelli said it's highly unlikely that Jones will play in the first game, but he's not ruling anything out. Marinelli wants to evaluate Jones every week on his status and said the best way to do that was take him off the PUP list. "This gives us a great opportunity to get him in football condition with pads,'' Marinelli said. "What happens, if you wait the next six weeks, then you put him in pads, he's still not ready. You have to get in pads and get in physical hitting condition. "The one thing the surgeon said is that there will be up days and down days, there will be days he pushes it and it's going to get swollen, it's going to hurt. Then there will be days it's going to feel great and he'll feel ready to go, but he still might not be yet. It's an injury that's hard to define.'' Marinelli and Lions president Matt Millen met with Jones on Friday and they told him of the team's desire to activate him to the 53-man roster. They told Jones to go home and talk it over with his family and they would call him later that night with their final decision. According to Marinelli, when Jones said he wanted to come off the PUP list, the decision was made.[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] This is obviously fantastic news for Jones. And bad news for Tatum Bell who would have been the clear cut running back for the first five games if Jones had been out. I've said all along that what the Lions DO with Jones' is much more telling than what they SAY about Jones. Putting him on the PUP would have been a clear statement that he wasn't nearly as close to being ready as everyone wanted to say. But in putting him on the active roster, the Lions obviously feel pretty good about him. I still wouldn't expect to see him the first two weeks of the season but he could start to work his way back in much sooner than if he'd been forced to be out on the PUP. Another huge benefit to not being on the PUP list is that he can practice with the team. Bottom line is Jones moves up significantly and Tatum Bell moves down.JAX - Jaguars Release 19 Players Including QB Leftwich Source: Scout.com The Jaguars released 19 players on Saturday with the most notable being former starting QB Byron Leftwich. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Another great example of how quickly things can move around here. David Garrard is the starting QB and Byron Leftwich will be looking for a team. WAS - Redskins Sign TE Cooley To 6-Year Extension Source: Associated Press, NFL.com Having been talking with the Redskins about an extension for months without much progress, TE Chris Cooley pressed for a resolution over the last four days. The result was that the Washington Redskins signed Cooley, a third-round draft pick from Utah State in 2004 whose rookie contract was due to expire at the end of this season, to a six-year, $30 million contract extension Saturday. The contract includes $14 million in guaranteed money for Cooley. Cooley caught 57 passes for 734 yards and six touchdowns last season and led all NFL tight ends in yards after the catch (7.35) and yards after contact (4.1). "It feels so good," Cooley said. "My biggest worry was that I just wanted to be here. I can play my whole career with the Redskins; that's an unbelievable thing." Cooley has 165 catches for 1,822 yards over three seasons and has yet to miss a game. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Not a big impact on his 2007 season but it seems like a good move for Washington and a nice check for Cooley. KC - RB Holmes Placed On Non-Football Injury List Source: Chris Smith, Footballguys.com Kansas City Chiefs veteran RB Priest Holmes may have seen his career come to an end for a second time on Saturday when he was placed on the non-football injury list. Holmes will not be able to practice or play for first six weeks of the season and this could spell the beginning of the end for the star running back. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] This isn't a big surprise. Some would say Holmes served his purpose to get Larry Johnson in camp and signed. DAL - Cowboys Move K Gramatica to IR - Folk To Kick Source: Chris Smith, Footballguys.com The Cowboys placed K Martin Gramatica on injured reserve. This means rookie Nick Folk from Arizona will be the Cowboys kicker.[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] This was what we expected but now we know for sure. He's an ideal guy to take with your last pick of the draft as he's likely under the radar of many owners and should have plenty of opportunity with this offense. Source: John Oehser, Colts.com The Indianapolis Colts have parted ways with RB DeDe Dorsey, releasing him on Saturday. Much hyped during the early summer, it appears the Colts have decided to go with former CFL player Kenton Keith in Dorsey's place. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] There was quite a bit of talk about the Colts sticking with their two back system and replacing Dominic Rhodes with another RB. Dorsey seemed to get a lot of consideration for the job but he just didn't show that he had what it takes. The Colts now look to go with a primary back offense with Joe Addai. But Kenton Keith still is a value if something were to happen to Addai. ATL - Falcons Release 22 Players - Prater To Be Kicker Source: Steve Wyche, Atlanta Journal Constitution The Atlanta Falcons released 22 players on Saturday to get to the mandatory 53 player limit. The most notable of the cuts included K Billy Cundiff, DL Paul Carrington, DL Darrell Shropshire and DL Tommy Jackson. Cundiff's release means that Matt Prater, signed Wednesday night, will be the Falcons' kicker entering the season opener, Sept. 9 at Minnesota. Also released was 3rd-string QB Casey Bramlet, leaving the Falcons with only starter Joey Harrington and backup Chris Redman as the only quarterbacks on the roster. All of the Falcons' 11 draft picks also made the roster. Sixth-round selection, center Doug Datish, is on injured reserve (wrist). [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Matt Prater is another candidate for last round kicker pick. He'll likely be under the radar of some guys in your league. The Falcons have plenty of questions on their offense this year without Mike Vick but they do play indoors of course. JAX - WR Walker To Injured Reserve Source: Jaguars.com The Jaguars placed WR Mike Walker (knee) on injured reserve. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Another surprising move for Jacksonville. Walker was a guy that had been making lots of noise in camp and was thought to have a chance to push the starters a bit. He'd been recovering from ACL surgery and also suffered a finger injury in camp. DAL - Dallas QB Coach Wilson Suspended Source: Dave Goldberg, Associated Press Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson was suspended for five games by the NFL on Saturday for buying and using performance-enhancing substances. Wilson, a 48-year-old former NFL quarterback, also was fined $100,000. He said he took the drugs to try to "improve the quality of my life" after living with diabetes for more than 20 years. He acknowledged he acted without "proper medical supervision." Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Wilson would return to his job after his suspension ends Oct. 9. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said both Wilson's suspension and the suspension Friday of New England safety Rodney Harrison stemmed from the investigation by the Albany (N.Y.) district attorney's office. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ESPN's Chris Mortensen said last night there was an NFL coach caught up in the same investigation that caught New England's Rodney Harrison. Looks like Wilson was the guy. I wouldn't panic over it, but this can't be good news for Tony Romo. CIN - STL - Bengals Complete Trade For QB Fitzpatrick Source: Mark Curnutte, Cincinnati Enquirer The Cincinnati Bengals traded an undisclosed 2008 draft pick to the St. Louis Rams for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick, a third-year player from Harvard, played in four NFL games with three starts in his first two seasons with the Rams. He was the Rams seventh-round pick, 250 overall, in the 2005 draft. The Bengals will announce their roster moves to trim to 53 players at HC Marvin Lewis' news conference at 4 p.m. Saturday. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] This is a great move for Fitzpatrick. He was stuck in St. Louis behind Gus Frerotte but in Cincinnati, he will move up to the #2 QB behind Carson Palmer as the team cut Doug Johnson Saturday. SD - RB Turner Expects To Practice This Week Source: Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune Chargers backup RB Michael Turner (sprained ankle) could return to practice as early as Monday but most likely won't return to the practice field until Wednesday. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Great news for Turner. He looks like he'll be back and ready to go. You don't draft Turner to play next week anyways, so he's probably still the handcuff for LaDainian Tomlinson over Darren Sproles. OAK - Raiders Starting QB Will Be Kept Secret Source: Steve Corkran, San Jose Mercury News Raiders HC Lane Kiffin will keep from publicly naming his starting QB until the day before the game. Kiffin said in a conference call Friday, that he wants to keep the Detroit Lions in the dark, forcing them to plan for both quarterbacks. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] We'll be working on this one for you next week. Right now, it feels like Daunte Culpepper will be the guy. ATL - Falcons Not Interested In QB Leftwich Source: Steve Wyche, Atlanta Journal-Constitution The Atlanta Falcons will not pursue QB Byron Leftwich via trade or through free agency, a team official confirmed. The Falcons are in the market for someone to compete for the No. 3 quarterback job behind starter Joey Harrington and Chris Redman. The team plans to wait until after cuts today to see who can be claimed off waivers. Some possible candidates include redskins QB Mark Brunell and Oakland's QB Andrew Walter. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Interesting news from Atlanta but it sort of makes sense. They seem committed to Joey Harrington and adding a guy like Leftwich could upset the dynamics there and have Harrington looking over his shoulder. A lower profile guy like Andrew Walter would make a lot more sense. Source: AP The Tampa Bay coach took four QBs to training camp five weeks ago and emerged Saturday with the same quartet after deciding to keep Chris Simms, who has struggled to regain his throwing form after missing most of last season with a spleen injury. How long the Buccaneers, who are hoping to rebound from a 4-12 finish, reasonably can expect to go with four quarterbacks is a question Gruden was not available to answer after the squad was trimmed to the season-opening limit of 53 players.[ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] This isn't shocking as Chris Simms just seemed like a guy that Tampa was keeping but there could be a limit to how long they'll keep 4 QBs on the roster. DEF - NE - DT Seymour Officially On PUP List Source: Mike Reiss, Boston Globe The New England Patriots have announced that DL Richard Seymour is on the reserve/PUP list, meaning he will be out for at least the first six weeks of the season. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Tough news for Seymour and the Patriots defense. They'll also be missing safety Rodney Harrison for the first four games. DEF - HOU - SEA - Texans Complete Trade For DB Boulware Source: John McClain, Houston Chronicle The Houston Texans traded DE Jason Babin to the Seattle Seahawks today for safety Michael Boulware. Babin, had a good training camp and preseason, but the Texans have been desperate because of injuries at safety. The Texans lost Glenn Earl early in training camp and starters C.C. Brown and Jason Simmons are playing with bruised shoulders. Boulware, a regular starter for the Seahawks, should be able to contribute immediately. [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ OUR VIEW ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Babin didn't seem to really fit into the scheme in Houston and the Seahawks hope he can be a contributor. The Texans needed safety help and Boulware should be a positive there. That'll do it for today, Folks. Have a great Sunday and we'll see you tomorrow with the update. J |
