Ravens QB Joe Flacco – After a monster week 1, it might not be a bad idea to grab Flacco if he is available. Couple of reasons. It’s always nice to have a reliable back-up on yur roster for bye-weeks and injuries. But other managers might fall victim to the injury bug, and he can be trade bait later in the season.
Buccaneers RB Carnell Williams - What a pleasant surprie Cadillac was. 97 yards and a TD on 13 carries. If the Bucs were in the game, he would have had more touches. He has a nice stretch to end the season onto the fantasy playoffs. Starting with week 9. GB, MIA, NO, ATL, CAR, JETS, SEA (wk 15), NO (wk 16)
Saints RB Mike Bell – The guy ran for 148 yards on 28 carries yesterday. go get him. Especially if you have Pierre Thomas. And Hurry.
Colts WRs Pierre Garcon & Austin Collie – Anthony Gonzalez will be out for 2-6 weeks. One of these 2 guys need to fill his role. NFL.com’s Colts Depth Chart has Collie as AG’s backup.
Jets TE Dustin Keller – Mark Sanchez got plenty of use out of the Jets best receiving option. If he is available, go get him. He will put up low end TE1 numbers. [click to continue…]
Eagles RB Brian Westbrook experienced pain in his ankle while rehabbing the knee. Westbrook may just sit out the entire preseason and take his first snap in the Sept. 13 opener against Carolina.
The Browns No. 2 receiver spot is up for grabs. It’s a role Joshua Cribbs is seeking, hoping to duplicate his impact as an offensive and defensive special teams ace. Now Cribbs has set his sights on the Browns’ opening at No. 2 receiver. He believes that’s given him something even bigger to prove. ”That’s all I hear. ‘He can’t catch the ball. He can’t do this. He can’t do that.’ I love it,” Cribbs said after practice Monday. ”Now I’ve got to go out there and prove I can catch the ball. I’m working real hard to be in the running to be a No. 2. I’m going to keep showing the coaches I can be that guy.” [click to continue…]
It doesn’t appear the Jaguars have much interest in signing linebacker Derrick Brooks, who is still job-hunting after getting cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even if Brooks wanted to play for the veteran minimum, the Jaguars think 2008 draft pick Thomas Williams and rookie free agent Russell Allen will alleviate concerns about depth at the position.
“It’s not going to happen,” White said about putting weight back on. “I am not going to let it all go to waste, not the way I feel. My body feels good — my knees, my ankles, everything feels great out there. And I am trying to keep it that same exact way. So whatever I have to do, I am going to maintain. And when I check into camp (my weight) won’t be nothing over 230.” White weighed in at 229 pounds last week, and admitted that he weighed a whopping 261 last October. “Right now, this is like a perfect situation for me. But I am going to keep pushing myself,” White said. “This is the time where I know what I want to do. We are five weeks away from where I want to be, from what I have been looking forward to, and I’m not going to blow it. I have been playing football all my life so I know how to get ready for camp. I’ll be ready to roll.”
When Raiders quarterback Jeff Garciasigned a free-agent deal with the team, eyebrows raised throughout the league. And the 39-year-old Garcia is doing nothing to dispel the notion that he plans to play.
“Not knocking JaMarcus or anybody else on the team, but I just have a belief in my own abilities,” Garcia tells Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.
Broncos RB Peyton Hillissaid he is eager to get to training camp to get a better understanding of a new coaching staff that includes first-year coach Josh McDaniels, who was an assistant at New England. McDaniels has brought a Patriots-style air of secrecy to the Broncos, and the secrecy is apparently extending to Hillis and the rest of the running backs. Hillis said he hasn’t heard much more than “hearsay” about what his role in McDaniels’ system will be, but he said the uncertainty is a source of excitement rather than concern.
“I’m a scatback compared to Brandon Jacobs, so that’s what they’re trying to get me into because I can catch the ball real well out of the backfield,” Brown said when asked about his role. “Otherwise they’re just telling me to come in there and work hard, and I’m just going in trying to do what I can do to help the Giants win another Super Bowl.”
Where will Plaxico Burress end up in 2009? Prison, the Jets, Bucs, Bears? This, in my opinion, is more interesting than trying to figure out what Brett Favre will do. Burress recently had his gun case delayed until Sept. 23, so it’s not completely out of the question that Plax gets to play a full season in 2009. His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told reporters that he doesn’t Roger Goodell will suspend Burress until the case is finsihed. And of course his agent, Drew Rosenhaus agrees.
“Our hope is, based on this information, that he’ll be able to play unobstructed this year, without having a trial and he can get a season in and then deal with the legal issues after the season,” Rosenhaus told Miami television WSVN-TV. “This is our hope, and this is what I’m communicating to the rest of the NFL teams.”
OK, so if he gets to play next year where will it be? As I can gather it’s pretty much down to 3 teams.
New York Jets – My boys in Jersey haven’t had a WR like Burress since Keyshawn Johnson was in kelly green. A tall guy that you can just flip the ball in the air to and he will go and get it. Just ask Eli Manning how nice it was. Rumor has it that NY has cooled off on the idea of picking this cat up.
Dave Hutchinson of the Newark Star-Ledger is hearing that the Jets feel that their collective group of wide receivers are good enough to get the job done. Besides, it’s still only June and the organization will keep its options open at the wide receiver position. “Consistent with our philosophy, we will continue to do our due diligence with any and all free agents that are available now and in the future,” the Jets said in a statement
Do the Jets need Plax? Yes they do. Let’s not forget how much they were in LOVE with the 3 QB options on the team. Then they drafted Mark Sanchez. Nothing against the stock of WRs NY has now, but bringing in Burress will give the Jets an actual # 1 WR. Jerricho Cotchery, Chansi Stuckey, David Clowney, Brad Smith and Wallace Wright are the top options at WR right now. Wide Receivers coach Henry Ellard believes they have what it takes to get the job done.
“Yeah, we would love to have him because he adds to what we already have,” Ellard said of Burress. “But, if it came down to it, I think we’ll be fine with what we already have. We’re a little short on experience, but that’s going to come with time.”
It’s nice to have confidence in your players, and I’m sure they will be halfway decent. Chansi Stuckey started out 2008 pretty well, David Clowney showed flashes of his speed in pre-season, and Wright is an outstanding special teams player, but this won’t be enough, contrary to what Wright says…
“We don’t think we need him,” Wright said. “I’m just going to be straight-up honest with you. We feel like we’re a strength on this team. We feel we have it right in our room. We don’t need anybody coming in, and we don’t need anybody coming out.”
IMO the Jets go after Plax, and get him. Burress stays in NY in 2009. But hold on just one damn second. 2 other teams still want this dude. The Bears and Bucs remain.
Chicago Bears -The Bears need a WR, I don’t care what anybody says. And you Bears fans can blast me all you want. Face the facts, your receivers suck. Last month we did a write-up on the suckiness of Chicago’s Wideouts. And couldn’t understand why Bears GM Jerry Angelo would not pursue Burress. Before Chicago added themselves to the Burress sweepstakes, Angelo spoke about the possiblilty of being 1 of the 2 teams interested in Plax. Pretty simple,
I think you need a new plan. Granted, the team is more focused on the run with Matt Forte. But with the lack of talent at the WR position, having Jay Cutler will be no better than having Kyle Orton. Not that Orton was bad, but he had no one to throw the ball to.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The Bucs are the third team thrown into the mix. And probably the least likely to sign Burress. It seems Tampa Bay may be losing interest in Burress. Head Coach Raheem Morris sounds a lot like a guy who would like to have Burress on his team but, there is a feeling inside Buccaneers headquarters that adding Burress may be a step in the wrong direction.
Browns‘ coach Eric Mangini kept his team outdoors during a steady rain for two hours at his first practice of mandatory minicamp this morning. Even players rehabilitating injuries and not on the field with the team rode stationary bikes or worked with trainers in the rain. “It’s football. It’s rain. You’ve got to work in it, got to understand it,” Mangini said. “We’re always trying to have players’ safety first. Rain is something we’ll have to deal with. I think the more educated they are, the better they are on how to avoid injures.”
WR Braylon Edwards sat out the first day of mandatory minicamp Thursday with an unspecified injury, but he said it’s nothing serious. Coach Eric Mangini also said Edwards will be fine for the start of training camp in late July or early August. Edwards said he was “slightly” injured at some point this off-season, but “I’m physically fine for the most part. Coach Mangini is taking precaution, so I’m just enjoying my time right now, doing some things on the side and following coach’s orders.”
49ers RB Frank Gore is a big fan of Jimmy Raye’s offense. “With (Mike) Martz, we were more finesse, throw the ball deep, get outside,” Gore said. “This is more running with my shoulders squared up, a lot of power, a lot of downhill plays.” He’s delighted to be reunited with his old running mate, fullback Moran Norris, who spent two years with the 49ers before moving to the Lions last year. “I love it,” Gore said. “As a team, we’re trying to be physical, and that’s what he is.”
When asked if he thinks Brett Favre can still be a “great” quarterback Vikings coach Brad Childress said “Don’t know. Don’t know. Stay tuned”. In an interview with KFAN Radio on Wednesday, Childress said he’s “anxious to see just exactly what he’s got left in that cannon.” Childress also acknowledged he made a phone call to Brett Favre last week.
Buccaneers QB Byron Leftwich is nursing what’s been described as a very minor groin strain and was forced by the coaching staff to sit out today’s practice. “I could have went today,” Leftwich said. “That’s Raheem and them. You have to talk to them. They shut me down. . . I just tweaked my groin a little bit.” Leftwich said he would be ready to go during next week’s minicamp. His absence Thursday opened the door for more meaningful reps for Josh Freeman and Josh Johnson.
