MORE INJURIES, KC QBS STINK ON MONDAY & VICK TO SIGN SOON?
Some pretty big names will be sidelined with injuries sustained over the last 3 days. NFL Comeback Player of the Year, Tampa WR Antonio Bryant will miss all of the preseason with a torn meniscus. The Buccaneers hope their #1 receiver will be available opening day. Detroit defensive end, Jared DeVries was put on injured reserve today & will be out for the season. DeVries ruptured his Achilles tendon & will have surgery soon. Donnie Avery, the Rams' #1 receiver will miss 4-6 weeks with a stress fracture in his foot. St Louis decided not to resign Tory Holt & now losing Avery could set their passing game back considerably. Steve Smith, Carolina's 4-time Pro Bowl wide receiver, injured his shoulder today & was carted off the field. The extent of the injury is unknown at this time but Smith was both yelling in pain & extremely agitated, so it could be very serious.
The Kansas City quarterback 4-some of Matt Cassel, Brody Croyle, Tyler Thigpen & Matt Gutierrez haven't been exactly sparkling at Chiefs training camp. Coach Todd Haley finally reached his breaking point with his signal callers today when, after throwing 6 interceptions, Haley made all 4 run after practice. Another player inciting Haley's ire is WR Dwayne Bowe. He was demoted to 3rd string today. The mental mistakes continue to rankle Haley, special team run throughs with the punting team came to a screeching halt when they couldn't even get thru one repetition, no deep snapper on the field & Haley was livid. LB Mike Vrabel also blew up a few times on teammates making mental errors. Vrabel & Tamba Hali turned in some good QB pressures according to the Kansas City Star. The duo should top the Chiefs' embarassing sack record of 10 in '08, all by themselves.
Tony Dungy was in the booth for last night's Hall of Fame exhibition game & he was asked about his mentoring of Michael Vick. Dungy, who visited him in prison several times, believes Vick is ready to return to the NFL. He said "I think something may happen here pretty shortly", claiming there were several teams who had talked to Vick. Dungy is certainly one of the most honorable men in all of sports, if he says Michael Vick is remorseful & contrite about his dog-fighting conviction, I would be inclined to believe him. I think the logical candidates to sign Vick would have to be a team with unquestioned allegiance from their fans, like the Steelers or Packers, couldn't see him in say, St Louis or considering their negative history with troubled players, the Cowboys.
It appears Missouri redshirt freshman defensive end, Aldon Smith, could become a great one. The 6-5 255 pound former Raytown Blue Jay, appears to be in phenomenal shape with a superior work ethic. I look for him early in the season in obvious passing situations to get quite a few reps & later in the year, he could work into the starting lineup. On a down note, incoming J.C. transfer, Josh Tatum, considered to be one of the top-5 transfers in the country, still hasn't practiced because of back ailments. Coach Gary Pinkel said today if he can't return to practice soon, a special medical dispensation maybe requested from the NCAA. Tatum was a projected starter in the Tiger's rebuilt defense.
Today's real name of the day: Christine Michael, running back, Texas A&M. Not Chris, but Christine. Alrighty.
All original content on this site written by Rich Stewart unless specified otherwise. You can access every piece I've written by using the archives. Questions, comments or criticisms? Please email me at:
rich@richsfootballreport.com
The Kansas City quarterback 4-some of Matt Cassel, Brody Croyle, Tyler Thigpen & Matt Gutierrez haven't been exactly sparkling at Chiefs training camp. Coach Todd Haley finally reached his breaking point with his signal callers today when, after throwing 6 interceptions, Haley made all 4 run after practice. Another player inciting Haley's ire is WR Dwayne Bowe. He was demoted to 3rd string today. The mental mistakes continue to rankle Haley, special team run throughs with the punting team came to a screeching halt when they couldn't even get thru one repetition, no deep snapper on the field & Haley was livid. LB Mike Vrabel also blew up a few times on teammates making mental errors. Vrabel & Tamba Hali turned in some good QB pressures according to the Kansas City Star. The duo should top the Chiefs' embarassing sack record of 10 in '08, all by themselves.
Tony Dungy was in the booth for last night's Hall of Fame exhibition game & he was asked about his mentoring of Michael Vick. Dungy, who visited him in prison several times, believes Vick is ready to return to the NFL. He said "I think something may happen here pretty shortly", claiming there were several teams who had talked to Vick. Dungy is certainly one of the most honorable men in all of sports, if he says Michael Vick is remorseful & contrite about his dog-fighting conviction, I would be inclined to believe him. I think the logical candidates to sign Vick would have to be a team with unquestioned allegiance from their fans, like the Steelers or Packers, couldn't see him in say, St Louis or considering their negative history with troubled players, the Cowboys.
It appears Missouri redshirt freshman defensive end, Aldon Smith, could become a great one. The 6-5 255 pound former Raytown Blue Jay, appears to be in phenomenal shape with a superior work ethic. I look for him early in the season in obvious passing situations to get quite a few reps & later in the year, he could work into the starting lineup. On a down note, incoming J.C. transfer, Josh Tatum, considered to be one of the top-5 transfers in the country, still hasn't practiced because of back ailments. Coach Gary Pinkel said today if he can't return to practice soon, a special medical dispensation maybe requested from the NCAA. Tatum was a projected starter in the Tiger's rebuilt defense.
Today's real name of the day: Christine Michael, running back, Texas A&M. Not Chris, but Christine. Alrighty.
All original content on this site written by Rich Stewart unless specified otherwise. You can access every piece I've written by using the archives. Questions, comments or criticisms? Please email me at:
rich@richsfootballreport.com
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