THIS AND THAT..........TUESDAY
The carnage to the Eagles roster continues. Their #3 wide receiver, Hank Baskett, went down this morning & like several of his teammates, was carted off the field. No word on the severity as of yet. New Orleans linebacker Mark Simoneau suffered a torn triceps injury & his '09 future is unknown so the Saints quickly called Derrick Brooks & he will workout for the team tomorrow. The 36-year old, 11-time Pro Bowl performer has been out of work since Tampa Bay cut him loose in the off season. Tommie Harris, the ultra productive defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears has been plagued by injury for his entire pro career. This past March Harris underwent arthroscopic surgery to clean out his balky knee & now that knee is causing him to miss practice in the Bear training camp. So far the former Oklahoma star has missed 5 practice sessions with more on the horizon. Harris was even being deceptive with the press, saying his hamstring was bothering him. Head coach Lovie Smith came clean this morning stating his absence was because of his knee. This is a whole different defense without Harris, they absolutely need him to stay in the lineup. Could Smith be trying to save Harris for the regular season? I told you yesterday about Panther Steve Smith's injured shoulder. Smith is well known among teammates for having an extremely high tolerance for pain, so when he lies on the practice field yelling, they knew he was really hurt. The X-rays were negative, but Smith said he likely won't play in the preseason. Losing Smith for any amount of time would be devastating to Carolina.
Think football isn't king? From the USA Today, Sunday evening the white hot rivalry game between the Boston Red Sox & New York Yankees was seen in an estimated 2.8 million homes. The meaningless exhibition game between Buffalo & Tennessee, featuring about 100 guys the average fan has never even heard of, was seen in an estimated 4.5 million homes.
The man who made what is one of the 2 or 3 best catches in Super Bowl history, is in jeopardy of being cut. New York Giant wide receiver, David 'the helmet catch' Tyree, missed all of '08 with injuries. His 2009 training camp hasn't gone well either, missing practice do to injury, dropped passes & missed assignments. Tyree, to his credit, hasn't shied away from questions regarding his future with the Giants. The Monclair New Jersey native said "I'm not hanging it on anybody except for myself". He said the next 10 practices are crucial & he needs to completely refocus. The rest of the team & the coaching staff are openly rooting for Tyree, but in the NFL, the bottom line is 'what have you done for me lately'.
The Oklahoma Sooners are scrambling to replace 2 injured members of their offensive line. The line lost 4 starters from the '08 season, one of them, center John Cooper, had started 37 consecutive games. His projected replacement, Ben Habern, hasn't been able to practice so far due to a back injury. His backup, Brian Lepak, sustained a high ankle sprain on the 2nd day of training camp & won't be ready for at least 3 weeks. The Sooners have experimented at center with left offensive tackle, Trent Williams & tight end Brody Eldridge. Williams moved from right to left tackle this season & was being counted on, as the only returning starter, to anchor the rebuilt O-line. Eldridge is said to be the best technical blocker OU has on it's roster, the problem is he only weighs 265. Playing at that weight in the Big-12 simply won't work, regardless of his superior technique. Maybe his frame can hold another 15-20 pounds, but gaining that kind of weight during camp would be all but impossible. Bob Stoops had better hope Ben Habern's back gets better in a hurry.
Today's real name of the day: Darantzy Brunson, defensive tackle, South Carolina.
Think football isn't king? From the USA Today, Sunday evening the white hot rivalry game between the Boston Red Sox & New York Yankees was seen in an estimated 2.8 million homes. The meaningless exhibition game between Buffalo & Tennessee, featuring about 100 guys the average fan has never even heard of, was seen in an estimated 4.5 million homes.
The man who made what is one of the 2 or 3 best catches in Super Bowl history, is in jeopardy of being cut. New York Giant wide receiver, David 'the helmet catch' Tyree, missed all of '08 with injuries. His 2009 training camp hasn't gone well either, missing practice do to injury, dropped passes & missed assignments. Tyree, to his credit, hasn't shied away from questions regarding his future with the Giants. The Monclair New Jersey native said "I'm not hanging it on anybody except for myself". He said the next 10 practices are crucial & he needs to completely refocus. The rest of the team & the coaching staff are openly rooting for Tyree, but in the NFL, the bottom line is 'what have you done for me lately'.
The Oklahoma Sooners are scrambling to replace 2 injured members of their offensive line. The line lost 4 starters from the '08 season, one of them, center John Cooper, had started 37 consecutive games. His projected replacement, Ben Habern, hasn't been able to practice so far due to a back injury. His backup, Brian Lepak, sustained a high ankle sprain on the 2nd day of training camp & won't be ready for at least 3 weeks. The Sooners have experimented at center with left offensive tackle, Trent Williams & tight end Brody Eldridge. Williams moved from right to left tackle this season & was being counted on, as the only returning starter, to anchor the rebuilt O-line. Eldridge is said to be the best technical blocker OU has on it's roster, the problem is he only weighs 265. Playing at that weight in the Big-12 simply won't work, regardless of his superior technique. Maybe his frame can hold another 15-20 pounds, but gaining that kind of weight during camp would be all but impossible. Bob Stoops had better hope Ben Habern's back gets better in a hurry.
Today's real name of the day: Darantzy Brunson, defensive tackle, South Carolina.
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