INJURIES, SUSPENSIONS, FINES, THE PUP LIST, 1 HEISMAN WINNER OUT & ANOTHER MAY BE CUT, A SEX VIDEO & A LOST DIAMOND
Fantasy football owners need to pay attention, here are some names that you might have been considering for your team & their current status.
Redskins wide receiver Malcolm Kelly, was placed on injured reserve(I.R.) today. He re-injured his hamstring over the weekend & it's worse this time, but surprisingly, their was never any consideration for placing Kelly on the physically unable to perform list(PUP). This would have shelved him until week 6 when Washington could have activated him & be allowed to practice for up to 3 weeks without counting against the roster before activating him. The other option of the PUP list is it allows a team 6 weeks to see how an injury rehab goes before confirming they can't play this season & go on I.R.
Patriots starting cornerback Leigh Bodden was placed on I.R. today with a partially torn rotator cuff. He led the Patriot secondary with 5 interceptions & 17 passes defended in '09. This leaves the Pats with rookie Devin McCourty & 2nd year man Darius Butler as their starting corners.
Jim Sorgi, the backup quarterback for the New York Giants, was put on I.R. today. He was injured in the first preseason game against the Jets when he was slammed to the ground, injuring his throwing shoulder. This would move 2nd year man, Rhett Bomar into the #2 spot. I think the G-Men will look for a veteran backup this week. NFL rosters, currently at 75, must be cut down to 53 by Saturday afternoon.
Terrence Cody, Ravens backup nose tackle will miss at least one regular season game after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He was getting about 15 snaps with the first team during preseason & Cody made the most impressive defensive play I saw all month in their game with Carolina. The Ravens open the season in New York(make that New Jersey) against the Jets in the 1st game of the Monday night doubleheader.
Larry Fitzgerald returned to practice today after straining his knee in a week one preseason game, no word yet if he will play in Thursday's game with the Redskins in Phoenix. Also returning to practice was Chiefs cornerback Maurice Leggett. He was last seen strapped to a back board being carried off the field in Atlanta. Also returning for Kansas City was backup QB Brody Croyle. He also had been sidelined since the Atlanta game in week one. His injured elbow/bicep has healed enough for him to start throwing again. Coach Todd Haley said "he really didn't look rusty, altho we all had cans of RustOleum in our pockets." What were you going to do coach, paint him? I think he meant WD-40, at least I hope that's what he meant.
Tampa cornerback Aqib Talib was suspended by the NFL on Tuesday for the regular season opener. About a year ago Talib was charged with punching a cab driver in the nose, apparently Aqib didn't like "the scenic route." He was in the taxi because he was intoxicated & didn't want to get in trouble by driving. How did that cab ride work out for you?
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday to determine if his 6-game suspension will be reduced by one or two games. He will have to serve at least a 4-game suspension for his escapade in Milligeville, Georgia. He was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the restroom of a bar while his "posse" stood guard at the door. The D.A. refused to prosecute the case because he said there wasn't enough evidence to convict Big Ben. It was the second time he had put himself in a "bad situation" with women. It is expected the commish will reduce the suspension by at least one game.
Cleveland nose tackle Shaun Rogers received notification of a hefty fine today. The NFL lowered the boom on Mr. Rogers to the tune of $300,000 for being arrested at a Cleveland airport security checkpoint with a loaded handgun in his carry-on baggage. As bad as that sounds, it isn't as costly as being suspended for 1 game. With a salary of nearly $7 million, missing one game check would cost Rogers more than $420,000.
Green Bay cornerback Al Harris was placed on the PUP list as the knee he injured last December hasn't healed as quickly as the Packers hoped it would. He'll be eligible to be activated after week 6 of the regular season.
Also PUP list-bound is Minnesota's leading receiver from 2009, Sidney Rice. This is a major blow to the Brett Favre reunion tour. Rice caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards & 8 touchdowns from Favre last season.
Tampa released running back Derrick Ward on Tuesday. The 2009 free agent was due a $3.2 million salary if he was on the roster opening day. Cutting him now cuts that number drastically & it will totally go away if he's signed by another team before week one. Ward had been disappointing this preseason & his 409 yards last season were much less than the Bucs had been hoping for when they signed him.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting an unidentified Browns staffer was quoted as saying "he may very well be in over his head." The remark was made in response to a question about rookie quarterback Colt McCoy & his poor production so far this preseason. That doesn't sound good now does it?
The Denver Broncos made a questionable trade last year on draft day, peddling one of their #1 picks in the 2010 draft for Seattle's 2nd round pick in 2009. Denver used that pick to draft cornerback Alphonso Smith, a pick that I questioned when it occured. Now it appears the cornerback-flush Broncos may just cut Smith by Saturday. Fifth round pick Perrish Cox & 7th rounder Syd'Quan Thompson have supplanted Smith for the last cornerback roster spot. Someone will sign him almost immediately if he's released, but they'll be sorry as well, he's not an NFL cornerback. As to what Seattle reaped with the #14 overall pick they received from the Broncos, it was safety Earl Thomas, who had an exceptional game Saturday vs. Minnesota.
Another cornerback on the move was Seattle's Josh Wilson, who was traded to Baltimore for a conditional 2011 draft pick. The Ravens are pretty desperate to improve their CB depth which has been decimated by injuries.
Another cut to take notice of is quarterback Kevin O'Connell, released today by the New York Jets. O'Connell was originally a draft pick of Scott Pioli when he was with the Patriots three years ago. After watching the Chiefs' Tyler Palko play a lot of very unimpressive football, I have to believe there's a chance Kansas City will pick him off the waiver wire & lose Palko.
Defending Heisman Award winner, Alabama's Mark Ingram, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery for a meniscus tear. He will miss this weeks season opener against San Jose State, who the Crimson Tide could beat in their street clothes, it's the game one week later Nick Saban wants Ingram to return. That opponent? Penn State.
Another former Heisman winner, Arizona Cardinal QB Matt Leinart may very well be cut by Saturday. Because of his escalating contract, the team will have difficulty trading him. He wasn't one of coach Ken Whisenhunt's draft picks & he's never been comfortable with Leinart's performance, leadership or dedication. It appears Derek Anderson has won the starting job, it was announced today Leinart would not play in Thursday's game with Washington. But will the Cards go with two rookies, Max Hall & John Skelton, as their only backups? Is there any chance Todd Haley, Leinart's former offensive coordinator, will take a chance with the former USC Trojan? I don't think so, if the Chiefs truly believe in Matt Cassel, bringing another highly paid QB into town might undermine their starter's confidence.
In a shocking development, Ole Miss transfer, Jeremiah Masoli, was denied a transfer waiver which would have allowed him to play this season for the Rebels. The former Oregon quarterback led the Ducks to the Rose Bowl last year & then had to plead guilty to a felony theft charge for being involved in a campus burglary of a guitar, two laptop computers & two video game consoles. Duck's coach Chip Kelly suspended Masoli for the 2010 season. Then a month after his appearance in court, Masoli was arrested on a marijuana possession charge. He was then dismissed from the team. Since he had already graduated from Oregon(learned a lot didn't he?) he enrolled at Ole Miss in graduate school at the behest of Rebel coach Houston Nutt, who's never been timid about signing "bad boys." Masoli then petitioned the NCAA for a transfer waiver since the graduate courses he enrolled in weren't available at Oregon. It looked like a slam dunk but as Lee Corso says "not so fast my friend." The governing body said in it's decision "the waiver exists to provide student athletes with their desired graduate studies, not to avoid disciplinary actions at the former institution." The NCAA believed "this is an attempt to circumvent the rules as they are written." Nutt said an appeal would be filed immediately.
Does anyone else see a problem brewing in Chicago between mega-ego Mike Martz & his equally egotistic quarterback Jay Cutler? This offense looks terrible, Cutler has been sacked ten times in 3 games playing behind the 1st team O-line & he threw 2 picks in their last game. Martz hasn't got the best people skills & Cutler doesn't take criticism well at all. Watch his body language on the sideline when things don't go well, it's as bad as you'll see anywhere in the league. If things don't improve soon, their relationship could sour quickly. Despite their big-money free agents acquired in the off-season, I think the Bears will be pressed to equal last season's 7-9 record.
Former 1st round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, running back Chris Perry, was cut but the UFL Sacramento Mountain Lions. Not really news worthy in the grand scheme of things, it was who beat him out for the last RB slot on the team, John David Washington, son of Academy Award winner, Denzel Washington.
New England rookie linebacker Brandon Spikes is having a great training camp & preseason as an inside linebacker. He looked good in all three games, recording 23 tackles, just what you want, a tackling machine. Now the Pats have to deal with a sticky situation regarding Spikes. A sex video of him & a young woman has been posted all over the internet. At this time, it isn't known who posted the explicit video. Owner Robert Kraft is said to be very upset by the video becoming public knowledge. When are kids going to learn about the risks of cell phone cameras & videos? It's a permanent record you can't run away from no matter how much time has elapsed. Nice way to start off with your new employer, I'm guessing any shot at local endorsement dollars have flown out the window permanently.
And finally, Miami defensive end Kendall Langford & a couple of his teammates scoured the team's practice field searching for Langford's 2.5 carat diamond earring, which fell out sometime during the practice. They walked up & down the field for almost an hour. Someone in the Miami press corps posted a one minute video of their treasure hunt on YouTube. The Dolphin ground crew stood by with their mowers, waiting for Langford & his teammates to conclude their search. They never found the diamond, maybe, just maybe, someone, somewhere will learn a lesson from this. Leave your freakin' jewelry in the locker room.
Redskins wide receiver Malcolm Kelly, was placed on injured reserve(I.R.) today. He re-injured his hamstring over the weekend & it's worse this time, but surprisingly, their was never any consideration for placing Kelly on the physically unable to perform list(PUP). This would have shelved him until week 6 when Washington could have activated him & be allowed to practice for up to 3 weeks without counting against the roster before activating him. The other option of the PUP list is it allows a team 6 weeks to see how an injury rehab goes before confirming they can't play this season & go on I.R.
Patriots starting cornerback Leigh Bodden was placed on I.R. today with a partially torn rotator cuff. He led the Patriot secondary with 5 interceptions & 17 passes defended in '09. This leaves the Pats with rookie Devin McCourty & 2nd year man Darius Butler as their starting corners.
Jim Sorgi, the backup quarterback for the New York Giants, was put on I.R. today. He was injured in the first preseason game against the Jets when he was slammed to the ground, injuring his throwing shoulder. This would move 2nd year man, Rhett Bomar into the #2 spot. I think the G-Men will look for a veteran backup this week. NFL rosters, currently at 75, must be cut down to 53 by Saturday afternoon.
Terrence Cody, Ravens backup nose tackle will miss at least one regular season game after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He was getting about 15 snaps with the first team during preseason & Cody made the most impressive defensive play I saw all month in their game with Carolina. The Ravens open the season in New York(make that New Jersey) against the Jets in the 1st game of the Monday night doubleheader.
Larry Fitzgerald returned to practice today after straining his knee in a week one preseason game, no word yet if he will play in Thursday's game with the Redskins in Phoenix. Also returning to practice was Chiefs cornerback Maurice Leggett. He was last seen strapped to a back board being carried off the field in Atlanta. Also returning for Kansas City was backup QB Brody Croyle. He also had been sidelined since the Atlanta game in week one. His injured elbow/bicep has healed enough for him to start throwing again. Coach Todd Haley said "he really didn't look rusty, altho we all had cans of RustOleum in our pockets." What were you going to do coach, paint him? I think he meant WD-40, at least I hope that's what he meant.
Tampa cornerback Aqib Talib was suspended by the NFL on Tuesday for the regular season opener. About a year ago Talib was charged with punching a cab driver in the nose, apparently Aqib didn't like "the scenic route." He was in the taxi because he was intoxicated & didn't want to get in trouble by driving. How did that cab ride work out for you?
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell on Friday to determine if his 6-game suspension will be reduced by one or two games. He will have to serve at least a 4-game suspension for his escapade in Milligeville, Georgia. He was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the restroom of a bar while his "posse" stood guard at the door. The D.A. refused to prosecute the case because he said there wasn't enough evidence to convict Big Ben. It was the second time he had put himself in a "bad situation" with women. It is expected the commish will reduce the suspension by at least one game.
Cleveland nose tackle Shaun Rogers received notification of a hefty fine today. The NFL lowered the boom on Mr. Rogers to the tune of $300,000 for being arrested at a Cleveland airport security checkpoint with a loaded handgun in his carry-on baggage. As bad as that sounds, it isn't as costly as being suspended for 1 game. With a salary of nearly $7 million, missing one game check would cost Rogers more than $420,000.
Green Bay cornerback Al Harris was placed on the PUP list as the knee he injured last December hasn't healed as quickly as the Packers hoped it would. He'll be eligible to be activated after week 6 of the regular season.
Also PUP list-bound is Minnesota's leading receiver from 2009, Sidney Rice. This is a major blow to the Brett Favre reunion tour. Rice caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards & 8 touchdowns from Favre last season.
Tampa released running back Derrick Ward on Tuesday. The 2009 free agent was due a $3.2 million salary if he was on the roster opening day. Cutting him now cuts that number drastically & it will totally go away if he's signed by another team before week one. Ward had been disappointing this preseason & his 409 yards last season were much less than the Bucs had been hoping for when they signed him.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting an unidentified Browns staffer was quoted as saying "he may very well be in over his head." The remark was made in response to a question about rookie quarterback Colt McCoy & his poor production so far this preseason. That doesn't sound good now does it?
The Denver Broncos made a questionable trade last year on draft day, peddling one of their #1 picks in the 2010 draft for Seattle's 2nd round pick in 2009. Denver used that pick to draft cornerback Alphonso Smith, a pick that I questioned when it occured. Now it appears the cornerback-flush Broncos may just cut Smith by Saturday. Fifth round pick Perrish Cox & 7th rounder Syd'Quan Thompson have supplanted Smith for the last cornerback roster spot. Someone will sign him almost immediately if he's released, but they'll be sorry as well, he's not an NFL cornerback. As to what Seattle reaped with the #14 overall pick they received from the Broncos, it was safety Earl Thomas, who had an exceptional game Saturday vs. Minnesota.
Another cornerback on the move was Seattle's Josh Wilson, who was traded to Baltimore for a conditional 2011 draft pick. The Ravens are pretty desperate to improve their CB depth which has been decimated by injuries.
Another cut to take notice of is quarterback Kevin O'Connell, released today by the New York Jets. O'Connell was originally a draft pick of Scott Pioli when he was with the Patriots three years ago. After watching the Chiefs' Tyler Palko play a lot of very unimpressive football, I have to believe there's a chance Kansas City will pick him off the waiver wire & lose Palko.
Defending Heisman Award winner, Alabama's Mark Ingram, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery for a meniscus tear. He will miss this weeks season opener against San Jose State, who the Crimson Tide could beat in their street clothes, it's the game one week later Nick Saban wants Ingram to return. That opponent? Penn State.
Another former Heisman winner, Arizona Cardinal QB Matt Leinart may very well be cut by Saturday. Because of his escalating contract, the team will have difficulty trading him. He wasn't one of coach Ken Whisenhunt's draft picks & he's never been comfortable with Leinart's performance, leadership or dedication. It appears Derek Anderson has won the starting job, it was announced today Leinart would not play in Thursday's game with Washington. But will the Cards go with two rookies, Max Hall & John Skelton, as their only backups? Is there any chance Todd Haley, Leinart's former offensive coordinator, will take a chance with the former USC Trojan? I don't think so, if the Chiefs truly believe in Matt Cassel, bringing another highly paid QB into town might undermine their starter's confidence.
In a shocking development, Ole Miss transfer, Jeremiah Masoli, was denied a transfer waiver which would have allowed him to play this season for the Rebels. The former Oregon quarterback led the Ducks to the Rose Bowl last year & then had to plead guilty to a felony theft charge for being involved in a campus burglary of a guitar, two laptop computers & two video game consoles. Duck's coach Chip Kelly suspended Masoli for the 2010 season. Then a month after his appearance in court, Masoli was arrested on a marijuana possession charge. He was then dismissed from the team. Since he had already graduated from Oregon(learned a lot didn't he?) he enrolled at Ole Miss in graduate school at the behest of Rebel coach Houston Nutt, who's never been timid about signing "bad boys." Masoli then petitioned the NCAA for a transfer waiver since the graduate courses he enrolled in weren't available at Oregon. It looked like a slam dunk but as Lee Corso says "not so fast my friend." The governing body said in it's decision "the waiver exists to provide student athletes with their desired graduate studies, not to avoid disciplinary actions at the former institution." The NCAA believed "this is an attempt to circumvent the rules as they are written." Nutt said an appeal would be filed immediately.
Does anyone else see a problem brewing in Chicago between mega-ego Mike Martz & his equally egotistic quarterback Jay Cutler? This offense looks terrible, Cutler has been sacked ten times in 3 games playing behind the 1st team O-line & he threw 2 picks in their last game. Martz hasn't got the best people skills & Cutler doesn't take criticism well at all. Watch his body language on the sideline when things don't go well, it's as bad as you'll see anywhere in the league. If things don't improve soon, their relationship could sour quickly. Despite their big-money free agents acquired in the off-season, I think the Bears will be pressed to equal last season's 7-9 record.
Former 1st round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, running back Chris Perry, was cut but the UFL Sacramento Mountain Lions. Not really news worthy in the grand scheme of things, it was who beat him out for the last RB slot on the team, John David Washington, son of Academy Award winner, Denzel Washington.
New England rookie linebacker Brandon Spikes is having a great training camp & preseason as an inside linebacker. He looked good in all three games, recording 23 tackles, just what you want, a tackling machine. Now the Pats have to deal with a sticky situation regarding Spikes. A sex video of him & a young woman has been posted all over the internet. At this time, it isn't known who posted the explicit video. Owner Robert Kraft is said to be very upset by the video becoming public knowledge. When are kids going to learn about the risks of cell phone cameras & videos? It's a permanent record you can't run away from no matter how much time has elapsed. Nice way to start off with your new employer, I'm guessing any shot at local endorsement dollars have flown out the window permanently.
And finally, Miami defensive end Kendall Langford & a couple of his teammates scoured the team's practice field searching for Langford's 2.5 carat diamond earring, which fell out sometime during the practice. They walked up & down the field for almost an hour. Someone in the Miami press corps posted a one minute video of their treasure hunt on YouTube. The Dolphin ground crew stood by with their mowers, waiting for Langford & his teammates to conclude their search. They never found the diamond, maybe, just maybe, someone, somewhere will learn a lesson from this. Leave your freakin' jewelry in the locker room.
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