Training
Volume 2, Issue 3 – 8/16/06
Training
Camps are in full swing and we want you to feel like you have attended every
practice and seen every preseason game.
To keep all our Footballguys subscribers on top of everything, we've created our
incredibly detailed
This is the third of five training camp updates from us. We'll break down
every team's skill positions and position battles. It's the stuff you'd see if
you were there at every camp. This
Happy reading and let's have a great 2006 season,
Joe Bryant and
Owners, Footballguys.com
Special note: A hearty
thanks goes out to Jason Wood, Chase Stuart, Aaron Rudnicki, David Dodds, Bob
Magaw, Cecil Lammey, John Norton and Mike Herman for their assistance with this
week’s Training Camp Updates. My return trip from
QB: The Cardinals opened up the preseason in their
new stadium Saturday night as Kurt Warner played most of the first half. Warner
completed 9-of-13 for 118 yards with a pair of touchdowns – the first going to
Bryant Johnson on the first possession. Warner made some key plays on that
drive – converting four third downs, including a 20-yarder to Larry Fitzgerald
on 3rd and 13, and another to Johnson. The 35-year-old former NFL and Super
Bowl MVP even ran for five yards. On the second drive, Warner led the team to
another TD finishing with a short pass to Obafemi Ayanbadejo, who rambled 15
yards for the score. “For the most part
I thought it was really good for the first preseason game,” Warner said. “We're
so much farther along from where we were last year.”
Rookie Matt Leinart finally ended his contract impasse on Monday,
agreeing in principle to a six-year, $50 million deal that includes $14 million
in guarantees. Leinart’s absence left John Navarre as the primary backup in the
preseason opener. It might as well have been a negotiating ploy on Leinart’s
behalf, as
RB: The
Cardinals first exhibition game was uneventful for the team’s running game.
Edgerrin James played briefly before turning over the reigns to J.J. Arrington
and the team’s other backs. James ran twice for -2 yards, but don’t read
anything into the subpar box score. “We got out in one piece,” running back
Edgerrin James said, “and that should be the main thing. This wasn’t a debut,
this was just an obligation,” James said referring to the preseason
action. “Not to worry,” said James, who
would rather sit out games like this in the preseason. “I kind of went through
the motions. I just wanted to get off the field
healthy,” he said. “I did my job.”
Meanwhile, FB Obafei Ayanbadejo scored a 15-yard TD to
put the Cardinals up 14-3 before the half. Diamond Ferri ran five yards for
Cardinals third touchdown in the fourth quarter. Ferri finished with 17 yards
on six carries. Arrington ran six times for 11 yards and Marcel Shipp ran six
times for 13 yards. Several
WR: The Cardinals featured a three
WR formation for much of their first preseason game with Larry Fitzgerald,
Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson in the lineup. Boldin had missed some practice
time during the week with a sore hamstring, but he played Saturday night and caught
two balls for 24 yards. Fitzgerald and Warner appeared in mid-season form
connecting on a couple nice plays. Fitzgerald caught two balls for 33 yards
before leaving the game. The star was Bryant Johnson, who caught a 5-yard pass
for a touchdown and finished with three receptions for 42 yards. “No, I didn't
have to pay Kurt anything for the pass,” Johnson said of the first score. “It
just so happened that the coverage was that way and he kind of put it on my
back shoulder to keep me away from the cornerback.” Johnson also made a nifty
one-handed catch for 20 yards in the second quarter. “I tried to get my hand on
it and pull it back in,” Johnson said of the grab. “Making a catch like that is
kind of like a basketball player. He hits three jump shots in a row, he feels
like he can shoot from anywhere.”
Warner said, “I've seen that from him since I've been here. It's such a
blessing because we obviously have the two guys everyone knows about (in Boldin
and Fitzgerald), but if you want to try taking them away... ”…then Johnson is
there to pick up the slack as he did in this game. Don’t sleep on Johnson. He
may not be a major factor in fantasy leagues, but with injuries a distinct
possibility, he could be a factor given his 6-foot-3 frame, 38-inch vertical jump
and 4.38 speed. Of course, Johnson needs to stay healthy as well, something
that has sidetracked him many times since entering the league. LeRon McCoy contributed 29 yards on three
catches.
TE: The
Cardinals tight ends didn’t play a major role in the opening game. Rookie
Leonard Pope managed one catch for 4 yards. Otherwise, this position will be a
competition throughout camp with Pope looking to start immediately over Adam
Bergen and Eric Edwards.
Defense: The linebacking corps is one of
the focal points of camp. Standout Karlos Dansby has undergone physical therapy
on his sore big toe. He hopes to avoid surgery, as the therapy has helped while
Dansby remains out of practice. He left camp early last week and the team was
worried that overcompensating
for the toe injury has led to a groin injury. Meanwhile, converted DE Calvin
Pace is working with the starters on the strongside in Dansby’s absence. The
coaches like what they see of Pace and would like to keep him there. That means
Dansby might start at weakside linebacker once he’s healthy. Dansby would
challenge current starter Orlando Huff for the job with Darryl Blackstock
becoming the primary backup at SLB behind Pace. HC Dennis Green was asked about
Pace remaining the starter at SLB with Dansby moving to WLB. “That might be the
way we are going to go,” Green said. “Right now we don’t have a clue of when
Karlos will be back, so there is no sense in speculating.” Pace added, “Karlos
is versatile enough to play all three linebacker spots. You have to have the
best people out there. If it is Karlos, James (Darling) and Orlando (Huff), I
can’t be mad at that. But I want to be in the mix.” Also in the mix is backup
MLB Gerald Hayes, who was on IR last year with a knee injury. Hayes could
displace Darling at MLB at some point, but right now he’s just glad to be back
on the field. “It feels good just to get back out there and more importantly I
feel good,” said Hayes. Backup LB Lance Mitchell left the game early on
Saturday due to injury.
For the Cardinals defense to reach its potential,
they need a big season from last year’s top pick Antrel Rolle. Rolle’s knee is
healthy again and he’s having perhaps the best camp of anybody on the team. “Antrel
makes a play every day, and he makes a big play,” HC Dennis Green said. According
to defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast, Rolle reminds him of Deion Sanders
as far as his work ethic goes, only he tackles better. “He’s very instinctive,
and he’s a football junkie,” said Pendergast. “Antrel knows the game. He just needs
to get out and play. What makes a great corner is great anticipation. He has
that. The more he plays, the better he will get.”
Special Teams: Kicker Neil Rackers hit every
50+ and 60-yard field goal attempt in Saturday’s practice. In Sunday’s game against
Cardinals
Depth Chart
QB Kurt Warner, Matt
Leinart, John Navarre
RB Edgerrin James, J.J. Arrington, Marcel Shipp, Damien Anderson,
Diamond Ferry
FB Obafemi
Ayanbadejo, James Hodgins, John Bronson
WR Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Bryant Johnson, LeRon McCoy, Troy Walters, Todd
Watkins, Carlyle Holiday, Michael Spurlock (QB), Greg Lee
TE Leonard
Pope, Adam Bergen, Eric Edwards, Alex Shor
K Neil Rackers, Nick Novak
DE Chike Okeafor, Bertrand Berry (inj), Anton
Palepoi, Antonio Smith, A.J. Schable, Garrett McIntyre
DT Darnell Dockett, Kendrick Clancy, Tim Bulman, Langston Moore, Gabe Watson, Kenny King
(inj), Jon Lewis
MLB Gerald Hayes, James Darling (W), Lance
Mitchell
OLB Karlos
Dansby (S) (inj), Orlando Huff (W), Calvin Pace (S), Darryl
Blackstock (W), Mark
Brown, Isaac Keys, Brandon Johnson, Lawrence Pinson
CB David Macklin, Antrel Rolle, Eric Green (inj), Robert
Tate, Dyshod Carter, Lamont Reid, Darrell Hunter, Jay McCareins,
Damarius Bilbo, Justin Wyatt
S Adrian Wilson (SS), Robert Griffith (FS),
Aaron Francisco, Ernest Shazor, Jack Brewer, Chris Harrell
QB: Michael Vick played one series
in the Falcons preseason opener completing 3-of-4 passes for 26 yards and
running once for 16 yards setting up the first of four Michael Koenen field
goals. Backup Matt Schaub followed Vick completing 7-of-13 for 102 yards
including a 21-yard TD to Michael Jenkins and one interception. Bryan Randall
entered the game next. He threw for 82 yards on 5-of-9 passing with a 34-yard
TD pass to Jerious Norwood while also adding a 29-yard run. Rookie D.J. Shockley
entered the game last and he was cheered loudly by the fans who remember him as
the former Georgia Bulldogs star quarterback. Shockley did a nice job to get
the Falcons into position for a game-winning field goal. He completed 4-of-10
passes for 40 yards while rushing for 12 yards. Two of his incompletions were
spikes to stop the clock on the team’s final drive. “I wondered if I would be
nervous,” Shockley said. “I was pleased.”
RB: Warrick
Dunn and T.J. Duckett looked great against the Patriots. Dunn played sparingly running
for 20 yards on three carries while catching two passes for 11 yards. Duckett
carried 10 times for 59 yards, breaking one run for 20 yards. One of the game’s
stars was rookie Jerious Norwood, who scored on a 34-yard pass from Bryan
Randall in the 3rd quarter.
WR: The Falcons took a 10-3 lead in
the first quarter Saturday night when Matt Schaub found Michael Jenkins in the
end zone for a 21-yard score. Jenkins had 36 yards on two catches. Fellow
starter Roddy White returned to practice last Wednesday after missing several
sessions with a hamstring injury. Rookie Kevin Youngblood made a leaping catch
over the middle to keep the team’s final drive alive. Youngblood finished with three
receptions for 23 yards.
TE: Alge
Crumpler remains out of action and he is expected to sit out all of the team’s preseason
games. The Falcons want Crumpler to be healthy for the regular season opener.
Against the Patriots Saturday night, Daniel Fells caught two balls for 38 yards
while Dwayne Blakley had two catches for 19 yards. Jason Randall, an undrafted
rookie from
Defense: Rod Coleman returned to the
practice field last Wednesday after sitting out several practices with a knee
problem. Darrell Shropshire
is performing well since being promoted into the starting lineup at nose tackle
ahead of Chad Lavalais. The team has recently talked to free agent Brentson
Buckner’s agent about joining them, but for now HC Jim Mora wants to see how his
current players do in their first couple of preseason games before making such
a move. Lawyer Milloy is enjoying a productive camp and Jim Mora couldn’t be
happier. “He is a better player, at this point of his career, than I thought
he'd be,” Mora said. “I don't mean that to take anything away from what I
thought of him. I always thought he was a really good player. He is a really
good player.” The biggest acquisition of the offseason was John Abraham. He
played well against the Patriots finishing with 4 solo tackles a sack and a
forced fumble. LB Keith Brooking left the game in the
first quarter with a sprained right ankle and did not return.
Special Teams: Carlos Martinez’s stay with the
Falcons was very brief. He was released after eight days. Kicker Tony Yelk’s
stay atop the depth chart was only slightly longer than eight days.
Punter/kickoff-specialist/placekicker Michael Koenen was named the starter for
Kicker Tony Yelk handled a PAT and three kickoffs. One option the
Falcons are considering is giving Yelk a shot at the punting job, which he has
experience from his days at
Falcons
Depth Chart
QB Michael Vick, Matt
Schaub, D.J. Shockley, Bryan Randall
RB Warrick Dunn (3RB), T.J. Duckett (SD), Jerious Norwood, Deandra Cobb
(KR), Butchie Wallace (inj)
FB Justin Griffith, John Pannozzo
WR Michael Jenkins, Roddy White, Jerome Pathon, Adam
Jennings, Cole Magner, Troy Bergeron, Jamin Elliot, Javarus Dudley,
Kevin Youngblood, Brian Finneran (inj)
TE Alge Crumpler, Dwayne Blakely, Eric Beverly, Daniel Fells. Jason
Randall, Boone Stutz
K Michael Koenen, Tony Yelk
DE Patrick Kerney, John Abraham, Chauncey
Davis, Constantin Ritzmann, Paul Carrington
DT Rod Coleman, Darrell
Shropshire (NT), Chad Lavalais (NT), Jonathan Babineaux, Antwan Lake (NT), T.J.
Jackson
MLB Edgerton Hartwell, Jordan Beck
OLB Keith
Brooking (W), Michael Boley (S), Demorrio
Williams (W), Ike Reese (S/W), Artie
Ulmer, Travis Williams
CB DeAngelo Hall, Jimmy Williams, Jason Webster, Allen Rossum (KR), Leigh Torrence,
Kevin Mathis
S Lawyer Milloy
(SS), Chris Crocker (FS), Omare Lowe (FS), Chris Reis, Nick Turnbull
QB: Steve McNair had a rousing debut with the
Ravens moving the team 80 yards in 12 plays on the opening drive of their
preseason opener against the NY Giants on Friday night. He went 4-for-5 for 45
yards before scampering for the 6-yard touchdown to cap the drive. On his
rushing TD, McNair said, “I had an opportunity, I got flushed out of the
pocket, I saw the end zone and I just tried to make the best out of something. This
is my style of play. I play to win, regardless of it's a preseason or a
regular-season game. Once the blood gets flowing, you can't shut it off.” HC Brian Billick chuckled and then added, “I
told him he and I are both too old to do a whole lot of that, but it's what he
does. He's an incredible competitor.” McNair was asked what he thought of his
debut, “It was what we were looking for, offensively, to start us out. That's
the kind of drive we want to establish during the course of the season.” Kyle
Boller took over for McNair and looked about the same as he has in the past,
which certainly isn’t a ringing endorsement. He completed 12-of-18 passes for
100 yards and he was sacked three times.
Brian St. Pierre finished off the game throwing six times completing
three passes for 33 yards.
RB: Jamal
Lewis took the handoff on the Ravens first offensive play for a 5-yard gain up
the middle to put to rest concerns about his recovery from a dreadful 2005
season. He finished with 34 yards on six rushing attempts as the Ravens lost
17-16 to the Giants. “We seem more balanced out there,” said Lewis. “We moved
the ball well and had a good drive. That was huge for us.” Brian Billick
commented, “He obviously was very physical tonight. We just have to continue to
progress. The soreness that he has is moving down his leg and eventually out.
So he's battling that a little bit, but he ran with some real authority
tonight, and that's good to see.”
Musa Smith looked good in his return to action
following a broken leg and knee injuries that sidelined him for most of his
brief career. Smith combined for 76 yards in the game. He ran four times for 61
yards – including a 37-yard jaunt down the right sideline – while catching four
balls for 15 yards. “The line, they had some great blocks,” said Smith. “In
camp, we've been stressing the run game, and we wanted to come out here and
establish that. Jamal set it off, and I just followed him.” Backup Mike
Anderson, fresh off a concussion a week ago, ran five times for 17 yards.
Rookie P.J. Daniels gained 14 yards on six carries, but fumbled twice losing
the first one. “This is not what I do,”
said Daniels, who took responsibility for the miscues. “I don't fumble, but I
get out here and fumble two… like the veterans said, it's another day, another
opportunity. I'll learn from it and build from that.”
WR: Derrick Mason sustained a mild
concussion during Friday evening's preseason opener against the Giants. He caught
one pass for 4 yards before leaving the game after the first series. Rookie
Demetrius Williams produced 43 yards on three catches in his Ravens debut.
Travis LaTendresse caught two balls for 11 yards. Mark Clayton had two
receptions for 29 yards. Devard Darling didn’t produce any catches, but he was
on the receiving end of a nice play in practice last Thursday. Darling caught a
Boller pass for a 35-plus yard play.
TE: Todd Heap caught two balls for 34 yards
against the Giants while rookie Quinn Sypniewski produced a 26-yard reception –
the biggest of the game for the Ravens. Daniel Wilcox also caught a ball for 8
yards. Sypniewski, the team’s fifth round selection, had a rough week of
practice. He was drafted primarily for his blocking prowess, but he surprised
the staff by catching the ball well in the opening week. Unfortunately, he
began the week with a few drops. “When you have some drops, it's all mental,”
said Billick of Sypniewski. “He knows that and he's working through it. I'm
impressed with the way he's rebounded from some drops.” On Wednesday, he was
awoken from his slumber by a bone-jarring hit from Gerome Sapp. Shortly after
the hit, Sypniewski leapt to catch a touchdown from Boller just after making a
diving, rolling reception that put the team into the red zone. “Just about the
time I'm about to stick my size 12's up his private parts, he goes and makes 3
or 4 phenomenal catches, which is good,” Billick admitted. “He's a sharp kid
and he has the maturity to fight through it.”
Defense: Ray Lewis was held out of Friday's game. Billick felt that
Lewis was ready for game action, but Lewis did not dress along with Samari
Rolle, who was held out due to a heel injury. The Ravens had two injuries last
week during practice along the defensive front. NT Haloti Ngata did not play
against the Giants after he sprained his medial collateral ligament in his left
knee during Saturday’s scrimmage against
Special Teams: In the Ravens’ first preseason game, the offense did what they do
best…set up kicker Matt Stover. He was good on all three field goal attempts
(27, 43, and 43 yards). Although to be fair, the Titans did score a TD with
Steve McNair at the helm, before he gave way to Kyle Boller. Stover discussed
the evolution of his game over the years, "In technique, I've changed
quite a bit because I had to learn no longer do I have to kick the ball 60
yards. I need to kick the ball from where I'm at, which is 48, 50, 51 yards at
the longest, and make sure you make everything inside of that." Kicker
Aaron Elling handled all the kickoffs, putting three of four into the endzone,
with two for touchbacks. He continues to compete in practice with punters Sam
Koch and Leo Araguz for the kickoff specialist job. Starting return specialist
B.J. Sams returned one kickoff 31 yards and one punt nine yards in the game.
His challenger, rookie Cory Ross, averaged 22.0 yards on two kickoff returns
and 13.5 yards on two punt returns. It’s still a long uphill battle for him,
especially since he’s had occasional ball-handling issues in practice, while
Sams has not. WR Mark Clayton and rookie WR Tres Moses have also been
practicing on punt returns.
Ravens
Depth Chart
QB Steve McNair, Kyle
Boller, Brian St. Pierre, Drew Olson
RB Jamal Lewis,
Mike Anderson (FB), Musa Smith, P.J. Daniels, B.J. Sams (KR/PR), Cory
Ross
FB Justin Green, Ovie Mughelli
WR Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Clarence Moore, Demetrius Williams, Devard Darling, Travis
LaTendresse, Brian Bratton, Ronald Bellamy, Romby Bryant, Rufus Skillern, Tre
Moses, Matt Cherry
TE Todd Heap, Daniel
Wilcox, Quinn Sypniewski
K Matt Stover, Aaron Elling
DE Terrell Suggs, Trevor Pryce, Jarrett Johnson, Roderick Green, Gary Stills
DT Kelly Gregg, Haloti
Ngata, Dwan Edwards, Aubrayo Franklin, Justin Bannan, Cedric Hilliard,
Remi Ayodele
MLB Ray Lewis,
Mike Smith
OLB Adalius Thomas (S), Bart Scott (W), Dan Cody (S/DE) (inj), Dennis Haley, Ryan LaCasse, Tim Johnson
CB Chris McAlister, Samari Rolle, Corey Ivy, David Pittman, Evan Oglesby, Derrick
Martin, Ronnie Prude
S Ed Reed (SS), Dawan
Landry (FS), Gerome Sapp (FS), B.J. Ward (FS)
QB: The
Dick Jauron era officially began for the Bills on Saturday night in their
preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers and the QB competition was the
main focus for many Bills observers. Kelly Holcomb got the start but struggled
badly against the Panthers first team defense. He completed just 2-of-4 passes,
was sacked once, and threw an interception to Ken Lucas that was returned 23
yards for a TD. Holcomb has been more accurate than JP Losman in training camp,
but his lack of arm strength really hurts him in this offense that wants to
attack downfield.
Losman took over to begin the second quarter
and finished 15-of-24 for 144 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He
was inaccurate early and held onto the ball too long at times – he was sacked 5
times - but eventually settled down and
led the Bills on three consecutive scoring drives. Losman played almost three full
quarters and seemed to take a commanding lead in the Bills QB competition, as
even Holcomb conceded, “J.P. did some good things,” said Holcomb. “He came in
and managed the game, so yeah I'm behind the eight ball.” Losman still needs to
make quicker decisions and improve his overall consistency, but his arm
strength and mobility give the Bills offense more options. Craig Nall has
fallen behind in the competition after missing two weeks of practice with a
hamstring injury, but he’s expected to return this week and could see time in
the Bills next game. Kliff Kingsbury came in with just 3 minutes remaining and
went 2-for-5 for 15 yards.
RB: Willis McGahee
started the game but didn’t get much work as the offense failed to generate a
single first down until the second quarter. He had a nice reception for 7 yards
on the first drive and finished with 3 carries for 5 yards. There have been
reports that the Bills plan to get him more involved in the passing game this
year, so that reception was nice to see. Lionel Gates has been having a strong
camp for the second year in a row and wound up getting the most work Saturday
night with 8 carries for 31 yards. He was mostly kept in check early by the
Panthers defense but got some room to run in the 3rd quarter and scored the
team’s only TD on a 3-yard run. Anthony Thomas had a 7-yard run to the outside
for a first down and looked quick, but he only finished with 3 carries for 8
yards. Shaud Williams finished with 12 yards on 4 carries and added a reception
for 4 yards. At this point, Gates appears to be winning the competition for the
backup RB job, but Thomas and Williams are still in the mix.
WR: Lee
Evans and Josh Reed started the game, but given Holcomb’s struggles they didn’t
see much action. Evans finished with no receptions on zero targets and was out
of the game by the time the passing game started clicking late in the first
half. Roscoe Parrish, Josh Reed, and Andre Davis all made nice receptions on
the Bills first scoring drive. Sam Aiken showed impressive speed and stood out
with 4 catches for 73 yards. He was also wide open on a fly pattern late in the
4th but the pass from Losman was overthrown. Aiken has been overlooked by most
people in the competition for the starting WR spot opposite Evans, but he could
surprise with more strong performances like this. Peerless Price was considered
the favorite in that competition but finished with no receptions in the game.
TE: Robert
Royal started the game but didn’t make much of an impact. He was Holcomb’s
intended target on the interception return, but he didn’t get his head turned around.
Kevin Everett finished with two catches for 10 yards. He appears to be getting
a lot of work as a pass catching TE in camp. He should be more productive than
Brad Cieslak, even though Cieslak began camp at #2 on the depth chart.
Defense: The
Bills are implementing a new system this year on defense so most of the focus
is on getting all the players comfortable with their new roles. SS Donte
Whitner was taken with the #8 overall selection and
wasn’t expected to play much this week after a contract holdout forced him to
miss the early part of training camp. After Matt Bowen left the game with a
knee injury, however, Whitner was forced into action and wound up leading the
team in tackles with 4 solos and 1 assist. Whitner is a film room junkie with
an excellent football IQ so he should be able to get caught up quickly, and
could definitely wind up beginning the season as a starter given Bowen’s past
injury history. At linebacker, the team released former starting SLB Jeff Posey
on Monday since he wasn’t a great fit for the new system and had lost his
starting job. Taking his place in the starting lineup is Angelo Crowell, who
has been taking snaps at the playmaking WLB spot and could be an excellent
value in IDP leagues this year. Takeo Spikes is one of the team’s most vocal
leaders but is still recovering from his torn Achilles and may not be ready for
the beginning of the season. Up front, the team is hoping that a rebuilt group
of defensive tackles can help solidify a run defense that collapsed last
season. 1st round pick John McCargo got some penetration on several plays, and
5th round pick Kyle Williams did an excellent job of shutting down DeShaun
Foster on short yardage plays.
The Bills have brought in a lot of quality
players on defense this offseason, so the key to their success is learning the
new system and working together as a group. The defense has been dominant in
training camp but had some problems slowing down the Panthers first team
offense as Jake Delhomme picked them apart and DeShaun Foster had 25 yards on five
carries. After falling behind 14-0, the defense toughened up and did a great
job shutting down the Panthers reserves for the rest of the game. There is
solid depth at almost every position, and the return of a
healthy Spikes would provide a huge boost to this unit’s overall
effectiveness.
Special Teams: Kicker Rian
Lindell knows he has to pace himself in camp, “It’d be great to be out there,
kicking field goals all day long and being on the field. But after a little
while my leg would fall off. You’ve got be smart about it.” In the first
preseason game at
Bills
Depth Chart
QB J.P. Losman, Kelly Holcomb,
Craig Nall, Kliff Kingsbury
RB Willis McGahee, Shaud Williams, Anthony Thomas, Lionel Gates, Fred
Jackson
FB Damien Shelton,
Alan Ricard, Joe Burns
WR Lee Evans, Josh
Reed, Peerless Price, Andre Davis, Roscoe Parrish (PR), Sam Aiken, Jonathan
Smith, George Wilson, Martin Nance, Chris Denney
TE Robert Royal,
Brad Cieslak, Kevin Everett, Ryan Neufeld
K Rian Lindell
DT Larry Tripplett, Tim Anderson (NT), Lauvale Sape (inj), John McCargo, Jason Jefferson,
Kyle Williams
DE Aaron Schobel, Chris Kelsay, Ryan Denney, Ryan Neill, Jason Hall, Joshua Cooper
MLB London Fletcher, Liam Ezekiel,
Courtney Watson (inj)
OLB Takeo Spikes
(S), Angelo Crowell (W), Josh Stamer (S/W),
Mario Haggan (W), Keith Ellison, John
Digiorgio
CB Nate Clements (PR), Terrence McGee (KR), Eric King, Jabari Greer, Ashton Youboty, Kiwaukee
Thomas, Eric Bassey
S Troy Vincent (FS), Donte Whitner (SS), Matt Bowen (SS), Coy Wire (SS),
Ko Simpson (FS), Rashad Baker (FS), Jim Leonhard (SS), James Bethea
QB: Jake Delhomme didn’t need long
to shake off the rust in the preseason opener. He looked sharp and led the team
on a 7 play, 67 yard drive for a touchdown in the first quarter. Delhomme threw
a 14-yard TD pass to Drew Carter to open the scoring as he finished 5-of-6 for
64 yards before giving way to Chris Weinke. Delhomme completed passes on the
Panthers first four offensive plays. “Overall, it was nice,” Delhomme said. “You
love to get the ball, drive down and score and that is what we did. That was
encouraging.” The first play of the game was an 18-yard completion to free
agent pickup Keyshawn Johnson.
RB: In
Saturday’s game, DeShaun Foster started and looked good running five times for
25 yards. Rookie first-round pick DeAngelo Williams carried eight times for 21
yards. The team was hoping for a big splash from Williams, but he got off to a
slow start as he was held to 1 yard on
the first seven carries before taking the eighth one for 20 yards. The coaches
keep saying that Eric Shelton is doing better than he did as a rookie, but he
didn’t look great Saturday night. “He's having a better camp,” running backs
coach Jim Skipper said. “How much better? Time will
tell… He was a little lost,” Skipper said referring to
WR: Steve Smith did not play against
As far as Smith’s return? Count Keyshawn among those
who can’t wait for him to get back on the practice field. “I'll be glad
when he comes back – then they can make even more out of it,” Johnson said when
asked of his relationship with Smith. “I think when you look at that situation,
you have to report it. It's your job, you have to write newspapers, it's your
job, you have to create stories, it's your job. The
story that you're creating, it's so fictitious.”
TE: It’s
looking more and more like the Panthers will open the season with a new starter
at tight end. Even before Kris Mangum got hurt, Michael Gaines was running with
the 1s in practice. Mangum has been suffering from
plantar fasciitis in his left foot for the past several weeks. Gaines has the
better upside of the two players, but he’s been inconsistent in practices. Mike
Seidman could also see more playing time, but in a backup role. He caught one
pass for 8 yards against the Bills. Seidman needs to stay healthy as Jeff King,
a rookie, also has potential.
Defense: Mike Minter did not play in Saturday’s game as
he left the team after his mother died suddenly on Thursday. Colin Branch
started at free safety in Minter’s absence. LB Adam Seward gave the team a
boost as he returned to practice last week. He missed time with a groin strain,
but he made his presence felt in the second quarter against
Special Teams: After missing the first part of camp with a sore leg, kicker John Kasay
finally returned to practice, and also played in the game against
Panthers
Depth Chart
QB Jake Delhomme, Chris
Weinke, Stefan Lefors, Brett Basanez
RB DeShaun Foster, DeAngelo Williams, Eric Shelton, Jamal Robertson,
Alex Haynes
FB Brad Hoover, Nick
Goings, Casey Cramer
WR Steve Smith (PR), Keyshawn Johnson, Keary Colbert, Drew Carter, Karl Hankton, Jovon
Bouknight, Taye Biddle, Daniel Smith, Justin McCullum, Lynzell Jackson, D.J.
Smith
TE Kris Mangum
(inj), Michael Gaines, Mike Seidman, Jeff King
K John Kasay
DE Julius Peppers, Mike Rucker, Al Wallace, Jovan Haye, Stanley McClover, Devan Long
DT Kris Jenkins (inj), Ma'ake Kemoeatu, Damione Lewis, Jordan Carstens, Atiyyah Ellison,
Tony Brown
MLB Dan Morgan,
Adam Seward, Vinny Ciurciu
OLB Thomas Davis (S), Na'il Diggs (W), Keith Adams (W), James Anderson (W), Chris
Draft (S), Sean Tufts
CB Chris Gamble,
Ken Lucas, Reggie Howard, Richard Marshall, Jermaine Hardy,
Marcus Cassel, Jarrett Bush, DeShane Dennis
S Mike Minter (SS), Shaun Williams (FS), Colin Branch (FS/SS), Kevin
McAdam, Nate Salley (FS)
QB: The Bears opened the 2006
preseason with a road game against the 49ers on Friday night. Rex Grossman
started the game and played nearly the entire first half, finishing just
3-for-11 for 47 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. With its top 2
running backs both shelved with injuries, the Bears came out throwing on six of
their first seven offensive snaps but Grossman looked jittery and hurried some
of his throws. His WR fumbled a completed pass to end the first series, and
then on the 2nd series Grossman fumbled after a bobbled snap and the
ball was picked up by 49ers LB Jeff Ulbrich and returned 32 yards for a TD.
Although Grossman’s hold on the starting job is still reasonably secure, his
poor performance in this game may have opened up the door for Griese a little
bit.
Brian Griese was signed to a multi-year contract by the Bears this
offseason to provide insurance against another Grossman injury, but he has a
lot of starting experience and it showed on Friday. Griese came into the game
with less than 5 minutes left in the first half and the Bears trailing 17-0. He
played two full series and led the Bears to touchdowns on both possessions,
finishing 6-for-7 for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns. Griese did an excellent job
of spreading the ball around and finding WR Rashied Davies for several big
gains, including a 41-yard TD pass early in the second half. Kyle Orton came in
to finish the game but wasn’t very effective completing just 4-for-9 for 42
yards. The Bears offensive line did a good job in protection and didn’t allow a
sack on the night.
RB: Thomas
Jones remains out with a hamstring injury but is expected to return to practice
this week. Cedric Benson is still out with a shoulder injury and is probably at
least another week or two away from returning. Running backs coach Tim Spencer
had the following to say about who will be starting. “There has been a lot said
about the starting guy, whether it's Thomas or Cedric. 'It's
going to come out. Both guys are hurt now, but eventually the best guy will be
clear. It will be out in front of everybody…The places where I played and
coached, it's always been the case where the best players play. That policy is
no different here. To me, that's the only way you can win.”
Adrian Peterson got the start against the
49ers but wasn’t able to get anything going in limited work as he finished with
just 4 carries for 3 yards. Rookie P.J. Pope replaced him and showed good
all-around ability, finishing with 8 carries for 18 yards and 2 receptions for
25 yards. Since Jones and Benson were not available, the Bears used this game
as a chance to work on their passing game and finished with 27 pass attempts compared
to just 16 rushing attempts.
WR: The starting WRs were Muhsin
Muhammad and Mark Bradley, and Bernard Berrian came in as the slot receiver.
Grossman completed a 17-yard pass to Bradley on 3rd down in the
first series, but Bradley fumbled the ball and it was recovered by CB Walt
Harris. On their next series, Grossman hooked up with Muhammad for a 22-yard
gain but that drive quickly stalled out. Rashied Davis has been working as a
slot WR with the first unit during training camp and he had a breakout type of
performance with 4 catches for 91 yards and a TD.
TE: Desmond
Clark started the game but wasn’t targeted in the passing game. His backup Gabe
Reid, however, was involved in the passing game and looked like he could become
an effective weapon. He showed good speed and finished with 2 receptions for 38
yards, including a 12-yard TD pass from Griese just before halftime.
Defense: The Bears return 11 starters
from the league’s best defense, but they looked surprisingly soft against the
league’s worst offense from 2005. Alex Smith and the 49ers offense quickly
racked up 7 first downs and 123 yards on just three possessions against the
Bears first string defense. Lovie Smith thought the first unit played okay, but
was put in a bad position by the offensive turnovers, and they did only give up
3 points despite all those yards against them. This is a deep veteran unit that
returns all of its starters and plays in the same exact system so there isn’t
much cause for concern here. In general, the guys up front did a good job
pressuring the 49ers QBs but were unable to come up with any sacks. The
coverage in the secondary was too soft at times and Charles Tillman was
victimized a couple times by Antonio Bryant. Nathan Vasher left the game
temporarily after getting hit in the head but returned and should be alright.
One of the few players who stood out for the Bears on defense was DT Antonio
Garay who finished with a game-high 8 solo tackles and looked very quick while
chasing down plays.
Special Teams: Heading into camp the Robbie Gould vs. Josh Huston battle for the
kicker job looked very intriguing. So far it’s been very one-sided. Gould’s two
weaknesses last year were kickoffs and inconsistency on 40+ yard FGs. He has
shown marked improvement on both so far this year. Meanwhile, Huston has been
inconsistent overall. Neither one had any FG attempts in the first preseason
game at
Bears
Depth Chart
QB Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, Kyle
Orton
RB Cedric Benson (inj), Thomas Jones, Adrian
Peterson, P.J. Pope, Andre Hall
FB Bryan Johnson (inj), Jason McKie, J.D. Runnels
WR Muhsin Muhammad, Bernard Berrian, Mark Bradley, Justin Gage, Airese
Curry (inj), Alex Bannister, Devin Hester (KR/PR/CB), Rashied Davis (PR), Craig
Bragg, Bryan McClendon
TE Desmond Clark, Gabe Reid, John
Gilmore, Tim Day, Cooper Wallace
K Robbie Gould, Josh Huston
DE Adewale Ogunleye, Alex Brown, Israel Idonije, Michael Haynes (DT), Jamaal Green,
Mark Anderson, Khari Long
DT Tommie Harris, Ian Scott (inj), Terry Johnson (inj),
Alfonso Boone, Dusty Dvoracek (inj), Delbert Cowsette
MLB Brian Urlacher, Jeremy Cain
OLB Lance Briggs (W), Hunter Hillenmeyer (S/M), Joe Odom (S), Leon Joe (W), Brendon Ayanbadejo (S),
Dwayne Slay, Brandon Marshall, Jamar Williams
CB Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher, Ricky Manning, Dante Wesley, Abraham Elimimian,
Carlos Hendricks
S Mike Brown (SS) (inj), Chris Harris (FS), Danieal Manning (FS), Todd
Johnson (SS), Cameron Worrell (SS), Brandon McGowan (SS) (inj), Dion
Byrum, Donnie McCleskey
Cincinnati Bengals
QB: The Carson Palmer saga continued this week with
the coaching staff basically doubling his workload to 80% of the practice snaps
at Palmer’s request. He continues to look pretty good overall and seems to be
regaining the timing with his receivers. He’s had no setbacks and continues to
gain confidence in the surgically repaired knee. Palmer even worked on the
slick, wet grass late in the week when showers soaked the practice field.
Physically everything seems good but Palmer has admitted that the mental aspect
of his recovery may be the toughest of all. He is working through drills as if
he had never suffered an injury and recently had this to say about his mental
recovery, “I feel like I made a lot of
progress. I feel like I’m playing football and not thinking of anything other
than what’s going on in the coverage. I’m not worried about what’s going on up
in front of me. I’m not worried about stepping on anybody. I kind of got the
knee thing out of my head. I feel a lot better, a lot more comfortable.” Palmer
did some throwing before the Bengals first preseason game against
After watching the Bengals offense with Anthony Wright
at the helm on Sunday night, Lewis may have gone by the nearest church on his
way home to throw in an extra prayer for Palmer’s return. Wright showed some
mobility but was very indecisive at times and when he did throw he was waiting
for the receivers to come open rather than trusting his timing. As a result,
defenders were able to recover and break on a lot of throws. Against the
Redskins starters in the first quarter Wright threw only two passes that looked
good. The first was a flea flicker to
T.J. Houshmandzadeh for a big gain and the second a corner fade to Chris Henry
for a score. Neither play required Wright to read the defense or throw a timing
pass. Wright played through the second quarter and looked much better as the
game wore on but it is hard to say if that came as he settled down or as a
result of facing the Redskins second team defense. Wright finished the game 9-of-16 for 101
yards and a score. After the game he had this to say, “Overall, it was a good
start, considering it was my first time really playing competitively with this
offense. Obviously there are always things you can work on and learn from.
That’s what I look forward to doing.”
Doug Johnson played the entire second half and
actually looked much sharper than Wright. He was hitting receivers on timing
routs while looking much more comfortable and in command of the offense.
Granted this was against mostly third team defenders but Johnson finished the
game 11 of 14 for 128 yards and led the club on two scoring drives including a
34 yard strike to Kelley Washington.
RB: Rudi Johnson has looked great during camp but
it didn’t carry over to Sunday night’s game.
He had just three carries and lost yards on two of them finishing with (-8)
yards on the night. In his defense,
Johnson had very little chance as the Redskins defensive line was on fire. On
all three of his carries he was met by, or had to avoid, defenders 3 yards deep
in the backfield. Johnson played about 10 snaps before taking his pads off and
watching comfortably from the bench.
With Chris Perry still on the PUP list due to an ankle injury, Kenny
Watson took over after Rudi was finished but he didn’t fare much better. He
lost yards on two of his four carries and had negative yards on his only catch,
as well. Watson did manage a nice 13-yard gain on one carry but finished the
game with a very weak +10 yards on 5 touches. Quincy Wilson opened the second
half at tailback but, like those before him, was ineffective. Wilson finished
with five carries for 10 yards. Fortunately the Bengals running game got a
boost late in the third quarter when rookie DeDe Dorsey broke a 46-yard run and
ended up as the game’s leading rusher with 6 carries for 68 yards. Dorsey is
competing with Wilson and Terrence Witehead for the final RB roster spot and
has done a great deal to promote his cause of late. Not only has he broken some
nice runs in practice but he has been working as a return man, too. He had one
return for 12 yards against Washington.
WR: Chris Henry returned to action
during the week and wasted no time reminding everyone why the Bengals were
willing to take a chance on his off the field issues. Henry alternated with Tab
Perry as the third receiver with the first team offense and immediately made an
impact. After making a nice play on an 8-yard reception, Henry came back on the
next possession and scored on an over-the-shoulder catch in the corner of the
end zone. Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh played just two series and after
that Henry became the Bengals’ go-to guy. He didn’t disappoint, finishing as
the game’s leading receiver with 6 catches for 61 yards. If this kid can stay
out of trouble he can be a special player.
Against
Defense:
Defense carried the day for the Bengals against
The
star of the game was Keiwan Ratliff who replaced O’Neal as the starting corner
and used the opportunity to further advance his bid to break the starting
lineup. Ratliff gave up a couple of early receptions but set up the Bengals
first offensive points with a big interception return and seemed to be
everywhere all night. He continues to officially compete with first round pick
Johnathan Joseph for the nickel duties but Ratliff has made it clear since
early in the offseason program that his goal is to win a starting job. If he
continues to play the way he has throughout camp the coaching staff may have to
consider granting his wish. Joseph made a couple of nice plays as well
including batting away a pass and putting blitz pressure on Mark Brunell to
force the bad throw that Ratliff picked off. The Bengals look both strong and
deep at the corner positions. Rookie Domata Peko and veteran Shaun Smith both
made a strong showings at DT in place of Sam Adams. The club expects to get some of their injured
defenders back over the coming week. Pollack is reportedly very close to making
his return from a sore hamstring and Sam Adams could come back at any time now
that training camp is over.
Special Teams: Kicker Shayne Graham hit a 37-yard field goal and added two PATs in the
game against
Bengals
Depth Chart
QB Carson Palmer (inj),
Anthony Wright, Doug Johnson, Erik Meyer
RB Rudi Johnson, Chris Perry (3RB) (inj), Kenny Watson
(3RB), Quincy Wilson, DeDe Dorsey, Terrence Whitehead
FB Jeremi Johnson, Naufahu Tahi, Chris
Manderino
WR Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry, Antonio Chatman (KR), Tab Perry (KR), Kelley
Washington, Reggie McNeal (QB), Benny Brazell, Ethan Kilmer
TE Reggie Kelly, Tony Stewart, Darnell Sanders, Ronnie Ghent, David Jones
K Shayne Graham
DE Justin Smith,
Robert Geathers, Bryan Robinson (inj),
Jonathan Fenene, Frostee Rucker, Eric Henderson
DT John
Thornton, Sam Adams, Shaun Smith, Domata Peko, Marcus Lewis
MLB Odell Thurman (susp), Brian Simmons (M/W), Ahmad Brooks (S), A.J. Nicholson
OLB David Pollack (S/DE) (inj), Landon Johnson
(W/M/S), Caleb Miller (W), Marcus
Wilkins, Hannibal Navies, Wyatt Gayer, Kenny Kern
CB Tory James, Deltha O'Neal (WR/PR), Johnathan Joseph, Keiwan Ratliff (SS/PR), Rashad
Bauman, Greg Brooks, Patrick Body
S Madieu Williams (FS/CB) (inj), Dexter Jackson
(SS/FS), Kevin Kaesviharn (FS/SS), Anthony
Mitchell, Ifeanyi Ohalete (SS), John Busing, Jereme Perry, Blake Ferris
QB: Starting quarterback Charlie
Frye played briefly for the Browns in their season opener going 4 of 7 for 23
yards. It was hard to get a good read on his play knowing how badly the Browns
offensive line is unraveling before our eyes. “When you step in that huddle,
you want your guys believing in you,” he said. “You want them to say, ‘Hey, if
Charlie thinks it’s going to be all right, then it’s going to be all right.’”
Frye was on the field for only 13 plays against the Eagles and did not look
over his head despite the play of the offensive line. He has to scramble
frequently and his passes weren’t overly sharp, but he escaped unscathed. Backup
quarterback Ken Dorsey completed 5 of 10 passes for 48 yards after taking over
for Frye. Dorsey has been awful during training camp and it wouldn’t be a
surprise to see the Browns cut him for Derek Anderson. Browns GM Phil Savage
likes
RB: Reuben Droughns ran the ball hard. He carried
the rock four times for 21 yards including an 11-yard run. Lee Suggs also ran
hard. Suggs, Jerome Harrison, William Green and Jerome Harrison all saw action
in Droughns’ stead.
WR: The
team continues to be intrigued by Joshua Cribbs, who Charlie Frye calls “the
Michael Vick of the MAC.” Cribbs put up 1,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards
rushing in three of his four years playing quarterback for
TE: Kellen Winslow, Jr. made his return to the
field and caught two passes and had a third called back on a penalty in his
preseason debut. "It was really good to get back out there," said
Winslow, whose career was stalled by an in-game leg injury and a motorcycle
accident. "I just wanted to get tackled to get some confidence back."
HC Romeo Crennel commented after the game, “He made some plays and looked good
making them. He looked like a pretty decent guy running around out there and
that was encouraging to see." Crennel also added, “He will tell you that
he's not 100 percent, and whether he'll ever be 100 percent is doubtful. But I
think that he'll be good enough to be a functional player for us.”
Defense: The Browns liked what they saw
of rookie first round pick Kamerion Wimbley, who clearly stood out in his first
preseason game. Wimbley, who played defensive end at
Special Teams: The kickers didn’t get to do very much in the game at
Other: Center
Bob Hallen, whom the team was relying heavily upon after LeCharles Bentley’s
season ending injury, abruptly retired last week leaving the team’s offensive
line in a lurch. The team made a move during the week acquiring Ross Tucker
from the Patriots. Further complicating matters, Alonzo Eprhaim, the team’s 3rd
projected starting center in as many weeks, was suspended for the first four
games of the regular season due to a violation of the substance abuse policy.
Browns
Depth Chart
QB Charlie Frye, Ken
Dorsey, Derek Anderson, Darrell Hackney, Lang Campbell
RB Reuben Droughns, William Green, Jerome Harrison (3RB), Lee Suggs
(3RB), Jason Wright, Chris