Training Camp Update

Volume 3, Issue 4 – 8/23/07

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 Camp Updates. They're an exhaustive look each week covering every bit of news you need to know to stay completely on top of every team. Quite simply, they're the key to Dominating Your Draft.

This is the fourth 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 Camp Update reflects the most up-to-date info regarding each of these teams. The reports are written by Bob Henry with contributions from several of our best writers on staff - Jason Wood, Mike Herman, Mark Wimer, Jene Bramel, Aaron Rudnicki, Maurile Tremblay, Sigmund Bloom, Anthony Borbely and Colin Dowling.

Happy reading and let's have a great 2007 season,

Joe Bryant and David Dodds

Owners, Footballguys.com

Arizona Cardinals

QB: In the Texans/Cardinals preseason game on Saturday, 2nd-year QB Matt Leinart was sharp, completing 7 of 7 passes for 70 yards and a touchdown to RB Edgerrin James. "He got a little tough love this week," Whisenhunt said of Leinart. "He was told to pick up his game, and he responded. That's all you can expect from a young quarterback. He told me the day before the game that 'I'm going to go 10-for-10 coach.' He wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to me." Leinart was also pleased, "I was upset with the way I played against Oakland (last week). As a starting quarterback, I need to play better and lead this football team. I thought myself and the starting offense did very well today in the brief time we were in there."

Kurt Warner was also sharp completing 7-of-9 for 89 yards. Shayne Boyd saw the most extensive playing time, in the second half, completing 9-of-15 passes for 109 yards with a TD, an interception and a team-high 54 rushing yards on 5 attempts – most of which came on a 35-yard scramble. Toby Korrodi went 3-of-9 for 36 yards with an interception. WR Anquan Boldin attempted one pass, on a reverse, that he threw downfield for a bomb to Larry Fitzgerald. The pass wasn’t completed, but it resulted in a 55-yard play due to a defensive pass interference penalty on the Texans C.C Brown. That drive stalled, however, when Edgerrin James failed to convert a 4^th and 1.

RB: The Cardinals couldn’t get their ground game running against the Texans as starter Edgerrin James managed just 11 yards on 5 carries, but he did catch a short TD pass from Matt Leinart in the first quarter before leaving the game. James didn’t find much room to operate against the Texans first string defense. Marcel Shipp gained 12 yards on 4 carries and J.J. Arrington gained 35 yards on 7 carries. Steve Baylark got some mop up duty running twice for 11 yards and also caught one ball for 8 yards. On the injury front, the Cardinals are expected to place 2^nd year FB A.J. Schable on injured reserve.

WR: Earlier in the week, HC Ken Whisenhunt was asked to name a surprise star in training camp so far. He quickly threw out Bryant Johnson’s name. “Bryant Johnson is the one who really stands out,” then he cautioned, “The challenge in this league is to do it week in and week out… We’ve been on Bryant Johnson because he’s been an inconsistent football player for this team. His challenge and our challenge as coaches is to stay on Bryant Johnson to make sure he does that again. If he can establish consistency, he can be a force.” In Saturday’s game against the Texans, Johnson caught two balls for 14 yards, while starters Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin caught two passes each, for 46 yards and 11 yards, respectively. Ahmad Merritt led the Cardinals WRs with 4 receptions for 61 yards, but he was carted from the field after dislocating his ankle. Sean Morey, expected to be the team’s 4^th receiver and special teams demon, caught 5 passes for 45 yards and a TD as he continues to push for a role in the offense as well. Rookie Steve Breaston, who is #1 on the punt returning depth chart currently, caught 4 balls for 37 yards. Michael Spurlock caught one ball for 21 yards.

TE: HC Ken Whisenhunt remains a bit concerned about the tight end position. “Overall, they did play a little better in the (Houston) game than they’d practiced. I hope they have a good week.” Rookie Ben Patrick, the team’s seventh-round pick, is playing catch-up after being injured for most of the offseason. “He’s still learning the offense,” Whisenhunt said. “When you speed it up in a game, it’s tough.” Contenders for roster spots include projected starter Leonard Pope, Troy Bienemann and Patrick. Even though Bienemann and Pope started the game (the Cards opened in a 2 TE set), Patrick was the most productive of the Cardinals TEs against Houston. Actually, he was the only one to record a catch. Patrick made perhaps the game’s best catch on a 26-yard play. He finished with 2 receptions for 32 yards.

Defense: The Cardinals front seven was different this week on the heels of losing projected starter SLB Chike Okeafor (torn bicep) for possibly the entire season. The Cardinals opened in a 4-3 alignment with Antonio Smith and Bertrand Berry at the ends and Darnell Dockett and Gabe Watson at tackle. Starting in Okeafor’s place at SLB was Darryl Blackstock. Gerald Hayes and Karlos Dansby were at MLB and WLB, respectively. Terrence Holt got the start this week at FS over his chief competitor, Aaron Francisco. Hayes led the team with 5 solo tackles followed by Rodney Bailey (3-1-0), Francisco (3-1-0) and Holt (3-0-0). DL Chris Cooper recorded the team’s only sack among two tackles; he also forced a fumble.

With Okeafor potentially done for the year, Blackstock and Calvin Pace will compete for the vacated SLB spot. Whisenhunt said, “They’re a little bit different… Calvin is a little bigger guy, while Darryl is a little faster, potentially.” Pace is also able to play both sides; he splits time with Bertrand Berry playing a little end when they go to a 4-3 scheme. The team will wait before placing Okeafor on the season-ending IR, though the torn bicep injury he sustained is likely too much for him to overcome. He underwent surgery last Tuesday and it went “very well” according to Whisenhunt, who said, "We’re going to evaluate it next week and see where he is." Berry seems to be well prepared for a potentially bigger role with Okeafor out. Berry lost 15 pounds during the offseason and reported to camp at 256 lbs. He thinks he’s as quick as he was in 2004 when he collected 14.5 sacks and earned a Pro Bowl spot. The extra speed should aid his transition to outside linebacker, but he won’t b be asked to drop back into coverage much, if at all. The team wants him rushing almost exclusively off the edge.

On 2^nd round pick Alan Branch’s play, Coach Whisenhunt said, “I see improvement. I see the desire to be good. That showed up in the game… in terms of chasing the play down, clogging the middle, penetrating. A couple times he hit the wrong gap. But what I saw the whole game was very good effort.” Branch has outstanding quickness for a man his size (6’5”, 334 pounds), but he’s not maintaining his leverage and balance consistently yet. Overall, his progress is encouraging. For now, Branch is focusing on nose guard, but he’ll likely slide to tackle or end in passing situations as he gets more comfortable.

Special Teams: Kicker Neil Rackers was successful on all his kicks in the preseason game against Houston. He made field goals of22 and 38 yards, plus two PATs. Special teams coach Kevin Spencer further discussed last week’s use of RB J.J. Arrington and RB Marcel Shipp on kickoff returns, “J.J. might be the guy we like to see get the ball more. Marcel Shipp is back there because I trust him impeccably. He makes good decisions. He can block anybody who comes off the back side.” He also commented on the team’s two top punt returners, “Steven [Breaston] can make you miss, but he’s decisive, makes one cut and goes. Micheal [Spurlock] has got great explosive speed. He can probably stretch the corner … He can widen the field, and then he can hit a seam.” Against the Texans, Arrington had a 26-yard kickoff return, and WR Micheal Spurlock averaged 25.0 yards on two kickoff returns. Rookie WR Steve Breaston saw the most return work. He had a four yard punt return, and averaged a healthy 30.7 yards on three kickoff returns. HC Ken Whisenhunt noted after the game, "I think it's pretty obvious that Steve has just kind of distanced himself from everyone else. He looks comfortable back there, and the thing I like is he's not afraid to hit the hole."

Cardinals Depth Chart
QB: Matt Leinart, Kurt Warner, Shayne Boyd, Toby Korrodi
RB: Edgerrin James, Marcel Shipp, J.J. Arrington (KR), Diamond Ferri, Steve Baylark
FB: Terrelle Smith, Tim Castille, BranDon Snow, Roshon Vercher, A.J. Schable (IR)
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Bryant Johnson, Sean Morey, Michael Spurlock (KR/PR), Steve Breaston (KR/PR), Todd Watkins, Ahmad Merritt (inj), Matt Trannon, LeRon McCoy, Greg Lee
TE: Leonard Pope, Troy Bienemann, Ben Patrick, Tim Euhus, John Bronson, Alex Shor
K: Neil Rackers
DT: Alan Branch (NT), Gabe Watson (NT), Chris Cooper, Ross Kolodziej, Jonathan Lewis (inj), Ray Blagman (NT)
DE: Darnell Dockett (DT), Bertrand Berry (W/DE), Antonio Smith, Joe Tafoya, Rodney Bailey
ILB: Gerald Hayes, Karlos Dansby (W), Buster Davis, Monty Beisel, Pago Togafau, Nathan Hodel
OLB: Calvin Pace (S), Darryl Blackstock (W), Brandon Johnson, David Holloway, Chike Okeafor (S)(inj)
CB: Eric Green, Roderick Hood, Antrel Rolle, Darrell Hunter, Ralph Brown, Justin Wyatt, Travarous Bain, Michael Adams
S: Adrian Wilson (SS), Aaron Francisco (FS), Terrence Holt (FS), Brandon Keeler (SS), Matt Ware (FS), Hanik Milligan (SS), Oliver Celestin (SS)

Atlanta Falcons

QB During the game on Friday, Joey Harrington threw an interception and failed to lead the team to a score. The contest was ultimately decided by the backups, who saw extensive time in the game. Chris Redman went 11 for 21 for 90 yards, 1 TD and 1 interception; and tossed the winning score with 2:38 left on the clock. Harrington finished 4-for-7 for 31 yards, and drove the Falcons 69 yards on 10 plays on the opening possession. 3rd stringer D.J. Shockley (4/5 for 46 yards) was lost for the season after he suffered a torn ACL during the game. "Obviously, he (Shockley) was distraught," Joey Harrington said after Friday's game. "That's not anything you'd like to ever have happen. We're all pulling for him in his recovery. From the looks of things, it may be a little while before he gets playing again." Coach Petrino commented on his starter, Harrington, and Redman after the game, saying of Harrington, "I'm very comfortable with the way he's played. …He's prepared well, he's understood the game plan and he's worked hard at executing it." Redman’s performance was more mixed. “Chris, I thought, was up and down a little bit," Petrino said. "At times he was doing exactly what we wanted him to. He got a little flustered at one point and started to dump the ball down, check it down, and didn't focus downfield as well as we would like. We've just got to watch the video and see where we're at."

RB Jason Snelling subbed for Jerious Norwood (stomach infection) and Warrick Dunn (herniated disc surgery) during the game last Friday. Snelling rushed 12 times for 50 yards and snagged 2 receptions for 13 yards. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dunn practiced for the first time last week. Norwood is not expected to be out for long. Norwood and Dunn may play when the Falcons play Monday August 27 vs. Cincinnati. After Dunn’s debut in practice he said, "Sometimes I'm sore a little bit, but once I start moving I'm fine. I just tried to show [teammates and coaches] how hard I was working and that I want to get back out there so that I can get ready for the season. I want to get back out there with the guys, really understand the system and get into a flow." In the interim, keep an eye on Snelling. He could emerge as a goal-line option for HC Bobby Petrino, who frequently made use of bigger backs around the goal line during his tenure at Louisville (i.e., Michael Bush and Eric Shelton). Snelling can do a little bit of everything and he can play both halfback and fullback. His roster spot seems secure at this point, now it’s a matter of whether he’ll earn any touches behind Dunn and Norwood when the regular season opens.

WR Roddy White was targeted a lot during the early stages of Friday’s game, but ended the night with a pedestrian 2/12/0 to show for his efforts. It appears that the Falcons intend to feature him in the passing game, but he needs to catch the ball more consistently. Once again, rookie Laurent Robinson led the team with 4/54/0 receiving while playing with the reserves. He has made the most of his training camp and looks like he’ll probably be on the opening day roster. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Robinson is happy to be a Falcon, saying last week, "I was just an under-the-radar kind of guy," Robinson said. "Everything happens for a reason. So I'm not complaining. I'm just happy where I ended up. I liked my time at Illinois State; now I'm where I want to be." Michael Jenkins grabbed 1/6/0 during the Friday game. Joe Horn didn’t catch a pass on Friday.

TE Alge Crumpler remains limited and didn’t play on Friday. His backup, Dwayne Blakley, reeled in 1 catch for 5 yards vs. the Bills. Early last week Coach Petrino addressed Crumpler’s current training regimen, saying, “There are some days where he's working three times a day. He's getting his weight where he wants it so he can feel lighter and faster. Hopefully, by the middle or end of this week, he'll be back at practice.”

Defense: The Falcons held the Bill’s J.P. Losman to just 3 first downs on Friday in a full half of action – the defense played pretty well with only 3 points given up to the Bills’ first team. Veteran defensive tackle Grady Jackson saw his first action of the preseason – he’s coming back from off-season knee surgery. "It felt good to play a little bit and get the feel of it," Jackson said. "I really liked how the defense worked. It's only the preseason, but I feel like we are starting very well." DT Rod Coleman is getting close to testing his surgically repaired right quadriceps, according to the Journal-Constitution. "I want to run around and get my timing right," Coleman said on Thursday (8/16). "It's more about myself than running out there and playing. It's about working on my mechanics for the season." Coach Petrino commented Thursday on the time frame for Coleman’s return: “Not before the [regular] season. Hopefully for the first game. If he can do that, that would be great. The doctors are just a little bit leery.”

Special Teams: Kicker Billy Cundiff made field goals of 32 and 46 yards in the game at Buffalo, but missed from long range, wide left from 54 yards. A week after the coaches commented that Michael Koenen would be focusing just on his punting; they had him handle kickoff duties against the Bills. HC Bobby Petrino discussed the switch, "We've got Michael Koenen, who can kick off and do a real good job of that. Billy has been concentrating mostly on his field goal kicking. We didn't kick the ball as well as we needed to for coverage [in the first game]. We also made a couple of mistakes and didn't get down the field as fast as we need to. I'm not really worried about how far we are going to kick because when Koenen is back there, that's going to happen. But for right now, what we are trying to do is have him concentrate on his punting and make sure his back stays healthy." On kickoff returns, CB Allen Rossum had a 25-yarder and newly signed WR Otis Amey had a 20-yarder. Amey had some success on returns with San Francisco in 2005. WR Adam Jennings had the most return work in the game, as may be the case in the regular season. He had a 48-yard kickoff return, an eight yard punt return, and a fair catch. HC Bobby Petrino noted, "I like what we saw from Adam. He has shown extreme toughness, not just as a returner, but on other parts of the special teams. I like the way he caught the ball on the punts in the wind. I know the kickoff returns were nice. It was set up and very well run, executed well by everybody. But the thing that he showed me was his ability to catch the ball when the wind was blowing."

Falcons Depth Chart
QB: Joey Harrington, Chris Redman, Casey Bramlet, D.J. Shockley (IR), Michael Vick
RB: Warrick Dunn, Jerious Norwood, Jason Snelling, Justin Vincent, Taurean Henderson, Sha-Ron Edwards, Arlen Harris
FB: Ovie Mughelli, Corey McIntyre
WR: Michael Jenkins, Joe Horn, Roddy White, Laurent Robinson, Adam Jennings, Vincent Marshall, Jamin Elliot (inj), Eric Weems, Eric Newman, Noriaki Kinoshita (KR), Ben Nelson, Otis Amey, Brian Finneran (IR)
TE: Alge Crumpler, Dwayne Blakely, Martrez Milner, Daniel Fells
K: Billy Cundiff
DT: Grady Jackson (NT), Rod Coleman (inj), Darrell Shropshire (NT), Jonathan Babineaux, T.J. Jackson (NT), Trey Lewis (NT), Michael Bozeman, David Patterson, Kelly Talavou
DE: John Abraham, Chauncey Davis, Jamaal Anderson, Paul Carrington, Josh Mallard, Nic Clemons
MLB: Keith Brooking (W), Jordan Beck, Tony Taylor
OLB: Michael Boley (S), Demorrio Williams (W)(inj), Stephen Nicholas (W), Orlando Huff (W), Marcus Wilkins (S), John Leake (S), Travis Williams
CB: DeAngelo Hall, Chris Houston, Lewis Sanders, Allen Rossum (KR), David Irons, Brent Grimes, Antoine Harris
S: Lawyer Milloy (SS), Chris Crocker (FS), Jimmy Williams (FS), Omare Lowe (SS), Daren Stone (FS), Nick Turnbull (FS), Jeramie Johnson (SS)

Baltimore Ravens

QB: The Ravens offense got off to a slow start under Steve McNair Sunday night against the N.Y. Giants. McNair played four series and finished with 29 yards completing 5 of his 8 throws, with one interception. McNair and the Ravens went three and out on their opening drive. On their second drive, they drove 22 yards and gained two first downs when McNair threw a deep ball intended for Demetrius Williams into double coverage. The pass was intercepted by Gibril Wilson. "It just wasn't there tonight," McNair said. "It started off wrong with penalties and I had a turnover. It's something that's better to happen now than later." On the team’s third drive with McNair at the helm, they drove to the Giants 20-yard line before being snuffed on a 4^th-and-1 when McNair tried a keeper but was denied by Giants DT Fred Robbins. On McNair’s last series the Ravens got the ball at the Giants 12-yard line off a fumble recovery, but the offense sputtered, lost three yards and settled for a 33-yard Matt Stover field goal. Kyle Boller took over and played three series before leaving the game in the third quarter. Boller completed 6-of-9 passes for 73 yards. The rest of the game was split between Troy Smith and Drew Olson, who are competing for the No. 3 job. Smith went 4-for-8 for 60 yards, outplaying Olson, who completed 1-for-4 for 6 yards. Outside of Sunday’s game, McNair is having a good offseason. He’s been sharp with his passing, especially in the short game – his bread and butter. With Demetrius Williams developing nicely, look for the Ravens to implement more vertical throws.

RB: Willis McGahee started Sunday night’s game but had a difficult time finding running lanes as he gained just 3 yards on six carries. He caught one pass for 1 yard before leaving with the rest of the starters. Mike Anderson had a few nice gains as he finished with a team-high 37 yards rushing on just three attempts (including a 21-yard jaunt). Cory Ross did his best to leave an impression gaining 20 yards on five carries. Greg Pruitt Jr. ran three times for 4 yards and Musa Smith ran just once for two yards. The Ravens were hoping the running attack would jell quickly, but it looks like there is more work to do with McGahee being new to the offense and two new starting linemen on the right side in tackle Adam Terry and guard Chris Chester. On a positive note, Coach Billick was surprised at how quickly McGahee took to the system. The Ravens hope McGahee will help them raise their average from last year’s 3.4 yards per carry. "We're very pleased with where Willis is right now," Billick said. "He feels like he's been around here a while. I don't notice any transition." P.J. Daniels (tweaked hamstring) continued to miss practice throughout last week and did not he play in Sunday’s game against the Giants. It looks as though the Ravens will keep both of their fullbacks, Justin Green and LeRon McClain. At halfback, McGahee, Mike Anderson, Musa Smith and Daniels appear to be safe while Cory Ross is on the bubble and Greg Pruitt Jr. is on the outside looking in.

WR: Mark Clayton and Demetrius Williams started on Sunday night against the NY Giants while veteran Derrick Mason was inactive. Clayton sprained an ankle early on and didn’t return to the game. Mason missed Friday’s practice with what HC Brian Billick called “a little bit of a shoulder going on.” The injury isn’t believed to be serious, but it’s worth watching and it certainly helps buoy the fantasy potential of Demetrius Williams, who is already moving into Mason’s spot in 3-WR sets with Mason sliding inside to the slot. Williams continues to have an excellent camp displaying speed, disciplined route running and physicality against defensive backs. He and Clayton give the team two viable deep threats, while Mason is a natural in the slot with his great hands and willingness to go underneath and over the middle as a possession receiver. Clarence Moore and Devard Darling are on the bubble. If the Ravens keep five receivers, expect Clayton, Mason, Williams and explosive rookie Yamon Figurs to get the nod with Moore and Darling likely fighting it out for the last spot. Romby Bryant, Matt Willis and Damien Linson are long shots. Williams caught 2 balls for 26 yards while Devard Darling caught 2 for 28, Clarence Moore caught 1 for 8, Damien Linson 1 for 11 and Matt Willis led all receivers with 3 catches for 41 yards.

TE: Todd Heap started on Sunday night, catching one ball for 8 yards in brief work. Quinn Sypniewski caught one ball for 4 yards and Daniel Wilcox was inactive. Two players fighting for a roster spot received the bulk of the snaps – rookie Marcus Freeman and Kendrick Ballantyne. Freeman caught one ball for 15 yards and Ballantyne had one for 14 yards. Both Freeman and Ballantyne are long shots to make the roster as Heap, Wilcox and Sypniewski are all but assured of spots. So far in camp, McNair has been locked into Heap as his primary target – a good sign for Heap since he’s as healthy this preseason as he’s ever been. Wilcox continues to recover from a sprained ankle, and while he didn’t play Sunday, he should be fine for the season.

Defense: The Ravens were without several defenders in Sunday night’s game against the Giants. Among those who did not play were linebackers Antwan Barnes, Mike Smith, Dan Cody and DT Kelly Gregg. The Ravens starting defense was in their 3-4 alignment with Justin Bannan at the nose flanked by Trevor Pryce and Haloti Ngata. Jarret Johnson started at LOLB, replacing last year’s standout Pro Bowler Adalius Thomas. Opposite him was ROLB Terrell Suggs with Ray Lewis and Bart Scott manning the inside spots. Samari Rolle started opposite Chris McAllister at corner, but Rolle needed help off the field with a sprained ankle. Ed Reed and Dawan Landry, as expected, started at safety. Jarret Johnson got to Eli Manning for a sack, forced fumble and turnover while safety Jamaine Winborne collected a sack. Edgar Jones and Gary Stills split a sack (Jones actually had 1.5 sacks), and safety Gerome Sapp also had a sack. On the evening, the Ravens sacked the Giants five times and forced the one turnover. Corey Ivy and Terrell Suggs led the way with four solo tackles each. Dawan Landry chipped in 3-3-0 and safety Bobby Blackshire contributed 3-1-0. Rookie sixth round pick LB Prescott Burgess from Michigan had a couple of tackles.

The Ravens believe they have a diamond in the rough with Burgess, who didn’t test out particularly well, especially in the 40. The Ravens loved his fire and versatility since he can play inside or outside. Burgess has shown good instincts in camp and his frame can easily pack on more weight as he transitions to the pro game. He’s not expected to see much playing time as a rookie, save for injury, but he’ll contribute on special teams and the team believes he could develop into an impact player in a couple of years. Another rookie, Antwan Barnes, has missed a lot of time during camp. He was carted off the field on Wednesday for the 2^nd time in two weeks with a right ankle injury. It’s not believed to be serious, but he wasn’t in uniform on Sunday night. Kelly Gregg continues to make progress from his thigh and knee injuries, but the team is taking a cautious approach with him. Dan Cody is a candidate to begin the season on the PUP list, meaning he’ll likely miss the first six games of the season. "We'll see at the six- or eight-week mark if there's any potential for him to come off [PUP]," Billick said. "But we'll have to wait that time off."

Special Teams: British camp leg Rhys Lloyd finally got his visa squared way in time to arrive for the final day of camp. He made an immediate impression by nearly putting a kickoff out of the end zone in practice. But that’s practice, what can he do in game? Against the NY Giants this weekend, he handled all the kickoffs, and reached the end zone on every one: 74 (touchback), 71, 74, 70, and 70 (touchback). He also connected on field goals of 38 and 40 yards in the second half. The Ravens have shown a willingness in recent years to keep a second kicker on the roster for kickoffs, so that starting kicker Matt Stover can handle just placekicking. Against the Giants, Stover made field goals of 33 and 47 yards. All the returns in the game were handled by the two competitors for the job. Incumbent B.J. Sams averaged 22.5 yards on two kickoff returns, and averaged 4.0 yards on two punt returns. The challenger, rookie WR Yamon Figurs, averaged 41.5 yards on kickoff returns and had a fair catch on a punt. After two games, Figurs appears to be in the lead. He discussed his 52-yard kickoff return afterwards, "It was great blocking upfront. The fullback got his man, everybody blocked and kicked out the safeties and it just opened up for me."

Ravens Depth Chart
QB: Steve McNair, Kyle Boller, Troy Smith, Drew Olsen
RB: Willis McGahee, Mike Anderson, Musa Smith, P.J. Daniels, Cory Ross, Greg Pruitt Jr.
FB: Justin Green, Le'Ron McClain
WR: Mark Clayton (PR) (inj), Derrick Mason, Demetrius Williams, Clarence Moore, Devard Darling, Yamon Figurs (KR/PR), Damien Linson, Romby Bryant, Matt Willis
TE: Todd Heap, Daniel Wilcox, Quinn Sypniewski, Marcus Freeman, Kendrick Ballantyne
K: Matt Stover, Rhys Lloyd, Brendan Carney
DT: Kelly Gregg, Haloti Ngata, Dwan Edwards, Justin Bannan, Keyonta Marshall, Anthony Bryant, Atiyyah Ellison
DE: Terrell Suggs, Trevor Pryce, Travis Leitko, Bill Swancutt
MLB: Ray Lewis, Prescott Burgess, Mike Smith
OLB: Bart Scott (W), Jarrett Johnson (S/DE), Gary Stills (S/DE), Dan Cody (S) (inj), Antwan Barnes, Dennis Haley, Edgar Jones (S/DE), Joe Martin, Jamar Enzor, Ryan Riddle
CB: Chris McAlister, Samari Rolle (inj), Corey Ivy, Ronnie Prude, David Pittman, Evan Oglesby, Derrick Martin, B.J. Sams (KR/PR), Willie Gaston, Terrell Maze
S: Ed Reed (FS), Dawan Landry (SS), Jamaine Winborn, Gerome Sapp, Donnie Johnson, Bobby Blackshire

Buffalo Bills

QB: The Bills offense struggled again in their home preseason game against the Falcons on Friday night. J.P. Losman got the start and played the entire first half but the offense could not sustain any long drives. It was a very windy night and it clearly had an impact on some of Losman’s throws. Early on, he beat the blitz and connected with Lee Evans down the left sideline for a 36-yard play, but on the second drive he missed what would have been an easy TD to Peerless Price when the ball just died in the wind. Losman didn’t seem too concerned about the offense’s slow start. “We moved the ball pretty well. We’re just working out some kinks to finish off some drives...The way we’re doing our protections right now and some of the plays we’re calling, we’re just trying to protect everybody and trying to get to that first game. We’d like to get into a rhythm, obviously, before our first game.” He finished 7 of 13 for 78 yards, showed some good mobility buying time in the pocket, and generally protected the football well.

After playing just one 14-play series in the first preseason game, backup Craig Nall did not play at all in the second game. He remains the Bills backup, but the team apparently wanted to get more work for Losman and rookie Trent Edwards. Edwards once again played the entire second half and looked pretty good, completing nearly 70% of his passes and giving the Bills a lead on an impressive play where he scrambled to his left and eventually hit Roscoe Parrish with a 10-yard TD pass. “I believe he’s going to be a good player,” said Coach Dick Jauron. “He’s got a feel for the game. It’s all new to him, clearly, but he throws the ball well. Pressure doesn’t seem to rattle him, and he made some accurate throws. He missed some, too. But all in all, I thought he performed pretty well.” Combined, the Bills QBs finished 18 of 29 (62%) for 179 yards with 1 TD, 0 INTs, and 3 sacks.

RB: After getting very little work in the preseason opener, Marshawn Lynch got a better chance to show what he can do. He only finished with 16 yards on 5 carries but showed what he’s capable of on his first official carry of the night. He made a sharp cut, burst through a small hole, and eventually carried several tacklers to an 8-yard gain. He also did a good job of picking up a blitz on the big 36-yard pass play from Losman to Lee Evans, which will make it easier for the coaches to trust him in those situations in the future. He also showed good awareness to jump on a loose ball in the backfield after a bad snap from the center flew over Losman’s head. If he’s not the official starter yet, he will be soon. Lynch was replaced in the lineup during the second quarter by veteran Anthony Thomas. Thomas didn’t get much action, however, as he finished with just 1 catch for 5 yards and ran once for 2 yards. The breakout player from the first game, Fred Jackson, received a heavy workload in the second half finishing with 9 carries for 22 yards and 3 catches for 31 yards. The other rookie Dwayne Wright showed a bit of power on his 3 carries for 13 yards. It looks like those are probably the 4 RBs who will make the team unless special teamer Josh Scobey (calf) gets healthy soon.

WR: Lee Evans had one of the best plays of the night when he pulled in a throw from Losman in tight coverage for a 36-yard gain. Peerless Price was a bit more visible this week. He was wide open on a play in the first quarter that should have been a TD if the ball didn’t get caught up in the wind, and then in the 2nd quarter a pass to him over the middle was broken up on a play that could have been called pass interference on the defender. Josh Reed had a quiet week with just 1 catch for 9 yards. The Bills 1st unit offense includes all 3 WRs but they finished with just 3 catches for 51 yards combined. Roscoe Parrish provided a spark in the second half, finishing with 3 catches for 26 yards and the game’s only TD on a play when he was actually double-covered but broke free in the end zone. Donovan Morgan stood out among the candidates fighting for a potential 6th roster spot with 3 catches for 37 yards. Morgan played with the Texans in 2005 so he has a little bit of NFL experience and would bring some much needed size (he’s 6’2”) to the group.

TE: The Bills started the game deep in their own territory after a goal-line stand from the defense so they opened in a 3-TE formation with Robert Royal and Kevin Everett at TE and Ryan Neufeld in the backfield as an H-back. Royal remains the team’s primary TE but he was badly overthrown on the only pass thrown in his direction. Neufeld had a 9-yard catch, Everett had a 4-yard catch, and rookie Derek Schouman had 2 catches for 10 yards in the second half. As a group, the TEs finished with 4 catches for 23 yards combined. The Bills feel good about the TEs they have and plan to get them more involved in the offense this year, but it’s likely the ball will be spread around limiting the fantasy value of any specific Bills TE.

Defense: The general expectation for the Bills going into this season was that the offense was likely to be more effective while the defense would take a step or two back. But, for the second game in a row, the defense carried the team while the offense struggled. After giving up some long running plays early, the defense managed to keep the Falcons off the scoreboard with a goal-line stand thanks to the play of LB Paul Posluszny and S Donte Whitner. Then, on the second series, Terrence McGee picked off a pass from Joey Harrington. Angelo Crowell missed the game with a knee injury that isn’t expected to be serious, but his replacement at SLB Coy Wire was one of the Bills best players. He had several big hits on RB Jason Snelling, including one that forced a fumble which was caught in the air by DT John McCargo. Perhaps the play of the night came when backup DE Anthony Hargrove interception a pass that led to the Bills only TD of the night a few plays later. The one negative for the defense this week was an injury to #3 DE Ryan Denney, who left the game with a broken foot and is out indefinitely. With Hargrove already suspended for the first 4 games of the season, defensive end went from being very deep to very shallow in a hurry. The run defense still seems like a weak spot but the defense is doing a good job of keeping teams out of the end zone and forcing turnovers. Rookie Paul Posluszny started the game at MLB and looked like one of the best players on the field so the starting job is probably his to lose now.

Special Teams: Both of kicker Rian Lindell’s field goal attempts in the game against Atlanta were from long range. He was good from 48 yards, but missed wide left from 55 yards. Starting kickoff returner CB Terrence McGee continues to get some returns in preseason. Against the Falcons he averaged 21.5 yards on two returns. RB Shaud Williams had a 19-yard kickoff return, while rookie WR Scott Mayle had a 24-yarder. RB Josh Scobey is probably the Bills second best kickoff returner, but he hasn’t been able to prove it as he continues to be sidelined with a calf injury. Starting punt returner WR Roscoe Parrish once again did not have any returns in the game. His potential backup, DB Jim Leonhard, averaged only 1.5 yards on two returns for the second consecutive week. That’s not very good.

Bills Depth Chart
QB: J.P. Losman, Craig Nall, Trent Edwards, Kevin Eakin
RB: Marshawn Lynch, Anthony Thomas, Dwayne Wright, Shaud Williams, Josh Scobey, Fred Jackson
WR: Lee Evans, Peerless Price, Josh Reed, Roscoe Parrish (PR), Sam Aiken, Donovan Morgan, Scott Mayle, Jemalle Cornelius, Jonathan Smith, Justin Jenkins
TE: Robert Royal, Kevin Everett, Matt Murphy, Ryan Neufeld (FB), Brad Cieslak (FB), Derek Schouman (FB)
K: Rian Lindell, D.J. Fitzpatrick
DT: Larry Tripplett, Kyle Williams, John McCargo, Tim Anderson, Jason Jefferson, Corey Mace
DE: Aaron Schobel, Chris Kelsay, Ryan Denney (inj), Anthony Hargrove (susp), C.J. Ah You, Eric Powell, Ryan Neill
MLB: Paul Posluszny, John DiGiorgio (S/M), Thaddeus Washington
OLB: Angelo Crowell (S/M), Keith Ellison (W), Mario Haggan (W/M), Coy Wire (S/FS), Roy Manning (W), Josh Stamer (S/W), Kevin Harrison (W)
CB: Terrence McGee (KR), Jason Webster, Kiwaukee Thomas, Jabari Greer, Ashton Youboty, Riley Swanson, Reggie Lewis, Eric Bassey
S: Donte Whitner (SS), Ko Simpson (FS), George Wilson (SS), John Wendling (SS), Jim Leonhard (FS), Trevor Hooper (FS), John Sorto (FS)

Carolina Panthers

QB “It’s not a good feeling,” Delhomme said about the Friday game vs. Philadelphia. “Preseason or not, we just played awful. We have a tough game next week against New England. We have to go back to camp and get better.” As the Gaston Gazette points out, Delhomme played the entire first half, but was pressured often and completed just 3 of 10 passes for 14 yards on Carolina’s first five possessions. In addition, Delhomme was sacked three times, fumbled once, and threw an interception that was returned 40 yards for a touchdown. That’s pretty ugly, folks. “In camp, you are supposed to be tired, so let me just leave it at that,” Delhomme said. “Let’s find some more excuses — short week, this and that. Hey, it comes down the fact that we didn’t play well. (The Eagles) had a short week. They played on Monday night. Let’s not use that. We didn’t play well. I don’t know how else I can put it.” Speaking to the offensive line woes last Friday, the Charlotte Observer chronicles the offensive line juggling over the last week – RG Jeremy Bridges is suspended the first 2 games of the regular season for conduct detrimental to the team, and was demoted to 2^nd string. This has caused a domino effect on the line’s cohesion, and it showed in the 4 sacks allowed last Friday. "Obviously if Jeremy Bridges was with us the first two games, we probably wouldn't have changed anything," RT Jordan Gross said after the game. "But we've got to make adjustments for that. We don't know really what the combination's going to be yet," Coach John Fox commented. “I don’t think the effort was bad, we just looked like we were playing in quicksand.”

RB DeShaun Foster was one of the team’s game captains vs. Philadelphia, another sign of esteem from the coaching staff for the Panthers’ starting running back. He ended a short appearance with 3 rushes for 18 yards and 1 catch for 3 yards on a night when the OL was in flux. Foster’s 6.0 yards per carry averaged is pretty respectable, but it was a small sample of his talents. DeAngelo Williams did play this week, with 3 rushes for 13 yards and two catches for 7 yards. In all, 8 Panthers logged rushing attempts during the preseason tilt vs. the Eagles. Foster’s positional coach commented on his preseason efforts to the Herald this week: "The thing about DeShaun, he has very good talent, and he's been snake-bit a little bit," running backs coach Jim Skipper said. "I don't even want to bring the word up. But that's been keeping him humble. He's an outstanding competitor, he's a leader, he knows what's going on. If he could have a little luck and stay healthy, good things could happen. But that's the luck factor in this business. You do all you can do, try to stay in good shape, but there are going to be circumstances."

WR With the passing game struggling at Philly, nobody really lit up the box score. Steve Smith hauled in 2/18/0 in limited. 12 Panthers caught at least one ball on Friday, but not much clarity was gained due to the poor offensive effort. Once again, Drew Carter started opposite Steve Smith, but he was not among the Panthers who caught a ball on Friday. Keary Colbert hauled in 1/21/0. Dwayne Jarrett is falling behind the curve during camp due to injury problems, according to the Charlotte Observer: Jarrett observed, “It was frustrating just not being out there with the guys. After a while you get tired of not getting dressed and going out there and having fun with the fellas.”

TE Jeff King hauled in 2/23/0 receiving vs. the Eagles, and appears to be atop the depth chart in Carolina at this point of the preseason. Michael Gaines is still in the mix for playing time, too (he grabbed 1/5/0 on Friday). We’ll be watching to see who emerges as the top cat in the lineup, but don’t get overly excited – the Panther’s TEs are heavily involved in the blocking scheme. Antonio Gates, they are not. Steve Reed of the Gaston Gazette reported on Friday that King looks like he’s proving his ability to handle the starting role during 2007.

Defense Last week, Panthers’ owner Jerry Richardson challenged DE Julius Peppers to become more of a team leader. On Saturday, Peppers spoke about his style of leadership: “I would rather have my actions speak for me.” He added, “Maybe pulling a young guy to the side and encouraging him to study a little more, or watch a little more film. I think that’s being a leader.” On Friday, the Panthers’ first team D allowed 24 points and 237 yards to the Eagles during their time on the field. Not exactly what Coach Fox was looking for, as he noted in post-game comments: “I don’t think we looked better (than against the Giants). If anything, we got a little worse.” MLB Dan Morgan did make the trip to Philly and dressed, but didn’t play. Adam Seward started in Morgan’s place again this week. Steve Reed of the Gaston Gazette reported on Friday that LB Thomas Davis was one of the few bright points for the Panthers vs. Philly.

Special Teams: Kicker John Kasay once again handled all the kicking, as camp leg Andrew Wellock was released the other week. In the game at Philadelphia, Kasay connected on a field goal from 28 yards, but was wide left on a 52-yard attempt. In a move puzzling to the Panthers faithful, RB Nick Goings handled kickoff returns during the first part of the game. He averaged 22.0 yards on four kickoff returns. During the regular season, he could provide a steady sure-handed option if needed in certain game situations. Rookie WR Ryne Robinson averaged 32.0 yard on two kickoff returns later in the game. He provides the homerun threat, especially on punts. Against the Eagles he had a 19-yard punt return. WR Chris Horn had a fair catch. If none of them work out, the Panthers could resort to RB DeAngelo Williams or CB Richard Marshall on kickoff returns, and CB Chris Gamble or WR Steve Smith on punt returns.

Panthers Depth Chart
QB: Jake Delhomme, David Carr, Brett Basanez, Dalton Bell
RB: DeShaun Foster, DeAngelo Williams, Nick Goings (FB), Eric Shelton, Alex Haynes, Marlion Jackson
FB: Brad Hoover, Billy Latsko, Steve Jackson
WR: Steve Smith, Keary Colbert, Drew Carter, Dwayne Jarrett, Taye Biddle, Kevin Youngblood, Ryne Robinson, Josh Davis, Justin McCullum, Chris Horn, Jahkeen Gilmore
TE: Jeff King, Michael Gaines, Dante Rosario, Chad Upshaw
K: John Kasay
DT: Ma'ake Kemoeatu, Kris Jenkins, Damione Lewis, Chad Lavalais, Kindal Moorehead, Stephen Williams, Brent Curvey
DE: Julius Peppers, Mike Rucker (inj), Charles Johnson, Stanley McClover, Dave Ball, Otis Grigsby, Rondell Biggs, Gary Gibson
MLB: Dan Morgan (inj), Adam Seward
OLB: Thomas Davis (S), Jon Beason (W/M), Na'il Diggs (W) (inj), James Anderson (W), Tim Shaw, Brandon Jamison, Philippe Gardent, Mickey Pementel, Terrence Melton (IR)
CB: Chris Gamble (PR), Ken Lucas, Richard Marshall, Curtis Deloatch, Derrick Strait, Kevin Garrett, Christian Morton
S: Nate Salley (FS), Chris Harris (SS), Deke Cooper, C.J. Wilson, Cam Newton, Quinton Teal, Jermaine Hardy

Chicago Bears

QB: Rex Grossman had another rough outing against the Colts in the Monday night rematch of last year’s Super Bowl. He was accurate throwing the ball and ran in a TD on a QB sneak, but also had 3 fumbles (1 lost) and an interception. Two of the fumbles occurred on mishandled snaps and the interception happened when he tried to force a ball to Rashied Davis on 3^rd and 5 deep in Chicago territory. Grossman can be a maddening QB due to his inconsistency and Brian Griese may have closed the gap a bit with his strong play. Griese took over for Grossman in the 2^nd quarter and completed 10 of 13 passes for 131 yards, but several of those incompletions were drops of perfectly thrown balls. Whatever battle there was for the backup job is likely over as 3^rd stringer Kyle Orton didn’t show much in his limited play. He finished just 3 of 6 for 45 yards and was also sacked twice.

RB: Cedric Benson was more involved in the offense this week compared to the first preseason game but the offensive line didn’t give him much room to run. All of his 10 carries this week were between the tackles and he finished with 24 yards, just one more than he had on half the carries a week ago versus the Texans. He was involved in the passing game once again, however, and looked comfortable catching 2 passes for 11 yards. Benson is expected to get a heavy workload this year according to Lovie Smith. “Last year we split time a little bit,” Smith said. “This year we’re not in that situation. Cedric is our lead … he’ll get the majority of the carries.” Adrian Peterson was next in line and finished with 5 carries for 8 yards but did show good power on a 1-yard TD run early in the 2^nd half and also contributed 2 receptions for 21 yards. Peterson has never had more than 76 carries in a season but he’s a versatile backup who will spell Benson at times. After sitting out last week’s game, rookie Garrett Wolfe got his first action of the preseason and looked explosive against the Colts backups. He finished with 28 yards on 8 carries, including a 14-yard gain on one play, and also added 1 catch for 11 yards.

WR: Bernard Berrian continues to play very well and was easily the most impressive WR in the Colts game. He led the Bears in receiving with 4 catches for 49 yards, including a 27-yard hookup with Grossman in the first quarter and a 9-yard TD catch from Griese in the 2^nd. The Bears should probably try to lock up Berrian to an extension soon because he appears headed for a big season and is entering the final year of his contract. Muhsin Muhammad started the game but finished with 0 catches on 2 targets, although he did draw a pass interference flag on one of them. Look for Berrian to draw more double teams this year, which should open things up a bit for Muhammad who is a reliable possession WR. The Bears started the game in a 3-WR set with Rashied Davis as the slot WR. Davis finished with just 1 catch for 4 yards, but he was also the intended target on 3^rd down when Grossman threw an interception. The buzz surrounding Devin Hester as a WR has cooled off a bit, but he finished with a couple receptions for 11 yards and the Bears will probably try to get him the ball a few times a game. Mark Bradley’s knee has been bothering him lately and forced him to miss the Colts game. If his knee problems persist, the Bears will likely have to consider keeping a 6^th WR. In the battle for that spot, the two most impressive candidates this week were Brandon Rideau and Mike Hass. Rideau had 3 catches for 42 yards a week ago and then followed that up with 2 catches for 44 yards this week before leaving with a sprained ankle. Hass, a former Biletnikoff winner as the best WR in college, showed great hands and big play potential on his first two catches of the preseason, one for 25 yards and another for 23 yards. Both WRs lined up with the second offense and made contributions on special teams so this will battle will likely go down to the wire.

TE: Tight end has been a focal point in training camp so far, thanks primarily to the buzz surrounding 1^st round pick Greg Olsen, but they weren’t a big part of the offense on Monday night. Desmond Clark got the start in the game and finished with just 1 catch for 2 yards, while Olsen contributed 2 catches for 12 yards. 3^rd stringer John Gilmore added 2 catches for 18 yards. The Bears already have a good idea of what Clark and Gilmore are capable of, so look for them to give Olsen a longer look in the remaining preseason games.

Defense: The defense was once again without their star DT Tommie Harris, who sat out to rest his surgically repaired hamstring. Brian Urlacher saw his first action of the preseason and was in on 2 tackles. The first team defense played the entire first quarter plus one play in the second and although they didn’t come up with a turnover, they did manage a goal-line stand early and a sack of Peyton Manning (by Adewale Ogunleye). The backups gave up a couple TD passes but also came up with 3 interceptions and generally played well. CB Corey Graham, a 5^th round pick this year, has been overlooked through most of camp but he stood out on Monday night. He led the team in tackles with 6 and also added an interception and a pass breakup that likely prevented a TD. NT Dusty Dvoracek continued to impress as he was instrumental in the early goal-line stand.

Special Teams: Kicker Robbie Gould made a 32-yard field goal and two PATs in the game at Indianapolis, but was wide right from 53 yards out. He has yet to attempt a 50+ yard field goal in a regular season game. Camp leg Nick Novak made a 35-yard field goal later in the game. It wasn’t WR Devin Hester, but rather FS Danieal Manning that took the Bears’ first kickoff return 72 yards. Not to be outdone, Hester had a 50-yard punt return, which would have gone for a score had he not got tangled up with a fellow Bear. As previously noted, both may line up deep on kickoffs in the regular season. The other candidate to join Hester deep on kickoffs is WR Rashied Davis, who had a 27-yard kickoff return against the Colts. Rookie CB Greg Fassitt had a kickoff return for no gain. Backup punt returner WR Bernard Berrian had two fair catches in the game.

Bears Depth Chart
QB: Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, Kyle Orton, Chris Leak
RB: Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson, Garrett Wolfe, Josh Allen
FB: Jason McKie, Obafemi Ayanbedejo (susp), Quadtrine Hill
WR: Muhsin Muhammad (inj), Bernard Berrian, Mark Bradley, Rashied Davis (PR), Devin Hester (KR/PR), Mike Hass, Dave Ball, Brandon Rideau (inj), Drisan James, Timon Marshall, Clinton Solomon
TE: Desmond Clark, Greg Olsen, John Gilmore, Fontel Mines, Brett Pierce
K: Robbie Gould, Nick Novak
DT: Tommie Harris (inj), Darwin Walker, Dusty Dvoracek (NT), Anthony Adams, Antonio Garay, Tory Collins
DE: Adewale Ogunleye, Mark Anderson, Alex Brown, Dan Bazuin, Israel Idonije (DT), Copeland Bryan, Greg White, Chris Frome
MLB: Brian Urlacher
OLB: Lance Briggs (W), Hunter Hillenmeyer (S/M), Michael Okwo (W), Jamar Williams (W), Brendon Ayanbadejo (S), Leon Joe (W), Darrell McClover, Rod Wilson, Danny Verdun-Wheeler
CB: Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher, Ricky Manning, Trumaine McBride, Corey Graham, Tim Mixon, Greg Fassitt
S: Mike Brown (FS/SS), Adam Archuleta (SS), Danieal Manning (FS/CB), Brandon McGowan (SS), Tyler Everett (SS), Kevin Payne, Jay Staggs, Andrew Shanle

Cincinnati Bengals

QB: Carson Palmer wasn’t as crisp in the second preseason game as he had been in camp, completing less than half of his passes (5-11, 41 yards) in four offensive series. Five of his six incompletions were passes to third WR hopeful Tab Perry, including a slightly underthrown deep sideline route and an overthrown post route that was open for a touchdown. Palmer was hit a little more often against a better New Orleans defensive line than the one he faced against Detroit, which may also have played a role. Palmer himself acknowledged that he wasn’t as sharp as he would have liked and was disappointed in his ball security after losing a fumble inside the team’s 20-yard line. Backup Doug Johnson got some time with the first team offensive line and played better. He moved the team well against the Saints second string and finished 14-of-23 for 99 yards. Johnson was again victimized by dropped passes, in particular one probable touchdown pass that wasn’t handled by Bennie Brazell. Jeff Rowe continued his strong showing against the Saints’ third and fourth stringers, again moving the ball well late in the fourth quarter. He finished 6-of-9 for 56 yards and threw the team’s only touchdown pass of the game, a 14-yard completion to Skyler Green with two seconds left in the game.

RB: Against the Saints, the Bengals struggled to get anything going in the rushing game behind an offensive line that was still without both starting offensive tackles, fullback and stellar run-blocking TE Reggie Kelly. Although second team RT Scott Kooistra showed flashes, he and backup TE Daniel Coats were regularly beaten by the Saints defensive line and Rudi Johnson managed only 15 yards on six carries. When given room to run, Johnson looked like his usual self, ripping off runs of seven and six yards during the team’s second drive. Johnson also caught two passes for eight yards and was very impressive in picking up a blitzing linebacker on two occasions. Neither backup running back was particularly impressive. Both Kenny Watson and Quincy Wilson had a long run, but neither was able to find running room on most carries. Watson had eight carries for 18 yards, including a 9-yard run against the second team, while Wilson finished with four carries for 19 yards, which included a 13-yard run on his first carry. Rookie RB Kenny Irons had surgery this week and is expected back in time for 2008 OTAs.

Despite local media speculation, the team has no interest in re-signing former Bengals’ RB Corey Dillon as Johnson’s backup. The team will look over the list of potential free agents after the final roster cuts, but may just as likely stick with the players they currently have. Undrafted free agent and 2006 practice squad player Chris Manderino got the bulk of snaps at fullback again last week. The Bengals expect starter Jeremi Johnson back at practice this week after missing all of training camp with groin and conditioning issues.

WR: Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh played late into the first quarter. Johnson and Palmer connected on a well-timed deep out for 15 yards and Houshmandzadeh filled his usual slot role with three underneath catches for 23 yards. Both are healthy, despite Johnson missing time briefly early last week with an ankle problem and Houshmandzadeh sitting out intermittently with undisclosed ailments. Johnson continues to push himself in practice, including a couple of camp mix-ups with starting safety Madieu Williams early last week. The teammates chalked the fights up to clashes between hard-working, competitive players.

Tab Perry got his first action of the preseason against New Orleans and struggled. Lining up outside Houshmandzadeh in the slot, Perry was targeted nine times but caught only two passes for 19 yards. Although Perry didn’t catch any of the five passes thrown by Palmer, there is reason for optimism. He showed no ill-effects from the hip problems that plagued him in camp and he did manage to beat well-regarded Saints CB Mike McKenzie on two occasions. Palmer and Perry were both optimistic that the connection would improve with time. "Tab and I really haven't had much of a chance to work with each other," Palmer said. "There have been different guys at different positions. But he's done a great job. He's learned, I think, three different positions now on offense. I had him on a deep post and missed him. He did a great job. There's nothing wrong with what he did." Perry said, "I just have to keep working to get that timing right. I'm not discouraged. It's headed in the right direction. I'm disappointed in my play, but I just have to keep moving forward.” Perry looks to be winning the job by default with his primary competition, Antonio Chatman and Glenn Holt, still sitting with hamstring strains. Holt was expected back by mid-week, but there is still no timetable for Chatman, who was out of practice again all last week after returning briefly the day after the first preseason game. Suspended WR Chris Henry got much less playing time last week, catching only two balls for 26 yards. Returner Skyler Green, Reggie McNeal and Bennie Brazell remain in the mix for roster spots. Brazell continues to be inconsistent, catching two passes but dropping at least one other. Green has played well and caught a TD this week, but the bulk of his snaps have come against third and fourth string opponents. McNeal was targeted twice on the final drive and did not have a catch.

TE: Starter Reggie Kelly did not play in the second preseason game after being excused for personal reasons. Backup Daniel Coats continues to keep a firm grip on the #2 job, catching three balls for 24 yards. Coats struggled to block Saints DE Charles Grant and he was not targeted at all by Carson Palmer. Coats got more involved with the second team as all three of his catches came during one drive late in the second quarter. He may have caught a TD pass in that drive, if LB Dhani Jones hadn’t made a leaping play on the ball.

Defense: It was another inconsistent week for the Bengals defense. Although the stat sheet looks better than last week (283 yards allowed vs. 500+ last week) with five sacks and four forced fumbles, the first team defense again looked mediocre. The Saints offense moved efficiently on the opening drive behind Drew Brees’ 6-of-6 passing and Deuce McAllister’s up-the-gut 8-yard touchdown run. After holding the Saints to a FG after a long kickoff return on the second drive, Reggie Bush found a big hole up the middle on the third drive and was barely touched on a 6-yard TD run. MLB Ahmad Brooks is still prone to missed assignments, but looked better in extended action with the second teamers and finished with four solo tackles and a sack. He played well into the third quarter. WLB Landon Johnson remains firmly entrenched with the first team. FS Madieu Williams continues to impress and he added a sack midway through the second quarter. The Bengals remain relatively healthy on defense. Robert Geathers and Landon Johnson both suffered minor rib injuries but are expected to practice this week. Johnathan Joseph has been held out of practice intermittently and didn’t play against the Saints but is also expected back in team drills this week. The only major injury appears to be to backup OLB Eric Henderson. Henderson, who blew up QB Jamie Martin on a second quarter sack that led to a fumble recovery by Caleb Miller, broke his wrist late in the game. He underwent surgery on Monday and is probably done for the year.

Special Teams: Kicker Shayne Graham has been very busy this preseason. After going 4-of-5 on field goals last week, he hit 4-of-4 this week (25, 32, 33, and 51 yards) against New Orleans. Another player who has been busy is WR Skyler Green. That wasn’t the original plan, but injuries to several others have opened the door. Against the Saints he had a 26-yard kickoff return, and averaged 7.8 yards on four punt returns plus on fair catch. HC Marvin Lewis noted, "The one thing we continue to coach him up on is decision-making. We were pleased with his handling of the football in the punt return game. We have to get better with his kickoff return game, and have him run with better tempo and better speed. He's still trying to feel his way through there." Special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons added, "He was able to stick his foot in the ground and take the ball vertically. That's something we've been looking to do and I think he showed he could do it." Who has Green been replacing? WR Glenn Holt has missed time with hamstring injury, although he finally returned to practice this week. WR Antonio Chatman was out with a hamstring injury, returned to practice only to re-aggravate the injury, and is out again. WR Tab Perry missed time with a bruised hip, but is working his way back into the mix.

Bengals Depth Chart
QB: Carson Palmer, Doug Johnson, Jeff Rowe, Jeff Smith
RB: Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson (3RB), Chris Perry (PUP), Quincy Wilson, Curtis Brown, Kenny Irons (IR)
FB: Jeremi Johnson, Chris Manderino, Stan White
WR: Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry (susp), Tab Perry, Antonio Chatman, Reggie McNeal, Benny Brazell, Glenn Holt, Jesse Holley, Skyler Green (PR), Tony Kays
TE: Reggie Kelly, Daniel Coats, Bobby Blizzard, Tim Day (inj), Erik Jensen, Nate Lawrie, Sean Mulcahy (inj)
K: Shayne Graham
DT: John Thornton, Domata Peko, Michael Myers, Kenderick Allen, Matt Toeaina
DE: Justin Smith, Robert Geathers, Bryan Robinson (DT), Frostee Rucker, Jonathan Fanene, Xzavie Jackson, Jimmy Verdon, Bryan Andrews
MLB: Ahmad Brooks (M/S), Ed Hartwell (W/M), Earl Everett, Odell Thurman (susp)
OLB: Rashad Jeanty (S), Landon Johnson (W), Caleb Miller (W/M), Andre Frazier, Matt Muncy, Eric Henderson (IR), David Pollack (IR)
CB: Johnathan Joseph, Deltha O'Neal, Leon Hall, Keiwan Ratliff (PR), Blue Adams, Brandon Williams, T.J. Wright
S: Madieu Williams (FS), Dexter Jackson (SS), Marvin White (SS), Chinedum Ndukwe (SS), Herena-Daze Jones (SS), Ethan Kilmer (FS), John Busing (SS)

Cleveland Browns

QB: The Browns QB situation may have been turned upside-down this week in the minds of Cleveland fans and possibly its coaches after another lukewarm effort from both Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson combined with the 2 TD effort from rookie Brady Quinn in his first preseason action. Derek Anderson (6-of-8, 65 yards) started this week and, while his completion percentage was impressive, his game management skills were a mess. Anderson lost a fumble after being sacked on the first play of the game and saw a promising second series fall apart after reaching the 1-yard line. With Anderson under center and the Browns 2^nd and goal from the 2-yard line, they called a timeout, had a delay of game penalty, called another timeout and had a false start penalty before Anderson threw an interception on 2^nd and goal from the seven. Frye (5-of-10, 42 yards) wasn’t much better, overthrowing a couple of receivers badly, one of which lead to an interception late in the first half in Browns’ territory. He also rushed a fourth down play that resulted in a procedure penalty when the team wasn’t set before the snap. Neither QB generated points.

Ken Dorsey (7-of-9, 68 yards) engineered two nice drives, one of which ended in a touchdown, and Quinn racked up stats against the Lions third- and fourth-stringers playing Prevent defense. Quinn finished 13-of-20 (including four clock killing spiked balls) for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Most of Quinn’s yards came on dump passes to backs and tight ends, but the rookie also had a nice long completion over the middle to Steve Sanders and an impressive 4-yard score on a scrambling pass on his second drive. Head coach Romeo Crennel was clearly hoping for Frye or Anderson to distinguish himself, but could only say, “I think all the quarterbacks will tell you they can play better. I think we’re probably going to take a little more time [to decide on a starter].” When pressed about Quinn, Crennel added, “Let them [the fans] get excited, but we will still do what’s best for our team.” Crennel is going to be in a tough spot this week. The third preseason game is generally considered the starters’ final tune up for opening weekend. Any snaps Quinn gets with the ones or twos this week, especially against a tough defense like the Broncos, will be very telling about the team’s short-term plan.

RB: Jamal Lewis looked solid again this week, running the ball seven times for 28 yards. He looks ready for the regular season. Jason Wright played with the second team for the second consecutive week, but managed only 19 yards on six carries. Wright added 27 yards on three receptions. An interesting battle may be brewing for the third running back job. Jerome Harrison continues to look strong as a receiver. He parlayed his second half snaps against the fourth string Lions defense into a 6-catch, 71-yard effort, but was also ineffective running the ball (6 rush, 13 yards). Harrison finds himself battling the surprising Chris Barclay, who has been very impressive returning kicks. Barclay will need to produce more than one rush for minus two yards and two catches for 34 yards to make a serious run at an offensive role.

WR: Braylon Edwards had a solid game against Detroit. He made two very nice catches in traffic and finished with three receptions for 36 yards. More impressively, and a critically good sign that Edwards is maturing was his work as a blocker. He showed good effort on a long Jamal Lewis run in the first quarter and de-cleated backup MLB Johnny Baldwin on a Charlie Frye scramble later in the game. The rest of the wideouts were less impressive. Joe Jurevicius started but was not targeted. Josh Cribbs did not catch a pass. Tim Carter was again inactive. Travis Wilson caught two balls for 25 yards against the third teamers but didn’t distinguish himself. Steve Sanders had a nice catch during Brady Quinn’s romp through the Lions defense. Until the QB situation is settled, it looks unlikely that any WR other than Edwards will have a major impact.

TE: Kellen Winslow started but played only a few snaps. He was not targeted at all. Like last week, when Buck Ortega caught a bunch of passes in the second half, the Browns again had a backend roster player step up against the third string with Ryan Krause turning in a second solid game this preseason. Krause caught five passes for 32 yards and may have the upper hand on the last TE job behind veteran Steve Heiden.

Defense: The Browns first team defense continues to impress, allowing 117 yards and two FGs (one on a short field) to Detroit’s first team offense in a little over a quarter of play. Kamerion Wimbley and Antwan Peek continue to anchor the team on the outside. Wimbley has been hard to block when single teamed and Peek has been taking advantage when the offensive line focuses on Wimbley. Both are playing well against the run. Eric Wright is looking like a solid partner at corner for Leigh Bodden, while Daven Holly is playing well in the nickel. That may prove critical, as Bodden had to remove himself for a couple of plays early after pulling up and allowing a long completion when his troublesome ankle buckled. Keep an eye on ILB Leon Williams, who started for Andra Davis (swollen ankle). Williams has impressed when given an opportunity. Williams has played with the ones in the nickel package and might be forcing the coaches to consider playing him in the base defense as well.

Special Teams: Last week, kicker Phil Dawson noted that he was back in form after an off year, "I'm very excited. Everything's going through. Even when I mis-hit, it's going through. And that's what you need here in Cleveland because you're not going to hit every one perfect. Being able to get out here, make some kicks, get my confidence rolling and let the other guys see the ball going through — it's all good stuff. This is the kind of start I hoped for. I put a lot of pressure on myself. If I've proven anything in my career, it's that I'm kind of streaky. Once I get going, I can go for a while. My goal for preseason is to really get going, so when Pittsburgh rolls into town, we're ready. I'm ready to get back to my old self." His enthusiasm did not help in this week’s game against Detroit, when he missed his only field goal attempt wide left from 36 yards. In the battle for the punt returner position, rookie WR Syndric Steptoe had a 12-yard return, WR Joshua Cribbs had one return for no gain, and rookie CB Brandon McDonald had two fair catches. Cribbs, the starting kickoff returner, had a 25-yard kickoff return. RB Chris Barclay got the most work on kickoff returns against the Lions, averaging 24.3 yards on four returns. Guard Lennie Friedman had a nine yard kickoff return, although he is not expected to threaten Cribbs’ job (sarcasm alert!).

Browns Depth Chart
QB: Charlie Frye, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Ken Dorsey
RB: Jamal Lewis, Jerome Harrison (3RB), Jason Wright, Chris Barclay, Jerome Jackson
FB: Lawrence Vickers, J.R. Niklos, Charles Ali
WR: Braylon Edwards, Joe Jurevicius, Travis Wilson, Tim Carter, Josh Cribbs (KR/PR), Syndric Steptoe, Maurice Mann, Kendrick Mosley, Steve Sanders, Efrem Hill, Mike Mason
TE: Kellen Winslow Jr (PUP), Steve Heiden, Darnell Dinkins, Ryan Krause, Buck Ortega
K: Phil Dawson, Jesse Ainsworth
NT: Ted Washington, Shaun Smith, Ethan Kelley, J'Vonne Parker, Babatunda Oshinowo, Alvin Smith
DE: Robaire Smith, Orpheus Roye (inj), Chase Pittman, Melila Purcell, Simon Fraser, Orien Harris
ILB: Andra Davis (L), DQwell Jackson (R), Chaun Thompson (R), Leon Williams (L), Mason Unck
OLB: Kamerion Wimbley (S/DE), Willie McGinest (S/DE)(inj), Antwan Peek, Matt Stewart (S), David McMillan (W), Jason Short, Kris Griffin, Clifton Smith
CB: Leigh Bodden, Kenny Wright (inj), Eric Wright, Daven Holly, Gary Baxter (PUP), Brandon McDonald, Jereme Perry, Therrian Fontenot
S: Sean Jones (SS), Brodney Pool (FS), Justin Hamilton (FS), Mike Adams (FS), DeMario Minter (FS), Jeremy Lasueur, Justin Sandy

Dallas Cowboys

QB: After a lights out performance last week, Tony Romo was less slightly less productive against the Broncos first team defense. He completed 11-of-18 passes (61%) for 122 yards but failed to throw a TD and was intercepted by Dre Bly.

RB: If last week was Romo’s turn to shine, this week the Cowboys running backs staked their claim by dominating the Broncos first team defense in the early going. The team rushed for 190 yards on 42 carries, while scoring 3 touchdowns. Julius Jones (9 for 31 and a TD) and Marion Barber (11 for 57 and 2 TDs) were both impressive; helping lead the Cowboys to a 24-6 halftime lead. Even though Barber was, once again, the more productive runner, HC Wade Phillips isn’t wont to deviate from last year’s balance. "We'll have to look at it (more)," Phillips said of his running back situation. "Right now, it's kind of a generic running plays with both guys. Both are good-looking backs. I like both of them. I like their styles." 3^rd stringer Tyson Thompson also got into the act, leading the team with 16 rushes for 75 yards including a 22-yarder that showed off his considerable speed. Brad Johnson came in for the second half and for 56 yards and a TD (to rookie Isaiah Stanback) on 6-of-9 passing.

WR: As was the case last week, Terrell Owens caught one pass from Tony Romo (this time a 12-yarder) but this week he added a 9-yard scamper to his credit. What’s important is the Owens has suited up for both preseason games, and looks ready to start the season. The news is less encouraging for Terry Glenn. He sat out the Broncos game, as expected, but then re-aggravated his knee injury and will now be lost for at least the rest of the preseason. While the team hasn’t ruled out his return for Week One, it would be hard to imagine risking his season with a hurried return, particularly when backups Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd have played well in his absence. Hurd (3 for 36 yards) and Crayton (3 for 61 yards) led the team in receiving and look interchangeable right now. Crayton probably will start if Glenn isn’t ready, but it’s by no means set in stone. Hurd’s lost fumble against the Broncos didn’t help his cause, however. Rookie Isaiah Stanback, a converted QB, made his debut and caught two 15-yard passes, one of which went for a TD. He’s probably a long shot to make the final roster, but it was good to finally see him making plays on the field. He could have a future with the team, particularly if he’s willing to sit in the practice squad this year.

TE: Jason Witten started but saw little offensive action. He was only targeted once on a short incompletion by Tony Romo. Anthony Fasano left the Broncos game with a shoulder injury that, upon examination, was a re-injuring of the same AC joint which sidelined him during minicamp. Neither he nor the team is overly concerned though. "I think it's going to be fine," said Fasano. "But it's going to be something that I have to deal with. I had something similar to this in the summer. I've had it before and I hope I'm able to get over it. It's really not a big deal." The Cowboys have a tough decision on what to do with their backup TEs. Nick Eatman has a story this week that says the Cowboys could end up keeping only Witten and Fasano on the 53-man roster, or could end up keeping four TEs, which would include Adam Bergen and Tony Curtis.

Defense: The Cowboys defense is looking more and more like the dominant, aggressive defenses HC Wade Phillips crafted while in San Diego. After struggling against the Broncos during intra-squad practices all week, the Boys took the kid gloves off and rattled Jay Cutler to just 7-of-13 passing for 58 yards. The Cowboys defense put pressure on the young QB consistently, including several hurries, a forced fumble and a goose egg on third down (Cutler was 0-for-5 on third downs in the game). The defensive stat sheet was balanced, with no Cowboy having more than four tackles. Jason Ferguson had the team’s lone sack, while LB Bobby Carpenter intercepted Broncos backup Patrick Ramsey. The Cowboys held the Broncos to just 35 yards rushing (1.8 yards per rush). Rookie OLB Anthony Spencer started in place of Greg Ellis again and looked good, and could make the Cowboys think long and hard about granting Ellis’ request for release. FS Ken Hamlin played after sitting out the first game; Hamlin has been a beast in practice and could be the final piece to the Cowboys secondary.

O-Line: Starting tackles Flozell Adams and Marc Columbo made their preseason debuts against Denver, each playing the first three series. They looked good, keeping Romo well protected in the pocket and helping open up gaping holes for RBs Marion Barber and Julius Jones. Jerry Jones was gushing about his tackles debut, "I feel as good about our offensive line tonight as I guess I've felt in years around here…They couldn't even come close to touching Romo on pass protection. Romo's got a lot to do with that too, but he was still getting some great protection."

Special Teams: Rookie kicker Nick Folk has continued to produce a little better than veteran Martin Gramatica. In the game against Denver, Gramatica did very well on kickoffs: 75 (touchback), 66, and 74 (touchbacks) yards. He was wide right from 51 yards on his only field goal attempt. Missing a long one is forgivable, however Folk managed to connect on his 52-yard attempt with distance to spare. He also did well on kickoffs (70 and 72 yards). RB Tyson Thompson averaged 32.0 yards on two kickoff returns. His challenger, WR Miles Austin, again did not have any returns and didn’t help his chances with some poor plays on offense. Rookie WR Isaiah Stanback has been practicing on returns, and was back deep on several kickoffs in the game. He did not bring any out of the endzone, "I didn't want to take a knee. I was ready as a returner, but that's what the other returner [Jerheme Urban] is there for. If he says you're supposed to stay in, you've got to stay in, so I had to respect that." On punt returns, WR Patrick Crayton had no gain on his return, and WR Jerheme Urban had a fair catch. Last year’s main punt returner, CB Terence Newman, did not play against the Broncos due to bruised heel.

Cowboys Depth Chart
QB: Tony Romo, Brad Johnson, Matt Moore, Richard Bartel
RB: Julius Jones, Marion Barber III (3RB/SD), Tyson Thompson, Jackie Battle, Alonzo Coleman
FB: Lousaka Polite, Deon Anderson, Oliver Hoyte
WR: Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn (inj), Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd, Miles Austin, Jamaica Rector (PR), Isaiah Stanback, Jerheme Urban, Jamel Richardson, Jerard Rabb, Mike Jefferson
TE: Jason Witten, Anthony Fasano, Adam Bergen, Tony Curtis, Rodney Hannah
K: Nick Folk, Martin Gramatica
NT: Jason Ferguson, Montavious Stanley, Ola Dagunduro, Remi Ayodele
DE: Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, Jay Ratliff, Jason Hatcher, Stephen Bowen, Marcus Smith, Khari Long
ILB: Bradie James (M), Akinola Ayodele (S), Bobby Carpenter (S/I)
OLB: Demarcus Ware (W), Greg Ellis (S)(inj), Anthony Spencer (S), Kevin Burnett (S/I), Junior Glymph, Dedrick Harrington, Blair Phillips, Alex Obomese, John Saldi
CB: Terance Newman, Anthony Henry, Aaron Glenn, Alan Ball, Courtney Brown, Jacques Reeves, Nathan Jones, Quincy Butler, Joey Thomas
S: Roy Williams (SS), Ken Hamlin (FS), Keith Davis (SS), Pat Watkins (FS), Damarius Bilbo, Abram Elam, Jasper Johnson

Denver Broncos

QB: Jay Cutler and the entire Broncos offense were less productive this week against the Cowboys. The Cowboys played as if it were a regular season game, frequently blitzing and without question playing with more aggression than the Broncos, who played a conservative offense because of injuries along the line. "They brought a lot of blitzes," Cutler said. "They came at first, second, and third down. We started picking it up in the first half and made some adjustments, but it kind of surprised us there off the jump." Cutler completed 7-of-13 passes for 58 yards. Patrick Ramsey played extensively and gave the team a lift in the third quarter on a 90-yard TD to WR Brian Clark. Ramsey finished 11-of-21 for 178 yards with 2 TDs and one interception. His 2^nd TD was a 5-yard pass to Quincy Morgan with 3:19 left in the game. Darrell Hackney completed his only pass for 6 yards in mop up duty. Earlier in the week, on Thursday (8/16), Cutler was throwing the ball with plenty of zip during drills, also against the Cowboys (who had a week long intrasquad practice with Denver). He found WR Brandon Marshall twice for scores and worked the middle of the field with TE Tony Scheffler for a nice completion, and another to TE Nate Jackson. Cutler had some flare ups earlier in camp with tendinitis in his right wrist, but the problem hasn’t been an ongoing issue.

RB: Travis Henry ran for 25 yards on 10 carries against the Cowboys, and caught one pass for 6 yards, before he hopped and limped off the field with a knee sprain. Henry has what is believed to be a first-degree MCL sprain, according to Footballguys.com’s Sigmund Bloom, who was on hand at the Broncos’ post-game presser. The injury is considered mild and he might even play next week against Cleveland. More likely, the Broncos could sit him out for the rest of the preseason as a precaution. Henry also said the injury was not serious. Henry also lost a fumble on a bad exchange on the Broncos’ own 7-yard line. Mike Bell and Cecil Sapp have split time so far in training camp working behind Henry. Sapp held the backup spot for a week then Bell regained it last week. Bell also got hurt on Saturday. He strained his hip, so Sapp will get some extra work in the interim while Henry and, potentially, Bell recover. Sapp ran for 13 yards on four carries against Dallas. Mike Bell ran twice for 1 yard and he caught a 2-yard pass. Selvin Young caught two balls for 14 yards, but failed to get any yardage on his only rushing attempt. Andre Hall didn’t play in this week’s game, he was inactive.

WR: The Broncos offense, including the passing game, was disappointing against the Cowboys in Saturday’s game. Probably the lone bright spot was a 90-yard TD by Brian Clark, who is having a solid camp and making a great case to earn one of the last two roster spots at WR. Clark ran a deep post with Cowboys corner Nathan Jones hanging with him stride for stride, but Clark went up over Jones at full speed to make the catch and run away from the defender for the long TD – the third longest in Broncos preseason history. Clark gave credit to the extra work he puts in every day after practice. "I guess I could say (the catch) came from the JUGS, doing JUGS every day after practice and working at it," Clark said. Brandon Stokley, McQuay McDaniel, Glenn Martinez and Rod Smith all sat out of Saturday’s game. Quincy Morgan caught a 5-yard TD with just over three minutes left, but the game’s outcome was already determined at that juncture. Clark led all receivers with 4 catches for 117 yards and the TD. Morgan had 2 catches for 26 yards. Brandon Marshall caught three balls for 25 yards. Domenik Hixon had one for five yards. Javon Walker started but caught only one ball for 3 yards. Walker injured his right knee on Thursday morning after making a TD grab in practice. It’s the same one he’s had two procedures on since tearing his ACL in 2005. MRI results were negative and he obviously played on Saturday night, so he appears to be no worse for the wear. "It was kind of scary," Walker said. "I actually didn't know what was wrong.”

TE: On Saturday, the team started with a double tight end set featuring starter Daniel Graham and Nate Jackson. Tony Scheffler didn’t catch a ball against Dallas, but he probably had the catch of the day in Thursday’s scrimmage – a nice leaping grab in the end zone over Cowboys LB Kevin Burnett. Scheffler is steadily increasing his reps over the last week since coming off the PUP list. Scheffler broke his foot in May’s minicamp and is still experiencing the remnants of the injury as he pushes to do more every day. "Every day, it gets a little better, but I'm still not able to make some of the cuts I need to be out there playing," he said. Daniel Graham caught a 21-yard pass. Nate Jackson had a 14-yard reception.

Defense: The team’s first round pick, DE Jarvis Moss, has missed a good portion of the preseason because of a twisted knee. DE Tim Crowder, the second-round pick, was carried off the practice field on Thursday after severely spraining his left ankle while scrimmaging against the Cowboys. The team’s fourth-round pick, DT Marcus Thomas, missed a couple of workouts because of a strained calf. Moss and Thomas have since returned to practice, but Crowder’s injury is more significant. X-rays on Crowder's ankle were negative, but he is probably out for the next couple of weeks. To make matters worse, starting DE Ebenezer Ekuban was lost for the season on Saturday when he tore his Achilles tendon. The team will count on Crowder to get better and compete with Kenard Lang for the vacated starting spot. Moss helped generate some pass rush on Saturday, but still hobbled to the sidelines favoring his left knee. "Health-wise, I know I'm not where I need to be to go out and compete the way I'm capable of," Moss said. "It's another challenge, and that's the way I'm looking at it. I've just got to get in the training room, and just keep working at it and get better. It's feeling a lot better compared to last week, so I've just got to keep looking at it in a positive way… I just went out there and did what I could on my leg. I'm going to get it back right here in the next few days." Against the Cowboys, Dominique Foxworth (4-0-0), Kenny Peterson (4-0-0) and Nate Webster (4-0-0) led the teams in tackles. Webster started at SLB and forced a fumble and Dre Bly intercepted a Tony Romo pass. The Broncos only sack came from Jarvis Moss.

In a bizarre turn, after attempting to deal DT Gerard Warren to several teams, the Broncos found an odd trade partner in the Oakland Raiders. On Monday, the Broncos dealt Warren to the Raiders for an undisclosed 2008 draft pick. With Warren not dressing in Saturday’s game, Amon Gordon started at DT alongside Sam Adams. Warrick Holdman is expected to be waived after suffering a neck/spinal injury. Tim Crowder and Al McKinley were also inactive.

Special Teams: Kicker Jason Elam and the first string offense scored two field goals (20 and 33 yards) in the game at Dallas, while camp leg Brandon Pace scored two PATs later in the game. Starting kickoff returner WR Quincy Morgan averaged 20.7 yards on three kickoff returns. WR Brian Clark added a 26-yard kickoff return to go along with his big game on offense. WR David Kircus handled punt returns, averaging 10.0 yards on two returns. Potential return specialist WR Domenik Hixon did not have any returns in the game. Another returner candidate, rookie WR Marquay McDaniel, finally practiced last week after missing time with hamstring injury. Rookie RB Selvin Young is another dark horse candidate on returns, although he has not had any returns in the preseason games. He probably will not this week either, since he’ll be busy on offense due to injuries to several other running backs.

Broncos Depth Chart
QB: Jay Cutler, Patrick Ramsey, Darrell Hackney, Preston Parsons
RB: Travis Henry (inj), Mike Bell (inj), Cecil Sapp (FB), Andre Hall, Selvin Young, Cedric Cobbs
FB: Kyle Johnson, Troy Fleming, Paul Smith
WR: Javon Walker, Brandon Stokley, Rod Smith (PUP), Brandon Marshall, Brian Clark, Domenik Hixon (KR), David Kircus, Quincy Morgan, David Terrell, Glenn Martinez, Marquay McDonald
TE: Daniel Graham, Tony Scheffler, Stephen Alexander, Nate Jackson, Teyo Johnson, Chad Mustard
K: Jason Elam, Brandon Pace
DT: Sam Adams (NT), Jimmy Kennedy, Elvis Dumervil, Amon Gordon, Marcus Thomas, Demetrin Veal, Alvin McKinley, Antwon Burton, Steven Harris
DE: John Engelberger, Tim Crowder, Kenard Lang, Jarvis Moss, Carlos Hall, Kenny Peterson (susp), Ebenezer Ekuban (IR)
MLB: D.J. Williams (M/S), Nate Webster (W/M)
OLB: Ian Gold (W), D.D. Lewis (S/M), Louis Green (S), T.J. Hollowell, Wesly Mallard, Cameron Vaughn
CB: Champ Bailey, Dre' Bly, Dominique Foxworth, Karl Paymah, Jeff Shoate, Lamont Reid, Bill Alford
S: John Lynch (FS), Nick Ferguson (SS), Curome Cox (SS), Hamza Abdullah (FS), Quentin Harris, Steve Cargile, Roderick Rogers

Detroit Lions

QB: Jon Kitna turned in a strong first half as the Lions, who are now 2-0 in preseason, beat the Cleveland Browns, 23-20. Kitna, who played the entire first half, was 12-of-16 for 137 yards and one TD, leading the Lions to a 16-0 halftime lead. He was especially sharp running the Lions two-minute offense. After the Lions’ defense stopped the Browns on a fourth down play, Kitna and the offense took over at their own 34-yard line with 59 seconds left in the half. Kitna then threw four straight completions, the final one was a 14-yard touchdown pass to Shaun McDonald with 31 seconds left in the half. Marinelli was pleased with the way the Lions played in the last two-minutes. "I feel good about that. It's something we've been stressing in camp,'' Marinelli said. "We go through a two-minute drill every day at the end of practice. It's something we keep improving on.'' In the battle of the backup quarterbacks, J.T. O'Sullivan played in the third quarter and was 3-of-7 for 43 yards. Dan Orlovsky, who took over in the final quarter and only played two series, was 2-for-5 for 34 yards. O’Sullivan is getting a lot of reps in practice; Orlovsky isn’t. That’s because Orlovsky has had a year and a half in this system and O’Sullivan just signed last month. “We’re trying to get J.T. the same amount of reps that Danny’s had in preparation,” OC Mike Martz said. “That’s why he gets so many turns.

RB: Mike Martz is optimistic that injured Kevin Jones will be ready for Detroit's opener Sept. 9 at Oakland. That is at least six weeks ahead of most projections. "I think we're all optimistic about that," Martz said Wednesday. "I think Kevin is, too. He's making good progress, and we're all anxious to have him back." Martz, however, did not guarantee Jones would start immediately. “He has to come back and compete for his job like everybody else," Martz said. The Lions running game was inconsistent for the second consecutive week. Starter Tatum Bell ran for 33 yards on six carries, with 21 yards coming on a well-executed trap play. He has yet to catch a pass in the preseason. Brian Calhoun played for the first time since the 2006 preseason. He carried nine times for only 16 yards and added six yards on three receptions. T.J. Duckett had nine carries for 31 yards, including a 15-yard TD run. He also caught two passes for 37 yards. The only other RB to see action was Aveion Cason, who had two carries for ten yards.

WR: Starting wide receivers Roy Williams (hamstring) and Mike Furrey (knee) both sat out the game. Their injuries are not believed to be serious. Rookie Calvin Johnson and Shawn McDonald got the start in their place. Johnson, the much-heralded first round pick, failed to catch a pass, but did draw a pass interference penalty in the end zone shortly before halftime. Johnson also had his man beat on another play in the end zone, but Kitna overthrew him. Martz is pleased with the progress Johnson has shown. “He’s done a good job,” Martz said. “He’s pretty close right now. For a guy with all the information swimming around in his head, he’s really on top of everything. I’m kind of amazed at him, really. Every day he just amazes you. He just does. He’s pretty special.” McDonald caught three passes for 47 yards, including a 14-yard TD pass with 31 seconds left in the first half. On first down at Cleveland's 14, Kitna found McDonald open in the middle of the end zone and led him perfectly. McDonald made a sliding catch and the Lions increased their lead to 13-0. Brandon Middleton made the most impressive play of the game, reaching out, snaring the ball with his right hand and bringing it in as he tumbled to the ground for a 20-yard gain. He also caught a 17-yarder. Troy Walters, who is competing for the fifth WR position, hauled in four passes for 47 yards. Ron Bellamy and Kevin Kasper each had one reception.

TE: Dan Campbell made his first appearance of the preseason, but did not have a catch. Casey FitzSimmons, who is playing both tight end and fullback, caught one pass for 17 yards. No other tight ends caught a pass in the game.

Defense: When Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Joe Barry talks to his players, he doesn't focus on sacks, tackles or turnovers. He doesn't talk about being the best defense in the NFL or how much improvement his defense will make from last year's edition. "Play hard, play fast, be prepared and finish,'' Barry said. “Those are the only four things that I really consistently talk about with our group. Don't say a bunch of stuff that you can't back up, just say those four things. If we can do those four things, I think we'll be pretty successful." The Lions defense forced three turnovers, and stopped Cleveland on a fourth-down play, to help shut out the Browns offense in the first half. The Lions struck early in the game when, on Cleveland's first play from scrimmage, quarterback Derek Anderson dropped back in the pocket and had the ball knocked out of his hand by defensive end Jared DeVries. Cory Redding recovered the fumble at the Cleveland 22-yard line. Rookie Ikaika Alama-Francis started, and had one tackle. Two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, who is on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list with a sore knee, missed the game against Cleveland, but is expected to begin practicing Tuesday. DeWayne White (groin) is also expected to resume practicing soon. Both should play in the third preseason game. LB Ernie Sims intercepted a pass, as did backup safety Gerald Alexander. LBs Alex Lewis and Anthony Cannon each had six tackles to lead the Lions.

Special teams: Kicker Jason Hanson did not play in the game at Cleveland due to a minor hamstring injury. He did start warming up when camp leg Kenny Byrd hurt his ankle during the game. Byrd finished the game however, with punter Micah Knorr taking over on kickoffs thereafter. Byrd ended up going 3-of-3 on field goals (21, 26, and 36 yards) and added two PATs. Former return specialist WR Eddie Drummond continues to see little work on offense, “It's tough to come to work like that. At the same time, I'm still me, and I still work hard, and I still find ways to be productive, even when I'm not getting any reps as a receiver." He did get a chance to handle returns against the Browns, but wasn’t overly productive. He averaged 14.3 yards on three kickoff returns and had a 5-yard punt return. WR Shaun McDonald is one of the players endangering Drummond’s job security, "I look for any opportunity I get. I know Eddie Drummond is a great return man. But whenever I get an opportunity to get back there, I'm going to try to make some plays." WR Troy Walters and WR Devale Ellis are the other two candidates to handle returns this year.

Lions Depth Chart
QB: Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, J.T. O'Sullivan, Drew Stanton (IR)
RB: Kevin Jones (PUP), Tatum Bell, T.J. Duckett, Brian Calhoun, Aveion Cason, Anthony Sherrell
FB: Jon Bradley
WR: Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Mike Furrey, Shaun McDonald (PR), Eddie Drummond (KR), DeVale Ellis, Edell Shepherd, Troy Walters, Cliff Russell, Kevin Kasper, Brandon Middleton, Ron Bellamy, Reggie Ball, Marcus Robinson (IR)
TE: Dan Campbell (PUP), Casey Fitzsimmons, Darnell Sanders, Rudy Sylvan, Sean McHugh
K: Jason Hanson, Kenny Byrd
DT: Shaun Rogers, Cory Redding (inj), Shaun Cody, Cleveland Pinkney, Langston Moore, Marcus Lewis, Salomon Solano
DE: Dewayne White, Kalimba Edwards, Jared DeVries, Ikaika Alama-Francis, Corey Smith, Claude Harriott
MLB: Paris Lenon, Ted Lehman (inj), Johnny Baldwin
OLB: Ernie Sims (W), Boss Bailey (S), Alex Lewis (S), Anthony Cannon (W), Donte' Curry, James Hargrave, Justin Kurpeikis
CB: Fernando Bryant, Stanley Wilson, Travis Fisher, A.J. Davis, Keith Smith, Ike Charlton, Tony Beckham, Dee McCann, Ramzee Robinson, Israel Route, LaMarcus Hicks
S: Kenoy Kennedy (SS), Daniel Bullocks (FS), Gerald Alexander, Idrees Bashir

Green Bay Packers

QB: A week after a listless offensive performance by the first team against Pittsburgh, the Packers came out firing this weekend against the Seahawks. Coach Mike McCarthy and staff were on the team all week, demanding better. They started allocating parts of each practice to schemes specifically used by the Seahawks. Whether that was the difference or not, the Packers offense definitely looked better in this week’s game. "We definitely took a step forward," McCarthy said. "I'm a little soured by the way the fourth quarter went, but I'm very happy with the progress we're making.” Brett Favre led the team to a 17-3 lead throwing a TD to rookie WR James Jones and completing 7-of-12 passes for 74 yards. Aaron Rodgers played well, too. Rodgers completed 10-of-16 passes for 97 yards with two TDs; including one of his own to rookie Jones. The other TD went to backup Carlyle Holiday in the third quarter. Paul Thompson got into the game, too. He threw for 49 yards on 5-of-10 passing on five possessions to end the game. The QBs weren’t flawless though, as Thompson threw two picks and Rodgers lost two fumbles. Ingle Martin was inactive.

RB: Brandon Jackson and Korey Hall started in the backfield on Saturday against Seattle. The team is giving Jackson every chance to shine during Vernand Morency’s absence. Morency was projected as the starter entering training camp, but he’s missed almost the entire preseason with a sprained knee. As a result, Jackson has been the focus of practice and preseason games. Against the Seahawks, Jackson scored on a 1-yard TD, ran for 36 yards in the first quarter and finished with 54 yards on 13 carries with one reception for 11 yards. He ran more decisively this week and showed good quickness getting to the hole. At this stage, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel opines that, “You'd have to have a lot of faith in the healing powers of the Green Bay Packers' medical staff to think that anyone but rookie Brandon Jackson will be the starting halfback come opening day.” Morency isn’t ready to return and Jackson is likely to start the third preseason game next week and handle the bulk of the running duties. As for the Week One starter? "Right now, he's definitely way ahead because the other guy unfortunately hasn't competed at all," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said of Jackson. "There's really no comparison at this stage." GM Ted Thompson weighed in with his observations about Jackson’s progress following the game. "He's quick, he has strong lowers, strong hands and runs hard. I'd have to say he looked the same. But we're liking what we see," said Thompson. Corey White ran 13 times for 25 yards as Jackson and White were the only two backs with a rushing attempt in the game. Morency, Brandon Miree, DeShawn Wynn and P.J. Pope were all inactive. Pope is expected to go on IR with a knee injury. Wynn has been battling a stomach virus and thigh injury, he remains day to day and may not be ready for Thursday’s game against the Jaguars. Noah Herron will be available to share the running duties with Jackson as will Corey White. FB Ryan Powdrell left Saturday’s game with a sprained MCL.

WR: The biggest story out of camp continues to be the outstanding play of rookie James Jones. Jones caught 2 TDs among four catches for 58 yards on Saturday. Donald Driver and Greg Jennings started the game for Green Bay, but the Packers frequently use three receiver formations in passing situations, and that’s when Jones gets on the field. Driver caught two balls for 26 yards, rookie David Clowney caught three balls for 18 yards, Ruvell Martin had two for 10 yards, Carlyle Holiday caught another TD and had two catches for 8 yards while Greg Jennings didn’t catch a ball. Last year, it was Jennings who exploded onto the scene as a rookie starter opposite Driver. Jennings battled some injuries last year and has been a non-story in camp so far this year. It’s not that he’s incapable or not playing well as much as he’s simply not getting the targets. Jones has been on fire, and Driver remains the No. 1 target on many of the plays and drills. Jennings is starting in the “X”, or the split end position in three-receiver sets, which in the West Coast offense is where you run a lot of vertical routes to clear the defense. Jones is getting work at all of the positions because the team wants him to have versatility so he can play a bigger role in the offense. Jennings went through the exact same process a year ago. Jennings knows what’s going on, and while not thrilled, he gets it. "You can't be bitter," Jennings said. "You try to make the best out of it. At the same time, I'm a perfectionist. I'm one of those guys, I want the ball. I don't want to make it a big ordeal because it's not just about that. But it sits in the back of your mind because that's how players fall through those cracks." Jennings feels a little like Robert Ferguson, who used to start at the split end position. "I told him, 'I see how you didn't progress (as a receiver) at the X position,’” Jennings said. “It's tough. If you don't have a slot receiver on your inside, you're last in the progression 90% of the time. There's a tight end, slot and flanker on the other side. You have three different options over there and just one back here." On Friday afternoon, the Packers officially waived Ferguson ending his seven year Packer career that was bereft with injuries. “We thank Robert for everything he has given to the Packers,” GM Ted Thompson said, “As with any veteran player who has been here, we wanted to make this move early because this gives him the best chance to catch on with another organization in the NFL." Shaun Bodiford left Saturday’s game with an MCL sprain. Meanwhile, Koren Robinson remains on the team’s suspended list. He could be reinstated by Commissioner Roger Goodell in mid-September, but even that is no sure thing considering Goodell rejected Odell Thurman recently. Whether the Packers keep Robinson will depend on how well he has kept himself in shape after being out of football for over a year.

TE: Bubba Franks caught four balls for 30 yards against the Seahawks on Saturday. That was probably Frank’s best production in over a year. Zac Alcorn had one catch for 21 yards and Clark Harris caught a 20-yarder, too. Donald Lee started, but didn’t catch a pass and was targeted once. It’s hard to get excited about any of the Packers options at tight end this year. Lee is the head of the class so far, but his hands are questionable. Franks doesn’t have much tread left and the Packers other options have no experience. Clark Harris and Zac Alcorn have an outside shot of producing something, but would probably not be pressed into action short of injury to either Lee or Franks.

Defense: The Packers defense was also on fire Saturday against the Seahawks. They scored two long defensive touchdowns in the second quarter – both coming on sacks of Seneca Wallace. The first one came on a sack by KGB that was picked up by Nick Barnett and returned 62 yards for the score. The second came on a leaping sack by safety Atari Bigby, who also forced the fumble that was scooped up by Tracy White and returned for a 34-yard TD. The Packers recorded 7 sacks and picked off Seahawks QB David Greene three times en route to their 48-13 win. Abdul Hodge had a productive game in the middle with 5 solo tackles, an assist and a sack. DT Daniel Muir had 5-1-0. SS Atari Bigby has been working with the first team, but Marquand Manuel got the start Saturday. Bigby came to play though with 3 tackles, two sacks and the forced fumble. DE Larry Birdine continued his active preseason with 3-1-1 and a forced fumble. Cullen Jenkins recorded a sack among three tackles. Jarrett Bush intercepted David Greene twice and combined for two tackles. Charlie Peprah had an interception and two tackles. A.J. Hawk also had a sack and a couple tackles; which was good to see as the Packers expect big things from last year’s top draft pick.

Special Teams: Kicker Dave Rayner started off training camp on fire, but rookie Mason Crosby hung in there just behind him. Rayner has since cooled off, and Crosby has pulled ahead in the numbers. Rayners has hit around 80% of his field goal attempts in practices and preseason games, while Crosby has hit around 85%. Both have done very well on kickoffs. In the game against Seattle, Rayner made a 24-yard field goal and had kickoffs of 75 (touchback), 65, 71, 70, 69 yards, while Crosby made a 37-yard field goal and had kickoffs of 71, 65, 70, and 73 yards. Conspiracy theorists have been tracking whether punter Jon Ryan or QB Aaron Rodgers have been holding more for one kicker or the other, but that concern appears to have subsided. Things are changing on returns. The team released WR Robert Ferguson, a capable kickoff returner. WR Shaun Bodiford is one of the contenders, although he’ll now miss 4 to 6 weeks with a knee injury. WR Greg Jennings was pulled from punt returns in the previous game. Special teams coordinator Mike Stock wasn’t happy with his performance, "We lost 10, 12 yards on the play. That shouldn't happen. We blocked the heck out of the gunner and blocked the wing back, and he had a clear chance to pick up the football and had the chance to come up the field for 10 or 12 yards himself. You can't do that." Who does that leave? Rookie WR David Clowney, if he can also contribute on offense. Mike Stock has been especially happy with CB Will Blackmon, "He broke four tackles in one attempt. One of the guys on the punt return, if he hustles down the field, he makes the peel block, there's nothing down the sideline except goal line. They thought he was going to get caught. There were all those bodies, all those black shirts. He got out of it. Four guys missed him. It was a hell of an effort." This week against the Seahawks, Blackmon had a big 83-yard kickoff return, and averaged 8.0 yards on two punt returns.

Packers Depth Chart
QB: Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Ingle Martin, Paul Thompson
RB: Brandon Jackson, Vernand Morency (KR)(inj), Noah Herron, DeShawn Wynn (inj), P.J. Pope (inj)
FB: Brandon Miree, Korey Hall, Corey White, Erryn Cobb, Ryan Powdrell (inj)
WR: Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, James Jones, Ruvell Martin, Carlyle Holiday, David Clowney, Shaun Bodiford (inj), Calvin Russell, Chris Francies, Carlton Brewster, Koren Robinson (susp)
TE: Donald Lee, Bubba Franks, Zac Alcorn, Clark Harris, Joe Werner, Tory Humphrey (IR)
K: Dave Rayner, Mason Crosby
DT: Ryan Pickett (NT), Corey Williams (NT), Justin Harrell (inj), Colin Cole, Johnny Jolly (NT), Daniel Muir
DE: Aaron Kampman, Cullen Jenkins, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, Mike Montgomery (inj), Larry Birdine, Jason Hunter, DeVon Hicks
MLB: Nick Barnett, Abdul Hodge, Desmond Bishop (W), Tim Goodwell, Carl-Johan Bjork
OLB: A.J. Hawk (W), Brady Poppinga (S), Tracy White (W), Spencer Havner (S), Juwan Simpson (S), Rory Johnson (W)
CB: Al Harris, Charles Woodson, Jarrett Bush, Patrick Dendy, Will Blackmon (PR), Frank Walker, Tramon Williams, Antonio Malone
S: Nick Collins (FS), Atari Bigby (SS), Marquand Manuel (SS), Aaron Rouse (FS)(inj), Tyrone Culver (FS), Charlie Peprah (FS), Alvin Nnabuife (SS)

Houston Texans

QB: Against the Cardinals on Saturday, Matt Schaub matched the strong play from his counterpart Matt Leinart, and the Texans went on to defeat Arizona 33-20. Schaub completed 9-of-12 passes for 108 yards and he ran for a touchdown. The Texans offense played well and Schaub looked at ease under center. On the touchdown run, Schaub fooled the defense on a fake handoff and bootleg that allowed him to run untouched to the left for the score. "It was just a bootleg," Schaub said. "We had a receiver on the route but our guy in the flat got held up at the line of scrimmage so he wasn't an option for us. I had the edge and decided to take off and run." Backup Sage Rosenfels completed 8 out of 13 passes for 125 yards including a 40-yard TD to Charlie Adams in the third quarter. Rookie Jared Zabransky saw his first action of the preseason entering the game on the team’s first drive of the 4^th quarter. With a lead in hand, Zabransky mostly handed the ball off to Samkon Gado and Wali Lundy. Zabransky finished 1-of-4 for 19 yards. It looks like Zabransky has a slight edge over Bradlee Van Pelt for the 3^rd spot; but it’s worth noting that Zabransky is eligible for the practice squad, while Van Pelt is not.

RB: Ahman Green looked good on Saturday. On the team’s first three drives, Green looked solid. He ran (six carries for 19 yards) and caught (2 receptions for 13 yards) the ball well, looking much like he did as a Packer. After Green took a seat on the bench, Ron Dayne played for a series. Samkon Gado played the first three series of the 2^nd half followed by Wali Lundy on the team’s last two possessions. Dayne ran 6 times for 23 yards and caught one ball for 7 yards; impressive work for one series. Gado combined for 39 yards – 8 carries for 29 yards on the ground and one catch for 10 yards. Lundy ran 8 times for 26 yards. HC Gary Kubiak is looking for someone to distinguish themselves on specials teams in the competition for that third RB spot. “There’s absolutely no doubt about that," Kubiak said. "I was disappointed (last Saturday) the way some of our third backs ran. I thought there was more room on the field than we were getting and I told them that. Between Samkon (Gado), Wali (Lundy) and Darius (Walker), somebody has to step up and do something special."

WR: Jacoby Jones continues to be among the team’s preseason headliners. He had a whale of a game against the Cardinals returning a punt 80-yards for a touchdown, running for 24 yards on a pair of reverses and catching two balls for 32 yards. "Boy, that play he made on the punt," Kubiak said, "to even field the punt. I'm on the headset expecting him to make a fair catch. He's fearless, he's a playmaker and we got something special right there." Jones has shone throughout camp. Making the roster is not a question at this point; he’s making a strong push for a starting position – where Kevin Walter holds the WR2 opposite Andre Johnson, for now. Walter produced a big play against the Cardinals; a 39-yard reception. Against the Bears, Walter struggled while Jones led the team in receptions. “Coming from a small school, wondering how much information he could take and put in to use was the biggest question (for us)," Kubiak said. "That’s been pretty easy for him. Other than the few occasional drops - which if he gets over those, the sky is the limit - he surprised us all. He was a tremendous draft choice and we’re very fortunate to get him."

Andre Johnson caught one ball for 5 yards during his brief appearance. Charlie Adams made a 40-yard catch for a TD against the Cardinals to help his chances of making the team. Adams remains a long-shot though. Andre Davis, Bethel Johnson, Harry Williams, David Anderson and Jerome Mathis are also competing for those last roster spots. Mathis caught a pass for 19 yards and Davis has two for 9 yards.

TE: Owen Daniels looked great against the Cardinals on Saturday. He caught three balls for 45 yards in the first quarter of the game. Daniels and Schaub appear to have a nice connection going. Jeb Putzier has also been productive in the preseason; he caught two balls on Saturday for 34 yards. Daniels and Putzier offer QB Matt Schaub a pair of reliable targets at the tight end position, but Daniels is clearly the starter with Putzier coming in for multiple TE formations. Veteran Mark Bruener remains in the mix as well, though he’s 95% committed to blocking at this stage in his career.

Defense: LB Zac Diles continued his impressive preseason with 5 solo tackles against the Cardinals on Saturday. DeMarcus Faggins, Dunta Robinson and DeMeco Ryans each had 5 solo tackles to pace the Texans defense, who did a nice job stuffing the Cardinals on the ground. Jamar Fletcher intercepted Shayne Boyd and Dexter Wynn picked off Toby Korrodi as the Texans forced three turnovers and recorded one sack (by Thomas Johnson). The Texans had to shuffle their secondary a bit following the season-ending injuries to safeties Glenn Earl and Jason Horton. Jason Simmons moved into Earl’s starting spot at strong safety with C.C. Brown starting at free safety. Coach Kubiak had several options, but he wanted to give Simmons the first shot at the job. "We just moved Jason (Simmons) up and we’re going to give Jason the opportunity," Kubiak said. "Jason played well the other night, so that’s the way we’re going to work, but we are also going to move around a little bit. (There has been) a little experimentation, but I think Jason deserves the opportunity to start, so we’ll see." Houston is also said to be interested in Chiefs safety Greg Wesley, a seven-year starter who is now in a reserve role. Wesley has been the subject of trade speculation during the offseason as the Broncos were said to be interested as well at one point.

Special Teams: Kicker Kris Brown went 4-of-4 on field goals for the second straight game. He made kicks of 25, 25, 38, and 40 yards in the game at Arizona. Last week, starting kickoff returner WR Jerome Mathis had a 78-yard return. This week he did not have any kickoff returns. The threat to his KR job is probably WR Bethel Johnson, who had a 30-yard return against the Cardinals. RB Patrick Pass and DT Cedric Killings each had 12-yard kickoff returns in the game. The big play of the game came on a punt return. Rookie WR Jacoby Jones showed promise the week before and this week he delivered, with an 80-yard punt return touchdown. He’s also climbing the WR depth chart, challenging for the number two spot, making him a potential dual threat. The forgotten man on returns is now DB Dexter Wynn. He had a 5-yard punt return against Arizona. He could end up being one of the most talented backup returners in the league this year.

Texans Depth Chart
QB: Matt Schaub, Sage Rosenfels, Bradlee Van Pelt, Jared Zabransky, Quinton Porter
RB: Ahman Green, Ron Dayne, Wali Lundy, Samkon Gado, Darius Walker, Chris Taylor (IR)
FB: Vonta Leach, Jameel Cook (inj), Patrick Pass, John Abbate (inj)
WR: Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones, Keenan McCardell (inj), David Anderson, Jerome Mathis (KR/PR), Andre Davis, Bethel Johnson (KR), Charlie Adams, Harry Williams, Terry Richardson
TE: Owen Daniels, Jeb Putzier, Mark Bruener, Ben Steele (inj), Joel Dreessen
K: Kris Brown
DT: Travis Johnson, Anthony Maddox, Amobi Okoye, Thomas Johnson, Jeff Zgonina, Tim Bulman, Thomas Smith, Cedric Killings, Dejuan Robinson
DE: Mario Williams, Anthony Weaver (inj), Jason Babin, Ndukwe Kalu, Earl Cochrane, Victor DeGrate, Alfred Malone (inj)
MLB: DeMeco Ryans
OLB: Morlon Greenwood (W), Charlie Anderson (S), Shawn Barber (W/S), Shantee Orr (S), Danny Clark (S), Zac Diles, Trent Bray, Eduardo Castenada
CB: Dunta Robinson, DeMarcus Faggins, Jamar Fletcher, Von Hutchins (FS/CB), Dexter McCleon, Tyrone Poole, Fred Bennett, Dexter Wynn, John Walker, Derrick Roberson, Jason Horton (inj), Roc Alexander (IR)
S: C.C. Brown (FS/SS), Jason Simmons (FS), Brandon Harrison (SS), Brandon Mitchell (FS), Glenn Earl (IR)

Indianapolis Colts

QB: Peyton Manning started on Monday Night and played three series. On the first two possessions, Manning completed a pass on first down – for a first down – then the Colts went three and out. On the third drive they started at midfield and scored a TD on a 4-yard run by Joseph Addai. Manning finished 5-of-8 for 61 yards with no TDs and no turnovers. Jim Sorgi took over on the team’s fourth drive, which was also the first possession of the 2^nd quarter. Sorgi led the Colts on scoring drives in two of his first three possessions. Sorgi completed 11-of-18 passes for 107 yards, one TD and one interception. Josh Betts entered the game after Sorgi and went 12-of-20 for 125 yards with 1 TD and two interceptions.

RB: Joseph Addai got the Colts out to an early lead on MNF with a 4-yard TD run on the team’s third possession. He ran seven times for 24 yards and caught one ball for 2 yards. DeDe Dorsey, Kenton Keith and Clifton Dawson all got some work once Addai took a seat. Dorsey ran five times for 8 yards and caught four balls for 42 yards. Former CFL standout Kenton Keith ran for 16 yards on two attempts and caught one ball for 4 yards. Next in the rotation was undrafted Harvard rookie Clifton Dawson, who ran for 27 yards on 5 carries with a long run of 11 yards. The Colts three-way competition for the backup job is unresolved, though Dorsey was widely thought to be the leader in the clubhouse. The team is giving Keith and Dawson a long, hard look as well. Whoever wins the job shouldn’t expect a Dominic Rhodes type role like last year. This year, Addai is expected to handle a bigger load. "He'll certainly play more than he did last year, he'll probably have more reps," RB coach Gene Huey said, but they also acknowledged that they don’t want Addai to be the same type of workhorse that Edgerrin James was during his tenure. Dorsey is a 5’11” 196-pound speed back. Dawson is 5’10” 212-pound bowling ball/power runner. Keith is a 5’11” 198-pound mix of the other two.

Dorsey contributed on special teams last year and has a leg up in terms of knowing the playbook. Dawson, the Ivy League record holder for 4,841 yards and 60 TDs, has been a quick study. HC Tony Dungy said he was impressed with how quickly Dawson picked up the playbook. The coach also brushed aside any thoughts a player from the non-scholarship Ivy League can't make it in the NFL, stating, "I wouldn't say he's a long shot." The Colts kept three backs a year ago and assigned one to the practice squad, so it’s entirely possible that two could stick on the roster and one go to the PS. So, there’s still quite a bit riding on the last two weeks for all three backs. "It's a matter of those guys continuing to come on and see who takes hold of that second spot," Dungy said.

WR: Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison started and got their work in early against the Bears. Wayne caught a pass for 21 yards on the Colts first offensive play, before the team went three and out from there. The same thing happened on the next possession. Harrison caught an 11-yard pass for a first down, then the team went three and out. Both receivers caught two balls each and then gave way to the backups. Wayne had 2-39-0 and Harrison had 2-20-0. Aaron Moorehead led the Colts receivers with four catches for 52 yards including a nice 26-yard reception and 9-yard TD from Jim Sorgi in the 2^nd quarter. Anthony Gonzalez also caught two balls for 26 yards and John Standeford caught one for 6 yards. Roy Hall had three catches for 25 yards, Trent Shelton caught five balls for 49 yards and Craphonso Thorpe caught two balls for 18 yards including a 4-yard TD catch from Josh Betts with 1:50 to play that cut the lead to 27-24. Thorpe has been one of the most consistent performers throughout preseason. On Saturday, Thorpe turned in one of best plays of the preseason. He ran a deep pattern midway through the morning practice during 7-on-7 drills and leapt high into the air for a Josh Betts pass that he wrestled away from two defenders for the catch. The play went for about 40 yards. Thorpe was previously with the Detroit Lions during the offseason before he was waived and signed with the Colts. He also made several other catches during the Saturday morning practice. John Standeford also made an excellent 25-yard catch from Peyton Manning in the night practice.

TE: The Colts contingency of tight ends didn’t make any noise in Monday night’s game against the Bears. Dallas Clark and Ben Utecht were both in the starting lineup, but neither player caught a pass. Bryant Fletcher sprained his ankle and rookie Gijon Robinson caught one ball for 10 yards. The Colts starting TEs were only targeted twice – Fletcher and Utecht once each. In Saturday’s practice, however, Johnny Harline made a leaping catch for a 20-yard gain in the morning and also caught a deep pass down the middle of the field in the night practice.

Defense: The Colts defense had a couple different faces in the lineup due to injuries. Edward Johnson started his 2^nd straight game at defensive tackle replacing Anthony McFarland while Matt Giordano started at strong safety alongside FS Antoine Bethea. The defense was led by corner Marlin Jackson, who intercepted Rex Grossman, collected 4 solo tackles and one assist. LB Brandon Archer was also quite busy (7-5-0) and rookie LB Ramon Guzman contributed 4-1-0. Corner Kelvin Hayden, DT Keyunta Dawson, LB Clint Session and LB Freddie Keiaho each had three solo tackles. DE Robert Mathis made a big play early in the game when he sacked Rex Grossman at the Colts 31 and forced a fumble that was recovered by Edward Johnson. DE Jeff Charleston had three tackles and a sack. Ryan LaCasse got a sack among two tackles as well. With the Colts defensive tackle situation looking thin following the season-ending injury to Anthony McFarland, Colts president Bill Polian wanted to calm nerves and reinforce the team’s desire to stick with their young players, and not look for a veteran to acquire."There's no help available right now,'' he said. "Our sense is the depth is good and that our young players are going to be just fine. We'll see as the preseason progresses.'' Polian reiterated that he likes their current crop that includes three rookies – third-round selection Quinn Pitcock, seventh-rounder Keyunta Dawson and free agent Edward Johnson. At the moment, Johnson is currently starting alongside veteran Raheem Brock. Veteran Dan Klecko was also in the rotation. FS Bob Sanders said he expects to return to the practice field on Wednesday, though HC Tony Dungy was less committal. Sanders remains on schedule to play in the teams’ third preseason game against Detroit on Saturday (8/25). “The plan was to bring me back next week and play in the third preseason game, get some (repetitions)," Sanders said. "Right now, I'm on schedule.”

Special Teams: Kicker Adam Vinatieri discussed his workload needs during the preseason, "You just know. It's a 'feel' thing. There's not necessarily a gold number for any of us; at least there isn't for me. If you need to keep working on a few things, you hit a few more balls. If it's hot out and you've hit plenty of balls and you feel good, then you shut it down.'' Special teams coordinator Russ Purnell noted, “He doesn't need to be kicking 200 balls every week to stay sharp.” Vinatieri saw his first game action of the year against Chicago, making a 36-yard field goal and two PATs. Return specialist CB T.J. Rushing averaged 21.3 yards on three kickoff returns, and had a 7-yard punt return. He fumbled one of the kickoffs, which was then recovered by the Bears. RB Kenton Keith averaged 27.5 yards on two kickoff returns, and WR Craphonso Thorpe had a 37-yard return. On punts, CB Antonio Perkins had no gain on two returns.

Colts Depth Chart
QB: Peyton Manning, Jim Sorgi, Josh Betts, Mike McGann
RB: Joseph Addai, DeDe Dorsey, Kenton Keith, Clifton Dawson
FB: Luke Lawton
WR: Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Anthony Gonzalez, Roy Hall, Aaron Moorehead, John Standeford, Craphonso Thorpe, Brian Hare, Trent Shelton, Aaron Brown
TE: Dallas Clark, Ben Utecht, Bryan Fletcher, Gijon Robinson, Jonny Harline, Justin Snow, Mike Seidman (IR)
K: Adam Vinatieri, Shane Andrus
DT: Raheem Brock (DE), Darrell Reid, Quinn Pitcock (NT), Edward Johnson, Dan Klecko, Ramel Meekins, Anthony McFarland (IR)
DE: Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis (inj), Josh Thomas, Bo Schobel, Keyunta Dawson, Jeff Charleston, Ben Ishola, Ryan LaCasse
MLB: Gary Brackett (W/M), Brandon Archer
OLB: Rob Morris (S)(inj), Freddie Keiaho (W), Tyjuan Hagler (S), Clint Session, Rocky Boiman, Keith O'Neil (inj), KaMichael Hall, Ramon Guzman, Victor Worsley
CB: Marlin Jackson, Kelvin Hayden, Dante Hughes, Michael Coe, T.J. Rushing (KR), Tanard Davis, Antonio Perkins, Tim Jennings, Cedric Holt, Duane Coleman
S: Bob Sanders (SS) (PUP), Antoine Bethea (FS), Matt Giordano (FS), Brannen Condren, Norman LeJeune, Melvin Bullitt, Scott Ware

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB: Byron Leftwich helped the Jaguars get out to an early lead as the Jags beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-19 on Saturday night. Most of Leftwich’s damage came against the Bucs second team defense. He finished 6-of-12 for 81 yards with no TDs or INTs. Leftwich wasn’t nearly as sharp or accurate as he was in the team’s first game; he overthrew a couple of early passes and skipped a couple others. He was sacked once and hit a couple other times. About half of his yardage came after a missed tackle. "Sometimes you get put in a tough situation in the preseason because you don't know what the defense is doing," Leftwich said. "But we were determined to do well." His biggest play was a short pass to Maurice Jones-Drew, who broke a tackle and ran for 38 yards to the 2-yard line. Fred Taylor scored on the next play making it 7-7 as the 2^nd quarter was just underway. The Jags managed to score on all four drives against Tampa’s 2^nd-string defense in the first half. "Our second-team defense hasn't shown up," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. For Leftwich, he simply wanted to get comfortable and find a rhythm in the new offensive scheme. That has been the focus of the Jags preseason, adjusting and fine tuning Dirk Koetter’s offense, the third scheme in five years for Leftwich to absorb. "We started off slow, but we finished the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter strong," Leftwich said. David Garrard took over for Leftwich and completed 11-of-14 passes for 129 yards. His 3-yard TD run up the middle gave the Jaguars a 24-7 lead with 4 seconds remaining in the half. The comeback of former 1^st pick Tim Couch ended last week when the Jags released him. Quinn Gray was inactive for the game on Saturday. Lester Ricard completed his lone pass attempt for 21 yards.

RB: The Jaguars started Fred Taylor at halfback and Greg Jones at fullback on Saturday. Taylor ran for 16 yards on 6 carries and also ran for a short TD. Jones had the team’s longest run of the evening, a 17-yard effort off the right side of the line. Jones ran five times for 25 yards. Maurice Jones-Drew didn’t have any rushing attempts, but he made an excellent play on a 38-yard reception where he broke a tackle, spun and then nearly broke it for a TD. Ironically, MJD was about the only back that didn’t score a TD against the Bucs. Alvin Pearman scored a TD and finished with 20 yards on six carries. LaBrandon Toefield scored a TD and ran for 29 yards on five carries. Even David Garrard ran one in for the Jags. Jones-Drew did finish with 47 yards though on his two catches. Undrafted rookie D.D. Terry, a former LB from Sam Houston State, ran for 49 yards on 10 carries. The Jaguars are well on their way to having a strong ground game, just as they did a year ago. With Greg Jones back in the fold, there’s always the potential for some TD vulturing even though there is no doubt about MJD’s ability in that role.

WR: Ernest Wilford and Dennis Northcutt were in the starting lineup against Tampa Bay marking two weeks since the initial release of the depth charts in camp that had former first round picks and last year’s starters Matt Jones and Reggie Williams running with the 2^nd and 3^rd teams. Charles Sharon kept the heat on Williams and Jones, too. The second year receiver led the Jags with three catches for 54 yards on Saturday. Rookie John Broussard caught two balls for 29 yards. Wilford caught three balls for 28 yards. Northcutt didn’t catch a ball, neither did Williams. Matt Jones caught one ball for no yards. D’Juan Woods had one catch for 21 yards. If the season began today, it would be a big wake up call to the fantasy prospects of Matt Jones and Reggie Williams. Charles Sharon continues to make a case for more playing time than Williams and he’s still running ahead of him on the depth chart. It’s difficult to say if HC Jack Del Rio is, on any level, just sending a message or really opening up the competition for everyone at the position. The pressure is unquestionably on Williams and Jones to respond and reclaim those spots in the last two preseason games.

TE: Marcedes Lewis got the starting nod on Saturday against Tampa Bay. Lewis caught two balls for 16 yards. George Wrighster got his first game action and caught one ball for 15 yards. Jermaine Wiggins caught one ball for one yard. Greg Estandia, trying to earn a roster spot, had one catch for 6 yards.

Defense: The Jags first string defense continues to look good this preseason. They held the Dolphins without a first down in their first two series and forced the Bucs to punt on three of their first four drives on Saturday. They allowed a 43-yard TD drive engineered by Jeff Garcia, capped by his scrambling, last second throw to a diving David Boston in the end zone for 19 yards. Otherwise, they were strong once again. Safety Jamaal Fudge was part of the team’s biggest defensive play against the Bucs. Rookie LB Justin Durant stripped Bucs WR Maurice Stovall and Fudge grabbed it and returned it to the 5-yard line, setting up a field goal and a 10-7 lead for the Jags. Reggie Hayward recorded the team’s only sack on the night, along with 2 tackles and a forced fumble. Fudge paced the team with 4 solo tackles and an assist. Mike Peterson finished with 4-1-0 and Durant 3-2-0. Rookie safety Josh Gattis also chipped in with 3 solos. Pat Thomas and Daryl Smith started at the outside LB spots with Peterson in the middle. Brian Williams and Rashean Mathis were on the corners and Gerald Sensabaugh at SS paired with rookie Reggie Nelson at free safety. Bobby McCray and Hayward were at the ends, big John Henderson and Marcus Stroud were manning their usual spots at tackle. The team got a scare when Reggie Nelson got hurt on Saturday, but HC Del Rio believes Nelson will be on the field for Week One. Nelson has what the team is calling a “lateral sprain.” Among the inactives on Saturday were defensive ends Brian Smith, Jeremy Mincey and Paul Spicer along with LB Clint Ingram. Backup defensive tackle Tony McDaniel sprained his left knee in the game. Last Monday, the Jags cut safety Kevin McCadam and signed veteran safety Sammy Knight to a one-year deal.

Special Teams: After kicker Josh Scobee missed a potential game-winning field goal at the end of the first preseason game, the team practiced live field goal drills last week. Scobee did not fail in practice. This week against Tampa Bay, he made a 19-yard chip shot field goal and four PATs. Once again, the starting returners did not have any returns in the game: RB Maurice Jones-Drew on kickoffs or WR Dennis Northcutt on punts. Northcutt was back on a punt, but did not field what turned out to be a 74-yard punt by Josh Bidwell. RB LaBrandon Toefield had a 13-yard kickoff return, and rookie WR John Broussard and rookie DB Rashod Moulton each had one for no gain. Rookie WR Roosevelt Kiser had a 6 yard punt return against the Buccaneers.

Jaguars Depth Chart
QB: Byron Leftwich, David Garrard, Quinn Gray (inj), Lester Ricard
RB: Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew (SD/3RB/KR) , LaBrandon Toefield (KR) , Alvin Pearman (PR), Montell Owens, D.D. Terry
FB: Greg Jones, Derrick Wimbush (KR)
WR: Ernest Wilford (inj), Dennis Northcutt, Charles Sharon, Matt Jones, Reggie Williams, Mike Walker, John Broussard, Jimmy Farris, D'Juan Woods, Roosevelt Kiser
TE: Marcedes Lewis, Jermaine Wiggins, George Wrighster, Richard Angulo, Greg Estandia, Isaac Smolko
K: Josh Scobee
DT: Marcus Stroud, John Henderson, Rob Meier (DE), Derek Landri, Tony McDaniel (inj), Seth Payne, Walter Curry
DE: Reggie Hayward, Bobby McCray, Brent Hawkins, Paul Spicer, James Wyche, Jeremy Mincey, Brian Smith, Tyler King
MLB: Mike Peterson (M/W), Tony Gilbert
OLB: Daryl Smith (W/M), Clint Ingram (S), Nick Greisen (W), Justin Durant (W), Jorge Cordova (W/S), Pat Thomas (inj), Kenneth Pettway, Brian Iwuh, Chad Nkang
CB: Rashean Mathis, Brian Williams, Terry Cousin, Scott Starks, Bruce Thornton, Dee Webb, Chris Roberson, Rashod Moulton, Jamar Landrom
S: Reggie Nelson (FS)(inj), Gerald Sensabaugh (SS), Josh Gattis (SS), Nick Sorensen, Sammy Knight, Jamaal Fudge

Kansas City Chiefs

QB: This week the Chiefs gave Damon Huard the starting nod against Miami on Thursday night. Huard play the first three series going 3-of-5 for 26 yards and a 4-yard run. On the Chiefs first offensive play of the game, Huard was sacked for a six-yard loss. He came back on 3^rd-and-10 to hit Tony Gonzalez on a 17-yard crossing route. On the same series, on a 3^rd-and-7, Huard threw a short pass to TE Kris Wilson who was tackled for a 1-yard loss. That drive ended in a missed field goal. On the next drive, Huard threw a pair of incomplete passes on 2^nd and 3^rd downs as they went three and out. On the third and final drive for Huard, he drove the Chiefs to their 39-yard line before punting. Brodie Croyle took over on the next drive, midway through the 2^nd quarter. Croyle hit his first four passes and then connected with Chris Hannon for a 21-yard scoring play. Later, Croyle made a poor decision on an intercepted pass, but ended up 6-of-11 for 82 yards. "I started off strong, went in there and made some throws and got the ball rolling," said Croyle. "The second series, I got a little greedy and went for it all to bury them right there -- a bad decision on my part." Croyle finished out the half and played two series in the third quarter. Following the interception, his last three drives resulted in punts. Casey Printers, the former CFL star, completed 8-of-10 passes for 122 yards along with 17 yards rushing on 2 attempts. Printers showed his athleticism and mobility in the pocket on several plays as he bought time to find a receiver and make a play down the field. HC Herm Edwards said he would wait until after this Thursday’s game against New Orleans before he would declare a starting quarterback for the regular season. Brodie Croyle is expected to start on Thursday and play the first half, possibly into the third quarter, with Huard taking over from there

RB: The ugly contract holdout is over, as Larry Johnson agreed to a 5-year, $45 million contract that will pay him $19mm in guarantees this year ($12mm in bonuses, $7mm in salary). Johnson’s return is a welcome site for anyone affiliated with the Chiefs as the crop of backups just weren’t getting it going this preseason.

Michael Bennett started in the Chiefs backfield against Miami and had very little running room. Bennett carried seven times for 8 yards and caught one ball for 10 yards before giving way to the Chiefs other backups. Marcus O’Keith got some work rushing for 21 yards on 8 attempts. Derrick Ross ran once for 6 yards and coughed up a fumble in the process. Rookie Kolby Smith carried 7 times for just 3 yards, but did gain 14 yards on a reception. Fullback candidate Gilbert Harris caught 2 balls for a team-high 63 yards.

In preseason action so far, the Chiefs have scored just one offensive touchdown in two games without Johnson on the field. Of course, injuries up front along the offensive line aren’t helping matters either. "The problem is we weren't physical enough," said Brian Waters, the Pro Bowl left guard. "For whatever reason, we're not knocking guys off the ball. That's something we've got to do." Waters added that it wouldn’t make much difference if Johnson was in the backfield or not with the way they are playing. "I don't care who you have back there. There's only two guys I've ever seen do it with a bad offensive line -- Barry Sanders and Jim Brown, and nobody in this league can compare to those two guys," Waters said. "Good running backs in this league have good offensive lines. We've got to do a better job no matter who's back there." Meanwhile, Priest Holmes remains on the team’s PUP list and he’s not been allowed to participate in contact drills. Holmes wanted to be removed from the PUP list on Sunday, but Herm Edwards had the following to say on his situation, “He's not ready. We had a long talk," Edwards said. "The doctor said it's OK for him to participate. But in his mind, and in our mind, we felt where he's at right now he's not 100 percent with his legs underneath him. He's laid off for a long time. I told him today, 'I'm not going to rush you. I'm definitely not going to rush you.'"

WR: Eddie Kennison and Samie Parker were the team’s starting receivers for Thursday night’s game. Kennison didn’t catch a pass and Parker caught two balls for 15 yards before leaving with the starters. Chris Hannon, trying to earn both a roster spot and a role in the offense, made a nice catch and run in the 2^nd quarter for a 21-yard TD. Hannon finished with 3-33-1. Brent Little caught one ball for 17 yards. Jeff Webb had one for 7 yards. Ean Randolph caught a pass for 13 yards. Meanwhile, first round pick Dwayne Bowe is practicing with the team, but still not making any push toward cracking the starting lineup. Bowe is likely to work his way into the lineup fairly quickly, but in the mean time, look for him to be on the field in three-receiver sets, particularly in the red zone where Bowe can use his size and physical skills to shield defenders and create his own space.

TE: Tony Gonzalez started and caught 1 ball for 17 yards early in the game. Rookie Michael Allan caught 3 balls for 42 yards against the Dolphins. Kris Wilson caught one ball but it was for a one-yard loss.

Defense: LB Donnie Edwards paced the Chiefs defenders in Thursday’s game with 5 solo tackles. DE Jimmy Wilkerson had a strong game with two sacks, four solo tackles and an assist. LB William Kershaw also had a sack amongst 4 combined tackles. DE Tamba Hali filled up the stat sheet in his brief time on the field with a tackle, a sack and a forced fumble. Safety Jon McGraw contributed 4-1-0. LB Keyaron Fox recovered a Cleo Lemon fumble for the Chiefs only forced turnover. The Chiefs may be on the verge of finally dealing veteran reserve safety Greg Wesley. Once reportedly of interest to the Broncos, Wesley now appears to be drawing interest from the Texans, who lost SS Glen Earl for the season with a Lisfranc injury. The Chiefs invested in their defensive line this offseason drafting defensive tackles Tank Tyler and Turk McBride to go with newcomer DT Alfonso Boone. With Jared Allen’s two-game suspension looming, the team might use McBride on the outside in Allen’s spot.

Special Teams: After a good first game, rookie kicker Justin Medlock stumbled in the second game of the preseason. He made a 34-yard field goal against Miami later in the game, but missed wide left from 42 yards and hit the left upright from 37 yards out. Punter/holder Dustin Colquitt surmised, “He may have been going a little fast getting to the ball. That’s the only thing we can figure out right now. He came back out, and he hit that ball really good. He’ll be fine. He’s too good of a kicker to worry himself. It’s just one of those things. It was his first time at Arrowhead. I remember my first time I kicked here. I was intimidated. The next game, he’ll be fine.” HC Herm Edwards added, “I walked up to him after the second one, and I said, ‘Hey, let me tell you something. We drafted you because you’re a good kicker. You’ll get another chance to kick before the night is over and you’ll make the next one.’ And he made it. At that point, we were winning the game.” Rookie WR Ean Randolph continues to be the frontrunner on returns. He had a 19-yard kickoff return and averaged 11.7 yards on three punt returns. CB Justin Phinisee had a 21-yard kickoff return and a 4-yard punt return. WR Jeff Webb will still likely handle kickoff returns in the regular season.

Chiefs Depth Chart
QB: Brodie Croyle, Damon Huard, Casey Printers, Jeff Terrell
RB: Larry Johnson, Priest Holmes, Michael Bennett, Kolby Smith, Derrick Ross, Marcus O'Keith
FB: Boomer Grigsby, Greg Hanoian, Gilbert Harris
WR: Eddie Kennison, Dwayne Bowe, Samie Parker, Chris Hannon, Jeff Webb, Rod Gardner, Maurice Price, Ean Randolph (KR), Brad Ekwerekwu, Brent Little, Ryan Titus, Bobby Sippio
TE: Tony Gonzalez, Jason Dunn, Kris Wilson, Michael Allan, Mike Pinkard, Keith Willis
K: Justin Medlock
DT: James Reed, Ron Edwards, Tank Tyler, Turk McBride (DE), Alfonso Boone (NT), Patrice Majondo-Mwamba, Kiki Gonzalez
DE: Tamba Hali, Jared Allen (susp), Jimmy Wilkerson, Michael Heard, Chris Harris, Montez Murphy
MLB: Napoleon Harris, Rich Scanlon
OLB: Derrick Johnson (L), Donnie Edwards (R), Kendrell Bell (R), Keyar