11/24/07
- A number of veteran players were put on notice over the last
week that they no longer fit into their team's plans for the
balance of the season barring injury issues and figure to be
released in the off-season. Starting in Philadelphia, it looks
like Jevon Kearse's days as an Eagle are numbered. Kearse may
have been The Freak in Tennessee but he's been nothing more
than a journeyman in Philadelphia since signing a $66-million,
eight-year contract prior to the 2004 season. Injuries have
derailed his tenure in Philadelphia and Kearse was deactivated
this week for the first time in his career in favor of Juqua
Thomas. Kearse started the 2006 season on fire before injury
his left knee and going on injured reserve. The knee has had
to be drained of fluid twice this season and Kearse clearly
has lost the burst that made him a special player. With a salary
of $6.5-million in 2008, Kearse will only be an Eagle if he
agrees to a massive salary reduction and there's no guarantee
the Eagles will even offer him that. Another defensive end on
the way out in Philadelphia is Darren Howard. The former Saint
has declined considerably since becoming an Eagle and with young
players Trent Cole, Thomas and Victor Abiamiri, this year's
2nd round pick, under contract for far less than Howard's 2008
salary of $2.5-million, he's also likely to be released in the
off-season.
-
 Another
veteran who will be looking for a team in 2008 is Raiders running
back LaMont
Jordan. Jordan led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage
three weeks into the season before suffering a back injury in
week four. The injury hasn't caused him to miss any games but
has slowed him down, allowing Justin Fargas to claim the starting
position. With Dominic Rhodes back from suspension and likely
in the team's future plans given his off-season signing from
the Colts and the team intrigued by what rookie 4th round pick
Michael Bush can offer in 2008, Jordan will be released in the
off-season. He may have been released already but speculation
is owner Al Davis didn't want Jordan to sign with running back
needy division rival Kansas City, although the real reason may
be that Bush was not ready to return from the broken leg he
suffered in college.
- In Baltimore, speculation is rife the team will enter 2008
without a number of veterans that were expected to be key contributors
in 2007. Quarterback Steve
McNair clearly won't be back and it will be a major surprise
if he doesn't retire. Along the offensive line, the team may
decide to replace center Mike Flynn with Chris Chester and nudge
left tackle Jonathan Ogden into retirement. With young tackles
Adam Terry, Marshall Yanda and Jared Gaither, the team is set
at the position for years to come. In addition, Jason Brown
and Ben Grubbs, this year's 1st round pick, figure to be the
team's starters at guard for many years, so the foundation for
a solid offensive line is in place with or without Ogden. At
wide receiver, Derrick
Mason continues to put up huge reception totals but he can
no longer makes defenders miss. His ability to get yards after
the catch has basically vanished and his longest play of the
season is just 28 yards, a large reason why he's averaging under
ten yards per reception. On defense, defensive end Trevor
Pryce may not be asked and cornerback Samari
Rolle has been on the decline for a number of years. Simply
put, these veterans haven't earned their salaries in 2007 and
salary cap issues will likely prevent all but Ogden and Mason
from returning in 2008.
- Keeping with the Ravens, they have lost four straight after
a 4-2 start and a quick glance at the schedule reveals that
their playoff hopes are practically non-existent. After this
week's game on the road in San Diego, the Ravens have home games
remaining against the Colts and Patriots.
- A couple of outstanding veterans reached career milestones
over the past week and it's nice to see two players that have
been such shining examples away from the field achieve such
success on it. In St. Louis, Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce
moved into sixth place on the NFL's career receiving yards list,
moving ahead of former Ram and Redskins Henry Ellard, who is
now Bruce's position coach with the Rams. In Atlanta, Falcons
running back Warrick Dunn became the 22nd running back to top
10,000 career rushing yards, an amazing accomplishment given
Dunn's diminutive stature and the fact he spent the early part
of his career in a platoon role in Tampa Bay.
- If you've got a running back facing the Raiders on your FF
team, then you need to make room in the starting line-up. The
Raiders rank 31st in rushing defense, allowing 152 yards a game
and have allowed opposition running backs to go over the century
mark against them seven times. Over the past three games, they
have allowed Vikings backup Chester Taylor and Texans backup
Ron Dayne to top 100 yards.
- The Jaguars playoff hopes took a bit hit this week with middle
linebacker and defensive team leader Mike Peterson suffering
a broken hand. With Peterson out for at least a month and likely
requiring a cast when he returns, the team loses its best defender
for the stretch run to the playoffs. Fortunately for the Jaguars,
the team has experience in dealing with a Peterson absence.
He missed 11 games last year, forcing the team to move Daryl
Smith into the middle. Look for Smith to move into the middle
temporarily with rookie 2nd round pick Justin Durant moving
into the starting line-up at outside linebacker. Unfortunately,
the team will now be very inexperienced with Smith in his third
year, Durant a rookie and Clint Ingram, picked in the 3rd round
of the 2006 draft, in only his second year.
- We focused on some poor coaching decisions last
week and the Panthers were guilty of such a blunder this
past Sunday against the Packers. The team pooch punted after
lining up for a field goal and had the punt returned 94 yards
for a touchdown by Tramon Williams. Part of the problem, aside
from actually calling for a pooch punt, was the team only had
10 players on the field for the play.
- It appears the Texans are running out of patience with running
back Ahman Green. Green has missed significant time this season
because of swelling in his knee and has hardly been worth the
$8-million the team has paid him as part of his four-year, 23-million
contract signed this off-season, a deal widely criticized at
the time given Green's diminishing productivity, age and recent
injury history. Head coach Gary Kubiah revealed the team may
end up putting Green on injured reserve if he doesn't return
soon and the team recently added Darius Walker to the roster
from the practice squad. With Ron Dayne running well, it appears
Green needs to return before the team experiences any injuries
at another position or else his season will end prematurely.
- The Rams beleaguered offensive line gets a boost this week
with the return of veteran Todd Steussie to the team. Waived
in the preseason with an injury settlement, Steussie wasn't
allowed by league rules to sign with the team until this week
and it's a sad commentary on the state of the Rams line that
they were so excited by his return. Look for him to move into
the starting line-up immediately, most likely at right guard
where former Cardinals center Nick Leckey has made a valiant
effort despite being likely the smallest starting guard in the
league. Steussie performed well last season and figures to help
stabilize a line that has been largely responsible for the poor
showing of the team's offensive production thus far in 2007.
- The Giants lost second year starting strongside linebacker
Mathias Kiwanuka this week with a broken left fibula, an injury
that will cost him valuable playing time as he attempts to make
the switch from being a defensive end in college and his first
year in the league. With Kiwanuka out, Reggie Torbor figures
to get an extended shot at proving to the team that he wasn't
a wasted draft pick. Taken in the 4th round of the 2004 draft,
Torbor has been a major disappointment despite his athletic
ability. He figures to be on a short leash and could be replaced
by Gerris Wilkinson if he doesn't produce. While the team will
suffer at linebacker with Kiwanuka out, they will also lose
the ability to put four premier rushers on the field in obvious
passing downs. The team had considerable success using Michael
Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Kiwanuka on passing
downs and will likely now move Fred Robbins into that role.
Robbins is the only defensive tackle on the team to register
a sack in 2008.
- The Browns porous secondary took another hit this week with
the loss of rookie cornerback Eric
Wright to a sprained knee. The 2nd round pick has played
reasonably well after struggling early in the season and has
proven to be a solid tackler. With Wright out, the team will
be forced to move Daven Holly into the starting line-up and
use rookie 5th round pick Brandon McDonald in nickel packages.
With Leigh
Bodden, the team's best cornerback, struggling and Holly
and McDonald arguably the worst combination of 2nd and 3rd cornerbacks
in the league, the Browns figure to struggle significantly in
stopping the pass until Wright returns.
- Keeping with the Browns, the team has recorded ten sacks
over the past two games so it is possible they will be able
to produce enough pressure to give their secondary a chance
in the passing game. Although six of the sacks came against
an inexperienced Ravens offensive line, the other four were
against the Steelers. The team had managed only seven sacks
in their first eight games of the season.
- If you're looking for a deep sleeper at running back to help
you over the next few weeks, you could do worse than Chris
Brown of the Titans. Brown moves into the backup role to
starter LenDale White with rookie 2nd round pick Chris
Henry starting a four game suspension for violating the
league's substance abuse policy. White has struggled over the
past two weeks since suffering a knee injury in week nine against
Carolina, totaling just 54 yards rushing. Brown played well
in his first game backs since injuring his ankle, totally 75
total yards in only seven touches.
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