Category — Just the News

The past several seasons it’s been a question whether or not Tony Dungy will continue coaching. Dungy, someone who has never considered himself a football “lifer” and expected himself to be retired at age 50 (he’s currently 53), seriously pondered retirement after coaching the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl win last year. But after meeting with owner Jim Irsay and talking the entire situation through with his wife, Dungy decided to instead coach another season before re-evaluating the situation.

Rumors of his retirement heated up this week when it was learned that Dungy’s children have transferred schools from Indianapolis to the Tampa area.

The Colts, however, are doing whatever is necessary to sway Dungy’s decision towards continuing the legacy he has built in Indianapolis. Recent reports from ESPN indicate that the team has offered him “tremendous options” and “flexibility.”

According to Yahoo! Sports, the Miami Dolphins are going to throw John Beck into the starting lineup, following the team’s bye on November 4.

Backup quarterback Cleo Lemon is expected to make his third start of the season Sunday against the New York Giants in London. However, rookie John Beck could be the starter on Nov. 11 when the 0-7 Dolphins play host to the Buffalo Bills, two sources said this week.

If it’s true, it’s about time. I have no problem with Cleo Lemon — aside from his awful numbers this season — but Beck is (presumably) the team’s quarterback of the future. The Dolphins’ season is clearly lost, so why not play the rookie and get him some game time experience before next season?

Here’s some great news: Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terry Glenn expects to return this season. That’s unbelievable news for the player that, at one point this year, didn’t know if he’d be able to play again, perhaps ever. Unfortunately, he hasn’t narrowed his return down yet, so no circling the calendar.

“His spirits are good,” coach Wade Phillips said. “He’s rehabbing his quad; they are building that up. Once you have a knee operation, you need the quad to go down, so they’re building that up.”

Glenn has made it clear he wants to take his time rehabbing. No need to rush things.

For those of you who thought St. Louis Rams tackle Orlando Pace was mulling retirement, he’s here to tell you otherwise. A report today indicates he is in no way ready to retire, at least not until the conclusion of next season. If he’s healthy before the ‘08 season kicks off, he’ll be wearing a uniform.

“I’m going to come back and play,” Pace told the Post-Dispatch. “I will play. Initially, (retirement) crosses your mind. You think, ‘Man, I can’t go through another year like this.’”

The 7-time Pro Bowl tackle has had his season ended the past two years, an obviously frustrating experience. But he wants to leave the game on his own terms:

All reports indicate that Kelly Holcomb is set to start in place of still-injured Tarvaris Jackson this Sunday against the Eagles. The latter fractured his finger last weekend and is expected to miss a game. Assuming he does it will be Holcomb’s third start of the season.

“Every guy’s different with thresholds of pain, too,” Holcomb said, in reference to Jackson. “I know he did take some snaps and he did throw the ball. He looked pretty good with a fractured finger, but I can’t say what he’s feeling. I know that guys have played through that, and then I know that guys haven’t. I guess it depends on the person.”

Carolina’s David Carr was practicing Thursday, but there’s no word whether he’ll see the starting lineup this weekend against Indianapolis. Vinny Testaverde started the Panthers last game (week 6) and while he didn’t look great — it’s understandable he was a little rusty — he got the job done for the Panthers. Not that it’s hard to throw the ball to Steve Smith (who was the target of 136 of Testaverde’s 206 passing yards), but the 43 year old did a pretty good job for not having a lot of prep time.

That said, David Carr is probably the better quarterback. Not that Vinny can’t get the job done but I think Carr gives the Panthers the best shot to win a game. Testaverde more or less won’t lose the game for Carolina.

Bobby Petrino has a message: decent isn’t good enough.

At least that’s how many are interpreting his decision to replace Joey Harrington in the lineup, despite Harrington’s 80+ quarterback rating. The Atlanta head coach came to the decision after watching his offense stumble through another loss, pushing the Falcons’ overall record to 1-5.

“That’s the big part of it,” the coach said. “We need to make a change and get something going.”

Harrington has thrown 4 touchdown passes and 4 interceptions this season in 195 attempts. Byron Leftwich, widely considered a disappointment in the eyes of the Jacksonville faithful, has thrown 8 passes this season and one interception. His rating: a 2.1. Granted, that’s not a fair measuring stick in this instance, but the point is obvious: neither quarterback is a great option. Petrino might want to spark his offense, but I’m not sure Leftwich is the answer.

Looks like the Bills are growing more and more confident in their rookie prodigy, Trent Edwards. The latest sign is the team’s decision to start him over J.P. Losman for this Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

In his first start against the Jets, Edwards posted a 98.5 rating in a victorious effort. His second start didn’t go so well as he threw an interception in a loss to Dallas, though the Bills should have won the game. The interception was point was the turning point of the fourth quarter and it directly resulted in a score, but had the Bills’ coaching staff been smart enough to keep the ball on the ground and settle for the field goal, the team would have probably won the game.

It seems the Rams coaching staff realized that Gus Frerotte isn’t the cure to what ails the offense. His six turnover performance (5 of which were interceptions) reminded fans that he’s one of the worst backup quarterbacks in the NFL. In his defense the Rams (0-6) are one of the worst teams in the NFL right now, competing with Miami and Cincinnati for that title.

So in his stead Marc Bulger will return to the offense. He’s missed the past couple weeks with a pair of broken ribs.

“Yeah, I’m playing,” Bulger said. “I’m ready now after standing around for two weeks. They definitely feel a little better, but I haven’t been hit.

After some heartening news that Ward was practicing Friday, it’s a bit disappointing to hear that he won’t be playing Sunday. The idea behind sitting him, however, makes a lot of sense. It just wouldn’t be smart to play Ward this early after he’s missed two weeks of practice. His greatest strength is his fearless attitude of running across the middle of the field. If he’s still uncertain how his knee will hold up, he’ll hold back and he’ll be a more ineffective receiver. Not to mention he might get hurt.