Category — NFL News and Takes

Circle your calendar, Oakland fans. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that, according to sources, the Russell-era will begin December 2nd against the Denver Broncos. Evidently, that’s the perfect time.

The Raiders have circled Dec. 2 vs. the Broncos as the likely starting debut for the 2007 No. 1 overall pick, team sources told ESPN.

Russell’s “light came on” a couple of weeks ago, a source told ESPN.

Russell had a great week of practice, then weighed in at 259 on Friday after hovering in the 270s most of the season.

On a 6-game skid, the Raiders have decided that prioritizing the future may be in the best interests of the team, especially after locking up JaMarcus Russell with the largest rookie contract in NFL history — a 6 year, $68 million deal.

Unlike Chicago, where Brian Griese will be replaced by Grossman since the latter’s game-winning performance, Atlanta doesn’t treat quarterbacks based on their latest performances. If they did, Bobby Petrino wouldn’t have proclaimed Byron Leftwich the team’s starter as soon as he’s healthy.

“We made the decision a while back that Byron is the starter and Joey is the backup,” said Petrino after practice. “Right now, it’s just a health issue.”

The move is surprising mainly because Joey Harrington is coming off two consecutive wins, including a week 10 performance in which he posted a 106.6 quarterback rating against the Carolina Panthers. It’s also surprising Petrino told the media before he alerted Harrington.

Bad news for Colts fans: the team that has already been riddled with critical injuries and losses this season (and before it began) may now be missing Dwight Freeney for the rest of the season.

According to ESPN’s John Clayton, Freeney has suffered Lisfranc; one of football’s most dreaded injuries. The Lisfranc fracture is a fracture and dislocation of the joints in the midfoot, where a cluster of small bones forms an arch on top of the foot between the ankle and the toes. Already Freeney was expected to miss several weeks with the injury, but there was hope he’d be ready to return in time for the postseason. Lisfranc injuries typically take months of rehabilitation, regardless of whether surgery is required to repair the damage.

Do you want to know how good Indianapolis is? They played their worst game of the season offensively, and they still only lost by 2 points. In fact, it came down to a missed field goal by the game’s most clutch kicker.

Anyone out there unsure of this defense?

It held the San Diego Chargers from ever establishing itself, as Tomlinson finished with a 3.6 yard per carry average and Philip Rivers finished with just over 100 yards through the air.

And despite Peyton Manning throwing a very uncharacteristic 6 interceptions in this game, the Colts still dominated the clock from start to finish (time of possession: 36:12). San Diego managed only 11 first downs to the Colts’ 25 and Indianapolis ran 34 more plays.

It might have been one deep pass, but that just might be enough for Grossman to take back his starting spot with the Chicago Bears. A 59-yard bomb to Bernard Berrian meant the go-ahead score for Chicago on a day when neither Oakland nor the Bears could get any offense going and it seemed as if a 6-3 outcome was probable.

But Grossman’s one monster throw of the day — he was 7-14 for 142 yards and 1 score in the game — kept the Bears’ season alive.

“It was unbelievable, something you can’t describe to someone who hasn’t been in that position,” Grossman said. “It’s a great feeling to come in and be able to pull one out.”

If you were wondering how good the Packers are, your questions were probably answered this Sunday when the team dismantled a hapless Minnesota Vikings defense. Adrian Peterson? Contained. Minnesota’s 3rd ranked rush defense? Trampled.

This game wasn’t close. It was a blowout. Green Bay had possession of the ball for more than 40 minutes of play. The Vikings didn’t convert a 3rd down until late in the second half; in fact, the team didn’t even amass 100 yards of offense until the second half was well underway.

It’s becoming more and more obvious that the Vikings style of play isn’t going to earn the team wins anytime soon. Modeled after the classic smashmouth style of play that dominated the 1980s and prior, Brian Baldinger noted late during the game that the Vikings were on the receiving end of a “good old-fashioned butt-kicking.”

Marvin Harrison won’t be playing tonight, and, if reports by ESPN are correct, he could be feeling the injury for the remainder of his career. The Colts are still referring to it as a bruised knee, but Ed Werder’s source isn’t so sure that explains the extent of the injury.

…the receiver has been told his knee pain is likely to persist through the remainder of the season and perhaps for the rest of his career.

According to the source, specialists who have examined Harrison do not view surgery as a viable option because there is no guarantee of success and would require six months of rehabilitation.

(Source) 

We’re through the first 9 weeks of the season and every NFL team has played at least 8 games. It’s been a fun ride so far and one undefeated team remains, one with a vendetta against the rest of the NFL and the talent to go 16-0.

But through the first eight weeks of the season, who has earned the prestigious MVP award? Or rookie of the year? Or coach of the year?

How about worst player? Most disappointing rookie? Worst coach?

They’re all below. Enjoy:

Just when Larry Johnson began to have some success on the field, it looks now as if he’ll be making an early exit. What was originally reported to be a minor foot sprain now appears to be a much more serious fracture, something that could send him to the sideline for the remainder of the season (while putting the Chiefs’ playoff hopes in serious doubt). The report comes from a Denver news station which cites team sources.

Keep in mind, however, this is still in its rumor stages. Team officials, including head coach Herm Edwards, have not been negative to this point. Tuesday he said that while Johnson will miss week 10 and perhaps additional time, though he didn’t make the suggestion that his running back’s season could be over. Incidentally, the same report also said Johnson was to receive further testing in the near future.

With all the hoopla going on in New England, you might not hear a lot about other players and teams for a while, especially as the season goes down the stretch. So, while you’re surfing the internet, check out these stories that are sure to scratch your itch for non-Patriots news:

• New York Jets fullback Darian Barnes is working on a project that might just get your attention. The idea is a comic book-turned-animated series about extraordinary athletes who use their abilities to fight crime in their spare time. Interesting idea for sure, though I’m not sure how the idea will translate.
• Looking for some predictions? Check out NFL Nostradamus as a pair of NFL pundits make their second half predictions for the 2007 NFL season. Interestingly, New England will not finish 16-0, according to both writers.