Peppers injury opens door for Vikings

The underworld of NFL injuries is a murky and mysterious place. You never know who or what to believe. With that said, the general consensus around the Chicago Bears this week has been that defensive end Julius Peppers' sprained knee would improve enough to allow him to play Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings. PeppersThat theory took a hit Friday when Peppers was unable to practice and was listed as doubtful on the Bears' injury report. Coach Lovie Smith said "we are still hopeful" but noted: "When a guy doesn't practice at all during the week, we're not too optimistic."

It's important to note that "doubtful" means there is a 25 percent chance of a player being available. As we learned last year, a player can be ruled out on the final injury report of the week and still wind up playing. So I'm not ready to rule out Peppers completely from this game. All we can say is that if he does play, he'll be on the field at far less than 100 percent capacity.

The Bears' already-struggling defense would be substantially weaker without its best player, especially when you consider that his likely replacement would be a 248-pound free agent with one NFL sack in two seasons. Nick Reed is a feisty reserve but hardly a player the Bears want in a premier position during a nationally televised game against an opponent that will be more than happy to test him with its power running game. If the Bears were giving up 135 rushing yards per game with Peppers in the lineup, then how many will tailback Adrian Peterson pile up without him?

We'll have the rest of the NFC North injury report a bit later, but this turn of events merited immediate response. Peppers has missed only six games in his 10-year NFL career, and none since 2007. But his availability doesn't look good for a key division game that will be the difference between a 2-4 and 3-3 record.

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Franklin's departure opens options for AD

While the departure of Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin to Vanderbilt leaves the Terps’ future leadership in limbo, it’s not a bad thing.

In fact, it’s refreshing.

Maryland is no longer stuck with a messy coach-in-waiting plan. Franklin is no longer stuck waiting for a coach who doesn’t want to leave. And first-year athletic director Kevin Anderson didn’t have to pay $1 million for it all to happen.

Maryland fans should be thanking Franklin.

Yes, his decision will have a significant impact on recruiting. Franklin has earned a reputation as a tireless recruiter, and his return to College Park coincided with a rejuvenated effort to lure better athletes from within the state and the surrounding areas. Recruiting had been at the heart of Maryland’s struggles, but Franklin had started to help reverse that trend. It’s going to be difficult to continue that because nobody on the staff can promise anyone anything beyond 2011.

Coach Ralph Friedgen earned himself at least one more year at Maryland with his Coach of the Year performance this season, but beyond that, Anderson has a refrigerator-sized decision to make. Franklin just helped make it a little bit easier. Friedgen now becomes the focus moving forward, and Anderson brings a fresh perspective as to whether or not Friedgen is the right man to continue leading Maryland. The Washington Post reported that Anderson could pay Friedgen $2 million to retire now. He could also further extend Friedgen’s contract to help give the program some stability in recruiting. Or, he could use 2011 to figure it all out and start over in 2012.

Franklin's departure closed one door but opened several others. He left College Park before anyone had a chance to figure out if he was the right choice as Maryland’s head coach.

The question for Anderson now becomes, is Friedgen?

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