Lions Lean on RB Morris Without Best and Harrison

Starter Jahvid Best is out with a concussion, and ESPN reported Thursday that backup Jerome Harrison has a brain tumor. The network based its reported on two NFL sources it did not identify.

The Lions tried to trade Harrison to Philadelphia on Tuesday, but the deal was voided for unspecified reasons. The Lions listed Harrison as having an "illness" that held him out of Thursday's practice.

"It's a privacy issue and I'm not going to comment on it," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "He's back on our 53-man roster."

Harrison's agent, Mitch Frankel, did not return phone and email messages.

Detroit wanted to trade Harrison to Philadelphia for Ronnie Brown and a draft pick because it needs help in the backfield following Best's third concussion last Sunday in a loss to San Francisco.

Schwartz will only say that Best will play when he's given medical clearance. Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said he "certainly" expects the speedy, second-year pro to be on the field again this season and Best's agent, Tony Fleming, said his client's status will be evaluated on a week-to-week basis.

"Caution is being taken of course, but he should be OK soon," Fleming wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

The Lions (5-1) are expected to rotate Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams along with return specialist Stefan Logan in the backfield against Atlanta (3-3) on Sunday at home.

"All our backs are a little bit different, all of them bring a little something different to the offense," Schwartz said. "We'll use anybody that we have available on Sunday to the best of their abilities."

Morris had five rushing attempts against the 49ers to more than double the number of carries he had over the first five games of the season. The 10-year veteran insisted he is not fired up about getting a chance to play much more against the Falcons.

"I'd be excited if I'm in one, two or three plays," Morris said. "I understand with the injury, I'm going to play more, but I approach every game the same as though I'm going to have to play a lot because you never know when somebody is going to go down and your number is going to get called. I'm preparing for this game the same way I did going into Week 1."

Morris was slowed in training camp by a broken right hand and had just two carries in the season-opening win at Tampa Bay. He had a mere two more carries over the next four games, but has been relatively productive when given a chance to do more.

The former Seattle Seahawk has had at least 15 carries four times in his two-plus seasons with the Lions and responded with 126 yards rushing and a touchdown in one of those games two years ago against Arizona and 109 yards with a score in another such opportunity last year against Tampa Bay.

Linehan doesn't expect the Falcons to overlook Morris, thinking they caught a break not having to chase Best.

"Mo has been in the League a long time, I'm sure they are going to look and say, 'Hey, this guy can do this, you better not fall asleep on him,'" Linehan said.

View the original article here

Data Points: Not so awesome without Asomugha

Published: September 21st, 2011 | Tags: Data Points, Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With all the big passing numbers that have been produced through the first two weeks of the 2011 season, it’s difficult to get a gauge on which teams are going to thrive in pass defense. But it’s interesting to note that of the five best pass defenses over the previous five seasons, the one that has struggled the most in 2011 is the Raiders. Missing Nnamdi Asomugha, or are there other factors?

Posted in: News   comments    

Comments may be no longer than 2000 characters and will post to the site shortly after submitting.

View the original article here

Plan on life without Vick, Jackson

Panic at the Vick-sco: I write blogs, not tragedies. Well, maybe not considering what happened Sunday night. Maybe you heard, maybe you didn’t, but Michael Vick has a concussion.  Welcome to the world of Arian Foster owners. What to do?  First, have somebody ready for Sunday. With the NFL’s new concussion rules, it’s going to be nearly impossible for him to play. Make a move for the best backup QB you can, because you’ll be playing him a lot – not just this week.

If you have to give up a starter at a different position, give up a starter. Vick has shown he still has the propensity to be unable to avoid contact (even from his own team). He’s not changing his style of play so expect there to be more weeks like this where his playing status is in question. Good news is, with the QB position being so deep, you should be able to obtain someone readily.

If you want to go free agent, Rex Grossman is still widely available in a lot of leagues, so snap him up. Not a lot of other big-timers out there (sorry Jason Campbell). Everyone else is a dice roll. You need a consistent point-getter. Don’t go cheap like Adam Rank in Vegas. He actually told me he likes to hang out at a certain sports bar there because the beer is cheap, like it’s college.

I know it’s risky, but if you can’t obtain a worthwhile QB, then handcuffing Vick is a good option by picking up Mike Kafka.  He moved the team pretty well on Sunday night and would have won the game if Jeremy Maclin didn’t turn into Stonehands from ‘Necessary Roughness’.  Philadelphia likes to do the same things on offense regardless of QB’s – Kolb to Vick, Vick to Kafka.

There won’t be a change in style except Kafka won’t run as much, obviously.  You can expect good (but non-Vick) production from him.  Don’t be afraid of Vince Young — Kafka has possession of the backup job now due to Young’s injury — and VY won’t be thrown into the fire, except as a last resort.  Kafka played in a high octane offense in Northwestern (remember 532 yards passing in the 2010 Outback Bowl), who I believe play 8 receivers on every down, so he’ll be well accustomed to distributing the ball in Philadelphia.

New Jack City: Been a long time since Uptown Nino Brown ruled the Cash Money Brothers. It seems like it’s been that long since Steven Jackson missed a game (one in 2009). I know his strained quad/hamstring doesn’t have him officially out for tonight, but plan on not having him.

Head coach Steve Spagnuolo said he’s a ‘tough call’ for Monday, and is a game-time decision. I know Spagnuolo said he rested him all week with the strategy he could play tonight against the Giants, but don’t believe it. All the early reports have him as next to out. This strikes me as Spagnuolo making sure New York spends extra time preparing for Jackson, when there’s no way he’ll play.

Hamstrings linger (I miss The Cranberries) and St. Louis isn’t going to pull a Kubiak, and put Jackson out there only to see him get hurt again (again, see Foster, Arian). If you need a pickup, grab Cadillac Williams. You may only have him for a week, but he’ll get the bulk of the work in the running game. Not Jackson-type production, but you have to take what’s available.

If you’re playing him at a flex and you need someone? If Hakeem Nicks is out for the G-Men, grab Domenik Hixon. If Nicks plays, look to snag Brandon Gibson or Greg Salas. Salas will be in the slot.  I know, I know, but you’re desperate.

- Jason Smith

Posted in: Fantasy  

Comments may be no longer than 2000 characters and will post to the site shortly after submitting.

View the original article here

Seahawks play without Rice, Gallery vs. 49ers

Published: September 11th, 2011 | Tags: 2011 Week 1 inactives, Dashon Goldson, David Hawthorne, Madieu Williams, Robert Gallery, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Sidney Rice

Veteran WR Sidney Rice and OL Robert Gallery, two of the Seahawks’ biggest free-agent signees, were listed as inactive for Sunday’s season opener against the NFC West rival 49ers because of injuries.

Rice (shoulder) and Gallery (knee) were listed as doubtful on Friday’s injury report after not practicing. Starting LB David Hawthorne, who had been listed as probable with a knee injury, also was inactive.

Safety Dashon Goldson, the only player listed on the 49ers’ injury report, won’t play because of a knee ailment. Madieu Williams, who started for the Vikings the last three seasons, will start in Goldson’s place, the team announced.

For inactives for every Sunday game, visit www.nfl.com/inactives.

Posted in: News   comments    

Comments may be no longer than 2000 characters and will post to the site shortly after submitting.

View the original article here

Dear coach, you can beat Buffalo without Peterson

Dear Leslie Frazier,

I feel that we have become pen pals in recent weeks. And I do appreciate you taking my advice to run the football repeatedly against the Redskins. That was huge. Only RB Adrian Peterson‘s bum ankle kept that plan from working out perfectly.

But I need you to listen to me again.

Please keep Peterson on the bench. I know that you said that Peterson’s ankle injury would probably come down to a game-time decision. No, make that decision now. That decision should be to keep him on the bench.

I understand your unwillingness to do so. I mean, it’s easy for me to say, seeing I am not the one auditioning to be the coach of the Los Angeles, oops, I mean Minnesota Vikings next year. But we have seen these ankle injuries become too problematic because the players are rushed back into the lineup way too quickly.

And if you don’t want to listen to me, just go ahead and call your pal Norv Turner in San Diego. Ask him how RB Ryan Mathews is coming along.

That’s the thing, coach. You put Peterson in the lineup, he runs wells for a couple of plays, maybe, and then he pulls up lame and is gone for the game. And then all of those fantasy enthusiasts who put Peterson in their lineup — almost out of obligation — will be left with maybe a handful of fantasy points. If they are that lucky.

The best thing to do is to run rookie RB Toby Gerhart — and not just because I added him off the waiver wire. Honestly, if you cannot beat the Bills without Peterson, I am not sure you deserve to be the coach.

Now I understand that you might just be pulling a rouse, so the Bills have to study film on Peterson. But believe me coach, I am not even sure that the Bills study film. In fact, I am not sure that they even practice. And if they do practice this week, they will likely spend all of that time reteaching WR Stevie Johnson how to catch. The Bills look like some pickup football team that gets together for a game every Thanksgiving.

So let’s end the charade and put Gerhart in the lineup. Then he becomes a start of the week, puts up a great stat line and everybody goes home happy.

Regards.

Posted in: Fantasy  

View the original article here

Fisher will move Titans ahead, with or without V.Y.

Jeff Fisher is a coach who has always had his finger on the pulse of his team. It’s why he’s been with the same organization for 16 years.

Fisher is never going to let one player hold his team hostage. It’s why he wasn’t afraid to bring in Randy Moss, and it’s why he now isn’t afraid to take on Vince Young.

We’ve heard about the postgame fallout in the Titans’ locker room, and Fisher was never going to sit in front of his team and let a player undermine him. He wasn’t going to let Young put the focus on himself. The focus is and always should be on the team, and never about anyone else but the team.

For Young to walk out after Fisher tried to calm him down, it was clear — in front of the whole team — that he was walking out on them.

Fisher is a coach who commands respect, and I think he does it the right way. He doesn’t belittle people, he’s not a bully and he treats men the way men want to be treated. I always believed that most head coaches understand that respect is reciprocal. You have to give respect in order to get it back. While many coaches make you earn it, Fisher is so confident in himself that he’s willing to give all players respect when they walk in the door until they prove they don’t deserve it. It’s up to the player if they want to burn up that equity.

Well, Young is burning the remaining equity he has with Fisher, who on several occasions has allowed the quarterback to work his way back and rebuild the respect of the coaching staff and his teammates. Fisher provides Young with a roadmap to earn it back, but he just torches the bridge. He napalms it. It’s gone in an instant.

The latest incident involving Young happened in front of the entire team, and not behind closed doors. The team saw it for themselves, and there’s no way that can sit well with anyone who is trying to win football games. You can’t follow someone who is supposed to be a leader and creates this drama.

Knowing Fisher the way that I do, there’s always a chance the damage is irreversible. But with Fisher, there’s also almost always a second chance. Young has already had second and third chances, and if he gets another to earn back Fisher’s respect, it will be more difficult this time around than it ever has been in the past.

In the time I’ve spent with Young, I witnessed his growth in maturity and heard him say the right things, which I hadn’t heard before. But I’ve always maintained the moments the “new” Young would be tested would be moments of adversity that were still to come. When people turn over a new leaf, only time can really tell. As optimistic as we may be, and as much as I believed in him, I still told myself that.

I think yesterday was a time that told us a lot about Young.

Far be it for me to judge what Fisher does, but I do know he’s going to take the team and move on. If the Titans ever call on Young again, we’ll see if he’s prepared for that moment. If not, Fisher and the Titans will roll without him.

One player doesn’t hold the Titans back.

Follow The NFL Network on Twitter @nflnetwork.

Posted in: NFL Network  

View the original article here