Random thoughts from some of Week Two’s games

The second week showed the continued dominance of some units, while weaknesses became more glaring than the hot August sun for others:

Joey Harrington is still struggling, Vikings’ Adrian Peterson has some insane moves, Chad Pennington has Kellen Clemons hot on his tail, Vince Young still needs some work, Brady Quinn can throw touchdowns against the Lions’ 3rd string defense, the Panthers’ offense was completely inept against Philly, and the Jags have some wild running backs.

And now for some more organized thoughts on some of this week’s games.

Something tells me it’s snowing in hell today

Just a couple of days after the Denver Broncos found out about the season ending injury to starting defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban, defensive tackle Gerrard Warren was jettisoned to the most unlikely of teams, the Oakland Raiders.

It’s been no secret that the Broncos have been trying to rid themselves of the former Cleveland Brown first rounder. Many expected Warren, who had recently slipped down the depth chart over talk that he didn’t fit new defensive coordinator Jim Bates’ 2-gap system, to either be traded, or released.

The joys of football are upon us, and NGPF is here to catch you up on the games you missed

Good morning, America! I’m not sure about you, but I had a great time sitting back and watching some football on the good old HDTV. (I probably can’t say the same for my girlfriend, but hey, she needs her training too, right? After all, my weekends should be all but gone in a few weeks here.)

Part two of the series I accidentally forgot about

Yeah, oops. Don’t cry though, because now that I’ve remembered, I’m going to finish what I started.

Last time, as a reminder, we revealed our picks ranked between ten and six.

10. Vince Young
9. Donovan McNabb
8. Steven Jackson
7. Matt Hasselbeck
6. Frank Gore

The final five candidates have been consistent performers in the NFL, and will continue to be so until they hang up their cleats. These are the stars of this era, but folks like Gore, Jackson and Young could soon push for their own spots among the league’s best of the best.

Rule of thumb: Bruises and sprains are better than tears

Yesterday we reported that both Jammal Brown of the Saints and Damion McIntosh of the Chiefs went down with what could have been serious knee injuries.

Well, the MRI’s are back, and it looks as though neither will miss significant time this season.

For Brown, it turns out he just slightly bruised his knee, and there still appears to be a chance he could make an appearance in the Saints’ second preseason game on Friday.  That’s what you call “very good news.”

So our report of his leg being ripped off from its socket was, perhaps, a bit much.

OK, well, we actually said we’d let you know when we had more information, and now that we do, you do too.

Actual Editorial, Denver Broncos jarvis moss

Cornerbacks? Who needs ‘em?

For the second time in two weeks, the Chicago Bears have traded away a reserve defensive back. Cornerback Dante Wesley, who had been the teams’ projected dime back, has been moved to the New England Patriots. For the Pats, it’s a clear sign that they’re bracing for the Asante Samuel holdout to last well into the season.  For the Bears, who knows what the hell they are doing.

Hide your left tackles!

The sweltering August heat isn’t being especially kind to NFL players today. A couple of high profile injuries occurred this morning, and while it’ll take all day and possibly tomorrow to find out the severity, lets get you caught up on what info is available today.

Knee Twisting

The Kansas City Chiefs had their prized free agent acquisition, Damion McIntosh, go down in the summer heat with what looks to be a serious injury to his right knee. The left tackle was brought over from Miami (mmm, Dolphin o-line table scraps) in hopes of securing the left side. Kyle Turley was a disaster last year at LT, and despite being brought back, KC would probably rather prefer not to go through that same scenario again.

What is it with guys named Moss and injuries?

The Denver Broncos experienced a scare today when their first round investment, ex-Florida DE Jarvis Moss, flopped his way to the ground:

The pass-rushing defensive end was injured in an individual pass-rushing drill. He attempted a spin move, planted his leg, then fell to the ground. He got to his feet, but was assisted to the cart.

The Broncos desperately need a strong pass rushing presence on the edge, and Moss has impressed so far.  Hopefully, for their sake of attempting to compete with the San Diego Chargers and KC Chiefs, it will be a twist versus a tear.

 Around the league in less than two minutes…

– The Pittsburgh Steelers laid a whooping on the New Orleans Saints from start to finish in the first preseason game of 2007, with the big surprise coming from Mike Tomlin’s passing game absolutely torching the Big Easy secondary. Ben Roethlisberger was perfect on his ceremonious one drive, connecting two times to Cedrick Wilson for a total of 73 yards.

The other story of note? The Saints’ passing game was rusty, with Drew Brees finishing 1/6 for 6 yards & backup Jamie Martin rounding out the first half with a 3/8 and 26 yard outing. Painful to watch, frankly. But I’m sure the ship will right itself.

All the major AFC news of the day.  Yes, all of it.  Don’t argue with me.

Can I make a suggestion?  Click the links.  They take you to the story we are referring to.  You will learn things.

– The biggest news of the day would have to be Denver Broncos’ linebacker Warrick Holdman going down with what NFL Live reported as a spinal cord concussion. The injury shook the teams and fans, which eventually led to Mike Shanahan cutting the day short.

Another ex-Viking ventures west to Oak Land

Daunte Culpepper has signed a one-year deal with the Oakland Raiders according to NFL.com. After the Jaguars, Buccaneers, Falcons, and Rams all passed on the gimpy veteran quarterback, it was the Raiders chance to be, well, the Raiders.

There has been a ton of speculation as to how soon Daunte Culpepper might be able to play, and no one so far up to this point had been willing to offer him a one-year deal (which was his demand). In fact, up to this date, the consensus has been that Culpepper wouldn’t be ready to play until very late this season. So off to the island of misfit toys Culpepper goes, and with it, an intriguing new twist to head coach Lane Kiffin’s inaugural campaign.

Back to business

It’s been a few days since our last post, and both of us here at NGPF are either going through a move, or getting ready for one, so it’s made it a bit of a challenge to maintain the site. We still have big plans for Next Gen Pro Football, so we ask for everybody’s patience.

Now that we have that over with, let’s talk about some football.

There are seven rookies left who as of today are still yet unsigned.

Hold out news from around the NFL

With many NFL camps in full swing, it’s time to look at some players who were hold out possibilities. 

Larry Johnson, Marc Bulger, Lance Briggs, Asante Samuel, Michael Strahan, and Pete Kendall. 

Well let’s first look over who did end up reporting to camp. 

Lance Briggs of the Bears decided, along with his agent Drew Rosenhaus, that it would be in the best interest for the linebacker to be in camp on time, and be able to perform well enough to try again for a new contract next year.  Briggs signed his $7.2 million tender well in advance of Chicago’s first practice.

Kansas City just got a lot more interesting (the team, not the city)

As we touched on in our Short Slants earlier today, Priest Holmes is now expected to report to training camp on Saturday. When we first heard about the possibility of this, we’ll admit, we didn’t take it very seriously.

After letting our brains digest the news, we contemplated what all this could mean.

– In an obvious direct response to our write-up two days ago, the Bears are now making headway with Lance Briggs.

– Priest Holmes is ready to resume his career with Kansas City. (We’ll see how that goes)

– Curtis Martin, however, is ready for retirement. (We feel 5% more confident that this is final)

– Bills’ second rounder Paul Posluszny signs his deal just in time for camp.

– The Eagles’ first pick, Kevin Kolb, is signed and ready to make Donovan McNabb’s life miserable.

Bolts sign NFL’s fourth first round pick

The San Diego Chargers and wide receiver Craig Davis came to terms today, agreeing on a deal that’s being reported to be worth $7.8 million in guaranteed money, although it’s not yet known if the deal is for four or five years.

Selected with the 30th pick of the draft, Davis was the 2nd wide receiver from LSU to be drafted in the first round. His former teammate Dwayne Bowe went 23rd to the Kansas City Chiefs. While Vincent Jackson will end up being the team’s #1 wideout (by default), Davis will now have a chance to compete with veteran Eric Parker for the other starting spot.

It’s alright, everybody’s doing it…

With the salary cap having gone through the roof and many agents around the league clamoring in the ears of their talented clients, next week could see an abundance of holdouts and salary demands.

Agents for Asante Samuel and Lance Briggs have both come out and threatened to have their clients sit out not only training camp, but most of the regular season as well. These messy events take place every offseason thanks to the franchise tag, a tool used by teams to keep their star players from flying the coop. Of course, there’s a new salary cap in town now, and with it, a slew of new problems, disagreements, and ultimately greed.

I heard Canada’s not too bad this time of year……

Over the last few days the Michael Vick dog fighting investigation has been broken wide open leading to rampant speculation of whether he’ll be cut, put on a paid leave of absence, or be allowed to play through this season.

– Wade Phillips wants to instill more of a “family atmosphere” within the Cowboys’ roster. Terence Newman, one of the leaders of the Boys’, is apparently a key to this. What’s he gonna do, get his grandmother to rob some boy scouts?

– As a teenager, new Raiders’ coach Lane Kiffin dreamed of being a head coach in the NFL. A few years later, he’s the head man in Oakland and nearly finished with puberty.

– Will the Lions beat the clock in signing Corey Redding? With just under two hours to go we expect an announcement here any minute. This seems much more likely than the other two franchised players, Asante Samuel and Lance Briggs, signing their offers.