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SATURDAY'S GAMES 8/27/05 Tampa Bay Bucs - QB Rotation: Brian Griese (first half), Chris Simms (3rd Q), Luke McCown (4th Q). Most of the starters are expected to play longer, likely the entire first half, against the Dolphins. But with several position battles on offense too close to call and the first round of cuts coming Aug. 30, there could be a lot of substitutions early on. Jon Gruden criticized Chris Simms Sunday for his questionable decision-making during Tampa's 20-17 loss against Jacksonville. He also said Simms took too much time to get into rhythm. Simms has gone 14-of-21 for 105 yards, one touchdown, one interception and has been sacked three times. He's also the only Buc QB to march the offense to a pair of touchdown drives in both games. Gruden said, "We hope to play some of the regulars maybe a little bit longer." Offensive line thin. The Bucs have had to scramble to put together a first and second unit for team drills. Though LT Derrick Deese (foot sprain) and Jeb Terry (knee sprain) will likely remain sidelined, LT Anthony Davis and LG Matt Stinchcomb are close to returning. "We need to get our starters back," Jon Gruden said. "I'd like to see our starting offensive line, whoever they are." Miami Dolphins - QB Rotation: Gus Frerotte (first half and into the 3rd Q), A.J. Feeley (3rd Q), Sage Rosenfels, Brock Berlin. The starters are expected to play into the third quarter. The Dolphins will prepare a more detailed plan for winning Saturday's home opener against Tampa Bay. "We'll put more preparation for this particular team," Nick Saban said. "I don't know how that will affect our ability to perform in the game. It will be interesting to see how we respond and play." Although plans have not been cemented, Saban has said he would likely let some starters play into the third quarter. An intriguing development is the Dolphins use of a spread formation lineup featuring both RBs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Both Williams and Brown either worked at a receiver spot or did receiving drills, the strongest indication that the Dolphins plan to put both players on the field at the same time. If the Dolphins plan to run much of that formation, expect a fair dose of it Saturday against the Buccaneers. Since the Dolphins will face the Buccaneers once more during the regular season Oct. 16, they still won't empty the playbook as if it was an actual game. So even though Saban was pleased to enter his regular-season schedule Tuesday, don't expect everything to look quite like it will on opening day. "I don't think we're going to do a lot of stuff," Saban said. "We haven't done much the whole pre-season. But we want to go through a preparation so the players get an idea of what we're doing and the kind of adjustments they have to make." Offensive line thin. "We've had three games now, and we need to knock a hole in there more consistently so we have space to run the ball," Nick Saban said. "And we need to protect the quarterback more consistently." The Dolphins began the process of fixing the offensive line by putting former starter Damion McIntosh back at left tackle, switching Vernon Carey from left to right tackle and removing Stockar McDougle from the first unit. RB Ronnie Brown will play against Tampa Bay on Saturday. Defensively, Miami has changed from a 4-3 to a 3-4. Houston Texans - QB Rotation: David Carr (first half), Tony Banks (3rd Q), Dave Ragone, B.J. Symons, Preston Parsons (see below). The Texans' starters will play more than they did in the loss to Denver or the victory over Oakland. "We've been looking at a lot of young players in our first two games, but in this game, we're going to play the starters a little longer and do more game-week preparation," coach Dom Capers said Sunday. QB David Carr is taking shorter drops and quicker releases. The goal on offense is to keep Carr from becoming the most-sacked quarterback in the NFL for the third time in four years. WRs thin: With WR Jabar Gaffney (shoulder) and Derick Armstrong (foot) sidelined because of injuries, the coaches got to look at Sloan Thomas, Reggie Swinton and Jerome Mathis. The Texans are looking for a receiver to take the heat off WR Andre Johnson. Gaffney is doubtful for Saturday's game in Dallas, but is expected to play against Tampa Bay in the preseason finale Sept. 1. Offensive line changes: Milford Brown is the latest offensive lineman to step in at right guard. Seth Wand, who started at right guard against the Raiders, was playing right tackle behind Victor Riley. Brown will probably start Saturday's game at Dallas. Houston wants to improve its running game. In preseason games, they want to see RBs rookie Vernand Morency and Tony Hollings as much as possible. The Houston defense has three new starters at linebacker this season (Morlon Greenwood and Kailee Wong inside and Antwan Peek outside), and new starters at CB (Phillip Buchanon) and strong safety (C.C. Brown). Dallas Cowboys - QB Rotation: Drew Bledsoe (first half), Drew Henson, Tony Romo. QB Drew Bledsoe will start. QBs Tony Romo and Drew Henson are still battling for the backup quarterback job. Bill Parcells wanted to make a decision by the third preseason game, which is Saturday. But he said Henson and Romo have not shown him enough to make a decision. Issues in the secondary: Parcells said he's not even close to deciding who will start at free safety. For now, Lynn Scott and Keith Davis are rotating at the position. CB Lance Frazier (sprained left ankle) is also ailing. The defense is still adjusting to their new 3-4 defense. Putting pressure on the quarterback, however, is a problem. Parcells blamed it partly on the inability of rookie DE Demarcus Ware and the outside LBs to make the transition from run stopper to pass rusher. Indianapolis Colts - QB Rotation: Peyton Manning (first half), Jim Sorgi (3rd Q), Tom Arth (4th Q). Peyton Manning will start and is expected to play into the third quarter before giving way to Sorgi. Tom Arth might see action against the Broncos, and likely will be on the field a lot in the Sept. 2 preseason finale at Cincinnati. Veteran Travis Brown (elbow) will miss the regular season. The offensive starters have produced 115 total yards, and the Colts are averaging a minuscule 1.2 yards per carry in three weeks. Peyton Manning has thrown two touchdowns, the Colts have one TD rushing, nine fumbles and the top four receivers have combined for eight receptions. Tony Dungy plans to give the starters their most extensive playing time this weekend against Denver. Secondary is thin, and young. Indianapolis Colts free safety Bob Sanders strained a leg muscle Saturday. Colts coach Tony Dungy said that Sanders, the hard-hitting heart and soul of his secondary, will miss "a little bit of time." The Colts are already without starting strong safety Mike Doss, who has missed most of camp with a groin injury. Joe Jefferson has moved from cornerback to safety to replace Doss. Second-year man Bob Sanders is the other safety. Rookie Marlin Jackson (hip) will miss this game. Denver Broncos - QB Rotation: Jake Plummer, Bradlee Van Pelt, Matt Mauck, Danny Kanell. RB Quentin Griffin will get his first preseason test Saturday. No. 1 RB Mike Anderson will rotate with Tatum Bell and Ron Dayne through the first 2 1/2 quarters, with Griffin likely to enter midway through the third. Secondary thin. Champ Bailey will miss the team's final two preseason games. Safety Chris Young will miss the season (knee injury), CB Roc Alexander (hamstring) is ailing, along with S John Lynch (soreness) and rookie Darrent Williams (knee). The Broncos signed CB Rod Babers and told Curome Cox he would be moving to safety. The offensive line, whose depth already had been depleted by the offseason injury to P.J. Alexander and retirement of backup center Josh Sewell, may need another preseason game or two before discovering its renowned run-blocking rhythms. Seattle Seahawks - QB Rotation: Matt Hasselbeck, Seneca Wallace, rookie David Greene, Gilbran Hamdan. Running backs thin: RB Maurice Morris had his sore hamstring tighten on him in the second half, and he was pulled from the game. RB Dante Brown (injured right shoulder) will miss 6-8 weeks. The most high-profile position battle in the exhibition season has been wide receiver, but no one vying for one of three open roster spots stood out the last game. WRs Jerheme Urban, D.J. Hackett and Jason Willis all made mistakes. Urban dropped a sure touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Willis also dropped a pass, and Hackett was called for two penalties, one for holding and one for pass interference. K.C. Chiefs - QB Rotation: Trent Green (will start and play into the 3rd Q), rookie James Kilian (will follow), Jonathan Quinn. Coach Dick Vermeil said the first units probably will play into the second half in Saturday’s game against Seattle. The goal against the Seahawks will be to find some production from the starting offense, which has only one touchdown to show for two games. Quarterbacks thin: Damon Huard got a concussion, making him unlikely to play Saturday. Backup QB Todd Collins is still out with a fractured passing hand. The Chiefs were planning to sign veteran QB Jonathan Quinn, who may see some time Saturday. The Chiefs expect to get back several injured veterans, including TE Tony Gonzalez, OL Will Shields, Jason Dunn, LB Kendrell Bell, Carlos Hall, Jerome Woods and Eric Warfield. Wide receivers thin. Offensive line in transition: KC has a new starter at right tackle, though HC Vermeil is more confident that situation will resolve itself. The Chiefs are happy with Kevin Sampson, who will probably win the job over Jordan Black. MONDAY'S GAME 8/29/05 St. Louis Rams - QB Rotation: Marc Bulger, Jamie Martin, Jeff Smoker, rookie Ryan Fitzpatrick. With QB Jamie Martin slowed by a nagging groin injury last week, coach Mike Martz decided to rest him against the Chargers and give Jeff Smoker some work as the team's No. 2 quarterback. Smoker was unimpressive, completing one of three passes for 17 yards. Martz said Martin will play this weekend in Detroit. Secondary thin. Adam Archuleta is back at strong safety. Martz said, "Adam's probably better down inside than back - particularly in our nickel package. He's such an instinctive and quick read guy in the running game. We miss him being up there." Offensive line is still a work in progress. Sunday marked rookie OT Alex Barron's debut in a Rams uniform. He played the entire second half, but coach Mike Martz was underwhelmed with Barron's play. "He didn't do very well," Martz said. Detroit Lions - QB Rotation: Joey Harrington (first half), Jeff Garcia (3rd Q), rookie Dan Orlovsky. The starters will stay in the game a lot longer this week. Joey Harrington's performance in the first two exhibition games has removed any doubt that he is the starting quarterback. Jeff Garcia will remain the No. 2 quarterback. The design work and strategic planning of the Lions' offense is still on the drawing board, and don't expect to see a wide-open attack over the next two preseason games. Even in Monday night's dress rehearsal against the St. Louis Rams, an exhibition game that will come closest to being like the regular season, the offense will be a stripped-down version. The Lions are saving the tricks and gadgets for the regular season. The Lions have failed to gain a first down on only two possessions in the first two games with Joey Harrington or Jeff Garcia at QB. Harrington cemented his position as the starting QB by completing 14 of 15 passes, but he has yet to lead the offense to a touchdown. There hasn't been a touchdown in the red zone with anyone at quarterback. Fullback Cory Schlesinger is out six to eight weeks with a fractured fibula. Ted Tollner is the new offensive coordinator
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