SATURDAY'S GAMES 8/20/05 Cleveland Browns - QB Rotation: Trent Dilfer (1st Q+), rookie Charlie Frye (2nd Q+), Josh Harris, rookie Lang Campbell. Doug Johnson (see below).. QB Doug Johnson sat out the second straight day with soreness in his right throwing shoulder and is doubtful for Saturday's game in Detroit. That means rookie Charlie Frye will come in after Trent Dilfer, who will play into the second quarter, according to coach Romeo Crennel.
The following players did not practice Thursday: Cornerback Daylon McCutcheon (headaches), cornerback Michael Lehan (hamstring), safety Brodney Pool (concussion), running back Lee Suggs (ankle), offensive tackle Jonathan Dunn (high ankle sprain) and quarterback Doug Johnson (shoulder). RB Reuben Droughns is ailing. Droughns is currently listed at No. 2 on the depth chart, behind Lee Suggs and ahead of William Green and rookie Sultan McCullough. Cleveland has a new head coach in Romeo Crennel, who ran Bill Belichick's defense in New England the past five years. Crennel is switching Cleveland's defensive scheme to a 3-4. The new defense features not only a new scheme and coordinator, but six new starters in nose tackle Jason Fisk, RDE Alvin McKinley, LB Matt Stewart, RCB Gary Baxter and safeties Sean Jones and Brian Russell. The Browns' new 3-4 defense gave up 154 rushing yards for a 6.2-yard average last week. But that wasn't the worst of it; the Giants gained 66 yards on seven first-quarter carries. In WR Braylon Edwards' absence, Antonio Bryant and Dennis Northcutt have held down the starting receiver slots. Against the Giants, though, Bryant had no catches and Northcutt just one for 20 yards. Detroit Lions - QB Rotation: Joey Harrington (15-20 snaps), Jeff Garcia (will follow), rookie Dan Orlovsky (see below). Steve Mariucci said he would start QB Joey Harrington Saturday but try to get Jeff Garcia some time with the first team. Mariucci said the coaches planned for the offensive starters to play 15 to 20 snaps. Fullback Cory Schlesinger is out six to eight weeks with a fractured fibula. The Lions could bring back previously cut fullback Greg Hanoian. Ted Tollner is the new offensive coordinator. Green Bay Packers - QB Rotation: Brett Favre (1stQ), rookie Aaron Rodgers (2-3 Q), J.T. O'Sullivan, Craig Nall.
Nall and J.T. O'Sullivan are locked in a battle for the third and final quarterback berth behind Favre and Rodgers. Nose tackle Grady Jackson remains on the physically unable to perform list. Secondary thin. Linebackers thin. Brad Bedell (hamstring), Vonta Leach (knee), Cletidus Hunt (knees/shoulder), R-Kal Truluck (hamstring), Kenny Petersonb (hamstring) and Kurt Campbell (knee) continue to miss practice. Defense not 100%: Cletidus Hunt’s return date is up in the air because he still has swelling in his knee. Rookie LB Kurt Campbell was scheduled to have surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament this week. Safety Mark Roman (hamstring), LB Na’il Diggs (knee) and DT Kenny Peterson (elbow) are ailing. Jim Bates is the Packers new Defensive Coordinator, their third new one in three years. The defense is running more coverages than the basic two-deep scheme of a year ago. Buffalo Bills - QB Rotation: J.P. Losman (1-2 Q), Kelly Holcomb, Shane Matthews, Tory Woodbury, Kevin Thompson. QB J.P. Losman had an uneven night in his preseason debut. He got off to a shaky start against the Colts' defense, which was missing seven starters. He was unable to move the offense on his first four possessions and struggled with his accuracy. But he bounced back nicely by leading two scoring drives at the end of the first half and making some impressive plays with his arm and legs. Losman also fumbled inside his 10-yard line on the Bills' first play of the second half. Offensive line thin: Guards Lawrence Smith and Ben Sobieski were ruled out for the year. Defensive Coordinator Jerry Gray let loose with an array of blitzes in a scrimmage last week, many basic in design but very effective, while backup nose tackle Justin Bannan had a big scrimmage with three would-be takedowns. Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Jerry Gray looks at the depth chart and likes what he sees. In this pass-happy era of the NFL you can never have enough good cornerbacks, and the Bills have plenty of them. Starters Nate Clements and Terrence McGee played in the Pro Bowl last season. The Bills were in attack mode in the preseason opener, blitzing early and often. The constant pressure resulted in six sacks, two interceptions and nearly a dozen hurried throws. The Bills' young reserves also played with a relentless style, ensuring the defense didn't suffer much of a letdown when the starters left the game. Jacksonville Jaguars - QB Rotation: Byron Leftwich, David Garrard, Quinn Gray, Nate Hybl. Questions about Leftwich's health and effectiveness against the Dolphins caused coach Jack Del Rio to be asked Monday if backup David Garrard might start instead Saturday on the road against Tampa Bay. "I would say it's doubtful," Del Rio said. "It's not impossible, but doubtful." RB Fred Taylor is still sidelined and appears unlikely to play in this weekend's second preseason game. The goal is to have Taylor ready for the season opener Sept. 11 against the Seattle Seahawks. New Jaguars offensive coordinator Carl Smith said the fullback won't be a big part of his system. Converted tailback Greg Jones started at fullback but played just three total snaps in the No. 1 unit's four series before being replaced by undrafted free agent Lee Webb. The Jaguars frequently used one-back sets with LaBrandon Toefield and occasionally had TEs Kyle Brady or Todd Yoder line up in the backfield as blockers. Secondary thin: Starting right CB David Richardson (ankle) is close to returning to practice. Rookie CB Scott Starks lined up again with the first team in praactice. Carl Smith is the new offensive coordinator. He is a proponent of play action, something you will see a lot with his QBs in preseason. Smith said, "We're going to use the whole field this season." Tampa Bay Bucs - QB Rotation: Brian Griese, Chris Simms, Luke McCown. Offensive line thin. GM Bruce Allen said the offensive line injuries are a cause for concern, and he'll "try to bring in some reserves" to help out with the reps at practice. The Bucs have had to scramble to put together a first and second unit for team drills. The injury-riddled Bucs offensive line took another hit when LT Anthony Davis was carted off the field with a deep left thigh bruise. If he's unable to play Saturday, Todd Steussie - who was cut earlier in the preseason in a salary-cap move but returned with Deese sidelined - would start in Davis' place. LG Matt Stinchcomb and backup LG Sean Mahan are sidelined by back and elbow injuries. The Bucs on Wednesday completed a trade with the Cowboys for rookie OT Sam Wilder. RB depth thin: FB Mike Alstott wasn't the only member of the backfield to go down with an injury Thursday. RB Ian Smart left practice early as well with what Gruden said was a "mild groin strain." Miami Dolphins - QB Rotation: Gus Frerotte (will start), A.J. Feeley, Sage Rosenfels, Brock Berlin (see below). Coach Nick Saban said. "Right now we feel that Gus Frerotte is a little bit ahead of A.J. Feeley, in terms of where we are from an offensive standpoin." Frerotte will start Saturday's preseason game at Pittsburgh. Saban said the competition is by no means over, but he wants to give Frerotte a chance to develop chemistry with the rest of the first-team offense. Frerotte took all the snaps with the first-team offense Monday, and Saban said that would be the case the remainder of the week. Offensive line thin: Rex Hadnot will start at right guard and Seth McKinney at center against Pittsburgh as the Dolphins continue their ongoing search to find the right combination in the middle of their offensive line. Hadnot and McKinney started at their respective positions Saturday against Jacksonville, but against Chicago last week, Hadnot started at center, with John St. Clair at right guard. The Dolphins, in search of help along their battered offensive line, signed free agent Frank Middleton. Backup center Wade Smith fractured his forearm Monday and is out. Joining Smith on the list of injured Dolphins centers was third-stringer Jason Thomas (arthroscopic knee surgery). With both players out, the Dolphins signed center Alonzo Ephraim. Backup guard John St. Clair also has practiced at center. Rookie RB Ronnie Brown signed. Dolphins coach Nick Saban said he would balance the desire to get Brown in games with his desire to manage the player correctly. Saban said LB Junior Seau probably will play Saturday. Seau missed the first two preseason games with a calf strain. Secondary issues: In the wake of missed tackles and missed assignments in the opener, the Dolphins continued to look for ways to tweak their secondary by bringing in veteran safety Eric Brown for a visit. CB Reggie Howard had a rough night as wide receivers got behind him on at least two occasions. With Pro Bowl CB Patrick Surtain traded to Kansas City, the Dolphins have struggled to find a successor between Howard and rookie Travis Daniels. Scott O'Brien will run Miami's offense, after serving as Vikings' offensive coordinator. Defensively, Miami changed from a 4-3 to a 3-4. Nick Saban looks into his players' eyes before they practice each day, and sometimes he sees fire. And sometimes he sees reason for concern. "When I look at them and they look like they've been in a gang fight and their gang didn't show, then I'm just wondering what the guy from Denver is going to think when he looks at them," Saban said. Pittsburgh Steelers - QB Rotation: Ben Roethlisberger, Tommy Maddox, Charlie Batch, Brian St. Pierre. This is a short week for the Steelers, after playing Monday against the Eagles. The Steelers play Saturday night at home, followed by a Friday night game in Washington vs. the Redskins. That's three games in 12 days. The Steelers ran the ball 33 times for 63 yards Monday, averaging 1.9 yards per carry. Rookie Noah Herron led the team with 39 yards on 13 carries, followed by Verron Haynes' 15 yards on four attempts. Oakland Raiders - QB Rotation: Kerry Collins, Marques Tuiasosopo, rookie Andrew Walter, David Rivers, Bret Engemann. Rookie QB Andrew Walter has not practiced the last two days because of a groin injury. His status for Saturday's game is uncertain. QB Bret Engemann has a flu bug and has been confined to his hotel room the last two days. That has enabled QB David Rivers to take more practice snaps. The Raiders lost by eight points to a team they outgained 382-217. The main reason for that, of course, was turnovers. WRs thin with hamstring injuries to Jerry Porter and Carlos Francis. Neither is expected to play Saturday. With P Shane Lechler likely unavailable the next couple of weeks, the Raiders have signed free-agent punter Bryce Benekos. He will back Gary Cook, who did the punting Saturday after Lechler was injured. Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, much like his father, Buddy, loves to blitz and that's what his team needs to practice. Houston Texans - QB Rotation: David Carr, Tony Banks, Dave Ragone, B.J. Symons, Preston Parsons (see below). QB Concerns: The Texans went from four-deep at quarterback to only one by Tuesday's practice. QB Preston Parsons was cut on the third day of camp, but with only Tony Banks healthy enough to practice Tuesday, Parsons rejoined the squad. Starter David Carr was limited during practice because of a sore Achilles heel. QB Dave Ragone was held out because he locked his knee during the morning practice. Fourth-stringer B.J. Symons is sidelined after separating his shoulder Saturday. Dom Capers said Parsons will be ready to play against the Raiders on Saturday. WR Jabar Gaffney will start participating in contact drills. Gaffney underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason and is expected to be held out of the preseason game against Oakland Saturday. 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. Offensive line thin: Starting right guard Zach Wiegert may be able to return in two to four weeks. Wiegert missed time earlier in training camp with a left ankle sprain and suffered a more severe sprain to the same ankle in the Texans' first drive in Saturday's game. Chad Beasley moved into Wiegert's spot and is slated to start Saturday. Rookie center/guard Drew Hodgdon was held out of Monday's practice. He wore a boot around his left foot and Capers said he has turf toe. Hodgdon is expected to be back in a few days. The Texans made moves on defense to improve the pass rush. Dom Capers and DC Vic Fangio said they want to improve quickness and speed, so players were added through the draft (lineman Travis Johnson), free agency (LB Morlon Greenwood) and a trade (CB Phillip Buchanon). They will be looking for more sacks this preseason. If Buchanon and CB Dunta Robinson can provide the kind of man-to-man coverage Fangio wants, he can commit more players to the pass rush. Carolina Panthers - QB Rotation: Jake Delhomme (into the 2nd Q), Chris Weinke (3rd Q), Rod Rutherford, rookie Stephan LeFlors (see below). The Panthers starters will get more playing time in Saturday's game at the NY Giants than they did against Washington, coach John Fox said. "The plan is we'll play the starters into the second quarter or maybe the whole second quarter, depending how the game goes," Fox said. "We have a designed number of plays. So they will play more than they did last week. That continues through Game 3 and then we back off in the fourth one." RB Stephen Davis probably won't return from knee surgery until at least the third game of the preseason. The Panthers have won ten straight exhibitions and haven't lost one since Aug. 23, 2002, at New England. The Carolina Panthers' experiment with Thomas Davis at strong safety has come to an end. Defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac said Davis, the team's first-round draft pick out of Georgia, will move full time to strongside linebacker. NY Giants - QB Rotation: Eli Manning, Jesse Palmer, Tim Hasselbeck, Jared Lorenzen.
Manning will start against Carolina and play through the middle or late into the second quarter. Next on the field comes Tim Hasselbeck, and Tom Coughlin stressed he definitely wants to get Jared Lorenzen in the game sometime in the fourth quarter. Where does that leave Jesse Palmer? The Giants offensive and defensive lines appear to be strengths this year. FB Brandon Jacobs lived up to early camp hype with his power and speed against the Browns. Only a muffed punt rookie Willie Ponder spoiled opening night. Philadelphia Eagles - QB Rotation: Donovan McNabb, Mike McMahon, Koy Detmer, Andy Hall. QB Mike McMahon was impressive against the Steelers, completing 8 of 11 passes for 73 yards. McMahon is battling with Koy Detmer for the second-string quarterback job so both will see extensive action. Defensive line hurting: Rookie DE Trent Cole suffered a sprained sterno-clavicular joint (upper chest) in Monday's preseason opener. Defensive tackle Paul Grasmanis and DE Jamaal Green both have foot sprains. Baltimore Ravens - QB Rotation: Kyle Boller, Anthony Wright, rookie Derek Anderson. Boller will start, but Anthony Wright expects to see more time Saturday. From Wednesday's practice: "You can see it in coach Brian Billick's face at times. Three times QB Kyle Boller threw long TD passes, and twice he was intercepted for TDs. One of the interceptions was on a slant-in pass to Clarence Moore, a replay of the interception Boller threw against the Falcons on Saturday. A lot of times Billick just shakes his head in approval or disappointment." "We needed to get in the classroom and work on some of the mental aspects of the game," HC Billick said. "We had too many missed assignments in Atlanta." Billick has often left the decision to use the shotgun formation up to his quarterback, but the Ravens have used it more frequently in the past couple days. New defensive coordinator Rex Ryan has done a great job of disguising his fourth pass rusher. With both Terrell Suggs and Adalius Thomas both able to play defensive end and outside linebacker, it's hard to tell which one is dropping into coverage and who is pressuring the quarterback. Chicago Bears - QB Rotation: Chad Hutchinson, rookie Kyle Orton, Kurt Kittner, Jeff Blake. The Bears lost starting QB Rex Grossman (ankle) for 3-4 months. Hutchinson will start this game. Rookie Kyle Orton went from third to second string on the depth chart and has the potential to climb higher... The Bears have a new offensive coordinator in Ron Turner, the former Illinois Head Coach. He is bringing in his version of the West Coast offense. His offense is geared toward receivers as opposed to backs and tight ends in the passing game. There are plenty of downfield progressions in Turner's playbook. All three quarterbacks aired it out Monday, especially rookie Kyle Orton. "We went in saying we definitely want to go downfield, and I told our guys that's how we're going to play," Turner said. "We definitely are going to be aggressive, we definitely are going to take our shots and if someone's going to play up and give it to us, we're going to maybe take a few more." Indianapolis Colts - QB Rotation: Peyton Manning (1st Q+), Jim Sorgi (2-3rd Qs), Travis Brown (4th Q). The plan is to play the regulars into the second quarter against the Bears, Tony Dungy said. Manning has been on the field for just 14 plays in the first two preseason games. Colts starters who could be active include DE Dwight Freeney, TE Dallas Clark (hamstring), DE Raheem Brock (hip), CB Donald Strickland (hamstring), C Jeff Saturday and strong safety Mike Doss (groin). Secondary is thin, and young. Joe Jefferson has moved from cornerback to safety to replace Mike Doss. Second-year man Bob Sanders is the other safety, and rookie Marlin Jackson played well. Jackson started for Nick Harper (foot). Arizona Cardinals - QB Rotation: Kurt Warner, Josh McCown, John Navarre, Chris Lewis.
The offense is getting healthy: Arizona's offense went into the exhibition opener minus four injured starters in WR Anquan Boldin (broken nose), RT Oliver Ross (knee), center Alex Stepanovich (hand), TE Eric Edwards, RB Marcel Shipp hurting. Boldin and Shipp practiced this week, and Ross, one of the team's top newcomers through free agency, is expected to practice next week. The Cardinals held Dallas to three-and-outs through the first three series, allowing just 1 yard. The defense put constant pressure on Cowboys QB Drew Bledsoe, forcing him to rush his throws and to throw out of bounds. DEs Bertrand Berry and Chike Okeafor each had a sack on Bledsoe. The Cardinals' rush defense, which was its weakness last season, was a strength on Saturday, allowing just 10 rushing yards in the first half. Starting center Alex Stepanovich, who injured his right hand in the team's mock game Aug. 6, will be out for the rest of the month. K.C. Chiefs - QB Rotation: Trent Green (1st Q), Damon Huard (2-3 Qs), rookie James Kilian (4th Q). QB Trent Green was disappointed that his usual throwing accuracy was missing in the opener. No. 2 QB Todd Collins got a black eye, a cracked bone in his passing hand and a severe bruise. He can’t grip a ball and may miss two to four weeks — or more — of work. The Chiefs are rapidly running out of wide receivers and linebackers because of injuries. They practiced with five receivers in Tuesday practice, and the total bulged to six in the afternoon when Marc Boerigter returned. They were down to seven linebackers. One of those watching rather than participating was rookie Derrick Johnson, who had a sore foot. RB Priest Holmes, coming back from the MCL injury that knocked him out of the second half of the 2004 season, averaged 10 yards a carry on four tries despite running at what he described as three-quarters speed. Disappointing, though, was the play of Kansas City's supposedly improved defense, which gave up scores on two of the Vikings' first four possessions — all against the first-unit defense. Offensive line in transition: Will Shields, the longtime foundation of the Chiefs’ line, hasn’t been on the practice field because of a bad back. They also have 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. Defensive line thin. San Fran 49ers - QB Rotation: Rookie Alex Smith (20-25 snaps), Tim Rattay and Ken Dorsey will follow (see below). QB Smith will take the first 20-25 snaps followed by Tim Rattay and Ken Dorsey. HC Nolan was asked if Cody Pickett would get any snaps. "Maybe if we were in the same position the Raiders were in against us, with 83 snaps (plays), we could get him some playing time, but I don't envision that happening with this team," he said. QB Alex Smith said he wants to attack more in his next start in Denver. Part of Smith's problem could have been the inability to keep his hands dry at soggy Monster Park, which is far different than the dry conditions in Santa Clara. Offensive line thin: G David Baas (pulled hamstring) might miss training camp. C Jeremy Newberry (knee) is recovering from offseason surgery and is hoping to begin practice next week. LT Jonas Jennings (finger) will miss a week after undergoing surgery Friday to attach muscle to bone. Justin Smiley has a bruised left calf. Baas' injury has the most impact. The second-rounder was expected to compete for a starting spot. Secondary thin: CB Randee Drew has a stress fracture in his foot and is out indefinitely, CB Shawntae Spencer (hamstring) is ailing. Mike Nolan is the new 49ers head coach (former defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens). Billy Davis is the new defensive coordinator, Mike McCarthy is the new offensive coordinator. Denver Broncos - QB Rotation: Jake Plummer (20-25 plays), Bradlee Van Pelt (2nd-3rd Qs), Matt Mauck (4th Q), Danny Kanell. Mike Shanahan said Jake Plummer and the first-team offense will get 20 to 25 plays Saturday. Bradlee Van Pelt's second team would finish out the second quarter and probably play all the third. The fourth quarter will go to Matt Mauck and possibly Kanell. Whether Danny Kanell gets in depends on how the game, particularly the fourth quarter, plays out. Bradlee Van Pelt played a little more than two quarters of Saturday's preseason opener, and played well. Coach Mike Shanahan said he saw enough to be inclined to leave Van Pelt at the No. 2 spot. Secondary thin: Safety Chris Young will miss the season (knee injury), CB Roc Alexander (hamstring) is ailing and CB Champ Bailey (hamstring) may sit again. The Broncos signed CB Rod Babers and told Curome Cox he would be moving to safety. He was forced into action after S John Lynch was pulled out of practice after suffering some stiffness in his neck. 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.
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