Jimmy Graham, TE (Hurricanes). He was a basketball guy who only transitioned to football for his senior season, so he’s super raw by NFL standards. He’s also a football grabbing mutant with a specialized gland that secretes busted coverage in a 4 yard radius. Unfortunately, he was cursed with human ankles and one of them is sprained and locked in a boot, so who knows when the rest of you will see him. It’s only a matter of time IMO, he’s gonna beast it up in a year or two.
I’m so crazy optimistic that I’m predicting a 5-11 season :)
Sarkus
1843
During last nights preseason loss to the Packers, Seahawks rookie OT Russell Okung hurt his ankle and left early. While it was clear that he had suffered a sprained ankle, the severity of it was unknown and pending further tests. So you can see why I would have been concerned when I came home tonight and saw the following headline on CBSSports.com:
“Seahawks’ top pick Okung may be out two months.”
Turned out the headline was based on Carroll’s post-game comments last night where he answered a question about what would happen if Okung’s injury was a high ankle sprain, and he noted that sometimes those could take two months to come back from.
Okung actually has a regular sprain and will probably just miss the rest of preseason.
And only with the Lions can that be a completely accurate statement.
Heh.
Favorite player of preseason for the Redskins has been Anthony Armstrong. Looks great so far.
I’m sure he’ll be a hell of a practice squad player.
Lorini
1846
Louis Murphy for me. Yet another example of why there needs to be a rookie signing cap. He’s getting less money than Heyward-Bey and plays about 1000 times better. I think he’s going to be the real deal if Al doesn’t ruin him.
In Cowboys camp the most important question will be in when Dez Bryant officially replaces Roy Williams as #2/3 WR. Sooner rather than later so we can just get rid of the guy.
Was incredibly disappointing that we lost a very promising TE after the first pre-season game (out for season). Philips had progressed really well last year and had an awesome first game before getting injured. Torn ACL.
Other than that… hard to gauge. Typical complaints about the red zone offense. Doesn’t seem like we will miss Flozell Adams much but the O-line will be a question till they all play in a real first-team situation. Defense looking decent as does the secondary.
— Alan
Lorini
1848
By the way, I’ll be starting our third Suicide League next Monday. $50 Amazon gift certificate prize! Let’s see if I can get past the 2nd week this year, perhaps in 13 more years I’ll actually finish:)
With Detroit’s recent trade for Lawrence Jackson, we should probably consider renaming the team the Lionhawks, given the number of former Seahawks on the roster (Burleson, Heller, Jackson, Peterson, Morris, Sims, and Marquand Manuel, who was released a couple weeks ago). Those seven guys started roughly 175 games for Seattle.
Why not call them the sea lions?
Shadarr
1852
The Niner defense is that good. They were good last year and look to be bigger stronger, and a lot deeper this year. And keep in mind that franchise NT Abrayu Franklin is holding out, the guy who started yesterday was a seventh round pick a year ago. So as far as my unknown sleeper pick, it would be Ricky Jean Francois. The man is a monster. He’s not the only one, though. They have so many big, young defensive linemen that someone good is going to get cut. It’s actually nice to think other teams might be watching our waiver wire for a change.
They also have some good young DBs and LBs. Diyral Briggs looked great at OLB with the starters last weak, Travis Laboy this week. And both of them will be fighting with Haralson, Lawson and Brooks for playing time.
The big question for the Niners is on offense. They have no legit starting QB, they have two rookies starting on the OL, which is never good, and despite a lot of WR depth they have no proven #2 to play with Vernon Davis and Crabtree. Josh Morgan has shown flashes but has yet to establish himself.
They finished #1 or in the top 5 in several key defensive categories, including games where opponents were held to under 10 points. Favre had to throw a miracle to beat them. They held the Colts to 18 points and Manning to zero TDs (they had to dive into the playbook and call a halfback pass). They swept the division winning Cardinals. And they do look better, that pass rush Niner fans have been pining for since the glory days is back (too bad the superlative QB play is not).
It was awesome seeing Laboy out there. He pretty much demolished the Niners nearly single-handedly in week 1 a few seasons ago when he was a Cardinal.
Not to mention Ted Ginn has been a travesty in the preseason so far. I think Smith edges out Carr and Davis because he’s now getting his second year in it and he makes good reads, he’s just erratic with his aim at times. I was a big Carr fan at first but he never throws the goddamned ball and Davis is physically gifted but word is he’s kind of a dummy.
Post-Dispatch reporting that the NFL’s finance committee will recommend the league accept Stan Kroenke’s bid to buy the remaining 60% of the St. Louis Rams (he currently has a 40% owner’s stake in the team) from the Frontiere/Rosenbloom heirs. League-wide vote on Wednesday for approval, which is probably now a done deal.
Shadarr
1855
It was funny when the announcers said something like “Ginn was a disappointment in Miami but the 49ers are expecting big things from him.” Way to set yourselves up for disappointment, guys. If Williams had stayed healthy and continued to look good in the preseason, I would’ve advocated cutting Ginn outright. Doubt that’ll happen though, so he probably won’t get cut till next year.
I’m not entirely sure what to make of Singletary’s comments about Davis. One theory is that he’s just trying to light a fire under him like he did with Vernon Davis. Another theory is that it’s just an attempt to keep Alex Smith feeling comfortable, because Davis looks like he has so much more potential. I don’t think Singletary is political enough for option 2, so when he says Davis should’ve worked harder in the offseason it means Davis should’ve worked harder in the offseason.
All I know is I’ll take the guy who looks good on Sunday over the guy who looks good Monday-Saturday every single time. He may not be ready this season, but I think he has a better chance of becoming a legitimate starter than Smith does, no matter how great Smith is at understanding the playbook and commanding the huddle. I mean, Davis not only upstaged Alex Smith with that 60 yard pass on Sunday, he upstaged the #1 mediawhore in pro football today: Brett Favre.
As for Carr, I bet we get to see more of him in the next two games. I’ll reserve judgement until then. He’s holding onto the ball too long, but when he does throw it (or chuck it or shotput it or whatever that is) he puts it right on the receiver’s numbers. Get him a little more comfortable in the offense and I bet he gets the ball out quicker.
Cubit
1856
Hrm. Methinks Chan Gailey’s time is better spent preparing his team for the season instead of chiding teenage hecklers.
He is the Bill’s coach, so maybe he doesn’t really have much else to do. :p
Seriously though, I think he probably views it has a team building thing…
Here’s the Redskins report:
The O-line - still fragile, old and thin. The attempted upgrade with Trent Williams shows promise, but expecting a rookie to protect the blind side in the NFL is a tall order, particularly with the rest of the line in constant flux.
The Running backs - Clinton Portis has established he still has at least one year left. Willie Parker and Larry Johnson are in serious danger of being cut (lack of speed and lack of pass blocking), meaning several no-name training camp fodder RB’s will be touted as the solutions. Mike Sellars continues to make critical blocking errors, and no replacement FB stands out.
The WR’s - None stand out as dominant 1, 2 or 3 receivers in the NFL, again allowing training camp fodder WR’s to be the ‘standouts’ of the preseason.
The D-Line and the Linebackers are the most affected by the switch to a 3-4 defense, leading to good NFL players like Haynesworth and Andre Carter having no clear role on the team. The team is still holding open tryouts for the nose tackle position, meaning that other teams are running at will.
The secondary remains weak, with no true shut down corners and extreme weakness at nickel corner. Landry has played better at Strong Safety this year, but overall, expect the weak corners to continue allowing 7 yard curl patterns to be completed at will.
Strengths of the team - Mcnabb, The two TE’s, the coaching staff (so far), Fletcher, Portis (maybe).
While they have many promising projects (rookies and reclamation) - all signs continue to point to a transition year this year. (8-8 with a strong finish)
Shadarr
1859
Poor Andre Carter, he keeps getting fucked over by the 3-4 fad. It’s taken the 49ers pretty much replacing every single player in the front seven to run it successfully. The only guy who played at all in the old 4-3 is Sopoaga, who was a rookie at the time.
Shmtur
1860
With that being said, Okung has a high ankle sprain.
