[clear - refresh] ---NOT QUITE A MOP, NOT QUITE A PUPPET--- [created by may, modified by johnny b]
ABOUT ME:
Home to a half Mexican who now lives in Silverdale, WA and who supports the Hawks, Sonics and Mariners along with the alma mater (WSU). I also post wacky links, pictures of insanely hot women and what have you (if you don't want to read my ramblings), so enjoy.


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Wednesday, September 24, 2003
If you haven't picked up Outkast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" and Trish Stratus' DVD, DO SO. Both are fucking awesome. And by fucking awesome, I mean totally sweet. :) Also Madden 2004, but you know that by now.

So as we wait with baited breath for Spaulding's NFL week in review, here are some rumors floating around the league. Thanks to ESPN NFL Insider:

Updated: September 23
4:48 PM ET

-Insiders say Panthers RB Stephen Davis has endeared himself to his teammates by not acting like he's a star and keeping a low profile in the locker room to keep from upsetting team chemistry.

-We hear the Browns' tendency to consistently run RB William Green toward ORT Ryan Tucker and ORG Shaun O'Hara -- the only returning starters at their positions from last season's line -- could have something to do with Green's early-season struggles, as teams have a pretty good idea where Green is going to when he gets the ball.

-According to observers, Chiefs OLT Willie Roaf, 33, is consistently better than he was a year ago and is playing at a level pretty close to his dominating Pro Bowl days in New Orleans.

-One Cowboys observer says Cowboys CB Terence Newman appeared to have lost his nerve a bit after getting beaten a few times in the Monday-night game against the Giants.

-We're told Bucs head coach Jon Gruden is getting increasingly frustrated with his team's habit of committing penalties -- a problem that cropped up in training camp -- and he's angry that his team isn't concentrating more on the field to avoid penalties. (Note: Did you know he has a book out? It's true, it's true. Check out Do You Love Football?! at your local bookstore. It's pretty good so far.)

-Seahawks WR Koren Robinson says he won't be late for a team meeting again after being suspended from Seattle's Week 2 tilt in Arizona, but our sources who tell us he almost showed up late for one of the first team meetings last week aren't so sure. While Robinson has cleaned up his act considerably, we hear he still has a lot of growing up to do.

-Vikings coaches plan to devise a plan to maximize RB Onterrio Smith's skills without exposing his weaknesses. The staff has voiced concerns about Moe Williams wearing down because he has never been a featured back. But the greater concern is that Williams will run out of gas in November because he only knows one speed. By using Smith and, once he's healthy, Doug Chapman in a rotation with Williams, the Vikings hope to ensure Williams has fresh legs down the stretch.

-RCB Brian Williams has done more than keep nickel back Ken Irvin out of the starting lineup in three games this season. Williams, a starter out of necessity late last season, won the starting job opposite Denard Walker in training camp. With his play thus far this season, team sources say Williams is likely to be Minnesota's best corner by the end of this season.

-The Bears have been pleased with the play of rookie CB Charles Tillman but are withholding worship until the overall performance of the defense turns around. Tillman held his own against Terrell Owens in Week One and Randy Moss the following week. Defensive coordinator Greg Blache said Tillman may be in the starting lineup by the end of the season.

-Looking for ways to get DLE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila going, the Packers will line "KGB" up wide and allow him to move around on the defensive line to keep offensive linemen guessing.

-Although the team has not said much about the progress of RB Troy Hambrick, the Cowboys clearly are concerned. Hambrick's two biggest problems, according to one observer, have been his propensity to bounce outside, even on designed inside runs, and an inability to make tacklers miss him.

-Expect to see fewer five- and seven-step drops from Redskins QB Patrick Ramsey, at least until the offensive line and backs do a better job of protecting him. Even the three-step pump-and-go route appears too slow-developing for Ramsey to get the ball off without facing heavy pressure.

-The Eagles' offensive line has been particularly vulnerable to speed rushers, especially OTs Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan.

-Despite his costly gaffe in Week Two -- when he failed to get out of bounds to set up a field-goal attempt after catching a pass in the waning seconds of regulation vs. the Rams -- we hear the Niners are extremely pleased with the continuing development of WR Cedrick Wilson, who, aside from that one blunder, had his best game as a pro.

-Don't be shocked if veteran DT Jim Flanigan, who was released by the 49ers in the team's final cutdown after failing to recover from a calf injury, resurfaces on the San Francisco roster in the not-too-distant future.

-Word is the Seahawks have been very pleasantly surprised by the solid punting of veteran Tom Rouen.

-While there was nothing imminent at presstime, we hear there will come a time this season when the Seahawks decide to add a fifth receiver to the active roster. Two names that have been mentioned are Troy Edwards and MarTay Jenkins.

-We hear the Rams are a bit perplexed with beefy TE Brandon Manumaleuna, who has had his share of dropped balls and missed blitz-pickup assignments in the early going.
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Don't worry too much about Saints CB Dale Carter, who is out for at least three weeks after undergoing surgery to place a metal plate in the bone under his left eye to repair a fracture of the orbital bone. He is expected to be able to return at full strength and there isn't much danger of reinjury when he returns.

-Those of you who expected more out of Panthers RB DeShaun Foster, be patient. We hear Foster has taken what has been called "two dings in the head" and will start to see the ball more once the coaching staff is more comfortable with his condition.

-With QB Mike Vick out of action with a broken leg, the Falcons would be left with P Chris Mohr or RB Woodrow Dantzler as possible quarterbacks if QBs Doug Johnson and Kurt Kittner were to get hurt during a game. We're told that head coach Dan Reeves has talked about turning to a version of the single-wing offense, which doesn't use a traditional quarterback, although nobody can tell if Reeves is serious.

-Although Tampa Bay's loss of WR Joe Jurevicius to a torn medial collateral ligament for the next couple of months hurts, we're told that backup Karl Williams is comfortable enough in the offense to help ease the pain. With Jurevicius out, however, the Bucs will use more three-WR sets that also employ a running back in the slot.

-The Browns crunched the numbers, found that No. 3 quarterbacks rarely play, and then cut QB Josh Booty last week. We hear Booty's inability to effectively throw on the move and his age (a former professional baseball player, Booty is 28) limited his value as a prospect.

-There are now concerns among the New England media that OG Mike Compton's foot injury is far more serious than the Patriots originally had let on. The Pats, who are very secretive about injuries, particularly with Rosevelt Colvin's injury, had not specified the type of injury Compton had or even to which foot as of presstime.

-Patriots TE Christian Fauria, who has nine touchdowns since joining the team prior to the 2002 season, is considered by some Patriots observers to have the best hands on the team.

-Jets QB Chad Pennington is expected to have the pins removed from his surgically repaired wrist on Friday and could return in another six weeks if things go well during his rehabilitation.

-The media tiff between Jets head coach Herman Edwards and C Kevin Mawae was not the big deal the national media made it out to be, according to Jets observers. Mawae and Edwards cooled off later in the week, and the differences were patched up. The big loser in the very public debate, however, was offensive coordinator Paul Hackett once again, as Mawae's comments were thinly veiled shots at his play-calling, which stated that the Jets did not try running the ball enough in Week Two.

-Colts officials really like KR-PR Brad Pyatt and his 4.3 speed, but don't expect to see him involved in their offensive plans. Signed as a free agent after the supplemental draft, Pyatt won't have time to pick up the offensive schemes.

-We hear that, barring a complete collapse and an 0-4 or 0-5 start, Jaguars head Coach Jack Del Rio will stick with Mark Brunell at quarterback.

-Titans officials regret paying TE Frank Wycheck a $1 million bonus because he appears finished.

-Despite the fact that Titans C Justin Hartwig weighs 300 pounds, a source close to the team informed us that he has struggled against bigger defensive tackles.

-We hear that Texans FB Greg Comella will be starting by Oct. 12 over FB Moran Norris, who has looked overmatched.

-Texans NT Seth Payne hurt both himself and the team when he went down with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Through two games, Payne, the player that most contributed to shutting down Dolphins RB Ricky Williams, had been Houston's best defensive player, and Texans officials were ready to give him a contract extension.

-According to a Raiders source, Bill Romanowski was fined $88,000, equal to one game's pay, for punching teammate Marcus Williams at practice, which is significantly more than first believed. Williams' season was ended with a fractured eye socket.

-DT Daryl Gardener's much-anticipated debut in Denver was scheduled to take place Monday night, after PFW went to press, but it was easy to tell what his impact meant to Broncos DE Trevor Pryce, who will play alongside him in basic sets. "He's a big man and he gets a push on the pocket," Pryce told PFW last week. "I'm not a pocket-push kind of guy. I'm big, but I'm not that big. As far as somebody who roots down and pushes the pocket and kind of frees everybody up, Daryl's that guy. I don't think we've had a guy like that around here in a while."

-Last week's release of CB Tay Cody, who had almost three times as many starts as the other corners on the Chargers' roster, did not come as much of a surprise. Cody doesn't have the size and speed Marty Schottenheimer prefers in the secondary and was on the trading block during an impressive preseason that was cut short by a hamstring injury. When Reche Caldwell went down with a broken wrist in Week Two, Cody's roster spot was deemed necessary for WR depth, as the team signed rookie Grant Mattos off the practice squad.

-Opposing offenses continue to pick on the Raiders' Phillip Buchanon, who gave up 11 catches for 150 yards against the Bengals in Week Two. Rookie CB Nnamdi Asomugha, meanwhile, is still a bit behind after missing a lot of the preseason because of a shoulder injury, but he is making more plays on the ball and recovers better than Buchanon at this stage.

etch-a-sketched by john at 8:13 PM