The Tiger Report: 09/13/11

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Bills Marcus Easley to miss season with heart condition

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 13, 2011, 7:00 PM EDT

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Bills receiver Marcus Easley, who looked slated to have a big role this year, will instead miss the entire season without ever taking a snap.

The Bills placed Easley on injured reserve Tuesday with an “illness” which the Buffalo News reports is actually a heart condition. No further details are known.

Easley was suddenly pulled out of practice leading up to the season opener and now we know why. We hope that Easley is safe and will pass along any more details when we hear it.

Dolphins cut Benny Sapp after giving up 99 yard play

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 13, 2011, 7:53 PM EDT

Patriots Wes Welker fends off Dolphins Benny Sapp after catching a pass to run in for a touchdown during fourth quarter in Miami

Someone on the Dolphins gets fired every time the Patriots visit for a Monday Night game.

Last year, it was special teams coach John Bonamego getting booted after a major meltdown. This time around Wes Welker’s99-yard catch got cornerback Benny Sapp released, according to his agent Andy Simms.

Dolphins fans will remember that Sapp keyed the team’s best defensive play of the night, an interception returned for a touchdown. It seemed like Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll had an even rougher night than Sapp.

The 99-yard score came when the Patriots were already up 31-17 with under six minutes left. Coach Tony Sparano mistakenly said after the game it was a one-score game at the time.

If the Dolphins really wanted a scapegoat, we’d blame an offensive line and running back group that couldn’t pick up a yard when they needed to near the goal line all night.

Amid criticism Sparano insists Bush will get 20 touches per game

Posted by Mike Florio on September 13, 2011, 2:14 PM EDT

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In his first game with the Dolphins, running back Reggie Bush had 11 carries and nine catches. Though the end result wasn’t great, he’ll continue to get the same number of chances.

Per Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post, Dolphins coach Tony Sparano said Tuesday the team plans to give Reggie roughly 20 touches per game.

Apart from the increased possibility of injury, it’s not the number of opportunities but how they are designed to be used. No matter how badly he wants to be a between-the-tackles tailback, that’s not what Bush is — as evidenced by Albert Haynesworth’s ability to tackle him. With one arm.

Bush gained 38 yards on 11 attempts, for an average of 3.45 yards. He also generated 56 yards on those nine receptions.

If the Dolphins want to get the most out of Bush, they need to use him like he was used in New Orleans.

Of course, that doesn’t mean they’ll have the same success as a team as Bush’s former franchise enjoyed. Unless the Dolphins can find a customized DeLorean and sign Drew Brees in March 2006.

Fox says he couldn't hear Tebow chants and Orton is the starter

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 13, 2011, 6:30 PM EDT

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Denver fans were vocal in their support of backup quarterback Tim Tebow during Monday night’s loss to the Raiders, but coach John Fox says he didn’t hear the fans chanting Tebow’s name. And Fox isn’t about to change his stance that Kyle Orton will continue to start and Tebow will continue to sit.

“Kyle’s our starting quarterback,” Fox said today. “I don’t think too many guys are firing their whole teams after one game because they happen to be in the half the teams in the league that lost in Week One.”

Immediately following the game, Fox ignored a question about Tebow. Today he went out of his way to praise the Broncos’ paying customers while also saying that the last thing he’s going to do is listen to the fans when it comes to picking his quarterback.

“I couldn’t actually hear that,” Fox said of the Tebow chants. “I thought our crowd was great. I thought it was electric. I thought it was as good as I’ve been associated with. All my feelings about the fans and the crowd and the home field was tremendous.”

The Broncos are in a tough position: They can’t bench Orton for Tebow, because all indications are that Orton isn’t just better than Tebow in practice, but he’s muchbetter than Tebow in practice. And yet they also can’t stop the fans from continuing to push for Tebow to be the starter.

The Broncos are back home against the Bengals on Sunday. If Orton struggles, the fans in Denver will make sure their Tebow chants are loud enough for Fox to hear.

Willie Colon lost for the season

Willie Colon - T - Steelers

Willie Colon #74 of the Pittsburgh Steelers has his helmet pushed up while blocking by Ryon Bingham #97 of the San Diego Chargers on November 16, 2008 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh won the game 11-10.

Steelers placed RT Willie Colon (triceps) on injured reserve, ending his season.

Colon underwent surgery Tuesday. He also missed the entire 2010 coming off Achilles' surgery. The 28-year-old was in the first year of a five-year, $29 million contract signed after the lockout was lifted. It's fair to wonder if the Steelers will move on in 2012. It's time to find long-term answers at both tackle spots.

Source: Scott Brown on Twitter

Injury Updates: Hakeem Nicks, Terrence McGee, Jimmy Smith

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 13, 2011, 1:19 PM EDT

Sometimes an injury update doesn’t quite seem worth its own post. So I’m going to periodically update situations in bulk from around the league worth keeping an eye on.

1. A source tells Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News that Giants receiver Hakeem Nicks‘ knee is “Okay” but the team could proceed cautiously with him. There is no serious damage, but Nicks’ status for Monday night seems in doubt.

2. The Bills will be without cornerback Terrence McGee for a few weeks with a hamstring issue. Drayton Florence and Leodis McKelvin will be Buffalo’s starters at cornerback.

3. The Ravens confirmed rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith has a high ankle sprain. Baltimore is fairly deep at the position, but Chris Carr also has a hamstring injury. Smith looks likely to miss a few weeks.

Brandon Lloyd and Knowshon Moreno both set to have MRIs

Brandon Lloyd (groin) and Knowshon Moreno (hamstring) will both have MRIs Tuesday after coming up lame late in Monday's loss to the Raiders.

Lloyd appeared to pull his groin sometime in the second half and played sparingly in the fourth quarter. Although he brushed off any injury after the game, coach John Fox included his No. 1 receiver on his injury list. Lloyd had six catches for 89 yards before leaving, racking up a team-high 11 targets.

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Pierre Garcon, not Austin Collie, is WR2

Austin Collie - WR - Colts

Austin Collie played on 33 of the Colts' 57 offensive snaps in Sunday's loss to the Texans.

The key stat here is that Pierre Garcon played on 56-of-57 snaps. It's Garcon -- not Collie -- that is the No. 2 receiver in base formations. And now that Kerry Collins is under center, the Colts will sparingly go three-wide unless they are getting blown out like they were in Week 1. Collie is fourth in line for targets on an offense that no longer emphasizes the pass. The zero catch 2011 debut was not a fluke.

Source: Profootballfocus.com

None of this really matters, as the Colts do not look like a good fantasy option in any way at this point. But, we are just passing it along.

Eric Mangini has regrets over Spygate

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 13, 2011, 1:39 PM EDT

Eric Mangini, the former Patriots assistant and Jets head coach who was involved in busting the Patriots over Spygate, now says he regrets that the Patriots and his old mentor, Bill Belichick, got in trouble over the matter.

“It’s one of those things where the end result wasn’t the goal,” Mangini said on WEEI. “I owe so much to Bill, I appreciate what he’s done for me and my intention was never to hurt him or the [Patriots] organization, the Kraft family. Yeah, there’s a lot of regrets, I didn’t want to hurt him or the Patriots by any stretch.”

Belichick was once Mangini’s boss and friend, but the two have had a strained relationship since the Patriots were caught taping the Jets’ defensive signals in 2007. It’s a relationship that Mangini now refers to as “a work in progress.”

As for the repercussions of Spygate — Belichick was fined $500,000, the Patriots were fined $250,000 and docked their 2008 first-round draft pick — Mangini indicated that that wasn’t his goal.

“I wasn’t happy where the end result,” Mangini said. “How it could have been different, how different decisions and events could have taken place, I’m not sure how it would have played out differently. I just didn’t want it to play out the way it did.”

Fantasy Football: Start em Sit em - Week 2

Start em

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Josh Freeman & Mike Williams - Most people wouldn't realize just how badly the Lions dominated the Buccaneers because of the score. If you were able to watch the game you this could have easily been a complete rout if the coaches on the Detroit side did not completely take their foot off the gas. This young Tampa squad did not get off the the fast start that they were expecting, but I believe they have the leadership and toughness to turn this thing around quickly. Josh Freeman put up a lot of garbage yardage, but this week it will actually get better. Minnesota let Rivers rack up over 300 yards at a 68.8% completion rate. Expect the two Tampa youngsters to move the ball well on the Vikings.

Washington Redskins - Rex Grossman & Santana Moss - Yes it was against a banged up Giants secondary, but Grossman tossed it around the yard to the tune of 305 yards and 2 TDs. The difference for Grossman, is that he didn't force the throws when under duress. He also connected with Moss 6 times for 76 yards. Both of these numbers improve as they face the same desert defense that let Cam Newton set a rookie record with 422 yards.

Cleveland Browns - Peyton Hillis - You were going to start him anyways, but this is just a dream match up for Hillis and Co. The Browns were putrid against the Bengals where he had only 54 yards on 17 carries. Fortunately for fantasy owners he did rack up another 30 on receptions so he wasn't a total waste. But this week the Browns will take their ground game to Indy. This week the Colts were inexcusably bad in all phases of the game, but they gave up 167 yards on the ground to Ben Tate and Derrick Ward. Hillis will produce big this week..

Detroit Lions - Brandon Pettigrew - The Chiefs had a rough outing against the Bills and part of that was TE Scott Chandler's performance of 5 catches for 63 yards and 2 scores. I don't think the Chiefs catch themselves from reeling this fast and Pettigrew has a big day. Stafford looked to "Grew" early and often, and could have had better numbers if it wasn't for a dropped pass in the end zone. Stafford won't shy away from going back to the big guy, and Pettigrew has typically rebounded well after dropped passes. He should score at least once in this match up.

Sit em

Tennessee Titans - Chris Johnson - Most people will play CJ1.3k every week that he is on an active roster. But this week he will not produce what you expect. Whether you blame it on the hold out or not, CJ was ineffective in week 1. But so was the entire running game of the Titans. I do think it had something to do with the Jag's defense, but regardless of the reason, week 2 won't get any easier. The Baltimore Ravens are bringing their nasty and hard hitting defense to town.

New York Jets - Shonn Greene - Greene did not look like the feature back that he is supposed to be now in his 3rd year. In fact if L.T. wasn't on that roster, the Jets don't beat the Cowboys. Greene was shutdown by the Cowboys all night. This week he will face the Jaguars who boast the top ranked run defense after week 1. Now we are not saying they are the best run defense, but you have to take note of what they did to the Titan's running game. This is a matchup to avoid.

Washington Redskins - Tim Hightower - Last week he was a start, and a good one providing 15 pts. But FF is all about matchups and this week he is going against an Arizona defense that held Smash and Dash to 56 yards on 19 carries. You do the math, it wasn't pretty. Don't expect Timmy to do much better in his revenge game, where they already know his game inside and out.

Denver Broncos - Kyle Orton - I am shocked that Fox let Orton throw the ball 46 times. But he only completed 56% of those passes. Don't expect Orton to throw it that much week after week. In addition to that the Broncos still don't have a fully healthy receiving corp. and Cincinnati really shut down Colt McCoy in week 1. The Bengals only allowed the Browns to complete a pathetic 47.5% of their passes, on 40 attempts. Orton should fare better, but you can find a better option elsewhere.

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Week 1 Power Rankings from PFT

Posted by Mike Florio on September 13, 2011, 10:19 AM EDT

1. Packers (No. 1; 1-0): They looked every bit the champs in week 1 against the Saints.

2. Saints (No. 2; 0-1): There’s a good chance that the best two teams in the NFL played in the first game of the season.

3. Chargers (No. 3; 1-0): An ugly win in September is one of the prettiest things this slow-starting team has seen in years.

4. Ravens (No. 8; 1-0): Baltimore probably would have liked to bank a few of those 35 points for the rematch with the Steelers.

5. Patriots (No. 7; 1-0): Tom Brady reminds the world that, while Aaron Rodgers was the MVP of the Super Bowl, Brady was the MVP of the league.

6. Jets (No. 6; 1-0): Despite swiping a win, the Jets have a lot of things to fix.

7. Bears (No. 11; 1-0): Maybe some of the Bears defenders should play both ways.

8. Eagles (No. 9; 1-0): Mike Vick says he played “lights out.” His completion percentage suggests he meant that literally.

9. Falcons (No. 4; 0-1): After losing to the Bears on the road, it’s too early to panic. If they lose to Vick and the Eagles at home, it won’t be.

10. Texans (No. 12; 1-0): The 2011 season started the same way that the 2010 season began. The Texans need the next 15 games to go slightly better.

11. Steelers (No. 5; 0-1): Safety Troy Polamalu says the the team was humbled. Age tends to do that.

12. Lions (No. 14; 1-0): After winning four of 44, the Lions have won five of five.

13. Bills (No. 24; 1-0): The Jets and Pats may have good reason to get a little nervous.

14. Cowboys (No. 10; 0-1): Cowboys fans likely are hoping that Tony Romo will start his pro golf career sooner rather than later.

15. Buccaneers (No. 13; 0-1): If they couldn’t beat the Lions when the Lions didn’t have Matthew Stafford, why did anyone think the Bucs could beat the Lions with Stafford?

16. Jaguars (No. 19; 1-0): The Luke McCown era begins with the crackle of a damp lady finger.

17. Cardinals (No. 17; 1-0): They may never break into the top 10, but they may win the NFC West by three laps.

18. Raiders (No. 20; 1-0): Maybe the Chargers won’t simply stroll to the AFC West championship.

19. 49ers (No. 25; 1-0): Two undefeated teams in the Bay Area could be a sign that the end is near.

20. Redskins (No. 31; 1-0): Beat the Cardinals on Sunday, and then we’ll start to maybe, possibly believe that this team could maybe, possibly be better than expected.

21. Rams (No. 21; 0-1): When the Rams and Giants square off on Monday Night Football, they should replace the coin flip with a comparison of injury reports.

22. Panthers (No. 28; 0-1): No team has ever jumped so high with a loss.

23. Giants (No. 15; 0-1): Maybe Rob Ryan will be the next coach of the Giants.

24. Vikings (No. 22; 0-1): Was there a digit missing from Donovan McNabb’s passing yardage?

25. Seahawks (No. 23; 0-1): If the Seahawks think that Tarvaris Jackson was jerked around in Minnesota, wait until they see what happens to him in Pittsburgh.

26. Bengals (No. 32; 1-0): Well, they got their win. Now they can coast.

27. Titans (No. 27; 0-1): The good news? The Titans may finish higher in the standings than the Colts.

28. Broncos (No. 30; 0-1): Coach John Fox needs to realize that those Tebow chants will only get louder if they are ignored.

29. Colts (No. 18; 0-1): Andrew Luck would be the perfect quarterback for a team with a horseshoe on the side of its helmet.

30. Dolphins (No. 29; 0-1): Yeah, that preseason No. 29 ranking for the Dolphins was wrong. It was too high.

31. Browns (No. 26; 0-1): Hell, Eric Mangini could have beaten Cincinnati.

32. Chiefs (No. 17; 0-1): We’ve got a feeling that most Chiefs fans will agree with this.

Drew Pearson rips Dez Bryant

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 13, 2011, 10:46 AM EDT

New Cowboys Ring of Honor addition Drew Pearson wore No. 88 in Dallas, just like Dez Bryant does now. It’s safe to say Pearson thinks Bryant has a lot of work to do before he can live up to Pearson’s legacy.

“You saw what happened in the fourth quarter. We had wide receivers that couldn’t finish the game. Come on! Jeez!” Pearson said on 103.3 FM Monday via the Dallas Morning News.

We noted Sunday night that Bryant has to prove he’s durable enough and well conditioned enough to hold up for an entire game, much less a season.

“The first quarter was spectacular. Great job, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah,” Pearson said. “But now we need you in the fourth quarter and you can’t even run? You catch three passes in the first quarter and then you get targeted five times after that and you don’t make any catches? . . . Let’s not be so high on this guy who hasn’t really done anything. He missed four games last season, he comes in this game and he can’t finish it out.”

It’s a fair point to make and Bryant’s next hill to climb. Pearson also thinks Bryant lacks professionalism in his routes.

“Dez’s first move was a jump, a hop-step. What is that?” Bryant asked. “That’s one second gone from the pass route. I mean, what is that? Come on. . . . Yeah, he’s raw. He’s a monster. That’s what monsters do, I guess. You see that in high school kids running routes like that.”

Yikes. It’s almost as if Bryant owes Pearson money.

Fan uses a taser during a fight in stands during Jets-Cowboys game

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 13, 2011, 10:52 AM EDT

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After fan violence marred a preseason game between the Raiders and 49ers, the NFL insisted that it was taking stadium security seriously. But in the stadium that should have had the strongest security presence of any on Sunday — the New York Jets’ home game on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 — an ugly fight broke out in the stands, with one fan using a taser.

A 59-year-old man named Leroy McKelvey, who was wearing a Cowboys jersey at the Jets game, was charged with three counts of aggravated assault and two weapons counts for using the taser, which is illegal in New Jersey.

Deadspin has video of the incident, and a couple fans can be heard asking a very good question: “How did he get in there with that thing? On 9/11? How the f–k did that happen?”

MetLife Stadium CEO Mark Lamping said fans were patted down and had their bags checked as they entered the stadium, as usual.

“Procedures for pat downs established by the NFL and used at every game were in effect at all entry gates,” Lamping said.

But pat downs and bag checks apparently aren’t effective enough to catch a fan bringing an illegal weapon into the stadium.

Jets coach Rex Ryan had an unfortunate choice of words in the days leading up to the game, warning fans that “it’s probably not recommended” they wear Cowboys gear to the stadium. Ryan later said he didn’t intend to suggest that Jets fans should beat up Cowboys fans in the stands. This fight involved Cowboys fans and Jets fans, but it apparently was motivated by a disagreement that broke out during the national anthem.

“A Marine at the end of the row noticed that McKelvey and three others in his party would not stand or take their hats off for the national anthem,” a law enforcement officer told the Cliffview Pilot. “So the Marine tells McKelvey he better not have to get out of the row ’cause he won’t let him out.”

And then at halftime, when McKelvey did try to get out of the row, that’s when the fight broke out.

Whatever the circumstances of this fight, fan violence in NFL stadiums is clearly a serious problem. The league says it’s doing everything it can to keep fans safe in stadiums. The league needs to do more.

Ok, I am not condoning violence. I don't want to go to a game and witness that stuff or see people get hurt. However to not at least remove your hat during the National Anthem is shameful. I don't blame the Marine or any other service member for being upset with the lack of respect. Listen, you don't have to like our politics or foreign policies. You don't even have to agree with the wars that have been fought, but at least respect the country you live in. The same country that gives you the freedom to be an ungrateful mule. Many service men and women past and present have made more sacrifices personally and professionally to allow the freedoms to continue. Some of them lose friends and loved ones, while others lose their own life. Show some respect. After all, it's not like they are the ones that make the decisions to occupy foreign countries.

Reggie Bush already getting criticized in Miami

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 13, 2011, 10:04 AM EDT

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Well, that didn’t take long.

After getting lauded for his work ethic throughout camp,Reggie Bush was criticized at length in a column Tuesday morning in the Miami Herald. Saints fans are rather familiar with the trend: A big August followed by an underwhelming September.

Bush’s numbers weren’t that bad. He had 11 rushes for 38 yards and caught nine passes for 56 yards, including a garbage time score.

The problem was more that Bush failed to make any big plays when he had the chance and had too many runs that didn’t go anywhere. (His last nine carries got 18 yards.) He also wasn’t an option in goal line situations, where the Dolphins were stuffed a few times.

One arm tackle by Albert Haynesworth on Bush was perhaps the most telling play. Miami didn’t try to run Bush inside after that.

“The apparent truth is that Bush really wasn’t built for this, even if you wanted to believe otherwise, and I, like many, did,” Israel Gutierrez wrote.

We never thought that Bush was built for it, but it seems a little early to draw conclusions. Bush said he loved being on the field more.

“It felt great,” Bush said. “It was everything I was looking forward to. It was everything I expected. . . . But we’re going back to the drawing board.”

I was never a huge Reggie fan, and never have seen him as a true feature back. However, let's see what happens against some other teams not named the Patriots.

NFL is getting out of control on saftey, Manning flagged for nothing

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 13, 2011, 9:39 AM EDT

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If the NFL really wants to protect defenseless players from illegal hits, it’s going to need to do a better job of explaining what constitutes an illegal hit. Texans defensive back Danieal Manning has no idea what’s legal and what’s illegal anymore, and after watching the video of the hit that drew a 15-yard penalty on Manning, neither do I.

Manning was flagged for a hit on Colts receiver Pierre Garcon in the fourth quarter on Sunday, even though Manning pulled up when teammate Johnathan Joseph knocked the ball loose, and the contact between Manning and Garcon consisted of Garcon’s shoulder hitting Joseph’s thigh. After the game Manning seemed more confused than angry about the penalty.

“When I saw the ball knocked out, I was like, ‘Let me slow up before I hit him,’ and he hit me,” Manning said. “He actually hit my thigh.”

If anything, Manning’s attempt to avoid contact with Garcon set Manning himself up for a potential injury, especially if Garcon had hit Joseph just a little bit lower and collided with Joseph’s knee. It’s unfair to defensive backs to put them in positions where they’re trying so hard to avoid helmet-to-helmet collisions with wide receivers that they’re leaving themselves unprotected — and it’s really unfair to defensive backs to throw a flag on them after they’ve done that.

A big part of the problem with players not knowing what constitutes an illegal hit is that the NFL isn’t transparent enough about the way it evaluates those hits. When an official makes a bad call, the NFL needs to acknowledge it publicly — not to call out the officials, but to explain to players, coaches and fans what the rules are. When we see plays like Manning’s penalty, we’re not sure if it was a bad call by the official, or the correct enforcement of a bad rule.

But it was definitely one of those things. There’s no way to play defensive back in tackle football if what Manning did is against the rules.

This is getting way too carried away and is absolutely ridiculous. Players are going to start getting hurt even worse because they will end up in positions not defending themselves while other players are still going full speed. Fortunately in this case Manning did not get hurt.

The Tiger Report

Pages

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Bills Marcus Easley to miss season with heart condition

Dolphins cut Benny Sapp after giving up 99 yard play

Amid criticism Sparano insists Bush will get 20 touches per game

Fox says he couldn't hear Tebow chants and Orton is the starter

Willie Colon lost for the season

Injury Updates: Hakeem Nicks, Terrence McGee, Jimmy Smith

Brandon Lloyd and Knowshon Moreno both set to have MRIs

Pierre Garcon, not Austin Collie, is WR2

Eric Mangini has regrets over Spygate

Fantasy Football: Start em Sit em - Week 2

Week 1 Power Rankings from PFT

Drew Pearson rips Dez Bryant

Fan uses a taser during a fight in stands during Jets-Cowboys game

Reggie Bush already getting criticized in Miami

NFL is getting out of control on saftey, Manning flagged for nothing

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