The Tiger Report: 09/21/11

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Forte: Bears don't believe I'm an elite back

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 21, 2011, 7:07 PM EDT

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Bears running back Matt Forte remains unhappy with his contract, and he’s starting to take the lack of an extension personally.

“Obviously someone doesn’t believe I’m an elite running back,” Forte said, per John Mullin of CSNChicago.com.

Forte doesn’t say who that “someone” is, but he’s presumably referring to Bears G.M. Jerry Angelo, who was reportedly offering much less than Forte wanted before the team and Forte cut off contract talks at the start of the season.

Forte has put up big numbers this season: He’s second in the league through two games with 334 yards from scrimmage. But 207 of those yards have come through the passing game, and Forte may also be wondering if Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz doesn’t view him as elite: In Sunday’s loss to the Saints, Martz pretty much forgot about Forte.

Forte would love to be a workhorse, and to get paid like a workhorse.

“I’d like to get paid off of the production,” Forte said. “When you look at the production and what level that’s on and you look at some of the guys who are producing and what they get paid, it’s not that hard.”

Neither do we.

2011	Chicago Bears	2	2	26	117	4.5	42	0	15	207	13.8	56T	1	--	--

2010	Chicago Bears	16	16	237	1,069	4.5	68T	6	51	547	10.7	89T	3	3	2

2009	Chicago Bears	16	16	258	929	3.6	61	4	57	471	8.3	37	0	6	3

2008	Chicago Bears	16	16	316	1,238	3.9	50T	8	63	477	7.6	19	4	1	1

TOTAL				837	3,353	4.0	68	18	186	1,702	9.2	89	8	10	6

Deon Grant denies faking injury during Rams game

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 21, 2011, 5:36 PM EDT

We’ve noted that the only way Giants safety Deon Grant will get fined for faking an injury on Monday night is if he’s stupid enough to admit he was faking.

Grant confirmed today that he’s not stupid enough to admit he was faking.

“I don’t fake nothing,” Grant said. “How can another person that’s not in your body tell you when you’re faking an injury?”

So Grant would have us believe that he and teammateJacquian Williams both just happened to fall down, untouched, because they suddenly felt pain at the exact same time — just as the Rams were rushing to the line of scrimmage and the Giants needed to substitute into a goal line package.

“I couldn’t get back into my position because of the injury, so I went down,” Grant said. “It just so happened Jacquain — he was catching a cramp at the same time — and he went down.”

If Grant is going to keep faking, he just needs to stop being so obvious about it. He could learn a thing or two from Elaine Benes.

DeAngelo Hall says he will get Romo in the ribs

Posted by Mike Florio on September 21, 2011, 6:09 PM EDT

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With Cowboys quarterback Tony Romointending to play on Monday night despite having a busted rib, Redskins cornerbackDeAngelo Hall intends to try to bust them some more.

“I want to get a chance to put my helmet on whatever’s hurt,” Hall said, per theWashington Post. “Romo’s ribs — I’m going to be asking for some corner blitzes. If I knowFelix Jones’ shoulder’s hurt, I’m not going to cut him. I’m definitely going to try to hit him up high, so that’s just part of it.

“If you know something’s wrong with an opponent, you’re going to try to target in on that. We’re going to try to definitely get as many hats on that team as possible.”

Hall isn’t saying anything that football players don’t already think. Especially at the quarterback position, any opportunity to knock the starter out of the game should be embraced.

But when it comes to putting a helmet on Romo’s ribs, Hall should be careful not to do it when Romo is in the act of throwing a pass, or when he has just thrown a pass. Under the rules, Romo is defenseless at those times, and he can’t be hit in the helmet or with a helmet.

But if Romo decides to run the ball, Hall can put a helmet onto anything that hurts — or anything that doesn’t hurt, yet.

Meanwhile, Romo talked about the injury during a taping of Showtime’s Inside the NFL, via John Machota of the Dallas Morning News. “On the rib side, just breathing, sometimes, is harder than I want it to be,” Romo said. “I know that. . . . If it’s a pain related thing, it sucks but you can usually play. Either you can go out and move around or you can’t. If it’s an in-between thing, usually you end up playing. It’s football season and usually football players play football during football season.”

Owner Jerry Jones has said something similar — that it all comes down to Romo’s ability to handle pain. And usually football players find a way to handle pain.

Stevie Johnson held out of practice again

Stevie Johnson - WR - Bills

Stevie Johnson (groin) was held out of Bills practice Wednesday.

Get used to this. The contract-year wideout promises to play through his troublesome groin injury, but the Bills will have to rest him throughout the week. The Patriots have done an excellent job of keeping Johnson contained in their past three meetings, which is another thing owners must consider this week.

Source: Joe Buscaglia on Twitter

Lloyd and Moreno returned to practice today

Brandon Lloyd (groin) and Knowshon Moreno (hamstring) both returned to Broncos practice on Wednesday.

Multiple reports have indicated that Lloyd is likely to return against the Titans, while Moreno also appears on track after missing Week 2. Lloyd is Denver's clear-cut No. 1 receiver, and he'll take some of the life out of Eric Decker's sleeper appeal. Moreno would return to a committee attack with Willis McGahee, who's managed a weak 3.25 YPC average through two games.

Eagles move around their Linebackers

Posted by Mike Florio on September 21, 2011, 1:06 PM EDT

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The Eagles, gashed on the ground through two weeks of the season, will be trying to improve their fortunes by rearranging their linebackers.

Per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, rookie Casey Matthews has been moved from middle linebacker to the weak side. Weak side linebacker Moise Fokou has been moved from the weak side to the strong side. And strong side linebacker Jamar Chaney has moved to the middle.

And so the Eagles are doing on defense what they previously did on offense. They’re addressing a weakness by moving around the parts of the puzzle. They did it with the offensive line, and they’re doing it with the defense.

Whether it works remains to be seen.

Patriots send two to Injured Reserve

Posted by Mike Florio on September 21, 2011, 1:23 PM EDT

When word emerged that Patriots center Dan Koppen will miss six to 10 weeks with a broken ankle suffered in Week One against the Dolphins, the question became whether the Patriots would hold a roster spot for the veteran lineman.

They did.

For a week.

Koppen has been placed on injured reserve, along with defensive lineman Myron Pryor.

Pryor, who has a groin injury, played on Sunday against the Chargers. Per Ian Rapaport of the Boston Herald, Pryor “disappeared” after three series, with no announcement that he’d been hurt.

Defensive back Phillip Adams and defensive lineman Landon Cohen have been added to the 53-man roster.

Giants lose Dominik Hixson to torn ACL

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 21, 2011, 11:55 AM EDT

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The Giants won Monday night’s game against the Rams, but they suffered a loss in the process.

Domenik Hixon, the team’s No. 3 wide receiver and top punt returner, is out for the season with a torn right ACL, the Giants announced today. It’s the second year in a row that he’s blown out his right knee; he missed the entire 2010 season.

Hixon appeared to suffer the injury when he came down awkwardly on a juggling touchdown catch against the Rams — making it that much more impressive that he held onto the ball.

The loss will be a big one for the Giants, who were counting on Hixon to be a key cog on the offense as well as a jack of all trades on special teams.

As the Giants now prepare to play the Eagles without Hixon, they’re probably wishing they hadn’t let Steve Smith go to Philadelphia.

Blaine Gabbert will start Sunday

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on September 21, 2011, 8:24 AM EDT

It looks like we’ll get to watch a battle of top ten rookie quarterbacks Sunday in Carolina.

Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union reports that the Jaguars will start Blaine Gabbert at quarterback Sunday against Cam Newton and the Panthers. Luke McCown will not get a chance to rinse off the stench from his four interception performance against the Jets.

Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio refused to name a starter Monday or Tuesday, which was a good sign for the rookie. The No. 10 overall pick impressed the Jaguars in training camp, but his play did not carry over to the preseason where he looked a step slow mentally and often inaccurate.

We can’t imagine Del Rio wanted to go to Gabbert this quickly, but McCown’s play must have made the team reconsider.

There’s no going back now; Del Rio is all in with Gabbert.

Aaron Hernandez could miss 4-6 weeks

Aaron Hernandez - San Diego Chargers v New England Patriots

Comcast SportsNet New England is hearing that Aaron Hernandez's MCL sprain could cost him upwards of 4-6 weeks, longer than the Boston Globe's original estimate of 1-2 weeks.

CSNNE beat writer Tom Curran says the injury could sideline Hernandez "for at least a month" and "as long as six weeks." The Patriots don't discuss injury situations with the public, so Hernandez's precise return timetable is going to be a guessing game for awhile. In the meantime, Rob Gronkowski could push to become the top tight end in all of fantasy football.

Source: Comcast Sports New England

Rolle: I don't want any excuses when we put it to 'em

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 21, 2011, 7:20 AM EDT

With the Giants preparing to play the Eagles this week, one defensive player is saying he wants to see Michael Vick on the field.

The reason? Giants cornerback Antrel Rolle says he expects to beat the Eagles, and he doesn’t want the folks in Philadelphia to be able to brush it off because Vick was out with a concussion.

“I don’t want any excuses when we go down there and put it to ‘em,” Rolle said Tuesday on WFAN, via the New York Post.

Rolle also said he’s looking forward to shutting down the Eagles’ big-play receiver, DeSean Jackson.

“I’ve handled DeSean Jackson one-on-one before,” Rolle said, “and I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to do it again.”

Broncos add receiver, sign Quan Cosby

Posted by Josh Alper on September 21, 2011, 8:05 AM EDT

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Injuries have left the Broncos so thin at receiver that Tim Tebow took some snaps at the position on Sunday against the Bengals.

The team made a move to make sure that they don’t have to go down that route again this week. Denver signed former Bengals wide receiver Quan Cosby on Tuesday and released running back Jeremiah Johnson to make room for Cosby on the roster.

Cosby played every game over the last two seasons after signing with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent out of Texas. He only had six catches in that span, making most of his contributions as a kickoff and punt returner and averaged 10 yards per punt return. With Eric Decker moving into a leading role on offense andEddie Royal out with an injury, Cosby could see some time in that role for Denver.

Royal is expected to miss the next couple of weeks with a groin injury. The status ofBrandon Lloyd, recovering from a groin injury of his own, won’t be known until the team sees what he can do during practice this week.

C.J. Spiller expected to be used more as a receiver

Posted by Mike Florio on September 20, 2011, 11:24 PM EDT

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Tim Tebow isn’t the only 2010 first-round pick who will play some receiver.

With Bills wideout Roscoe Parrish lost for the season, running back C.J. Spiller is expected to be used more and more as a receiver, per a source with knowledge of the situation.

It’s already a given that Spiller will serve as the team’s primary punt returner.

Though Spiller gained 63 yards on only four carries against the Raiders, Fred Jackson has become the team’s workhorse. He leads the NFL in rushing, with 229 yards.

Spiller gives the team another weapon, and if he’s willing to do whatever he has to do to get on the field, he could be a difference maker for the Bills.

And maybe the running back will eventually convert full time to wideout, like a former Bills receiver known initially as Bobby Moore, and then later as Ahmad Rashad.

The Tiger Report

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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Forte: Bears don't believe I'm an elite back

Deon Grant denies faking injury during Rams game

DeAngelo Hall says he will get Romo in the ribs

Stevie Johnson held out of practice again

Lloyd and Moreno returned to practice today

Eagles move around their Linebackers

Patriots send two to Injured Reserve

Giants lose Dominik Hixson to torn ACL

Blaine Gabbert will start Sunday

Aaron Hernandez could miss 4-6 weeks

Rolle: I don't want any excuses when we put it to 'em

Broncos add receiver, sign Quan Cosby

C.J. Spiller expected to be used more as a receiver

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