Causalities Aplenty After Week 1 in NFL

The first weekend of the NFL season acted as a reminder of just how violent and dangerous the game of football can be. At this point, 6 players are confirmed to out for the rest of the season and that number is likely to increase later in the week. That number does not include the horrific life-threatening spinal cord injury suffered by Bills tight end Kevin Everett while making a special teams tackle on the second half kickoff against the Broncos. Bleeding Sports sends our thoughts and best wishes to Kevin Everett and his family. The play is a haunting reminder of just how brutal and unfair life and a simply game can be. While these athletes sometimes seem larger than life us fans who cheer them on, Everett's injury is a haunting reminder that these gridiron warriors are still human and that the game of football can be tragically unforgiving.

The brutality of the game was magnified after just one week of action in the NFL. Here is a rundown of players who suffered injuries during the NFL's kickoff weekend:

(Players who suffered season-ending injuries in italics)

AFC

LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore - Triceps
QB Steve McNair, Baltimore - Groin
KR B.J. Sams, Baltimore – Knee
OT Jonathan Ogden - Toe

TE Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore – Ankle
DS Ko Simpson, Buffalo - Ankle
CB Jason Webster, Buffalo - Forearm
DS Coy Wire, Buffalo – Knee
PK Shayne Graham, Cincinnati – Hip
DS Jason Simmons, Houston - Knee
PK Josh Scobee, Jacksonville – Knee
OG Chris Naeole, Jacksonville – Knee
WR Eddie Kennison, Kansas City – Hamstring
DS Yeremiah Bell, Miami – Achilles
QB Chad Pennington, NY Jets - Ankle

NFC

OC Al Johnson, Arizona - Knee
DS Mike Brown, Chicago - Knee/ACL
DT Dustin Dvoracek, Chicago - Knee/ACL
DT Jason Ferguson, Dallas - Elbow
RB T.J. Duckett, Detroit – Ankle
CB Al Harris, Green Bay – Elbow
FB Tony Richardson, Minnesota – Forearm
RB Chester Taylor, Minnesota – Oblique
CB Kevin Dockery, NY Giants - Ankle
RB Brandon Jacobs, NY Giants - Knee/MCL
QB Eli Manning, NY Giants – Shoulder
DE Osi Umenyiora, NY Giants – Knee
CB Lito Sheppard, Philadelphia – Knee
WR D.J. Hackett, Seattle – Ankle
CB Brian Kelly, Seattle – Groin
OT Orlando Pace, St. Louis – Shoulder
LB Pisa Tinoisamoa, St. Louis – Ankle
DS Vernon Fox, Washington – Groin
DS Pierson Prioleau, Washington – Hamstring

Fantasy Football Frenzy

In preparation for the start of the 2007 NFL regular season I've put together a list of players that may fly under the radar during your fantasy draft, but have the potential to put up big numbers this season. See if you can grab any of these sleepers in the later rounds.

The Sleeper Team

QB - Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay

When in the right situation Garcia has shown the ability to put up great numbers. San Francisco and Philadelphia were the right situations for him. Cleveland and Detroit - not so much. Playing in Jon Gruden's west coast scheme down in Tampa is the right situation for Garcia and his stats will show it come end of the year.

RB - Brandon Jacobs, NY Giants

Would seem like an obvious with Tiki Barber retired and with the Giants having a huge void at running back. However, it seems that Jacobs is still being undervalued because his sheer size is almost being viewed by some as a detriment. What people fail to realize because of his size is that Jacobs possesses great speed and is a solid pass catcher. Expect him to get the bulk of the carries and be in there on third down rather than share time with Rueben Droughns.

RB - Brandon Jackson, Green Bay

Something tells me that Vernand Morency is not the answer at running back for the Packers. If that proves to be the case Jackson is the man in Green Bay. The rookie possesses the explosiveness the Packers are looking for to replace Ahman Green and should turn into the workhorse in the Pack's backfield for years to come.

WR - Maurice Stovall, Tampa Bay

At some point Joey Galloway is going to slow down, right? Stovall is slated to start opposite Galloway for the Bucs and Jeff Garcia will likely find the speedy 6-5 Stovall an appealing target. Stovall possesses excellent leaping ability to go along with his height, which will come in handy on those jump ball fade passes tossed in the end zone.

WR - Vincent Jackson, San Diego

As the Bleeding Sports GM exclaimed "somebody needs to catch the ball." Sounds like Vincent Jackson is that somebody on the Chargers receiving core who will step up to take some pressure off of Philip Rivers and give him an option other than Gates and Tomlinson in the passing game.

TE - Eric Johnson, New Orleans

When healthy Johnson can rack up catches and yards. Just a few years back he was leading all NFL tight ends in receptions before an injury forced him to miss the rest of the season. While overshadowed in San Francisco due to the addition of Vernon Davis, Johnson should be a nice complement on the Saints high-powered offense giving Drew Brees another weapon in the middle of the field.

K - Neil Rackers, Arizona

Rackers had a monster 2005 season only to come back down to earth in 2006. Expect him to bounce back and perform somewhere in between '05 and '06 this season with the improving Cardinals offense giving him more opportunities to succeed.

Defense - Houston Texans

This may be going out on a limb, but the Oakland defense is too obvious of a choice since they finished in the top 5 in total defense last season. The Texans feature some intriguing players on the defensive side of the ball. 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year, DeMeco Ryans, is a tackling machine, Dunta Robinson is a shutdown type cornerback, the addition of Michael Boulware should help bolster the safety position and then there is that other guy the Texans drafted in the first round last year, defensive end Mario Williams, who should become more of a force as a pass rusher in year 2.

Handing Out MLB Trade Deadline Awards

Give Them the Strap

Whether the addition of Mark Teixeira translates to more wins on the field and yet another NL East championship for the Braves remains to be seen, but Atlanta does win the title of 2007 MLB Trade Deadline Champions of the World. General Manager John Schuerholz was not only able to finagle Teixeira and left handed reliever Ron Mahay out of Texas, but in addition he landed former Mets Octavio Dotel from Kansas City and lefty reliever Royce Ring from San Diego. Not bad for a day’s work. An added incentive is the possibility of Dotel and Ring coming back to haunt their former club from Queens as the teams battle it out for the division crown.


Can't Figure it Out

The Pirates win the award for Most - umm - Surprising Move at the Trade Deadline by acquiring pitcher Matt Morris from San Francisco. One could only assume that Pittsburgh feels a veteran presence is needed to solidify its young starting rotation going into next season since this year is already over for the Pirates. To say that the move is questionable would be an understatement, however, it isn’t the first move by GM Dave Littlefield that makes you scratch your head. Year after year the Pirates roster is a mish mash of young players and patchwork veterans of marginal ability and a clear direction for the franchise never seems to be established. It’s difficult to tell what the Pirates are trying to do and as the years of residing in the bottom of the standings continue to mount it becomes clear that the front office doesn’t have any idea either.


Most Ludicrous Trade Analysis - Ever.

The Yankees sent Scott Proctor to the Dodgers in exhange for Wilson Betemit. All fine and good, but someone needs to explain to me how so-called “baseball experts” could agree with the following rationale:

Yankees trade for Wilson Betemit as a possible replacement for Alex Rodriguez next season.

Yea, and Atlanta traded for Mark Teixeira as an insurance policy at first base in case Julio Franco decides to hang them up after this season. Betemit couldn’t even hold down the third base job this season for the offensively inept Dodgers, therefore, something tells me he may not be the Yankees long term answer. Betemit is hitting .231 this season and in his 372 game career he’s batted an underwhelming .263 with 32 homers and 102 RBIs. Some may argue that he's still green and need time to develop. The only problem with that argument is that nobody know how hold the guy is. Some reports say he’s 25, others state that he’s 26, his ESPN.com player page says he’s 27, while his profile on MLB.com says he won't be 26 until November. All this means is that in reality he's probably atleast 30 years old. Can somebody say career utility man? I would bet the house that there is a greater chance of Miguel Cabrera or Scott Brosius playing third base in the Bronx next season than there is of finding Wilson Betemit out there.

Vick Can’t Get Away This Time

Michael Vick has made a career out of his ability to run away from defenders, which is especially important when you play quarterback yet are completely inept when he comes to hitting an open receiver. Vick not only has had an uncanny ability to elude defenders on the field, but to also dodge controversy off the field. Well, it looks like the most overrated player in NFL history is about to run out of gas. On Monday, one of Vick’s co-defendants pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting conspiracy charges and has agreed to cooperate with the government’s case against Vick.

Vick’s talent is undeniable, however, for the last two and a half years the former Virginia Tech star has made more noise for his transgressions off the field. The federal indictment is just the latest in a timeline of regression that includes the Ron Mexico scandal, flipping the bird to the home crowd, and the water bottle fiasco.

Even prior to the dogfighting indictment, Vick’s status in Atlanta had become tenuous at best. Stories began swirling at the end of last season questioning whether Vick or popular back-up Matt Schaub should be the Falcons’ quarterback. After the hiring of Bobby Petrino as head coach, speculation was that Vick’s suddenly checkered reputation and ineffectiveness throwing the football made him a poor fit in the new regime’s offensive system. Instead, Petrino proclaimed Vick as his starter and Schaub was shipped to Houston.

While there is a degree of irony in that the Falcons could have desperately used Schaub, in essence, this season was one of transition in Atlanta. Even with either Vick or Schaub under center, the Falcons were not ready to contend for the playoffs this season. The rebuilding process is now in full force with a first year coach, making the transition from the college game, handing over the reigns of the franchise, at least for the immediate time, to Joey Harrington.

The absence of Vick may be a blessing in disguise. Vick was no longer considered the franchise’s savior and was a big question mark in Petrino’s offense. It’s time for the Falcons to turn the page, expedite the rebuilding process, and allow Petrino to put his own stamp on the franchise by hand picking his own quarterback. Can anyone say Brian Brohm?

The smart move for Arthur Blank and Rich McKay is to move forward immediately and assure that #7 has played his last game for the Falcons. Then again, with the way things are going for Vick he may not be playing anywhere for a very long time.

MLB All-Star Game Foreshadowing Things to Come?

After sitting around last Tuesday night watching the MLB All-Star Game from the comfort of my sofa I figured I would share a few thoughts I had from the game. These thoughts exclude the already overly discussed Pujols-La Russa drama. In addition, I will refrain from mentioning how instead of spending the evening in McCovey Cove, Eric Byrnes should have been playing in the dang game! Ok, I’m done now.

Now, while drawing conclusions from a glorified exhibition may not hold much weight, I believe there were some telling signs that need to be discussed. With that said, I decided to be lazy and make a list:

* How good is Chris Young really?

San Diego starter Chris Young is a nice player, but should he be leading the league with a 2.00 ERA? Prior to being trading to San Diego, Young made 38 starts for Texas where he had a 4.35 ERA. At age 28, maybe Young has simply become a better player with more games under his belt and that probably does have something to do with his improvement. The other reason for his success could be the deadly combination of that he now pitches in the National League in the most pitcher-friendly park in the history of baseball. Nobody hits in Petco Park where Young's ERA is a ridiculous 0.82 compared to 3.33 on the road. That should tell you something right there.

In fifth inning on Tuesday night, Young proceeded to walk the lead off hitter Brian Roberts before giving up Ichiro's inside the parker. Texas forever! With the Padres battling for a division title Young will be counted on to pitch big down the stretch and that will include getting the job done on the road. Young will have a chance to prove his mettle and show that the ERA isn't just an aberration.

* Can closers not named Rivera be counted on?

JJ Putz has had an excellent season for Seattle up to this point. His performance trying to close out the All-Star game for the American League in was the antithesis of excellent. Putz was able to put away the first two batters before completely imploding after Dmitri Young reached on an infield single that Baltimore’s Brian Roberts failed to glove. A two run homer by Soriano followed by a walk and Putz’s night was done. Even though it was the All-Star Game, the appearance was probably the most pressure packed situation the young closer has ever faced. With the surprising Mariners squarely in contention in the AL can Putz be counted on when the pressure mounts at the end of the season?

Aw, but the closer question don’t end there. Putz then gave way to Los Angeles/Anaheim closer Francisco Rodriguez who made things even more interesting by walking the first two hitters he faced and subsequently loading the bases. K-Rod must have forgotten that he was pitching in the All-Star Game and not a contest to see who can throw the hardest. There’s overthrowing and then there’s OVERTHROWING. It’s a shock that Rodriguez was able to even record an out. The way he was spinning and falling off the mound after he released the ball, it looked more likely that he was going to pirouette off the mound and stumble all the way into the dugout forcing Jim Leyland to go with option C. K-Rod is battle tested and has got big outs in his career, but the Angel’s may want to supply him with some Ritalin if they make it to the postseason. Just in case.

Trying to determine whether or not a player will succeed down the stretch based on an exhibition may seem like grasping for air. This may be the case, but if you see Chris Young or Mr. Putz costing their respective teams in September don't say I didn't warn you.

Dan Patrick Leaving ESPN

A long time staple of ESPN, former "SportsCenter" anchor and radio talk show host Dan Patrick is leaving ESPN after 18 years. Patrick explained the decision by saying it was time to move on and that he had begun to take his job at the "Worldwide Leader" for granted.

For many years Patrick was arguably the network's most popular "SportsCenter" anchor and on-air personality even more likable than Mr. ESPN Chris Berman. For the past few years, however, Patrick's appeal had visibly softened and even his audience would agree that it seemed as though he had taken his status at ESPN for granted. From my vantage point, Patrick went from an entertaining presence with his subtle humor and quick wit to a stuck-up know-it-all who would rather kiss up to sport's biggest stars. Come to think of it, that kinda sounds like the evolution of ESPN itself.

So farewell Mr. Patrick, maybe we will see you hosting the "Price Is Right" in the not so distant future. If not, we always have the memories.

NBA Feeling the Draft

It’s extremely difficult to watch NBA basketball games these days. These past playoffs were especially brutal. Aside from Golden State, Phoenix, and Lebron’s one shining moment against Detroit, trying to maintain an interest in the league’s never ending postseason is a hopeless endeavor. Any game where San Antonio is a participant isn’t even worth considering (unless Phoenix is involved and even then it’s still painful). Which would partly explain why not even the name Lebron James could save the NBA Finals from posting its lowest ratings ever. The other reason for the low ratings is that the NBA game just isn’t very good. When the highlight of your postseason is the draft lottery you know you got problems. Which leads to the question – Is the idea of the NBA more intriguing than the actual product?

I say yes.

It’s like playing franchise mode in NBA Live where wheeling and dealing – making trades, signing free agents, changing your team’s starting five – building your team is more fun than actually playing the games against the computer. You’re better off just simulating the games and advancing to the off-season to play GM and do it all again. Fans feel the same way about the real NBA, which was evident with amount of attention paid to the NBA draft. My buddies and I were more excited about the draft than we have been about any NBA game in about a decade. This same sentiment is why my brother, who grew up a Blazers fan, but hasn’t paid attention to the NBA since the days of Kevin Duckworth, is now digging out all his old Blazers gear even while, living on the east coast, he likely won’t watch one minute of Greg Oden or his Portland teammates next season. The NBA game looks much better on paper than it ever does on the court.