Glazer: QB job belongs to Rodgers

by | Aug 5, 2008 | NFL ... something

A couple days after it came out that Brett Favre would be allowed to compete with Aaron Rodgers for the Green Bay Packers’ starting quarterback position, FoxSports.com’s Jay Glazer is now reporting that there will not be an open competition.

It’s only fitting that this bizarre saga continue to unfold with reports that Favre will get a chance to compete for the job … or not.

This situation couldn’t get any stranger if the Packers brought in a former White House press secretary to help them with crisis communications.

Errrrr…

Hester makes case to start

by | Aug 4, 2008 | NFL Random Thoughts

Devin Hester apparently is making a case to start for the Chicago Bears at wide receiver this fall.

Umm, I think I could make a case to start for the Chicago Bears at wide receiver this fall.

Okay, maybe that’s a stretch. And Hester did apparently beat both Nathan Vashar and Charles Tillman, two solid cornerbacks, in practice, according to the Chicago Daily Herald. But it’d still be more surprising if he didn’t make a case for a starting role given that he is competing with Mark Bradley (injury prone), Marty Booker (aging) and Brandon Lloyd (crappy).

They might not have a choice but to give him significant minutes on offense. But my biggest worries if I were the Bears would be A) Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton throwing him the ball and B) whether a regular role in the wide receiver rotation would have an adverse effect on his skills as a return man.

If the answer to the latter question is yes I’d be hesitant to put him out on offense every down. As a receiver he is unproven. As a return man he is a game changer and by scoring four or five touchdowns on punts and kickoffs could easily steal a game or two that the otherwise offensively undertalented Bears don’t deserve to win.

Livid to loved: Grant happy with contract

by | Aug 4, 2008 | Contract Squabbles, Fantasy Football, NFL News

About a week after his agent told reporters Ryan Grant was livid with the Green Bay Packers’ first contract offer, the running back has joined teammates in training camp after signing a 4-year, $30 million deal.

He had been an exclusive rights free agent but held out seeking a long-term contract.

Grant took control of a putrid Packers running game last season falling just short of 1,000 yards rushing in half a season as a starter. He figures to start again this year despite a strong camp thus far by Brandon Jackson, a second year player who disappointed as a rookie.

Grant’s biggest concern now is that several teammates have demanded that he take them out for dinner.

While Grant looked good last year we think he’s a risk as a fantasy player this season, especially if Aaron Rodgers wins the quarterback competition allegedly taking place between he and Brett Favre. Defenses have had an offseason to study him and they’ll also likely be keying on Grant to force the passing game to beat them. Expect a decent season but games where he looks nothing like the backfield savior he was last year.

Meester out for eight weeks or more

by | Aug 4, 2008 | NFL Breaking News

Brad Meester, Jacksonville Jaguars center, had surgery on his biceps muscle and will miss eight to 10 weeks and return sometime before week seven of the regular season.

Wide receiver Reggie Williams, who came on last season after several years of appearing like a first-round bust, had knee surgery and will miss two to three weeks.

Tough way to start camp for a team with deep playoff aspirations. The Jags wide receiver corp is stretched with Williams out and Matt Jones facing drug charges – and looking like another potential first round bust. The acquisition of Troy Williamson during the offseason looked like a minor deal, but the Jags now might need the former Viking – also a first round bust, at least in Minnesota.

The Jags have Dennis Norman to fill in at center. He played the position last year too after Meester was lost to injury.

Offenses look good early

by | Aug 3, 2008 | Fantasy Football

Both the Indianapolis Colts’ and Washington Redskins’ offenses looked good early in the NFL Hall of Fame game Sunday night – and both provided some moments of intrigue for fantasy players.

No, you can’t judge much by watching preseason games – the first couple drives, in general, are the only ones that are going to tell you much. But Jason Campbell, Washington’s quarterback, looked sharp on a short drive following the team’s recovery of an onside kick. He quickly hit Chris Cooley, who is rising on my tight end cheat sheets, with an eight yard pass and then hit Antwaan Randle El for a 20 yard touchdown.

Of particular note to me on that drive was how calm and sharp Campbell looked and how the first pass went to Cooley, who certainly isn’t a stranger to fantasy players, but who also could emerge in Jim Zorn’s version of the West Coast offense this season.

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