Posts tagged BrandonJackson at FanHouse

Weeding through those unwieldy waiver wires requires a keen eye and a quick trigger. Thus, Waiver Wire Wonders provides a weekly snapshot of players worthy of consideration who should be available on a good portion of league waiver wires. Enjoy those pickups ...

As expected, Week 2 provided much less waiver wire action than the mayhem we witnessed in Week 1. Nevertheless, there is always something to talk about, so don't go getting comfortable and resting on your laurels. Without further ado, here are this week's Waiver Wire Wonders.

J.T. O'Sullivan, 49ers - Maybe Mike Martz is not out of his mind after all. Despite getting sacked an unbelievable eight times, O'Sullivan racked up 321 passing yards against a good Seattle defense and added one touchdown. I wouldn't sell the farm yet, but if you need a backup, he might be worth a gamble.

Lamont Jordan, Patriots - I preface this mention by saying LaMont put up jack s**t for numbers, but he saw significant crunch playing time. It appears as though Belichick is still in the process of deciding who his numero uno running back will be and Jordan entered the hunt on Sunday. Sammy Morris still got the goalline teeder, but keep an eye on Jordan. Remember, he's a pretty good receiver out of the backfield, so he fits well in the Pats offense.

Ryan Grant

Throughout the offseason, McCarthy repeatedly mentioned the name of the second-year running back from Nebraska when asked which players might enjoy a breakout season in 2008. That kind of praise for Jackson, a second-round pick in 2007, has continued early in training camp.

"I think he looks like a different player from this time last year, and I think you could say that for a lot of rookies," McCarthy said. "... I think he's definitely going to be a factor as we move forward as a core player there. He's had a great offseason."

"Mentally and physically," Jackson said. "I put on a little weight. It's great. I can run with it and everything. And on the mental side, I know my plays, I study a lot, just to stay refreshed on everything."

Packers running backs coach Edgar Bennett refers to Jackson as "Tremendous, in the weight room as well as in the meeting rooms."

With starter Ryan Grant and the team still far apart on contract negotiations, Jackson has a golden opportunity to earn some playing time -- and show Packers fans that they got something for their 2007 draft.

Brandon: "Well, he sure can't run. He's always had good pocket presence, ability to avoid the rush, but you sure wonder if he's going to hurt himself on the rare occasion he tries to run for a first down."

On Friday, Smith reiterated that nothing has occurred to change his April 30 statement in which he said Turner would not be traded.

"He is not available," Smith said. "For some reason, some people either don't believe it or it means nothing to them. Or, I can't argue with this part, just because he said it he could change his hand. But I'm only concerned about this particular year for our team, and I like our players."

Thomas Pelissero: "The series of injuries in the backfield really have hit the Packers hard, as evidenced by their inability to run the football in the preseason and Week 1. Vernand Morency strained a knee on the first day of training camp and hasn't played a down; P.J. Pope suffered a knee injury a week later and eventually was waived; second-round pick Brandon Jackson missed the preseason finale after suffering a mild concussion in a freak collision with a teammate; and Ryan Grant, acquired from the Giants on cutdown weekend, missed most of his first week of practice here with tight hamstrings. The healthiest guy in the group is seventh-round pick DeShawn Wynn, who previously missed time with calf, stomach and quadriceps problems. It's been ridiculous."

"Donald is doing well," McCarthy said.