FanHouse MusaSmith

If the signings of Alan Faneca and Damien Woody weren't enough to convince you, if Tony Richardson joining the team at fullback and plucking Jesse Chatman as a third option in the backfield didn't put the light bulb above your head, perhaps Musa Smith's signing will finally put it all together for you. The Jets are going to do everything in their power to establish a successful running game this season or they're going to die trying.

The team announced Smith's signing yesterday. Rich Cimini of the Daily News wonders how this will affect one of the holdovers from 2007.

Running-back depth is critical, as the Giants proved last season, but Smith's arrival must have a guy like Leon Washington wondering about his role. A year ago, he was voted the team MVP. Now he finds two veterans, Smith and Chatman, trying to squeeze their way into the rotation.

I don't see it that way. Yhe 6'0", 232 pound Smith isn't a big-play threat like Washington. He's most likely going to help in short yardage sets. That should worry Chatman since it's unlikely five backs would see regular playing time. Smith also has a lot of experience on special teams, something that could give him a leg up in a roster crunch.

The next question is how all these backs affect the team's quarterback competition. Does Chad Pennington, excellent in play action, benefit? Or is Kellen Clemens, given coverage by the improved running game, more likely to succeed now? Should be an interesting training summer.

Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

James Butler, Giants
You know, I was a little hard on Manning the Younger last night. I accused him of playing great football for 30 minutes, and then turning into an interception-throwing pumpkin, while the Patriots did what they do: mount a second-half comeback and win in handsome Tom Brady fashion.

But after some soul-searching, I've come to the realization that the Patriots-Giants game didn't turn on Manning's fourth-quarter pick, but on what transpired three plays prior. You can see the birds-eye view here, but all you need to know is this: safety James Butler must've blacked out because when the cameras finally caught up with him, he was about 15 yards behind Randy Moss. Moss was making his way to the end zone after hauling in a 65-yard bomb from Brady.

That was the game-changer. To that point, the Giants' offense was moving the ball without much trouble, and the defense was like Plexiglas Burress: bend but don't break.

On the bright side, Manning played probably his best game as a professional, and the timing couldn't be better.
Sorry, No Photos

Cowboys safety Roy Williams has served his one-game suspension for perpetrating the Roy Williams tackle on Donovan McNabb two weeks ago. But it's not over for the former first-round pick. The NFL, via the United States Postal Service, notified Williams that they will be watching him very closely from here on out.

If Williams horse-collar's another player, he could get slapped with a two-game suspension, including the playoffs:

Greg Aiello, a league spokesperson, said standard procedure is for the league to increase fines and possible suspensions for players who continue inappropriate conduct on the field.

It would be one thing if Williams was a steroid-addled, one-track-minded, search-and-destroy football meat head. At least that would help explain the repeated offenses and general jackassery. But Williams is a smart dude. Why he can't grasp the fact that horse-collaring an opponent to the ground is illegal is stupefying.

And forget for the moment that the NFL deems it illegal, how about the fact that he's ended one player's career (Tyrone Calico), and broken the legs of two others (Musa Smith, Terrell Owens).

You can try to make the weak case that football is a game of injuries and it's an unfortunate by-product of 22 fat guys running full steam into each other. Fine, but I'm pretty sure Williams' incident rate is about 400 percent higher than every other players'. That's probably a good sign he's deserving of some extra attention.

Whatever, Brother Goodell will be watching.

Now that the Ravens undefeated season has come to an end on national television against the Broncos, I hope everyone understands exactly what I'd been seeing for the first four weeks of the season: A team with a dominant defense on one side of the ball, coupled with an inconsistent offense that always seemed to be teetering on the brink of disaster.

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After watching Steve McNair throw three interceptions last night, including one in the end zone where the Ravens could have taken a 6-3 lead into halftime and two interceptions in the fourth quarter, it would be easy to place all the blame on him. Unfortunately, this is a team that still can't run the ball effectively, due to the combination of the continued ineffectiveness of Jamal Lewis (an anemic 2.9 yards per carry) a back that just doesn't seem to have the ability to break tackles any longer. Still, both Mike Anderson and Musa Smith seemed to be able to move the ball more effectively when they got their touches.

Still, McNair deserves to shoulder some of the blame, mainly because he simply doesn't have the skills anymore to be a first line starting quarterback. I've been astounded at the kid gloves treatment McNair has gotten so far this season (never more apparent than on Tuesday's edition of PTI, as Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon continued to ignore McNair's obvious shortcomings), even as he consistently short-hopped balls to receivers as often as he overthrew them. And forget about throwing the deep ball, as it seems McNair is just as likely to throw an interception as to make a long completion downfield.

The result: For three weeks in a row now, the Ravens put the game on McNair's shoulders in the fourth quarter, but this time they rolled the dice and it came up snake eyes. With a running game that can't seemingly get on track, McNair may very well be faced with the same situation deeper into the season. But while the Ravens may still talk about all the confidence they have in their veteran quarterback, there are only so many times you can call on the old warhorse, and I'm afraid the fourth quarter breakdown we saw last night is only the first of many.

9-7, here we come.

No matter how long Jamal Lewis is alive, I'm sure a day won't go by when he isn't asked about the game on September 15, 2003 when he set an NFL single game rushing mark with 295 yards against the Cleveland Browns. I know there isn't a chance that any Ravens fan will ever forget.

And that's something of a problem for Lewis. Sure, the 2,066 yards he rushed for that season is the second highest total in league history behind only Eric Dickerson. Unfortunately for Lewis, Ravens fans have been waiting patiently for an encore -- something that may well be impossible after an NFL career that has seen the once explosive back spend more time on the injured list than he would like. When Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times asked Lewis about that incredible season, here's what he had to say:

"Yeah, it seems like a real long time ago," Lewis said. "Everyday you line up and try to do the same things you did that day when you went out and got those yards. Hey, sometimes it's fate and it just happens."

When it comes to Lewis, I'm afraid that there just aren't that many chances left. Though he signed a three-year contract in the offseason, it's widely acknowledged that it's structured in such a way that the Ravens could cut him loose at the end of the season. His performance so far this season has ranged from solid to average, in part because he's still hobbled by a hip flexor injury that he suffered in training camp. As a result, head coach Brian Billick is using Lewis judiciously at this point, hoping to keep his top running back fresh for the stretch run -- a decision that has seen Lewis lifted in favor of Musa Smith in goal line situation on second and third down.

But now that Lewis and the Ravens are rolling into Cleveland, the talk is going back to that 2003 game, and the fact that the Browns are looking as vulnerable as ever against the run. Lewis told Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun that he knows what to expect:

Lewis said Cleveland, which uses a three-linemen, four-linebacker defensive alignment, typically drops an eighth player into the box to combat the run, and he expects to see a similar arrangement Sunday.

"You would think that they would. They should. Why wouldn't they?" Lewis said. "Ever since that year, they've gotten better with personnel and they've gotten better defensively. I think they really overemphasize stopping the run when we do get ready to play them."

Like it or not, that means the Browns don't think a whole lot about Steve McNair's ability to beat them. Given the way he's played so far, it's hard to argue with that gameplan. Then again, if Jamal Lewis circa 2003 shows up in Cleveland on Sunday, McNair may not have to.

As we've noted before, the 2006 edition of the Baltimore Ravens are looking suspiciously like the 2000 edition of the Baltimore Ravens. Not that that's a bad thing if you're a fan. After all, 2-0 is 2-0, is even if it is a soft 2-0 in the NFL. Then again, if you're counting on any Ravens to produce on your fantasy football team, yesterday's game was simply another chapter in what may very well be a season-long tale of frustration.

Let's start with the good news. Admittedly, there isn't much:

The defense is as terrifying as it ought to be, with sacks, fumble recoveries and interceptions piling up everywhere in the first two games. Ray Lewis is back, but Adalius Thomas and Bart Scott have proven that there's more to the linebacking corps besides Ray-Ray. We knew Ed Reed would be OK, but Chris McAlister's resurgence has been a nice bonus. Terrell Suggs got his first sack of the season and so did Trevor Pryce. Here's hoping you picked up these guys early. Sunday even saw them grab two points on a safety. On special teams, B.J. Sams has been ordinary as both a punt and kick returner, though in fantasy football we ought to admit picking up points there is generally considered to be gravy.

Sure, the offense might be sputtering, but Matt Stover hasn't missed a field goal that counted since last season. He'll keep piling up the points, and deliver at least a few more games like yesterday's where he puts more than 10 on the board all by himself.

Now the bad news:

While Steve McNair might not make mistakes, he's not exactly lighting it up either. He's yet to throw for more than 200 yards in a game, and he only has a pair of touchdown passes. And while he's a great leader in the huddle, it makes absolutely no sense to put him in your fantasy lineup unless you have no other choice. And at levels of production like this, he's pulling all of his receivers down to his level too. Derrick Mason might be worth a look as a third WR on a fantasy squad, but Mark Clayton has no business being on anyone's roster. And Todd Heap, even though he may have caught a touchdown in yesterday's game, looks to be dragged down as well.

The running game is equally perplexing. In a way, the situation is much like Denver in that the ball is getting spread around in the backfield between Jamal Lewis, Musa Smith and Mike Anderson. The problem is that while you could count on at least one Broncos back having a decent performance every week, the Ravens backfield can't boast the same. Even worse, Brian Billick looked more than happy to lift Lewis out of the Ravens goal line package on second and third down in favor of Smith. The result: Both Smith and Anderson got into the end zone yesterday (though Smith's touchdown was called back on a penalty), while Lewis just couldn't get his blockers to open up any holes for him near the goal line. The good news: Lewis is still a little dinged up, and if he can heal helped along by Billick using him more gingerly, that might mean bigger games down the road.

As a whole, the offense still looks like it's in training camp, as they committed a number of motion and procedure penalties. You might be able to get away with that in Baltimore against Oakland in September, but you won't be able to get away with it against Pittsburgh or Cincinnati on the road in January. If this team needs to get into a shootout, a real possibility with the Bengals, they'll be seriously behind the eight ball.

Here's a flash that came out of the Ravens practice facility in Owings Mills about an hour ago courtesy of Aaron Wilson of the Carroll County Times: The team has upgraded starting running back Jamal Lewis from questionable to probable for Sunday's game in Tampa.

But buried behind the lede is another surprising development. Thanks to his superior performance in the preseason, combined with Mike Anderson's rather lackluster play so far, the coaching staff now considers running back Musa Smith to be the primary backup to Lewis.

Ex-Bronco Anderson has been hobbled by minor injuries all preseason long, and has been, as I mentioned yesterday, solid, but unspectacular. Meanwhile, Smith has looked like he's been on a mission, both rushing and receiving.

This has to be disappointing for Anderson. For the entire length of his career he's been nothing but a solid citizen. Back in Denver, the ex-Marine never complained, even when head coach Mike Shanahan took away his job as the starting halfback in favor of Clinton Portis and asked him to take over at fullback.

The NFL is cruel sometimes. And this is one of those times.

The question hanging over the Ravens today: Will Jamal Lewis be ready for the season opener Sunday in Tampa?

The team held Lewis out of the final two preseason games as a precaution after he suffered a hip flexor injury while doing wind sprints in training camp. According to Mike Preston at Ravens Central, the only way the injury can heal is through a combination of "rest, controlled stretching and running". More importantly, this isn't the kind of injury somebody can play through, as it can reduce a running back's explosiveness.

Despite the fact that he says he's going to be ready, the team is listing Lewis as questionable for Sunday's game. Here's what he told Jamison Hensley of the Baltimore Sun:

"If it was up to me, I'm ready to roll," Lewis said yesterday while propping his leg on a stool in front of his locker. "At the same time, I have to follow the coaches' lead. They know what's best for me. So, that's how we'll play it."

Ravens head coach Brian Billick was more circumspect, telling Hensley, "I don't know that anybody is 100 percent." Not exactly a ringing endorsement. The story is much the same in the Carroll County Times, where Aaron Wilson describes Lewis as trying to dispel the impression that he might sit out on Sunday.

Luckily, the team has some insurance. If Lewis can't go, expect a running back by committee solution, with ex-Bronco Mike Anderson splitting time with Musa Smith. Anderson was solid, but not spectacular in camp, while Smith was something of a revelation both carrying the ball and catching it out of the backfield. Largely forgotten after a horrific injury suffered against the Cowboys in 2004, Smith was going to see some playing time this season even with Lewis getting the majority of the touches. But while neither might be an ideal replacement, it beats the heck out of the solution the Ravens turned to in the 2001 season with the tandem of Terry Allen and Jason Brookings.