Posts tagged Tom Brady at FanHouse

It's crazy that 134 yards -- Vincent Jackson's Sunday night total -- is the most receiving yards for a San Diego wideout since 2003. I mean, it's not that crazy I guess, but it does tell you how understaffed the Chargers wide receiver corps has been for the past few years.

Another theme over the past few years for the Chargers has been getting whipped on by the Patriots. The Pats embarrassed the Bolts on national television last year and knocked them out of the playoffs the past two years.

Add in the Chargers inability to be decently consistent and/or consistently decent through most of 2008, and this screamed MUST WIN. (Not really, but I'm on a crusade against this term lately.) Regardless, a victory would not have been bad for San Diego.

And, as it turns out, a win was good. For Philip Rivers -- another three touchdown game, for Vinnie Jackson -- see above, for LaDanian Tomlinson -- only 74 yards but at least he looked explosive, and for Norv Turner -- yay, no hot seat issues. That's right. It was good for all of them.

You want to know the only appropriate way to wrap up a day of sitting in front of your television watching football? Chatting about it during the Sunday Night Football game!!

The Patriots are flying west to take on the Chargers in a showdown of two teams we all thought would be more juggernauts in the AFC.

Find your coziest blanket, ask that sweetie of yours for a foot rub and join us for the football chat of a lifetime.

The festivities begin at 8:00 PM Eastern and bad news for Pats fans, I heard Tom Brady might be out again this week. When is that guy coming back already?

The news that Carson Palmer was nursing a sore elbow might've gotten lost in all pre-game Bengals-Cowboys foolishness, but the Cincinnati quarterback admits that the injury affected his confidence last Sunday.

Via the Cincinnati Enquirer's Mark Curnutte:

There were a couple times where I didn't have the confidence I normally have, just because my arm's not the same as previous to the injury," Palmer said. "But as far as throwing balls, I felt like I missed a couple I shouldn't have missed, but the only thing I noticed was just a little less confidence in throwing some. I saw holes in certain spots that I kind of held back on and moved on to the next guy."

It wasn't long ago that Palmer was considered one of the NFL's best quarterbacks, usually ranking close behind Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Now, after a severe knee injury during the 2005 playoffs (which, honestly, didn't seem to affect his performance in 2006), an elbow injury during the Giants game three weeks ago, and one of the most inept offenses in the league, Palmer's just another guy. It's sorta sad, really.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a quick fix in Cincinnati, which means Palmer's considerable abilities could be wasted on a team best known for shoddy personnel decisions and a cheapskate owner.

For now, Palmer seems resigned to his fate, and unlike some of his name-changing, high-drama teammates, he won't complain. Given the direction the season is headed, it's probably not even worth it.

One month after Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard ended the season of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the superstar underwent surgery this week to repair the inner workings of his left knee. Early reports are that the operation was a success, which is good news for Boston area football fans.

From Patriots beat writer Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe:

Brady's surgery took place 29 days after he was injured in the Patriots' 17-10 season-opening win over the Chiefs. Multiple sources told the Globe that Brady tore the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his knee when hit by Kansas City safety Bernard Pollard. In cases similar to Brady's, doctors often wait for the MCL to heal before reconstructing the ACL. That is typically a four- to six-week window, so Brady is closer to the early side.

You see folks, that's how good Tom Brady is. Even his knee heals faster than the typical knee. Or something. The Patriots offense clearly hasn't been the same without him, even though the team is 3-1 and tied for the top spot in the AFC East.

In a sort of unrelated question, does the knee injury prevent him from getting down on one knee to propose? Yes? No? Get off the stage?

Not to be outdone by Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and his C-list singer/"actress" girlfriend Jessica Simpson, word on the street is that Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen are gettin' hitched! What a time to be a celebrity gossip whore!


According to the Chicago Sun-Times' Bill Zwecker, who knows people: "...a close friend of the supermodel tells me, 'I don't think they will even bother getting engaged -- and will just slip off and marry quietly. But I think that's sooner rather than later.'"

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Tennessee (4-0) at Baltimore (2-1): Okay, fine, I'll agree, the Titans are a good football team. They're giving up just 11.5 points per game, best in the NFL, they have a competent quarterback that doesn't do anything flashy but also doesn't make a lot of mistakes (only one interception in four games) and a rookie running back in Chris Johnson that made every fantasy owner that didn't snag him do a collective head slap. Interesting little comparison here, last week Johnson had just 19 less yards than Adrian Peterson with one less carry and as many touchdowns. Also worth noting, the 4-0 Titans have just one nationally televised game the rest of the season, October 27 against the Colts, while the Browns still have four. Does Al Davis also dabble in national television scheduling? Cool.

Pick -- Tennessee

Earlier in the week, Brett Favre, Hall of Fame quarterback, chronic flip-flopper, and NFL iron man, showed up on the Jets injury report. After suffering a twisted ankle in the Monday night loss to the Chargers, Favre was listed as questionable heading into today's matchup against the Cardinals.

Great news for suddenly skeptical fans, however: Favre will play! The NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports that Peter King's BFF will start his 257th consecutive regular-season game, despite some concerns about his ankle.

As Favre himself once said, the only way he will not play is if they carry him off the field. To this day, Favre remembers how he got his starting job –- when former Packers quarterback Don Majkowski got hurt –- and he is determined he will not allow anyone take his job the same way.

So Jets backup quarterbacks Kellen Clemens and Brett Ratliff can prepare for their usual roles. Not that there ever was any doubt, but Favre will be starting. Again.

A few days ago, Schefter pointed out that good things happen when Favre's name shows up on the injury report. In fact, in the six previous times he's been listed as questionable, the Packers were 5-1 (and he's 3-0 when the injury in, um, question was an ankle!) He's also completed almost 70 percent of his passes, averaged 274 yards in the air, and 14 touchdowns against just five interceptions.

Which makes you wonder why the Packers/Jets don't just do what Bill Belichick did with Tom Brady for two straight years: stick him on the injury report with "a shoulder." That worked out pretty well -- until Week 1, anyway.

As Tom Brady will be happy to explain, 2008 might not be some people's year.

Willis McGahee can second that, as the eye injury he suffered in the Sunday win against the Cleveland Browns could keep him out of the Monday night game against the Steelers, his second major injury of the early '08 season.

"It still looks pretty bad to me," coach John Harbaugh said. "As long as he can see, he'll play. But if he can't, he's not going to be able to play. So, we'll have to try to get that swelling down."

We actually have a rule in our yearly family football game that no player is allowed to participate if they can't see. We Bacons have always felt that to be fair.

The crazy thing about the laceration to McGahee's right eyelid is that Harbaugh and company think the injury might have been intentional, which would be the first successful thing the Browns have done this season. The Ravens have submitted the tape of the injury to the NFL for review.

"We asked them for their opinion on what happened," Harbaugh said. "We're waiting to hear back on it."

Just over six months ago, Randy Moss was a free agent. There was speculation that the Patriots would slap him with the franchise tag after a record-setting 2007 season that saw him haul in 98 Tom Brady balls for 1,493 yards, including 23 touchdowns. Instead, they let him test the market and Moss was apparently very close to signing with the Eagles.

In fact, according to the Boston Herald, he took less money to stay in New England to rejoin forces with Brady and Belichick, take care of some unfinished business, and any other clichés that seem appropriate here.

At the time, I applauded Moss for keeping his word, taking less money, and returning to the Patriots. It wasn't necessarily a tough decision -- playing with Tom Brady has to be the highlight of his up-and-down NFL career -- but a few million bucks can go a long way in changing someone's mind.

Now, though, with the benefit of the ol' time machine, I have to wonder if Moss regrets his decision. Again, I'm not blaming him -- just wondering if he's played the "what if" game since Brady went down in a heap eight minutes into the season. Hardly original, I know, but just something that crossed my mind as I watched Asante Samuel -- along with his 10 teammates -- shutdown the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday afternoon.

Every week when the dinner bell rings on Friday evening, we'll be here to provide you a comprehensive injury report for the NFL weekend to follow. For those injuries that go right down to the wire, drop by our live Fantasy Fanhouse experts live chat from 10 am to 1 pm every Sunday and we'll take care of you on those bloody game-time decisions. As always, please feel free to chime in with opinions, updates, and rumors in the comments.

The Arizona Cardinals

Steve Breaston - Breaston practiced lightly this week with a knee injury, but is expected to play on Sunday.

The Atlanta Falcons

Michael Turner - Turner was seen with his ankle in a bucket of ice (owww)after Sunday's game, but he says it is not serious and will be ready.

The Chicago Bears

Devin Hester - Hester has some torn cartilage in his ribs and has not practiced this week. I doubt if anybody starts Hester, but if so look elsewhere as he probably will not play.