In a report by News 8 Austin, a 24-hour news channel in Texas, (city council member Mike) Martinez and Benson, a former Texas Longhorns back, were supposed to announce a program by Benson's charity to help children get winter coats, but Benson was not in Austin for the announcement.
"Unfortunately, but fortunately, Cedric Benson is not here today," he said. "He is actually signing a contract today to get back in the game with the Detroit Lions ... "
Also contained in the article was information that the Lions were not in a huge hurry to sign the back, because they are happy with their current backfield situation and this is merely injury insurance. If that is really true, the Lions front office is even dumber than we have thought all along.
In a report by News 8 Austin, a 24-hour news channel in Texas, (city council member Mike) Martinez and Benson, a former Texas Longhorns back, were supposed to announce a program by Benson's charity to help children get winter coats, but Benson was not in Austin for the announcement.
"Unfortunately, but fortunately, Cedric Benson is not here today," he said. "He is actually signing a contract today to get back in the game with the Detroit Lions ... "
Also contained in the article was information that the Lions were not in a huge hurry to sign the back, because they are happy with their current backfield situation and this is merely injury insurance. If that is really true, the Lions front office is even dumber than we have thought all along.
Other than last week's Monday night game in Denver, the Packers haven't had much of a running game this season. It's kind of odd -- Brett Favre has almost always had a reliable back, whether it was Edgar Bennett, Dorsey Levens, or Ahman Green.
Unless new starter Ryan Grant takes off in the final half of this season like Dorsey Levens in the second half of 1996 or Green in the second half of 2000, finding a franchise halfback has to be among [GM Ted] Thompson's priorities. Coach Mike McCarthy wants to run the ball, and to do it he needs a big-time back. ...
Thompson .... [and] the entire college scouting department, have been visiting college campuses each week all season looking at prospects in person and on videotape and doing background research for next year's draft. They'll continue to until the college regular season ends in the next two to three weeks.
Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.
This week I sat down with Brandon of Acme Packing Company, a Sports Blog Nation column that covers the Green Bay Packers.
Dan Benton: "Brett Favre, Brett Favre, Brett Favre ... Is there anything that guy can't do?"
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."
Benton: "I know the Packers running back situation is so confusing that fans don't even have a grasp on it, but you have to like what you saw out of Ryan Grant on Monday night. Should we expect to see more of him in the coming weeks?"
A day after exiting Green Bay's Monday night contest against the Broncos with a shoulder injury, DeShawn Wynn was placed on injured reserve, ending his season. Wynn was hit in his shoulder on his only carry of the game, and said he couldn't feel it. Ryan Grant emerged to rush for over 100 yards in Wynn's place, as part of Green Bay's win. While the door to the 7th round pick's season closes, another one could be opening for Koren Robinson.
Robinson wasn't quite ready for the team to activate him for Monday night, but Wynn's placement on IR means Koren is now on the Packers' roster. That doesn't mean that Robinson will be active for Green Bay's upcoming game against Kansas City, but there is a chance he could be. It's an unfortunate turn of events for Wynn who had worked his way up from 7th round pick to the team's starter. Grant and Vernand Morency will likely split the carries from here on out in what's been largely an ineffective rushing game this year.
The field presence of Eli Manning made no difference today, as the Giants secondary was picked apart for the second week in a row. Despite having as many offensive injuries as New York, Brett Favre was able maneuver a near back-up squad to a 35-13 victory.
The Giants now fall to 0-2 on the season, and have to be left wondering if defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was the answer. While Tim Lewis didn't fare much better last year, New York's secondary is almost laughable. Through two games, they are by far the worst in the league and showed no indications that they are improving. They were scorched for 286 yards today, and once again, their achilles heel was the tight end -- something the Packers rarely use. On the plus side, their defensive tackles, Barry Cofield and Fred Robbins, played quite well this afternoon.
Offensively, the Giants were all over the place. They looked good early on, and then completely fell apart toward the end. All Giants fans can do is take solace in the fact that Manning played decent outside of his pathetic interception, Derrick Ward looked good, Anthony Mix performed well in garbage time and the offensive line appears to be much more capable than people expected coming out of preseason.
Welcome to another successful installment of Five Questions with an Enemy Blogger, where each week, via email, I will be exchanging hot questions and [sometimes] answers with a rival blogger about their team and the upcoming matchup.
This week I sat down with Thomas Pelissero of Packers Insider Blog, a Green Bay Press-Gazette [credentialed] column that covers the Green Bay Packers.
Dan Benton: "Like the Giants, Green Bay has been struggling with injury this year. Which of their injuries has been, or has the potential to be the most devastating?"
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."
The Green Bay Packers got a welcomed breath of fresh air on Sunday. After an offseason marred by countless injuries to the team, it was revealed that wide receiver Donald Driver is healthy enough to take the field Sunday when the Packers open their season against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"Donald is doing well," McCarthy said.
Driver has been sidelined since August 23rd, when he sprained his right foot in a preseason loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The injury, which many assumed was a broken foot prior to diagnosis, kept the ninth-year wide receiver in a boot until last Thursday.
Although the news concerning Driver is positive, the same does not apply to running backs Vernand Morency and Noah Herron. Herron was placed on injured reserve over the weekend, while Morency remains out with a knee injury sustained on the first day of training camp.
Taking into account that it's the preseason, many of the players sitting on the sidelines tonight would normally be on the field if it was a meaningful game. With that said, I'm sure most fans would like to know who they should expect to see this evening. For that reason, I've done by best to create an accurate injury report -- official reports are not posted until week one of the regular season.
Taking into account that it's the preseason, many of the players sitting on the sidelines tonight would normally be on the field if it was a meaningful game. With that said, I'm sure most fans would like to know who they should expect to see this evening. For that reason, I've done by best to create an accurate injury report -- official reports are not posted until week one of the regular season.