FanHouse Benjamin Watson

Talk about two tight ends headed in different directions -- Vernon Davis and John Carlson have similar situations with offensive lines that need help protecting the quarterback. But Davis isn't going to stick back and help protect Alex Smith. Carlson, on the other hand, is being asked to block a lot these days. If Carlson wasn't facing a Lions defense this week, he'd be ranked a lot lower than where he sits.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is near the top of every major statistical category that quarterbacks track. Even though Manning has always put up incredible numbers, Dallas Clark said this week, "You probably never thought he (Manning)could raise his level of play, but he has." Not that Manning needed another reason to target Clark, but I bet Clark gets an extra red zone look or two just as a debt of gratitude from the All-Pro quarterback.

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Whether it's torn, sprained, broken or just needs to be taped, Injuries to Watch will keep you up to date on injuries around the NFL and how they'll affect your fantasy football team.

Quarterback

• Eli Manning, Giants - Manning was limited in practice on Thursday but the Giants say it was by design. He's expected to play all four quarters against the Saints on Sunday.

• Matthew Stafford, Lions - Stafford did not practice on Thursday due to his knee injury and will likely not play on Sunday.

Did the injury bug hit your fantasy football team like it was a car windshield moving at 100 MPH? If so, it may be time to do some Damage Control.

Quarterback

• Michael Vick, Eagles - Vick took a hard hit to the ribs and had X-rays. The results came back negative.

• Peyton Manning, Colts - Manning has a sore knee after Sunday's win. The injury isn't serious, which is good news. Better news comes as the Colts now enter a bye week.

• Kyle Boller, Rams - Boller was knocked out of Sunday's game with a concussion. He'll have tests done on Tuesday to see when he can return to action.

• Carson Palmer, Bengals - Palmer injured his left (non-throwing hand) thumb on Sunday. the Bengals don't seem too worried about the injury.

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. We call it The Once-Over.

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Whether it's torn, sprained, broken or just needs to be taped, Injuries to Watch will keep you up to date on injuries around the NFL and how they'll affect your fantasy football team.

Quarterback

• Matt Cassel, Chiefs - Cassel has been limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. He feels that his knee is making progress every day but head coach Todd Haley said that he and his coaching staff won't be able to make a decision on whether Cassel is healthy enough to play until Sunday.

• Matt Schaub, Texans - Schaub participated fully in practice on Thursday and his ankle looks much better according to coaches. He's expected to play on Sunday.

Four of the best quarterbacks in the league, and quite possibly two of the best ever will suit up on Thursday night as week two of the NFL's preseason gets started.

While both Donovan McNabb and Brady have made headlines for off-the-field issues, (McNabb with his insistence on bringing Michael Vick to the Eagles and Brady with news of his wife Gisele and her pregnancy), none of the four play-callers are huge story line material on the field for tonight's matchups.

Here's what everyone should be talking about.

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The Jets have been in the market for a veteran blocking tight end for some time. They visited with such luminaries as Michael Gaines (who signed with the Bears on Monday) and Robert Royal, but missed out on both, which left them getting back together with a familiar friend. Bubba Franks has re-signed with the team, according to Dave Hutchinson of the Newark Star-Ledger.

The move is a bit of a surprise since Franks isn't really known for his blocking skills. At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, he's got the size, but he excelled as a red-zone option with the Packers, scoring 27 touchdowns from 2001-04. Injuries have limited him to just 16 games over the past two seasons, however, and he's only caught 24 passes in that time.

Tampa Bay has traded tight end Alex Smith to New England for an undisclosed draft pick in the 2010 draft. The Bucs had reportedly been looking to unload Smith ever since acquiring Kellen Winslow from the Browns at the end of February.

The Patriots weren't exactly bare at the tight end position before this move either. The Pats return Benjamin Watson and David Thomas, their two starters from last year, and signed former Jet Chris Baker to a free-agent deal.

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Patriots tight end Benjamin Watson had ankle surgery a few weeks ago. Shockingly, when asked about it, Watson went into great detail about the procedure and his prognosis going forward: "I can't talk about it. ... You'll have to ask Coach (Bill) Belichick."

The Boston Herald's Karen Guregian writes that "[a]ccording to one source, there is now some concern whether Watson will be ready for training camp in July." That's potentially news, but the perhaps more noteworthy is how Watson was hurt in the first place.

Watson injured the ankle during the second quarter of the Pats' 48-27 Week 6 win at Dallas on Oct. 14. He caught a pass and was dragged down from behind by Cowboys safety Roy Williams.

He missed the next two games before returning in Week 9 against Indianapolis. Watson was also inactive two of the last three games of the regular season after reaggravating the injury in the Pittsburgh game.

Ah, yes, Roy Williams, the guy who has made a good living out of ending other players' careers via the ol' horse-collar tackle.

This is cool: Patriots owner Bob Kraft took defensive end Richard Seymour and tight end Benjamin Watson to Israel. Every year, Kraft brings players with him when he visits Israel with the Combined Jewish Philanthropists of the greater Boston area, but this time is different: 2007-08 marks the "premiere season of tackle football in Israel."

Kraft, Seymour and Watson attended the last game of the regular season in the Israel Football League.

Big Blue Jerusalem Lions ran out as easy winners over Mike's Place Tel Aviv Sabres squad for a 38-0 shutout victory, heading into the first round of the first-year league's playoffs next week.

Speaking in Hebrew and English before the teams took the field for the regular season finale match-up, Kraft welcomed Seymour and Watson to the Holy Land, and expressed his happiness at "watching American football in Israel, the best sport in the world."

The Jerusalem Post reports that both players offered pre-game pep talks to the teams, with Watson consulting the Big Book of Cliches before going all Knute Rockne on the Sabres: "Play as hard as you can, and put in a great effort," Watson encouraged the Sabres prior to kick-off. "Whatever happened last time doesn't matter. It's just about how well you play tonight."

Imagine what the score would've been without Watson's insights. Next year, instead of pep talks, how about Kraft bring Rodney Harrison with him and let him do his talking on the field. Then we'll see just good the Big Blue Jerusalem Lions are. The IFL doesn't drug test, does it?

Hat tip: Reiss's Pieces