Vick expected to miss one week

Vick spoke at some length earlier tonight with regard to his injury in his interview with the Bruce Smith show on WXTG 102.1 Philadelphia, saying he’ll be out of commission for two weeks at the most (H/T to Pro Football Talk).

“There is some cartilage damage up in there and a small fracture up in there, so maybe a week, maybe two weeks. We’ll have to see. I’ve got some cartilage damage up in there, in the upper area of my ribs. I just have to work through it. I’ve always been a quick healer. It won’t be no more than one, two weeks hopefully. Hopefully.”

“I’m feeling good, despite the rib injury. I’m fighting through it. Overall, I’m feeling well.”
From www.philadelphiaeagles.com (share this quote)

The doctor’s orders for Vick as of right now are fairly simple: rest and relaxation, with as little exertion of the affected area as possible. That seemingly puts to rest any notion of Vick making a triumphant return to the huddle next week, although anything is possible with Reid at the helm.

10:14 pm - Despite early indications that his injury was not severe, the Eagles now seem likely to keep quarterback Michael Vick out of the lineup for this week at the very least, in an effort to ensure the damaged cartilage in his ribs is able to heal before he returns to the field.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, sources close to Vick have indicated that his injury is more painful than a fracture of his ribs, making it difficult to predict exactly when he’ll be able to take back his starting role.

Vick video

Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid avoided specifics when he discussed the subject earlier today, preferring to hold off on selecting a starter at quarterback for the time being, but given the pain Vick seems to be experiencing right now, it’s almost certain that he won’t be in uniform when the Eagles take the field against the 49ers on Sunday night.

Vick video-II

In his place will be former starter Kevin Kolb, who lost his job to Vick after he suffered a concussion halfway through Philadelphia’s week one loss at home to Green Bay. Kolb struggled to put together an effective series offensively when he took over for Vick yesterday, completing plenty of passes underneath but failing to lead his team to victory when his last second pass was intercepted in the end zone.

Patriots win 41-14 over Dolphins not because of Brady, Moss, or Welker–but special teams

No, it wasn’t the performance on offense, but special teams that helped the New England Patriots pick up a huge road win after a 41-14 win over the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football.

Down 7-6 at halftime, Patriots wide receiver Brandon Tate wasted no time getting his team back in the game by returning the opening the second half with a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown

 

. It was the former North Carolina standout’s second kickoff return of the season and gave New England a 13-6 lead.

On the following drive, the Patrick Chung blocked a punt that put New England on the Miami 15. Two plays later, BenJarvus Green-Ellis found the end zone on a 12-yard run and the Patriots had scored 14 points in less than three minutes to start off the second half.

All of a sudden, a game that seemed to favor the Dolphins in the first half turned into a game dominated by the Patriots thanks to the play by special teams—but they didn’t stop there.

Patriots win 41-14 over Dolphins viodeo

With the Patriots holding on to a 27-14 lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Dolphins lined up for a 53-yard field goal attempt to try and cut the lead to 10. Instead, 

Chung recorded his second block of the night and Kyle Arrington returned the kick 35 yards for the touchdown to increase New England’s lead to 20.

Thanks to three big plays on special teams, the Patriots improved to 3-1 on the season to keep up with the first place New York Jets in the AFC East. 

Patriots win 41-14 over Dolphins viodeo-2

On a night where Randy Moss recorded zero receptions, New England still managed to come through with a 27 point win.

Dan Parzych is the Lead NFL Content Editor for RantSports.com/NFL,  where he writes and edits NFL content for RantSports.com.

Random Thoughts from the Eagles Week 4 Loss to the Redskins

On the play where Michael Vick got injured, it reminded me a lot of the Atlanta-Philly playoff game earlier this decade when Brian Dawkins injured Vick after a long run that was eventually called back for holding.

-           Brent Celek after 4 games last year - 26 catches, 303 yards, 2 TD

-           Brent Celek after 4 games this year - 12 catches, 128 yards, 1 TD

-           I don't want to be "that guy," but the officiating was beyond terrible.  More on that later this week.

-           The Redskins 2nd half offense couldn't possibly have been more lackluster.  They stopped attacking and were content to have their defense go out and win it.  They were begging the Eagles to take this game.  Begging.  The Eagles didn't oblige.

-           LeSean McCoy was the best player on the field yesterday, but his fumble was a killer.

Star-divide

-           Every time the Eagles throw an incomplete pass on first down and then run the ball on second down, I get a text from my dad (JimmyK Sr.) complaining about Reid/Mornhinweg.  He's been saying for years that the Eagles' tendency is to run on 2nd and 10, the defense knows it, and they never pick up any yards, putting themselves in 3rd and long.  Possibly more on that this week as well after I do a little research.

-           The opportunities were there yesterday.  Stewart Bradley dropped an easy pick that was basically sitting there on a platter.  Kevin Kolb missed a wide open DeSean Jackson 40+ yards downfield that could have gone for a score.  Jason Avant could have won it if he were able to hang onto the football on the Hail Mary play, etc.  Lots of guys want some plays back after this one I'm sure.

-           If the season ended today, the order of finish would be Redskins, Giants, Eagles, Cowboys, which is pretty much the exact opposite of the preseason consensus predictions.

-           Ever since the opener against the Packers, Ellis Hobbs and Asante Samuel have been playing at a extremely high level in coverage.  Redskins receivers combined yesterday: 3 catches, 57 yards, 0 TD.  Jaguars receivers combined Week 3: 6 catches, 68 yards, 0 TD.  Lions receivers combined Week 2: 6 catches, 58 yards, 1 TD.  Obviously, those 3 teams aren't stacked with talent at the wide receiver position, but Hobbs and Samuel deserve a lot of credit for completely shutting them down.  Now if only Samuel could look at least semi-interested in making a tackle, I'd be thrilled.  His whiff on Ryan Torain yesterday was embarrassing.

Random Thoughts video

-           Stewart Bradley not playing well is a development I did not see coming, and is very troubling.

-           I like Nate Allen.

-           In case you didn't notice, Brian Orakpo is a star.  The Redskins are a team that is almost completely devoid of young talent, with Orakpo and Trent Williams being the exceptions.  He's going to be a headache for the next 10 years.

Random Thoughts video-2

-           Why did the Eagles trade for Reggie Wells?  I'm really struggling to believe the explanation given by Reid that playing RG is that much different from playing LG.  I mean... they didn't trade a draft pick for a guy to be Todd Herremans' backup, did they?

-           That Redskins O Line is patchwork, at best, particularly yesterday with Trent Williams inactive... and they dominated the Eagles in the running game.

-            I'm still trying to figure out the delay of game disaster.  Complete game-changer.  The Redskins lead the league in gifts at the end of the first half.

Nelson Possibly Fumbles Away As Kick Returner

Wide receiver Jordy Nelson appeared to be having a tough time enjoying the 28-26 Packers victory following the Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field.

Nelson fumbled twice on kick returns, which both times put the Packers in a position to possibly lose to the now 0-4 Lions. The third-year pro was at a loss for words to describe what happened.

"They got them out," said Nelson. "We'll look at it on film, I don't know, we'll see. They hit the ball. It's hard to say. It's not like I'm out there dropping it, but they got it out. I've got to do a better job holding onto the ball. It's not acceptable, and I'll get plenty of work on it this week."

The first fumble occurred at the end of the first half immediately following a touchdown pass from Lions quarterback Shaun Hill to wide receiver Calvin Johnson to pull within 7 points of the Packers, down 21-14.

Nelson lost the ensuing kickoff setting up a Jason Hanson 55-yard field goal attempt with 2 seconds remaining. Hanson came up short on a kick that Jarrett Bush may have gotten a slight deflection off his hand driving off the edge.

Seeing as the Packers won by two points in the final score, the three potential points in the missed field goal ended up proving critical to the outcome of the game.

The second fumble by Nelson occurred in the fourth quarter following a Hanson 49-yard field goal to pull within 5 point of the Packers, 23-28, and within a touchdown of taking the lead.

Receiving the subsequent kickoff at the 5-yard line, Nelson made it out to the 22 before coughing up the ball. The Lions' Stefan Logan picked the ball up at the 22 and got as far as the 18 before being tackled by Dimitri Nance.

Nelson Possibly Fumbles video

Thankfully for Nelson, the Packers defense was able to limit the damage to one final Hanson field goal, the final scoring of the game, to make it 28-26.

"It's extremely frustrating, not only that you fumbled but that you put your team in that situation," said Nelson. "I put our team in a situation to lose this game, and that's not anything you want to do."

Nelson Possibly Fumbles -2

Including Sunday's performance, Nelson now has 6 fumbles on special teams (losing 3) in the past two seasons including playoffs.

Among Nelson's highest profile fumbles was one in the playoff game against at Arizona last season. The last fumble he lost prior to Sunday was also against the Detroit Lions last year in the Thanksgiving Day game. He had two more fumbles on punt returns in 2009.

That makes for 6 fumbles in 71 combined career kick and punt returns by Nelson, which amounts to nearly one in every 12 returns.

For the team as a whole, what it amounts to is another poor special teams performance for the Packers, one that piggybacks on top of another poor showing last week against the Chicago Bears.

"Didn’t like the two turnovers, I can tell you that," said McCarthy of the overall special teams effort following yesterday's game. "I thought the coverage units were OK. The four turnovers are inexcusable. Two on offense, two on special teams. It’s something we take a lot of pride in, something we spend a lot of time on, and I thought that was a big negative in our performance today."

McCarthy and special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum stuck with Nelson on kick returns even following his two fumbles, but it remains to be seen whether they can afford to trot Nelson out on the field in coming weeks.

The fumble problems against the Lions come as a disappointment considering Nelson's strong start to the season, ranking eighth in the NFL coming into Week 4 with a 26.2-yard average on kick returns.

The Packers' other options aren't very appealing. They could turn to Brandon Jackson, who couldn't win the return job during training camp, and is now the team's starting running back following the season-ending injury to Ryan Grant. They also could consider punt returner Tramon Williams, but likely don't want to expose him to injury more than they already are considering Williams' strong play as a starting cornerback, at least while Al Harris remains out.

Former return specialist Will Blackmon is eligible to be re-signed by the Packers after being waived following being placed on injured reserve. However, Blackmon can't sign until after Week 6, the same point that the three players on the Packers' Physically Unable to Perform list are also eligible to return to action.

The Packers would have to clear room on their 53-man roster for any and all of them, should they choose to active them.

Morgan Burnett Out For The Season

Rookie safety Morgan Burnett will miss the remainder of the 2010 season with a torn ACL, head coach Mike McCarthy announced on Monday.

Burnett was injured during the Packers' 28-26 victory over the Detroit Lions yesterday at Lambeau Field. McCarthy indicated that Burnett very likely played several plays with the torn ACL before coming out of the game.

The team is weighing their options. With Burnett to go on injured reserve, there are several directions the team may go.

Atari Bigby is currently on the Physically Unable to Perform list and eligible to come off after Week 6 of the season will be an option. Until that time, the Packers must get through two weeks in the interim.

McCarthy said he's hopeful veteran safety Charlie Peprah, who was inactive for the game against Detroit with a quad injury, will be able to practice on Wednesday in preparation for this upcoming game on the road against the Washington Redskins in Week 5.

Jarrett Bush is an option to play at safety and will be considered. 

McCarthy also said the team will talk about elevating undrafted rookie Anthony Levine from the practice squad, but nothing is a given at this point.

Derrick Martin, who filled in for Burnett on Sunday, will also be an option. The head coach said it was tough for Martin in yesterday's game 

Morgan Burnett video

after not getting the same preparation afforded Burnett in practice, especially from a communication standpoint.

Morgan Burnett video-2