Forward Progress: Preseason Wrap-Up

The NFL preseason is over, and Week 1 is right around the corner. There are still huge question marks behind center in Cleveland, in the backfields of Tampa Bay and New Orleans and, not to mention, key injuries spanning east to west. It’s time to dive right into these issues in Forward Progress.

In the Cleveland Browns fourth and final preseason game Thursday against the Bears, neither Brady Quinn, nor Derek Anderson, took snaps at quarterback. Head coach Eric Mangini, however, has yet to name either the starter for week one, certainly raising suspicion in the trade market. By presenting both as legit NFL starting QBs (presumably knowing good and well that Quinn will be his starter), Mangini could just be raising the stock value of Derek Anderson as the season quickly approaches. Teams such as Detroit, Tampa Bay and Kansas City, who have injuries or just plain weakness issues at the quaterback position, could be in the market for Anderson. Don’t be surprised if the hefty price tag of Derek Anderson is shipped out before or midway through the 2009 season.

Two teams out of the NFC South, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints, have announced their implementation of a three-headed-monster in the backfield. Tampa’s rushing attack will be led by newly acquired Derrick Ward, veteran Earnest Graham and oft-injured Cadillac Williams. Coach Raheem Morris announced that there will be a 2 series, 2 series, 1 series rotation of the three backs, but no indication has been made as to who will be the more featured running back. Granted, this could all change in the coming days with the recent firing of offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski.

Saints' Reggie Bush

New Orleans came into the season with a fairly stable backfield situation, but the noteworthy preseason of Mike Bell (7.7 yards per carry) has put him into the gameplan heading into Week 1. The rest of the Saints’ backfield, Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas, have both battled injuries in preparation for the regular season. Though they’ve been sidelined for the majority of the preseason games, both Reggie Bush (strained calf) and Pierre Thomas (sprained MCL) have assured the city of New Orleans that they’ll be ready come Week 1 when the Lions come to town.

Injury Scoutlook

• In the Patriots’ third preseason game, Tom Brady was ailing from a sore shoulder after a hit in which Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth landed on top of him. Despite the soreness, Brady was able to practice the next week and should be available for the regular season opener against the Buffalo Bills. The Patriots run at another title seems in tact.
• Carolina Panthers’ running back Jonathan Stewart (Achilles) has been more than limited this preseason, participating in only eight of their practices. His status for the regular season is certainly in doubt, though he’s been quoted saying, “the timeline is to play against Philadelphia.”
• Last year, Donnie Avery emerged as the Rams go-to receiver. This year, his plans to carry through with that role seemed to be put on hold when a broken bone in his foot was expected to sideline him for 4-6 weeks. His rehab, however, went better than expected as, less than a month later, he was back on the field for a preseason game. He’ll be ready to go Week 1 and should be considered a potential breakout star of 2009.