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Hi Folks,
? As always, we check in right before game time with our opinionated guru=20 buddy Bob Harris from the TFL Report.? For more info on subscribing check= =20 out: http://www.tflreport.com/flashupdate.cfm?? Enjoy! ? Joe ? ? BLEDSOE NOW APPEARS READY TO START VS. CHIEFS... [IMAGE] .Written By TFL Report Editor Bob Harris | Posted Saturday December 2, 20= 00=20 @ 18:10 PT [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] According to reports out of Foxboro, New England Patriots quarterback Drew= =20 Bledsoe took his regular turn at practice for the second day in a row Frid= ay=20 and all indications are the veteran signal caller will start and play as = =20 usual against the Chiefs Monday night.=20 Of course, that hardly means Bledsoe is 100 percent healthy; he's anything= =20 but. And whether it's jammed, bruised, sprained, fractured, broken or just= =20 plain old sore, the real problem is trying to figure out just how badly th= e=20 thumb on his throwing hand is injured and how much it affects his ability= =20 to throw the ball.=20 Not surprisingly, head coach Bill Belichick says Bledsoe is no worse off= =20 than he's been the previous three weeks.=20 "This is the 13th week of the season. There will be a lot of players out= =20 there on both teams who will be less than 100 percent, and (Chiefs=20 quarterback Elvis) Grbac is one of them," said Belichick. "Same thing wit= h=20 our quarterback. That's football in the 13th week of the season."=20 Bledsoe came out of the chute strong in Detroit on Thanksgiving day, but= =20 regressed as the game progressed, throwing two crucial fourth-quarter=20 interceptions that kept the team from mounting a realistic comeback... And= =20 even though Bledsoe continues to insist the thumb isn't affecting his=20 throws, you'd be hard-pressed to find any evidence backing that contention= .=20 The bottom line here says a lack quality depth at the key offensive skill= =20 positions around him make it very difficult to rely on Bledsoe for=20 consistent production...=20 Other items of interest...=20 Michael Felger of the Boston Herald noted earlier this week that with the= =20 weather sure to be an issue and Bledsoe at less-than-full speed, coaches= =20 would love come out and run the ball on the Chiefs. The question is whethe= r=20 injury-prone J.R. Redmond will be up to the task. If not, look for Belichi= ck=20 to spread the load between Redmond and fellow rookie Patrick Pass. =20 Reserve tight end Chris Eitzmann (ribs) was placed on injured reserve for= =20 the season, leaving the Pats with one roster spot to fill... Starting wid= e=20 out Troy Brown (leg) was the only player not to fully participate at=20 practice and his availability is likely to be determined by a dreaded game= =20 day decision. =20 ? ////////////////////////// ? MITCHELL REMAINS ON TRACK TO RETURN AS BENGALS' STARTER... [IMAGE] .Written By TFL Report Editor Bob Harris | Posted Saturday December 2, 20= 00=20 @ 08:15 PT [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Tom Groeschen wrote this morning that Bengals= =20 head coach Dick LeBeau characterized Scott Mitchell as "probable" to star= t=20 at quarterback when his team takes on the Cardinals tomorrow.=20 Mitchell missed last week's game against Pittsburgh because of a sprained= =20 left knee. This week, his mobility was better as he took 60 percent of the= =20 practice snaps and Akili Smith took 40 percent.=20 =01&I think probable's a good word,=018 LeBeau said. =01&We're gonna see h= ow Scott's=20 knee responds, but he looks better every day.=018=20 Mitchell took the majority of snaps at Friday's practice.=20 =01&I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to go,=018 he said.=20 LeBeau said Mitchell probably won't need a Sunday morning test, as he did= =20 last week before the Pittsburgh game.=20 =01&I don't think that will be necessary, unless some complications develo= p=20 between today's workout and Sunday,=018 LeBeau said.=20 According to those who follow the team closely, the Bengals would like to= =20 use the team's remaining games to evaluate Mitchell before attempting to= =20 re-sign to the veteran signal caller to compete with third-year man-to-be= =20 Smith for the starting QB job next season.=20 Team president Mike Brown made the statements after watching Mitchell=20 participate in his first practice in 10 days Thursday...=20 Other items of interest...=20 Brown's continuous and vehement denials haven't stopped the speculation=20 regarding his future role with the team... SportsLine.com jumped on the=20 bandwagon this week when the reported that the man I like to call the=20 "Neanderthal GM" is thinking seriously about reducing his own role and=20 bringing in a "football man," along the lines of former Steeler director o= f=20 football operations and current ESPN NFL maven Tom Donahoe, to handle the= =20 day-to-day front office duties...=20 Brown's response to another report stating that a handful of "close friend= "=20 had advised him to step down and let somebody else handle the team's=20 football operations was classic:=20 "I don't have five friends," he stated flatly... =20 And finally... Rookie wide out Peter Warrick said his skipping a=20 team-mandated eye appointment last Tuesday was an oversight. But if he ski= ps=20 another one it will cost him.=20 Team officials set up the checkup because they believe Warrick needs conta= ct=20 lenses. Receivers coach Steve Mooshagian felt strongly enough about it to= =20 levy a $600 fine if Warrick goes AWOL again... ///////////////////////// ? GROH UPBEAT AS MARTIN CONTINUES TO MAKE PROGRESS... [IMAGE] .Written By TFL Report Editor Bob Harris | Posted Saturday December 2, 20= 00=20 @ 05:50 PT [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] ESPN's John Clayton reported last night that New York Jets halfback Curtis= =20 Martin took all of his regular snaps Friday and should be fine for Sunday'= s=20 game against the Colts.=20 Martin still has a bruised gluteus maximus, but he's in better shape than= =20 last week. The fact that he opened the week listed a probable rather than= =20 starting out as questionable like last week has to be a good sign.=20 And if you asked me, head coach Al Groh seemed to be quite a bit more upbe= at=20 this week, at one point responding to a reporters request that he assess = =20 Martin's current condition by saying, "Fine, fine..."=20 That's about as in-depth, detailed and upbeat reply I've heard him utter= =20 this season.=20 But seriously folks... The soreness in Martin's booty could linger, but it= =20 won't keep the former Patriot out of the lineup... And with Bernie Parmale= e =20 emerging as a legitimate threat in a relief role, the Jets seem to be=20 capable of getting the job done.=20 Also of interest this morning...=20 Rookie tight end Anthony Becht now has a neck injury to go along with the= =20 sore knee that's bothered him the last two weeks. However, the youngtster= =20 is expected to start and play as usual at this point... Fellow rookie =20 Laveranues Coles will miss his second straight game with a knee sprain and= =20 his absence has clearly left a void in the team's vertical passing game th= e=20 last two weeks... On a more postive note, Coles was able to get some light= =20 work in during practice late this week and could return at or near full=20 speed sometime next week... In the meantime, Windrell Hayes will continue= =20 to come off the bench as the number-three man until Coles return...=20 Former Steeler wide out Malcolm Johnson is becoming part of the Jets syste= m=20 as expected, Groh said. The newcomer's biggest challenge is simply learnin= g=20 how the Jets operate.=20 "He's getting more comfortable with the plays and the words," Groh said.= =20 "Every team has a different language and you have to adjust to that. He=20 seems to be a quick student, he just needs to get through all the=20 lessons..."=20 And finally... While the Jets obviouly have some kind of plan in mind for= =20 implementing Leon Johnson, it's too early to tell when he might be able to= =20 follow through on such a plan.=20 "We saw some of the skills that made him a good player in the past," Groh= =20 said of Johnson's first workout with the team on Wednesday. "But you also= =20 saw that he started training camp (Wednesday)."=20 After blowing out his left knee in the Jets' season opener last year,=20 Johnson is eager to work his way back into the mix...=20 "Some guys take two days to get ready in training camp," Groh said. "Some= =20 guys take 10 days or two weeks. That's where we are with Leon."=20 "I'm feeling good," Johnson said. "It's just real good to be back out ther= e.=20 That's really all I'm concerned with right now."=20 The Jets would love for him to return to form quickly so he can resume=20 kick-return duties soon and relieve Dedric Ward, who has not been=20 impressive... =20 ////////////////////////////// ? BIAKABUTUKA OUT; HOOVER TO START VS. RAMS... [IMAGE] .Written By TFL Report Editor Bob Harris | Posted Friday December 1, 2000 = @=20 20:15 PT [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE] According to reports out of Carolina tonight, the Panthers will hit the=20 field this Sunday without Tim Biakabutuka, who is struggling to overcome a= =20 painful turf toe injury, for the third week in a row... According to ESPN= =20 NFL insider John Clayton, the Panthers deactivated the former first-round= =20 draft pick because they didn't want to ruin his chances of playing the fin= al=20 three weeks of the season.=20 Brad Hoover, an undrafted rookie from Western Carolina, will continue to= =20 line up as the starting halfback.=20 His 117-yard, one-TD performance in Monday night's win over the Packers=20 added exponentially to the sudden celebrity status Hoover attained after h= is=20 first game as the starter.=20 "This whole thing has just been crazy," he said. "I've never gotten this= =20 much attention before and I'm still trying to figure out how to handle it.= "=20 Count St. Louis signal caller Kurt Warner among Hoover's fans...=20 "I always like that stuff, it's always good to see guys that were never=20 given much of a chance to come in and really make a name and do well for= =20 themselves," the former Arena League star noted...=20 Heck, Biakabutuka even admitted to mixed emotions as he stood on the=20 sidelines watching fans respond to Hoover in a way they've never responded= =20 to him. However, the former University of Michigan star also realizes just= =20 how hard Hoover has worked -- in almost total obscurity -- prior to gettin= g=20 this break, all of which made it hard not to be happy for his teammate.=20 But Biakabutuka also found himself just a little bit worried after teammat= e=20 Michael Bates told him the story of fella named Wally Pipp, who played=20 first base for the New York Yankees. Or at least he did until the day this= =20 new kid named Lou Gehrig came along and filled in for him...=20 "I don't want to be Wally Pipp," Biakabutuka said earnestly.=20 Other items of interest...=20 Wide receiver Donald Hayes, who missed Monday night's game with a groin=20 injury, is expected to return to the starting lineup this week.=20 Veteran fullback William Floyd will also spend another week on the inactiv= e=20 list; Chris Hetherington will continue to start in his place... [IMAGE] To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: cheatsheets-unsubscribe@egroups.com =20 - 0.gif
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