Sunday NFL Roundup

On Wednesday…had some problems getting to a working computer the last few days, but better late than never I guess. Without any byes, the NFL still has a full slate and lots of Panthers in action:

Houston 24
Indianapolis 43
Charles Spencer had a tough assignment in his second NFL start. Not only was he in one of the loudest buildings in all of football, he was lining up against Dwight Freeney. Things seemed to be going pretty well for Spencer though. The Texans were averaging over 4 yards per carry on the day, Freeney had only one tackle and no sacks…and then the Texans got the ball for their first drive in the 3rd quarter. Spencer went down and his return was “questionable”. Turned out he had broken his leg and was done for quite a while. I’ll have more on this in a story later this morning.

Tampa Bay 3
Atlanta 14
Torrie Cox had an up and down day for the Bucs Sunday. He ended up with four total tackles, one on special teams, and was in on a play that led to a fumble that gave Tampa the ball in good field position although he wasn’t credited with the forced fumble. After playing pretty well in pass coverage most of the day he was flagged for illegal contact that kept an Atlanta drive alive, but they ended up missing a field goal so no real harm was done.
Dave Moore did not play because of his rib injury.

Arizona 10
Seattle 21
Larry Fitzgerald had a rare game with under 100 yards receiving Sunday, finishing with only four receptions for 52 yards. Seattle’s defense did a great job of covering down the field with their zone defenses. Running back Edgerrin James was the Cards‘ leading receiver.
Gerald Hayes had a much better day, finishing with only four tackles but he also intercepted a Matt Hasselback pass when the Seahwaks were driving to score again before the half. Unfortunately Neil Rackers missed the field goal before the half that would have given Arizona more momentum going into the half.

St Louis 13
San Francisco 20
Antonio Bryant had the game winning score on a 72 yard touchdown pass that I should have video of posted soon. That capped a four catch, 131 yard day for Bryant, who had been frustrated again in the first quarter with his lack of catches. More on that later today as well.
Shawntae Spencer started in his usual spot at left corner and his hamstring seems to be completely healed. He ended with four tackles and one pass defensed.
Andy Lee’s job as the 49er punter isn’t as busy this year as it was last year, but he still had four punts Sunday, putting two inside the 20 yard line. The other two were from inside his own 30, and went 54 and 46 yards. He also held on all San Fran field goal and extra point attempts as usual.

New England 24
New York Jets 17
Kevan Barlow did not start as we thought he might on Sunday, but he did get more than twice the carries of starter Derrick Blaylock. Barlow finished with 14 carries for 42 yards and one catch for four yards. I should have some video of Kevan up tomorrow.
Washington 10
Dallas 27
Lou Polite had a quiet day, as most days are for fullbacks in Bill Parcell’s offenses. Bledsoe threw incomplete to Polite twice, and the rest of the day was all blocking for Lou and they don’t put that in the papers.

Kansas City 6
Denver 9
Kris Wilson got in the game but had no passes thrown his way again in a defensive game.

Inactives:
Rob Pettiti was inactive for the Saints.
Nick Goings was inactive for the Panthers.
Darnell Dinkins was out with a hamstring for the Browns.

Petitti…Homeless but Happy

Rob Petitti has landed on his feet in New Orleans and seems to be happy with the situation there…or at least his Cowboy-hating friends are. As for Rob, he has no home and looks like he will be battling for any significant playing time all year:

For Rob Petitti, there was a silver lining to his 10 hours of unemployment last weekend.

“All my friends have been like, “Great, now we can start hating the Cowboys again,’ ” said the former Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School standout.

…

For Petitti, it hammered home just how much of a business the game he loves truly is. As a rookie, he started all 16 games, earning a league-high $271,000 performance bonus in addition to the $284,000 his contract as a sixth-round pick paid him. But as the first full weekend of games approaches, he’s living in a hotel and searching for a place to live near the Saints’ training complex in Metarie, La., while preparing to sell his home in Dallas.

“I really didn’t see it coming because that’s totally contrary to what they were telling me,” said Petitti. “I’m glad I got a chance to start there, but I knew I’d get picked up. Now I’m just hoping to get some playing time this season.”

He didn’t dress for the Saints’ first game, but hopefully will be backing up the tackle spots in the near future.

Sunday NFL Roundup

Sorry for no posting over the weekend, but even bloggers have somewhat of a life…not much was happening until the season got into full swing yesterday anyways. Here’s a quick rundown of how former Panthers did in their games yesterday around the league, probably a more detailed follow-up on some of these later today.

Philadelphia 24
Houston 10
Charles Spencer started his first NFL regular-season game at left tackle. He did have a false start in the second quarter, but other than that no penalties. Houston only had 70 yards rushing and David Carr was sacked five times, not exactly good stats for an O-lineman to see. I’ll be looking around for some more information on how Spencer played later today.

New Orleans 19
Cleveland 14
Darnell Dinkins played special teams for Cleveland, but did not make a tackle.

Rob Petitti didn’t dress for the Saints.

Atlanta 20
Carolina 6
Nick Goings played special teams for the Panthers and recorded his only tackle covering a punt in the second quarter.

Baltimore 27
Tampa Bay 0
Torrie Cox also played on special teams for the Buccaneers. He finished with one tackle covering a punt in the first quarter. On a day Baltimore kicked off basically the entire game, Cox only had one kickoff come his way, but returned it for 26 yards. Maybe Baltimore was afraid and kicking away from Torrie.

New York Jets 23
Tennessee 16
Kevan Barlow made his Jets debut and scored on a one yard run in the second quarter. He was second on the team in carries with 11, but was only one yard behind Derrick Blaylock, who had 19 carries. Barlow ended up with 35 yards on his 11 carries for a 3.2 ypc average. Not too bad for a Jets team that didn’t seem like it could run the ball with anyone most of the day.

Cincinnati 23
Kansas City 10
Kris Wilson played sparingly for the Chiefs, and didn’t get any special teams tackles or receptions on offense. Maybe all that talk about three tight end sets in the preseason was just talk.

San Francisco 27
Arizona 34
Larry Fitzgerald is the headliner as far as Pitt alumni go in the league right now, and he didn’t disappoint on Sunday. He finished with 9 catches for 133 yards, but couldnt’ get into the end zone. Kurt Warner threw to Larry a total of 14 times and Larry dropped a few catchable balls, so he easily could have had 11 or 12 catches and gone over 200 yards if he had grabbed a few of those.
Gerald Hayes is the other starting Panther for the Cardinals, starting at middle linebacker. Hayes led the defense from the start and ended up with five tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery that he returned to the 49ers 5 yard line. Big game for Gerald’s starting debut.

For San Francisco, Shawntae Spencer was back from his injured hamstring to start at corner. He finished with 6 total tackles and a pass defensed. Can’t say it was a great day for him though as Kurt Warner pretty much threw the ball all over the field at will all day. I’m sure Shawntae’s receiver, whether it was Boldin or Fitzgerald, got their share of catches.
Antonio Bryant almost matchd Larry’s yardage total, with 4 catches for 114 yards including a 46 yarder. He also couldn’t get in the end zone though. He was thrown to five other times for incompletions, picked up a holding call on a running play, and was slapped with a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting.
The final Panther in the game was punter Andy Lee. Usually punting for San Francisco is a pretty busy job, and Andy made the most of his opportunities on Saturday. He put three of his four punts inside the 20, including one downed at the 5 in teh second half. Andy also holds on all field goals and extra points for the 49ers.

Petitti a Saint

Rob Petitti has signed with the New Orleans Saints just one day after being released by the Cowboys:

The Saints got rid of the five players to make room for five they picked up off waivers: tackle Rob Petitti (Dallas Cowboys) …

Not much other news on this yet, but I’d expect some articles featuring Petitti from the New Prleans media upcoming.

The Saints tackle situation might be one Petitti could eventually break into. Jammal Brown is similar to Petitti, a rookie last year that started 13 games at right tackle for the Saints. At left tackle is John Stinchcomb, who is more entrenched as a starter, a four-year veteran.

A trip around some Cowboys message boards and blogs will let you know that the fans think releasing Rob was a mistake, and almost no one expected him to be released going into training camp.

Rob was also featured on a poll on Cowboys.com, asking which cut surprised Cowboys fans the most. Out of four players as of this writing, Rob had 66% of the vote. None of the other three choices even had 15%.

Final Cuts – Petitti, Miree, Lay, Jemison

Four former Panthers couldn’t make the final cut as NFL teams got down to their final 53-man rosters:

Rob Petitti, who started all 16 games last season and throughout training camp was looked at as a swing tackle, was let go by the Cowboys Saturday:

Rob Petitti played every offensive snap as a rookie last season for the Dallas Cowboys. The offensive right tackle won’t even be on the roster this season.

…

Even though Petitti started every game last season, it seemed that he would be a “swing” tackle this season, a player able to start or back up on either side. Nine-year veteran Jason Fabini, signed during the offseason, or Marc Columbo will start at right tackle.

Petitti could have also been undone by the emergence of rookie tackle Pat McQuistan, a seventh-round pick from Weber State. McQuistan got extended time in the preseason because of two-time Pro Bowl tackle Flozell Adams’ calf injury and impressed Parcells.

What is sort of surprising about this whole thing is Dallas hasn’t even named a starting right tackle, and I’m not sure either one of the remaining candidates can back up the left tackle, and Adams is old…that could be bad. Parcells seemed determined to only keep three tackles though, and he seemed to keep the best three regardeless of which position they could or couldn’t play. I’m sure Rob will catch on with someone.

Brandon Miree was also released by Denver with little fanfare. Brandon’s shot to make this team was really at fullback, but he just didn’t play well enough and most teams don’t keep multible fb’s.

Josh Lay was cut by the Saints on Saturday. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him make a team’s practice squad, possibly the Saints. Josh was beaten out for the final spot in the secondary by Anwar Phillips, former Penn State Nittany Lion.

Mike Jemison was actually cut by the Giants. We’re positive this time. Jemison most likely will make the Giants practice squad if he clears waivers though.

Thursday NFL Roundup

Seven games on the preseason NFL slate last night featured former Panthers, thank goodness the preseason is almost over…

New England 23
New York Giants 31
Mike Jemison might not have helped his case to make the Giants last night. He didn’t get in the game until the 4th quarter, which is a bad sign when almost no starters are playing, and got nine carries almost in a row. Those nine carries went for 22 yards, only a 2.4 average. That was the good part though, as he fumbled on his final carry and didn’t get another opportunity. To be fair to Mike the Giants only had time for one more rushing play in the game, but it wasn’t with Jemison. Check back for roster news in the next week, as there will be plenty of moves.

Carolina 15
Pittsburgh 13
Nick Goings was the only former Panther in this game, and most likely already had a roster spot locked up going into last night. He finished with only four yards on five carries, but did get two receptions for ten yards and one tackle on special teams. More on Nick later today.

Minnesota 10
Dallas 10
Lousaka Polite had a pretty uneventful night, a few passes thrown to him were all incomplete, but he did assist on a tackle on special teams. His play on special teams and his versatility out of the backfield is helping him make this team more than his ability to block as a fullback it seems. Parcells just doesn’t seem to use a fullback in the traditional role much.
Rob Petitti did play, but I haven’t searched around the web yet to get how much he played or if it was at right or left tackle. This was a big game for Rob and I should have some more info later on today.

Chicago 20
Cleveland 7
Ruben Brown started for the Bears, which is somewhat surprising in the final preseason game. I’m assuming he played only one series as there is basically no info on anything he did in the game.

Darnell Dinkins had three receptions for 27 yards, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. He should be a lock to make the team as of today.

Tampa Bay 13
Houston 16
Torrie Cox did not play in this game, which could be a good sign for him, as mostly all the starters were held out. I have not seen any info that he was hurt, so I will assume it was a good thing he was held out of the game.
Dave Moore did play on kick coverage getting an assist and was the long snapper on most of the kicks and punts. More news on Dave’s situation later today, possibly not in a good way.

Charles Spencer did start at left tackle, as expected, and didn’t commit any penalties this game. Looks like Charles is getting more settled in his role as a starter.

New Orleans 9
Kansas City 10
Josh Lay played a good bit in this one, battling for that last roster spot with Anwar Philips. Josh got two tackles but did commit an illegal contact penalty. Philips seemed to play more though, with five tackles and an assist without committing any penalties. Look for updates here as they are available.

Kris Wilson played, but was only thrown to once for an incompletion.

Denver 29
Arizona 23
Larry Fitzgerald started and made one catch for 26 yards before exiting early with the starters.
Gerald Hayes seemed to play a lot more, starting and still being on the field to make a tackle in the 3rd quarter. Hayes finished up with three tackles, and committed a holding penalty on defense.

Brandon Miree did get in the game for Denver, but the only time the ball came his way was on an incomplete two-pointconversion attempt. Not a good sign for Brandon, although he may make the squad as a fullback.

Petitti – swing tackle, trade bait or roster casualty?

This could be one of the more confusing stories of the preseason regarding a Panther in the NFL. Rob Petitti has gone from the 16 game starter last season for the Dallas Cowboys to starting the preseason as the starting right tackle, to the backup at left tackle, to the swing tackle. According to different articles on the Cowboys’ official site today he could now be either the swing tackle, trade bait or just cut by the end of the week.

First, this article by Mickey Spagnola has Petitti as the swing tackle or trade bait:

At tackle he has Colombo or Fabini or Petitti, and now this McQuistan kid who he basically put on the roster here Tuesday during his media briefing.

…

Lastly, there are those five offensive tackles. This one is a hard call to make. Obviously Adams is one, and at the other end of the spectrum, McQuistan is two. After that, well, it’s the Tackle Tre, Colombo-Petitti-Fabini. Two would stay for sure, but three? Or might the Cowboys go looking for another?

“Based on the calls were getting on offensive linemen wanting some of ours,” Parcells said, “I’m not expecting too much to be out there.”

Wanting some of ours? Could someone want Marc Colombo, who has started the past two preseason games but has played little the past two years, or possibly Rob Petitti, who started 16 games last year but is working as the swing guy this year?

He is speaking of Bill Parcells there, who has been getting calls about multiple offensive linemen from other teams. This is suddenly an option for Rob, and it looks like if he does end up cut by Dallas he would have no problem finding another team.

Mercury News also has Parcells deciding whether or not to cut Petitti:

Marc Colombo appears to be the starter at right tackle and Flozell Adams at left tackle, when he’s healthy. Pat McQuistan is on the team, and Parcells isn’t sure whether he wants to cut Rob Petitti, an intelligent player who has physical limitations, or nine-year veteran Jason Fabini, who makes Parcells comfortable because he knows exactly what he’ll give him.

“I’m wrestling with that position,” Parcells said. “Wrestling with the numbers on the offensive line.”

Another article on the Cowboys’ official site has Petitti as the swing tackle for now. Parcells says that he only wants to dress three tackles for a game though, two starting and one “swing” tackle. Apparently he favors McQuistain to back up left tackle, but it doesn’t mention if he thinks that McQuistain can be a “swing tackle”:

The right tackle position isn’t exactly settled, either. In fact, Parcells has yet to announce a starter while Marc Colombo and Jason Fabini continue to battle for the job. Rob Petitti, who started all 16 games last season, began training camp as the first-team right tackle but moved to the left side, where his playing time has been limited in the first three preseason games.

All along, Parcells has suggested Petitti could be used as the “swing tackle,” able to back up both sides. Monday, Parcells said Petitti is working in that role and called it a good thing.

Parcells said he only expects to dress three offensive tackles in a regular-season game and since he hasn’t seen McQuistan play the right side, it’s unlikely the rookie would be active for a game, especially early in the season.

But on Tuesday, the coach was singing a slightly different tune, stating that McQuistan might have a chance now to back up Adams.

BUT Petitti isn’t really battling McQuistain, who Parcells said will be on the roster:

Parcells solidified his spot on the 53-man roster on Monday, stating other teams “would be on him like panthers” if the Cowboys waived him with hopes of re-signing him to the practice squad.

“Don’t worry, he’s staying,” Parcells said of McQuistan, who started last Saturday’s game at left tackle and is expected to start Thursday against an imposing Vikings defensive line. “He’s got that (defensive end) Erasmus James, so that’ll be a big test for him.”

So Petitti is battling Jason Fabini for the fourth tackle spot, which most likely won’t dress for most games this season. I’d have to think being traded or being released and catching on with another team would be best for Rob. It’s not that Parcell’s doesn’t like Petitti, it just seems he is enamored with McQuistain, a guy he drafted (See Kevan Barlow-Frank Gore-Mike Nolan), and coaches love to get guys they drafted to work in their systems.

Like I said…confusing. Will be interesting watching this one play out in the next week.

Saturday NFL Roundup

Five games featuring Panthers from Saturday night, Torrie Cox and Josh Lay with big nights at defensive back. Look for video of a lot of these plays soon. I’m out of town or there would have been video included in this post. 

Cleveland 20
Buffalo 17
Darnell Dinkins was the only Panther on either roster for this game after Buffalo dropped Matt Morgan last week. Dinkins did play in the game but had no balls thrown to him and committed no penalties. He is expected to make the team as the third tight end.

Indianapolis 27
New Orleans 14
Josh Lay had a more eventful game for New Orleans, and it started on the opening kickoff when Josh tackled the returner. In the fourth quarter Lay picked off a Shaun King pass and returned it 24 yards. The Colts had been driving to score again when Josh picked off the pass. This has to help Josh make the team as a special teams player and as a dime defensive back. We will be updating this week as cuts are made.

San Francisco 7
Dallas 17
Antonio Bryant was made into somewhat of the story heading into this game, facing off against Bill Parcels, whom he had thrown a jersey at when he played on the Cowboys, before being traded to the Browns. Bryant was thrown to 5 times for two catches for 24 yards. He also made a tackle on a ball thrown to him that was intercepted.

Andy Lee, as reported here again yesterday, is battling for his punting job. Unlike last week when Andy got the majority of the punts, this week he had two punts for 78 yards while his competition Rouen got three punts and put all three inside the 20. I still think Lee wins his job, but this game did not help at all. Look back here for updates early this week as teams go into cuts.

For Dallas, Rob Petitti did not start as we thoguht he might. He did play in the game, though I’m not sure what the split between right and left tackle was. This has been a hard story to follow, as Rob has gone from a virtual lock for the right tackle spot to third string right tackle, to being the team’s “Swing tackle” and then yesterday it seemed he is back in the battle for the right tackle spot. I think eventually he will be the swing tackle, backing up both right and left.

Lousaka Polite did play at fullback as usual, getting only one carry for four yards. He is Dallas’ only fullback.

Tampa Bay 18
Jacksonville 19
First of all, that is one of the weirdest football scores I have ever seen.

Torrie Cox didn’t start for Tampa Bay, but was in on the second defensive play to make a tackle on Fred Taylor. He is a lock to make this team as a nickel or dime back. Torrie also had a pass defensed on a really nice play downfield later in the game. He finished with three solo tackles, one assist and a pass defensed.

One area Torrie hasn’t got to show off his skills much this preseason has been returning kicks. He made the most of his opportunity though, returning the opening kickoff of the second half for 49 yards. Hopefully he gets more and more chances to return kicks, as Pitt fans know how good he can be in that role.

Dave Moore handled all of the long-snapping duties, and he will make the team in that role.

St Louis 12
Kansas City 16
Kris Wilson was in on some two and three tight end sets and as the main tight end later in the game, but only had one ball thrown his way for an incompletion. Kris will make the Chiefs roster as their third tight end.

Saturday News Wrap – Hayes, Petitti, Wilson, Martin, Lee

Just some news blurbs from around the NFL. Nothing major, so figured I’d just throw these all in a notebook style post.

A few articles in Arizona have noted what we reported here last week, Gerald Hayes has seemingly locked up the starting MLB spot for the Cardinals. azcentral.com:

Gerald Hayes started at middle linebacker and has apparently won that job.

East Valley Tribune:

As expected, Gerald Hayes got the start at middle linebacker and should remain the starter.

Rob Petitti will start if Flozell Adams can’t go on Saturday. We reported that here yesterday. The news today from the Cowboys official site is Parcells has said he may still be a candidate to start at right tackle, where he started all 16 games as a rookie:

Parcells also hasn’t officially named a starting center or right tackle yet. Andre Gurode worked at first-team center for most of training camp, but Parcells has said last year’s starter, Al Johnson, is better suited against the 4-3 defenses Dallas will face exclusively after Saturday’s game.

Parcells plans to rotate Jason Fabini and Marc Colombo at right tackle for the second consecutive game. Last year’s starter, Rob Petitti, will play left tackle again Saturday, but Parcells says he’s still a candidate on the right side. The Cowboys will need Petitti to rotate with seven-round pick Pat McQuistan if Flozell Adams (strained calf muscle) doesn’t play.

Kris Wilson is featured as one of the “Five Things to Know” about the Kansas City Chiefs on cbssportsline.com:

Maybe this is the season tight end Kris Wilson makes a name for himself. Wilson, who was supposed to be a weapon, hasn’t been a factor in his two NFL seasons — with only three catches in 17 games. But that might change, with Wilson more involved in the offense at practices and coaches more determined to get him the ball. I know, it’s tough when you play the same position as Tony Gonzalez, but expect the Chiefs to use two tight ends … maybe three … more than they have in the past.

The author doesn’t mention that Kris sat out almost an entire year with an injury. This is the latest in a series of articles in the last month that say Wilson will be in a lot of two and three tight end sets in KC this season. That might be how they will make up for hte loss of some key lineman up front as well.

Curtis Martin gets another feature article saying he wasn’t recognized enough in the last decade. Odd that the people writing these articles are probably some of the guilty reporters they are pointing to. This time it’s the Sporting News telling us what we already knew, that Martin was one of the best ever:

There goes one of the greatest players in NFL history.

I’m talking about Curtis Martin, the fourth-leading rusher of all time, whose degenerative knee could throw him for a career-ending loss. Ten months after having arthroscopic surgery, Martin is nowhere near ready for some football. He is on the Jets’ physically unable to perform (PUP) list and has been rehabbing behind the scenes during training camp. The chances of him playing again are not looking good.

Even if Martin doesn’t return for a 12th NFL season, which always has been his goal, he has secured his place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His 14,101 rushing yards rank behind only Emmitt Smith (18,355), Walter Payton (16,726) and Barry Sanders (15,269). And Martin and Sanders are the only players to rush for at least 1,000 yards in each of their first 10 seasons.

At least they’ve finally noticed, I guess better late than never.

As reported here last week, Andy Lee is indeed battling for his job in San Francisco:

Competition still exists at punter between veteran Tom Rouen and incumbent Andy Lee, at free safety between Mike Adams and Mark Roman and with the trio of Kwame Harris, Justin Smiley and Adam Snyder at right guard and right tackle.

Petitti may start Saturday

Rob Petitti has pretty much locked up (if you can lock up a backup spot at two positions) the “swing tackle” position for Dallas, which means he is the primary backup at both left and right tackle. He started 16 games last year at right tackle.

Flozell Adams may not play Saturday, and Petitti and rookie Pat McQuistain will probably share the left tackle duties in his absence Saturday. The official website says they will “rotate”:

If Adams doesn’t dress, Parcells will rotate Rob Petitti and seventh-round pick Pat McQuistan at left tackle. Marc Colombo and Jason Fabini are expected to split time on the right side again.

However since Petitti is the vet and started last year, one has to assume he would be in the starting unit and then be rotated out from there.