Sunday Night Roundup

So much has happened..so much has been learned since the early games got going today. We've seen major injuries, big surprises, disappointments and of course some fluky never seen before plays all of which is why Sunday football is so great. In case you missed anything, here are the highlights:


INJURIES

The day got off to a horrible start for the Indianapolis Colts as WR Anthony Gonzalez went down in a non-contact manner with a knee injury. Gonzalez needed to be carried off of the field and eventually took a cart to the locker room in what was a terrible scene. Late word on Gonzalez is he's only got a MCL sprain at this time, however it is a grade 2 sprain which is significant. A diagnosis of MCL sprain, especially a grade 2 can mean anything from 2 weeks to an entire season lost for the young receiver. We'll know more tomorrow but for now start scouring the waiver wire for free agent WR's if indeed you own Gonzalez.

The Philadelphia Eagles defense and special teams took a 7 point deficit and turned it into a laugher for the Eagles. Except nobody was laughing after QB Donovan McNabb got landed on while in the endzone after a short TD run late in the game. McNabb suffered a broken rib of all things and will miss at least 1 game that we know of until further tests are done. Kevin Kolb will lead the Eagles next week against the high octane New Orleans Saints. Michael Vick will not replace McNabb once he is officially reinstated so please don't waste a waiver move this week on that. Only if McNabb is out 4+ weeks will Vick have any chance at leading the Eagles and right now that seems unlikely.

In other QB news, Panthers backup QB Josh McCown will be out a long time after tearing up his knee after he replaced the ineffective Jake Delhomme this afternoon. This one looked real bad and it is very possible that McCown will not be back this season. Look for the Panthers to address this situation early next week.

Giants rookie WR Hakeem Nicks was carted off the field after suffering a injury to his foot. Nicks was in good spirits after the game but his leg was in a protective boot and he was using crutches to get around. I have spoken to a Giants representative who told me the team is fearing this injury may be a Lisfranc fracture which is to the top of the foot where Nicks has much swelling and pain right now. If it is Lisfranc, Nicks won't be back anytime soon and would probably miss the rest of the season. Stay tuned...

Andre Davis got the start for the Texans today after Kevin Walter was made in-active due to a hamstring injury he's been dealing with of late. Davis had a couple of drops early on in the game before suffering a concussion that knocked him out (literally!) for the remainder to today's game. He will be evaluated later in the week and will be questionable for next week.

Giants third string RB Danny Ware is likely out for the season after dislocating his elbow during a special teams play in the first quarter.

Tony Romo said after the game today that he injured his ankle before halftime of today's game against Tampa Bay. Maybe Tony just wants some sympathy cause he didn't look injured while he dismantled the Bucs defense in the second half. He will be fine.


GOOD

Adrian Peterson -- 25-180 Yards - 3 TD's Rushing
Drew Brees -- 26-34 358 Yards - 6 TD's Passing
Tony Romo -- 16-27 353 Yards - 3 TD's Passing
Thomas Jones -- 20-107 Yards - 2 TD's Rushing
Reggie Wayne -- 10-162 Yards - 1 TD Receiving
John Carlson -- 6-95 Yards - 2 TD's Receiving


BAD

Jake Delhomme -- 7-17 73 Yards - 4 Interceptions
Larry Johnson -- 11-20 Yards Rushing
David Garrard -- 14-28 122 Yards Passing
Ronnie Brown -- 10-43 Yards Rushing
Steve Slaton -- 9-17 Yards Rushing
Steve Smith -- 3-21 Yards Receiving


IMPRESSIVE

Jonathen Stewart was far more involved than I would have thought today after sitting out much of training camp with an achilles tendon injury. Stewart was the goal line back for the Panthers today, even though he failed on four attempts from within the 10 yard line. Still, it was nice to seem him out there so often running hard and looking like he will contribute good things all season long.

The Saints were thin at RB going into today's game but got a great performance out of third string RB Mike Bell. Much will be made of Drew Brees and the Saints passing game and rightfully so. But, it was Bell who kept the Lions defense off balance all afternoon by running hard on both inside and outside runs. With Pierre Thomas out and Reggie Bush dealing with a nagging knee, Bell may continue to see time for this very productive offense.

Cadillac Williams lived up to his name this afternoon. Coming off major knee surgeries the past two season, there was no way I thought that Cadillac would show such explosiveness and big play potential at any point this year. I am still highly skeptical for his chances the rest of the way, but for me this was the most surprising performance of week 1.


DISAPPOINTING

Matt Schaub didn't record 100 yards passing until the fourth quarter of today's loss to the Jets. Though I remain high on Schaub, the performance of the Texans offensive line today was flat out unacceptable and quite shocking. Schaub got comfortable later on as he finally found Andre Johnson a couple of times late but by that time the game was out of reach. Steve Slaton and the running game will have to improve too for Schaub to have the passing lanes and opportunities downfield that he needs.

The Bengals offense did not look nearly as bad as the stats or the final score would indicate. But the disappearance of Chris Henry was surprising to me today. Henry made a real nice catch on the first drive of the game but was silent the rest of the day. I strongly believe that Carson Palmer needs to find Henry more often downfield for the Bengals offense to put points on the board. Henry will be fine but this was definitely not a good start for the emerging star.


QUICK NOTES

Kyle Orton's final numbers were far better than he actually was today. In fact, Orton was downright awful all day long. The 87 yard touchdown was actually a terrible throw that was tipped up and just happened to fall into Brandon Stokley's waiting arms. He was horrible and is not startable next week whatsoever.

James Davis played but clearly wasn't cleared for a full complement of carries today. Jamal Lewis did pretty good but don't get off track here. This is still Davis' job eventually and Lewis is just keeping the seat warm.

Jay Cutler was bad, but his receivers were even worse. Cutler will produce fantasy numbers this year but if your league takes away for interceptions, he loses quite a bit of value.

Please don't read too much into Percy Harvin's TD this afternoon. Harvin is being used mostly in a gimmick type role right now and while that is all well and good, it just doesn't provide steady fantasy points. Harvin is a very good draft and follow player but is not an everyweek starter.

Earnest Graham only got 1 carry today. The Buccaneers will run even more in the coming weeks but I just don't see much value in Graham right now or anytime soon.

Look for Jeff Garcia to get some offers this week as contracts are no longer guaranteed for veterans like Garcia if not on a roster in week 1. I have heard that a few teams will be contacting Garcia as early as Monday morning in hopes of landing him as their backup QB. You can probably add the Panthers to that mix as well after Jake Delhomme's performance and the loss of backup Josh McCown to a knee injury.




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