Monday Morning’s Painful Quick Hitters

Well is there any other story, really, that matters to most of the NFL world today. Here is a round-up of stories regarding Tom Brady and his apparent ACL tear. Sirius NFL Radio reported and confirmed that Chris Simms and Tim Rattay are heading to Foxboro Monday.

Boston Globe Patriots Page
Boston Herald Patriots Page
ESPN Story
Yahoo Sports
Ron Borges of WEEI.com
Adam Schefter of The NFL Network

Well now to the game. The Matt Cassell era has begun in a 17 – 10 win over the Chiefs.

Former BC Eagle Matt Ryan throws a 62 Yrd TD pass on his 1st NFL attempt on the way to an Atlanta Falcons stomping of the Detroit Lions 34 – 21.

The Buffalo Bills special teams lead the way to a 34 – 10 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Brett Favre’s debut goes well in Miami, with a 20 – 14 win over the Dolphins.

Reggie Bush and Drew Brees combined to lead the New Orleans Saints over the Tampa Bay Bucs 24 – 20.

The Pittsburgh Steelers pound the Houston Texans 38 – 17.

The Tennessee Titans beat the Jacksonville Jags 17 – 10, but lose QB Vince Young.

Baltimore Ravens rookie QB Joe Flacco leads his team past the Cincinnati Bengals 17 – 10.

Jake Delhomme connects with Dante Rosario in te last seconds of Sunday’s game against the Chargers for a late win, beating the Bolts 26 – 24.

The Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers 23 – 13.

The Dallas Cowboys wallop on the Cleveland Browns 28 – 10.

I saved a little sunshine for last….

The Chicago Bears christened Lucas Oil Stadium, beating the Indianapolis Colts 29 – 13.

As all of New England is distracted by Tom Brady’s injury, the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 7 – 2 behind Paul Byrd and Big Papi. The win combined with Tampa Bay Rays 1 – 0 loss to the Blue Jays, leaves the Red Sox just 1 1/2 games out of 1st place.

The AL Central stayed the same Sunday as the White Sox lost to the California Angels 3 – 2 and the Minnesota Twins lost to the Detroit Tigers 7 – 5.

The New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies split a day night double header keeping the Mets lead over the Phils at 2 games in the NL East.

The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers both lost on Sunday, so the Cubs lead over the Brew Crew stays at 4 games. Chicago loses to the Reds 4 – 3 and the Brewers lose to the Padres, as Chris Young loses a perfect game bid in the 8th inning, 10 -1.

The Loas Angeles Dodgers go 1 1 /2 games ahead of the Diamondbacks by beating Arizona 5 – 3.

The Nut Kick Stomach Cramps

Today’s causes of Nut-Kick Stomach Cramps, because nothing hurts worse-

-Tom Brady’s knee injury
-Vince Young’s knee injury
-The Panthers last second win against the Chargers (I took the Panthers to win straight-up, but I am sure Chargers fans and people who took SD on the money line had some cramps)
-Cleveland fans watching their defense

Around the NFL

The Pats cut four players and have another 14 cuts to make in order to get to the 53 man limit.

Former Pats LB Rosey Colvin was cut by the Texans.

Chad Henne looks to have the backup job in Miami secure as Josh McCown was dealt.

Matt Hasselbeck may be throwing to himself this year.

The Cowboys fill a hole on their offensive line while they have some issues at receiver.

Surprise, suprise, Al Davis is feuding with his coach.

Phillip Rivers wants to work on his image…..or he finally realized LT is why he is a winning QB.

Buffalo and their All-Pro LT remain at loggerheads.

The New Jersey Jets are not worried about the play of one of their rookies…..yet.

Cadillac Williams will have to wait to try to reclaim his starting job.

Braylon Edwards says he will be ready for the opener while explaining how he missed three weeks of practice.

Mike Tomlin expects things to improve in the Steel Ciy in his second year.

UPDATES

Kevin Faulk received a one game suspension for drug possession.

Rudi Johnson got his walking papers. 

Around the NFL

LB Shawne Merriman has decided to forego surgery and attempt to play this season…..a highly risky move on his part that could, at just 26, put his career in jeopardy.

The Pats continue to experiment with their defensive formations.

The Bengals are hoping to help their banged up WR core by using RB Rudi Johnson as trade bait…… with a 2.9 ypc last year, what are they going to get in reurn?

The Jags finally get DE Derrick Harvey into camp. This guy is suppose to be the pure pass rusher they lack, but his missing most of the pre-season will not help them.

The cracks are starting to show in Indy. Peyton Manning is back at practice, but he will be without his starting center for at least 6 weeks.

The Ravens made a move to replace the injured DL Dwan Edwards.

Also in Ravens news, it appears QB Kyle Boller does not need surgery…..I am sure the Baltimore faithful will sleep at ease knowing that.

Matt Ryan was recently named the starting QB for the Atlanta Falcons, a difficult task for a first year player. Ryan will not have to look too far in his own locker room to see how this could turn out for him.

The Cowboys look to add some depth behind their superstar QB.

Speaking of back ups, SI.com’s Don Banks apparently had a slow news day and ranked all 32 of the NFL’s backup QBs.

Finally, sad news to report. Two days ago, Kyle Eckel, the undrafted fullback from the Naval Academy, was let go by the Patriots despite having as many TDs as Willie Parker and Julius Jones, and more scores than Thomas Jones.

UPDATES

The reasons as to why two former Pro-Bowlers remain unemployed are starting to surface.

First, according to Romeo Crennell, if Ty Law is going to start then he wants starter’s salary, and this is more than likely what has prevented New England from signing him thus far. The Pats brought in a slew of DB and would probably be unwilling to chew up remaining cap space for the 34 year-old.

Second, Daunte Culpepper, despite being injured for most of the past few seasons, has not convinced teams he is willing to accept a back up role as some teams believe he expects to be given the chance to compete for a starting spot. Culpepper is probably not going to get a starting job until he can prove he is healthy and can play at a high level again….playing in Oakland and Miami have done him no favors.