Some Notes for Sunday...

[Da_Insider]

NY JETS:

"There's a chance running back Curtis Martin will be held out of Sunday's game at Jacksonville with a sprained left ankle. Martin, off to the worst start of his career, has struggled since hurting the ankle late in the first half of the season opener -- New York's only victory in three games.

While Martin says he is improving and will be ready for the Jaguars, coach Herman Edwards said Wednesday he is toying with the idea of resting him."


OAK-TOWN:

"The Raiders have said Woodson will miss up to six weeks with a fractured right shoulder, which he hurt against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 15.

Phillip Buchanon, Oakland's top draft pick this year out of national champion Miami, will start at left corner Sunday against the Tennessee Titans."


DIEGO:

"San Diego Chargers linebacker Junior Seau didn't practice Wednesday due to a sprained ankle but was listed as probable for Sunday's game against New England.

Strong safety Rodney Harrison practiced, but is listed as questionable. He missed the last two games after pulling a groin muscle in the season opener."


ST. LOO:

"Marshall Faulk practiced with the St. Louis Rams on Wednesday, a sign that the running back could be ready to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.

The team, which will be trying to end an 0-3 start, didn't have any immediate news on results of an exam on Faulk's strained neck, however.

Before practice, coach Mike Martz said he was hopeful that team doctors would clear Faulk."


J. FOX's 3-0 TEAM:

"Muhsin Muhammad, Carolina's leading receiver, will probably miss Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers because of hamstring injury.

Muhammad is still listed on the team's injury report as doubtful, but he said Wednesday he won't play this week.

Coach John Fox said Isaac Byrd will start if Muhammad sits out."


PURPLE PEOPLE FEEDERS:

-everyone knows about the Moss thing, what a head case!

 

[GM]

Thanks Da....good info.

What do you get if you take all of the players listed in this report? Why....you'd have my Fantasy Team of course!!

Damn, every year, if there's an injury to a key player, somehow he's on my team! I went thru 14 different RB's last year after Edgerrin James went down. 14!

Already this year....Faulk, Martin, Moss, Muhammad, Raiders defence....all mine! Woooohooooo!

Head doctor at Runningback General Hospital,
Greg

 

[NYMess]

Update from Thursday's NY Daily News



Martin may sit for gut check



By RICH CIMINI
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER


Running on Fumes: Star running back Curtis Martin has been playing in extreme pain since spraining ankle in season opener.

Herman Edwards, trying to shake the Jets out of their offensive funk, hatched a "Let's get physical" theme with his players yesterday.
After a three-week infatuation with spread formations, they will shift the emphasis to power running. Edwards called it returning to "the guts of football."

Just one problem: The guts of the 1-2 team - Curtis Martin - may not play Sunday against the Jaguars (1-1).

Edwards, concerned that Martin's sprained left ankle could become a season-long problem, said he's toying with the idea of resting the star running back.

Can it get any worse for the reeling Jets?

"He's getting better, but he's not where he should be at this point. We're not kidding ourselves," said Edwards, revealing that Martin's ankle was sprained so severely that it could have sidelined him for three weeks.

Martin, hurt in the season opener, has played the last two games, but said he was in extreme pain Sunday against the Dolphins. In his next breath, Martin said he wants to play in Sunday's critical road game.

"My mentality is, as long as it doesn't fall off, I can go," he said after watching practice from the sideline.

Martin, minus his usual burst, was held to 43 yards on 16 attempts against the Dolphins. Obviously, his ineffectiveness can be attributed, in part, to the struggling offensive line. Nevertheless, it has caused Edwards to consider life without his best player.

Edwards, listing Martin as probable on the injury report, said he's "teetering" on the matter. The question is, would sitting Martin guarantee he'd be 100% the following week against the Chiefs?

"I'd be willing (to sit out) if I knew it would help me," Martin said, adding that he can't imagine the pain being any worse than it was against Miami. "But if this is something that's going to stay with me, I'd be like, 'Let's go - I'll get used to the pain.'"

If Martin doesn't play - or if he's limited - the feature back becomes LaMont Jordan, who has rushed only 12 times for 46 yards (3.8 average). Not only does Jordan have fresh legs, but he's more powerful than Martin, an attribute that jibes with Edwards' desire to "get physical."

Translation: More of a north-south accent to the running game.

"The way you do that is get back to running the ball in a nature where you can become more physical," said Edwards, saying the Jets became "too fancy" with the heavy reliance on three-, four- and five-receiver formations.

Too fancy? Try too inefficient. In three games, the offense has scored only three touchdowns.

By hammering the "physical" theme, Edwards is trying to spark his underachieving line. Every starter, from Pro Bowl center Kevin Mawae to new right tackle Kareem McKenzie, is having problems.

"In an attempt to get everybody involved," said Mawae, alluding to Paul Hackett's effort to open up the attack, "we kind of lost sight of what got us the most success."

The Jets are so confused they don't know their pass from their elbow. Vinny Testaverde "lobbied hard" last season to use more spread formations, according to one team insider, prompting Hackett to incorporate that into his West Coast system. Now, after three weeks, Edwards is shifting away from it.

"Some teams can line up with all those wideouts - and we're okay doing that every once in a while - but we can't stay in that the whole game," Edwards said. "That's not our guys. That is not the way they play the best."

Right now, their best - Martin - is hurting.

 

[NYMess]

If Edwards sits Martin just to see what kind of balls his team has then this will make one thing certain to me ... Edwards has some set of brass balls himself. What a move so early in the season.