Friday News Stampede

Covering some of the news aftermath of last night's games - expect some big cuts tomorrow, which we will discuss sometime between now and Wednesday, unless soemone huge gets canned.

Baltimore Ravens
Troy Smith's tonsillitis has taken a turn for the worse and Smith has now been hospitalized. While he may be released in a few days the inability to eat during portions of the last week and now a hospital stay doesn't bode well for his ability to start week 1. Joe Flacco looked good last night (8/13, 72 yards) but still has work to do. He may have run out of developmental time though and could start the first game.

Houston Texans
The running back situation will clear by the end of day Saturday - Darius Walker carried the ball 9 times and only got a meager 18 yards. That 2 ypc isn't going to cut it and the only thing that might save him is that they are paying Chris Brown more money to do less and be injured. Ahman Green may be the initial starter, but Steve Slaton or Chris Taylor will emerge later and my money is still on Slaton.

New Orleans Saints
Deuce McAllister carried the ball 11 times for 30 yards in a final test of his surgically repaired knee. He seems to be all right, though he wasn't tremendously effective. While Deuce will probably start the year as a #2 (although could he be cut?) I expect Aaron Stecker or Pierre Thomas to tale over that job gradually. Thomas hasn't been lights out or anything, but he played well last year briefly and Stecker is decent as a back-up.

Washington Redskins
Has any preseason rookie Qb impressed like Colt Brennan? Probably not, because few had expectation as low as his. Still, give him credit - he has looked very good so far in preseason action. 13/18 for 119 yards isn't Joe Montana numbers and he has a way to go, but Brennan seems to have overcome some of his shortcomings and should stick around. It will be a long time before he has an impact, but one day - if he keeps this up - he will get his shot.

That's all for now folks - more later including some college thoughts. Figure late afternoon/early evening for you east coast peeps.