Everyone and their mother (which doesn’t always include Andy Reid) knew the Philadelphia Eagles needed to add at least one decent linebacker to their stable of awful linebackers. And there were several good ones on the free-agent market this offseason. Who would they get? Curtis Lofton? Stephen Tulloch? David Hawthorne?

None of the above? Nope, they’ll just steal an even better one from the Houston Texans. And that’s exactly what they did, they traded a fourth-round pick and swapped third rounders with the Texans, in exchange for DeMeco Ryans. Pretty good ripoff for the Birds.

And the Texans players themselves seem the most pissed off about it. Here are some texts that they sent to Houston Chronicle reporter Jerome Solomon:

“WTF!! You know what they are up to?”

“Damn, man, and they talk about loyalty.”

“Cold-blooded, man, cold-blooded. But Meco will be better off for it. He’s going to dominate in Philly.”

“They don’t what leadership means, do they? Bet they won’t finish No. 2 in defense next season.”

“It’s an ugly business. We’re not the same team without him. Gonna take a lot to replace Meco.”

Some players, as Solomon’s article notes, are publicly taking to Twitter to voice their opinions:

Owen Daniels: “Seriously? Meco too?”

Brian Cushing: “I wouldn’t be half the player or person I am today without @DRyans59 this one hurts. Philly got a unbelievable player and leader today. #59″

Glover Quin: “Honored to have had the chance to play with and learn from @DRyans59.. True leader and great person… Preciate you bro.”

Eric Winston (to Owen Daniels): “Watch you(r) back kid. @owendaniels you’re the last ’06 guy left.”

So, it would seem that just based on upon the reactions of Ryans’ former teammates, that the Eagles got one hell of a steal here.

The Buffalo Bills have toiled in relative obscurity since…well, since recent memory. They’ve had some talented players, but never enough of them and they just haven’t had what it takes to compete consistently with the New York Jets and New England Patriots in the division.

But, maybe that’s starting to change. Not known as a team that routinely makes a big splash in free agency, the Bill just made one of the biggest splashes in free agency history.

They brought in Mario Williams from the Texans on the first day of free agency, and had him at hello or something. They didn’t let him leave and have signed him to a six-year, $100 million contract with $50 million in guarantees.

Where are Charley Casserley’s critics now? Remember he was lambasted back in 2006 when he took Williams over sure-fire Hall of Famer Reggie Bush. Maybe this signing should be a little reminder to all the a-holes on draft weekend that feel the need to speak with certainty about what player will do what at the NFL level.

Williams is coming off of a torn pectoral muscle, but should be perfectly fine to start the season. We still aren’t sure exactly how the Texans let this guy walk away.

Houston Texans QB Matt Schaub injured himself in Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a second quarter quarterback sneak. He busted his foot pretty good, but managed to stay in the game.

Head coach Gary Kubiak said that it’s a “significant” injury that will keep him out even after the team’s bye next week. Matt Leinart will start in his place.

ESPN‘s Adam Schefter is actually hearing that it’s a Lisfranc injury, which is awful. If it’s a Lisfranc sprain, he can probably come back this season and play at some point. But, if there is a break in there, he’d be done for the year.

Just terrible news for a team who finally looks like they’ll earn a playoff berth. Not sure they’re going to go very far with Leinart in there.

The Houston Texans got some good news on banged up QB Matt Schaub. He got knocked around a little bit on Sunday, but is considered day-to-day and he should be fine to play Week 6.

The news on Mario Williams? Not nearly as good. Williams suffered a pectoral injury in Sunday’s game and it’s pretty serious. According to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle, he’s done for the season.

“Mario williams is out for season with torn pectoral muscle and will have surgery this week,” McClain tweets.

This isn’t good. The Texans defense was improving and Williams had five sacks. Looks like they’ll use Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed to replace him.

After the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Houston Texans on Sunday, their quarterback was in a walking boot. Nothing like losing a winnable game and seeing your Super Bowl-winning QB banged up as well.

Well, there is some good news for Steelers fans. It’s not broken.

Sources tell Chris Mortensen of ESPN that an MRI revealed that his screwed up left foot is just a sprain and there is no break in the bones. Still, no one knows right now if he’ll be available to play against the Tennessee Titans, who are surprisingly good so far this year.

Pittsburgh is 2-2 and could be looking at 2-3 regardless of whether or not Big Ben plays.

The Houston Texans have had a spotlight on their running back situation since Arian Foster first felt a tweak in his hamstring. Derrick Ward was listed behind him, but he’s been hurt too. Behind him was the early-season fantasy darling Ben Tate, who was a second-round pick last year who missed all season with an injury.

Behind them? Steve Slaton, who was a fantasy stud just three years or so ago. But, he’s since fallen off too, with a neck injury and issues with holding on to the football.

Well, the Houston Texans noticed those issues apparently, because, according to Jason La Canfora of NFLN, they have cut him loose.

Photo Caption: Eric Winston paves a clear path to the waiver wire.

“Texans are releasing former feature back Steve Slaton and promoting RB Chris Ogbonnaya from practice squad to take his place,” La Canfora tweets.

In 2008, Slaton had 1,282 yards, ran for nine TD’s and caught another. Since then? Just about nothing. More than 400 yards in 2009 then…total flameout.

People that took Houston Texans RB Arian Foster in this year’s fantasy draft have to be pretty pissed. Truth is, if you took him high around Labor Day, you have no one to blame but yourself. You knew about the hamstring injury, but you just couldn’t lay off of him.

Surely, people thought Foster would be back and running by Week 3 against the Saints, right? Well, it’s not looking good according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

“Arian Foster didn’t practice today. I expect Ben Tate to get his first start. I think Steve Slaton will be the backup for the Saints,” McClain tweets.

This is bad for a variety of reasons. First, it doesn’t look like Foster will play. But, perhaps more importantly, it’s giving Ben Tate a chance to shine. And if he plays well, even when Foster comes back, we’ll probably be hearing the “C” word. And you didn’t draft Foster in the first round for him to be part of a committee.

If you have Houston Texans RB Arian Foster on your roster, there is a good chance you spent your first-round pick on him. The lowest we saw him go in any draft this year was 8th, and that was considered a free fall. He went No. 1 overall in many drafts.

But, it’s been a slow start for Arian Foster the People who hasn’t been running around in his pumped up kicks. He’s been battling a hamstring injury, but it looks like he’s going to play some this week. The problem? Ben Tate “is definitely going to play” too, according to Gary Kubiak.

That sucks for both buys!

Of Foster, Kubiak said, “He looks ready to play. He’s had a good week. I think he’ll be fine.”

Ugh, this is a nightmare. You don’t want to sit out Foster, but you don’t want to waste a starting slot on him either if he’s going to be splitting time. This is not what you drafted him so high for.

You can easily make the argument that he’ll resume being the guy in a few weeks, but how can you say that for sure? If Ben Tate is impressive in his opportunities, you can bet they are going to work him in all year.

Hooray?

Most NFL teams are pretty secretive with their injury report and don’t give out any more information than they are required to by the league. The official injury status report usually comes out Wednesday, so that’s when we thought we’d get Peyton Manning’s official status from the Indianapolis Colts.

But no, the Colts have decided that they want the world to know that Peyton is indeed doubtful for Sunday’s Week 1 game against the Houston Texans.

“During the last week, the rate of improvement in Peyton’s rehabilitation process slowed,” the Colts said in a statement. “Over the weekend Peyton experienced soreness in his back. It was originally thought to be a normal reaction to his rehabilitation regimen. When the soreness persisted, the Colts medical team decided to initiate diagnostic tests and to consult with a number of specialists around the country who have been involved in Peyton’s case from the outset. That process continues.

“As a result of the most recent development the doctors have decided that Peyton will not practice. His participation therefore, in Sunday’s game versus Houston will likely be doubtful. We will update his playing status as required by NFL policy as the week goes on.”

The team describes the situation as “a complicated neurological recovery, the end date of which is unpredictable,” and they say they’ll provide “concrete medical facts” when they have them.

So yeah, consider Peyton out for Sunday. With all the reports surfacing in the last day, it doesn’t sound like he has a chance in hell of being on that field. Now, the real question becomes when and whether he’ll be able to play at all.

For those of you who drafted Houston Texans RB Arian Foster the People (FTP) high in the first round and are worried that he won’t be running in his pumped up kicks for the first week or so, we have some sort of good news. While none of this is definitive, it is good to hear a high-quality source close to the team who thinks he’ll be okay.

Specifically, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle thinks that FTP will play Week 1 despite his balky hamstring.

McClain, unlike FTP, is fine admitting that most of the concern is regarding fantasy football. And he says, go ahead and draft him without concern.

“[H]e’ll be ready for the Colts,” McClain writes. “No one knows for sure about it being an issue this season, but fantasy football owners should take him and not look back.”

Again, no one knows for sure, but there isn’t a more trusted name in Houston Texans information out there.

SIDE NOTE: Memo to Chris Berman. This is how it’s done with nicknames. I took a current, relevant band and tied it to an NFL player. None of this James Mungro Jerry crap that most of your audience isn’t familiar with. Keep it up to date somewhat.

Houston Texans RB Arian Foster has had some hamstring issues this training camp. Just when he got healthy, he tweaked it again. And while he doesn’t like that people care more about their fantasy teams than they do about his personal health and well being, that’s just kind of the way it goes.

Foster recently tweeted a picture of his latest MRI, and ESPN Medical Analyst (we have a guy on staff to comment on injuries that he’s miles away from! Great job, ESPN!) Michael Kaplan said that it’s “very unlikely” that Foster will be ready for Week 1.

“He’s torn some of the muscle fibers, we’ll call it Grade 1 to 2,” said Kaplan. “There’s a fair amount of swelling and bleeding on the MRI, so this is real. … It’s gonna be a couple weeks at least. If you get him back too soon, he’s at a high risk of re-rupture. I think they’re gonna go a little slow with him.”

He could very well be correct. We have no reason to believe that Kaplan has a reason to …waaaaaiiiiiiiit. Just occurred to us. Has Kaplan had his fantasy football draft yet? Is he playing against Foster in Week 1? Is he trying to sell the guy who has Foster on a trade for Tashard Choice to plug his Week 1 gap? We’re very leery of this report now.

Actually, he’s spot on about the part of rushing him back. Even if he is healthy enough to go, why risk it and have your top RB have a bum hammy all year? This is certainly a situation to monitor. But, if you spent your top pick on Foster, you already knew that.

After Foster, the situation gets dicey. Gary Kubiak said a couple days ago that as of now, Derrick Ward is still running ahead of Ben Tate. Yeah, that sounds like a potential fantasy mess. And as for Steve Slaton, he’s had a hamstring injury of his own and seems to have completely fallen out of favor and might not make the team. There have been some Slaton trade rumors as well, although I’m not sure what they’d get for him.

UPDATE: ESPN‘s John Clayton weighed in on the injury as well…..although as much as he looks like a doctor, he isn’t.

“It does look like it’s going to be a 3-4 week injury,” said Clayton, referring to the MRI from Foster’s Twitter page. “The pictures don’t lie.”

If ESPN’s Chris Mortensen is to be believed – and we don’t think he is – the Houston Texans could be major players in free agency. Specifically, we are talking about Nnamdi Asomugha, whose signing with Houston has had cold water thrown on it repeatedly by the local media this offseason. That was a Peter King sentence, wasn’t it? Don’t mean that in a good way.

So yeah, Mortensen says that the Texans will “probably” (oooohhh probably!! There is a good chance it will happen! Or it won’t!) make the biggest offer for the former Oakland Raider.

Nnamdi has been linked heavily to the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. But, it’s looking less and less likely that the Eagles will be his final landing spot. We still think the Cowboys are going to be major players for him, and maybe they won’t have to spend as much as Houston to land him. Unless there is a huge money disparity….why would he play for the Texans? Nice franchise, but not as close to winning as Dallas (despite their awful season last year).

Regardless of where he lands, Nnamdi will get paid big time. Someone is going to break the bank on him.

It can be very difficult to look at the statistics of cornerbacks in the NFL and be able to tell who is really good and who is not so good. Some people see a lot of interceptions and think a player is really good, even though it could be that there is a reason balls are thrown his way very often and/or he’s out of position quite a bit.

But, FootballOutsiders.com does a pretty good job of crunching the numbers so we can see who really isn’t doing their job. Here is how Aarch Schatz describes his system:

I’ve ranked all cornerbacks with at least 40 charted passes, which means 83 total cornerbacks. I’ve removed passes marked as Hail Mary, Hit in Motion, Tipped at Line, or Thrown Away. I’ve also removed wide receiver screens, which aren’t really a good way to measure cornerback coverage because a cornerback in man coverage is going to (or at least, is supposed to) immediately get blocked out of the play by another wide receiver. Right now I’m only looking at primary defenders, so this is not adjusted to account for double coverage, or plays where the charter marks a hole in zone but lists an appropriate zone defender in the second DEFENDER column. There are no opponent adjustments yet, and pass interference is not yet included.

Photo Caption: What more evidence do you need to prove that the Pro Bowl is a joke?

So, they do their best to be fair, but even they can admit that none of this is perfect. But when you rank the worst cornerbacks in the league on several different categories (YAC, Success Rate, and Yards per Pass) and you see the same names showing up? It’s a decent indicator that those guys aren’t very good.

Houston Texans first-round pick Kareem Jackson had a particularly tough year. While he isn’t in the bottom ten for Success Rate, he is numero uno on the lists of worst YAC and worst Yards per Pass. Although, we probably didn’t need stats to know that Jackson was horrific last year. He was the poster child of a terrible secondary.

Surprise, surprise, DeAngelo Hall of the Washington Redskins made the top three on all three lists. People see that he picks off some passes (or listen to him speak about how great he is) and think he’s a good player. I’ve thought he was a fraud for years.

Another guy who showed up on all three lists is Baltimore Ravens CB Fabian Washington. Remember when the Oakland Raiders traded up in the first round of the 2005 draft? They traded up right in front of the Green Bay Packers. “Oh! They’re going to grab the sliding Aaron Rodgers!” Nope, they took Fabian Washington, the corner from Nebraska who had great speed but that many draftniks said “lacked ball skills.” Sooooo…..he’s just a fast guy that’s not really good at football? It would seem so, even six years after the fact. And when you stink up the joint with a front seven like the Ravens have, then yeah…that’s pretty bad.

Another guy we’d like to bring up is Dallas Cowboys corner Mike Jenkins (all the guys I’ve singled out are former first-round picks, just FYI). Cowboys fans don’t need no stinkin’ numbers to tell them that Jenkins blew hamsters last year. He’s in the top five on two of these lists, not appearing on the YAC list. So maybe he’s a decent tackler. Now, he just needs to learn not to tackle people before they catch the ball.

Thanks to FootballOutsiders.com for putting these lists together. You really should check out their site.

Arizona Republic columnist Dan Bickley is hearing that Matt Leinart may have done a lot more to hasten his release from the Cardinals than just play like crap. He’s hearing that after the final preseason game, Leinart might have sunken some ships with his loose lips.

Specifically, Bickley heard that after that game, Leinart was talking to a teammate that was wired for sound by the NFL. Only problem? Leinart didn’t know it.

Photo Caption: Leinart’s 2011 game footage.

The teammate asked Leinart about his future in Arizona, and he reportedly went off on Ken Whisenhunt and the Cardinals organization. Oops.

The Cardinals, according to Bickley, say that his tirade didn’t hasten his release from the team, but a reasonable person could conclude that it didn’t help. Leinart was already on his way out the door, but unloading on the team was probably against his better judgment.

If he was worth a damn as a quarterback, none of this would have mattered.

Remember back in 2006, right before the NFL Draft? The Houston Texans were the lead-pipe lock to take USC running back Reggie Bush with the first overall pick. He was a superstud that comes out of college only so often.

But, they shocked the football world and took Mario Williams. Bush fell to New Orleans at No. 2 and eventually helped them win a Super Bowl, even if it wasn’t in the fashion that everyone envisioned on draft day.

The Saints somewhat surprisingly kept him this past year at a base salary of $8 million and certainly didn’t get their money’s worth. He started six games, played in eight and averaged a decent 4.2 yards per carry. But, he totaled 358 yards from scrimmage and had only one TD.

Now, his salary next season (if there is one) will be a little north of $11 million. $11.8 million to be exact. He’s a decent player, but not the stud we thought he’d be, so there is no way the Saints can keep him at that price, is there?

“We’ve talked a lot about the position (internally) because we had a lot of injuries,” said Saints GM Mickey Loomis. “It’s pretty difficult to prognosticate injuries. I’ve got to be a little careful about just because a guy was hurt one year assuming he’s going to get hurt the next. We’re going through that evaluation process right now.”

That doesn’t sound like a ringing endorsement for Bush. It’s a very difficult situation for Loomis and the Saints because Bush wasn’t the only running back they had to get banged up last year. Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas were worthless down the stretch (Thomas was worthless for much longer) and they really needed Bush.

But, $11+ million needed him? Doubt it. Don’t expect Bush back in a Saints uniform unless he agrees to drastically reduce his salary.

If you watched any football at all on Sunday, surely you saw the WWE Smackdown event that took place between Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson and Tennessee Titans CB Cortland Finnegan.

Football fights tend to suck, because everyone has so much padding on (namely, helmets with facemasks) no one ever really gets a good shot in. Well, that changed yesterday.

As soon as the ball was snapped, Johnson and Finnegan grabbed each other’s facemasks and tried to rip each other’s head off. Finnegan’s helmet came off, and Johnson took advantage. He cracked him pretty good about two times, while Finnegan didn’t throw a punch.

We thought for sure that Johnson would face a fine and a suspension, but that’s not the case. Mark Berman of FOX 26 in Houston is reporting that Johnson will be fined for the beat down, but will not face suspension. Johnson is known as a very mild-mannered guy and the fact that he doesn’t have a history of problems is being taken into consideration.

UPDATE: Both guys get $25,000 fines with no suspensions.

Remember everyone’s favorite red-headed step child from HBO’s Hard Knocks series this preseason? Running back Joe McKnight was constantly discussed and it was never good.

Well, now he might be getting some playing time, even if it’s not what he had in mind. Head coach Rex Ryan says that due to injuries at cornerback, McKnight could see some time on defense this weekend against the Houston Texans.

Photo Caption: McKnight has been on “Hard Knocks,” as well as Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice.”

“He’s been working that way,” Ryan said. “It probably won’t be very multiple with him out there in coverage, but we caught him a couple zone and I think we even taught him some man coverage. Hell be alright, he’s been out there.”

McKnight thinks he’d be fine out there.

“I probably won’t be familiar with the coverages,” McKnight said, “but I’ll be comfortable with everything else like playing defense, man-to-man, I can do that.”

McKnight could see increased playing time regardless of injuries. Ryan thinks he’s finally righted the ship and is heading in the right direction.

“I’m telling you guys, he’s getting ready to explode,” Ryan said. “He earned our non-trust, I guess you’d say it, but fumbling, but the way he’s practiced, he’s earned our trust back. I think it’s just a matter of time. Expect to see him out there because he’s been playing. Running back, receiver, corner. He’s going to play some for us.”

It is a very wild, wild week in the NFL this weekend and there is a lot to discuss. Why is it so wild? I have no clue. I just thought that if I said that, you’d just nod and agree without really thinking about the statement.

I know you’ve been waiting anxiously to find out who will win this week. So, instead of waiting for Sunday afternoon to see the actual scores, I’ll just tell you ahead of time. See how easy this is?

San Diego Chargers (-8.5) at St. Louis Rams

Many worried about the potential for a lot of interceptions and overall mix ups in this game due to the fact that both teams have blue and yellowish colors. Not to mention their helmet designs are similar. Will Sam Bradford be able to recognize the differences in uniforms and throw the ball to the right team? Only time will tell, but it’s a valid concern.

A bigger concern is one that we mentioned last week. Missouri politics are a mess right now, and the race for Senate is hotter than ever. In a Friday night debate with Democrat Robin “The Steel Carp” Carnahan, Republican candidate Roy Blunt showed where he got his name by lambasting Barack Obama’s stimulus plan.

“I thought the stimulus package was a huge mistake,” Blunt said. “It was a waste of money. But it had a huge effect on Secretary of State Carnahan’s brother’s wind farm.”

Uhhh ohhhhhhh! No he dii’n't! No he dii’n't!

Is this true? Did this really help the brother of Carnahan? Not only do I not know the answer to that question, the Rams offensive line doesn’t either. While some o-line’s struggle with consistency, the Rams front five is in the midst of a huge political debate. “Why would I help you double team Shaun Phillips when you would criticize Carnahan’s brother for creating jobs in Missouri?” type of thing.

Tempers are flaring in the St. Louis locker room over the Senatorial race and that means big pressure on Bradford. Pressure from the defense, pressure to win the game, and pressure to make the right choice on November 2nd.

Chargers 28, Rams 13

New Orleans Saints (-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Speaking of pressure, do you have any idea how steamy things will get if somehow you end up betting $500 on Tampa Bay because you like their helmets? I’ve seen it happen. Rerun’s cousin Ike may have been the first to attempt this, but it’s an epidemic that has gone on for too long. Here is the bottom line when gambling: If that $500 was set aside for you and your wife to go on vacation, then you can’t put it on the Buccaneers.

But that’s not really what we are talking about here, is it? Many websites don’t like to get hardcore when making picks, and we can understand why. It’s easy to look at tertiary things like running backs, quarterbacks, linebackers, and hell, even wide receivers sometimes. What’s more difficult is to look inside the locker room and really see what’s going on with a team.

And for the Bucs, they are playing with heavy hearts after seeing the local baseball team take a huge dump in the ALDS. Aqib Talib, for one, is sick of the endless bitchy status updates by Evan Longoria on Facebook. It’s not even that they are overt complaints about what happened in their loss to the Rangers in five games. It’s the cryptic kind that are just begging for someone to reach and be like “hey what happened.” It is beyond annoying when people do this. Here are a few:

-”Somedays it’s just…..wow.”

-”It’s complicated.”

-”Sighs the sigh of all sighs.”

-”Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea. All we do, crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see”

Talib was patient, but the “Dust in the Wind” lyrics really set him off. It got to the point where Talib almost unfriended him on Facebook. Talib hates a lot of things. Pushy cab drivers, quarterbacks who try to look him off, and people who copy and paste random song lyrics as their Facebook status.

The big question this week is whether or not he can let this all go and focus on shutting down Drew Brees and the Saints offense. The Saints are coming off an exciting loss to the Arizona Cardinals, so they are going to be tough to beat.

Saints 20, Bucs 21

Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans (-4.5)

Oooohhh, isn’t this juicy? The inconsistent Texans by 4.5? I’ve got a lot of things on my mind right now, and upset is one them. Remember we told you yesterday about stud-in-the-making Brandon Flowers from the Chiefs? He’s going to mix it up with the best wide receiver in football, Andre Johnson, who says he’ll play this week.

The Chiefs are much improved, even if their quarterback is about as talented as a kid that comes in eighth place in a 20-yard run at fat camp. I love their running game with the explosive Jamaal Charles, the youthfully exuberant and impish Dexter McCluster, and the cunningly succinct Thomas Jones.

The Texans just haven’t shown that they can dominate week in and week out in this league. In other leagues, yes they have. In the NFL? No. The Chiefs are going to win this one outright.

Chiefs, 24, Texans 17

Miami Dolphins at Green Bay Packers (-3)

How lucky are the Miami Dolphins this week? Not only do they have their away game at Green Bay at a time of year where they won’t completely freeze their fins off (get it?), they’ll also have their Friday and Saturday nights completely free should their son or daughter wish to go to the mall.

Doesn’t make sense? It should.

Starting this week, the Aventura Mall is requiring any teen under the age of 18 to be accompanied by a parent – or legal guardian (so if this happened when Adonal Foyle was under 18, one of those Colgate professors would qualify) – at all times after 9:30pm.

Photo Caption: It’s going to be a LOT tougher to snag something like this in a Miami-area mall after 9:30 PM now.

This is great if you are a mall goer wanting a calmer, safer place to go when you need to get a sex party game at Spencer’s Gifts. But not if you are a Dolphin player trying to prepare for a game, when you’ve got this little 11-year old bastard who has to go buy that special rock album and t-shirt he wants so damn much.

So, with a sense of relief, the Dolphins go out and cover the spread.

Dolphins 23, Packers 24

There is tons of Friday injury news in the NFL and rather than put out a bunch of different posts that you won’t read anyway, I figured I’d just put it all into one post that you won’t read. Here are some updates on who is hurt and what their status is.

-Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre is questionable with an elbow injury. Questionable our ass, he’ll play and you know it.

-Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE Kellen Winslow, Jr. sat out practice on Wednesday, but he’s listed as probable with a knee injury.

Photo Caption: “Ehhhhh! I’m down! I’m down!”

-Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers is probable for this week after suffering a concussion last week. He must be a faster healer than the guys that get concussions on the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s a good play this week against the Dolphins.

-Darren McFadden practiced for the Raiders on Friday and is expected to be a game-time decision with a bum hammy. Michael Bush is the guy to start there against the San Francisco 49ers.

-San Diego Chargers WR Legedu Naanee missed Friday’s practice with a sore hamstring and isn’t expected to play this week. Leave him in your lineup if you are already in sandbagging mode in keeper leagues.

-It doesn’t need to be said, but Kevin Kolb is starting this week for the Eagles. There were numerous reports about this all week, when people that know the team knew all along that he’d be the guy. Michael Vick could suit up, but his role isn’t known at this point.

-Jacoby Jones practiced on Friday despite his sore calf. He’ll most likely be playing this week.

If you are like me and have Houston Texans RB Arian Foster on your fantasy football roster, you were wondering just what in holy hell was going on when you noticed through one half that he had zero points.

He wasn’t on the injury report this week. He hadn’t lost his starting job to anyone on the roster. What the hell, dude?

Well, we then learned that he was benched for the first half against the Oakland Raiders due to a coach’s decision. My first thought was that he missed a meeting or got caught with a hooker and some blow the night before and was forced to sit.

It turns out, it was the former. Foster missed a team meeting this week and was late to another, according to John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

“Arian Foster was benched in the first half by coach Gary Kubiak because he missed one meeting last week and was late to another,” McClain tweets.

The funny part? He still ended up with 187 total yards and two TD’s. In my league, which is a standard PPR scoring format, he ended up with 37 points. That’s monster numbers, and he missed about half the game!

This guy is a fantasy stud, no two ways about it. Makes it hurt even more that I kept crap-ass Shonn Greene instead of him.

Foster is the third back in NFL history to have more than 500 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving through the first four games of the season. The other two are Billy Sims and Emmitt Smith.

So, it’s safe to say that Foster will be a Hall of Famer some day soon.

It feels like the NFL just started, but after this week 25 percent of the season will be done.  In a blink of an eye we’ll be a quarter of the way through.  So, before anything else flashes by, let’s get right into this weeks picks.

Houston Texans (-3) over Oakland Raiders

What a disappointing loss last week for the Houston Texans.  They were denied a 3-0 start against the Dallas Cowboys, a team they have always been second fiddle to in the state of Texas.  But playing second fiddle is better than not being able to play a fiddle at all.  Ladies and gentlemen, the Oakland Raiders.  After losing against the Arizona Cardinals last week in Glendale, the Raiders now face off against 13-straight teams they are supposed to lose to.  Some would say that’s a tough road ahead.  The stretch starts this Sunday against the Texans in the Raiders backyard.  A backyard that used to be so intimidating, but now resembles Chicago’s comedy club The Second City more than anything.  They have a great cast this year.  Tom Cable returned for his third season as the token, funny, fat guy.  Is he going to punch someone?  How many ex-wives does he have?  Man o man, he’s crazy!  Here comes Jason Campbell and Bruce Gradkowski.  Which one is going to throw an interception this week?  Who was that pass thrown to?  Stop, my stomach hurts, you guys are killing me!  Oh no…here comes big bad Richard Seymour.  Why is he always so mean?  No worries, Sebastian Janikowski just teed up the ball.  He’ll loosen everyone up with a wide left kick.  Oh, it was wide right.  Who saw that coming?  What a funny twist!  If you have a chance, buy some tickets for the show.  It’s full of laughs and very entertaining.  I believe this week might be a replay of Week One.  The cast forgets to block, commits many penalties, and turns the ball over.  Darren McFadden might guest star in an ‘oops, I’m running the wrong way’ skit.  That always gets’em.  Houston Texans 38 Oakland Raiders 13

San Francisco 49ers (+7) over Atlanta Falcons

What?  The San Francisco 49ers?  Don’t worry, I still have them losing by 6.9 points, I’m just taking the seven.  But if we can keep things real for a moment or two.  The Falcons are coming off a huge win in New Orleans, so a little set back might occur this week against the 49ers, a team that is more desperate for a win than Heidi Montag is for another week of plastic surgery.  And remember, I’m keeping it real.  What was the deal with everyone hyping up Alex Smith after the second half against New Orleans a couple Monday Nights ago?  Was everyone waiting for him to have one good game, so we could talk about how he has arrived?  And it wasn’t even one good game.  It was one good half.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden wouldn’t shut up about how impressed they were with his play.  And it had the trickle down effect with other analysts during the week following on ESPN.  We’re talking about the 28th ranked quarterback in the NFL.  Smith has thrown two touchdowns and five interceptions this year for an 0-3 team.  David Garrard has a better passing rating.  Yes, I said David Garrard.  I’m sorry Jaws and Chuckie, but your boy isn’t an NFL quarterback and Coach Singletary might get fired because of it.  I almost just talked myself out of San Fran covering, but I’m going with my gut.  My gut tells me to take the Niners and the points.  Kristy Alley’s gut tells her to eat.  Go with what works.  Atlanta Falcons 20.9 San Francisco 49ers 14

New York Jets (-5.5) over Buffalo Bills

The New York Jets have a simple bus ride up to Buffalo and guess who’s driving?  Braylon Edwards…and he’s two red bull and vodkas deep.  Northbound with the hammer down.  That’s how loose things are under Coach Rex Ryan.  Speaking of Edwards, what’s up with his new endzone dance where he pretends he’s slicking back his hair from front to back, right in the face of the defender?  Is that going to be his thing all season long?  I sure hope so.  I guess it’s good he’s acting like John Travolta, cause it means he’s getting into the endzone.  Two scores this year already after only passing the pylons seven times in the past two seasons.  It seems like such a long time ago when he caught 16 touchdowns in 2007.  Will Santonio Holmes coming back from suspension help him or hurt him?  Too bad there isn’t anyone coming back from suspension for the Bills to help them get better.  Man, what a mess up there.  At what point do the fans just give their team to Toronto?  “We’ve had enough, you take’em.”  Buffalo is off to an 0-3 start, including two losses within the division.  There can’t be anything more depressing than finding out the NFL team you root for every year is already done in September…AGAIN.  However, there is one bright spot.  C. J. Spiller, the Bills 9th overall pick this past April.  Last weekend he got into the endzone twice against the Patriots, including a 95-yard kick off return in the third quarter.  He’ll need plenty of them this weekend if the Bills want to upset the Jets, but it’s not happening.  The Bills’ offense is so cold right now you can see the blue mountains of the Colorado Rockies visible on their uniforms.  Yes, Bills fans, time to drink.  New York Jets 23 Buffalo Bills 17

Baltimore Ravens (+1.5) over Pittsburgh Steelers

One looks at this game and they think, ‘this is going to be one defensive battle.’  Nope!  This has the potential to be one of the most highest scoring games in NFL history.  Quick question, what was the highest scoring game in NFL history?  Answer is…Washington Redskins 72 New York Giants 41, November 27th, 1966.  And just like that game, this game is also a division rivalry.  One of the best division rivalries in all of football.  A close second to the infamous Houston Texans-Jacksonville Jaguars rivalry that has football fans across America sitting at the edge of their seats everytime they play each other.  While everyone is prematurely yelling out Michael Vick and Jay Cutler for NFL MVP considerations, the Steelers have a player that is more important to his team than anyone else in the league.  Troy Polamalu.  For real.  I mean, how spectacular of a player is this guy?  He’s Head and Shoulders above the rest.  Unfortunately, the Ravens don’t have their Troy Polamalu (Ed Reed) in their lineup yet, but they do have 35-year old middle linebacker Ray Lewis, who still is the scariest player in the NFL to play against.  Despite the defensive names I’m throwing out there, I’m still thinking this will be a high-scoring affair.  Take the over, whatever it is.  It’s probably around 15 or 20 or something like that.  Baltimore Ravens 61 Pittsburgh Steelers 60

Season record (1-3)

Odds based on Thursday’s NFL lines on Vegasinsider, MGM Mirage.

If you play fantasy football and have Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson on your team, you most likely took him very high, unless you play in a league with school children. So, when you hear “high-ankle sprain,” it makes you cringe.

But, that’s what the Texans are calling Johnson’s ankle injury that he re-aggravated in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

“We’re going to do the same thing we did last week as far as treatment and see what happens,” Johnson said of the possibility of him playing next week against the Oakland Raiders. “It was bothering me. It’s been bothering me since I injured it, but I’m able to play with it. If I wasn’t able to play with it, I wouldn’t be out on the field. I felt comfortable enough to go out and play with it.”

That’s good news…sort of. It’s only Week 3, and playing football every week tends to not help an injury get better. The team is saying that it’s not any worse than it was last week, so that’s good.

My job as an amateur non-journalist is to please NFL fans with bold predictions and game insight.  You may call 1-800 numbers for Joey Bambino’s ‘lock of the week,’ but what he tells you isn’t the same thing he tells the next guy.  It’s his job to get 50% of the money on one side and 50% on the other.  That means 50% of the money will be coming back the next week for another pick.  More money for Joey Bambino.

Here at OTR, we’re always 100% right (some of the time), but it’s FREE advice.  Advice that you can’t find anywhere else.  And this week, to the delight of our NFC East fans, we are diving into each and every NFC East match up for Week Three.  There’s lots to talk about, so let’s get this started.

New York Giants (-3) over Tennessee Titans

It should be quite cold in New York this weekend (possible snow) and nobody plays better in 30 degree weather than Eli Manning and his face.  At this point of his career, many NFC scouts are comparing Eli to an older version of himself.  One who is more mature, but starting to lose certain instincts.  Hopefully, not football instincts.  And that’s the key word for this game.  Instincts.  I’ll tackle that thought next week.  Tennessee quarterbacks have targeted Bo Scaife, Ahmard Hall, and Craig Stevens a total of 11 times and every single time a reception was made.  That’s almost 100%.  Look for a huge game from all three.  We have them ranked TE1, FB1, and TE1, respectively.  Look to start them in Tennessee Titans only leagues.  What was the deal with Brandon Jacobs throwing his football gear into the stands last Sunday?  That fan really wanted Brandon’s souvenir.  I haven’t seen a guy have a tighter grip on a helmet since Paul Reubens was arrested in Sarasota, Florida.  Giants win in their New Playhouse:  New York Giants 24, Tennessee Titans 17

Washington Redskins (-3.5) over St Louis Rams

Interesting tidbit here.  Sam Bradford’s mom almost named his son, Donovan, after…well…you guessed it, Donovan McNabb.  McNabb was only 11 when Bradford was born, but his mom, Martha Bradford, knows talent when she sees it.  Now, 23 years later, Martha’s son gets to face off against McNabb in one of the most important games of his career (not including every single college game he played in).  Last week, McNabb threw for 426 yards, completing 73.7% of his passes and took his team to the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead (they had a 17-point lead with 0:01 left in the third quarter).  However, Washington’s horrible late-game defense and stupid penalties by the offense led to a fourth quarter collapse and an overtime loss.  Sound familiar, McNabb?  It’s like you never were traded from Philly.  But there is a difference now that you are in Washington.  Angelo Cataldi and the 610 WIP morning crew don’t have a radio show in D. C., so the finger isn’t being pointed at you for not throwing for 500 yards and putting up 33 points.  I mean seriously, McNabb?  Didn’t Angelo teach you anything during your 11-year stint with the Eagles?  Anyway, the Rams still are not good.  Steven Jackson is a stud, but his productivity doesn’t equate to wins.  Look for DeAngelo Hall to shut down the Rams number one receiver…Mark Clayton I guess…like he said he’d f*cking do.  This is a game where I take the veteran quarterback over the rookie quarterback.  It’s actually a lock.  3.5 points?  C’mon.  Washington easily covers.  Washington Redskins 27, St Louis Rams 13

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) over Jacksonville Jaguars

Philadelphia Eagles fans don’t know how good they got it.  Well, compared to the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Jaguars quarterback David Garrard is coming off a horrendous four interception game in a 38-13 loss against the San Diego Chargers.  So, who can coach Jack Del Rio put in when Garrard is struggling (or if he gets concussed)?  How about that 11-year veteran out of St. Cloud State Todd Bouman?  You got it.  Imagine if Garrard has to miss time.  The Jags don’t have a Michael Vick waiting in the wings.  So, Eagles fans, get over it.  Some teams don’t have any quarterbacks and you’re complaining because your coach is dancing around two quality ones.  Speaking of St Cloud State, guess what other athletes came out of this Division II school?  Did any Phillies fans say Jim Eisenreich?  Back to the game.  Vick and the Eagles offense are going to be running all over EverBank Field.  The only problem is Maurice Jones-Drew will be doing the same against a soft Eagles defense (did you watch Jahvid Best last weekend?).  Maybe the return of Stewart Bradley (concussion) will help solidify the middle of the field.  But, what’s up with Eagles safety Quintin Consadine…sorry…I mean Quintin Mikell?  He hasn’t played a good game since Brian Dawkins was given the boot.  He’s starting to look a little Michael Lewisesque.  As bad as this Eagles defense is, they still seem to cause turnovers which is an area the Jaguars like to feed into.   I see Michael Vick leading the Eagles to another victory.  The guy just wins football games. 

PROP BET UDDA WEEK: How many times will Jason Peters go down with what looks like a career-ending injury (yet he’ll return several plays later)? The over-under is 1.5.

Philadelphia Eagles 34, Jacksonville Jaguars 24

Houston Texans (-3) over Dallas Cowboys

See the pattern here?  Whoever is favored by a FG, take them.  I live by that rule.  Nothing is more humorous in life than watching Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and quarterback Tony Romo fail at football.  Lucky for us, it happens all the time.  And lucky for us, America’s Team could be 0-3 after this weekend is through.  On the flip side, the Texans could be 3-0 and the new undisputed heavyweight champ in Texas.  Well, Kelly Clarkson is technically still from Texas…but…I’m talking football here.  Andre Johnson is a beast.  That fourth-and-10 catch in the endzone last Sunday against the Redskins was spectacular.  Even if DeAngelo Hall is covering him, he still makes the catch.  It’s easy for Hall to talk smack after the fact.  Especially, since he’ll probably never play against Andre again.  Maybe in four years if he’s still around (DeAngelo that is).  Sticking with Andre, what if he played for the Giants?  Andre The Giant?  I like it, but I doubt he’d ever turn heel like that.  What’s wrong with the Cowboys?  Well, they’re a mess.  The end of last season was a mirage.  They went on a little run and beat a weak Philadelphia Eagles team two times in a row.  They beat them handily which got everyone excited, but in reality, that Eagles defense was pitiful.  Shaun Hill could have torched them.  Wait, he did?  Then The Boys went to Minnesota and got buried.  No real significant offseason moves, a bad offensive line, no running game, a bad coach, a quarterback’s face that only Eli Manning could enjoy and this is what you have, your 2010 0-3 Dallas Cowboys.  Houston Texans 31, Dallas Cowboys 21

Odds based on Thursday’s NFL lines on Vegasinsider, MGM Mirage.

Houston Texans WR Andre Johnson was an absolute beast this week against the Washington Redskins as the team rallied from a hefty deficit to get a win.

His 158 yards and a TD (34 yards) were filthy, but his ankle injury wasn’t really. It actually kind of sucked. But, he did get back into the game and that’s a good sign.

Still, he has to have an MRI on the ankle tomorrow to make sure everything is ok.

“I don’t think it’s anything real bad,” he said. “I think I should be fine next week.”

Let’s hope so. Micah has Andre in his main league and can’t really afford for him to go down like a Saigon whore.

According to Nick Scurfield of HoustonTexans.com, Owen Daniels will play about 25%-30% of snaps against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Daniels is returning from injury and they clearly don’t want to rush him back.

“Texans coach Gary Kubiak said TE Owen Daniels could get 20-25 snaps on Sunday. 1/4 or 1/3 of the plays, maybe more depending on how he feels,” Scurfield tweets.

We like grabbing Daniels after the 10th round or so as a backup tight end. He’s not going to do much early on as they work him back in, but he could/should come on towards the middle of the season. If he does, watch out. This dude can play and that offense is explosive.

Did we mention that we have a full-on boner for Arian Foster this fantasy season? The guy has risen up and been a stud this preseason and the only threats to his value have either gotten hurt, underperformed, or both.

Ben Tate went down for the year and is on IR. Steve Slaton likes to fumble and came down with a li’l case of the turf toe. Chris Henry was given his walking papers. So was Jeremiah Johnson (they did agree to terms with Derrick Ward. But Tampa Bay didn’t cut him because he’s the second coming of Dalton Hilliard). This makes Foster a potential stud.

Photo Caption: Slaton helping his team win.

However, reports out of Houston are saying that Slaton is now going to play in the opener. While this could dig in to Foster’s studliness, don’t expect too much.

However, his health should be monitored. If for some reason he reverts to 2008 form and can hold on to the ball, he could dig into Foster’s touches. This would make us sad. Especially because we have told all the people who we’ve helped in fantasy drafts to grab him. But then again, draft your own damn team if you don’t like our advice.

But in general, keep an eye on this one if you’ve invested anything in the Houston backfield. We liked Foster regardless of Slaton’s health, but you never know.

The Houston Texans drafted Ben Tate in the second round of this year’s draft just in case Arian Foster couldn’t keep it going and Steve Slaton couldn’t figure out how to hold onto the football.

That plan will have to be on hold for a year because it looks like Tate is done for the year with a broken ankle that he suffered in the third quarter of Saturday night’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. Tate was dragged down and couldn’t get back up without help.

This puts the pressure on Foster and Slaton. Foster looked good last night with 31 yards on four carries. Slaton, however, fumbled….again.

In fantasy leagues, Foster is the guy to grab, but you might want to add Slaton late in the draft just to be sure.

Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson is most likely the best receiver in the entire NFL, and hence, the entire world. He’s huge, he’s fast, he uses his body brilliantly (especially on the dance floor) and he has great hands.

Well now, he’ll be paid like the uber elite WR that he is. The Texans gave him a two-year, $38.5 million extension on his old five-year contract. His average salary is now up to $10.5 million.

Not too bad.

“This will make him a Texan for life,” GM Rick Smith said.

When his contract is up, Johnson will be 35-years old, so that’s probably a fair assessment. Unless he’s got longevity on his list of superlatives as well, which is entirely possible.

Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson has missed the first three days of ‘voluntary’ OTAs (Organized Team Activities).  Not a huge deal, but one can assume, then guarantee, that if Johnson was making a salary which reflected his dominating abilities he would have been on the field at the beginning of the week.

In March of 2007, Johnson signed an eight-year extension worth $60 million and is scheduled to make $5.8 million this upcoming season.  A number that should be a little higher, but still not chump change.  Reggie Wayne made less than that last year.  Just saying.

The good news for Houston fans is John McClain reported (well, tweeted) that Johnson’s uncle and agent, Andre Melton, will meet with GM Rick Smith on Friday to renegotiate the contract that was renegotiated three years ago.  Furthermore, Andre will be on the field today (Thursday) when the Texans begin their fourth day of OTAs.

OTR was able to get a hold of the Texan’s agenda today for the Organized Team Activities:

• 9:30am:  Pledge of Allegiance
• 9:45am:  Welcome back party for Andre Johnson (Kareem Jackson, orange slices; Ben Tate, granola mix; Earl Mitchell, carrots; Darryl Sharpton, board games; Garrett Graham, playing cards; Sherrick McManis, karaoke machine)
• 10:45am:  Wind sprints (kickers, too.  That includes you Matt Turk)
• 11:30am:  Helping Matt Turk off the field
• 12:00am:  Lunch.  **Remember to thank Mexican chef Hugo Ortega for catering**
• 1:30am:  Offense report to Field ‘A’ for team drills.  Defense report to Field ‘B’ for team drills.  Kickers, find somewhere to just kick the ball
• 2:30am:  Bathroom break.  **Remember to thank Mexican chef Hugo Ortega**
• 3:00am:  Simulated game, no pads
• 4:00am:  Offensive linemen will share their “What I did this past winter” short stories
• 5:00am:  Team huddle on Field ‘A’
• 5:30am:  Dismissed

**Please note it took 12:30 hours to get Matt Turk off the field before they could resume**

After hearing about Houston Texans LB Brian Cushing’s four-game suspension for steroid use, the Associated Press decided to conduct a re-vote for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award. It turns out, Cushing still won and we aren’t sure how. The committee knowingly voted for a guy that had a positive PED test in September of last year.

So, Thomas George of AOL Fanhouse decided to do some poking around. First, he said he spoke to numerous NFL executives and couldn’t find one that still thought he deserved to win it. Then, he found an NFL GM who requested anonymity and delivered this scathing commentary of Cushing.

“We did our research on him before the draft last year and we concluded he was a chronic steroid user dating back to high school,” the GM told George. “More than a few people were surprised when he passed the steroid tests at the combine. I think the guy became a pro at masking it, until he was caught. I definitely would have taken my vote back on that award if I had one.”

The fact that he still won may have to do with Cushing’s claims that he tested positive for something that isn’t steroids. It could also have to do with the story that Cushing passed a lie detector test, which know one even knows for sure. But still, it’s absolutely ridiculous that this guy gets to keep his award and it sends the wrong message.