Sunday Football Fix

The season is only two weeks away, and the 3rd preseason game means that the players stay in the longest. I'll recap those games and go through the latest news here on the Fix.

Week 3 Recap
David Garrard outperformed Byron Leftwich as Jacksonville won at Green Bay 21-13. Garrard was 6/7 with a TD while Leftwich was 6/16. Brett Favre was a solid 14/20 and James Jones had 6 catches for 80 yards in the loss. Drew Brees was 17/19 passing as the Saints slammed the Chiefs 30-7. Pierre Thomas ran for 2 scores and David Patten caught a TD pass from Brees in the win. Titans QB's were the difference as Kerry Collins threw for 2 scores and Vince Young had a rushing and passing TD as Tennessee bested Buffalo 28-17. LenDale White had a solid game, and Lee Evans caught 5 for 100 in the losing cause for the Bills. Tom Brady celebrated his new son in style as he went 17/22 with 2 scores as the Patriots pasted the Panthers 24-7. Delhomme outperformed Carr for Carolina, and Jake threw a 48 yard TD strike to Keary Colbert in the loss. Oakland doubled up the Rams 20-10 in the battle of the former LA teams. Peyton Manning and Jim Sorgi went a combined 39/50 with 5 TD's as the Colts clobbered the Lions 37-10. Wayne, Thorpe, Clark, Moorehead, and Harrison each had TD catches for Indy. Bruce Gradkowski threw for 2 scores as the Bucs beat Miami 31-28. Rookie John Beck threw for 2 scores in the loss. Chicago beat the 49ers by the same score, as they got 3 catches for 79 yards from Bernard Berrian. The Jets jolted the Giants 20-12 in the battle for New York. Eli Manning played well, but the play of the game was a 79 yard TD connection between Chad Pennington and Leon Washington. Washington beat Baltimore 13-7 in a game that only went 3 quarters due to inclement weather. A pick 6 from Dallas Sartz was the difference in the contest. Steve McNair performed well for the Ravens. Houston downed Dallas 28-16 as Romo and Schaub each threw 2 TD's for their clubs. Ahman Green had 8 carries for 65 yards in the Texans win. Cleveland nipped Denver 17-16, as Brady Quinn had a TD pass 20 yards to Joshua Cribbs. Selvin Young and Cecil Sapp each had excellent games for Denver in defeat. Seattle mauled Minnesota 30-13. The Chargers clipped the Cardinals in a 33-31 shootout in the desert. Phillip Rivers has 20/29 for 282 and 2 TD's, both to Vincent Jackson. Anquan Boldin caught 5 passes for 143 yards, including an 80 yard score from Matt Leinart.

News and Notes
-According to Browns GM Phil Savage, Brady Quinn will not open the season as the starting QB for Cleveland. "It's unrealistic for Brady to be in the mix for the opener,"
Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson will compete for the season opening nod.
- The Falcons will seek 22 million dollars in bonuses from Michael Vick, who will be in court for a trial tomorrow. Vick was suspended indefinitely on Friday by Commissioner Roger Goodell, who had this comment about Vick's behavior.
"Not only illegal but also cruel and reprehensible. Your actions in funding the betting and your association with illegal gambling both violate the terms of your NFL player contract and expose you to corrupting influences in derogation of one of the most fundamental responsibilities of an NFL player.'' 'Nuff said.
- One team that will name a starting QB are the Chiefs, who named Damon Huard as their starter as Brodie Croyle went 5/17 passing in their last game. Somehow, those numbers don't spell starter, in spells out a nice amount of time riding the bench.
- Jacksonville signed LB Chris Claiborne to a 1 year deal.
- Dwight Freeney bruised his thigh against the Lions, and probably won't play against the Bengals on Friday.
- Carolina 3rd string QB Brett Basanez was placed on IR with a severely sprained right wrist, and will miss the entire season.

Steelers and Eagles at 8 on NBC, Bengals-Falcons tomorrow night on ESPN.