NFL NEWS & NOTES

Sinorice Moss will most likely be in the lineup for the Giants on Sunday. With no other WR stepping up to take the place of the injured Amani Toomer, Moss could get a shot right away to have an impact. Watch him Sunday as he could be a good pickup for the rest of the way if he does assume that #2 WR role.

Following his ankle surgery, Byron Leftwich will be facing a six week recovery process. He could have had this done earlier and been back for the playoffs, but he most likely would have filled a backup role when he came back anyway. Expect him to be the QB for another team next year with Cleveland, Oakland, and Minnesota as leading candidates.

Coach Mangini has named Cedric Houston as the team’s starting RB this week. He’s the team’s third starting RB this season. While Houston has a great matchup this week against Green Bay, there’s no guarantee how many carries he will actually receive with Leon Washington still in the picture. Kevan Barlow is the only Jets RB out of the rotation at this point. Houston should be the starter the rest of the way, and this week should be a great way to see how productive he can be.

In a complete turn of events, it appears that Lions WR Mike Williams is not only out of the doghouse, but also a favorite with coaches these days. He’s going to see substantial playing time for the rest of the season. This could be a way of the Lions getting his value up for a potential trade, but either way it should hurt Mike Furrey’s value. Roy Williams will face less double teams if Mike is productive, so his value could actually rise as well.

After missing last week’s game with an elbow injury, it’s a pretty safe bet that DeShaun Foster will be the starter for the Panthers on Monday night against the Eagles. The Eagles have really struggles against the run lately, so Foster is likely to have a good game in his return. However, DeAngelo Williams will steal more carries than usual because of Foster’s injury.

Both Marques Colston and Joe Horn are game-time decisions for the Saints game against the 49ers on Sunday. Horn is much more likely to play, while the chances of Colston suiting up are more 50/50. If one of both cannot go, one my favorite players right now Devery Henderson should have another big day.

For the first time since Week 10, it appears like Tatum Bell will play for the Broncos. He’s listed as probable, but in the past that has meant absolutely coming from the mouth of Mike Shanahan. If he does play, the most educated guess I could make is that he’ll split carries with Mike Bell, but Shanahan could play Jake Plummer at RB for all we know. Try to avoid Denver RBs for at least this week.

After being listed as questionable earlier in the week, Chester Taylor was upgraded to probable for the team’s game against Chicago. Last time these two teams faced off, Taylor had 20 carries for 74 yards. A similar day is very likely, which would mean that there are several other better options at RB out there.

The plot thickens for the Houston RB game. Coach Kubiak is upset that he hasn’t been running the ball lately, so to solve this problem, he has decided that either Wali Lundy or Samkon Gado will be inactive on Sunday. Ron Dayne should return to the lineup on Sunday, and there’s a good chance that practice squad RB Chris Taylor will get a look as well. Coach Kubiak’s goal is to assess who the best option is going further. Apparently Domanick Davis and Reggie Bush weren’t very good options.

-David Cassilo
Contact at asuhouse@aol.com