Chicago Bears 33, Washington Redskins 31 – RGIII looked more like a rookie in this one but he didn’t look horrible. He’s just having a few growing pains. QB Kirk Cousins threw 3 TD passes with the second team. Bears WR Alshon Jeffery looks like the player “they THOUGHT they were” (getting, that is – hat tip to Denny Green). The biggest concern was when Redskins OLB and Pro-Bowler Brian Orakpo injured his right pectoral muscle on a tackle – the same one he injured last year. Hopefully it’s just a strain, but a tear would keep him out possibly the entire season. It’s too early to know yet but listen for news as it develops. Redskins starting safety Brandon Meriweather hurt his knee, was helped off the field, and didn’t return in the game. I wonder if the GEICO caveman is gloating?

Houston Texans 20, San Francisco 49′ers 9 – Matt Schaub looked sharp once again and Andre Johnson looked horse-healthy on a 43 yard completion as the Texans’ first teams looked impressive once again. 9′ers RB Brandon Jacobs left the game after a tackler speared his right thigh/knee area on a tackle. It looked quite painful to be sure, but probably will wind up being a deep bruise. Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter are still the top two backs and that shouldn’t change. Jim Harbaugh seems to be interweaving his new receiving bodies into his run-based offense nicely and they’ll be a force in the NFC. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me all that much if this game is a Super Bowl Preview.

St. Louis Rams 31, Kansas City Chiefs 17 – Rams’ QB Sam Bradford looked sharp, throwing 2 TD passes on 6 of 9 passing and appears to be healthy again after an ankle injury hampered his sophomore season. Rookie WR Brian Quick had 3 catches and he was considered a talent who needs a little seasoning but seems to be developing nicely so far. Danny Amendola had 3 catches for 58 yards and a TD. Matt Cassel of the Chiefs had a nice outing as well while RBs Peyton Hillis and Jamaal Charles, both injured much of last season, got a little work and looked nice on a few runs. If that duo can get going, they could possibly be the best “Thunder (Hillis) and Lightning (Charles)” combo in the NFL if they live up to their talent…and if Hillis doesn’t get Strep Throat again. Rookie NT Dontari Poe’s struggles continue as he recorded a single tackle on the contest.

Seattle Seahawks 30, Denver Broncos 10 – 38 year-old WR Terrell Owens dropped a sure 48 yard TD pass from QB Matt Flynn, but the Seahawks won anyway. Peyton Manning had a good day other than a couple of interceptions – one on a tipped pass and the other on a throw that drifted on him a bit when he had to make a perfect pass. Don’t worry about Manning; he’s Manning and will be fine. Fantasy owners should take notice that Brandon Stokley and Manning seem to be getting familiar with each other again. Keep tabs on the pair; Stokley might be worth a late-round pick as a bit of a sleeper that some owners will pass over due to his age and injury history, but might see some production in this offense.

San Diego Chargers 28, Dallas Cowboys 20 – Dallas loses their second preseason game but their starting defense is really looking good. All of the Chargers’ points came in the second half. Lots going on in this game. First, Chargers’ apparent #1 receiver Vincent Brown broke his ankle and will miss at least 8 weeks. The Chargers WR group as a whole isn’t the most durable even while they have depth. QB Philip Rivers continued throwing picks like last year. It’s not all his fault, however, as his line is giving up ground so he can’t step into some of his throws. That Cowboy first-team looks pretty good on both sides but especially on defense as they have yet to allow a score in two games. Undrafted rookie free agent Cole Beasley from SMU had 7 catches and 104 yards as he stated his case for the #3 WR behind Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Bryant made a would-be spectacular one-handed catch in the back of the endzone, leaping high to snag it out of the air. He came down JUST out of bounds and there was a holding penalty anyway, but the spectacle clearly demonstrated his talent and ability. They don’t make many like him.

Weeden, the team’s second first-round draft pick this year, should greatly benefit from being on the field with their first first-round selection, Trent Richardson, selected at #3 overall.

Weeden’s abilities aside, Richardson’s presence would have helped McCoy or any other QB they put out there. Richardson has been touted, correctly I think, as the best RB prospect since Adrian Peterson. While that remains to be seen, it does mean that enemy defenses will be forced to honor the threat, and that translates into better opportunities for Weeden in the play-action passing game as well as helping to keep things balanced offensively in general. A young QB’s best friend is a great left tackle, and that’s the ONE thing the Browns already have in Joe Thomas. A strong running game is a close second.

Dec 24, 2011; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Mike Wallace (17) attempts to get away from St. Louis Rams safety James Butler (37) during the first quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory credit: Vincent Pugliese- US PRESSWIRE

In other news, Mike Wallace and the Pittsburgh Steelers remain at an impasse. The restricted free agent has yet to sign his tender, in the area of $2.75 million non-guaranteed for 2012, and wants a long-term guaranteed deal. Steelers’ GM Kevin Colbert said “Mike knows where things stand. The next step for him really is to report and to sign his tender, and until that happens, there won’t be anything else. And if that happens, nobody knows where it will go from there. So that’s where it is and has been, and hopefully it comes to an end sooner rather than later because it will be good for us, but it will also be good for Mike.”

The Steelers signed fellow WR Antonio Brown to a 5-year $42 million dollar contract but only about $8 million is guaranteed, so it’s not the chops-buster that many fans seem to think it is for Wallace. It’s no secret that Wallace is one of the league’s best downfield threats – if not the biggest of all these days. He just doesn’t get caught from behind and one would have to think Big Ben has been lobbying behind the scenes for somehow signing him, but if so, they’ve kept everything within the organization and private…just as it should be.

This looks similar in some ways to the now-resolved Chicago Bears/Matt Forte situation. Forte was an RFA as well, but knew at some point he would have to sign with his team. As an extreme measure, Wallace could possibly sit out until week 10, when he MUST report or lose a year of accrual towards becoming an unrestricted free agent. Vincent Jackson did that in 2010.

The Steelers have made it clear that they don’t wish to trade Wallace and have a first-round tender on him – meaning if another team signs him, the Steelers will receive a first-round pick in the 2013 draft from the signing team and league rules is where the $2.75 million figure comes from.

The Seattle Seahawks signed 38 year old shameless self-promoter Terrell Owens, which says a lot about how Pete Carroll feels about the wideouts he’s got now. All of them have some issues – Sidney Rice can’t stay healthy, Braylon Edwards is a career underachiever, and Mike Williams has shown flashes of the talent that made him a top-ten pick of the Detroit Lions during that run where the Lions were legally obligated to draft WRs with their top picks. Consistency is Williams’ Achilles Heel.

One notable remaining free agent is Plaxico Burress. It’s interesting that Carroll signed the 38 yr old Terrell Owens over 37 yr old Burress, but Plexiglass is reportedly asking for too much money…especially for someone who has been out of the league for several years. Owens himself couldn’t find a team last year and is the NFL’s second all-time receiver in most categories behind the apparently un-catchable records of a fellow from a small college in Mississippi named Jerry Rice. Fans sometimes mix up his college state with the name of the QB Rice used to hook up with TO school the rest of the NFL. Just remember “Joe Mississippi” is what you say only to delay yourself from rushing the passer in flag football. Montana was the man…Matt Flynn’s prowess has yet to be resolved. Terrell Owens and Jerry Rice were once teammates ages ago in San Francisco when Montana’s successor and a Hall of Famer himself, southpaw signal-caller Steve Young, was under center.

Lastly, there was a much-ballyhooed scrum at the Jets’ scrimmage yesterday afternoon. What wasn’t widely mentioned was that there were actually several. While fights break out in training camp between a couple of people pretty much every year with every team, the fact there was more than one on Monday doesn’t speak well for Rex Ryan’s control over his team. One fight is going to make a coach angry, and Ryan let them know of his disapproval. Therefore, others decided to fight.

Rex screamed at the team: “Save it for Cincy – WE’RE ALL WE’VE GOT!” The Jets and Bengals play Friday night.

Dec 18, 2011; Oakland, CA, USA; Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley (98) warms up before the game against the Oakland Raiders at O.co Coliseum. Detroit defeated Oakland 28-27. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

Yep, that’s Nick Fairley of the Detroit Lions drinking Gatorade.

Unfortunately for him, he drank a lot stronger liquids last Saturday night before getting behind the wheel of his automobile. Apparently he was in his Cadillac Escalade doing triple digits (that’s MPH, not KPH) when he was tooling down the highway past an Alabama state trooper. All that money he makes and he couldn’t even provide proof of insurance, either?

I guess he couldn’t let the month of May go by without his monthly arrest. Last month, he was arrested for possession of marijuana.

Oops.

At least fellow defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh didn’t get arrested in his old “stomping grounds.”

In other news, the NFL owners agreed to bump the trade deadline from week 6 to week 8 for the upcoming season. This may not seem like much of a big deal, but it gives teams a full half-season to make trades for the stretch run.

This should make things a whole lot more interesting as those two weeks can really make a big difference in a team knowing if they have a chance at a playoff run or not. It’s very hard to tell by week 6 if a particular talented team is off to a poor start or has just been playing badly due to poor coaching.

It also will wind up favoring some teams over others in perhaps yet another application of the Law of Unintended Consequences. Some teams will not have had their bye week by week 8; many others will have.

The rule change should help those that have NOT had their bye week more as they’ll have had one additional game under their belts and the accompanying added chance for injuries to occur. By contrast, by week 6, very few teams have had their bye weeks and all will have had played fewer games – if only by one.

What it means is that we should see more player movement during the season in that midseason period while the trade clock starts winding down.

Meanwhile, the RB competition in New England was fierce during their OTAs. So far, Shane Vereen got the carries with form Indy Colt RB Joseph Addai being used as a veteran backup. Danny Woodhead should still keep his role from last season as a 3rd-down back. Reporters more “in-the-know” than I could possibly be are saying the situation is shaping up to be a four-headed rushing attack like the Saints used last year.

Since both offenses are similar, being pass on first, pass on second, and pass on third downs, their receiving ability will be as much a factor as anything. If I know Bill Belichick, that and pass protection are probably the two main things he looks for. We’ll keep an eye on it.

Going from the 2012 Super Bowl victims to the victors, it looks like Giants’ WR Hakeem Nicks won’t be available to start the 2012 campaign due to a fractured metatarsal (foot bones just behind where your toes start). NOT a good injury for a WR who has yet to play in all 16 games in any season. Interestingly enough, Victor Cruz will likely want a new contract after this season if he performs anywhere near the level he did last season.

Since the Giants drafted help at WR, it’ll be interesting to see how much they work LSU rookie WR Reuben Randle into the offense in the early going. Keep an eye on their situation at the position in the pre-season as Nicks’ injury will keep him sidelined. Presumably, this opens the door very wide for Randle to contribute immediately. It also throws a monkey wrench into the works for Fantasy Football managers with all Giants’ WRs – except Cruz.

Speaking of wide receivers, Chad Johnsochocinco of the Pats is apparently picking up where he left off with the Patriots’ offense last season: completely clueless. With the talent they’ve added in the offseason, he could be cut. It would be pretty funny if he wound up in Miami, where they would be replacing one diva WR (Brandon Marshall) with another. At least the price would be much more palatable for them if that does happen.

Three former star wideouts are still without teams: Plaxico Burress, Terrell Owens, and Braylon Edwards. Burress and Owens are ancient (36 and 39 now I think), while Edwards is a career underachiever that is aging. I wouldn’t be surprised if all three are without a team on opening day, but I do see Edwards as the one most likely to catch on someplace first. Injuries will always happen, even in the preseason, and Edwards could be a stopgap player who can and does shine brief flashes of his ability once in a while. If he comes cheaply enough, he should find a job.