From Adam Shefter, the God of Twitter: Anthony
Gonzalez does indeed go under the knife, and more Colts news

Adam Shefter is indeed the god of NFL Twitter updates:

Shefter's report backs up the story from Yahoo! Sports yesterday. The positive out of all this is Gonzo's season is not over. They discovered loose particles in his knee, and they are getting them cleaned out. With Pierre Garçon and Austin Collie playing well, I have no problem with Gonzo chilling out until December.

The distressing thing is that Bob Sanders is (sigh) once again friggin hurt. This time, it's an elbow and it's serious. Players do not go to see Dr. James Andrews unless it is serious. Bob had already visited the good doctor about his knee during the year. Now, it's the elbow. You can scratch Bob from the lineup this week folks, because if Bob visited Andrews, that means a trip down to Alabama.

Again, it is because of things like this that I do not consider Bob the starting strong safety for the Colts. Melvin Bullitt started most of the 2008 season at strong safety, and it seems he will do the same in 2009. I'm perfectly OK with this because, in my opinion, Melvin is now better than Bob Sanders. Talent and "playmaking ability" are all great things, but they are all secondary to durability.

If you cannot stay on the field, you are not "good."

Also, Josh Thomas was signed to the active roster. Josh had been sitting out all season after playing for Indy during the pre-season.

Tip to Z.Pain

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Marlin Jackson done for the year, again

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Indianapolis Colts defensive back Marlin Jackson (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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I'm waiting for my ride last night. So, I take out my handheld (Sprint Palm Pre, but I still hold love for the iPhone), go to Stampede Blue, and see ctnyc's FanPost that Marlin Jackson tore his ACL in practice on Thursday and that he is done for the year. For Marlin, this is the second year in a row he has done this, and it comes at an unfortunate time for him. After this season, Marlin will either become a free agent (if 2010 has a salary cap) or he will become a restricted free agent is there is no cap in 2010. What this also does is give Marlin two major ACL injuries in only one year's time. Surgeries and rehab today are much, much better than they were even five years ago, but it is very tough for a starting cornerback to recovery fully from two ACL injuries. Marlin had seemed to not fully recovered yet from last year's ACL injury, which might have been why he lost his starting job to Jerraud Powers. The Star's PhilB elaborates:

Jackson had told me after the bye week that his most recent injury was to his left knee, that favoring his right knee put more strain on his left. That evidently led to this tear. Media member or fan, it's an understatement to say you just hate to see this.

So, from Marlin's own lips, last year's right knee injury directly contributed to this year's left knee injury. Both kness. Both with ACL tears in only one calendar year. That's not good for Marlin.

The other disturbing thing about this is Marlin was listed on the Thursday injury report, which is the official report sent to the league office, as NOT practicing. Yet, we see Marlin was hurt while practicing.

Aside from losing another great guy who had worked so hard to come back and contribute to this team -- starting SLB Tyjuan Hagler was lost for the season to a torn biceps this week -- it will be interesting to see the Colts' explanation on Jackson's injury. He got hurt in practice, or so he says. Yet the injury report listed Jackson as "Did not participate."

The Colts could say he was working out on the side, that his injury happened outside the framework of practice, I guess. But the way this was reported, first by ESPN and now confirmed by The Indy Star, certainly suggests the injury report was inaccurate.

The Colts have some explaining to do, and if they did try to fudge the injury report, or hide the fact that Marlin was hurt in practice, I hope Roger Goodell fines them. I just spent the first few days of this week blasting Mike Singletary for cheating, and falsifying an injury report (if indeed the Colts did that) would be in the same boat as players faking injuries during games.

So, if the Colts did fake that report, they cheated, and we fans should hold their feet to the fire on that. Bill Polian loves to lecture fans and press during his radio show about "the integrity of the game." Well, if they just got caught falsifying an injury report, Bill Polian and the Colts are hypocrites.

We will see in the next couple of days if anything comes out of it.

Moving forward, Marlin was in and out of the lineup all year, and yet the Colts have still managed to have a great pass defense. Jacob Lacey and Jerraud Powers have come on, and Tim Jennings (despite his haters) is still a quality player. Like with the Tyjuan Hagler injury, it hurts to lose such a great person and tough-minded player, but the depth on the team is good enough to move forward.

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BCSDo the Right Thing

Why is it hard for us (Americans) to do the right thing? Why must we get the government involved to legislate our conscious? Throughout our illustrious history the government has always been brought in to be the peacemaker or lawmaker to our conscious, (Civil Rights, Women?s Rights and Voting Rights) having to create bills or [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://endzonetoendzone.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/bcs%e2%80%a6do-the-right-thing/

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Sooners Plan to Keep Punt Formation

Read The Full Article:
http://www.gnextinc.com/ousoonersblog/2009/11/sooners-plan-to-keep-punt-formation
.html

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A Very Falcoholic Discussion: John Abraham

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

John Abraham SMASH! (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

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The topic today is one John Erasmus Ezekiel Awesome Abraham, our former pass-rushing master who has not quite lived up to his billing thus far this year.

What inspired me to spark this discussion, honestly, was a question from a commenter over at Hogs Haven about my expectations for Abraham on Sunday. While their question was light-hearted—at least I hope it was, considering they were asking if I predicted 3+ sacks from the guy—it got me to thinking about Abraham's relatively low sack total and whether he might be entering the decline phase of his career.

Rather than write a whole big post where I basically guessed, I thought I'd turn to you, the reader, for a more educated guess. Is Abraham slowing down after a run of excellence, or is it just a slow start to the season? Can he kill Jason Campbell on Sunday, or just maim him?

Your call.

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Air Force to honor Texas victims before Army game

The Air Force Academy will hold a moment of silence in honor of the shooting victims at Fort Hood before Saturday's Army-Air Force game.

Academy spokesman Troy Garnhart says the observance will also honor soldiers from nearby Fort Carson who've been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The academy and Fort Carson are on the outskirts of Colorado Springs. Saturday's game is at the academy's Falcon Stadium.

Fort Carson spokeswoman Brandy Gill says a pep rally for the Army football team is still planned Friday night at the post. It's not yet clear how the Fort Hood tragedy will be recognized.Stats Writer,CK0712Wikio

Read The Full Article:
http://ck0712digit.blogspot.com/2009/11/air-force-to-honor-texas-victims-before.h
tml

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Big Ben wants no-huddle

One thing that stood out to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as he watched film of the Denver Broncos' 30-7 loss to the Ravens last Sunday could impact how the Steelers try to attack the No. 1 defense in the NFL. "It...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.steelersfootballblog.com/2009/11/big-ben-wants-nohuddle.html

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Giants' D expect Boley and Canty back for
Chargers

Read The Full Article:
http://www.giantfootballblog.com/2009/11/giants-d-expect-boley-and-canty-back-for
-chargers.html

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Golden Nuggets: Testing the run defense

Good (insert time of day here) everyone. Got a couple links for you today, though not as many as yesterday. In fact, I'm going to start leaving links out! From what I can tell, when I have more links in the Nuggets I actually get very little comments on the links. Of course, I'm like a little preteen girl checking her MySpace Photo Album when it comes to comments, I love 'em. ESPECIALLY if they're singing my praise, really brings me up. (Been having a really rough couple of days, hint hint.) So instead I'm only going to give you a couple! In actuality though, I just simply don't have a whole lot because well... nothing happened yesterday and it doesn't look like anything is happening today. Still, should be able to come up with a couple previews and what not for you. Enjoy.

Coach Mike Singletary has reached a critical point in his first season as the 49ers head coach. (SacBee.com)

The team is in no hurry to change its offensive philosophy. (PressDemocrat.com)

Jimmy Raye specifically, says the team will stick to its blueprint as far as offense goes. Call me unconvinced, and if they do--well, I think we'll be screwed. (MercuryNews.com)

Ricky Jean-Francois is looking to get his first regular season action on Sunday and Kentwan Balmer is looking to have an increased role. This is all of course because of the injury to Demetric Evans, a player I've been (rather vocally) against. (PressDemocrat.com)

The Titans will come in hoping to test the 49ers run defense. (49ers.com)

The 49ers need to go to the spread... but sloooooowly. (SFGate.com)

Jimmy Raye has some thoughts on the spread and the running game. (PressDemocrat.com)

Here you can listen to the audio of a couple of the conference calls from the Titans. (SFGate.com)

Frank Gore is having a weird year as far as rushing is concerned. I'm not sure exactly how to look at it, good or bad. (SFGate.com)

Didn't get a chance to read this article but it has to do with the 49ers and their third down woes. (SFGate.com)

Alex Smith and Vince Young are returning from some pretty rough roads as far as quarterbacks go. (MercuryNews.com)

The team seems confident in Barry Sims. Oh God. I'm not. Not in the very least. (SacBee.com)

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Turner the Burner, running with more
determination

Atlanta Falcons running back Michael Turner (33) heads for a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints in the first half of an NFL football game in New Orleans, Monday, Nov. 2, 2009.

Michael Turner did some self-scouting last week to find out why he wasn't breaking off big runs for the Atlanta Falcons.

What was wrong with the Pro Bowl running back?

"I just had to run with the same determination I had last year," Turner said Thursday. "Run with kind of a chip on my shoulder."

After rushing 20 times for 151 yards and one touchdown in a Week 8 loss at New Orleans, Turner is feeling confident again.

The sixth-year NFL veteran was noticeably more upbeat in the locker room than he seemed the previous two weeks after totaling just 80 yards on a combined 31 carries during a win over Chicago and a loss at Dallas.

"It's been pretty frustrating because you work hard every week and you want to see the results," Turner said. "You go back and say, 'What am I doing wrong? What am I doing differently?' The touchdowns have been there. I just had to get the big running plays in."

All that's missing now is for Turner to produce big results in an Atlanta win. Just once in the first six games did he rush for 100 yards -- when the Falcons beat Carolina in Week 2.

Scoring, however, has come easier for Turner, who has eight rushing touchdowns. Atlanta (4-3) could find it tough to getting into the end zone Sunday against Washington (2-5), particularly considering that Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has thrown seven interceptions over the last three games.

The Redskins have the NFC's toughest scoring defense and are fifth overall in allowing an average of 17.6 points.

Turner's biggest gains against the Saints covered 37, 24 and 22 yards, but just one of them resulted in a touchdown. In his first season with the Falcons last season, Turner gained 1,699 yards -- second only to Minnesota's Adrian Peterson -- and scored 17 touchdowns.

"The guys needed me to spark 'em, and I haven't been satisfied with the way I've been playing, so I had to go back and look at it to see what was different, see what was missing," he said. "Just little things that make a difference, you know?"

Inconsistency on the ground has bothered second-year coach Mike Smith all season. In their first season with the Falcons, the rushing attack finished second overall, but now they rank 17th with 111 yards per game.

Hip injuries and a concussion have slowed No. 2 running back Jerious Norwood, who will miss his third straight game this week. Jason Snelling, who ran seven times for 68 yards at Dallas, is trying to return against Washington after sitting out the New Orleans game with a strained hamstring.

Atlanta's offensive line also hasn't done as good a job as last year in extending blocks and forcing opponents to try to use a defensive back to tackle the 256-pound Turner.

"We've been evaluating and we've been trying to tweak it and get the running game going," Smith said. "When you can run the football effectively, even though we didn't get the outcome we wanted, it gives us an opportunity to get the outcome. I thought that was evident against the Saints."

Losing to New Orleans marked just the first time in Turner's 10 games that he rushed for 100 yards and the Falcons failed to win. In his career, Turner's teams are now 14-2 when he goes for 100 or more.

"Yeah, I've got to bring that element back to the team," he said. "Hopefully, last week was just a start."
Stats Writer,CK0712Wikio

Read The Full Article:
http://ck0712digit.blogspot.com/2009/11/turner-burner-running-with-more.html

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