NFL preseason weekend recap

By Jason Kirk  |   Sunday, August 21, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

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The NFL suspended Tennessee Titans left tackle, Brad Hopkins, for the season opener after the 13-year veteran pleaded guilty to assaulting his wife. The Titans were notified by the NFL before their Friday game versus the Atlanta Falcons, that Hopkins would miss the September 11 opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The suspension most likely forces the Titans to start 2005 second round pick, Michael Roos, at left tackle for the Pittsburgh game.

The San Diego Chargers will be without NFL All-Pro tight end, Antonio Gates, for at least the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys on September 11. The defending AFC West champions had sent Gates an ultimatum by ordering him to camp and sign a contract by 12:30 pm on Saturday or risk being suspended for three games, including the season opener. The Chargers and Gates' agent, Andre Colona, continued to negotiate up to the deadline but failed to reach an agreement on a long-term contract. Once the third-year tight end does sign a contract, he will be put on the Roster Exemption List, automatically triggering the suspension. If he doesn't sign by Thursday he will also miss the September 18 game versus the Denver Broncos.

The Cleveland Browns' 2005 first-round pick, Braylon Edwards, caught the winning touchdown with 54 seconds remaining to beat the Detroit Lions 21-13 on Saturday. The rookie wide receiver, playing is his first NFL game, played sparingly in the game but came up with the clutch catch after suggesting to head coach, Romeo Crennel, that a fade route be called against the Lions' shorter cornerbacks. On fourth-and-seven, fellow rookie, quarterback Charlie Frye, threw a pass to the 6-3 Edwards in the corner of the end zone allowing the rookie receiver to jump over cornerback Michael Echols and catch the ball with both feet in-bounds for the winning score.

Buffalo Bills' starting quarterback, J.P. Losman, had an impressive game in a pre-season victory against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. On Buffalo's first series Losman capped off the drive with a one yard scamper into the end zone. The second year NFL quarterback engineered two more scoring drives on Buffalo's next two possessions. He finished the game 7-of-14 for 59 yards passing with five carries for 36 yards, energizing the sell-out crowd seeing the first-year starter in his home debut.

San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan will have a hard decision to make soon about the 49ers quarterback situation if things keep going the way they are. For the second week in a row six-year veteran, Tim Rattay, led the 49ers to two scoring drives against the Denver Broncos on Saturday, finishing the game 7-of-11 for 91 yards and two touchdowns. In contrast, NFL rookie Alex Smith had another dismal outing finishing the game 2-of-7 for 22 yards in his first four series to start the game. Although Nolan would like to make Smith his starter this season, the rookie is playing like a rookie while Rattay is moving the offense and earning more confidence from his teammates.
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