NFL weekend recap: Welcoming back the NFL

By John Onan  |   Sunday, August 14, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

NFL Football News
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It was sure nice to see the NFL back in action over the weekend, even if it the games didn't count in the standings. Unfortunately for the Chicago Bears and starting quarterback Rex Grossman, his broken left ankle suffered against the St. Louis Rams on Friday Night does count and is very real. Grossman once again faces more hours of surgery and more weeks of rehabilitation his third major injury in three years. The team says he may miss four months, which would be most of the regular season.

Also on the injury front, Detroit Lions fullback Cory Schlesinger will be out of action for 6 to 8 weeks after breaking a bone in his leg early in the Lions first exhibition game against the New York Jets. Hopefully, he'll be able to return in late September. Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver Roscoe Parrish, who fell on his right wrist Wednesday during practice, had surgery on his right wrist over the weekend. The former Miami Hurricanes standout is expected to return sometime this season.

This weekend's action also saw some interesting debuts. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith struggled in his first pro start against the Oakland Raiders Saturday night, as he went 3-for-9 passing for 25 yards. His team did not get a first down in four possessions. Last year's starter, Tim Rattay, came on in the third quarter and threw two touchdown passes. Randy Moss made his first appearance for the Oakland Raiders in the same game and caught one pass while playing sparingly.

Former two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner looked sharp and healthy in his Arizona Cardinals debut on Saturday night, passing for 151 yards and a touchdown. He finished 14-of-19 passing for the game and the Cardinals held on to defeat the Dallas Cowboys 13-11. New Cowboys QB Drew Bledsoe didn't have as much luck, completing 4-of-8 throws for 28 yards.

Speaking of MVP quarterbacks, Brett Favre looked impressive in the Green Bay Packers first preseason game on Thursday night, completing 9 of 10 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown. Packers kicker Ryan Longwell came on with 33 seconds to go and booted a 53-yard game winning field goal.

The Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots opened the pre-season the same way they ended the previous one, with a 23-13 victory in Cincinnati against the Bengals. Up the road a little bit in Cleveland, former Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel got his career as Cleveland Browns head coach off to a good start. His Browns forced three turnovers in route to a 17-14 win versus the New York Giants.

On Saturday night in Charlotte, the hometown Carolina Panthers honored the late Sam Mills at halftime of their game against the Washington Redskins by retiring his no. 51. The team showed video highlights of Mills career with the Panthers and presented a framed jersey to his son, Sam Mills III, who is also a Carolina assistant coach. He is the first player in team history to receive this honor. Mills died in April after a two-year battle with cancer.
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