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The Minnesota Vikings activated third-year defensive end Erasmus James from the physically unable to perform list on Sunday, hoping he can regain the pass-rushing form he exhibited at Wisconsin before a serious knee injury last year. James hasn’t played since tearing a ligament in his left knee in the second game of last season.
Matt Schaub was just what coach Gary Kubiak expected him to be in his first game with the Houston Texans. He was poised, made smart decisions and evaded defenders when pressured. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things he could have done better. Schaub overthrew a wide-open Kevin Walter in the end zone in the first quarter of Houston’s 20-19 loss to Chicago on Saturday night in the preseason opener…
Anthony Hargrove is running out of second chances with the Buffalo Bills, who are considering releasing the defensive end after he landed in trouble for the second time in a week. “Releasing him is an option,” coach Dick Jauron said Sunday, a day after the NFL suspended Hargrove for the first four regular-season games without pay for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Coach Jeff Fisher insists he was just enforcing the rules. He wasn’t sending a message that no one, not even Vince Young, is above them. Benching Young did prove how much the Titans need their quarterback on the field, not the sidelines. With Young punished for missing curfew, the Titans struggled to move the ball in the exhibition opener against Washington.
Michael Strahan missed the New York Giants’ preseason opener and so did the rest of the defense. Strahan had an excuse. The seven-time Pro Bowl defensive end is holding out while he decides whether to retire. The rest of New York’s defenders played like they had retired in their first game under new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
New York Jets running back Thomas Jones limped off the practice field after injuring his lower right leg Sunday. There was no immediate word on the nature or severity of the injury, but it appeared to be either to his ankle or calf. Jones wasn’t made available to the media, and coach Eric Mangini had already addressed the media before practice.
The last time Troy Smith played a significant football game, he was vying for a national championship. In his NFL debut Monday night, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner will be competing for a job. Smith and former UCLA standout Drew Olson are seeking to begin the season as the Baltimore Ravens’ third-string quarterback behind Steve McNair and Kyle Boller.
Cowboys linebacker Greg Ellis is no longer worried about losing his job to a rookie or about wanting a new contract. His new concern is whether he may be forced to retire because of an injury. Ellis tore his left Achilles’ tendon last November and went through an aggressive rehabilitation to trim a few months off the usual 12-month recovery so he could be back for the start of training camp.
The way last season went for the Oakland Raiders, they’ll take any sort of a win — even an exhibition one over the Arizona Cardinals. Andrew Walter threw a touchdown pass to Mike Williams and Hiram Eugene scored on a 36-yard interception return to lead Oakland to a 27-23 victory Saturday night in coach Lane Kiffin’s first game with the Raiders.
Matt Schaub’s first pass for the Houston Texans was for 2 yards. His second one was dropped. This revamped Texans offense sure looks a lot like the old one. Schaub, who replaced David Carr after backing up Michael Vick for three years in Atlanta, had an inauspicious debut going 3-for-5 for 25 yards. But the defending NFC champion Chicago Bears scored 13 fourth quarter points, including a 47-yard…
