Posted by Will Brinson

Yesterday, Andy wrote an excellent post regarding the possibility of Marshawn Lynch getting traded to the Green Bay Packers. There wasn't any speculation that it was going to happen -- after all, no sources have indicated any sort of discussion between the Bills and Pack -- just that it makes a ton of sense for everyone involved.

And it does: with Ryan Grant now officially out for the season and with Green Bay only having one more running back (Brandon Jackson) on their roster and with Marshawn being the odd man out in a three-headed backfield monster in Buffalo, the logical move for the Bills here is to trade Lynch and recoup something that will help the franchise in the future.

But apparently, they don't feel the same way and have not, according to the Bills' official blog , changed the way they feel about dealing Beast Mode. (Random aside: I'm currently drinking out of a "Beast Mode" coffee cup; it's my favorite bizarre NFL swag item of all-time.)

Chris Brown points out Buddy Nix's comments at the draft ("our intention is for Marshawn Lynch to be [in Buffalo]") and then notes Chan Gailey's comments as well, before pointing out that in the first preseason game, the Bills lost both Lynch and Fred Jackson to injury, which "further strengthened" the team's belief that you can't have too many good backs.

That's an absolutely valid point -- if Jackson is reinjured, the Bills would need Lynch on the roster to help provide support for C.J. Spiller. But here's the problem: the Bills are not going to contend for the playoffs this year -- they just aren't.

And therefor the logical, forward-thinking move is to take Lynch, while his value is maximized, and get something that will help the franchise grow in the future. In fact, the single most problematic part with drafting Spiller in the past year's first round was (and still "is" by the way) is that having a bunch of good running backs is only nice if you have other parts on the team that can help them succeed.

The Bills don't have that right now, but by dealing Lynch to someone like the Packers for, hypothetically, a second-rounder or a third plus a player, they would immediately bolster the team's future. And that should matter more right now than stubbornly trying to hold onto a low-salary, high-talent player that the organization gave up on without actually admitting that they did.

Update: Marshawn himself talked about the possibility of being traded and whether it affects him.

“No, because if it’s going to happen then it’s going to happen,” Lynch said. ”What will I be able to do about it? If they say I’ve got to go then what am I going to do, tell them no? If they say I’m going to stay, I’m here, if they say I’m not going nowhere then let’s continue to build on this thing and get better.”

He also made a fairly provocative comment about the Bills' rushing attack against the Dolphins on Sunday. Or, at least a reasonable one for a team with the passing "weapons" that the Bills have.

“It wasn’t what us as a group wanted it to be,” said Lynch. ”The most carries by a back I believe was seven. That’s not good for any running back to get a feel for it. I’m not saying what should’ve been done or could’ve been done. All I know is we’ve just got to do something to get on track with it.”

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Posted by Andy Benoit

With Ryan Grant out for the season (ankle), the hot rumor Wednesday is that the Packers will trade for disgruntled Bills running back Marshawn Lynch. There are no specific sources propagating this rumor – it’s just coming about because this particular trade would make all the sense in the world.

Even if the Packers like what they have in Brandon Jackson (which, by the way, they don’t – the guy is a former second-round pick who saw only scant playing time his first three seasons and, at one point, lost snaps to washed up midseason pickup Ahman Green), they still have no backup running back on the roster. Fullback John Kuhn is currently listed as the No. 2.

Jackson, thanks to improved blitz pickup skills and decent hands, is a quality third down option. But as a featured starter, he has not shown innate awareness or big-time endurance.

Lynch is not a resoundingly better option – he too lacks awareness, and there are major character issues. Still, he is a better option nonetheless. And, there is at least one prominent Packer who thinks trading for him is a good idea.

"Bring him on," Aaron Rodgers said, without hesitation, according to CBS Rapid Reporter Greg Bedard in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Asked about the character concerns with his former Cal teammate, Rodgers replied, "(Lynch is) a great player. And any character issues the team might see, I think in a situation like that, and I think you've seen that with other players across the league, when you give a guy a change of scenery and a guy like that who feels he might have something to prove, and surround him with two guys, (Desmond) Bishop and myself who played with him...I think that can only help him feel comfortable and see a lot of production."

Lynch will visit Green Bay this week…with the rest of his Bills teammates. Expect the rumors to continue to swirl. (If Lynch shows up at the Green Bay airport with multiple suitcases, you can bet the swirl will become a tornado).

Bills head coach Chan Gailey mentioned the Packers when asked about a trading one of his three running backs, but it wasn’t in the context Packers fans (and perhaps Bills fans) would hope.

“Opinions vary about whether (three running backs are) too many or not,” Gailey said. “Obviously in preseason we didn’t have too many, and I know that Green Bay wishes they had one more than they had, so I know everybody’s got opinions on what’s right and we feel like having the three that we’ve got right now is a very good situation for us.”

Don’t read too much into this. The Bills offense has three quality running backs but approximately zero quality everything else’s. Gailey and the front office know that trading Lynch makes perfect sense – expect them to at least field calls.

Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports says the Bills turned down another team's offer of a third-round pick and a player for Lynch prior to the draft. A third-rounder for Lynch now would be a fair price, though considering Green Bay's Super Bowl aspirations, GM Ted Thompson may want to offer as much as a second-rounder.  

UPDATE: CBSSports.com rapid reporter Greg Bedard says that Lynch is not available for trade. The Bills are not even entertaining offers.


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Posted by Will Brinson

The quarterback controversy that exists in Philadelphia (without really existing, technically speaking) should be fairly calm until Sunday, as it appears that Kevin Kolb is somewhat unlikely to play after not passing the second phase of the concussion test on Wednesday.

Stewart Bradley, the linebacker who suffered a concussion on Sunday, also failed the second phase of the concussion test, although they have "made progress" since Monday according to Reid.

According to the Philadelphia Daily News , because of Kolb's status, Michael Vick will take the first team reps Wednesday and Thursday, although Andy Reid declined to discuss Friday.

"We'll take Friday as it comes," Reid said.

Reid also said that "Kevin knows he the guy" which is the same mantra he's repeated since Sunday and the same one he'll repeat until Kolb is ready to play.

The issue will be if Vick has a monster game on Sunday -- the Eagles play the Lions, so it's entirely possible -- and causes fans to clamor for his ascension to the starting role .

"If I'm the guy then I'm going to get ready to try to put this team in position to win and that's the ultimate goal," Vick said according to the Eagles' website . "I don't really go out and try to prove to anybody that I can still play this game. The primary focus is to put this team in a position to win whenever I'm on the field. You can't go out and try to prove yourself because that's adding pressure to this game and it's already hard as it is."

"I just have to make the most out of the opportunity and try to help this football team win until Kevin comes back and he's healthy," Vick added.

But as I've said before , Reid simply won't make Vick his starter and he (Vick) seems to know that and is 100 percent committed to passing along the same message as Reid, which is a good thing.

It makes zero sense from a PR perspective , particularly since it's fully understood that he's all-in on Kolb as the quarterback of the future. The concussion issue, provided that Kolb doesn't play entirely atrociously when he returns, is simply an easy out for Reid and the coaching staff to let Vick play as much as he needed.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

According to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer , the Packers will place RB Ryan Grant on IR with severe ankle and leg injuries, ending his season.

There seems to be some debate, though, about what exactly is going on with Grant. Tweeted SI.com's Will Carroll, "Glazer's reports directly conflict with what I was told regarding Ryan Grant's ankle sprain. We'll have to see how this comes out."

Grant is coming off back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons, and he'll surely be missed if his season is over. Now, it appears Brandon Jackson (626 combined yards in the past three years) will take over the starting role.

This ordeal might lead to some regret in the Packers organization about their decision to keep only two RBs on the 53-man roster (to go with three fullbacks). That said, FB John Kuhn also could double as a RB.

UPDATE (2:00 p.m.): A second source has emerged to back up Glazer. It's Tom Silverstein from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . According to Silverstein, Grant will need surgery to repair a torn ankle ligament.

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Posted by Andy Benoit

A lot of people are wondering why Kevin Kolb and Stewart Bradley got back in for a few plays after suffering concussions. Fair question.

Pat Yasinkas points out that the Saints have a chance to start 2-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. They’ll have to beat the 49ers in order to do it.

The huge Week 1 television ratings pretty much confirm that anyone who doesn’t watch the NFL is a loser.

We’ll join the Revis vs. Moss hype later this week, but here’s a little taste to let you know that, even with the Jets still yet to play, it’s already starting.

Roddy White caught a career-high 13 passes against the Steelers. Matt Ryan targeted him 23 times!

A.J. Hawk did not see the field Sunday against the Eagles because Green Bay spent the entire game in nickel defense. Brandon Chillar is the club’s nickel linebacker.

Here’s another reason to like star running back Ray Rice.

The Giants may want to consider lowering their ticket prices.

Marshall Yanda will start at right tackle for the Ravens Monday night. Jared Gaither and Oniel Cousins are both injured.

The Redskins might still be trying to figure out their offensive line personnel.

Vince Young says he “definitely wants the Heisman” and that he wouldn’t turn it down. But Young also said that Reggie Bush won it “fair and square”. (Of course, if Bush won it “fair and square”, no one would be talking about Young getting the Heisman.)

The Browns started fullback Peyton Hillis ahead of Jerome Harrison at tailback against the Bucs. Hmmm…


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Posted by Andy Benoit

It just wouldn’t be football season without a Justin Harrell injury. The Packers have announced that defensive end Justin Harrell is out with a torn ACL.

Harrell, a first-round pick in 2007, has played in just 14 games in his NFL-year career. He’s battled lower back problems in recent years, missing all of ’09 and a big chunk of ’08. Given that Green Bay drafted Mike Neal in the second round this past April, it’s likely the franchise will move on from Harrell after this season.

The Packers also announced that running back Ryan Grant is out at least this next week with an ankle injury. Brandon Jackson will start at running back in the home opener against Buffalo. (By the way, did you happen to see how fast Grant hopped on one foot into the locker room after the injury Sunday? If it’d been a 40-yard dash, Grant would have been fast enough to get drafted in one of the middle rounds.)

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Posted by Will Brinson

The first and second halves for the Philadelphia Eagles were about as different as the two quarterbacks who led them -- Kevin Kolb struggled mightly (24 yards passing!) in the first and as Josh wrote, Michael Vick reminded us of the Vick of old during the second half as Philly nearly stormed back on the Green Bay Packers.

That second half performance won't matter though, if you believe Andy Reid, as the head coach indicated following the game that regardless of how well Vick played, Kolb would remain the starter provided he's cleared to play.

Reid's decision isn't all that surprising, really. After all, while Vick looked great in relief duty, Kolb is still his quarterback of the future, and just because he got booed by Philly fans doesn't mean, well, anything.

Creating a quarterback controversy would be foolish right now, in that it wouldn't benefit Kolb's confidence, it would undermine the team's confidence in Kolb, and it would immediately make people wonder why Donovan McNabb -- and not Kolb -- was the player traded in the offseason.

Additionally, if Vick came plummeting back to Earth the next week, Reid's quarterback situation would be completely untenable. The worst case now involves Kolb not being cleared and Vick starting against Detroit.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Kevin Kolb's first half wasn't exactly pretty -- the new Eagles quarterback threw for 24 total yards and left at halftime to boos from the Philadelphia crowd. He didn't return to the field, either, and the reason is that he's out for the remainder of the game with a concussion.

Kolb suffered the injury near the end of the first half when he face-planted into the turf and was seen

Michael Vick took Kolb's place under center and on his very first play, did what, well, Vick does -- a meandering 23-yard sprint around defenders that was reminiscent of something out of a video game.

Kolb's absence is obviously devastating for an Eagles team that was desperately seeking a good start with their new identity -- they're not necessarily done with Vick back there, but losing Kolb drastically changes their game plan for the second half against the Packers.

The Eagles also believe that Leonard Weaver, who left the field after a gruesome leg injury, could be out for the remainder of the season.
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