Ryan Williams has reportedly ruptured his patella tendon – This is the real story of the night. By far. Williams took his lone carry of the night on a quick six-yard scamper only to have a Packer safety fall on the back of his leg and apparently rupture the patella tendon in his right knee. Gone is the sweet potential of a dynamic rookie running back. Here is the chance of a lifetime for a former first-rounder that was beginning to be forgotten so early into his own injury-plagued career. Beanie Wells will be a featured back for the first time, and given his weak division and make-or-break type situation, he shouldn't disappoint. He just rocketed up a million draft boards tonight due to his teammates' misfortune.
Larry Fitzgerald and Kevin Kolb appeared to be on different pages – Between Williams taking a bow for the season and Kolb and Fitzgerald showing next to no chemistry, it just got 10 degrees hotter in the desert. Cardinals fans must be sweating now that they will enter the season depending on Chris Wells to be a durable, workhorse back and may have to watch their franchise player forced to make ridiculous catches just to get the ball in his hands. Hopefully for the sake of many fantasy owners, Kolb takes the next few weeks to learn how to hit Larry between the numbers and Beanie shows that he can break a tackle without breaking himself.
Colt McCoy continued to look like a new quarterback against the Lions – The tutelage he apparently received during the lockout down in Hattiesburg, MS from a temporarily retired Brett Favre is paying major dividends so far this preseason. McCoy looks more and more like he's been running the west coast offense for ten years with every snap he takes. If he can carry this high level of play into the regular season he will make the Browns receivers look good for the first time in a very long time. Oh and he might wind up a fantasy darling too, by the way.
The Redskins can run the ball all day – Or can they? Tim Hightower and Roy Helu both looked great in Friday's game against the Colts, but then again, the Colts were sitting three defensive starters and have looked absolutely miserable as a defense through two preseason games. But then again, the Skins racked up 140 yards on the terrible towel Steelers defense just a week ago. So it's tough to know what to believe at this point as far as Washington is concerned, and Ryan Torain has yet to even play. Right now though, at the very least, it's easy to see that Hightower is a serious high-upside candidate for all leagues.
Cam Newton started his first NFL game – And he did little to prove why he deserved to start at all. With only three first downs in his entire first half of action, Newton was exposed for his lack of command of the Panther offense. But considering he managed to avoid turning the ball over, it would not be a shock to see him keep the starting gig over Jimmy Clausen, who to this point clearly has a better grasp of the offense.
Plaxico Burress was named a starter for the Jets' Sunday matchup with Cincinnati – Finally after more than two and a half years Burress will be running around in pads and a helmet competing in a NFL football game in New York. It's hard to even guess at what to expect, but it would be a surprise if the Jets did not look to involve him early and show their fans that he's still got it, or at least some of it. And perhaps at the end of however much action he gets, fantasy owners can get a reasonable idea of what he can bring to the table.
Clinton Portis worked out for New England – The Patriots just can't seem to get enough of the seemingly washed-up veterans can they? This doesn't appear to be much more than due-diligence, as a running back that will only be 30 in a couple weeks with nearly 10,000 rushing yards to his name has to at least be worth a look. But realistically the Patriots are fairly loaded at the position and wouldn't need to pursue Portis unless they incurred an injury to the position.