Snap, Crackle and Pop

Moe better news coming out of Vikings camp

By Greg Kellogg, Special to SI.com

Snap, Crackle and Pop is a weekly column that reviews the major injuries (Snap) and then projects both busts (Crackle) and sleepers (Pop) for the coming week.

Moe Williams had 11 TDs last season as a situational back. Rick Stewart/Getty Images

Conventional wisdom says rookies are worthless unless they are running backs. A couple are going to try to prove conventional wisdom wrong this year. Rookie wide receivers in Houston, Detroit and Arizona all will see substantial playing time.

Rookie quarterbacks in Baltimore, Cincinnati and Jacksonville are also likely to receive playing time. So while 2003 appears to be a down year for rookie running backs, the other positions may make it a pretty good year for rookies overall.

Snap

• Jets fans have to be having nightmares right about now. First they lose virtually half their team in offseason purges. Then, on a fairly routine tackle, QB Chad Pennington breaks his wrist so badly that he has to have immediate surgery. Pennington is out for the next 10-12 weeks and maybe for the rest of the season. Vinnie Testaverde will take over the top spot.

"I'm very excited but at the same time I'm sad for Chad," Testaverde said following the game. "It's an opportunity, a second chance here. One of the things I'm very pleased about is my offseason preparation, how I worked in case of a situation like this."

• In San Francisco, a young player with a bright future was lost on a 1-yard completion. TE Eric Johnson suffered a fractured clavicle on the 49ers' first play Saturday. The injury will keep him out a minimum of 10-12 weeks and could possibly cost him his season.

"It is unfortunate," said QB Jeff Garcia. "Eric is such a great player for this team. He is really coming into his own as far as experience goes. It is just one of those things that unfortunately is the nature of the business."

• In Buffalo, RB Travis Henry suffered a sprained foot that is likely to keep him out of the Bills' final preseason game. But Henry probably would not have played much in this one anyway. Head coach Gregg Williams downplayed the severity of Henry's injury.

"He could have played. But we only had him slated to play in the first quarter. In fact, if we could have gotten the ball back one more time in the first quarter, we would have finished the first quarter. But that's all we had him up for going into the game."

Crackle

• In Buffalo, there are concerns that letting WR Peerless Price go might have been premature. Josh Reed has struggled this preseason and has been outplayed by free-agent pickup Bobby Shaw, who may have leapfrogged Reed for the second wide receiver spot.

"He's a very smart receiver in the slot," QB Drew Bledsoe said of Shaw. "He does a great job with his moves at the top of his routes and gets himself separation. He has a lot of experience in this offense, so he really understands where we need him to be."

• Minnesota faces a bit of a quandary. RB Doug Chapman was expected to start in Green Bay, and then eventually give way to Onterrio Smith. Moe Williams was going to stay in his role as third-down and goal-line back. A high ankle sprain to Chapman has changed all that.Head coach Mike Tice tells a different story.

"I was planning to start Moe against Green Bay all along," Tice said Sunday. "We need to get Doug back, but Moe is a professional."

Yeah, right, Mike. Then what about earlier statements that Chapman was No. 1 and Williams was not going to have his role changed? We expect coaches to stretch the truth, but at least try being consistent or you will lose all credibility.

• Expectations for RB Stacey Mack range from being a capable second starter to the first back off your fantasy benches. After watching the Texans this weekend, I am very worried that even these modest expectations may be too much for Mack. In fact, in the first quarter, when Houston's starters were playing San Diego's starters, Mack was limited to 15 yards on six carries. If Tony Hollings can learn the pass-blocking scheme, Mack may find his role shifted to the same one he left in Jacksonville.

Pop

• San Francisco has always had a decent tight end, but they haven't always used him as much as fantasy owners would like. Eric Johnson looked like he was going to be given a chance to separate from the pack at the position this year until his injury. Up steps free-agent acquisition Jed Weaver and we may just have a sleeper that no one is talking about. Weaver caught four passes for 39 yards against the Saints. In Dennis Erickson's spread offense, the tight end should be a good threat against the cover-two defense that has become so prevalent in the NFL.

• When one player goes down, it often gives another a chance to shine. With Doug Chapman sitting out opening week, Moe Williams is suddenly back in the hunt for a starting RB job that probably should have been his to lose in the preseason. Williams showed he has what it takes by rushing for 4.9 yards per carry and scoring 11 TDs in limited use last season. One has to believe that if he has a big game against a banged up Packers defense, it will be awfully tough to replace him with an injury-prone Chapman or rookie Onterrio Smith.

• I don't often select rookie receivers in my drafts because more often than not they will burn you with their inconsistency. This weekend I got my first glimpse of WR Andre Johnson and I have to say the young man is impressive. He showed a rare combination of size, speed and agility that led to five receptions for 81 yards and a TD. You can expect some inconsistency from Johnson due in part to an offense that is still growing together. But in any type of keeper or dynasty league, this is a guy you want on your team.

Famous Quotes

For me, winning isn't something that happens suddenly on the field when the whistle blows and the crowds roar. Winning is something that builds physically and mentally every day that you train and every night that you dream. -- Emmitt Smith

Greg Kellogg, current co-owner of the Fantasy Asylum and RotoCourt, is a member of the Professional Football Writer's Association and has been writing about fantasy football on a national stage since 1996.