Snap, Crackle and Pop

Gary to shoulder load in Detroit; be wary of Garcia, Boston

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.

James Stewart's shoulder injury doesn't have to mean bad news for fantasy owners. AP

For the third consecutive week, a valued starter was lost to injury in a preseason game.

This time it was a running back instead of a quarterback, but the ripples were felt from Detroit to Buffalo. Immediately after James Stewart was diagnosed with a separated shoulder, general manager Matt Millen started working the phones. And who better to target than a back that they not only looked at during free agency, but also one that had pretty good success against them in the very same game where Stewart was injured.

Olandis Gary was traded from the Bills to the Lions for an undisclosed draft pick  a move that vaults both of them into this issue of Snap, Crackle and Pop.

Snap

• Detroit lost starting RB James Stewart on Thursday night, prompting several teams to pull their critical players from preseason games on Friday. Stewart, who was only scheduled to play two series, went down late in the Lions' second series and will be out up to six weeks. This left the Lions in a bit of a quandary since the only experienced players they had were Shawn Bryson, who has been less than impressive as he rebounds from 2002 knee surgery, and Autry Denson, who was released on Sunday.

Rookie Avon Cobourne is also in the mix to replace Stewart. While he has been impressive in limited opportunities, the Lions felt he might be too small (at 205 pounds) and too raw to serve as an every-down back. But more on that later.

• Normally I would never mention the loss of an offensive lineman, but in the case of RT Chris Terry, I think it important we discuss the impact of his suspension. Most fantasy pundits, present company included, have expected great things from the Seahawks offense in the 2003 season. Terry's loss, when combined with LT Walter Jones' holdout, make that scenario very uncertain. A team can usually overcome the loss of one tackle. But when you lose both starting tackles the week before the season starts, it definitely leaves you in a bind. Terry will serve a four-game suspension for an undisclosed violation of the league's drug abuse program. It is unknown if, or when, Jones will report, but it is virtually certain it will take a couple weeks for him to be ready to play.

• I try to limit each segment to just three players, but for you IDP enthusiasts (that's Individual Defensive Players for the uninitiated), I will combine two into this last snippet. Compounding the Seahawks worries was the disclosure that CB Shawn Springs will be lost for eight weeks due to a broken right shoulder blade suffered in the, you guessed it, final preseason game.

Even more bizarre than the loss of a player to a preseason injury, was the loss of LB Joey Porter who will miss at least four weeks after being shot in the buttocks. Before you jump to the wrong conclusion, this is not a case of a high-profile athlete being stupid. Porter had attended the Colorado/Colorado State (his alma mater) game and gone to a respectable sports bar in the area when he was the victim of a stray bullet from a gang-related shooting.

"It was a tragic incident," Pro Bowl receiver Hines Ward said. "We're handling it as it comes and hopefully get a better chance of understanding it when Joey gets back." Doctors think Porter could be back as soon as four weeks or miss as much as half the season.

Crackle

• Start moving Shaun Alexander down your draft boards. No, I am definitely not nuts. But whenever a team loses two starting linemen, you have to be concerned. I realize that both Jones and Terry are not lost for the year (something you should keep in mind as well), but until both of the Seahawks' starting tackles are back and playing, you should expect the Seattle offense to be erratic at best. And if Alexander gets off to a slow start, you might be able to pick him up relatively cheaply around Week 4, when Terry is scheduled to come off his suspension.

• Another star player that should be making his way south on your draft boards is QB Jeff Garcia, who will be great when he plays. That is the problem -- when, or rather, how often will he play. Garcia reportedly has received as many as five epidurals for a back problem that has forced him to miss both practices and a preseason game.

"His back's a little sore," head coach Dennis Erickson said after Garcia sat out of a practice last week. "He could have practiced. I told him to not practice. He'll be ready to go tomorrow. It's precautionary." Maybe, but I want to see him last an entire game before I start believing.

• WR David Boston is a monster of a man. Weighing somewhere between 250 and 260, Boston still can turn in a sub-4.4 40. That, my friends is unreal. As is his special dietary program that sees him taking upwards of 90 supplements every day. But the body can only handle so much before it starts breaking down. Boston was one of the league's best receivers two years ago when he weighed in at about 220. Last year, at 240 we saw his knees start to go. After offseason surgery, it was thought that he would be back near the top of the receiver lists in 2003, but his preseason has been marred by one injury (heel bruise) after another (abdominal strain). For a guy being drafted among the top 10 receivers, sometimes as high as No. 4, you don't want a risk. Right now, Boston is a risk.

Pop

• Often, when one player goes down, another is given the opportunity to shine. Rarely is that opportunity a second chance for a player that himself went down. But in Detroit, RB Olandis Gary is being given a second chance at football life. After rushing for over 1100 yards in just 12 starts as a rookie -- a chance he got because of an injury to Terrell Davis, Gary suffered a series of injuries that has limited his production to under 500 yards the past three seasons. But this year there is a difference. Gary is healthy, and he is going to a team that runs the same offense he played in during his years in Denver. "His years with the Broncos give him a head start on learning our offense, but he's still got a lot to do," Lions head coach Steve Mariucci said. "He's in good shape, so we will work him through the week before we make a decision about how much we can use him."

• Last year, Jacksonville gave up 124.9 rushing yards per game and 14 rushing TDs. In the preseason, they were giving up 117 rushing yards and a TD per game prior to shutting down the Redskins in the final week. While it is tough to determine much from the preseason, it seems clear that the Jaguars have not fixed their defensive problems. Add the fact that their top receiver is out for the first four games, and their running back has missed most of the preseason to a bruised knee, and you have the potential for their defense to be on the field an awful lot in Week 1. This makes Carolina RB Stephen Davis a perfect play this week. Davis finished as the 24th-ranked fantasy rusher last year, based in large part to a coach that did not utilize him properly. That will change starting this Sunday.

• Another back who finished in the 20s was Edgerrin James of the Colts. James has been moving up draft boards this year, but not nearly quickly enough. I was able to get him in a draft with the eighth pick just this past Sunday and feel he will finish in the top two or three RBs in the league. He should get off to a great start in Cleveland this weekend. The Browns have rebuilt their defense replacing the entire linebacking corps. Or should I say corpses because that is what James will make them look like Sunday.

Famous Quotes

"In the NFL, there are 25 guys who can throw better than I can. But I can make guys win."-- Former Oakland Raiders Quarterback Kenny Stabler

Greg Kellogg, current co-owner of the Fantasy Asylum and RotoCourt, is a member of the Professional Football Writers of America trade association and has been writing about fantasy Football on a national stage since 1996.