|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Packers playing it safe with Favre
Maybe it's one of those training camp injuries. Maybe, as Green Bay coach Mike Sherman told me, it's no big deal. But when your three-time MVP quarterback is sidelined for most of a week in camp and needs more time off, you've got to be concerned. That's the case with Packers quarterback Brett Favre. Sherman told me Favre threw just 70 passes in practice last week because of tendinitis in his throwing elbow. "Just a precaution," Sherman said. "We just don't want him to go into the season with a sore elbow." Smart thinking. But the way Favre has been banged up over the last few years -- he wasn't right with hand and thumb injuries all of 1999 -- you've got to wonder if all the pounding is starting to take a toll on the NFL's most electric quarterback. Favre is scheduled to have a precautionary MRI on Monday. The Packers will continue to give rapidly improving Matt Hasselbeck major time with the first unit over the next couple of weeks, so if Favre goes down they'll be protected. Cleveland's quarterback quandarySpeaking of tough times at quarterback, the Browns had a brutal Saturday night in Chicago. Franchise QB Tim Couch, already under heavy scrutiny by the Cleveland fans and media for his recent poor play, threw three interceptions in two quarters, giving him four in three quarters in the young preseason. And veteran backup Ty Detmer ruptured his Achilles tendon in the game. Coach Chris Palmer told me Sunday morning the Browns will look for a veteran backup to replace Detmer, who is lost for the year. But as Palmer said, "Most of the guys worth anything are already in somebody's camp. We might have to wait till the first cutdown date to get someone." That's August 22. Until a new guy learns the system, look for impressive rookie Spergon Wynn -- yes, Spergon Wynn -- to man the Browns' backup controls. Martz makes noise in St. LouisIn St. Louis, new coach Mike Martz is trying very hard to prove that he's not yet the strong, silent type. Martz is a studious sort who got the head job after being the team's offensive coordinator, and at camp one day I witnessed him giving the offensive line a royal chewing out. "You guys jumped! You guys know the cadence! That's a bunch of B.S.! What are you guys doing jumping offsides?" Martz told me afterward that's the kind of thing he must do in order to coach his team on and off the field effectively. Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and appears each Sunday on CNN's "NFL Preview." Come back and chat with Peter on Wednesday, Aug. 23 at 2:30pm EDT.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
