NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

It wasn't until the 11th day of OTAs when rookie RB Ben Tate was able to join the Texans for seven-on-seven drills.  Sidelined with a hamstring injury, the second-round pick out of Auburn, says he feels good and is ready to get on the field.

"I feel good," the 220-pound Tate said. "My hamstring isn't bothering me anymore. I can't wait to get back out here next week."  Tate asserted that its time to adjust.   "Its about time.  I'm just getting back into the mix, trying to stay on top of everything."

For the Texans, they have Arian Foster, Steve Slaton, Ryan Moats, Ben Tate, Chris Henry and Jeremiah Johnson fighting to stay on the roster.  It would be a porous surprise if Tate did not make the roster, but the competition is high, as of last week, according to Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak.

"It's a battle," Kubiak said. "We're probably not going to be able to take them all to camp. Obviously, Foster and Slaton are leading the group right now."  However he hopes Tate can pick up the pace.  "We're hoping he's full-go next week, and we get six good days out of him here the rest of the way," Kubiak said. "So far, so good."

For now, it appears that Foster and Slaton have solidified their spot, and Tate is right behind them.  That means that former starter Ryan Moats will compete with former Titan Chris Henry and former Oregon Duck and injury prone back Jeremiah Johnson for the final two running back roster spots.

After Tate's full day of practice, Kubiak said he likes what he sees from the fresh and attentive Tate.

"He's faster than everybody else, so obviously he's fresh," Kubiak said. "Obviously, he was paying attention and knew what he was doing. We were actually doing some tough stuff on him today as far as no scripting, just calling stuff and seeing how guys react and turning the noise on. It was good to see him out here and get going."

In January of this year I wrote the following about Matt Leinart's performance in Tennessee this past season: "Leinart played decently in [Tennessee], but really just kept his team in a position to win, though it didn't work out that way."  At the time I wrote that, it was clearly meant to be critical in the "glass is half empty" kind of way.  As  I continue to consider that performance (21/31; 220 yards; 67.7% completion; 0 TDs; 0 INTs ) the glass starts to slowly fill up.  Does this mean that I've lowered my standards to accomodate Leinart?  I don't think so, but it's possible.  I think it's more likely, however, that I've become more realistic by aligning what I want the Cardinals 2010 offense to look like with what it probably will look like.  That process makes me feel better about Leinart and the offense as a whole.

I've said a number of times that I don't expect the Cardinals to blow teams away on offense anymore.  If Leinart "keep[s] his team in a position to win" every game of the season, I would certainly take that.  Excellent quarterback play may be the fastest route to a championship, but teams have gone to and won Super Bowls with adequate, mistake free quarterbacks, the most recent being Rex Grossman with the Bears and Trent Dilfer with the Ravens.  There's fine print under the "No Pro Bowl QB Needed" advertisement, though; it reads: "Exceptional Defense Required."  Defenses like the 2000 Ravens and  the 2006 Bears.  Well, the Cardinals won't have either of those Super Bowl caliber squads, but I believe this year's defense has the potential to be better than the 2009 Cardinals; that's certainly a good starting point.  Besides, winning the NFC West for a third straight year is job number one.

Speaking of the Chicago Bears, it pays, but also really hurts, to remember the "they are who we thought they were" Monday Night Football game in October 2006; you know which one.  The reason I bring that laughable nightmare up is because it was Leinart's most important start to that point.  The Cardinals were up against the 5-0, Super Bowl favorite Bears.  Without Larry Fitzgerald (hamstring) and with little help from Edgerrin James (55 yds on 36 carries with 0 TDs and a key fumble), Leinart put up an excellent 24/42, 232 yds, 2 TDs, and 0 INT line against an outstanding defense and a team that had outscored its opponents 77-13 over the previous two games.

Leinart spread the ball around to seven different receivers and staked his team to a 20-0 halftime lead.  Even after a historic meltdown that had nothing to do with Matt himself, Leinart put the Cardinals in position for a game winning field goal with under a minute to play; it wasn't meant to be.  After the game, Brian Urlacher noted, "[Leinart's] a good quarterback.  He's young, we tried to throw a lot of stuff at him.  He took care of the football, didn't have any interceptions."  You really couldn't have asked for more.

I still wouldn't ask for more than what he showed in that game as Leinart is about rewrite the biggest start of his career stats when the NFL schedule finally hits Week 1.  While some are so busy wringing their hands about Leinart they may have overlooked a few important things.

• First, the Cardinals have a drastically improved running game with Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower; and I mean drastically improved.  That will instantly make Leinart a more effective quarterback than he otherwise would be.
• Second, the Cardinals have a much more talented, cohesive, experienced, and deep offensive line.  Levi Brown, however, has to play better and make this the year he finally puts it all together.
• Third, whether you want to believe it or not, I believe Ken Whisenhunt when he says Leinart is more mature as a person and a football player.
• Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the culture in Arizona has changed dramatically in the span of three years.  If you're not a long time Cardinals fan, it's almost impossible to fully appreciate the transformation from a perennial joke to a division favorite.

Although the Cards are notorious for sometimes playing down to weaker teams, they are no longer shocked to find themselves winning, which in the past prompted them to throw their progress down the drain.  The Cardinals now expect to win games and their division for that matter, even if the 49ers are the trendy pick this year.  The NFC West is the Cardinals' division until the 49ers (or Seahawks, sorry Rams) prove otherwise.  That's the benefit a team gets from winning.  You're the division champions until you're not.

Does all this mean that I'm a card carrying believer in Leinart's abilities?  Well I'm not going to bet that he'll make the Pro Bowl, but if Leinart keeps the interceptions down and takes care of the ball like Urlacher noted there are enough weapons on offense to allow me to continue to feel better and better.  The bottom line seems to be that Leinart has won before and he may very well become a winner again.  He won't be Kurt Warner, but c'mon, he won't be JaMarcus Russell either.

Do you feel any better?

In addition to paying to watch mediocre football for four months, Bears season ticketholders also paid handsomely for the chance to ask Brian Urlacher a question over the phone.

During a conference call with a group of season ticketholders, the face of the franchise said some nice things about some of his new (and old) defensive teammates.

Urlacher on Julius Peppers…

"We all know his athletic ability is unmatched in this league. But he works his butt off every day. He's in the weight room working, he's on the field. He doesn't say too much, but he works his tail off every day.

"I think most importantly it will help our secondary, and if you help them you help our whole defense," Urlacher said. "It's going to help our DBs out because they don't have to play coverage very long. As linebackers, we can break. When the quarterback looks [to a receiver], we know to go because if he pumps it he'll get sacked."

Urlacher on the return of Chris Harris…

"He helps us all. He gets us all in position. What I like about it is if I screw up, he'll tell me I screwed up. Sometimes you don't have guys who do that. [New guys] don't want to step on anyone's toes. But Chris knows where we're supposed to be. He knows what's going on out there and it's nice to have him back there.

I like it when a guy will do that. Lance [Briggs] will tell me when I screw up, the guys up front will. But it's nice to have a guy in the back end [Editor's Note: 'That's what she said'] who will do that."

Urlacher on Major Wright…

"I watched him practice three years ago in spring practice. They wouldn't let him do much in practice because coach [Urban] Meyer said he hits too hard.

"I'm impressed with him. His footwork is good. He's smooth. He comes out of his breaks really good. He takes great angles on the football and he goes for the football. There are going to be times to hit people, but he goes for the football, which I like. I'm excited about him."

Thank you chicagobears.com for the snippets.

Looking into what Gary Kubiak said after OTAs, it appears that Trindon Holliday may need to pick up the slack and learn a receiver role to stick on the Texans future 53-man roster.  If he does not, the practice squad may be an option for Holliday.

"He's what we thought he was as far as his talent and all that. But in this league he's going to have to play wide receiver so he's got a long, long way to go," Texans Head Coach Gary Kubiak told the AP.  "He's way behind. He's got a long way to go to prove to this team that he knows what the hell he's doing."

Kubiak says Holliday needs to prove to the Texans that he "knows what the hell he's doing."  That's a strong statement from the head coach to the rookie, a sprinter who ran the 100-meter dash in 10.02 seconds at the NCAA Track and Field Championships while playing football for LSU.  It will be exciting to see if Holliday can pick up the pace and show the Texans he's made to break ankles and open eyes at the NFL level.

For the Texans, they know what waiting on a project receiver is all about (See Jacoby Jones), and talent and athleticism like Holliday's may be worth the wait.  However, the future 53-man roster will already have a solid punt returner in Jacoby Jones and a seasoned kick returner in Andre "Apostrophe" Davis.  Yet, both receivers spend more time at their respective receiver roles, opening up their return positions for younger players like Holliday.

On May 28, Holliday reported in his HoustonTexans.com Rookie Diary that he's unsure if he's the fastest Texan.

"For those who are wondering, I don't know yet if I'm the fastest guy on the team. I wouldn't say I am right now. I think Brice McCain, 41, has a lot of speed. Jacoby (Jones) has a lot of speed, too. Those guys, they'll talk trash about it every now and then, but I don't know what they want to do. We're not going to race in the 40, I know that, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see."

The 5?5? , 164 lb. return specialist agreed to a four-year, $1.088  deal with the Texans in mid-May.  He was a sixth round pick and the rookie signed by the Texans this offseason.

It's that time again.

NFL Preview publications are starting to come out and that means one thing … Super Bowl predictions.

The Sporting News recently published their annual preview edition and Jets fans are certainly going to like what their experts are saying.

They have the Jets winning the AFC and taking down the Cowboys to win Super Bowl 45.

Why the Jets will win the AFC

1. Talent talks. Some see potential locker room problems with the additions of Santonio Holmes, LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Cromartie and Jason Taylor. We see a team with a more diverse offense, a better pass rush and an improved secondary. QB Mark Sanchez will improve, too. And coach Rex Ryan is strong enough to handle all distractions.

"I came here to win," Ryan said. "I didn't come here to be average. I'm going to be held to those standards. Did you deliver a championship? I'm man enough to go for it, where a lot of guys aren't."

2. Dynamic defense. The Jets had the NFL's top-ranked defense last season, and it should be better in '10. Darrelle Revis is the league's best corner, Taylor will enhance the pass rush and Cromartie and Kyle Wilson give Ryan even more freedom to blitz.

3. Hunger helps. They lost to Miami twice last year, finished second to New England in the division and fell just short of the Super Bowl. It's payback time.

Super Bowl edge

With two weeks to prepare for Romo & Co., Ryan's defense will make enough big plays to prevail.

While this doesn't mean anything, it's still fun to talk about about.

I can't remember the last time the Jets were one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. It feels weird, but great at the same time.

I haven't been this excited for a football season in a long time, maybe ever.It should be a fun ride.