The preseason opener did not go as well as the Rams could have hoped, but if there is one positive it was the first time Sam Bradford has been hit since his shoulder was surgically repaired.  All pundits said that they would wait to see how Sam Bradford would do under pressure and once he got hit.

Bradford’s vaunted fragility held up to his first defensive line onslaught.  He was even dropped on his shoulder twice with no ill effects.  Sam Bradford made his first preseason appearance in a Rams uniform and was tested and bounced up.

Bradford’s toughness was tested behind the Rams struggling offensive line and he responded just like we hoped he would.  With very little good news coming out of the Rams first preseason game, this was a excellent sign.

The New England Patriots announced Friday that defensive end Ty Warren has been placed on injured reserve (IR), and defensive end Derrick Burgess has been reinstated to the active roster. Burgess has flirted with retirement the past couple weeks, but this move ensures that he is coming back. Warren, however, will miss the entire 2010 season, opting to undergo season ending surgery to repair a torn labrum next week.

Burgess has been missing from training camp since it opened on July 29th, and it was widely believed that he was retiring. With Burgess back into the fold the team on paper strengthens its pass rush, but the loss of Warren is a crushing blow to the defensive line.

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick elaborated on the teams decision to put Warren on injured reserve Friday. “[It was a] tough break of Ty but we have to move on. He’s missed quite a bit of time the last couple of years, so we’ve had to deal with that anyway,” Belichick said. “It’s unfortunate, but unfortunately that’s part of the game, so we’ll just move ahead.”

As for Burgess, Belichick said he reported to the team Friday morning and passed his physical and conditioning test. He called him “ready to go” and described him as a “very knowledgeable pass rusher.”

“He has a good understanding of his opponents, pass-rush technique, and how to defeat blockers and how specifically to defeat individual blockers based on their strengths and weaknesses and how he matches up against them,” said Belichick.

Ty Warren skipped the teams offseason strength and conditioning program to return to class at Texas A&M this summer, and was injured early in training camp. Warren played through a horrific abdominal injury in 2008, missed three games late last season with an ankle injury and this injury may be a result of wear and team over the past couple of season, as well as skipping the teams offseason program. Warren turned down a $200,000 bonus to skip the offseason program to return to Texas A&M this summer. Skipping the offseason strength and conditioning program most likely didn’t help prevent the injury.

The Patriots starters on the defensive line now consist of Gerard Warren, Vince Wilfork, and Mike Wright, and depth is a major issue for New England going forward. The Patriots have veteran Damione Lewis, second year pros Ron Brace and Myron Pryor, and rookies Brandon Deaderick, Kade Weston, and Kyle Love on the roster as well. Expect the Patriots to make a major push for free agent defensive end Aaron Schobel over the next couple days.

With Beanie Wells prone, clutching his ribs, Hamza Abdullah and the rest of the Cardinals held their collective breath during a Monday (8/9) practice.  It was Abdullah that delivered the blow to Wells after the second year running back bounced outside during 11-on-11 drills that were not full contact.

“I just tried to to be in good tackling position and at the last minute, I guess instincts took over,” Abdullah explained.  “I didn’t get out of the way…He probably just wasn’t ready for the hit, and I didn’t go into it … my intentions weren’t to hit him and definitely not to hurt him.  Prayers go to him and hopefully he is OK,” Abdullah added.

Wells’ injury isn’t thought to be serious, but it was evidently a tense scene as Beanie remained on the ground for several minutes before being carted off.  He went for a CT scan, which did not reveal any fractures; he’s listed as day-to-day with sore ribs.  It’s unclear how much time Wells will miss, if any.  An update from Coach Whisenhunt is expected tomorrow (8/11).  Hopefully he doesn’t miss much time because he’s reportedly having a great training camp to this point.

There are injuries during training camp every year, but this summer seems to be a league wide bloodbath, with the Broncos being hit especially hard.  Most teams find themselves somewhere between Mike Singletary’s extreme contact training camp and Ken Whisenhunt’s relatively “soft” training camp, but few teams have escaped the injury bug completely; we haven’t even reached the pre-season.  Hopefully everyone will stay healthy going forward.

One goal that every team has during the preseason is to make it out of the games without suffering a serious injury. Unfortunately, for the Cowboys, that did not happen on Sunday night in the “Hall of Fame” Game. After impressing the coaches, fans, and media during the first half of the game against the Bengals, third string TE John Phillips went to the ground after a harmless looking attempt to block during a run play. Phillips, who had 4 catches for 60 yards and two very key blocks that sprung RB Tashard Choice on key runs, went down immediately grabbing his knee. He was re-examined today, and the diagnosis is not good. Phillips will miss the entire season with a torn MCL in his knee. He will have surgery in the next few weeks.

Some may wonder what the big deal is surrounding a third string TE missing the year, but head coach Wade Phillips was very impressed with the tight end who shares the same last name, but has no relation. Wade had hoped to get Phillips in on a lot more passing plays after he impressed the coaches at the end of last season with his ability to run after the catch and line-up as a H-back in the backfield. Phillips is very much in the “Chris Cooley” school of TE’s. He is a very versatile player and the Cowboys had some high hopes for the second year man.

The problem becomes even more serious when you consider that the Cowboys suffered injuries to their other backup tight ends during the game. First year player Kevin Brock (ankle sprain) and rookie Scott Sicko (concussion) both suffered injuries and leave the Cowboys with only two healthy tight ends in Jason Witten and Martellus Bennett. With Witten expected to play very little on Thursday and limited during the rest of the preseason games, and Bennett returning from a lingering ankle injury, there is no depth at tight end for games.

Bennett has a lot of pressure on him and will be available for the game Thursday against Oakland, but needs to start showing the coaching staff that he is capable of reaching the potential that he has shown flashes of. With Phillips out for the season, he has no one pushing him to be better, which may or may not be a good thing.

One thing is for sure, the Cowboys took another hit on the injury front. Hopefully, they can make it through the rest of the preseason with a little more luck. The team will be looking to add a tight end this week in preparation for the Raiders game Thursday.

The Rams placed veteran defensive tackle Chris Hovan on Injured Reserve today to free up a roster spot for another player.  Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo stated that they did not know how long he was going to be out whether it was going to be “5 days or 5 weeks” and they could not afford to lose the roster spot.  So, Hovan goes on the IR with a back injury.  No word right now when he will be able to come off the IR.

Chris Hovan would have been in competition for one of the rotational spots at defensive tackle for the Rams with Gary Gibson, Fred Robbins, Cliff Ryan and Darell Scott.  If the Rams kept 4 defensive tackles on the roster, Hovan probably would have been looking from the outside in on that group.  Ryan is the only solid starter in the group, but the Rams could have a good rotational situation if all stayed injury free.

Of all the position groups on the team, none are as good a friends as the defensive line. A trend started by former Cowboy Jason Ferguson, the Cowboys D-line are not just friends in the trenches, but also off the field as well. That is why it is hard to see a comrade fall, especially in practice. On one of the last plays of yesterdays practice, DE Marcus Spears felt someone role up on his leg and down he went. Spears will likely miss the rest of the preseason and maybe even the first game of the season with a sprained MCL in his knee.

Stepping up for Spears will be 5th year man Jason Hatcher. Hatcher is a better pass rusher than Spears, but is a little smaller and not as effective against the run. The Cowboys are very high on Hatcher and have been looking for a way to get him some more reps and playing time, now they have that chance.

The Cowboys feel that, while Spears is a big loss, the young guys can, and will, step up. “”Marcus Spears is a really solid part of our defense,” Phillips said. “He’s going to be where he’s supposed to be. He’s a smart player and a physical player, so we’ll miss him in the preseason.” Phillips went on to add, “Jason Hatcher needs to play anyway, so it’s a good opportunity for him. That’s what we’re looking forward to, we wanted to see him get some more playing time.”

Whatever happens, the D-Line is one of the deeper positions on the Cowboys, and hopefully they can rally around Hatcher and continue to excel against both the run and get more of a pass rush in the process.

Cardinals tight end Ben Patrick injured his left knee during practice Wednesday night (8/4).  CB Greg Toler jumped on Patrick’s back after the TE caught a pass over the middle.  Patrick had to be helped off the field, but he was able to put weight on the knee as he made his way to the sideline.  GM Rod Graves believes the injury is not as serious as it first appeared, but there’s no prognosis on what this means for Patrick’s immediate future.  It’s safe to say, however, that he’ll be sitting out the next few practices at least.

Although Patrick has hardly been a focal point of the Cardinals’ offense at any time, any injury to the offense is magnified this year with so much change.  It’s critical that the Cardinals hold on to continuity wherever possible and Patrick, for whatever he’s worth, has been a mainstay in the Cardinals’ formations.

In other injury news, Hamza Abdulla will miss some time due to a hamstring injury.  Abdulla doesn’t project to be a significant contributor this year, but his injury does force Kerry Rhodes and Adrian Wilson to run with the 3rd team defense.

Finally, Ali Highsmith went from 2nd on the depth chart at inside linebacker to being cut from the team.  In his place, the team signed LB Pago Togafau, which seems like shuffling the chairs on the deck of the Titanic.  Togafau appeared in two games for the Cards last year after spending four weeks on the practice squad.  Togafau signed with the Titans this off season, but was cut on Saturday before the Cardinals picked him up.  The Cardinals also signed safety Aaron Rouse,  who played 14 games, starting eight, for the Giants’ atrocious secondary last season.