Atlanta Falcons 10/25/2008 9:25 AMThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports Falcons starting left OT Sam Baker returned to practice on Friday. Baker, a rookie first round pick from USC, missed Thursday practice to give a hip injury a rest. He went through the entire practice on Friday and showed no ill effects. Baker has started five games, but didn’t finish two games and missed one game because of an unrelated concussion he sustained against Tampa Bay in Week 2.Read more
Jacksonville Jaguars 10/25/2008 9:03 AMThe Florida Times-Union reports Jaguars RB Maurice Drew is willing to wait until his time comes ... even if it seems to be a bit overdue. Drew showed he could carry the load in Denver on Oct. 12 when RB Fred Taylor was hit in the head and limited to three carries. Drew took over and carried 22 times for 125 yards and caught two passes for 23 yards. The impressive showing prompted many fans to suggest that it was time for Taylor to step aside and let Drew get more carries.Read more
St. Louis Rams 10/25/2008 8:55 AMThe St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the sight of RB Steven Jackson in uniform and on the practice field Friday was encouraging for the Rams, but coach Jim Haslett estimated Jackson's chances of playing Sunday at New England at "probably 50-50." "It'll be a game-day decision," Haslett explained. "He took limited reps. He doesn't need a lot of reps, because he knows everything." Jackson strained a muscle in his right thigh late in the Rams' 34-14 victory over Dallas last Sunday. Still, he rushed for 160 yards, scored three touchdowns, and was named the NFC offensive player of the week. He had not suited up for practice until Friday, when he did individual drills and took a few snaps in the 11-on-11 team periods.Read more
Houston Texans 10/25/2008 8:47 AMThe Houston Chronicle reports OT Eric Winston doesn’t know the Cedric Benson who has made too many of the wrong kind of headlines — on and off the field — in what has been to date an unhappy, unproductive pro career. The only Benson Winston knows, going all the way back to their fifth-grade football team in Midland, is a good guy, an upstanding teammate and an immensely gifted running back. “We always sat next to each other on the bus going to high school games,” Winston recalls. “For five hours sometimes we’d have great conversations, not about football but just about life.”Read more
