FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — After sitting out three weeks with a strained hamstring, New York Jets running back Matt Forte returned to practice Tuesday and claimed he will be ready for the season opener against the Buffalo Bills.
“No doubt,” he said.
Forte, 31, said he hopes to play Saturday night against the New York Giants, but that hasn’t been confirmed yet. The Jets want to see how he progresses throughout the week before making that determination.
“That’s my goal,” Forte said. “I don’t know what the coaches’ plan is, but that’s my plan.”
Forte, injured July 31 in the third practice of training camp, went through a similar ordeal last summer. He injured the same hamstring in a pre-camp workout and missed the first two preseason games. It was actually a torn hamstring, he revealed Tuesday, one that required an injection of platelet-rich plasma.
Matt Forte has been sidelined since July 31 with a hamstring injury. Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
“This one, there was no tear in it, it was just a [grade I] strain,” he said. “It took about the same amount of time to actually heal up. … To get back to full speed, it took a couple weeks, which I wasn’t expecting. You can’t predict that type of stuff.”
Forte, one of the few veterans who survived the offseason roster purge, rushed for a team-high 813 yards last season, missing the final two games due to a knee scope.
He and Powell are surrounded by uncertainty at the skill positions, starting at quarterback. Veteran Josh McCown is the presumptive starter, but he took only three practice reps on Tuesday — highly unusual for the week of the third preseason game. Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty split the majority of the reps; McCown ran sprints off to the side to keep busy.
Coach Todd Bowles, who said he’ll reveal his regular-season quarterback choice on Monday, has grown weary of quarterback questions.
“He got reps the whole first half of camp and y’all complained he got too many,” said Bowles, who wouldn’t say who will start against the Giants. “Now he’s getting too little. What do you want me to do?”
Asked if there’s a happy medium, Bowles bristled, “Yeah, there is, and I’m taking care of that.”
Covered the Philadelphia Eagles for Philadelphia Magazine and Philly.com from 2008 to 2015.
Covered the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL for BaltimoreSun.com from 2006 to 2008.
RENTON, Wash. — The Seattle Seahawks have acquired offensive lineman Matt Tobin and a 2018 seventh-round pick from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a fifth-round pick.
Tobin entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa in 2013. He has started 21 games in four seasons and has played both tackle and guard.
The Seahawks lost starting left tackle George Fant to a season-ending knee injury during Friday’s preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll said Monday that second-year player Rees Odhiambo would get a shot to replace Fant. The team could also move Luke Joeckel over from left guard, and rookie Ethan Pocic could compete there as well.
None of Tobin’s starts have come at left tackle, but he has filled in there before and is expected to compete for playing time at that spot.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — There was no talk of a quarterback controversy this time.
Unlike the Arizona Cardinals’ first two preseason games, both of which preceded a week’s worth of talk about who should be Carson Palmer’s backup, the topic didn’t come up following Saturday’s 24-23 loss to the Chicago Bears.
However, third-string quarterback Blaine Gabbert showed an important trait for any quarterback, whether he comes off the bench or not.
He was calm and effective under pressure.
Regardless of his spot in the Cardinals’ quarterback pecking order, Blaine Gabbert showed Saturday that he can handle high-pressure situations. Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images
After the Cardinals recovered a pooched onside kick with 1:18 left in the game and his team down 24-17, Gabbert led a drive from the Chicago 35-yard line down to the 3 in 1:04 before hitting Jeremy Ross with a laser of a throw for a touchdown.
Instead of kicking the extra point to tie the score at 24 and possibly head to overtime, the Cardinals went for two, giving Gabbert another opportunity to show whether he could come through in the clutch. He almost did. Gabbert dropped back against the Bears’ Cover Zero and threw again to Ross, but the ball fell to the ground just as Ross was turning his head around to look for it.
“Hindsight being 20-20, I’ve just got to drift, take the shot and find a way to deliver the ball,” Gabbert said. “It just didn’t happen. We put ourselves in the right position but it leaves a sour taste in your mouth when it was there.”
Although Gabbert didn’t lead Arizona to the win, he showed coach Bruce Arians he could carry a team down the field.
“I’d like to see him make that winning throw right there,” Arians said. “It’s a hell of a job making that winning drive.”
Fortunately for the Cardinals, the game doesn’t count. But the final two possessions crammed into the last two minutes — going back to Phil Dawson kicking a 52-yard field goal to cut the Bears’ lead down from 10 to seven with 1:25 left — gave the Cardinals “really good end-of-game teaching stuff,” Arians said.
Gabbert threw for 174 yards on 14-of-25 passing with a touchdown and an interception that Arians said wasn’t his fault. He also showed off his athleticism with two scrambles for six yards, including one for a touchdown in the third quarter.
After three preseason games with extensive action in the offense, Gabbert is feeling comfortable with Arians’ complex scheme.
“It’s such a great system,” Gabbert said. “It puts a lot on the quarterback but with playing the position that’s all you can ask for. We throw the ball a lot. It’s a great job.”
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Gabbert showed a little bit of everything Saturday. He ran, he threw deep, he showed his steel under pressure and he displayed his composure. But he still felt there were areas for improvement.
“There’s definitely a lot of good film to watch,” Gabbert said. “There’s a lot of good learning that’s going to take place.
“We definitely did some good things in the second half. We moved the ball pretty much at will. When we stalled on a couple drives it was self-inflicted wounds. The line did a great job in the second half and the rest was just trying to make plays.”
Covered the Broncos for two seasons with the Denver Post
Graduate of the University of Houston
A native of Jackson, Miss.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It took a game to knock off the rust, but the Tennessee Titans looked like the AFC contender they were built to be, and more, Saturday against the Carolina Panthers in their second preseason game.
Marcus Mariota got even closer to the quarterback the Titans saw during their peak last season by accurately completing passes, using his legs to make plays and having the pocket presence to make the correct read. He hit Delanie Walker in the back of the end zone for his first touchdown of the preseason in the first quarter.
Titans coach Mike Mularkey challenged the offense after their lackluster preseason opener against the New York Jets a week ago. Mariota, running back Derrick Henry and the Titans’ bevy of receiving options responding with up-tempo play, long chain-moving drives and touchdowns.
“It was a lot better. I thought we came out fast, made a couple big plays, were able to go down and score,” Mariota said. “We’ve just got to continue to build this momentum, build the foundation and get ready for the season.”
Marcus Mariota was efficient on Saturday, going 6-for-8 passing for 61 yards and a touchdown. Mark Zaleski/AP Photo
Mularkey agreed, saying he was “pretty pleased” with the Titans’ response, particularly from the starters who jumped out to a 17-0 lead during their first-quarter action. Tennessee held on for a 34-27 win.
The biggest positive outside of the offense’s resurgence was how often Tennessee’s defenders got their hands on the football. Two first-quarter turnovers led to 14 Titans points. That’s a recipe for winning.
QB depth chart: The Titans’ backup quarterback battle continued Saturday, with Matt Cassel looking solid in his first action of the preseason. He finished 8-of-13 for 88 yards and found Tre McBride for a would-be touchdown in the end zone, but the pass was dropped. Cassel also turned heads by running through a tackle attempt by Panthers linebacker Jeremy Cash. Alex Tanney improved upon his two-turnover performance in the opener, finishing 7-of-12 for 85 yards. Cassel appears to be the No. 2 quarterback, with the question being if Tanney will remain on the active roster as the No. 3 quarterback.
When it was starters vs. starters, the Titans looked …: Invigorated. Mariota started the game hitting rookie receiver Taywan Taylor for a 20-yard completion over the middle to get the crowd involved early. Tennessee’s offensive line had a drastic improvement keeping Mariota completely clean and the defense was the biggest catalyst for the day, forcing two turnovers in the Panthers’ side of the field. The Titans simply looked faster, more physical and better than they did last week.
One reason to be concerned: Penalties were one of the few negatives out of the Titans’ play Saturday. Tennessee committed 11 penalties for 93 yards. A couple of penalties in early drives forced them to work harder for scores and it was an apparent issue late in the game. The preseason is a good time to work out those issues, and Mularkey will certainly mention it.
Rookie watch: Taylor splashed from the first play and throughout the game. The third-round pick out of Western Kentucky has taken advantage of injuries to Eric Decker, Corey Davis and Tajae Sharpe by making plays in each game. He finished with three catches for 41 yards and will force the Titans to figure out ways to put him on the field.
Bounce back: Cornerback Logan Ryan gave himself an “F” after a rough performance last week against the Jets, giving up three completions, including a 53-yard catch. He responded Saturday by forcing a fumble on the Panthers’ first drive. That turnover led to a Titans touchdown. The starting secondary didn’t give up any big passing plays, either. There was a lot to be excited about for Ryan and the Titans’ defense. “Excellent,” Ryan said. “But that’s what we expect.”
Locking up a roster spot? No Titans player had a better day than running back David Fluellen, who finished with 10 rushes for 76 yards and two catches for 15 yards and a touchdown. He also made a great tackle on special teams. Fluellen is the leader for the No. 3 running back spot, and his leading competition, seventh-round pick Khalfani Muhammad, had one carry for 1 yard.
No overtime award: Fluellen had the best day, but Aaron Wallace is the true award winner because his strip sack with two minutes left in the game saved everyone from preseason overtime. One play later, Fluellen punched it in for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Titans up 34-27.
