Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001

Broncos lose McCaffrey for season

Broncos WR Ed McCaffrey broke both bones in his lower left leg Monday night when he was hit by Giants S Shaun Williams in Denver’s win over New York. McCaffrey, who hung on to the ball after making the 19-yard reception, was scheduled for surgery late Monday night. Head coach Mike Shanahan said rods were inserted in the broken bones and McCaffrey will be out six months. After the injury, Rod Smith made the difficult adjustment from his X receiver spot to McCaffrey’s Z spot, with Eddie Kennison taking over Smith’s position.

Buchsbaum: The Broncos will miss Ed McCaffrey a great deal. McCaffrey was one of the most underrated players in the NFL and one of the league’s truly elite receivers. He had great size, great hands, great feel for reading coverages and was a supertough guy who would catch the ball anyplace. Plus, he may have been one of the two or three best blocking receivers in all of football, and he did all the little things to help his quarterback out. Although not known as a burner, he had deceptive speed and was a lot faster than people gave him credit for being. Eddie Kennison is going to have to step up now. He has the great speed and ability but has never had the consistency and the focus in the past. Let’s see if Mike Shanahan and Co. can work wonders with him.

Dolphins undergo another OT switch

The Dolphins signed veteran OT Harry Swayne on Tuesday, adding depth to an offensive line that has lost two starters to season-ending knee injuries in the last six weeks. The Dolphins also placed tackle Marcus Spriggs on injured reserve. Spriggs tore the anterior and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee Sunday against Tennessee. He had stepped into the starting lineup when Brent Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury on the first day of training camp. Smith was to have replaced Pro Bowl OT Richmond Webb, who signed with Cincinnati as a free agent during the offseason.

Buchsbaum: With the loss of Marcus Spriggs, the Dolphins will play Spencer Folau at left tackle and rotate him with Harry Swayne once Swayne gets in shape. Swayne is not equipped to play a full 16-game season anymore, and Folau is basically an average journeyman player. This will hurt Miami and put more pressure on Jay Fiedler’s blind side. Don’t be shocked if the Dolphins make some attempt to get a veteran tackle who’s a little bit better than what they have, before the trading deadline.

Titans lose Sidney for season

Titans CB Dainon Sidney will miss the rest of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during Sunday night’s loss to Miami. He was placed on injured reserve. Said Sidney: "It’s disappointing, but you just got to chalk it up. Last year, Donald Mitchell went down, Kevin Dyson went down. I didn’t hear them complaining about ‘poor me.’ I’m not about to do the same this year." The injury, which occurred early in the first quarter, was suffered without contact as Sidney's knee crumpled when he tried to slow down in punt coverage as he approached Dolphins return man Jeff Ogden.

Buchsbaum: Tennessee suffered a bigger loss than people realize with the loss of Dainon Sidney at cornerback. I really feel it was only a matter of time before they replaced DeRon Jenkins on the other corner. Sidney has the athletic ability and big-play ability that Jenkins lacked, but the Titans were a little bit afraid of his inconsistency and tendency to give up big plays. But to be quite frank about it, Jenkins is really no better than a third corner, and having a weak link on the corner in Tennessee’s defense can be a major, major problem.

Darius out indefinitely; Lake no longer an option

Jaguars S Donovin Darius is out indefinitely with a broken left hip. Darius played with the injury through Sunday’s victory over Pittsburgh and didn't complain of pain after the game. But on Monday, Darius felt pain, and X-rays showed a fracture. It wasn’t known how long Darius would be out but he’s expected to be off his feet for at least a few weeks. With veteran Carnell Lake gone, the Jaguars are thin at safety. Rookie Marlon McCree beat out Lake for one starting spot, and another rookie, James Boyd, most likely will take Darius' place. The only other safety on the roster is Ainsley Battles, who was picked up last week after the Steelers waived him.

Buchsbaum: Donovin Darius’ injury obviously is going to hurt the Jaguars and means they’ll be very young at the safety position. They had a chance to re-sign Carnell Lake but opted against it. Instead, Lake wound up with his former teammate in Pittsburgh, Rod Woodson, in the secondary of the Ravens. Lake probably will not beat out Corey Harris but will see more and more time as the year goes along, and if he’s healthy, he could actually beat out Harris. He still is a good hitter, he’s a very smart player and he’s a team player.

Lions bench Batch, promote Detmer

The Lions replaced QB Charlie Batch in the starting lineup with Ty Detmer after the team struggled offensively in its season-opening loss to Green Bay. Detmer, acquired Sept. 2 from Cleveland, will start Sunday when the Lions host the Cowboys. Said head coach Marty Mornhinweg: "We’ve decided that in the best interest of the team, we are going to make a change at quarterback. I’ve been evaluating Charlie since I got here, and after yesterday’s play against Green Bay, I feel that we have our best chance of winning with Ty in the lineup." Mornhinweg, in his first season with the Lions, is running the West Coast offense, and Batch was struggling to make the change.

Buchsbaum: It came quicker than expected, but not too many people are shocked the Lions replaced Charlie Batch. He seemed to be having a very hard time grasping Marty Mornhinweg’s offense and just didn’t seem natural. In the past, he’s been injury-prone and inconsistent after a very promising rookie year. Now the Lions may be second-guessing themselves for the big contract they gave Batch a year ago. Still, there is hope for Batch because Detmer is not a long-term answer. He’s a short-term solution, and by the end of this year, the Lions will have to find out about Batch. Obviously, they had doubts about him going into the draft because they came very close to drafting Purdue QB Drew Brees in the first round but instead opted to give Batch the best supporting cast they could by giving him OLT Jeff Backus. However, they did not give Batch a lot of leeway like the Steelers are doing with Kordell Stewart after having given Stewart a vote of confidence in the draft also by passing on Brees.

Pro Football Weekly’s Preview 2001 magazine is available now at newsstands everywhere and can be ordered online by clicking here

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2001 - 2002 Season