Anticipated Returns

[dbroncos31]

here is an article by len P. that talks about big players returing after injuries last year. No mention of Pryce in the list, which puzzles me. but a mention of Walls.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/column...len&id=2053829
here's one big difference between the Carolina Panthers team that advanced to Super Bowl XXXVIII following the 2003 season and failed to qualify for the playoffs last season: In '03, Carolina was 8-4 in games decided by seven points or less and 6-1 in contests in which the margin was three points or fewer. Last year, the Panthers were 1-5 in seven-point outcomes and 0-4 in three-point games.

As in most of life's endeavors, close only counts when you're the one ahead by a nose at the finish line. There are plenty of loser's laments in the NFL for franchises that fail to win close games on a regular basis, and the one common denominator among all the alibis is no one really wants to hear them. Yet if you listened hard enough to all the audible pangs of pain emanating from the Panthers training room in 2004, you could make a case the team had a pretty viable excuse for its shortfalls.


DeShaun Foster rushed for 174 yards against the Chiefs, but later missed 12 games.

The Panthers lost the top two tailbacks on their depth chart, Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster, to injuries that sidelined the pair a combined 26 games. Big-play wide receiver Steve Smith broke his leg in the season opener and sat out the rest of the campaign. Kris Jenkins, the man many personnel directors consider the premier defensive tackle in the NFL, was out for a dozen contests. In all, the Panthers finished 2004 with 14 players on the injured reserve list, and seven of those were either projected starters or players who were to have contended for starting jobs.

And the injured reserve rolls, more like a M*A*S*H unit bed-check for the Panthers last season, don't even account for the other players who missed two or more contests.

That is why redemption for the Panthers in 2005 is so tied to rehabilitation.

"If we are all better," said Smith, referring to all the high-profile players who missed so much time a year ago, "this team will be better. We can be right back to where we were (in '03). But with everything that happened last year, this was a crippled team, and still we almost got to the playoffs. We get everybody back on the field and we can be a Super Bowl team again. Just watch."

Watching is what a lot of coaches are doing right now. As teams reassemble for various mini-camps and organized conditioning programs, there is considerable focus on just how much progress wounded players from '04 have made in their recoveries, and in how soon they can return to the field whole again. It is one of the NFL's spring rituals and, all over the league, general managers and coaches and trainers can't help but sneak a peek at the guy coming back from, say, knee surgery, to assess the deeper meaning to a slight limp.

At the scouting combine workouts in February, rookie coach Mike Nolan made a hard pitch that his San Francisco 49ers team might not look nearly so threadbare if there was a guarantee some of the injured players of a year ago would be fully recovered. That might have been overstating the case a little but, certainly, Nolan's transition to a 3-4 defense figures to be facilitated if players like linebacker Julian Peterson, defensive end Andre Carter and cornerback Mike Rumph all return from 2004 injuries.

Spring is a traditional time for renewal. In the NFL, it is a time for finishing rehabilitation and reassessment. With that in mind, here's a look at some non-Carolina players who finished last season on injured reserve and missed at least eight games, and whose return in 2005 is critical to the fortunes of their respective franchises:

• LaVar Arrington, Washington (games missed: 12): Even minus Arrington, who seemed at a recent mini-camp to be moving well following two knee surgeries, the Washington defense ranked No. 3 in the NFL in 2004. But imagine what creative coordinator Gregg Williams might be able to scheme up if he can unleash a healthy Arrington on the rest of the league in 2005. Williams has the right stuff, and the ingenuity, to make the petulant Arrington the player he is supposed to be.

• QB Rex Grossman, Chicago (games missed: 13): When the 2003 first-rounder went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the third game last season, it not only cost the Bears a chance at respectability, but also robbed Grossman of much-needed playing time. The former University of Florida star has just six career starts and, for all intents and purposes, is still an NFL novice. Grossman is, though, the man being counted on by new offensive coordinator Ron Turner to serve as catalyst for a turnaround.

• LB Julian Peterson (games missed: 11) and DE Andre Carter (games missed: nine), San Francisco: In honor of this weekend's Kentucky Derby, we're citing the 49ers pair as an entry, because they represent the outside pincer-type players Nolan will need to get quick results from his 3-4 design. Peterson (Achilles) is the perfect hybrid outside player for the 3-4 look, a splendid athlete who, if healthy, could post double-digit sacks in the new defense. Carter (back) is an undersized end who almost certainly will be moved to linebacker but probably play some end, as well, on third down.

• C Mike Flanagan, Green Bay (games missed: 13): Still rehabilitating his damaged knee, Flanagan will be flanked by two new starting guards in 2005, with veterans Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera having departed in free agency. The Packers, who are having to rebuild their line for the first time in six years, desperately need Flanagan, who played in the Pro Bowl in 2003, to come back and add stability to the interior of the unit.

• TE Jim Kleinsasser, Minnesota (games missed: 15): One of the shortcomings of the Vikings offense in '04 was the early-season abandonment of the power running game that keyed one of the league's most diverse designs a year earlier. Part of the problem was Kleinsasser's knee injury robbed Minnesota of one of the NFL's most complete blocking tight ends, a guy capable of crushing defenders in-line, but also getting out and blowing up linebackers at the second level. Coach Mike Tice has vowed a return of the inside running game in 2005 and Kleinsasser's return would certainly facilitate that.

• OT Jon Jansen, Washington (games missed: 16): There were myriad reasons for the spotty play of the Redskins blocking unit in 2004, among them a poorly designed passing game, but the Achilles injury Jansen sustained in preseason was foremost. Jansen is a standout right tackle and, just as important, the conscience of the Washington line. His close buddy, quarterback Patrick Ramsey, will be a lot more secure if Jansen can return to his past form.

• RB Correll Buckhalter, Philadelphia (games missed: 16): Yeah, a sleeper in the bunch, since the four-year veteran isn't even a starter. But the former Nebraska star, trying to come back from the second anterior cruciate ligament tear of his star-crossed career, is still the Eagles' most powerful inside runner. He could be an excellent complement to Brian Westbrook or, if the Philadelphia starter holds out in a contract dispute, a very solid replacement for him. No doubt the return of another Eagles player, second-year guard Shawn Andrews (knee), will aid the running game, as well. But Buckhalter could make an already terrific offense even better.

• OG Kendall Simmons, Pittsburgh (games missed: 16): The Steelers lost starting right tackle Oliver Ross in free agency. Also departing was Keydrick Vincent, who started all 16 games while Simmons recovered from knee surgery. With inexperienced second-year veteran Max Starks projected as the starting right tackle, after seeing just sparse playing time as a rookie, the Steelers are counting on Simmons to come back and add stability to the strong side of the line. The already formidable Pittsburgh defense could be even better in 2005 if nose tackle Casey Hampton returns whole from a knee injury that held him to six games last season.

• CB Lenny Walls, Denver (games missed: nine): The league's biggest cornerback, Walls hopes the recurring shoulder problems of his past were finally and definitively addressed with late-season surgery. The Broncos' cornerback struggles, including the uneven play of Champ Bailey in 2004, have been well documented. Getting a healthy Walls on the field for a full season would be a plus.

• LB Boss Bailey (games missed: 16) and WR Charles Rogers (games missed: 15), Detroit: The Lions passed on linebacker Derrick Johnson in the draft, perhaps a sign that they feel Bailey (knee) is not only healed but ready to step up his game. A lot of scouts feel Bailey is soft but the weak-side 'backer does possess the kind of athletic skills to be a playmaker at the position. Rogers has missed the bulk of the past two seasons after twice fracturing his collarbone. Detroit officials insist the choice of wideout Mike Williams in the first round was not an indication of concerns over Rogers' long-term viability. If he can stay on the field, Rogers will help give the Lions one of the best young receiver corps in the league.

[Odysseus]

Walls is in a contract year. Pryce, from what I remember, is not.

[dbroncos31]

Originally Posted by quiettiger

Walls is in a contract year. Pryce, from what I remember, is not.

yteah but he is still returning from an injury wthgat kept him out 14 games and he's a good player.

[Kaylore]

Originally Posted by quiettiger

Walls is in a contract year. Pryce, from what I remember, is not.

So Pryce extended? I thought he just restructured...