Russell Makes NFL Debut

(AP) JaMarcus Russell made his NFL debut for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday, entering the game in the second quarter against the Denver Broncos. Russell, the No. 1 overall draft pick in April, had been brought along slowly after missing all of training camp and the exhibition season in a contract dispute. He signed a deal that guaranteed him at least $29 million three days after the season opener. Russell has been working mostly with the scout team and in extra practice sessions designed to help him catch up. Russell got some work with the first team this week because of a quadriceps injury to starter Daunte Culpepper. Coach Lane Kiffin said recently that he wanted to use Russell for a few series at a time at first, to keep him out of difficult situations like the two-minute drill. By making him the second-string quarterback this week, Kiffin was able to make that happen this week. Russell entered to a standing ovation with 13:48 remaining in the second quarter and completed a 16-yard pass to Jerry Porter on his first play.
By NFL rules, if the No. 3 quarterback plays before the fourth quarter, the first two quarterbacks aren't allowed back into the game. Andrew Walter was the third quarterback.
Josh McCown started at quarterback for Oakland and threw a 17-yard TD pass to Tim Dwight on the game's opening drive. Culpepper missed much of practice this week with a sore right quadriceps and was on the inactive list for this game because of the injury. That gave McCown his sixth start off the season and first since Nov. 11 against Chicago despite having two dislocated joints in his non-throwing left pinkie.

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Skins Use 10 Man Defense To Honor Taylor

The message was all too clear: Sean Taylor is gone forever. For all of the No. 21 jerseys, waving towels and handwritten signs in the stands Sunday, for all of the flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the stadium, for all of the pregame tributes to the Pro Bowl safety, the most stark reminder of Taylor's plight came when the Washington Redskins lined up on defense for the first time since he was shot to death. Instead of 11 Redskins on the field, as rules allow, there were 10. As the Buffalo Bills got ready to run their first play midway through the first quarter, the man who replaced Taylor in the starting lineup, Reed Doughty, stood near coaches on the sideline with his arms crossed. After watching while Bills running back Fred Jackson gained 22 yards, Doughty entered for the next play -- and made the tackle. The 24-year-old Taylor died Tuesday, a day after being shot at his home in Florida during a burglary. Four men have been charged. The shock has yet to dissipate for Taylor's teammates and fans, and the grieving process continued on game day. "The only way we can honor him right now is to go out there on the field and play. Go out and play football," Redskins defensive end Phillip Daniels said during a pregame video tribute to Taylor. Associated Press

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Schaub Leaves Game

Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub left Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans in the first quarter after sustaining a left shoulder injury when he was sacked. Schaub walked off the field holding his left arm. The Texans said he was questionable to return. He was replaced by Sage Rosenfels. Schaub also left Houston's game against Tennessee on Oct. 21 with a knee injury, and Rosenfels rallied the Texans from a 32-7 deficit to take the lead. The Titans eventually won 38-36. Houston starting right guard Fred Weary was carted off the field in the second quarter with the medical staff working on his right leg. Weary raised his right hand to the crowd as the cart left the field. His status was not immediately announced.

ESPN

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Site Down

Sorry to all of the users who go to nflrumorz.com to get to the site, the site was down for the last two days due to upgrades. The site is now back up and running! Remember, you can access the site by going to any of these sites:

http://www.bbrumors.com
http://www.bamsnflrumors.blogspot.com
http://www.nflrumorz.com
or google nfl rumors, nfl rumorz, bamsnflrumors
Yardbarker! also has the site on their prefered sites list.

Sorry for the inconvenience,
Bam

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Carr Demoted

Struggling David Carr was demoted to the No. 3 quarterback for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday against San Francisco. Vinny Testaverde was the starter, and undrafted rookie Matt Moore was listed as the backup. Carr was the emergency No. 3 quarterback. The 44-year-old Testaverde returned after missing last Sunday's loss to New Orleans with a sore back. Carr started in his place against the Saints, and was 10-of-22 for 95 yards and two interceptions before being replaced by Moore early in the fourth quarter. The demotion comes after Carr signed a two-year, $6 million free-agent deal with Carolina in the offseason following a five-year stint as the starter in Houston. But when original starter Jake Delhomme was lost to a season-ending elbow injury in Week 3, Carr has thrown three touchdown passes, five interceptions and has a passer rating of 58.3.

Source: ESPN

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