TotalBroncos

CSN California reports Oakland center Stefen Wisniewski will likely miss another preseason game with a calf injury. This is an issue because Wisniewsk…

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Evening injury updates

RENTON, Wash. — While the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins provided clarity to their preseason plans by naming Jake Locker and Ryan Tannehill as their respective long-term starters, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll did nothing but upset the applecart by naming rookie quarterback Russell Wilson his starter for Seattle’s Week 3 preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs this Friday. Wilson, drafted in the third round, was seen to be the definitive backup to former Green Bay Packers backup Matt Flynn, who was signed to a three-year contract in the offseason. Flynn performed reasonably well as the starter through the first two preseason games, especially in last Saturday’s 30-10 win over the Denver Broncos — his 6-of-13 for 31-yard performance was much better than the numbers indicate, because Terrell Owens was 0-for-5 on his targeted passes, and Flynn unleashed a couple of nice deep throws. Wilson, however, has forced the issue in the second half of wins over the Broncos and Tennessee Titans. Playing against second-team defenses but with reserve teammates as well, he’s put up some impressive numbers — 22 of 33 for 279 yrds, three touchdowns, and one interception to Flynn’s 17 of 26 for 107 yards for no touchdowns and one interception. Wilson has an 8.5 yards per attempt average; Flynn’s is 3.9. As Seahawks general manager John Schneider said Wednesday on SIRIUS NFL Radio, the decision isn’t as much about Flynn as it is about Wilson’s compelling play with and against non-starters, and the now imperative need to see where he is against the ones. “He’s been going with the twos, he’s had eight drives, and scored six times — five touchdowns, and one field goal,” Schneider told Adam Schein and Rich Gannon. “He’s been pretty dynamic. Matt’s done a nice job and has a good feel for the system … Russell’s done so much in the second half of these two games. Pete preaches competition all the time, he’d be remiss if he didn’t put this guy with the ones and see what he could do with that group.” Wilson has received as many reps as any backup would through Seattle’s training camp — more than most, actually — and as time went on, it seemed that Wilson’s coaches wanted to test him more and more to see how he would react. I asked Carroll on Tuesday just what he’d seen out of the rookie. “First off, his poise and the ability to just feel comfortable and communicate really well and he has done a great job at that especially for a being a first-time guy at that,” Carroll said. “When you look at Russell’s numbers passing, running, and putting points on the board it has been obvious that’s the stuff that we have seen, he a great arm and a great vision. It’s just exciting to watch this kid play and everyone that’s grown up and watched him back at NC State and Wisconsin and we’re seeing the same thing they saw. He’s carried the style of play from college level to our level in these first couple pre-season games and we are going to see what that means in game three.” In fact, as I posed to Wilson, it seems that his college experience makes him an unusually good fit for Seattle’s offense. He played in a West Coast offense at NC State, and added a liberal dose of two-back, power zone, old-school football in the one year he spent at Wisconsin after giving Major League Baseball a shot. Perhaps the most impressive attribute Wilson showed in his two NFL games was the ability to effectively and intelligently improvise even after the pocket, and the original play, breaks down. It’s something that many athletic quarterbacks struggle with for years, but Wilson and Carroll said that they saw Wilson’s ability to make something out of nothing as a key tool important to his future. “He’s been doing that for a long time — we have not taught him that,” Carroll said. “That’s something that he brings with him. He has extraordinary instincts for when to move and when to get out, and he’s very effective at making the right choice, and knowing how to handle the situation. He can escape, he knows how to get out of bounds or on the ground, and he knows where the sticks are to make the first down — he’s shown that three or four times already. He has tremendous awareness, and that’s from all of his playing days.”

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Seahawks buck ‘conventional wisdom,’ name Russell Wilson their Week 3 preseason starter (Shutdown Corner)

The Boston Herald reports former New England pass-rusher Andre Carter is not ready to return to the field. He was lost last season with a quadriceps i…

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Report: Andre Carter not ready

Attending an Oakland Raiders game at the O.co Coliseum is an experience unlike anything else. I grew up in the Bay Area and have spent so much time at this nearly 46-year-old stadium I practically consider it my hometown.

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Fan’s Guide to Experiencing an Oakland Raiders’ Game at O.Co Coliseum (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) – Derek Wolfe is a blur. Whether it’s making up for a lost offseason or slipping past offensive linemen, the Denver Broncos’ top draft choice is giving opposing coordinators and quarterbacks more to worry about in 2012 than just Pro Bowl pass-rushers Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller . The Broncos drafted Wolfe in the second round (36th overall) out of the University of Cincinnati. But an NCAA rule kept him from joining them until his class had graduated. So, he showed up at training camp with some catching up to do. He quickly made up for lost time, whether it was playing inside at tackle or outside on the edge. When left defensive end Jason Hunter went down with a torn right triceps earlier this month, Wolfe moved into the starting lineup. “Oh, he’s the Man,” said Miller, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. On second thought, make that the “Wolfe-man.” “Hopefully we can get Broncos stadium howling a little bit,” Miller said, laughing. “It’s truly a blessing to have him in there. He makes anything a lot easier. You’ve got Derek Wolfe , he’s 6-5. I’m 6-3. You’ve got Elvis, he’s 6-foot, so there’s a lot of stuff for guys to game plan around.” When the Broncos (No. 10 in the AP Pro32) signed Peyton Manning in March, Miller said he and Dumervil immediately thought of all that success that the Indianapolis Colts tandem of Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis had rushing the passer whenever Manning gave them an early lead and forced quarterbacks to go to the air. When the Broncos selected Wolfe, Miller said he figured this terrifying tandem would just have to be a troublesome threesome. Here’s the rub: with Manning on board and Denver’s defense displaying this kind of pass-rushing prowess, opponents will try to run the ball on the Broncos to keep it out of the four-time MVP’s hands and to keep Dumervil, Wolfe and Miller off of their quarterback. That’s where Wolfe, who had two sacks in his preseason debut at Chicago, said he has to make strides. The Broncos allowed the Seattle Seahawks to run wild on them last week. “I blame myself for some of that, because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time sometimes,” Wolfe said. “Just get better every day. That’s what we’ve got to do. Come back next week and get better.” Given how far Wolfe has come so far, the Broncos are confident he can make adjustments. After all, he wasted no time in catching up once camp started. “Well, he picks up things quickly,” defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio said. “They did a lot with him in college, so he’s been exposed to a lot, and he played all around the front; he played from nose all the way out to defensive end out wide, so he’s done a lot of those different things. It was really a matter of him learning the terminology. He is an intelligent young man and he’s done a nice job picking things up. “He still makes his share of mistakes, and we still have a ways to go, believe me, he’s not a finished product. He’s got a lot of work to do. But I like the way he’s started.” Del Rio described Wolfe as “slippery” at defensive tackle and “rugged on the edge.” He said Wolfe proved a quick study by deciphering the playbook and quickly putting those lessons to use on the field. “I couldn’t do anything when I was out,” Wolfe said. “So everybody had a couple of weeks and the whole spring on me. So I had to really grind when I got here, stay with my nose in the playbook.” Defensive line coach Jay Rodgers quizzed him on the playbook for a couple of hours each day until he had it down, and it paid immediate dividends. “The one thing that can happen for young guys is sometimes they tend to want to be perfect and then they’re thinking a lot, making a lot of mistakes, and they’re playing slow. He’s not doing that. He’s playing fast, playing hard,” Del Rio said. And he’s in just as big of a hurry to fix the flaws in his game. “I haven’t arrived yet,” Wolfe said. “I’ve got to keep working.” – By Arnie Stapleton, AP Sports Writer (© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Broncos Rookie Derek Wolfe Proves A Quick Study