Bill Parcells article (non-jets related, decent read)

[drago]

At this stage of the season, an interesting thing to look at is the condition and shape of each team's 53-man roster. You'll see a lot of guys on the physically unable to perform list and some suspended players. It isn't widely discussed, but there is a bit of a silver lining to those players' situations.

First of all, I admit that it's a drawback for teams to lose the talent and services of players under contract. But teams retain the rights to those players and have the option to replace them on the roster. The Bengals have two suspended players in Odell Thurman and Chris Henry. The Patriots will be without Rodney Harrison for two more games. That means the Bengals have 55 players and the Patriots 54.

The same is true for players on the PUP list. Teams lose those players for six weeks and then have three weeks to decide whether to activate them. But those players can be replaced too. So, in reality, a team can easily have more than 53 players under its control.

You still have to satisfy the salary cap in these situations; all player costs count toward the cap. But this set of rules does allow teams to keep a few players in the bullpen, such as Harrison and Henry, while also looking at other players whom they might want to keep.

As the season wears on, injuries occur and it's an advantage to have ready replacements. So, although suspensions and injuries are typically not advantageous, the legal roster expansion they allow for is a pretty nice compensation.

Matt Schaub

Quarterback

Houston Texans

Profile

2007 Season StatsAttCompYdsTDIntRat503643331111.4

Are the Texans for real?

I believe the Texans' acquisition of QB Matt Schaub will turn out to be the biggest move of this past offseason. He has improved the Texans' offense immeasurably and appears to be developing a rapport with wideout Andre Johnson, who is a good partner to have. Johnson is big and fast and a threat to score every time he catches the ball. I don't know if the Texans can maintain their early pace, but they look to be much improved. Look at it this way. Carolina is considered one of the better teams in the league. Well, the Texans went into Carolina, spotted the Panthers 14 points and ended up winning 31-14. That's a pretty good showing.

What is wrong with the Saints?

The Saints' problems are on defense. Their front is still solid, but the troubles start at linebacker and go back. They don't have a lot of depth at linebacker and the players they do have there are not special. They are hurting at corner too; Jason David and Mike McKenzie have gotten off to poor starts. The Saints are a little better at safety than they were last year with Roman Harper and Josh Bullocks playing well enough. Still, the perimeter of their defense needs to be addressed.

Can Buffalo QB J.P. Losman turn around his season?

I'm not the perfect guy to answer this question. I have not seen him that much. I did see him coming out of the draft and I did not have an extremely high opinion of him then. I think it's safe to say he is at a crossroads. Losman has been around long enough to be expected to play with some consistency. He needs to come forward and be a leader for the Bills. If not, I think they're in trouble.

Are the Steelers a legitimate contender?

I think they are solid. They can run. They can throw. The Steelers play reasonably good defense most of the time. I think they are the most balanced team in their division. The Ravens play better defense and the Bengals play better offense. But the best total package is in Pittsburgh. I think the Steelers have a good chance to make the playoffs. Bill Parcells, the former head coach of the Giants, Patriots, Jets and Cowboys, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.

I like reading from a coaches perspective, especially a coach i have respect for. I think John Clayton does a nice job, but some of the writers (i.e. shannon sharpe) talk about themselves so much they lose track of what they are talking about.

I'd like to see more articles from Parcells.