Not a lot of info to discuss from the PM practice. Depth and/or catch-lightning-in-a-bottle defensive linemen Larry Tripplett and Chris Cooper are both banged up. As I just stated, teams sign players like Trip and Coop for two reasons: To improve internal replacement level, i.e. improve depth; and to increase the chance that one player, for whatever reason, breaks out. It happens, and it's always good to have talent around just in case someone "figures it out".
The other news of note is that Reggie Hodges is doing a fine job of playing himself into a job on another team.
PLAYER OF THE DAY
Reggie Hodges. The free-agent punter is pulling double duty while Ryan Plackemeier completes his rehab from surgery to repair a torn pectoral. In addition to punting, Hodges also is holding for the field goals and PATs – a definite plus, since the other option with Plackemeier out would have been quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.But this afternoon, Hodges' primary task was punting – and he launched one boomer after another.
There's no real reason Ryan Plackemeier shouldn't be able to recover and regain punting duties, but a performance like this should help Hodges get consideration from other teams.
Since news is light, I thought this would be a good time to discuss some of the rule changes. Specifically the rule eliminating force outs. Is it a good rule because it eliminates ambiguity? Or is it a bad rule that allows defenders to bully receivers around the sidelines? I'm not sure how I feel just yet and wanted to see if anyone had a stronger, clearer opinion on the matter.