Associated Press
The NFL notebook …
IRVING, Texas ó Tony Romo is already talking about the preseason in past tense.
Romo doesn’t expect to play in the Dallas Cowboys’ preseason finale Thursday night at home against Minnesota. Instead, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback is focusing on the season opener at Cleveland.
“The juices are flowing just because the first game is coming,” Romo said Tuesday before the Cowboys’ last full practice until next week. “Yeah, I thought we had a really good preseason. We’re excited about our execution.”
In their most extensive action of the preseason, Romo and the starting offense had 266 total yards in the first half against Houston on Friday night. Romo was 15-for-19 passing for 166 yards with a touchdown, and Marion Barber ran 13 times for 75 yards.
While Romo played only three series the first two preseason games, he said the depth of returning experience and their time at practice during training camp has them where they need to be in preparation for the Sept. 7 opener.
“We came out and we got into training camp at the beginning, it was the best the offense has started for us at camp,” Romo said. “Usually the defense is far and away ahead, but having the guys that we had at certain positions, we were able to kind of pick up where we left off and go from there, and it was important to get that feeling of confidence.”
ON PUP
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ó Wide receiver David Tyree was placed on the physically-unable-to-perform reserve list by the New York Giants on Tuesday, meaning the player who made a game-saving catch in the Super Bowl won’t be making any for at least the first six weeks of the season.
Tyree, whose spectacular one-handed catch against his helmet sparked the Giants’ late game-winning drive against the previously unbeaten New England Patriots, has not practiced since training camp opened in July because he is rehabilitating a surgically repaired right knee. He had surgery in May.
– TAMPA, Fla. ó The Tampa Bay Buccaneers placed running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams on the reserve physically-unable-to-perform list, meaning his bid to return from a serious knee injury will be delayed at least until after the sixth week of the regular season.
VINCENT-UPSHAW
Troy Vincent declined to discuss whether he’s interested in succeeding Gene Upshaw in leading the NFL Players’ Association because he is still mourning the union’s executive director’s death ó and a person Vincent referred to as “a mentor.”
“I will not discuss anything outside of my mourning and sympathy for (the Upshaw) family,” Vincent wrote in an e-mail sent to The Associated Press on Tuesday, in what were the former NFLPA president’s first public comments since Upshaw died last week.
Vincent, a former NFL defensive back, is considered a candidate to take over as NFLPA executive director, a position which is filled on an interim basis by Richard Berthelsen, the union’s chief counsel. Vincent played 15 seasons and spent the past four years as the union president before he was succeeded by Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae.STEELERSPITTSBURGH ó He has thrown more passes in the preseason than starter Ben Roethlisberger. That doesn’t mean the Steelers have seen nearly enough of their new backup quarterback, Byron Leftwich.
Leftwich was signed by the Steelers after Charlie Batch broke his collarbone on Aug. 8. He’s expected to get most of the playing time Thursday when the Steelers face the Carolina Panthers in their fourth and final exhibition game.
BEARSCHICAGO ó The Chicago Bears released cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. on Tuesday.
In two seasons with the Bears, he appeared in 31 games with 11 starts. With the Bears, Manning had 106 tackles, three sacks and five interceptions. He signed with the team as a restricted free agent in 2006.
Manning entered the league in 2003 as a third-round selection of the Carolina Panthers.