Players and owners in the “red zone” in terms of labor talks?
A league source tells SI.com that the players and owners are “in the red zone” with regard to the labor negotiations. The source says that back in March, “we weren’t in the same stadium.” But now the two sides are apparently inching closer to wrapping up a deal thanks to the momentum that has been created over the last couple of weeks. The two sides will continue talks on Thursday and Friday, with five players and DeMaurice Smith conversing with Roger Goodell and five owners. While these discussions remain fluid, talks continue to progress.

Redskins won’t release Haynesworth
Mike Shanahan and the Redskins appear determined to leave Albert Haynesworth in NFL purgatory. Philadelphia Sports Daily says that the Skins will not release the DT quickly after the lockout and if any team wants him, they’ll have to trade for him. Apparently Washington doesn’t want to give into what Haynesworth wants, which is to be released. I can’t envision a scenario in which Haynesworth is still a Redskin by the start of the season, but you never know. Shanahan has proven time and time again that he can be stubborn.

MJD: The Jaguars are scared of my knee
In an interview with the Florida Times Union, running back Maurice Jones-Drew says that the Jaguars are “already kind of scared of my (surgically repaired) knee” and are “anxious to throw Rashad (Jennings) in” for more carries. As Rotoworld.com points out, Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter insists that there have been no discussions in the offensive staff room over MJD’s knee, although the team’s official website did run a story earlier this week about how the coaching staff wants to get Jennings more involved. Seeing as how the NFL is largely a two-back league now, it wouldn’t be surprising if Jennings did get more touches next year – regardless of whether or not there is concern about MJD’s knee.

Asomugha to receive $19 million a year?
NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora seems to think that free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha could receive a contact that approaches $19 million a year. If so, it would make Asomugha the highest paid player in NFL history. La Canfora believes that the Bucs could be serious bidders for the cornerback, which makes sense given Aqib Talib’s legal troubles. The Texans are also reportedly interested in Asomugha, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Lions also got in the mix once the lockout lifts. The Eagles, Ravens and Jets have also been mentioned as possible suitors.

The Texans and Jaguars could be without their biggest offensive weapons on Sunday.

Sources tell ESPN’s Adam Schefter that both Andre Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew are doubtful for their respective games in Week 16. The Texans are in Denver for a meaningless (in terms of playoffs) game against the Broncos, while the Jaguars play a very meaningful game against the Redskins in Jacksonville.

Johnson told the media earlier in the week that he would test his injured ankle in pre-game warmups but he didn’t sound optimistic that he would play. Should he sit against the Broncos, Jacoby Jones would start in his place and could have a big game against a brutal Denver defense (save for cornerback Champ Bailey, of course).

Jones-Drew’s knee is still swollen and the Jags want to give it a chance to rest and heal. And even though they have a huge game on Sunday, the Redskins’ defense is both decimated and awful, so Jacksonville could probably get by with backup Rashad Jennings if MJD can’t go. Jennings is averaging 6.8 yards-per-carry this season and he should get anywhere from 15-25 touches against Washington.

Okay, so “seizing control” is a bit much. But following their easy 17-6 win over the Titans on Sunday, coupled with the Colts’ mind-blowing 38-35 loss to the Cowboys, the Jags have sole possession of first place in the division.

It would appear that Jacksonville is winning via smoke and mirrors, but that would be unfair. Their young defensive tackles Terrance Knighton and Tyson Alualu (remember him, draft experts?) are playing outstanding football, while the combination of Maurice Jones-Drew and Rashad Jennings is working offensively. They’re wearing opponents like the Titans down in the second half and David Garrard (although not great by any stretch of the imagination) is making plays when he has to.

Their schedule down the stretch is also very winnable. They host the Raiders next Sunday before traveling to Indy the following week for their big matchup with the Colts. Then they host the Redskins and travel to Houston to play a highly inconsistent Texans team. The Jags could easily go 3-1 over the final month of the season.

It’s amazing to think that the same Jacksonville team that looked some hopeless and lost on Monday Night Football against Tennessee earlier this season is on path to make the playoffs. Staggering.

The NFL – ha! It’s so predictable.

Well of course the Jaguars were going to upset the Colts today. Why wouldn’t they? They were only coming off back-to-back losses in which their opponents outscored them by a combined 66-16 and posses the 29th worst pass defense in the league. Peyton Manning didn’t have a chance!

And of course you knew that Josh Scobee would nail a 59-yarder right down the middle to win the game. That was easy to call.

Seriously, what a freaking kick by Scobee. I’m sure both sidelines were saying, “All right, after this fool dribbles one to about the 7-yard line, we’ll head into overtime and see if we can’t get this thing done.”…Or Scobee will nail it and give the Jaguars an improbable 31-28 victory.

The NFL – so predictable.

Let’s give it up for David Garrard for a second. For the past two weeks, the guy has played like Joey Harrington on his worst day and he came out on Sunday and completed 17-of-22 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns. The Colts’ pass defense played passive aggressive the entire day and Garrard made them pay. He may revisit the Harrington style next week, but for one day he was solid.

As for the Colts, they were just outplayed. They allowed Maurice Jones-Drew and company to rack up 174 rushing yards and also committed two turnovers offensively. The Jaguars had to play a near-perfect game to win and that’s exactly what they did.

As I wrote earlier in my predictions for this week, the Jags always seem to give the Colts trouble and that’s exactly what happened again today. Nice win.

From Rotoworld:

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that there are “questions and doubts around the league” regarding the health of Maurice Jones-Drew’s knee.

Schefter confirms that Jones-Drew will start Sunday, but it sounds like there is serious concern about whether he’ll be 100 percent. It’s never a good sign when a running back has a knee injury, period. We can’t imagine sitting MJD in such a favorable matchup (the Broncos’ front seven is incredibly weak), but it’s a situation to track closely early in the year. Jones-Drew owners must grab Rashad Jennings. Deep leaguers can pick up Deji Karim.

MJD said Monday that the knee is a “non-issue” and that there have been a lot of false reports surrounding his health. He claims the reason he didn’t play in preseason was because he was resting and that coincides with what the Jaguars have said all along as well.

As of now, we don’t know whom to believe. MJD says he’s fine, but Schefter is usually on the money with his reports and he never releases anything prematurely. Maybe MJD did injure the knee in practice and as an extra percussion, the Jags decided to hold him out in preseason. I doubt that they would risk serious injury if he couldn’t play, but Schefter’s report is worrisome to say the least.

I guess we’ll find out in four days what the true story is.

2010 NFL Division Previews & Predictions: AFC East | AFC North | AFC South | AFC West | NFC East | NFC North | NFC South | NFC West | 2010 Question Marks Series

For over a decade, the Colts have been the models for consistency in the NFL. But will things change that the Texans and Titans are strong? Can guys like Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson of Houston, and Vince Young and Chris Johnson of Tennessee help their respective teams overcome Peyton and the Colts?

We’ll find out soon.

Here’s how I see things shaking out in the AFC South this season. Be sure to check out the link entitled “2010 Question Mark” under each team’s preview, which is a breakdown of one or two potential weaknesses that could derail that squad’s hopes in 2010. (If no link is provided, check back because one will be before the start of the season.)

1. Colts

What to Like: First Name: Peyton. Last Name: Manning. As long as Peyton Manning is still playing football, the Colts are going to be contenders – I don’t care if he has to use a walker to get out to the field. The Colts retain a top 3 offense led by Manning, who has a slew of playmakers at his disposal in Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, Joseph Addai, Anthony Gonzalez, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie. The offensive line isn’t the best running blocking unit in the game (or the best in pass protection, for that matter), but it plays well collectively and Manning masks any weaknesses. Defensively, the Colts own two of the best pass-rushing ends in the NFL in Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Gary Brackett and Clint Session are solid from their linebacker positions and the return of Bob Sanders (if he can stay healthy) will dramatically help the run defense.
What Not to Like: The defensive tackle position is a huge concern. Daniel Muir and Antonio Johnson are weak as the starters and rookie Fili Moala failed to impress as a rookie. Their play is masked thanks to the ends, but the interior of the Colts’ line is soft and could become a problem come playoff time. At cornerback, Kelvin Hayden struggled with injuries but the bottom line is that quarterbacks were able to complete 65.8 percent of passes on him last season. There’s no excuse for that. On the other side, Jerraud Powers is expected to start but he had surgery to repair his foot in February and missed the final two preseason games.
Keep Your Eye On: Philip Wheeler
The 25-year-old out of Georgia Tech has the physical ability to start at the outside linebacker position – now he just has to prove he can stay there. He enters his first full season as a starter and coaches have already remarked how much he’s improved in his defensive reads. He’ll have the fortune of playing alongside quality veterans like Sessions and Brackett.
The Final Word: Another 10-plus win season is on the horizon for the Colts, who only play five playoff teams from a year ago. The interior of the defensive line, cornerback and special teams are this team’s greatest weaknesses, but the Colts have remained the most consistent team in the NFL for over a decade. They know how to win and with Manning under center, they’re going to challenge for the AFC title once again. That said, they will get pushed by the Titans and Texans in the division.

Indianapolis Colts 2010 Question Mark: Defensive Tackle

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Fantasy football.

Beautiful women.

Las Vegas.

If at least two of those three things don’t grab your attention, then maybe it’s time for you to turn in your man card.

The second annual Fantasy Football SUPERDRAFT will be held at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on August 26-28 this year and will include a concert by Snoop Dogg, a Draft Room for fantasy football fans, VIP parties hosted by Stacy Keibler and a live celebrity draft conducted by Ashton Kutcher.

Interested? We thought you might be.

Nathan Zegura, the founder of TheFantasyConsultant.com and the host of “The Fantasy Consultant Live” on SiriusXM’s new Fantasy Sports Channel, joined us recently to chat up this year’s Fantasy Football SUPERDRAFT, as well as provide details on how you can attend. (You’ll probably be shocked at how very little it’ll cost you to soak in a fantasy football-filled weekend with Snoop, Stacy Keibler and Ashton Kutcher in Vegas.)

We also couldn’t allow Nathan to get off the phone without picking his brain about this year’s upcoming fantasy season, so we asked him what his top 5 looks like, who his top 3 sleepers are and what kind of expectations we could have for players like Frank Gore and Michael Turner.

For more information about the second annual Fantasy Football SUPERDRAFT, head to FantasySuperdraft.com and for more on Nathan and his fantasy football consulting services, check out TheFantasyConsultant.com and the site’s Twitter Page.

The Scores Report: Hi, this is Anthony.

Nathan Zegura: Hey Anthony, this is Nathan Zegura calling in.

TSR: Hey Nathan, how are you today, man?

NZ: I’m doing great – how are you doing?

TSR: I’m doing well. I’m just reading over this Fantasy Football SUPERDRAFT deal and I’m blown away. I’m trying to figure out a way I can go!

NZ: You gotta go! All you have to do is go to FantasySuperDraft.com, baby!

TSR: (Laughs)

NZ: It’s awesome – I went last year actually. It was cool, I was one of the experts that were asked to be on-site last year and it’s an awesome event. It’s a great time, great parties and, in addition to being able to do your draft and have all your boys there, you also get to do things in Vegas that you wouldn’t otherwise do for a grand total of $125 over the course of three days.

TSR: (Laughs) Sure.

NZ: I actually became pretty good friends with Eric Simon, who is the guy that started SUPERDRAFT. It was kind of his brainchild and it’s been very neat to see it grow and see it get to where it is this year. It’s going to be awesome with Snoop, Stacy Keibler (photo left)…they’re having a model search there – it’s going to be crazy. I can’t even wait until the end of August – I’m fired up.

TSR: Like I said, I was reading over this and my eye caught that Snoop and, well, my eye caught that Stacy Keibler was going to be there actually, but it’s amazing the entertainers that you guys got to come out this year. And it’s all centered around fantasy football, which has grown into this unbelievable vehicle now for entertainment.

NZ: Totally. Eric’s vision for SUPERDRAFT is to bring entertainment and sports together in the perfect place, which is Las Vegas. Ashton Kutcher is actually my partner and he owns half of my website, TheFantasyConsultant.com. I was able to bring Ashton and Eric together on the SUPERDRAFT idea, so we’re going to do a live broadcast of our show, which is “Fantasy Football Live” in addition to the various parties that are going to be there. And then obviously Snoop, who I personally as a kid who grew up in California, am very excited about.

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As part of Super Bowl week, the Gatorade Sports Science Institute is conducting athlete performance testing on several NFL players at the Gatorade Performance Lab in order to help educate athletes about their individual fluid needs, the fuels used during exercise, and how the new G Series fits into their training before, during and after workouts and games.

One of the players that will be going through Gatorade’s program is Jaguars’ star Maurice Jones-Drew, who was gracious enough to sit down with us before he partook in the testing. He filled us in on how he got involved with Gatorade, what he expects from the testing and how G Series can help him in his training. He also filled us in on who he likes for Super Bowl XLIV, what his first Pro Bowl experience was like and what the Jaguars have to do in order to get to the NFL title game.

Maurice Jones-Drew: Anthony!

The Scores Report: Maurice! How are you, man?

MJD: Great, how are you?

TSR: Good! So, this Gatorade athlete performance testing they’re about to put you through sounds wild. How did you get involved in something like this?

MJD: Well, they’re definitely going to help my training out a bunch. I go through pretty vigorous workouts and I’m always tired after, so Gatorade got in touch with my agent and said that they’ve found a way to help my workouts. To be a professional in this league you have to go through some rigorous things in order to recover. What they have is this thing called G Series and they have a drink that you drink before your workout to give you a little boost of energy, they have a drink to help you maintain that energy throughout your workout and then at the end, they have a drink that helps you recover quickly. So, your workouts are more efficient and you’ll be able to maintain your energy pretty close to 100% throughout it.

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It’s easy to sit here and play armchair Pro Bowl GM, and while indeed all of us have the ability to influence the player selections, that doesn’t mean as a collective group that we get it right. So as always, there were a few players, even after injury substitutions were announced, who are home this weekend instead of playing in the Pro Bowl in Miami—players who truly deserved a spot on the NFC or AFC roster. Here are a few glaring omissions as we see it:

Cedric Benson, RB, Cincinnati Bengals—For as good as the Bengals’ defense was in 2009, they won all those games early in the season in part because their running game was downright dominant. And a big reason for that was Benson, whose 96.2 yards per game was second only to Tennessee’s Chris Johnson. Benson, who just turned 27 in December, has been injury prone most of his young career, but this was by far his best season, and he even led the NFL in rushing for a bit before Johnson caught fire. Of course, Benson’s six touchdowns are probably what kept him out of the Pro Bowl (Maurice Jones-Drew had 15 and Johnson 14), but there is no question about how valuable he was to the Bengals, helping them to exceed all expectations.

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers—With all due respect to every other QB in the AFC, how do David Garrard and Vince Young get in ahead of Big Ben? I can sort of understand Young, who took the Titans on his back and may have even warranted MVP consideration. But Garrard? Roethlisberger had 4328 yards, 26 TDs and 12 picks, while Garrard threw for 3597 with 15 TD throws and 10 interceptions. Of course, Ben also dealt with concussions, so I can understand an injury keeping him out, but he’s not listed with the injured players selected, so that means more people than not left him off the roster. Does that make sense to anyone?

Brent Celek, TE, Philadelphia Eagles—This one was purely a numbers game, because you absolutely can’t argue with Jason Witten and Vernon Davis getting in ahead of Celek. But that’s not his fault. Look, I’m a Giants fan so it’s not easy for me to admit this, but I love this kid as a football player. He’s tough, makes big catches with consistency, and is always open for Donovan McNabb in the end zone. He’ll also take a defender’s head off if they get in his path. Of course, Celek’s numbers were stellar too–he caught 76 passes for just under 1000 yards (971) with 8 scores. They should have allowed an extra NFC tight end just this once.

Andre Carter, DE, Washington Redskins—I get why Jared Allen and Trent Cole made the Pro Bowl roster, but I don’t get how Andre Carter missed out while Julius Peppers got in. Peppers has the name recognition, but Carter led all defensive ends in solo tackles (48) and had twenty more total tackles than Peppers (62 to 42). He had 11 sacks to Peppers’ 10.5, sure, but when you look at the whole picture, somebody blew an assignment. And the thing is, everyone talks about Albert Haynesworth, but Carter never gets the credit he deserves, not even on his own team.

James Laurinaitis, LB, St. Louis Rams—I get why Jon Beason is the top dog at ILB for the NFC, and I also get why London Fletcher finally made the roster when Jonathan Vilma’s Saints reached the Super Bowl. I’m just not sure why rookie Laurinaitis didn’t make it in ahead of Vilma. Laurinaitis led all rookies in solo tackles with 107 (Vilma had 87), and in the NFL he trailed only Patrick Willis, Beason and Kirk Morrison in that department. Laurinaitis also had 2 sacks and 2 interceptions. This kid was a beast in the middle on a team that won only 1 game in 2009, and short of having to pay dues, I’m not exactly sure how he was left off the Pro Bowl roster.