RB dept. : Cedric Houston & other stuff . . . ~ ~ ~

Jets' Houston nearing return
By ANDREW GROSS / THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: October 19, 2006)

HEMPSTEAD ? Cedric Houston appears on the verge of returning from an injured left knee that has kept the Jets' running back sidelined the past two games.Jets players are not allowed to discuss their injuries and the team never fully disclosed Houston's exact diagnosis. He was carted off the Giants Stadium turf after gaining a team-high 49 yards on 12 carries in a 31-28 loss to the Colts on Oct. 1.The second-year pro is listed as questionable for Sunday's home game against the Detroit Lions. But Houston indicated the Jets were relying on his own progress report.

"It's on me," Houston said.

Kevan Barlow and rookie Leon Washington have shared the carries with Houston sidelined and Derrick Blaylock relegated to special teams.Jets coach Eric Mangini said he was willing to continue his running back-by-committee approach."It will be package-based again," Mangini said. "There's certain things that Leon does really well and certain things that Kevan does really well and certain things that defensively we're going to want to attack with either one or the other. You know, Cedric is making progress and Derrick is always involved in the mix."

Replacing Rogers: Lions coach Rod Marinelli is approaching the four-game suspension of defensive tackle Shaun Rogers as if he were lost to injury. The NFL penalized Rogers for using a banned substance.The 6-foot-4, 345-pound Rogers, selected to the Pro Bowl the previous two seasons, has 36 tackles and three sacks in the first six games. He switched to nose tackle for the Lions' 20-17 win over the Bills this past Sunday and dropped Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman for a 15-yard loss."We've had injuries before this and how we've handled those things is we just move on, put this behind us," Marinelli said. "What it's done is it creates an opportunity for another player. We coach them all the same."Rogers started at nose tackle in place of Shaun Cody, who injured his toe the previous week against Minnesota. Marcus Bell replaced Cody against the Vikings and had a season-high six tackles. He should start Sunday.

Injury report: Including Houston, the Jets have 15 players on their initial injury list for Sunday's game. Once again, fullback B.J. Askew (foot), wide receiver Laveranues Coles (calf) and wide receiver Tim Dwight (thigh) are questionable, though all played last week. Cornerback David Barrett (hip) is also questionable and has been inactive two of the last three games.Team officials and players sometimes might differ on what constitutes an injury."I think each injury is so different, and then each guy is so different," Mangini said. "What you're always trying to do is to try to prepare for the game, try to make sure you don't have a setback, and then the important thing is to be able to get into the game, play the game, be effective."

For the Lions, running back Kevin Jones (hip) is probable but he did not participate in 11-on-11 drills yesterday. Fullback Cory Schlesinger (hamstring), right tackle Rex Tucker (knee) and left guard Ross Verba (hamstring) are all questionable.