nfl roundup News and notes

Ravens: Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco will start in the season opener Sunday for Baltimore, which awarded the job to their top draft pick because he’s the healthiest player at the position. Flacco, the 18th pick overall, will launch his NFL career against the Cincinnati Bengals. There is a chance the two other quarterbacks competing for the job, Troy Smith and Kyle Boller, both will not be available as backups. “It wouldn’t be realistic to have one of those two guys as a starter, for sure. If they can back up, I think that would be an upset,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. Smith is still feeling the effects of infected tonsils and Boller has a sore shoulder that could ultimately require surgery. In an effort to add depth, the Ravens worked out quarterbacks Chris Simms, Joey Harrington and Todd Bouman on Monday.

Seahawks: Seattle’s Pro Bowl quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck, participated in just his second full practice since injuring his back nearly a month ago Monday in a short workout. He said he is ready to face the Bills on Sunday despite having played just two series of a preseason game since January’s playoff loss at Green Bay. Hasselbeck had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his non-throwing shoulder immediately following the 2006 season, then played six series in two games of the preseason in 2007. Then he set team records for completions (352), attempts (562) and yards passing (3,966). That earned him his third Pro Bowl — and a belief rust from an inactive summer won’t be much of an issue early this season, either.

Colts: Peyton Manning is healthy enough to start playing games. Now the Colts must find out how well his left knee will hold up to the hits. Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy reiterated Monday that Manning would probably start Sunday night’s season-opener against Chicago, perfect timing for a starting offense that failed to score a single touchdown in five preseason games. “I’m sure he’d rather have gone through training camp and gotten his normal reps,” Dungy said. “But we’ve done it before with Bob Sanders, so I don’t worry about it with a veteran guy. If he was a second-year guy, you might.” Manning has eased his way back into a normal routine last week, more than a month after having surgery to remove an infected bursa sac from his left knee. He started practicing last Tuesday, increased the workload Wednesday, then went through his regular pregame routine before Thursday night’s preseason finale against Cincinnati — the first time Manning was even in uniform for a game though he still sat out. Since there have been no setbacks, Dungy now expects Manning to use this as a regular week before making his season-debut Sunday. It will allow Manning to keep the NFL’s second-longest streak for consecutive starts by a quarterback (160) intact.

Raiders: Oakland agreed to terms on a one-year contract with discarded receiver Ashley Lelie on Monday in hopes that the former first-round pick can regain his form and help bolster an inexperienced position group. Before adding Lelie, they were extremely thin at receiver behind starters Javon Walker and Ronald Curry. With Drew Carter sidelined by a season-ending knee injury, Johnnie Lee Higgins was the only one of Oakland’s three backup receivers who had even played in an NFL game, catching six passes as a rookie. Lelie, who has 206 receptions in six NFL seasons, could give JaMarcus Russell a deep-play option if he proves he is healthy. He had been cut by the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday after being slowed all preseason by a calf injury.

NFL: Players will wear a uniform patch this season to honor NFL Players’ Association leader Gene Upshaw, who died Aug. 20. The league announced Monday that the patch will have the initials GU and the number 63, which he wore while playing for the Oakland Raiders. Upshaw died of pancreatic cancer just three days after he was diagnosed. The patch will be worn on the left chest of jerseys and is scheduled to make its debut Thursday, when the New York Giants and Washington Redskins open the season. Upshaw’s wife, Terri, and his three sons will participate in the coin toss. Upshaw made the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 as the first player to play guard exclusively. He won two Super Bowls and made seven Pro Bowls in his 307-game NFL career.

Saints: The Louisiana Superdome, for now still scheduled to host an NFL regular-season opener Sunday between the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, appeared to be in good condition after the worst of Hurricane Gustav had passed, the stadium’s operator said. “We’re in good shape,” said Doug Thornton, vice president of SMG, the company that manages the Superdome and neighboring New Orleans Arena. “We’ve got some exterior signs ripped and things like that, downed fences and light poles blown over, but nothing major, nothing structural or nothing that would affect the interior condition of the building.” Thornton, who spearheaded the ambitious $200 million, eight-month renovation of the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina, remained in the stadium with a handful of staff during the storm Sunday night and Monday. Thornton said there was no noticeable structural or interior damage, but stressed that a more thorough inspection still needed to be done. The stadium had yet to lose normal power as of Monday afternoon, he said. While the dome may be in good shape, whether or not the Saints play there depends on several factors that may be out of stadium management’s control.

Bengals: Receiver Chad Johnson declined to say Monday whether he will try to get the Cincinnati Bengals to put “Ocho Cinco” on the back of his uniform this season. Johnson had his last name legally changed to “Ocho Cinco” — the moniker he gave himself based on his No. 85 — last week in Florida, where he lives.

Associated Press