Injuries Suck But They Aren’t Deadly

Every NFL season, a team has to deal with a big injury. This year, it seems some of the injuries are happening to the biggest stars. We all know about Tom Brady. I heard Hef was on his way to the candlelight vigil. We know about Osi Umenyiora. I rationally explained my feelings on the subject when it happened. Yesterday, Shawne Merriman wisely decided to shut it down for the season. He, like Umenyiora, will come back at a similar level with the proper rest and rehab. I hate to be one of those “This has never happened like this” before guys but holy fuck, can you think of a season starting off with three top NFL teams losing their best players (or second best in the Chargers case) before they had a chance to do anything? Now injuries to key players doesn’t necessarily mean your season is done. The World Champion New York Football Giants lost Shockey and Kiwanuka last year and still won the Super Bowl. The 2001 Patriots lost a Pro Bowl quarterback and, well, we know how that turned out. Hell, last year’s Chargers lost LDT and Phillip Rivers and had a gimpy Antonio Gates and made it to the AFC Championship game. I guess the point of all this is we tend to overvalue the individual player in the NFL. We reach a certain level of comfortableness with our stars and we think no one will ever ever replace those guys. A team’s ability to handle the loss is really what will make the difference in a team tanking or a team moving forward. Let’s look at the four teams that have lost a significant player and see if they will move forward with continued success:

The New England Patriots - OK, I will readily admit this is the biggest injury of all the injuries I have mentioned. His replacement, Matt Cassel, may be the biggest unknown in the NFL since, well, Tom Brady. I have seen the same wobbly TD to Moss you all have and seen him toss the ball on the sideline, so my scouting on him is lacking. As is anyone not on the Pats coaching staff. Here is my feel on the Patriots, you don’t go 18-1 because of one player. They have a Hall of Fame wide out. A top 15 Running back. They have a respectable offensive line. The have a strong Defensive front seven and a mediocre secondary. They excel on special teams as all Belichick teams do and of course they have Bill Belichick. Belichick is no fool. He knows what he has. If he felt Matt Cassel wasn’t competent, he would not be on the team. I think this team will suck up the Brady loss and use it as motivation. They will move from a pass first offense to a run first offense. They will have Cassel rely on the Tight Ends just like Brady did early on and use Randy Moss as a decoy and try to keep him happy. This team is still going to the playoffs. They are still winning the division, the Jets almost blew a game to the Dolphins with Brett Favre, and Buffalo intrigues me but I need to see more. Pats win the division with a 11-5 record. Remember they have a cake schedule.

The World Champion New York Football Giants - A few years ago the Champs came out of the box 6-2 and lost Michael Strahan for the season. At that point they also lost a rookie named Justin Tuck and had no depth at the D-Line. They finished 8-8. This forced the Champs to go out and draft Mathias Kiwanuka and Barry Cofield and bring in Freddie Robbins. They have made sure to keep bringing in pass rushers and D-lineman every year since. Why do I bring this up? Because their ability to stock pile on the D-line won them a Super Bowl and leaves them in good position to defend their title. With Strahan retiring and Osi going down before the season even started, one would ordinarily do the Chicken Little routine but not this time. Justin Tuck is the best defensive end left playing in football. (The other two are injured) Kiwanuka is a A- D-end compared to Osi’s A++. They still have depth at the tackles with Robbins, Cofield and Jay Alford and Renaldo Wynn and Jerome McDougle are competent enough to take snaps on running downs at the End positions. They have an improved secondary and good linebackers. So their defense is still smothering, especially against the run. The offense has the ability to score but is mostly workman like and will win the possession clock game every week. Osi is the best football player on the World Champion New York Football Giants. Tuck is a close second. Together for a season they could be legendary but without one or the other this team is still fine. Prediction remains 11-5.

The San Diego Chargers - When I talked about the coach and the atmosphere this is the team I was most worried about. Norv Turner and AJ Smith botched this whole thing. Merriman should never have seen the field Sunday. When Osi was hurt, he could have had a surgery that put him back on the field in 8 weeks but shortened his career. It was never even discussed. They sent him in, got him fixed right, and he will be better for it. So will the franchise. When two doctors, one of them being Dr. James Andrews, tells you that you need to take the season off, well, you listen. No one told the competitive athlete that he needed to listen. His coach wanted him on the field so he made every attempt to play. This is not caring about your player and the overall well being of your franchise. They have another wild card here. Phillip Rivers did the same thing last year. He played on a mangled knee, showed guts, but may have hurt his team in the long run. Philip Rivers is attempting to play 6 months after a surgery that takes 12-18 months to recover from. I have my doubts he will succeed. Look at Carson Palmer. Has he been the same since he rushed his rehab after his knee surgery? At least Rivers has two of the best safety valves in football in Tomlinson and Gates. He has a good offensive line. The Charger defense is still good and Jyles Tucker is a decent replacement. This division blows so they should still win it but it will be a struggle. Norv Turner is not a man to rally the troops, I see a lot of loss and dissension heading their way. Chargers go 10-6 and lose in the first round of the playoffs.

Tennessee Titans - Vince Young is the only guy on my list that is not the best player or second best player on his team. Albert Haynesworth is and the other guys in front of him are all on defense. Now do the Titans need VY to win? No. Would it be beneficial for the franchise if he comes back in 6 weeks and leads the team to victories? Yes it would. He is the face of the franchise and will one day be a good player and leader. But this team is better off with Kerry Collins at QB for the time being. Kerry has the ability manage an offense that only needs to be managed and has better accuracy. The Chris Simms signing is inspired and I think he is the best QB on their roster. He is winning player. But this team has been here many times before under Jeff Fisher. Steve McNair had an injury a season so they were always prepared and they build their team around the defense anyway. This team is going to play a lot of sloppy games and if the defense and Haynesworth stay healthy then they can contend for a playoff spot. They could be this year’s Jacksonville. The team no one wants to face. They have a big time coach and a big time defense. They will be fine.