2011: The Year Of The Injury

Is your fantasy football season in a tailspin? Every NFL year comes with it's fair share of injuries, but it is tough to remember a season filled with so many high profile players going down long term.  Here is a look at one of my teams bitten by the injury bug:

Count the "Os"

Peyton Manning would be the most notable injury so far this year.    The Colts have said recently that he will be evaluated on a "month by month basis."  That's never a good sign. The Colts have yet to place Manning on the IR, so there is a chance (however small)  that he will return before the end of the season.  His absence has put his importance to the franchise on display for the world to see so far this season.  The Colts have started off 0-3, and have shown an offensive prowess that is reminiscent of the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Manning isn't the only quarterback feeling the pain.  In week 2, Michael Vick sustained a mild concussion, but was cleared to play in week 3.  Of course in week 3, he immediately broke a bone in his non-throwing hand. Also in week 2, Tony Romo broke a rib, and punctured his lung. Somehow Romo managed to brush off the lung hole, and play in week 3 (I hear he may have been huffing Fix-A-Flat.)

The running back position has taken a few big hits in the injury department as well. Jamaal Charles, the superstar of the Kansas City Chiefs (and pretty much their entire offense,) suffered a season ending injury in week 1. That was devastating for the 2010 AFC West Champions, as they too have started the 2011 season 0-3. Arian Foster, 2010 NFL rushing champion, has been suffering from a nagging hamstring injury since the preseason.  Up until now, he has been operating on a week to week basis.  Although, he has yet to see any significant playing time, only getting about a half of work during week 2. 

In the wide receiver department, Miles Austin is expected to miss at least one week with a hamstring.  As of right now, Austin "isn't being ruled out" of the Cowboys week 4 match up with the Lions, but it doesn't look promising according to reports.  Marques Colston of the New Orleans Saints has already missed two games this season with a fractured collarbone, and is likely to miss at least two more.

At tight end, Aaron Hernandez has a sprained MCL, which sidelined him for at least week 3.  This news was met with delight from all the Rob Gronkowski owners, who now get to reap the benefits of only one pass catching tight end in New England. 

Even the kickers are getting in on the injury fun.  Garrett Hartley of the New Orleans Saints has yet to kick this season.

The NFL season is only three weeks old, and already the damage is piling up for a lot of teams.  Look no further than Indianapolis to see the effect that the loss of one man can have on a franchise.  Every player that I mentioned is the number one guy at their position for their respective team.  It will be interesting, moving forward, to see how the loss of so much talent will be compensated for by all parties involved.

NFL Week 2: What To Look For

Week 2 of the NFL season is upon us, and there are a few questions posed during Week 1 that are begging to be answered. Here are some things that I will be watching for:

Pittsburgh Steelers:

Last week was one of the worst losses by the Steelers in recent memory.  Only the 13 point loss to the Patriots last year in Week 10 comes close to the level of domination the Steelers felt last week in Baltimore.  Luckily for Pittsburgh, one of the NFL's worst teams is flying in from the left coast to help erase the memory of last weeks debacle. 

Last year the Seattle Seahawks were the 27th ranked defense in yards allowed, and the 28th ranked offense in yards gained.  With Matt Hasselbeck gone, and Tavaris Jackson at the helm at quarterback, one could only assume that the offense is trending downward. 

Prior to the season, most analysts put Pittsburgh among the elite in the AFC. After last weeks pathetic performance, those predictions are in serious doubt.   Questions that were raised about the aging defense, and the stability of the offensive line are now at the forefront of the debate.  Only a lights out defensive effort, and stellar offensive performance can put those issues to rest for the time being.

Detroit and Buffalo:

I will grant the fact that the Detroit Lions are a much improved team compared to the last few years.  The problem I have with all the hype surrounding them is that they are The Detroit Lions. In recent years the Lions have been the Pittsburgh Pirates of professional football, and until they prove otherwise, I am not buying. 

They beat a decent Tampa Bay team last week 27-20, and this week face the Kansas City Chiefs.  With the Chiefs embarrassing 41-7 loss to the Bills last week, the Lions won't prove much with a win this week.  A loss however goes a long way to saying that the Lions are just pretenders once again.  So like the Steelers, Detroit needs to pull of a fairly convincing win to quiet the naysayers such as myself.

The Buffalo Bills are another team that is garnering a lot of attention thanks to that blowout victory last week in Kansas City.  Coming into this season, nobody put them near the top of any power ranking.  Now, thanks to one big victory, Las Vegas has them three point favorites at home over the Oakland Raiders,  I am not saying that the Raiders are a juggernaut, but they are the superior team of the two in my eyes.  Regardless of the Vegas line, any victory in this game is a huge step in the right direction for the Buffalo Bills.

Arian Foster:

The NFL's top rusher in 2010 missed Houston's Week 1 game vs. Indianapolis due to a nagging hamstring injury.  According to Coach Gary Kubiak, Foster "looks ready to play." Hamstring injuries are one of those problems that can linger on, and cause issues all season long. 

While a full workload is out of the question, it would be nice to see a strong performance without any signs of weakness from Foster.  If he can make it through the game without limping off the field, then a huge weight will be lifted off the Houston Texan's backs. 

Arian Foster is one of the cornerstones of that perpetual middle of the pack team, and they need him 100% to finally break through to the top of the AFC.