I tell you one thing, if this season is anything like the preseason was, we are in for a roller coaster ride. There is so much petty stuff going on in the NFL, I swear I feel like I am reading a script to 90210. Ya'll know what I'm talking bout, don't play like you don't, lol.
MORE INJURIES:
Just when you thought it was safe to go back out on the field, BAM, a few more guys get jacked up. Green Bay got a second scare when Randall Cobb took a fall on his shoulder. They originally thought it was a broken collar bone but an MRI showed that it was an AC joint sprain. You guys KNOW, Cobb is NOT missing his chance to shine in GB, come on man, you thought he was going down that easily, not today people, not today. He will be playing.
RB, Duke Johnson for Cleveland ended up on the bad end of a concussion in the 1st half of Saturday night's win over Tampa Bay. They said that he was ROCKED on a hit by Bucs CB Mike Jenkins and could be out for some time. The Browns were putting a lot of hope in Johnson for the season but he hasn't been able to stay healthy. With Johnson's injury and throw in veteran Shaun Draugh and Glenn Winston, this has left the Browns thinner than Olive Oil at the running back position. 2nd year backs Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell have pretty much NOT lived up to expectations and Pettine said the team may consider other options at the position. In a word, some people are about to get the boot. There's more, word is Ray Rice could be one of those options. All Pettine said is, "if we do come to the decision that we need to add a back that is not here, we'll look at the list and see who's open." Talk about not making a firm commitment.
I didn't believe it until just now. They say twins feel each others pain. Well Dolphins Center Mike Pouncey left the game against the Falcons with a knee injury when another player fell on his leg. and will undergo an MRI on Sunday. The injury left the Dolphins with only two OL starter at their regular season. If you recall, his twin brother Maurkice Pouncy, Steelers Center, was cut down early with an ankle injury in preseason week 2, that will require surgery and he is out indefinitely. Hot off the presses today, MIKE Pouncey practices Monday and will be ready for WK1. At least one of them is still standing.
It's not enough that we get some of the worst winters ever, but we [The Bears] are still dropping like flies. So the Bears cut Tim Jennings, like they got a wide selection of players at any position at this point, but you cut a veteran player who could maybe help some of the youngsters that are coming in. With that being said, we lost the top two nose tackles to injuries during the preseason loss to the Bengals on Saturday. Veteran Jeremiah Ratliff left the game early and when he returned he was wearing a walking boot. The X-rays showed no fracture, but I am sure he will be out a game or two. Then 2nd round rookie Eddie Goldman suffered a concussion. I'm done with the injuries, too many to list anyway, it will never end.
IT'S GET'N HOT IN HERE!!!
OK, so there is a war in the Redskins' locker room. RGIII has been benched for the start of the season, even though his face is on the ticket for WK1. The starting honor now goes to Kirk Cousins, he is the new starting QB for the Redskins. Things have taken such a turn for the worse with the already-dysfunctional relationship between Griffin and the Redskins that reports indicate many high-ranking officials and several coaches want to move on from the quarterback. Sources have also said that the team discussed trading RG3. I heard St. Louis was peeking and another team too, can't remember which one. But get this, they had an article explaining why RG3 would be a good fit in Chicago. My thoughts: No thank you, we still got some cleaning up to do ourselves.
IT JUST WON'T DIE.
That pesky "jawbreak" is still in the headlines. So my CI told me that the whole thing was about money and a promise not kept. Geno owed Ike $600. Geno promised to come to a charity event for Ike and then he doesn't show up. So Ike just wanted his $600 that he paid for Geno to come and $1000 for his charity. They even threw Mark Sanchez in the mix and said he would have gladly paid Ike back and given him money for the charity. Come on man, you have an ATM right there in the locker room, but the way Geno's checking and savings is set up............well, you get my point. He paid for it in a more painful way and naturally, the locker room is split. My thoughts: I still think Geno Smith is overrated. Ryan Fitzpatrick will step up now.
As "deflategate" turns. So, Tom Brady's 4 game suspension was overturned. The Judge said that Tom was never told he could be suspended. You mean like if you rob a bank and you go to jail but then they overturn the sentence and let you out of jail because you were never told that you could go to jail for robbing a bank? Really, come on man. I don't know what Brady did or didn't do, but you guys know that it always comes down to the money. You also know that if Brady doesn't play, it affects the money, do the math with me people. Goodell was sucker punched on this one. He will NOT attend the season opener with the Patriots going up against the Steelers. Tom said the intern did it! P.S. Snoop Dogg is not too happy with the judges decision, he's a Steelers fan. The NFL is already working on an appeal, stay tuned.
Speaking of interns.. so RG3 supposedly "liked" a tweet or post, whatever it's called on instagram, bashing the Redskins organization. RG3 said, no way, you ain't pinning this on me, the INTERN did it. He put a full post on instagram, big ole giant letters saying, "I did not "like" that Post." Which I guess is what folks do when they like a post, lol. Really RG3, kinda sounds like, "I did not have sexual intercourse with that woman." We all know how that turned out. I'm just saying. Just in this morning, it's 5 teams that are looking at RG3, they all only have slight interest, none have a strong interest.
FYI: MO FOOTBALL, MO FOOTBALL.
In case you are looking for some really good football shows that showcase a different player/team/coach that played or coached over the years, you might want to check out, "A Football Life" and "30/30". I have watched a lot of them but a few that really stood out were the ones on Bo Jackson, Jerry Rice, Walter Peyton and Lyle Alzado. Last night, I watched "The Book of Manning." I love P. Manning and I think Eli is cool and I knew their dad Archie played and brought Ole Miss back to life, where Eli followed in his footsteps and attended Ole Miss and broke almost all of his dad's records. Peyton opted for Tennessee which brought him and his dad death threats and all kind of crazy hate mail. Then there was Cooper, the oldest, whose career was cut short by a disease that put him one hit away from a wheel chair, so he left the sports world. I was intrigued by a family where 2 sons of a QB went on to play pro ball, win Super Bowls and were MVP's in Super Bowls. Quick, name another family that has that mix? If there is one, I would love to read up on them. I know about the Barber and Talib brothers already. Both shows are really good and if you are a football nut like me, you probably already know about these programs. Just my 2 cents.
Last tidbit. The K.C. Chiefs went undefeated this preseason. Did you know that the last 2 times they went undefeated in the preseason, they played in the Super Bowl those years? No lie, lol. Maybe they will make it to the 50th in 2016.
Injuries:
Tyrod Taylor (BUF) – missed week 6 with an MCL sprain. Not guaranteed to start in week 7 but as he almost started last week according to some sources, he should be back soon. With both Percy Harvin (hip, may be out for a significant period of time) and Sammy Watkins (ankle sprain, could play next week but it’s an early game in London) possibly out, Taylor is in trouble even if he gets back on the field this week.
Emmanuel Sanders (DEN) – we started the season under the impression that Sanders’ role would diminish a little in the Broncos offense, but he has been performing at a high level this year, and is the 5th most targeted wide receivers, with 65 targets in 2015. Unfortunately, he sprained his AC joint last week, which can be a lingering injury. Thankfully, the Broncos have a bye in week 7 and we’ll have to wait and see if Sanders can get healthy leading up to week 8.
Marcus Mariota (TEN) – a grade 2 MCL injury could have Mariota sidelined for up to 3-4 weeks, so it’s very unlikely that he starts this week. Zach Mettenberger may be the Titans’ QB for a little while. If so, that doesn’t really hurt Kendall Wright and Delanie Walker.
Jeremy Maclin (KC) – A nasty looking hit resulted in a concussion for Maclin, and he is currently moving through the league’s protocol. After the loss of star RB Jamaal Charles for the season, the Chiefs may choose to play it safe and hold Maclin out a week. Make sure to watch for updates on this.
QB - Matthew Stafford 405 Passing Yards, 4 Passing TD's, 37 Rushing Yards, 1 INT, 33 Fantasy Points
QB - Philip Rivers 503 Passing Yards, 2 TD's, 28 Fantasy Points
QB - Andrew Luck 312 Passing Yards, 3 Passing TD's, 35 Rushing Yards, 27 Fantasy Points
RB - Devonta Freeman 13 Carries for 100 Yards, 8 Catches for 56 Yards, 2 Total TD's, 27 Fantasy Points
RB - Chris Ivory 20 Carries for 146 Yards and 1 TD, 3 Catches for 50 Yards, 25 Fantasy Points
RB - James Starks 10 Carries for 112 Yards, 1 Catches for 5 Yards, 2 Total TD's 23 Fantasy Points
WR - DeAndre Hopkins 15 Targets, 10 Receptions for 148 Yards and 2 TD's, 26 Fantasy Points
WR - Martavis Bryant 8 Targets, 6 Receptions for 137 Yards and 2 TD's, 25 Fantasy Points
WR - Calvin Johnson 9 Targets, 6 Receptions for 166 Yards and 1 TD, 22 Fantasy Points
TE - Greg Olsen 11 Targets, 7 Receptions for 131 Yards and 1 TD, 19 Fantasy Points
TE - Benjamin Watson 12 Targets, 10 Receptions for 127 Yards and 1 TD, 18 Fantasy Points
TE - Gary Barnidge 9 Targets, 3 Receptions for 39 Yards and 2 TD's, 15 Fantasy Points
ADD – Blake Bortles, 13k leagues. Duh! Surprised to see he was still not owned in so many leagues.. even against BUF this week, Bortles should perform well.
DROP – Sam Bradford, 9k leagues. Bradford is our QB, says Chip Kelly. Well, things are improving slowly over there but Bradford’s performance is still sub-par.
ADD – Stefon Diggs, 24k leagues. Wow, looks like a breakout here.. 19 targets for over 200 yards in the last 2 games.
ADD – Brandon LaFell, 9k leagues. Will he play this week? That’s up for grabs.. but if he does he’ll immediately be a WR2 and a stud in PPR.
ADD – Christine Michael, 12k leagues. So many sources close to the team are saying that Michael will get his chance this next few weeks to show he can be the starter in Dallas.
DROP – Charcandrick West, 10k leagues. Whoops. Looks like Jamaal Charles can’t be replaced so easily. A committee will likely form in KC.
The NFL offseason is winding into summer and we're starting to see the OTA's start up, but we're still about two months away from any preseason games, and three months away from games that matter. It's a good time to catch up with what's going on across the league, from a fantasy perspective of course. This article will focus on injuries. For a breakdown of trades and free agent signings, check out our NFL Fantasy Rookies & Free Agent Moves.
Injuries always wind up hitting during OTA's, and if you have a redraft league, you just need to avoid these guys. However, if you're in a dynasty league, the next few months are going to have you nervously hoping to avoid the dreaded ACL tear. Here are the offseason injuries so far:
Breshad Perriman (WR, BAL) – Perriman’s case has been interesting to follow over the last week or so. Perriman did not play at all in his 2015 rookie season, sitting out with a torn PCL. Then, on June 11th, it was reported that he suffered a partially torn ACL at their OTA’s (how many acronyms can I squeeze into one report?). He quickly went from questionable for the season, to playing at some point in the season and now it’s being reported that he will be ready for the regular season. Stem cells certainly work wonders. Still, all of these injuries mean he’s been off the practice field, and it may mean he’s not going to be a big factor early in the season.
Sammy Watkins (WR, BUF) – Watkins broke his foot at some point during the spring and had surgery at some point after that, eventually reporting it on May 16th. Watkins is currently in a walking boot, sidelined at minicamp and likely to miss at least the start of training camp at the end of next month. He is, however, expected to be ready for week 1. This shouldn’t affect his draft value too much, provided he starts getting a little action in by the middle of August.
Tyler Eifert (TE, CIN) – Last year’s ultimate red zone threat suffered what every coach is afraid of if they’re not playing at the end of January – an injury in the pro-bowl. Eifert’s ankle surgery in late May has a three-to-four month recovery period, which means that he’s likely to miss all of the preseason and probably the first couple of weeks of the regular season as well. This is a big blow to a guy who had the potential to finish in the top 3 TE’s, especially considering the losses at WR the Bengals had in the offseason.
Gary Barnidge (TE, CLE) – Barnidge had sports hernia surgery earlier this month and based on his timetable, should be ready for the start of camp in about 6 weeks. Barnidge was a breakout TE last year and could potentially put up another big year with the lack of other offensive threats in Cleveland.
Darren McFadden (RB, DAL) – McFadden reportedly broke his elbow in an accident at home (still the most dangerous place, even for NFL players). With Ezekiel Elliot being picked 4th overall, it’s not like McFadden was likely to see a starter’s role this year, but now he’s going to be out until at least mid-August and will have to work hard to keep Alfred Morris from taking the #2 spot.
Jared Cook (TE, GB) – Cook had “preemptive” foot surgery early this month and will be sitting out OTA’s at the very least. The hope is that he can get back and get lots of reps in with Rodgers during training camp, otherwise his chances for big production are going to be slim.
Jordan Reed (TE, WAS) – Reed is sitting out minicamp with an ankle injury, however this isn’t expected to affect his status for training camp. This just basically serves as a reminder that Reed has missed 14 games in three years, so he’s got the injury-prone tag following him around. If he stays on the field, like last year’s 14 games played, he can be quite productive.
Rob Gronkowski (TE, NE) – The top TE’s all seem to have landed on this list, many of them for mild issues, thankfully. Originally, it was reported that Gronkowski was held out of practice as a healthy scratch, purely to keep him from getting injured. He then returned to practice and was promptly held out for an undisclosed ailment. This is all typical smoke and mirrors from the Patriots, so I wouldn’t worry about his draft stock. It’s just that with a player like Gronk, you want all the information available.
LeSean McCoy (RB, BUF) – Another high profile player just being held out for a very small injury. He’s reportedly got an ankle injury, and not another hamstring injury (he had enough of those last year). As it stands now, McCoy is more likely to miss games due to misbehaving in the offseason, rather than due to his current ankle injury.
Fantasy football aside, you just have to feel bad for Keenan Allen. This is a big blow for fantasy owners who may have drafted him in the second or third round. This will open up more targets for Travis Benjamin, Dontrelle Inman, and my favorite of the three Tyrell Williams. Also going to give a bump to Antonio Gates and Woodhead. Hoping for a speedy recovery for Allen and looking forward to seeing him back out next year.
Two things we can count on: the sun coming up in the morning and RG3 suffering injuries. Joking aside, it's tough to see even as a Steelers fan. RG3 just can’t stay healthy and I am hopeful you were not starting or planning on starting RG3. Good news is McCown is back and Gary Barnidge owners can breath easier.
News broke this morning that Watkins may be shut down for the year and thankfully that is not the case. It seems there aren't any structural issues with his cyborg foot, but he is sore and feeling a lot of discomfort. If you own Watkins, buckle up for a bumpy ride. We can expect to see a Q next to his name for the remainder of the season.
Good news is Ertz did not break or crack a rib. Bad news, coach Pederson said this is not the kind of injury Ertz can play through. Something to monitor, but owners should be looking for a replacement for the next few weeks.
Russell avoided the dreaded high ankle sprain and is expected to start Sunday. He will be limited at practice this week but should see the field vs the Rams. If you drafted Wilson, chances are you are going to play him. However, I would temper expectations and see how he is moving on that ankle come Sunday.
Thomas suffered a hip injury during the Panthers game Thursday and had an MRI done on Friday. Thankfully it's all good news and he was even on the practice field Monday morning. No real concerns here.
Julius suffered an ankle sprain Sunday vs the Jaguars. This is worth watching because Thomas has a history of ankle issues. We should know more in the next few days but all signs are pointing to Thomas playing on Sunday against the Chargers.