Week 14 Recap

Well, Week 14 didn’t go the way I planned. Not sure about you, but I had 4 teams in these playoffs and I’m on the brink of losing all 4 (2 upsets, 2 I probably should lose). The biggest culprits for me were Miles Austin, Vernon Davis, and my trio of Saints (Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Jimmy Graham). All three guys underperformed considerably and may end up costing me dearly.

From an injury standpoint, Week 14 wasn’t terrible, but we did get news that Fred Jackson is out for the year after suffering a grade 2 MCL sprain of his right knee. Shutting him down makes total sense, with the Bills’ season being over already and his extensive history of knee pathology. CJ Spiller becomes the man in Buffalo and should see a huge increase in his value moving forward.

Additionally, we saw a couple of Giants who are gritting out injuries, but really having a hard time with them. Hakeem Nicks had to have X-rays done on his sore knee and seems to have a bout of swelling and soreness each and every week now. To add insult to injury, he came down directly on the knee, causing pain and some missed time during the game. In addition, Ahmad Bradshaw suffered a knee sprain to go along with his already sore foot and neck, so he’s dealing with a trio of painful injuries at the same time. High pain thresholds are one thing, but three injuries (and two involving his legs) at once is tough to deal with and may lead to his workload being decreased, especially with David Wilson’s breakthrough game. I’d expect Nicks to be limited all week and be close to a game time decision while Bradshaw’s news will come out as the week goes on, giving us insight about his Week 15 status. Stay tuned.

And how can we forget Robert Griffin III and his right knee injury. Word is (as I expected) he suffered a sprained lateral collateral ligament (LCL), but the severity seems to be in the grade 1/2 range, which is definitely something that can be played through. What RGIII loses with this injury is some stability in the knee when he cuts or twists, as the LCL is the ligament that connects the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone) on the outside of the knee. So anytime a player has LCL involvement and tries to play through it, a brace of varying strength is involved. My expectation is that he will play this week, especially since the severity of the sprain is a grade 1 or 2, which is mild to moderate in nature. However, we’ll wait til Friday to see what his practice participation was like this week.

Quick Hits:

Jay Cutler suffered a “whiplash” type injury on Sunday, which is normally categorized as a muscular injury to the neck muscles. He should receive a ton of treatment this week to help decrease inflammation and soreness and should play this week…Jared Cook seems to have suffered a re-aggravation of his shoulder injury from early in the season. Watch out for him to be limited this week and his availability for Week 15 is up in the air…Ray Rice suffered a hip pointer that’s being classified as “minor”. Wait until later in the week to see if he practices or not this week, but with the Ravens in the thick of the home field advantage race, expect him to play. Click this link (http://tinyurl.com/benbhhw) and scroll down to the Hip Pointer paragraph to gain a better understanding of what this injury entails…Victor Cruz had a monster day on Sunday, but he also hurt his shoulder during the game, requiring sideline evaluation to determine the extent of the injury. He basically played the whole game otherwise, so expect him to be just fine. We’ll monitor it just in case…Dwayne Bowe has two fractured ribs, which means he’ll either be able to play through it and tolerate the pain or his season may be over. More information should come out this week…Marshawn Lynch flared up his low back a little bit during his standout game against the Cardinals. Remember, he’s dealt with back spasms all season and has basically been a “rest” scratch from every Wednesday practice this season. He’ll do the same deal this week and should be fine for Week 15, but back spasms are a tricky, fickle injury, so keep an eye on him…Darren McFadden practiced today, which is a great sign for his availability for Week 15 after re-aggravating his high ankle sprain this past Thursday. If he continues to increase his availability, he should be fine, but monitor his situation closely.

That should cover the biggies. If your leagues are anything like mine, tonight is a VERY important night. Not only are my Pats playing on MNF, but I also need Steven Ridley and Matt Schaub to have huge days and Wes Welker and the Houston Defense to do not so well. So here’s hoping the Pats win 52-45 (wishful thinking, I know).

Week 7 Reactions

What an amazing weekend of games, with close games throughout the day that either came down to the last second or were decided in OT. I wanted to share some general musings and reactions from some of the games I watched this weekend in terms of guys coming back from injuries or suffering injuries during Sunday’s games.

• Hakeem Nicks looked pretty solid overall. He continues to be second fiddle at this point to Victor Cruz, but in terms of his foot, he didn’t show any signs of hobbling and wasn’t restricted by his knee issue as well. And he was targeted 10 times, which is a nice number, even though he only connected on 5. I think it’ll be more a matter of shaking off the rust from missing a few weeks, but he should be fine moving forward. I really think he’d be a great guy to target in trade discussions as his owners might be a little down on him. I think next week against the Cowboys will be a great test for him, but it seems like he’s getting close to fully healthy.
• Aaron Hernandez looked fantastic overall. I didn’t see any signs of setbacks or him hobbling around on that injured ankle throughout the game. He appears to be just a hint of a step slow coming out of his breaks, which is very common and normal following a high ankle sprain. Remember, he can go full bore this week against the Rams in London, then have the bye week to rest after 3 straight games played. I think he’ll be active in Week 8 against the Rams, but barring any setbacks, he’ll be 100% coming out of the bye.
• The Cowboys’ backfield is a mess. DeMarco Murray is slated for more tests this week to see how that injured foot is holding up. Felix Jones had to sit out the final two drives on Sunday after bruising his knee in the 4th. Phillip Tanner seems to be next in line, but it looks like the Cowboys are hopeful Murray can play this week against the Giants. I don’t think he’ll necessarily play this week, as I think it’s tough for an RB to bounce back that quickly from a sprained foot (I’m assuming it’s just a sprain, haven’t heard anything in the contrary). Jones, on the other hand, is what he is. He can’t stay healthy, and even when given a golden opportunity like this, can’t manage to stay on the field. I wouldn’t fault you for dropping him, because unless you absolutely have no other option, do you really feel comfortable with him as your RB2 or Flex option.
• Keep an eye on MJD’s foot injury. I thought it was funny that he hurt his foot, but they decided to tape his ankle and see if he could get back out there. Lo and behold, he couldn’t stay on the field and had to be carted off, possibly because he hurt his FOOT, not his ANKLE! MJD has already been ruled out for Week 8, so that much we know. However, Coach Mularkey gave no indication what exactly happened with the foot, just to say that the “midfoot” was involved. Could be joint, could be ligamentous, could be both. They haven’t ruled out a Lisfranc injury at this point, which would be worst case scenario (check out my previous post on Lisfranc Injuries https://ziaddahdul.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/lisfranc-injuries-what-they-are-and-why-we-care-about-them/). Beyond that, we won’t know until the exact diagnosis is given and the extent of the injury is made more aware. Obviously, Rashard Jennings is the pickup to replace MJD, but in all honesty, I’m not clamoring to get him because the Jags’ offense is a mess and they’re playing the Packers on the road, who’s defense is improving on a week to week basis.
• Ben Tate looked pretty solid coming back from a toe/foot sprain…until he developed a hamstring issue. Luckily for him, the Texans are on their bye week, so he’ll have plenty of time to rest. Watch him for any setbacks, but it’s a little disconcerting because the less Tate plays, the more Arian Foster gets beat up, which will make it difficult for him to last the entire season without developing his own nagging injury. Tate should be fine, but watch for any developments early next week.
• What did I tell you about Lance Moore?? He came back from that hamstring issue this week and didn’t look like he lost a step. With Jimmy Graham out, Drew Brees looked for his slot receiver a ton, which is something you’d expect when you lose a guy like Graham. The star TE should be back next week, so we’ll monitor how that affects Moore’s targets, but Brees clearly looks his way and with as many points as the Saints’ D gives up, there should be plenty to go around. Moore will definitely continue to be a part of the offense so long as he stays on the field.
• I was critical of Terrell Suggs’ return to action this week just 5 months after tearing his Achilles tendon and, although he had a good statistical game, he didn’t look right. He didn’t have any of his quick bursts off the line or that same power when barreling past linemen on passing downs. I think it was very admirable that he came back and tried to be that leader for the defensive unit, but at what risk? I think he’s going to play out the rest of the season looking like he’s clearly not 100%, which can have an effect on his ability to prepare for next season as well. Like I said before, I have seen it take as little as 6-7 months or as much as 10-11 months to come back from this injury, and those guys weren’t playing in the NFL. The demands on the body are so great for these elite athletes, I think it’s doing them a disservice to rush them back so quickly.
• Trent Richardson didn’t look right, and although reports said that he had no setbacks during the game, he clearly did not look like he was fully there. Rib injuries are tough, as they require quite a bit of pain tolerance and if you get hit/knocked down the wrong way at any point, it may make it difficult to focus/run hard that next time out. Monitor him week to week, but it should get easier for him to tolerate as each week wears on.

Friday Injury News

Friday is typically the most important day in terms of a player’s likelihood to play on Sunday (Saturday is the day for Monday night games). So practice participation today is key, so let’s take a look at some key injuries and the chance of them playing in Week 5 (designation in parentheses:

Brandon Jacobs (Q): He hasn’t played all season after injuring his knee in the preseason, but the specifics are not well known. MRI showed that he had no structural damage, which likely means a bone bruise of some sort or maybe ligament sprain. The Niners weren’t going to let Jacobs come back until he practiced fully the whole week, and this week appears to be it. He’s 3rd in the backfield pecking order, but he was signed to be Frank Gore’s change-of-pace backup, which Kendall Hunter is not. So I think he’s a good speculative pickup this week as he looks healthy, doing wind sprints and practicing fully in pads. I wouldn’t play him this week, but he may be a nice deep league add if you need RB help.

Kenny Britt (Q): Britt sprained his ankle initially a few weeks ago, but seemed to tweak it again yesterday in practice. The thought is he won’t play this week, but he’s leaving the door open. Put it this way: He’s coming back from ACL reconstruction, he’s sprained the ankle on that same side, and now he reinjured the ankle at practice speeds. What does this tell you? There’s still something going on that’s causing him to compensate at other joints, but now he’s compromised at two joints in the leg, which could lead to a significant amount of instability up the kinetic chain (this is the link between all the joints from the ground up the leg, into the hip, etc). You should be sitting him this week and for all upcoming weeks until he can actually play a game and come out of it looking healthy.

Jared Cook (P): He practiced fully today, which is great news for his chances of being 100% this Sunday. I think he actually has a shot to have a big game now that Chris Johnson finally showed up and with one less mouth to feed (Britt) in the WR corp. Look for him to be unrestricted and ready to go.

Rashard Mendenhall (P): Practiced fully again, which means he’s looking like a go for this week. Play him at your own risk, but I’d still bench him until he shows me something out on the field. My rule of thumb is always to sit a guy their first week back and proceed according to how they look in that first game. Mendenhall is no different.

Torrey Smith (P): Practiced fully all week, sprained ankle looks good. He’s good to go.

Pierre Garcon (P): He looks like he’s on track to play this weekend against the Falcons, who despite being 4-0 are not playing a ton of D. He’s slowly played more snaps each game he’s been out there, but he himself acknowledged that he was not 100% yet, even though he can play at 100% during each play (not sure how much sense that makes). I think he’ll be more productive this weekend as he and RGIII have developed a good chemistry so far. He looks to be a solid WR3 this week.

Aaron Hernandez (Q): He practiced today and has looked pretty good, based on reports, cutting and moving more freely than anyone expected. This week would be his 3rd missed game, so I’m still skeptical that someone can be 100% in 3 weeks coming back from a high ankle sprain. I still think he sits this week, but it’s encouraging that he has gotten better so quickly. Week 6 seems much more realistic, so he should be on your bench this week (he’ll be on mine).

Marshawn Lynch (P): He was a full participant today, with his injury being described as Rest. Seems like the Seahawks were just buying him some time and that his back spasms didn’t flare up. Play him confidently.

Ryan Tannehill (P): He was a late add to the injury report with a right thumb sprain (throwing hand). It appears that he practiced fully, but may have hit his hand on a helmet or something of that nature. I think the injury report is more of a precaution, but he should be out there this week coming off a career game. Play him if you normally would.

Reggie Bush (P): His knee is reportedly fine and his hip has been pain-free all week, so he looks ready to go. He actually looked fine this past week, not missing any time after than knee injury scare. He was running well and looked like his dynamic self, so I’d feel good playing him this week. Nothing that I’ve heard or seen leads me to believe that he’ll be restricted at all, so have at it.

Ben Tate (Q): His sprained toe kept him out of practice today, and missing a Friday practice is never a good sign. I’d be suspicious about his probability of playing this week, but since they play Monday, wait until tomorrow and see if he participates. If he’s limited or doesn’t practice, I’d sit him since it’s pretty risky to wait on a Monday nighter since you won’t have many options otherwise. I don’t think the risk matches the reward, so I’d bench him.

Stephen Hill (Q): Well, not the rookie season we were hoping for. He came out like gangbusters in Week 1 and hasn’t played since. He has a hamstring strain that’s been plaguing him all season, and it doesn’t really seem like it’s going away anytime soon. I’ve stated numerous times how tricky these hamstring injuries are, and sometimes, depending on the location of the strain, the severity of the strain, and whether there was a prior history of hamstring pathology. Not sure in Hill’s case if there is a past history of hamstring issues, but this one seems to be a doozy. He was a non-participant again in practice, and even though he plays Monday night, put him in the same category as Ben Tate above: not worth the risk of waiting.

Hakeem Nicks (O): We know Nicks is out this week, that’s for sure. Just wanted to update to say that he had very limited participation, riding the bike and doing some stretching and participating in some team activities. While this is a good sign, one observation I wanted to mention was that the stationary bike for his kind of injury makes me think they’re just trying to limit his amount of weight bearing as much as possible, which leads me to believe that there’s some sort of bony pathology going on. I don’t like the sound of it, but the activity level is promising. Obviously, plan B needs to be in effect this week, but next week is still a possibility.

Lance Moore (O): My, how much things can change in one week. At first, reports were he had a mild hamstring strain. 4 days later, he’s labeled out. Maybe he had a setback during the week while trying to practice, or maybe they underestimated the extent and severity of the strain. Who knows? The fact of the matter is these hamstring strains are hard to predict, but hopefully one full week of rest and rehab will do him some good.

That’s it for today. I’ll make more updates via my Twitter feed @z_dahdul as more news becomes available. Good luck with Week 5 and beyond!

Thursday Practice Updates of Wednesday’s Practice Updates

Did I confuse you? Good : )

I’m taking Wednesday’s post and making updates based on Thursday practice participations, just to give you a little taste of how quickly things can change in one day’s time. Here ya go:

Here’s a quick round up of today’s practice participations and their effect on each player’s ability to play and contribute in Week 5:

Marshawn Lynch: Limited in practice on Wednesday. The given reason was rest, but make sure you listen up on Friday to make sure it’s not a back spasm recurrence. I talked at the beginning of the season that back spasms are tricky and have a habit of rearing their ugly head at random times. Monitor his status leading up to the end of the week. THURSDAY UPDATE:

Matt Forte: The Bears didn’t practice, but word is he would have been a limited participant had there been a practice. Weird thing is he came out of the Monday night game with a supposed re-aggravation of his ankle sprain, but had his tape re-done and was fine thereafter. The only report after the game was “normal post game soreness”, which is very normal. So long as no setbacks are reported, he probably won’t be a full participant until Friday. Jacksonville’s run D, for lack of a better word, sucks. So throw him out there on Sunday with confidence, as it seems like his ankle is doing just fine.

Kenny Britt: Another guy who I just hate writing about, because he seems to always be hurt, like non-stop. So his recent ankle injury led to him being a non-participant in today’s practice. Word is he did some on-the-side drills, but no actual practice. With all the bad luck he’s had with his legs this past year, he just scares me. This ankle sprain seems to be lingering, which combined with the ACL reconstruction he had, can lead to quite a bit of weakness in his legs. A lack of stability around the knee with pain and discomfort in ankle take all of the drive and quickness out of a WR’s legs. I’m sticking with my thought on him: He needs to show you one solid week before he’s in your lineup, regardless of what you hear/see/read. THURSDAY UPDATE: He did not practice at all today, meaning he’s pretty much relegated to your fantasy bench again for week 5. Plan on moving forward without him. Again, wait until he shows you he can get back out there and produce before he’s back in your lineup.

Julio Jones: Apparently his hand issue was a problem during the last game, as reports said he was more decoy than anything else. He was a full participant today, and as long as that continues, this hand injury shouldn’t be an issue. Play him. THURSDAY UPDATE: More reason to play him, Jones himself said his lacerated hand feels great and ready to go. Matt Ryan is absolutely on fire right now the Redskins’ secondary is not very good. Big day coming for Jones and company.

Peyton Hillis: He’s been dealing with this ankle sprain for a couple weeks now, and although he seems to be better, it appears that he continues to be iffy for this week. The Chiefs have Jamaal Charles and Shaun Draughn playing pretty well right now, so there’s no reason to rush Hillis back. He’s not a speedster, but an issue with the ankle (which provides the push off and drive and helps maintain stability with cuts) can really make it difficult to hit holes in a timely manner. Plan on not having him this week. THURSDAY UPDATE: No practice for Hillis on Thursday and he remains on track to sit out this week’s game. Bench city for Hillis

Jake Locker: Separated shoulder, subluxation of said shoulder, already ruled out of Sunday’s game and having a short week for week 6, plan on him being out at least 2 more weeks at minimum. After his recent aggravation in week 5, they’ll take it easy with him and make sure not to rush him back. With all the instability surrounding that left shoulder of his, non-throwing arm or not, it’s going to restrict his function, especially with handing the ball off, receiving the hiked ball, and being sacked/going down head first. THURSDAY UPDATE: Not a ton more info available about Locker, but he’s as close to a lock as possible to sit out. 

Jared Cook: His AC joint (tip of the shoulder) seems to be healing well, as he played the whole game on Sunday without issue (he was taken out early due to the Titans being blown out) or setbacks. He was limited today, but it seems to be more rest than anything else. AC joint sprains are very dependent on the severity of the shoulder separation (this is the joint people refer to when a shoulder is separated), and Cook’s seems to be more on the mild side based on how quickly he’s responded. Play him this week as their matchup is much more favorable than last week’s.

Torrey Smith: He had a minor ankle sprain during the game this past week, but it’s not considered anything major at all. He was a full participant this week, which always bodes well when a player participates fully on a Wednesday. He will be just fine.

Pierre Garcon: His sprained foot finally allowed him to play in week 4, but he was basically nonexistent, catching only 1 pass. He practiced fully today, which bodes well. I continue to hear that he’s not 100%, but the fact that he fully practiced on a traditional “take it easy day” is a good sign. We seem to be talking a lot about ankles/feet these days, but a sprained foot is a very general term (it could refer to any of the ligaments that hold together the joints in his mid foot, forefoot, rear foot) and depending on the exact region that’s sprained, could really affect a player’s ability to push off and accept weight onto the foot. The accepting weight part is important for a receiver, mainly when stopping on a dime and breaking off a route. If Friday rolls around and he’s still fully practicing, roll him out there on Sunday. THURSDAY UPDATE: He continues to proactice even though he’s not fully healthy, and he himself said that he’s not 100%. However, he states he can play at 100%, but how long remains to be seen. I think he plays this week, but just expect some ups and downs throughout the course of the season.

Lesean McCoy: Full participant, following a “tweaked”, aka sprained, knee. Looks to be a minor issue, he’ll be fine.

Reggie Bush: <sigh> The knee feels great, but miraculously, he has developed a hip issue! Yay! Normally, when a hip issue develops on the same side as a knee or ankle issue, it’s without a doubt a compensatory issue, where the joint above or below the injured region (in this case, above) compensates for the lack of stability/strength/function at the impaired joint. It could be a muscular strain, it could be irritation of the labrum in the hip, it could be tendonitis/bursitis, etc…Basically, it could be a crap ton of things. Until more is known about the severity of the hip issue, expect him to play. We’ll probably know more by Friday. THURSDAY UPDATE: Practiced fully, reports state he looked good overall, no signs of limitation. Barring setback, plan on him begin ready to go on Sunday.

Danny Amendola: He had a mild ankle sprain, and is officially listed as Probable for the Thursday night game against the Cards. He looks to be ready to go tomorrow, so feel free to put him in your lineup. And always remember who told you he would be the sleeper candidate of the year (http://tinyurl.com/c3pzkg7). Did that sound like bragging too much? Who cares, I was right. THURSDAY UPDATE: Not much in terms of his status, but the prevailing thought is that he’s ready to go tonight, as his ankle sprain was considered mild in the first place.

Steven Jackson: So this is clearly becoming a frustrating issue for SJax owners. This groin strain will not go away. Here’s what I said last week: “My thought is that he’s doing ok during the week, getting treatment and working to calm down inflammation/stretch/strengthening the adductors (groin muscles), I just think the second he really tries to play free of thought, he begins to feel the restriction. One week of limitation was ok, as that’s expected. But with two weeks of limitation in a row, I’d be a bit concerned.” Just change two weeks to three and the problem gets worse. Top it off with a short week against a very solid run defense, and I’d really consider benching him this week. THURSDAY UPDATE: Still listed as questionable, but he’s still planning on playing. He was better last week than the week before, so hopefully he can continue to build on that.

Rashard Mendenhall: Word is he is confident he will play against Philly. I stand by my comment with my post-ACL guys (I was wrong on AP, but right on the rest): Sit them until they give you a good week. Mendenhall is no exception. He needs to show good burst and dynamic running/cutting/planting without limitations at game speeds before he goes near my lineup. I’d sit him this week. THURSDAY UPDATE: He practiced fully, which means he’s got a very good chance of getting back out there on Sunday. Again, wait one week if you can, unless you’re desperate.

Greg Jennings: See Steven Jackson, but multiply it by 10 because he actually left the game. I don’t care what I hear by the end of the week, I’m sitting him and upgrading Jordy Nelson and James Jones significantly. Too much risk. THURSDAY UPDATE: He’s officially out for week 5. I actually like James Jones quite a bit against a pretty bad Colts D.

Lance Moore: He’s the latest in the hamstring strain club. He was limited, but his appears to be more mild than other guys. I’ve talked about the importance of the hamstrings in terms of explosiveness, but this seems to be very manageable. If he has no setback and is not limited by Friday, he should play and play well on Sunday. THURSDAY UPDATE: He didn’t practice at all today, which is never good after having a limited practice the day before. I’m officially in the “worried” boat now, so montior his status on Friday. He looks like he’s going to be a game time decision guy. Have a plan B just in case.

Aaron Hernandez: One big name I wanted to add, he actually participated and ran some routes in practice, but not at full speed. There’s a thought that he has a remote chance of playing against the Broncos this week, but I’m not buying it. I actually love that there’s a great chance he will play in week 6, which is fantastic news.

Wednesday Injury Updates

Here’s a quick round up of today’s practice participations and their effect on each player’s ability to play and contribute in Week 5:

Marshawn Lynch: Limited in practice on Wednesday. The given reason was rest, but make sure you listen up on Friday to make sure it’s not a back spasm recurrence. I talked at the beginning of the season that back spasms are tricky and have a habit of rearing their ugly head at random times. Monitor his status leading up to the end of the week.

Matt Forte: The Bears didn’t practice, but word is he would have been a limited participant had there been a practice. Weird thing is he came out of the Monday night game with a supposed re-aggravation of his ankle sprain, but had his tape re-done and was fine thereafter. The only report after the game was “normal post game soreness”, which is very normal. So long as no setbacks are reported, he probably won’t be a full participant until Friday. Jacksonville’s run D, for lack of a better word, sucks. So throw him out there on Sunday with confidence, as it seems like his ankle is doing just fine.

Kenny Britt: Another guy who I just hate writing about, because he seems to always be hurt, like non-stop. So his recent ankle injury led to him being a non-participant in today’s practice. Word is he did some on-the-side drills, but no actual practice. With all the bad luck he’s had with his legs this past year, he just scares me. This ankle sprain seems to be lingering, which combined with the ACL reconstruction he had, can lead to quite a bit of weakness in his legs. A lack of stability around the knee with pain and discomfort in ankle take all of the drive and quickness out of a WR’s legs. I’m sticking with my thought on him: He needs to show you one solid week before he’s in your lineup, regardless of what you hear/see/read.

Julio Jones: Apparently his hand issue was a problem during the last game, as reports said he was more decoy than anything else. He was a full participant today, and as long as that continues, this hand injury shouldn’t be an issue. Play him

Peyton Hillis: He’s been dealing with this ankle sprain for a couple weeks now, and although he seems to be better, it appears that he continues to be iffy for this week. The Chiefs have Jamaal Charles and Shaun Draughn playing pretty well right now, so there’s no reason to rush Hillis back. He’s not a speedster, but an issue with the ankle (which provides the push off and drive and helps maintain stability with cuts) can really make it difficult to hit holes in a timely manner. Plan on not having him this week.

Jake Locker: Separated shoulder, subluxation of said shoulder, already ruled out of Sunday’s game and having a short week for week 6, plan on him being out at least 2 more weeks at minimum. After his recent aggravation in week 5, they’ll take it easy with him and make sure not to rush him back. With all the instability surrounding that left shoulder of his, non-throwing arm or not, it’s going to restrict his function, especially with handing the ball off, receiving the hiked ball, and being sacked/going down head first.

Jared Cook: His AC joint (tip of the shoulder) seems to be healing well, as he played the whole game on Sunday without issue (he was taken out early due to the Titans being blown out) or setbacks. He was limited today, but it seems to be more rest than anything else. AC joint sprains are very dependent on the severity of the shoulder separation (this is the joint people refer to when a shoulder is separated), and Cook’s seems to be more on the mild side based on how quickly he’s responded. Play him this week as their matchup is much more favorable than last week’s.

Torrey Smith: He had a minor ankle sprain during the game this past week, but it’s not considered anything major at all. He was a full participant this week, which always bodes well when a player participates fully on a Wednesday. He will be just fine.

Pierre Garcon: His sprained foot finally allowed him to play in week 4, but he was basically nonexistent, catching only 1 pass. He practiced fully today, which bodes well. I continue to hear that he’s not 100%, but the fact that he fully practiced on a traditional “take it easy day” is a good sign. We seem to be talking a lot about ankles/feet these days, but a sprained foot is a very general term (it could refer to any of the ligaments that hold together the joints in his mid foot, forefoot, rear foot) and depending on the exact region that’s sprained, could really affect a player’s ability to push off and accept weight onto the foot. The accepting weight part is important for a receiver, mainly when stopping on a dime and breaking off a route. If Friday rolls around and he’s still fully practicing, roll him out there on Sunday.

Lesean McCoy: Full participant, following a “tweaked”, aka sprained, knee. Looks to be a minor issue, he’ll be fine.

Reggie Bush: <sigh> The knee feels great, but miraculously, he has developed a hip issue! Yay! Normally, when a hip issue develops on the same side as a knee or ankle issue, it’s without a doubt a compensatory issue, where the joint above or below the injured region (in this case, above) compensates for the lack of stability/strength/function at the impaired joint. It could be a muscular strain, it could be irritation of the labrum in the hip, it could be tendonitis/bursitis, etc…Basically, it could be a crap ton of things. Until more is known about the severity of the hip issue, expect him to play. We’ll probably know more by Friday.

Danny Amendola: He had a mild ankle sprain, and is officially listed as Probable for the Thursday night game against the Cards. He looks to be ready to go tomorrow, so feel free to put him in your lineup. And always remember who told you he would be the sleeper candidate of the year (http://tinyurl.com/c3pzkg7). Did that sound like bragging too much? Who cares, I was right.

Steven Jackson: So this is clearly becoming a frustrating issue for SJax owners. This groin strain will not go away. Here’s what I said last week: “My thought is that he’s doing ok during the week, getting treatment and working to calm down inflammation/stretch/strengthening the adductors (groin muscles), I just think the second he really tries to play free of thought, he begins to feel the restriction. One week of limitation was ok, as that’s expected. But with two weeks of limitation in a row, I’d be a bit concerned.” Just change two weeks to three and the problem gets worse. Top it off with a short week against a very solid run defense, and I’d really consider benching him this week.

Rashard Mendenhall: Word is he is confident he will play against Philly. I stand by my comment with my post-ACL guys (I was wrong on AP, but right on the rest): Sit them until they give you a good week. Mendenhall is no exception. He needs to show good burst and dynamic running/cutting/planting without limitations at game speeds before he goes near my lineup. I’d sit him this week.

Greg Jennings: See Steven Jackson, but multiply it by 10 because he actually left the game. I don’t care what I hear by the end of the week, I’m sitting him and upgrading Jordy Nelson and James Jones significantly. Too much risk.

Lance Moore: He’s the latest in the hamstring strain club. He was limited, but his appears to be more mild than other guys. I’ve talked about the importance of the hamstrings in terms of explosiveness, but this seems to be very manageable. If he has no setback and is not limited by Friday, he should play and play well on Sunday.