Week 4 brought us very highly anticipated returns from fantasy studs like Fred Jackson, CJ Spiller, Reggie Bush, and possibly Matt Forte (looks like he’s got a shot at being active). It also left us wanting, with guys like Hakeem Nicks, Aaron Hernandez, and Kenny Britt still on the shelf. Here’s some initial reactions about the guys that did play and a look ahead to Week 5 for the guys who didn’t.
Fred Jackson: This was one game that I watched from beginning to end (gotta watch my beloved Pats) and, though he didn’t do too much out there numbers-wise, he didn’t look limited in the least big. He broke a 30+ yard screen pass on one play and pushed off that R foot just fine. I thought the Bills coaching staff did a great job of managing his touches, but they’re offense just kept turning the ball over, which made it difficult to stay intent on running the football. He said he had some soreness in the knee afterwards, but so long as it doesn’t turn into swelling and stiffness, I feel pretty good about him. I like him a lot going forward and would go back to playing him week in and week out.
CJ Spiller: His return just didn’t go as well. I feel vindicated in my analysis of him and Fred Jackson, as I said they could both very well be ok, but I wouldn’t trust them in the first week back. I don’t think the shoulder contributed to his lack of production, but when he was tackled and driven into the ground, he was visibly grabbing onto his injured shoulder, leading me to believe that he basically reinjured that sucker again. He said after the game that it felt sore, and I think he came out of the game worse than Jackson because I visibly saw him favoring his shoulder during the game. At first glance, I’d sit him again next week, especially with as good as Jackson looked, the Bills won’t feel quite as rushed. Unless he miraculously is 100% in less than a week (he won’t be), I’d sit him again.
Jared Cook: He played on Sunday, getting 4 targets and catching 3 of them. He didn’t hit pay dirt, but he did come out of the game unscathed and should be much closer to 100% next week. They also played a very, very tough Texans D, so hopefully you took my advice and sat him. It also didn’t help that Jake Locker (more on him in a minute) was knocked out with a aggravation of his separated shoulder (it must be AC sprain season), relegating Cook to catching passes from Matt Hasselback. Look for Hasselback to start next week, which could mean a slight decrease in Cook’s value.
Jake Locker: He really took a hit to that separated left AC joint and subluxation (think of it as a mini dislocation, where the ball pops out slightly, but re-sets itself), leaving the game after getting driven into the ground. I’m thinking this is the time they make the decision to sit him for a week and let things settle. Pick up Hasselback if you need a guy or look for an Andy Dalton type out on the wire. An MRI after the game revealed no structural damage to the left shoulder, but I still don’t trust it. Make sure you sit him.
Dwayne Bowe: There was doubt about his effectiveness with a quad strain this week, which can really limit a player’s burst due to the strength and power housed within such a large muscle group. Must not have been a very serious strain because he looked great on Sunday. With unrest at QB for the Chiefs, change could be coming. But in terms of Bowe’s status moving forward, all signs point to him being healthy heading forward. Play him.
Santonio Holmes: Now that’s an injury that looked bad. Thankfully for Jets’ fans, the X-rays came back negative on his left foot. However, X-rays just tell a small part of the picture (bony pathology), as the important info will be his MRI results. Based on the mechanism of injury, I’d say a moderate to severe sprain of various ligaments around the ankle is plausible. We won’t know much til then, but my gut feeling is he’ll be out this coming week and possibly limited in week 6. Look for a fill in until then.
Jonathan Stewart: He finished Sunday with a disappointing 40 yards rushing, and from what I saw, didn’t look limited by the sprained toe. I think as long as he didn’t suffer a setback, the toe won’t be a lingering thing. My bigger concern is the time share he has going on with DeAngelo Williams and the fact that Cam Newtown is basically their goal line back. I’m not too high on Stewart at this point, and it’s really not injury related. I think his toe will be fine, but right now he doesn’t look like anything more than a decent Flex option.
Rob Gronkowski: He entered Sunday’s matchup questionable with a hip injury. The Pats are as tight-lipped as it gets when it comes to injuries, so I wasn’t able to find out what exactly was going on with his hip. But he didn’t looked bothered by it at all, as he caught a nice TD pass running the seam in the 2nd half and had a deep ball thrown to him that he should have caught, but was just short on. He looked just fine, I’d run him out there with confidence.
Steven Jackson: He was clearly limited by his groin strain and he really doesn’t look explosive right now. This is two weeks in a row without good burst, which is getting a little worrisome. 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. Wait until the end of the week to make a decision, but if they play the whole “game time decision” card again, he may be an injury-sit this week. Look for Darryl Richardson if he’s out there as a handcuff or maybe a guy like Joique Bell, who looked solid as Mikel LeShoure’s backup.
Greg Jennings: See Steven Jackson above, as they’re both dealing with the same injury. Jennings’ is worse because he clearly hasn’t been the same and he actually had to leave the game. Coach Sherman even said Jennings looked how he was two weeks ago. Not looking good. Prepare for another missed game, maybe two, as he can’t seem to get over this groin strain. Leonard Hankerson could be an option, even Andre Roberts or Dominik Hixon.
Mikel LeShoure: This rounds up groin-strain central, as he played and finished the game as the lead carrier for the Lions. He didn’t look fantastic, but overall, he appears to be the guy right now in Detroit. He has the luxury of a bye week to get things right, but expect him to be the lead back with Joique Bell backing him up. (Anyone know what the hell happened to Kevin Smith??)
Matthew Stafford: He wasn’t limited by his hamstring strain, as he moved around well and didn’t have a noticeable limp. He’s not really looking like the Stafford we saw last year, but it doesn’t seem to be injury related. He’ll have a bye week to get things together and look for him to have a big game in Week 6.
Jeremy Maclin: I still think he’s bothered by the hip pointer injury he suffered two weeks ago and coming back as fast as he did didn’t do him any favors. I don’t like him right now, especially with all the “bench Vick” talk that was coming out of Eagles camp prior to Vick’s save-his-ass win against the Giants. It seems like a fluid situation, but Vick probably bought himself another couple weeks, but Maclin is clearly limited, in my opinion. I’m almost to the point where I sit him next week until something changes in his route running and explosiveness.
Willis McGahee: Nothing like playing the Raiders to make your ribs feel aaallllll better. He looked fantastic, finishing with 112 yards and 1 TD, also notching a full carry load of 19. He looks like a go from here on out.
Pierre Garcon: He lucked himself into a touchdown, recovering an RGIII fumble in the end zone. He was not targeted much at all and finished with 1 catch. Remember, he was the guy who RGIII was looking for early and often in Week 1, as it appeared they had developed good chemistry. So the fact that he was barely targeted should tell you he was still limited. They’re reporting he had no setbacks during the game, but who knows based on how he looked. They have a tough mactchup against the Falcons this week, so monitor the injury reports this week and plan accordingly. Leonard Hankerson might not be a bad handcuff, as he appeared to be the next go-to guy.
LeSean McCoy: Word was he “tweaked” his knee during the Giants game, which typically means a mild ligament sprain. There were no reports of swelling or a limp, which is a good sign. Monitor his practice status this week, but he should be out there for Week 5.
Rashard Mendenhall: With the bye week behind them, Mendenhall is reported to be ready to go for this coming week against the Eagles. October 7th puts him approximately 10 1/2 months post ACL tear, which is nearing that 1 year window. I wouldn’t necessarily play him his first week out there, but he seems to be on track to making an Adrian Peterson-like return. If he looks good
Ahmad Bradshaw: He didn’t have a great game, but the point is he looked good and didn’t have any setbacks. Andre Brown only had 5 carries compared to Bradshaw’s 13, so it’s clear who the lead back is. Look for Bradshaw to play better in Week 5.
Kenny Britt: He was held out of week 4, and Coach Munchak said it was done with an eye towards getting Britt out there for week 5. This ankle injury is a little troublesome, especially considering he was coming off an ACL injury last year. Like I mentioned earlier, with Locker out and Cook not fully healthy, it’s hard to like the Titans’ skills guys. One positive could be that Hasselback is more of a prototypical pocket passer and doesn’t scramble like Locker does, which could mean more throws to the outside in week 5.
Hakeem Nicks: This much post-surgical soreness this long after surgery is troublesome. I’m officially worried, being a Nicks owner and all. I just worry that he is re-aggravating either the area of the surgical site or placing too much strain on other regions of the foot to compensate. Either way, it’s bad news. Based on how early they ruled him out, I think they had an eye towards Week 5 (pure speculation). If he practices Thursday and Friday, limited or not, I’d probably chance it based on how he played against the Bucs when he was hurt. If he skips days and is labeled “game time decision”, I’d lean towards the bench.
Aaron Hernandez: Reports are he’s recovering nicely, maybe a little ahead of schedule. He wasn’t officially diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, but if you read my previous post on high ankle sprains (YOU DIDN’T?? How dare you. No excuses now: https://ziaddahdul.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/dodging-the-dreaded-high-ankle-sprain/), you know these injuries are tricky. I’m eyeing week 6 against the Seahawks, so I’d stay away from him regardless of what comes out this week. Too risky with all the options the Pats have. They have the luxury of not rushing him, so wait on it.
Ok kids, that’s it for now. I tried to give you guys a longer one today to make up for my lack of action this weekend. Will follow up Wednesday and Thursday once the practice reports come out. Enjoy!
Ziad Dahdul 