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).

TNF 49ers vs Seahawks: Who to sit, Who to start

Starts:

49ers defense: This is a proud unit, and a unit that was embarrassed by the Giants just 4 days ago. All of their key guys are healthy and with a hungry unit playing against a rookie QB at home, I say you always lean towards the veteran group. I see the D producing a couple turnovers and completely shutting down the Seahawks’ run game

Michael Crabtree: If there’s one thing I learned watching that Pats-Seahawks game in person, it’s that the most targeted guy on the team can absolutely get his, as Wes Welker did last week. Crabtree and Alex Smith have developed some nice chemistry, and with Crabtree seeming to be healthy and very involved with the offense, I think he leads the team in targets again.

Vernon Davis: After watching how often Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski got open this past Sunday, with Hernandez scoring a touchdown, someone as physically dominant as Davis should be able to create separation. I feel like out of all the positions on the Seahawks great defense, linebacker seems to be the weakest point. If Davis gets a lot of LB coverage on him tonight, he’s much too athletic for pretty much any LB to keep up with. Look for him to have a solid day today. And remember, Seattle’s defense is fantastic against the run, so expect more throwing the ball today.

Seattle Defense: Although I have a couple guys from the Niners offense in my start section, I think their production will be more from catches/yardage and less from scoring plays. I expect this to be a relatively low scoring game, somewhere in the high teens/low twenties. And Seattle’s defense is healthy, while Alex Smith is dealing with his finger issue on his throwing hand (still bothering him, not a huge concern, but it must be tough gripping and have complete control when your finger is swollen/painful) and Mario Manningham limited by shoulder issue (he was wearing the non-contact jersey up to Tuesday’s practice, he’s expected to play, but a game-time decision). Look for the opportunistic Seahawks D to force a couple turnovers (did you see Alex Smith against the Giants) and hold the 49ers to <25 points.

Sits:

Marshawn Lynch: I know it’s hard to bench someone of his caliber, but if the Pats D can completely stop the Seahawks’ run game, what do you think the 49ers D is going to do to it?? I’d have him relatively low on the list this week, as I personally don’t think the Seahawks will score more than 13 points in this game. His back has been pretty good the last couple weeks, so it doesn’t seem like he’s limited at all injury-wise, but this just seems to be a terrible match up for Mr. Lynch.

Frank Gore: See Lynch, Marshawn above. And replace 49ers with Seahawks. Not looking like a big day on the ground with either team today.

Russell Wilson: Rookie QB, on the road, coming of a super emotional high with a big comeback victory against the Pats, playing against one of the best defenses in the league? This has bench written all over it. Sit him