Injuries were aplenty in the opening week of the NFL season as Eli Manning, Steve McNair, Chad Pennington, Brandon Jacobs, Cadillac Williams and Chester Taylor – among others – fell victim to the injury bug. Owners of these walking wounded will already have to start managing their rosters with difficult decisions. After being stuck on the vast majority of waiver wires last weekend, guys like Tarvaris Jackson, Kyle Boller and James Jones are legitimate short-term stop-gaps in week 2.
In this edition of The Weekly Forecast, we’ll run down the latest on the injury report, showcase some useful statistics and suggest some rather obscure options if you already find yourself short-handed.
Around the League
There have been so many contradicting reports regarding the health of Giants field general Eli Manning. After partially separating his throwing shoulder on Sunday night against Dallas, there was talk that Manning could be sidelined as long as five weeks with the injury. Then, there was talk it would only be a week or two. Then, Manning surprised everybody and returned to practice and vowed to be behind center on Sunday against the Packers. Well, he’s officially listed as a game-time decision, but it sounds like Manning is going to do whatever he can to make his 41st consecutive start. He was on point in the opener, racking up 312 yards through the air and four TDs in the loss. If he’s unable to start, the Pillsbury Throw-boy, Jared Lorenzen, would make his first NFL start.
Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson was an efficient 13-for-23 for 163 yards, a TD and an INT in the opening week victory against the anemic Falcons. With Chester Taylor likely sidelined in the backfield this Sunday, Minnesota might be forced to throw the rock a bit more this upcoming week. He’s still a major work-in-progress, but he’s got a tasty matchup against the run-and-gun Lions in Motown this week. Detroit surrendered 313 passing yards to a below average Josh McCown-led Raiders aerial attack and with their pass-happy offense, this could develop into a shootout.
Speaking of the G-Men and Vikings, they each are dealing with injuries in the backfield. Finally out of the shadow of Tiki Barber, Brandon Jacobs injured his knee in his first start at halfback last Sunday and will miss 3-5 weeks. Derrick Ward is a nice little fill-in in the meantime. He’ll get the brunt of the load over newly acquired Reuben Droughns. Rookie Adrian Peterson shined in his first pro game, rambling for 103 yards on the ground and breaking a 60-yard TD reception. With Taylor not expected to be active for Sunday’s contest vs Detroit, the rookie is a fine No. 2 RB.
With Brady Quinn being groomed to take over the Browns quarterback duties down the road, Cleveland dealt week 1’s starter Charlie Frye to Seattle. He’ll be the emergency QB behind Matt Hasselbeck and Seneca Wallace there, all but destroying whatever little fantasy value he did have. Derek Anderson will start behind center temporarily while Quinn adapts to the faster game. During the interim, consider reserving Braylon Edwards because of the lackluster throwing game.
Daunte Culpepper will take over at quarterback in Oakland after Josh McCown sustained a finger injury and could be sidelined three weeks. It was just three years ago, when he was on top of his game and threw for an incredible 39 TDs and 4717 yards. He’s apparently just a shell of his former self, but is still worth adding to your squad as a backup or No. 2 QB. Ronald Curry appears to be the new go-to-guy in the Bay and is ready for a breakout campaign. Jerry Porter is still trying to get it going after sitting basically the entire 2006 season. He’s not worth starting in even ultra-deep leagues.
Injuries
Quarterbacks
Eli Manning (shoulder) – game-time decision, Lorenzen would replace
Josh McCown (toe) – not expected to play, Culpepper will replace
Steve McNair (groin) – not expected to play, Kyle Boller will replace
Chad Pennington (ankle) – not expected to play, Kellen Clemens will replace
D.J. Shockley (knee surgery) – out for the season
Chris Simms (hip) – status uncertain
Michael Vick (personal) – out for the season
Running Backs
Mike Alstott (neck) – out for the season
Mike Anderson (personal) – questionable
T.J. Duckett (ankle) – out indefinitely
Noah Herron (knee) – out for the season
Priest Holmes (neck) – likely out for the season
Kenny Irons (knee surgery) – out for season
Brandon Jacobs (knee) – out 3-5 weeks, Ward will replace
Kevin Jones (foot) – questionable, expected to return in week 3
Thomas Jones (calf) – will play in week 2
Vernand Morency (knee) – questionable, not expected to play
Chris Perry (ankle) – return week 7
Dominic Rhodes (suspension) – return week 6
Chester Taylor (ribs) – not expected to play, Peterson will be primary RB
Cadillac Williams (ribs) – game-time decision, Michael Pittman would replace
Ricky Williams (suspension) – can apply for reinstatement in Oct.
Wide Receivers
Drew Bennett (quadriceps) – expected to play
Troy Brown (knee surgery) – return week 7
Tim Dwight (foot) – out indefinitely
Brian Finneran (knee surgery) – out for the season
David Givens (knee surgery) – might return in week 7
Terry Glenn (knee surgery) – out indefinitely
D.J. Hackett (ankle) – out indefinitely, might miss a month
Chris Henry (suspension) – return week 9
Chad Jackson (knee) – might return in week 7
Greg Jennings (hamstring) – not expected to play, James Jones would start
Eddie Kennison (hamstring) – out for week 2
Eric Parker (toe) – might return in week 11
Josh Reed (thigh) – status uncertain
Koren Robinson (suspension) – can apply for reinstatement on Sept. 18
Marcus Robinson (quadriceps) – out for the season
Rod Smith (hip) – return week 7
David Tyree (wrist) – out 4-6 weeks
Bobby Wade (ankle) – will play
Tight Ends
Greg Olsen (knee) – status uncertain
Kickers
Josh Scobee (quadriceps) – might be out 6-8 weeks
Lawrence Tynes (calf) - questionable
Best/Worst Matchups in week 2
(stats exclusively based on week 1)
Up against toughest run defenses
1T. Philadelphia (46.0 YPG) – Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts
1T. Pittsburgh (46.0 YPG) – Marshawn Lynch, Anthony Thomas
3. Baltimore (55.0 YPG) – Thomas Jones, Leon Washington
4. New England (60.0 YPG) – LaDainian Tomlinson, Michael Turner
5. Washington (66.0 YPG) – Brian Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter
Up against easiest run defenses
32. Jacksonville (282.0 YPG) – Warrick Dunn, Jerious Norwood
31. Cleveland (206 YPG) – Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson
30. Miami (191.0 YPG) – Julius Jones, Marion Barber
29. St. Louis (186.0 YPG) – Frank Gore, Maurice Hicks
28. Buffalo (171.0 YPG) – Willie Parker, Najeh Davenport
Up against toughest pass defenses
1. Jacksonville (78.0 YPG) – Joey Harrington, Alge Crumpler, Joe Horn
2. Denver (97.0 YPG) – Daunte Culpepper, Ronald Curry, Jerry Porter
3. San Francisco (102.0 YPG) – Marc Bulger, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce
4. Arizona (126.0 YPG) – Matt Hasselbeck, Deion Branch, Bobby Engram
5. San Diego (145.0 YPG) – Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker
Up against easiest pass defenses
32. New York Giants (345.0 YPG) – Brett Favre, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings/James Jones
31. Dallas (319 YPG) – Trent Green, Chris Chambers, Marty Booker
30. Detroit (313.0 YPG) – Tarvaris Jackson, Troy Williamson, Bobby Wade
29. Buffalo (304.0 YPG) – Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes
28. New York Jets (297.0 YPG) – Kyle Boller, Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton
Week 2 Schedule and Weather Forecast
Sunday, Sept. 16 1:00pm ET
Houston @ Carolina 78/56, 10%
Buffalo @ Pittsburgh 67/47, 10%
Indianapolis @ Tennessee 79/57, 10%
Green Bay @ New York Giants 67/49, 10%
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay 9175, 30%
Atlanta @ Jacksonville 87/75, 40%
San Francisco @ St. Louis (Dome)
Cincinnati @ Cleveland 66/50, 10%
Sunday, Sept. 16 4:15pm ET
Seattle @ Arizona 100/79, 10%
Minnesota @ Detroit (Dome)
Dallas @ Miami 89/78, 40%
New York Jets @ Baltimore 72/54, 10%
Oakland @ Denver 84/60, 20%
Kansas City @ Chicago 0/55, 10%
Sunday, Sept. 16 8:15pm ET
San Diego @ New England 65/41, 10%
Monday, Sept. 17 8:30pm ET
Washington @ Philadelphia 74/53, 10%