Friday, Oct. 2
This week's injury report looks promising for superstars Drew Brees, Arian Foster and Andrew Luck to play.
But it's not the marquee names who are targeted in this column. It's about those lesser known players whose status holds under-the-radar meaning.
It's about players like Jermon Bushrod, the Bears' offensive left tackle. He's out due to a concussion. Bushrod's absence has major ramifications. First, it means Charles Leno gets the start.
Leno is a second-year player, a seventh-round draft pick from Boise State. He played little last season and looked horrible in preseason. Bears coach John Fox certainly isn't going to risk Jay Cutler, nursing a hamstring injury, into this matchup without his normal blindside protector. There's no reason either for Alshon Jeffery to play since Jimmy Clausen can't get him the ball.
The Bears are likely to be super conservative - at least they were last week at Seattle - with Clausen and now with an unproven left tackle.
Miami knows how tough it can be without a starting left offensive tackle. The Dolphins have a good one, Branden Albert. But he missed last Sunday's game against the Bills with a hamstring injury. The Dolphins were blasted by the Bills, 41-14.
Albert is out this Sunday, too, replaced by Jason Fox. There's a huge drop from Albert to Fox, who has struggled giving up a sack that resulted in a fumble, a quarterback hit and five hurries in his 127 snaps.
The Chargers aren't just dealing with one offensive line injury, but four! Left guard Orlando Franklin already has been declared out with an ankle injury. Three other starters missed Friday's practice and may not play - left tackle King Dunlap (concussion), center Chris Watt (groin) and guard D.J. Fluker (ankle, chest) - against Cleveland.
Not all the offensive line news is bad. The Cardinals get back left guard Mike Iupati this week. He's one of the better run blocking guards in the league and he's facing the Rams, whose defensive line is better at rushing the passer than stopping the run.
Minnesota could use all the offensive help it can playing on the road against Denver. Instead, Teddy Bridgewater won't have his No. 2 wideout, Charles Johnson. He's out with sore ribs.
Johnson was a popular fantasy sleeper going into the season, but hasn't been used that much. The Vikings prefer Bridgewater hand off to Adrian Peterson or throw short to tight end Kyle Rudolph.
But Johnson's absence and the possible absence of Jarius Wright (injured hand) prevents the Vikings from being comfortable in three-man receiver sets, means playing time for mistake-prone Corarrelle Patterson and affects the the Vikings' ability to get a back-door cover as seven-point underdogs.
On the handicapping front, I have five college football plays for Saturday headed by my Triple Star National TV Total of the Month. I'm working on putting the finishing touches on my Week 4 NFL card. I'm off to a 14-6-1 start in the NFL. All of my plays and packages can be found here: /pregamepros/pro-bettor/bettor.aspx?id=7746#capper.
As always let's have no bad luck and no bad beats!