By Brandon Simmons
Which Team Will be Affected the Star’s Injury the Most?
Sunday, the New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans both experienced their star player’s get significantly injured. Saints QB Jameis Winston suffered a knee injury early in New Orleans win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Monday, it was officially announced he suffered a torn ACL, which ended his season. Titans running back Derrick Henry suffered a foot injury, in which he will need surgery; however, the team seems hopeful that he will be back this season, estimating a 6-10 week recovery window. Both teams losing 2 key components but which one will suffer the most in their absence?
The Saints are in going to be in for a tough time for a number of reasons past losing their QB. Winston was playing good this season but the NFC is stacked at the top with the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams. New Orleans defense secured that win against the Bucs – and have proven in previous games they can withstand the Tompa Bay offense – but what happens when they come across a Cowboys offense that can run the score up with their multitude of weapons? Do the Saints have a signal caller that can make throws, not just on a comfortable lead, but able to build one? You can only run Alvin Kamara so many teams before teams stack the box and challenge them to throw. You can only use Saints QB Taysom Hill as a gadget player before you have to rely on some QB play from the pocket. That’s really the difference here between these two teams immediate outlook. Titans QB Ryan Tannehill might not have the gunslinger reputation but he has the outside weapons in wide receivers Julio Jones and A.J. Brown. Not to mention, they have a stronghold on the AFC South at the moment, so their postseason hopes are locked in, they just have to play for positioning.
The NFC 5
Heading into Week 8, the NFC was ran by 5 one loss teams, who seem to stand over the rest of the league. The Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams. Obviously with Sunday’s loss to the Saints, the Bucs fall out of that category, but the defending champs remain one of the more dangerous squads on this list. However, if they’re dangerous then the other 4 teams are at least hovering around level red.
The beauty about these teams possibly facing each other in the playoffs, is that each team has a potent offense. The Cowboys and the Rams might have the best skills position groups, with Dallas edging L.A. in the running back department. You can add the Cardinals in this group as a dark horse with their aerial attack as well. The Packers and the Bucs might have the best QB’s of the group hands down, which will make a stark difference come playoff time. As far as defenses go, it might not matter much when either of these teams meet. However, the Bucs did not change their unit that won them their Super Bowl and the Rams traded for Von Miller, which enhances their pass rush.
It’s hard to pick one team out of this group, but the Green Bay Packers are probably where they need to be, as well as where they will be at the end. The Packers took a beating in the 1st game of the year but have been playing at a high level since then. Their best win is obviously handing the Cardinals their first loss, but it was them doing it on the road that makes it more impressive, in addition to not having their top wide receiver in Davante Adams. There’s still a lot of football left but the Packers will be making the most of it.
Trade Deadline Reactions
The NFL trade deadline came and went this pass Tuesday with some significant moves made, as well as moves that were not made. The Denver Broncos traded linebacker to the L.A. Rams for a 3rd and 4th round pick. The Houston Texans did not trade QB Deshaun Watson but did send defensive end Charles Omenihu to the San Francisco 49ers for a 6th round pick. The Pittsburgh Steelers traded pass rusher Melvin Ingram to the Kansas City Chiefs for a 6th round pick. Here are a few notes on the day:
- The Rams made a brilliant move boosting up their pass rush, even though they lead the league in sacks. Still, it never hurts to bring someone in of that caliber to play alongside defensive end Aaron Donald and wreak havoc the QB. As previously mentioned, they have some stiff competition with the top opposing QB’s in their conference. Los Angeles already has the offense but made a huge move putting some strength on the defense.
- The Deshaun Watson disappointingly failed but it should’ve been expected. As soon as Miami Dolphins expressed his concerns over Watson’s legal situation – and the NFL could not provide any real clarity – then everything appeared to become less likely to happen. It could have been a ploy by Ross to get the Texans to lower their asking price but that has obviously backfired on him, at least until the offseason comes around.
- Odell Beckham, Jr. and Desean Jackson headlined a long list of names that did not get moved at the deadline. It was reported last week the Rams would assist Jackson in finding a trade partner for the veteran, but if not, then they would release him. OBJ was rumored to be traded most of the season, thanks to the help of Twitter pointing out how the Cleveland Browns wide receiver does not have a good connection with Browns QB Baker Mayfield. Other high-profile names included Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and Indianapolis Colts running back Marlon Mack.
The irony of this year’s deadline is that most of the hype was centered around where Deshaun Watson would be moved to and he ended up staying for…now. Considering how vocal the Dolphins owner was about bringing him in, it’s going to be interesting to see how this affects QB Tua Tagovailoa going forward.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Odell Beckham. Jr’s father who supported the case for getting his son out of Cleveland. Tuesday, he posted an 11 minute video which showed all the times that Browns QB Baker Mayfield overthrew OBJ. It’s not anything new that hasn’t been seen on Twitter the past few weeks but there’s nothing wrong with a refreshing compilation.
Shut out to drinking and driving. Tuesday, Oakland Raiders wide receiver was charged with a DUI after being involved in a car accident, that resulted in death. R.I.P. to the victim and their family.
Week 9 has arrived as teams are all dealing with injuries, fallouts from trade rumors and buyout season. The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the Green Bay Packers, which should be a shootout on paper. Kansas City has not had a spectacular start to the season but their win on Monday night could look to spark their turnaround’ they just have to get past the best team in the league first. The Tennessee Titans will go on the road to face the Los Angeles Rams, the first game without Titans running back Derrick Henry this season. Titans did sign running back Adrian Peterson to their practice squad for now, but its unsure if he plays or not. The Rams will still have to deal with A.J. Brown, who has really became a big target for Titans QB Ryan Tannehill. Despite their loss at RB, Tennessee might actually make this a game. But until then…I’ll holla.