Medical Report

[Hache Man]

MedReport: Healing Hammys
Week 1 injury information can be some of the most revealing we receive all year. I’m not just talking about the official NFL Report that comes out the middle of the week. I’m referring the games themselves. Here is an example: The Patriots can do their CIA impersonation regarding injury information all they want. If RB Laurence Maroney doesn’t play at all or comes in for one series and we don’t see him again, it tells us his knee ailment isn’t minor and the Patriots were hiding the seriousness of the injury. By Sunday night, we’ll have a better idea where a lot of the training camp injuries are headed.

Key Injuries…

Ben Roethlisberger (QB, PIT)

Roethlisberger underwent an emergency appendectomy on September 3. The general consensus is he’s out for Week 1 and questionable for Week 2. We believe it will be at least two weeks before he’s back. The Steelers’ second game is a Monday night affair on September 18, just 15 days after the surgery. In that time, he’ll need to regain his strength back including the weight he likely lost and flexibility in the abdominal area near the surgical site. Even if he does return for the Monday night game, odds are he won’t be 100%. If you have or will be drafting Roethlisberger, make sure you have an adequate backup to fill in for him the first couple of weeks of the season. Once he regains his overall strength, we shouldn’t see any long-term impact on his performance this season.

Darrell Jackson (WR, SEA)

Don’t be fooled by the fact he’s begun practicing with the team on Monday. Jackson underwent what was termed ‘a minor cleanup’ procedure on his right knee in late March. Five plus months later, he’s just now getting back on the field. Something doesn’t jive here and most likely, it’s the term ‘minor.’ No doubt he has more damage to the knee than we are led to believe. Two knee surgeries on the same knee (in less than two years) for torn cartilage is enough evidence to believe he has and will continue to have problems with his right knee. Dare we say his knee is now a chronic problem for him? No wonder the Seahawks are hot after Deion Branch of the Patriots. Forget all the positive ‘micromanager reports’ on his knee in the coming days. Until he can get back on the field and show the knee is sound, he should be avoided on draft day. If you already own him, sit him on your bench until he produces on the field.

Jamal Lewis (RB, BAL)

On some draft lists, Lewis is a sleeper at the RB position. We’ll have a much better idea after Week 1 if he can fulfill that label. He missed the last couple of weeks of preseason games, resting and recovering from a strained left hip flexor. If he struggles in Week 1 and Musa Smith and Mike Anderson get most of the carries, it signals to us the two weeks of rest for ‘precautionary reasons’ didn’t helped heal his hip ailment.

Jerramy Stevens (TE, SEA)

Stevens suffered another injury to the meniscus in his left knee, the second in the past five months in mid August. He had surgery to repair the damage and was projected to miss 6-8 weeks. Stevens wasn’t close to 100% when he suffered the second injury to his left knee, making the road back even more difficult. While he’s projected to miss at least the month of September, it’s possible Stevens will miss most of October too. If he suffers any kind of setback, a trip to the Injured Reserve list is likely. He’s probably not worth holding on to in shallow leagues.

Steve Smith (WR, CAR)

After missing a good chunk of training camp with a strained left hamstring, Smith 'tweaked' his right one in practice on Tuesday. He's listed as questionable for the opener but both Smith and the Panthers downplay the new ailment as minor.

Smith's game is speed and these two ailments will impact his game and
reduce his production. Hamstring injuries tend to linger and having
problems with both could slow his recovery. While the hamstring problems don't look like they will keep him off the field, he isn't likely to dominate the game as he did so many times last season. If you haven't drafted yet, drop Smith to the bottom of the top tier of receivers as a precaution.

A Tale of Two Kickers

Adam Vinatieri (K, IND)

The Colts released their safety blanket (kicker Shane Andrus) so they must be confident that the sprained ligament and bone chip in his left leg isn’t an issue regarding Vinatieri’s ability to kick. According to foot surgeon Dr. Dave Porter, he has a “calcaneal cuboid ligament sprain. This is associated with his ligamentous injury is a small chip off of the cuboid.'' Simply put, Vinatieri has a sprained ligament toward the outside of the foot. It’s between the base of the next to the last toe and the anklebone. The small chip refers to an avulsion fracture, where the ligament pulled a small piece of the bone away from the cuboid bone. The concern for Vinatieri and the Colts is this. This is his left foot, the plant foot when he is kicking and it takes a lot of stress during the plant and kick motion. The concern is can the avulsion fracture and ligament sprain heal while he continues to kick? This isn’t a given, making Vinatieri a risky investment on draft day.

Vinatieri continues to wear a protect brace on his left ankle and will do so for the foreseeable future. The hope is it will provide enough support for his plant foot and not interfere with his ability to kick accurately. What Vinatieri must avoid is some sort of ripple effect, where he tries to protect his plant leg and he ends up pulling a hamstring or groin muscle. If you haven’t drafted yet, pass on him unless he is in a free fall and look for a kicker who’s 100% healthy.

Mike Vanderjagt (K, DAL)

If you caught the Cowboys last preseason game ‘highlights’, you saw Vanderjagt miss and push two straight field goal kicks to the right that cost Dallas the win. He’s struggled with a nagging groin injury that’s plagued him a good part of the preseason. Vanderjagt’s preseason struggles follow his post-season failure with the Colts last season. This must be having an affect on his confidence as a kicker. There are a lot better kicking choices than Vandy on draft day and in your Week 1 lineup.

Quick Shots…

Brian Westbrook (RB, PHI) is practicing this week as he recovers from a sprained left foot. The question isn’t if he’s going to play in Week 1, it’s how well he’ll play. Since his last regular season game (Week 13 2005), Westbrook has suffered sprains to both feet. You have to wonder if that will be in the back of his mind on September 10 against the Texans.

Clinton Portis (RB, WAS) did not practice on Tuesday, a precaution according to one Redskins source. His partially dislocated shoulder is healing as expected but it is not a given he’ll play this week. Portis owners may be looking at a game time decision regarding his status.

Terrell Owens’ (WR, DAL) left hamstring appears close to 100% according to media reports as he approached Week 1. Owens does not have a long history of hamstring issues and this works in his favor. He’ll get a much better idea as to the condition of his ‘injury’ in week one action.

The tight-lipped Patriots aren’t providing any useful information regarding Laurence Maroney’s (RB, NEP) sore left knee. The information we’re getting relates to the color of his practice jersey and the fact he’s wearing a brace on his knee. The Pats tend to lean on the side of caution so he’s a likely game time decision.

Out for the Season

Domanick Davis (RB, HOU) Inflammation and pain (left knee).

Greg Jones, (RB, JAC) Torn ACL and MCL (left knee).

Marshall Faulk (RB, STL) Major (right) knee reconstruction.

Brian Finneran (WR, ATL) Torn ACL and dislocated (right) kneecap.

Key PUP’s (Out the first six weeks of the season)

Priest Holmes (RB, KC) Spinal column bruise and spinal stenosis

Chris Perry (RB, CIN) Recovering from ankle (left) surgery

Curtis Martin (RB, NYJ) Off-season arthroscopic knee (right) surgery