by Will Carroll

Dwight Freeney

One of the phrases that bugs me as much as "tweak" is "felt it pop." It's scary, but seldom telling. Sure, Dwight Freeney felt something in his quad pop, but then minutes later he was walking to the locker room without a discernible limp. Neither of those events, together or separate, tells us much, yet people want to read them like tea leaves. How about waiting for the ATC to get their hands on the player, or an MRI to get a good look... or even waiting to see if the quad swells significantly? No, in this instant information economy, facts often get overlooked. I'm partially to blame here -- Twitter's 140 character limit forced me to change "strained" to "torn" to save space, hoping that "a strain is a tear" would be understood. Freeney's Grade II strain is enough to keep him out through the Colts' bye week, giving him a month to heal. It does mean he'll miss Seattle and a key matchup against Tennessee. It's also important to note that the defense played effectively without Freeney when he was out with his knee injury. Freeney is being very optimistic to the press, but there is no evidence to support all the talk of him being a "fast healer." I'm not saying it's untrue; I'm saying we don't know one way or the other.

Chad Pennington

The Comeback Player award is a bit of an odd duck, almost always given to a player who is coming back from an injury and returns to level with a heartwarming story and a team on the rise. Winning it twice is both kind of cool and kind of bad, so will Chad Pennington go for three? His shoulder -- already damaged after labrum and rotator cuff surgeries -- isn't as stable and, while the mechanism that brought about his injury is still being debated, the result is a torn shoulder capsule. He'll need surgery and is on IR, but he could return next year if he chooses. Some have indicated that Pennington would be a good coach and has some natural inclination toward coaching but Brett Favre isn't alone in trying to avoid retirement. This all comes down to whether Pennington wants to go through a surgery and long rehab process again. He could come back. Again.

Marc Bulger

Yeah, I picked the Rams to go to the Super Bowl, but I did it more as a "Hail Mary." I honestly don't like any of the teams in the NFC enough to say "that's it," so I went with the FO sleeper fave where things could go right. I believed in the new defensive focus and that Steven Jackson could stay healthy. Of course, I was wrong. The Rams aren't very good. What's odd is that when Marc Bulger went down with a shoulder injury, the team didn't get worse. Kyle Boller looked like the guy that only Brian Billick saw all those years ago, at least for a half. Bulger landed hard on his shoulder, but ended up with a deep bruise in his rotator cuff rather than a tear. (As a slight aside, I think it's really a bruise near the rotator cuff. The cuff itself is hard to land on.) Bulger's range of motion is the issue, but with how well Boller played, there's no rush to push Bulger back if he's not close to 100 percent. This will go to a GTD, but look for how much Boller is working with the first team on Friday.

Frank Gore

The Niners had two big losses last weekend -- their first loss on the season, courtesy of the Vikings on a heartbreaking touchdown, and the loss of Frank Gore for much of October. He'll be back after their bye week. Gore has two ankle injuries and John Crumpacker of the Chronicle does a great job explaining the situation. The ankle strain -- yes, strain -- is the big one here, with a mid-grade strain of the peroneal tendon being the one that will keep him out. The foot sprain is secondary to the laxity of the tendons and will heal prior to the strain. Gore has a history of ankle injuries post-knee surgeries, which leads one orthopedician I consult with wondering if the geometry of his legs has changed. Gore's productive when healthy and should recover from this, and his reputation for being prone to injury is actually a bit weaker than you'd imagine. Despite all his issues, he's played in 14 or more games each of the last four years.

Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith was a roller coaster this week. He played well in the Lions' first win, but injured his shoulder in the process. It looked bad at the time, but early word was that there was no significant damage. In fact, playing in Week 4 was possible. By practice on Wednesday, however, Jim Schwartz poured a little cold water on things, saying that Smith was going to be a game-time decision after not practicing. In essence, Smith has the shoulder equivalent of stubbing his toe. It's painful and maybe a bit more at risk, but if the pain's not there and he can take the inevitable hits, he could play. The worry for a shoulder injury is that a running back gets more upright -- trying to avoid direct hits to the shoulder -- and leaves himself more open to hits on the rest of him, especially the legs. Things look positive for Smith, but we'll have to watch this one right up to game time.

Felix Jones

Marion Barber

There's some confusion about what exactly is wrong with Felix Jones. The initial reports, mostly from the Associated Press, describe it as a "strained knee." Strain and sprain are easy to mix up or just typo -- I know I've done it more than once -- but "strain" and "knee" aren't seldom heard together. A patellar tendon issue could be described as a strain, as could some other, less frequent injuries. (Hello, Celtics fans!) The other issue is that an anatomical description and a "layman's description" can be two different things. If I point to a wrist, is that a carpal problem, a proximal metacarpal, or a distal ulna problem? It could be any of these, but they could all be reasonably and accurately described as a "broken wrist." It turns out the description was just wrong. Jones has a sprained PCL, the same injury that Andre Johnson had last season and the same one that's keeping Anthony Gonzalez on the bench. Jones' sprain seems on the low end, with some talk that he'd be available this week. I think that's optimistic, especially given his healing patterns and recurrent early-season problems. Marion Barber was angry that he was held out of last week's game, although we saw this one coming a mile away. Barber's anger might help him get in next week and if he's available, all those waiver claims on Tashard Choice will be an issue. Choice is the clear third running back and less of a change-up back than Jones.

DeSean Jackson

He did the splits. That move, taunting people who had benched DeSean Jackson because he was iffy heading into the game with a groin strain, told us more about the injury than the Eagles ever did. Jackson's adductor strain was very high, so it wouldn't affect flexibility, but it would affect a wide receiver's more explosive movements, like starting and jumping. The Eagles knew this and used Jackson in routes designed to keep him on the move downfield since he couldn't get the first step separation due to the injury. If we'd know this before the game, that information could have come in handy. This time, we'll know. Jackson is again going to be limited, although not as much given an extra week of healing. We could see some shorter routes mixed in, which is very good for both the Eagles offense and for a returning Donovan McNabb.

Dwayne Bowe

I'm going to have to dig into the database this week. It seems like rebuilding teams, as the Chiefs clearly are, have more of a reluctance to push players back on to the field. After Dwayne Bowe injured his hamstring during practice it was thought to be a gametime decision, but Todd Haley had made up his mind long before Sunday. He knows that Bowe's long term health is more important than any given week, especially in a year where he's got more leeway to lose. Bowe's hamstring is still a major issue, according to sources, and while he's not ruled out, it sounds as if the Chiefs are inclined to hold him out until he's much closer to 100 percent. Bowe's going to have to prove himself healthy, and apparently prove himself to Haley as well.

Tim Tebow

Dr. William Carroll (yes, relation) is writing about college injuries this season at Fantasy College Blitz and they've allowed me to copy in what he said here:

"The leader in the Heisman race had a tough week that started out with the flu and ended up with a concussion suffered in the second half of the game against Kentucky. Fortunately, the flu symptoms have now dissipated and the concussion symptoms will have an extra week to disappear because the Gators have an off week in their schedule this week. Remember that a concussion is an injury to the brain and he has been closely monitored and has passed an EEG test before leaving the hospital on Monday. Look for a healthy Tim Tebow to be on the field leading the Gators against LSU on October 10."

"Florida’s medical staff has taken excellent care of Tebow and the extra time will assure that all symptoms from the concussion will be gone, so expect no memory lapses or forgotten pass patterns from Superman."

I have much stronger thoughts on the message that Tebow is sending to the kids he wants to be a role model for, but the knowledge of Florida's staff can't be discounted. Let's all hope that Tebow's okay and that concussions continue to get the serious attention they deserve.

Bumps and Bruises:

LaDainian Tomlinson was back at practice, but with the bye in Week 5, the Chargers aren't saying he'll play this week ... There's word from Pittsburgh that Willie Parker has turf toe. No word on the severity, but you'd better have Rashard Mendenhall paired with Parker right now ... Without Freeney on his blind side, it's more likely that Matt Hasselbeck could play this week. That said, it still looks very doubtful ... Mike Bell is likely out again this week, with Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush taking their normal roles ... Jerious Norwood was cleared to return to practice after missing time with a concussion. The Falcons are off this week, so there's some extra recovery time built in ... Wes Welker was back at practice on Wednesday, but his knee is said to still be an issue ... Laurent Robinson is done for the year after breaking his fibula very low on his leg ... Antonio Bryant wasn't at practice Wednesday, but that doesn't really tell us much. He's a definite GTD ... Domenik Hixon was back at practice and is expected to play this weekend ... Bo Scaife is expected back for the Titans this week.

This week, I was asked why I'm only doing one column each week this season, rather than two. Previously, I'd do a Tuesday column here and then a Thursday or Friday column at SI.com, followed by the Sunday morning updates. It was always a false division, created by demand rather than any informational need. The information we have on Tuesday is usually reactionary and incomplete. While some leagues have quick waiver deadlines (or none), I'd rather focus on the facts and making sure that I can talk to the right people. I won't always be right, but I will always have followed the process that makes it most likely for me to be right.

Posted by: Will Carroll on 01 Oct 2009

21 comments, Last at 02 Oct 2009, 4:21pm by PatsFan