Fantasy Nfl Injuries

Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson had his left knee scoped and cleaned up last Thursday, and the Texans say he should be back by the beginning of training camp. (great video above of AJ talking about his surgery and other topics, including coach Alex Gibbs). This news is a little unnerving to Texans fans (and should be something that fantasy players should watch) because:

1. When Andre Johnson was out last year, the offense still functioned, but not as efficiently, especially in the red zone.

2. The Texans have had a history of being overly optimistic in talking about players coming back from knee problems. Andre Johnson was initially described as week to week after suffering his knee injury in Week 2 last year, then it was said he would be out 3 to 5 weeks, and he didn't end up coming back until Week 11.

Running back Ahman Green was also described week to week with his knee bone bruise injury last year, until the Texans decided that he really needed to shut it down. In the 2006 training camp, Domanick Davis/Williams was described as the perfect zone blocking back until he ended up never playing a down that year and then later retiring due to a knee bone bruise.

In an unsurprising move, Ahman Green was placed on IR today after it became apparent that the knee injury he suffered in Week 1 couldn't take game day activity. Undrafted Notre Dame running back, Darius Walker will be put on the active roster for the game against the Bucs this Sunday. Ron Dayne is expected to be the starter, though his time may be limited due to a minor ankle injury he suffered last week.

Green suffered what was called a "knee bone bruise" in the game against Kansas City. He tried to come back from that injury, but had to leave games due to swelling and pain. As I discussed last September, a diagnosis of a bruised knee bone gave Texans fans no comfort because the description of the injury sounded very similar to the same thing that ended Texans running back Domanick (Davis) Williams' career.

You hear fans talk about a bruised knee bone like it is no big deal, as if it is bumping it into a coffee table. However, as I understand it, the knee bone is a place with not a lot of blood flow, and can be hard to heal. If you have more of a medical interest in in knee bone bruises, check out this link. If you would like a first hand account of how knee bone bruises might slow down a sports blogfather, check out what Jamie Mottram has to say about it, including an x-ray of knee badness.

Domanick, Ahman, and Jamie: such promising sporting lives interrupted by what is a wussy sounding diagnosis, but actually is hard for doctors to treat, estimate healing time and determine its effect on future use.

The Texans lead the league with players on IR with 16. By the end of the year last year, they led the league too.

This weekend against the Bucs, Texans starting quarterback Matt Schaub isn't expected to play due to a dislocated non-throwing arm, and will be replaced by backup Sage Rosenfels. There's a good video of Rosenfels talking about the start here. His backup is Shane Boyd, a midseason pickup who has never played a game with the Texans.

Rosenfels is a smart quarterback his teammates like and trust, and can sling the ball. He also tends to throw interceptions at inopportune times. Some fantasy players might be tempted to pick him up for the end of the season because the Texans have been able to pass the ball with Rosenfels, but the Texans are facing some tough pass defenses in the weeks ahead.

The answer is Don't to the following two scenarios:

- If you were thinking about finishing off the remainder of the turkey leftovers. (It gets rubbery on the third day.)
- If you were thinking about starting some of these guys for your fantasy squads.

Without further ado, here's the injury news:

PLAYING

Bengals WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Get him back in your lineups if you moved him to the bench when the original injury talk hit.

OUT

Bills RB Marshawn Lynch -- Anthony Thomas will get the start in his place, but going up a very tough Jacksonville front.

Giants RB Brandon Jacobs AND Derrick Ward -- It's Reuben Droughns who gets the start against a very tough Vikings defense. You probably only want to use Droughns if you have no other decent options or are in a deep league.

Vikings RB Adrian Peterson -- They're playing the smart move and sitting him down. That means Chester Taylor gets the start once again. He won't blow up like he did last week, but is a solid RB2 against the Giants.

Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander -- He's got about four things wrong with his achy body. That gives way for the better performer, Maurice Morris, to get another nice start against the Rams. Chances are he's gone in most leagues, but if you've got him, definitely play him as a RB2 or flex.

Titans DT Albert Haynesworth -- This is big news on the fantasy front, as it impacts the value of Bengals RB Kenny Watson. With Haynesworth out, the Titans rush defense becomes considerably softer. So if you're in a bind at RB2, Watson is worth a play. And efinitely as a flex.

Steelers WR Santonio Holmes -- Holmes will miss Monday night's favorable tilt with the Dolphins. Bump up the value of WR Hines Ward and RB Willie Parker (they could lean more to running the ball). Also, if you're in a deep league and need a solid flier, it wouldn't surprise me if WR Cedrick Wilson wound up with 100 yards.

Panthers QB Vinny Testaverde -- I would never advocate sitting a great receiver like Steve Smith against a bad secondary like the Saints, but if you were thinking about playing that longshot, high-upside WR3, it may be worth it because Smith's stats could be disappointing once again.

Texans RB Ahman Green -- He could miss the remainder of the season if his knee condition doesn't improve. Ron Dayne is starting in his place and makes for a very nice flex or desperation RB2 against the Cleveland defense. Good chance at a touchdown and/or 10 total fantasy points.

Jaguars CB Rashean Mathis -- If you had WR Lee Evans sitting because of the threat of him being covered by a shutdown corner like Mathis, now's the time to get him back in your lineups. Without Mathis there to blanket him, Evans could have a very fine day.

Chiefs RB Larry Johnson -- No surprise here. Kolby Smith gets the start against the Raiders. We don't know much about what Smith can do and he underperformed in the preseason, but come on -- it's the Raiders. There is still high upside here, and he's definitely worth a shot if you need a last-minute running back.

Titans quarterback Vince Young is sick of talking about his quadriceps injury, but fantasy players, betting folk, and others interested in the Texans-Titans game want to know more about it. So here's my talking out of my rear semi-educated guess on the subject matter:

Factors for Him Starting:
Past History. Titans coach Jeff Fisher tends to keep injury information very wishy-washy, and often former-Titan QB Steve McNair would not practice, or minimally practice, and still play the game. It is likely we find out the starter on game day. Young has been receiving treatment for his injury, and reports today said he threw the ball.

Vince Young and Houston. Though Young doesn't want to talk about the game against Houston as being special, you know he wants to stick it to the Texans every time he is in his hometown.

Factors For Him Sitting.
Nature of His Injury. Often, you can't get straight information from teams about injuries, so you have to look em up for yourself. From the appearance and description of his injury, and in my role playing fake doctor, it sounds like he had a second degree quadriceps strain. From what I've read about these, Young will be able to do normal activities, but may exacerbate his problem if he runs in a full sprint.

As Mario Williams knows, it is hard to own a Lamborghini and not drive it fast. Similarly, it would be difficult to put Vince Young in a AFC South battle in his home town, and expect for him to play it like a pocket passer.

When Texans #1 receiver Andre Johnson strained his knee in Week 2 against the Panthers, estimates on his return were as long as five weeks. The Houston Chronicle is reporting today that it is likely that Johnson won't be back until the November 18th home game against New Orleans.

Uh-oh.

The Texans have a history of providing overly positive assessments to fans of when players will come back. See e.g. Tony Boselli, Domanick Davis/Williams, Charles Spencer. Hopefully, Johnson's situation is not in that league of unhappy results. For an additional information about Johnson's injury, please check out my September discussion.

The Texans have been able to throw the ball in Johnson's absence even without a functioning running game, but his presence is particularly missed in the red zone. If they can't figure out how to improve red zone scoring in Johnson's absence, field goal kicker Kris Brown is going to have a lot more opportunities like he did against the Dolphins.

Although wide receiver Plaxico Burress missed every practice for the second straight week, it does appear that will start this afternoon when the Giants battle the Jets. And despite being at less than 100%, the 6-5 wideout matches up well against a much smaller Jets secondary. Expect him to put up some big time fantasy football numbers today.

In addition to Burress, the Giants will also see the return of running back Brandon Jacobs, who has not played since week one. And while Derrick Ward has been impressive in his absence, Jacobs is expected to receive the bulk of the Giants workload this afternoon.

Finally, the news on Osi Umenyiora does not seem nearly as positive. The defensive end who collected six sacks last week against Philadelphia missed two practices this week, and appears to be a game-time decision.

Rams quarterback Marc Bulger had a lousy game in Sunday's 24-3 loss to the Buccaneers, but he has a pretty good excuse: Rams coach Scott Linehan disclosed Monday that Bulger has two broken ribs and a badly bruised knee.

"He was limited going into the game," Linehan said. "He has a couple of broken ribs, but he played with it. We're not going to say that's the reason he didn't have his best game of his career or anything like that. He will be much better this week; he got out of this game pretty healthy."

The Rams need Bulger to be better this week, especially without Steven Jackson. But overall, is there any way Bulger can get through this season healthy? He's already lost his best pass blocker, left tackle Orlando Pace. Although Alex Barron has performed well in Pace's absence, the decision to move Barron from left tackle to right had a ripple effect on the rest of the Rams' line.

For the Rams, it's hard not to think that this is a lost season. Sept. 25 is too early to start looking ahead toward next year, but does anyone really think they can be contenders this year?

You know, females get the reputation for being the biggest gossips, but it seems to me that the success of ProFootballTalk.com illustrates that guys like gossip too. Texans receiver Andre Johnson's knee is the focus of today's PFT gossip, as he reports that the "current scuttlebutt is he'll miss five weeks." He acknowledges that this gossip could be dog turd, but that's just what the gossip is. I appreciating knowing that.

Texans long snapper and Deadspin/Fark internet sensation, Bryan Pittman in today's Houston Press provides his own AJ scuttlebutt as someone who is actually in the locker room:

"Well, I haven't talked to him personally, but from what I gather, it shouldn't be a lengthy injury. Three weeks at the most, I think. But you never know. Everyone reacts differently when it comes to healing time."

(His interview is a good read for Texan fans, unless they are also Cowboy fans as he is not terribly impressed with the 2007 Cowboys team. He's a straightfoward talker, and you find the archives of the Pittman interviews here.)

Colts cornerback, Marlin Jackson isn't buying any of this injury talk:

"They say he's not playing but we'll see on Sunday."

The Texans are going to re-examine Johnson's knee on Friday and he has already said he doesn't anticipate playing against the Colts. Given the medical stuff linked to previously, I really do think that nobody knows how long Johnson will be out. Texans fans are accustomed to taking injury reports with a big dose of skepticism. That's what happens to people who bought a Tony Boselli jersey as their first one.

Previously at FanHouse:
Texan Andre Johnson 'Doubtful' Against Colts.

Texans receiver Andre Johnson left the Carolina game in the 4th quarter after a big hit, and limped to the sidelines. The initial diagnosis was that he had a posterior cruciate ligament strain, and today after his MRI, it was announced that he is doubtful to play this weekend's game against the Colts. According to Gary Kubiak in today's press conference:


He says that the knee sprain is both the good and the bad news:


Given that Johnson is one of the league leading receivers and all the rest of the Texans receivers are young and/or unproven, everyone is interested in how the Texans to deal with this other than saying "oh @#$%." (feel free to insert favorite profanity for nonsense symbols). Kubiak's response: