NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

NFL Preseason Injuries – The Playoff Repercussions

By Dan Salem

facebooktwitterreddit

The NFL Preseason is all about injuries, and multiple teams fell on hard times this season. These are your NFL Preseason Injuries, and all the playoff repercussions. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Check out more of the brothers in Seesaw Sports Debate on BuzzChomp. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.

TODD:

With the regular season around the bend, it often pays to check back on the goings-on during the preseason slate to gather any takeaways for the season. It is often tricky to decipher what preseason information is actually important and what is just white noise.

Team records we know are worthless pieces of info. Undefeated teams have terrible regular seasons and winless teams can be very good during the regular year. Just look at the Indianapolis Colts (0-4) or the New York Giants (5-0) from last season for examples of each.

We also know individual player stats are often foolish to count on. Every season, certain players perform poorly and it means nothing, or players come out of nowhere to excel only to regress back to nowhere when the games actually count.

ALSO ON SPINZONE: Ranking the 30 Greatest QBs of All-time

Perhaps Ameer Abdullah will actually be the Detroit Lions’ leading rusher during the regular season for example and steal all the important carries from Joique Bell. Or, more likely, this is the preseason and once Bell returns healthy the depth chart will fall back into place.

The real storyline that matters out of the preseason is injuries. There are debilitating injuries suffered by multiple teams each and every preseason. It’s the nature of the game. This year has been no different.

Perhaps the biggest names to go down for the season were Green Bay wide receiver Jordy Nelson and Carolina wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin. Each was his team’s best weapon. Obviously the Packers have more left without Nelson than the Panthers do without Benjamin, but both are still blows.

Do you see either injury affecting the playoff race?

To me, Carolina is now out of the playoff picture. It has nothing in the way of receiving weapons outside of tight end Greg Olsen. The NFC South meanwhile will have a number of potent offenses in Atlanta and New Orleans. I don’t see Carolina keeping pace anymore.

Aug 14, 2015; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Carolina Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (13) scores a touchdown as Buffalo Bills cornerback Ronald Darby (28) covers him during the first half at a preseason NFL football game at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

With the Packers, they are still the favorites in the NFC North, although perhaps this lessens the certainty surrounding a berth in the conference championship game for them.

More from NFL

Also in the NFC, the New York Giants have been hit hard once again by injuries. Each year the Giants lead the league in injuries, and the start of 2015 looks no different. The team has lost what seems like half a dozen defensive backs from what was already a weak unit. The team was too shallow to be able to battle through much of anything in the way of losses. It was already a long shot for NY to make the playoffs. The injuries, especially if Jason Pierre-Paul isn’t healthy, should secure that sentiment.

From the AFC, of the major contenders the Steelers seem to have suffered the most from preseason developments. Center Maurkice Pouncey has a broken fibula and could miss the majority of the season. Wide receiver Martavis Bryant will also be out an extended period after violating the league’s substance abuse policy. And you can throw kicker Shaun Suisham on the list of losses too if you so please.

Those deficiencies will set Pittsburgh back. I originally liked them to win the division and battle for a trip to the Super Bowl. This makes it harder to even capture that AFC North title. A playoff berth at all is now a question with the competitiveness in the division.

Speaking of playoff berths on the line, Houston may also be out of luck in that regard with the injury to Arian Foster sidelining him for what appears to be a substantial period. It was already going to be tough enough to top the Colts with a fully healthy roster.

DAN:

I love the preseason, but not for it’s on field action. I love to read between the lines when it comes to teams and who’s winning starting jobs. All of your assertions are correct, but none of them are a guarantee. Injuries are certainly the biggest story, but first let me touch on a few position battles.

Quarterbacks rule the preseason, and none more so than in Washington and New York this year. The Redskins benched RG III and tabbed Kirk Cousins their starter. I thought this team was going to fall on hard times already, but now they’ve entered full on rebuild mode. Read between the lines. Cousins is no long-term answer.

Aug 20, 2015; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback

Robert Griffin

III (10) fumbles the ball as Detroit Lions defensive end

Corey Wootton

(99) looks on during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

With the Jets the opposite is true. Call it fortune, or dumb luck, but New York now has veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick leading its team. The Jets are going all in for 2015, but needed a steady hand at quarterback to steer their ship. It appears they may have been gifted just that very thing, via injury no less.

More from NFL

The other injuries mix up the fantasy football picture more than the actual football picture, but we’ll touch on that tomorrow. You asked about Carolina, Green Bay, Pittsburgh, and Houston’s chances of success this season after major injuries. I see major change from only one of those teams.

The Panthers are certainly hurting, but I felt they would lose out to Atlanta for the division in the first place. No team was good in the NFC South last year, but Carolina and Atlanta appeared ready for a rebound. Now only Atlanta fully rebounds. The Panthers will not be as good without their star wide receiver, but it doesn’t change the playoff picture.

The same is true for Green Bay and Houston. The Packers are still going to dominate, and Aaron Rodgers will elevate his teammates to new levels, filling Nelson’s void in the process. For the Texans, they are a playoff long shot, and can withstand the loss of Foster for a few weeks. He will return to either vault them to that next level, or keep them playing average football.

Unfortunately for the Steelers, losing an offensive lineman has ripple effects throughout the offense. Add in the loss of their number two receiver for multiple games, and what was once Pittsburgh’s strength is now looking shaky. The injury and suspension might cost them a game or two, more than enough to change the playoff picture.

Dan Salem is a Staff Writer for NFL Spinzone. He’s also Lead Editor, Staff Writer, and Featured Vlogger at BuzzChomp, and a New York Jets Analyst for Pro Football Spot. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or Instagram.

Todd Salem is a Staff Writer for NFL Spinzone. He’s also a Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp, a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report, and an Analyst for Tipster Labs, among others. Follow him on Twitter.

Next: 2016 Super Bowl Predictions - Packers or Colts?

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/NFL