CB Andre Dyson - Dislocated elbow - 5 weeks- Mild -Teams got off a bit lightly this week, for the longest injury was for just five weeks. Andre Dyson and the 49ers are the winners of that lottery this week.
Andre Dyson is a young cornerback traded onto the 49ers from the Titans this preseason for a first round draft pick. It's debatable if he was worth that at only 5'10, but one thing is for sure, and that is that he could definitely use some progression points. Missing five weeks of progression must be a pain. Although he's starting, I don't see his loss to have a huge impact on this defense. CB Jason Webster can fill in at #2 just fine, and in most cases will perform better. I don't disagree with starting Dyson for progression, but I don't currently see him as a major factor of success for this team. There are a few backs similar to Dyson left on the roster that could fill in at slot just fine.
I'm going with Mild on this one, because although I think it's a small injury in the long run, I think going with Trivial would be a disservice to Andre Dyson's long term potential at CB.
WR Billy McMullen - Sprained elbow - 3 weeks- Mild - Already down to 3 weeks? I feel like we're going to have a lot of Milds and Trivials this week. Well... let's see what we got here...
The Dolphins? Hey! I'm playing the Dolphins this week! Let's hope Billy McMullen is an integral part of this teams success and they'll be doomed without him.
Well... Billy McMullen was drafted a season ago in the 4th round and put up a thousand yards last season. He's had a couple of decent games this season, but hasn't put up a one hundred yard game just yet(and no touchdowns). Billy McMullen is a 6'3" receiver with above average speed and I could see him being a nuisance for any team, but I guess something just isn't clicking so far this season.
The Dolphins are a strange team. Consistently underestimated and with a strange way of being constantly on the cusp of losing most games that they play. Will the loss of Billy McMullen be just enough to lose them those close games? Only time will tell, but the Dolphins have two divisional games coming up along with what could be a tough game against the Rams. Now was not the time for them to lose a receiver.
I can't justify more than an uncomfortable for a three week injury on a receiver, but I don't think he even meets that criteria. So far, McMullen has only been a small factor in the Dolphins 4-0 success, so they aren't relying on him to win games. If he was performing well, I could see otherwise, but with his current performance, I don't see his loss being much of a factor at this time.
WR T.J. Houshmanzadeh - Abdominal strain - 3 weeks- Trivial -The Bengals have already signed a receiver to help with the loss of Houshmanzadeh(Let's just call him T.J. from now on). I will factor this signing into the rating as if he was always with the Bengals.
T.J. is their leading receiver by almost twice as many yards as the next, but I wonder how much of that is about talent and how much is just that Kitna 'has' to pass to someone. I don't consider T.J. to be a great receiver regardless of his large share of the receptions for the Bengals. His stats agree with me, for he has yet to see a one hundred yard game this season. He didn't even start last season, so I'm kind of assuming here that the Bengals are having a lot of difficulties at the receiver position.
The Bengals sit at the top of the AFC North with the Ravens, but I don't consider T.J. to be a factor in that success at all. I think I'm going to go Trivial with this one, because I think most receivers can be slotted into T.J's place and receive similar numbers. Maybe I'm underestimating the guy, but I just don't like him all that much.
QB Peyton Manning - Strained shoulder - 2 weeks- Mild - And here we go, the biggest injury on this list...right?
Two weeks isn't a lot, but losing the basic reason you win games for two weeks 'could' be a whole lot. The Colts already lost one game due to a Peyton Manning injury in week 3, and I almost already consider next week a loss too. Thankfully, the Colts have a bye week for week 6, so he may only miss one game.
I don't know if Manning will return for week 7, but even if he doesn't, it's against the Jaguars, who are 0-4 and have been under-performing all season. The Colts picked up QB Rob Johnson from FA this week, and I think he can make a respectable backup for a week. The Colts have a lot of weapons, so I don't think I can even rule them out against the Raiders.
Even if this this injury straight up costs the Colts a game, I don't think it's a catastrophe. I think the Texans are overachieving, and until the AFC South proves otherwise, I'm going to have to assume that it isn't going to take even 11 wins to win this division. So even though it's Peyton Manning, and even though it might straight up cost the Colts a game, I'm going with Mild on this one.
CB Duane Starks - ACL sprain - 2 weeks- Mild - The Jets second injury is another short one(can you sense my disappointment?)
However, this one is going to impact the Jets next two weeks a lot more than Santana Moss was ever going to. The Jets have two really strong starting Cornerbacks, and I'd argue that their depth is probably better than most of the league. Most of the league would be absolutely crippled by an injury to a 92 overall Cornerback, but the Jets aren't one of them.
Not crippled... but it may still hurt. At 1-2, the Jets have said that they are already on the cusp of giving up on winning and instead they may just start looking towards the future. Next week they face the Bills, which I favor the Jets in, but in week 6 they go against the 49ers. Will the Jets continue to hold on and fight if they go 1-1 in the next two weeks and end up at 2-3?
The Jets are relying on their defense to keep their offense in games, and I do consider that this injury impacts their defense enough to give them a noticeable weakness that they hadn't had before.
However, with or without Duane Starks, I think my predictions for their next two weeks remains about the same. Realistically this injury could cost them a close win against Buffalo and a surprise upset over the 49ers. Still, on my scale and with only a two week injury, I just can't go above Mild on this one. There are still many weeks in the season left to go.
- AMENDMENT- 
QB Drew BledsoeI got some blow-back for my rating of Bledsoe last week, and usually I'd stick with my rating, but Broncos GM Tom Riddell made it clear that a large assumption I was making in diagnosing his QB simply wasn't true. This assumption was that QB Sorgi was bound to see some playing time even if Bledsoe remained healthy and the Broncos remained competitive.
I still think that GM Riddell might end up calling this season a wash too early. The Raiders have now lost two in a row(proving they weren't the juggernaut some were expecting), and the Chargers have had a relatively easy schedule. Still, this division will be tough for any one of these teams and three weeks is a long time to lose.
My ego resists increasing this rating by more than one tier. With how conservative I've been in this article with players like Manning, I warn you all not be surprised if I decide to take this back at the end of the season if the Broncos remain at the top.
My ego would demand it.
QB Drew Bledsoe - Sprained elbow - 3 weeks- Distressing -
- Uncomfortable -
