MLB Donnie Edwards - Torn quadricep - 6 weeks- Distressing - Six weeks is now half of the rest of the season.
The Jets have a decent backup in Ronald McKinnon(though no match for Edwards talent), but he's their only reliable backup. Now anytime a linebacker leaves the game for any reason at all, the Jets opponents will find a nice hole in the Jets defense. On another team in another position, I don't think I'd rate this injury very high, but I feel that the Jets still haven't completely thrown in the towel yet at 2-2. This injury could push them right over that edge of deciding to do so.
The Patriots and Dolphins remain healthy and charging forward while the Jets are heading into a very hard part of their schedule. Donnie Edwards' loss and a few more losses may be all that remains of hope for the Jets path to a playoff spot.
I'm going with Distressing on this one because I can't quite read GM Mullendore's mind, and for all I know he has already thrown in the towel, making this injury mean nothing at all. Because of that, I'll aim for the middle with my rating.
If I were him, I'd stay in the race. You never quite know when both of your division rivals will lose their QBs and leave the race wide open for you. Also, the Jets get to face the 49ers next week without Jeff Garcia. Could be a break that the Jets desperately need.
QB Jeff Garcia - Strained shoulder - 2 weeks- Uncomfortable -Insider information(simulating the franchise) tells me that Jeff Garcia will miss only two weeks with this injury, and be set to return in week 8. Lucky coincidence has the 49ers with a week 7 bye week, meaning Garcia will only miss this weeks game against the Jets. The bad news is that i'm comfortable calling this week a loss for the 49ers. GM Fenger has not been able to attain a reliable backup and must rely on the bottom of the barrel of QBs to play in Garcia's absence. I don't think any amount of talent elsewhere will stop the Jets from rolling over them.
Their only chance is the fact that the Jets are in a position to maybe coast for the rest of the season in hopes of a better draft pick. The 49ers are probably hoping that a little bit of tanking happens in New Jersey tomorrow.
In a tight race against the Rams and the Cardinals, one game can make all of the difference, but because of the 49ers current lead in the division, I'm going to go with just an uncomfortable rating on this one.
HB Thomas Jones - ACL sprain - 1 weeks- Trivial - The Texans are probably the biggest, 'WTF is happening' moment of the season so far. After five weeks, the Texans already have more wins than in either of their prior seasons and they lead their division over the Colts. The good news for them and this injury is that HB Thomas Jones is only a small part of that success. with 97 carries and 3.39 Yards Per Carry, Jones isn't putting up impressive numbers. He mostly seems to be their simply to pick up 3-4 yards when called for. A job I'm sure backup HB Aaron Stecker will have no trouble filling for one week against the 1-4 Titans.
So far this is the only injury that I'm comfortable with my rating on, and that is trivial.
CB Chris Gamble - Strained shoulder - 1 week- Trivial - After five weeks, the Vikings almost find themselves out of the playoff race already at 2-2. The Packers are charging forward with a 5-0 record, and the Bears have only lost one game in four. To be fair to the Vikings, their two losses have been to arguably top ten teams.
As for Gamble, he's a rookie with a lot of potential, but is not yet the starter that he'll become. I don't think the Vikings will have any problems replacing him for one week and because of that, this is my second Trivial rating in a row.
SS Derrick Gibson - Abdominal tear - Doubtful- Trivial - Well, this is getting a little boring. Gibson doesn't even have the common decency to give me a full week injury? Doesn't matter anyway, Gibson is the Raiders best Strong Safety, but only by a small margin. SS Omar Stoutmire filling in is not going to change much for the 2-3 Raiders against the weakened Broncos this week.
Let's finish this article with a third and final Trivial.
