CB Tory James - Broken collarbone - Out for season- Excruciating -Although there was initial confusion as to which team lost their starting Cornerback for the rest of the season, it is now clear that it is the Raiders and not the Ravens that will be suffering the longest injury this week.
Just as the Raiders are about to get their safety back, an injury much more important makes this list. Tory James is a 6'2" monster at Cornerback and is a major factor in their success. Every game that the Raiders have won this season have been because they held their opponents to 13 or under. It's clear that they can't put up high numbers on offense, and rely on low scoring games to win games. This might start to become a problem with a key component of that defense now missing.
Their depth at corner is terrible. Their Nickel is Phillip Buchanon, a speed demon at Corner. However, he's underdeveloped and not ready to start against the elite receivers in the league. Their new nickel will be Vontez Duff who is the definition of a liability on defense.
I always considered the Raiders to be a decent team in a tough division that will struggle to make the playoffs but I think this injury takes the Raiders 'out' of playoff contention. At 3-3, they have an uphill battle in front of them, and without Tory James, I consider that hill to have become a bit too steep to climb.
This rates an Excruciating because where before I saw a chance at the playoffs, I now do not. Only time will tell if they can surprise me in the end.
TE Matt Murphy - Torn shoulder - 10 weeks- Trivial - This isn't a season ending injury for TE Matt Murphy, but he'll be lucky to see any more playing time this season. Thankfully, he is not an integral part of the team. Matt Murphy has 6 receptions in five games and two pancakes and I do not have much more to say about him. He's on the last year of his contract and might not see another game in a Lions uniform. I wouldn't be surprised if Matt Murphy gets put on IR and the Lions just sign a one year TE out of FA.
Trivial, at best.
HB Marshall Faulk - Torn pectoral - 9 weeks- Excruciating -It's hard to beat the Rams when Warner and Faulk are performing at their best but for the next nine weeks, opponents will only have to worry about one of them. Faulk could see a closing game or two to end the season but more importantly than that, is that he will most likely be available for the playoffs. The Rams have yet to miss the playoffs in the SFL, and it's usually a safe bet to include them as a likely Superbowl contender(seeing as they've been in both).
The Rams may have trouble winning their division with their starting divisional record, but it's not impossible. They have a very tough schedule coming up however, I do think there is a chance that they miss the playoffs entirely this season. Faulk going down makes that probability go up. I wouldn't call this injury a playoff killer, but the Rams have already been struggling in games that they would have dominated just a season ago. Worst of all is that the Rams do not have a good number two back. HB Lamar Gordon will most likely get the start, and if he can't keep the defenses honest, then I think this injury is going to really really hurt.
I went back and forth on this one. Intense or Excruciating, Intense or Excruciating. I settled on Excruciating because the Rams have been struggling to win games as of late, and I do honestly think the loss of Faulk may take them out of the playoffs.
QB Byron Leftwich - Abdominal tear - 6 weeks- Excruciating - Now, why would I rate Excruciating on a 6 week injury to a QB on a team that is already 0-5 without a chance of making the playoffs? Probably because this injury is directly linked to the Lions GM Brad Barber having a psychological break and deciding to trade away as many players as he can. Looks like there is going to be a fire sale and a rebuild in Detroit. Though I had thought that's what they had already been doing?
Byrron's injury against the Packers seems to have caused their GM to lose all sense, and well, if that's not deserving of an Excruciating, then I don't know what is.
WR MarTay Jenkins - Torn pectoral - 4 weeks- Uncomfortable - The Packers first injury this seasom, Ahman Green hasn't kept the Packers from winning games but can the same be said for their injury this week, WR MarTay Jenkins?
Although Jenkins is listed as their #1 receiver, Javon Walker gets most of the attention. To be honest, I went into writing this section thinking that the Packers had a large selection of talented receivers, but they do not. Their tight end is second in yards on their team.
I believe an easy schedule is going to allow the Packers to overachieve a bit to finish the season and I think if this injury was longer, it could really damage their finish to the season as well as their chances in the playoffs. They do have a couple of tough match ups in the next four weeks, and I think this injury is going to hurt much more than I had initially suspected. They have a two game lead on the Bears however, so that'll help them a lot for this injury.
This feels a bit like the Dolphins Billy McMullen injury a couple of weeks back, though I think the Dolphins had a bit better WR depth and Jenkins is going to be out one week longer. I rated that one as Mild, so I'm going to go a tier up and give this one an Uncomfortable.
WR Josh Reed - Strained shoulder - 3 weeksAt 1-4 in the AFC East, I consider the Bills to now be out of playoff contention, so this turns more into if Josh Reed losing three weeks is going to cost the Bills enough progression to matter in the long run and the answer to that is no.
One can argue that the Bills still have a chance to make the playoffs, and to be fair, they do. However, the chance is low enough that I won't be letting it impact this rating.
As for the injury itself? Well... Josh Reed is a 5'10 88 SPD receiver who probably should not be their #2 guy. I think they already have better options sitting on their roster. In fact, I think this injury might help the Bills discover the talent they have elsewhere.
I think I might need to create a new designation for this kind of injury but... nah. My header looks cool as is and a new designation will ruin everything. I'll just give this no label at all because I think this injury could prove useful to the Bills.
FS Jerome Woods - Sprained elbow - 2 weeks- Uncomfortable - I believe that this is the first injury for the Chiefs this season, so they can't use that as their excuse for their 1-4 start. If the Tim Miller didn't have a history of bad starts and excellent finishes, I'd consider them out of the playoff race for good. Miller has surprised me before however, so I'll rate this as if they need to basically win every one of their remaining games.
I consider FS to be a position with less of an impact in Madden, but it's also one that can save you from giving up a 75 yard touchdown, so the importance is there. Jerome Woods is a great safety that has done next to nothing this season if just looking at his numbers alone. I imagine he's saved their defense at least a few times from giving up big plays however.
Their backup FS Jon McGraw isn't terrible, but he's not good either, and as long as the Chiefs play some weaker opponents these next two weeks, he should be fine. Let's see..
The Falcons and the Colts. Well... RIP Chiefs playoff hopes. Personally, this injury alone is the breaking point for me on whether or not I think the Chiefs can recover from this start to somehow win a trip to the playoffs. Though realistically I know that the Chiefs already had a rather poor shot of winning enough games, especially while looking at their upcoming schedule.
I'm going to give this a rating of Uncomfortable because if they do lose these next couple of games close, we'll never truly know if Jerome Woods would have been enough to give them the wins and keep them in the race. Truthfully it probably only deserves a Trivial if you think the Chiefs are already dead in the water.
TE Alge Crumpler - Bruised shoulder - 1 week- Mild - I'm not that high on the Chargers yet, but I probably should get on board soon. The problem is that they've yet to win against a team that I consider playoff bound. They have another chance this week against the Panthers to prove me wrong, but without their #2 receiver and #4 blocker, it might prove tough. A loss here will still most likely keep them at the front of their division(especially if what I believe about the Raiders proves to be true) I still argue that if the Broncos stay in this fight, then they have a pretty good chance at taking over near the end of the season. A loss here for the Chargers only makes that more likely. However, I think this game was going to be a loss for the Chargers either way.
I do think they would have a better chance against the Panthers with a healthy Crumpler, but I don't consider this anything but a Mild injury with little to no effect long term. This may seem a bit hypocritical because I just ruled a FS an Uncomfortable with similar reasons, but the Chiefs season hangs in the balance while a loss here for the Chargers will be easy for them to move on from.
CB Chris Thompson - Pulled hamstring - ProbableRumors state that Chris Thompson is mostly just faking it and will be in uniform to play this week against the Chiefs.
Get off my list you attention whore.
