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Triage Time: This Bailout Can Work
By Will Carroll | October 8, 2008
Here is the latest on some important injuries. Use this information to avoid using a questionable player and ideally bailout a win for your fantasy teams!
Rudy Carpenter QB ARIZONA ST
It’s never a bad time to be a big man on campus in Tempe, but this doesn’t sound good. “A non-weightbearing projection of a bone in his left ankle” doesn’t tell us exactly what’s going on, but damn! That sounds painful, doesn’t it? With a shaky backup behind him, Carpenter is going to try and gut his way through it, though it will be tough for him to move and to follow through normally on throws. That doesn’t sound good either. There’s no way of telling how this will go, relying on toughness and painkillers to get through a game with limitations. If you’re counting on Carpenter or just rooting for the Sun Devils, it might be time to just look at the girls around campus.
Beanie Wells RB OHIO STATE
The toe is still an issue. I’ll save you the rant about how toe injuries linger and just point out that Wells is still limited. This is not only going to cost him touches in the gameplan, but will get him pulled if/when the Buckeyes get any kind of lead. With ready backups at RB, Jim Tressel is going to save Wells as much as he can for the closer games on the schedule. While Purdue is dangerous at times, their inconsistency and lack of discipline has cost them. With the game at home, Ohio State might have one of those opportunities to rest Wells this week, which could cost you.
Ryan Matthews RB FRESNO ST
Wally Pipp? Hardly. While Matthews’ backups ran wild on Hawaii, Matthews is still the clear RB1 for the Dogs. If anything, this gives the team some extra time to make sure that Matthews is fully healthy rather than rushing him back. With Idaho coming to town, the team isn’t expecting a tight game, so Matthews’ status remains a tough one to read. If he does play - and sources tell me he could if needed - he’ll lose some touches and function in a committee. If Fresno State controls the game as expected, Matthews will spend a lot of time looking rather than running. It’s good long term, but a tough one if you needed those yards for your fantasy team.
Eugene Jarvis RB KENT ST
Jarvis continues to try and come back from a moderate high ankle sprain. With a tough MAC matchup, the Golden Flashes could use Jarvis back. He’s running at practice, but the key here is that he’s not *in* practice. Again, Kent got good work from the backups, but Jarvis is the clear RB1 and one of the best the school has seen in recent memory. He’s unlikely to play and would be part of a committee, but the trust that the coaching staff has in him would likely give him the key carries, especially since they think he has that mythical “nose for the goal line.” Don’t expect big numbers, but do expect him to play.
Knowshon Moreno RB GEORGIA and Matt Stafford QB GEORGIA
The Dawgs seem to still be reeling from that Bama beatdown, not so much mentally as physically. Two key players, Knowshon Moreno and Matt Stafford, had a bye week to heal up before heading into another key game with the Vols. Leapin’ Moreno will get the chance to have some more legendary plays since his elbow has healed up. He’ll wear a small pad to protect it, but sources say that he’s comfortable enough to take it off if it affects his feel for the ball. QB Stafford is a bit more questionable, coming off a concussion, but everything known about the prep for Tennessee makes it look as if Stafford’s head is clear and he’ll be under center.
Michael Reed WR BYU
Reed had knee surgery … and missed a week. He’s back after missing just one game due to a knee scope and is running “full go” according to reports. The one worry is that he’s having trouble stopping. That’s not so bad if he’s wide open heading for the goal, but not so good if his pattern calls for quick cuts or worse, if a safety is bearing down on him. BYU has a temple full of wide outs, so Reed will be used as part of the option at WR, but not the only option. Look for the offense to use him, but that losing downs will cost him targets, yardage, and points.
Bryan Anderson WR CENTRAL MICHIGAN
The boys at the BCS are really rooting for Central Michigan these days, knowing that may be all that the MAC has to stand between Ball State and really screwing up the bowl picture. I don’t even know where Mt. Pleasant is — quick guess: somewhere in the middle of Michigan? — but the Chippewas are putting themselves on the football map with solid play in the MAC. The stats are skewed by a blowout loss to Georgia, but they’re a solid mid-major with a good passing offense. Losing their clear WR1 didn’t hurt them against Buffalo and shouldn’t against Temple, but down the line, they’re going to need to get Anderson healthy. Shoulder injuries are tough for WRs to get through and it looks like it’s going to be more time with the trainers than the coaches over the next couple weeks for Anderson.
Mark Dell WR MICHIGAN ST
Dell is back as the WR1 for the Spartans and it doesn’t look like the vague “leg injury” - I’m told it was a bruise - will keep him out or slow him down as the team heads into an important game at Northwestern. There’s not much here to go on, but sources say that Dell is running well in practice, showing no problems with his routes, and appears to be more or less fully healthy. There’s always some risk when we don’t have a good handle on exactly what happened or how it occurred, but I’m confident that Dell’s a good start for you this week.
DJ Boldin WR WAKE FOREST
Did someone curse the Boldin family? While Anquan Boldin of the NFL Arizona Cardinals is recovering from a hit that broke his sinuses, his younger brother injured his hand getting tackled. The story is that he had fifteen stitches after a helmet cut across his hand. Painful, yes, and bloody, but we know that it heals and shouldn’t be an issue once it is healed. It’s also easy to protect with tape, some plastic, and receiver gloves. He’s going to have to match up against a hard hitting defense at Clemson, so that hand is likely to be the least of his issues.
Topics: College Football, Triage Time, Will Carroll |
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