Eagles head coach Andy Reid just talked to the media and he didn’t have good news after their team’s Friday practice.
The Bears don’t have a great offense, but the Birds defense may be shorthanded on Sunday. Cornerback Asante Samuel, defensive tackle Antonio Dixon and defensive end Juqua Parker didn’t practice today and they may not play in the game on Sunday.
Samuel has a sprained knee, Dixon has an abdominal strain and Parker has a hip injury.
All of them will be making the trip and will be listed as questionable for the game. Reid said they’re all getting better and they’ll be game time decisions with regards to whether they will play or not.
If Dixon can’t go Brodrick Bunkley will be the starter at the defensive tackle spot. Dixon was doing a great job in there and will be sorely missed if he can’t go. Bunkley is a good football player but he has been a dominant player like Dixon.
Joselio Hanson will start at the left cornerback position if Samuel can’t go but Hanson is a huge dropoff from Samuel. I would expect Jay Cutler and the Bears to go after Hanson at the left corner.
“You’re talking about a lot of production there”, defensive coordinator Sean McDermott in response to a quesion about playing without Samuel. “When they’re throwing the ball around, he’s nice to have on the field obviously. He’s a great player, one of the best corners in the league if not the best. There’s a lot of production, like I said. With that said, we have a lot of confidence in [CB Joselio] Hanson and what he can do as well.”
He’s got more confidence in Hanson than I do . I think he is a much better cover guy in the slot rather than outside.
I don’t think he has the deep speed to run with the fast wide receivers on the Bears roster. I expect them to send Devin Hester and Johnny Knox deep against him. You can believe that an erratic quarterback like Cutler is probably praying that a ball hawk like Samuel misses this game.
Brandon Graham will start at left defensive end if Parker isn’t able to play. They’ll have to rotate him with somebody, probably Darryl Tapp. Hopefully, the youngster won’t wear down if he has to play full time.
Giants veteran LT Andrews remains in hospital with back pain
NFL.com Wire Reports
Published: Nov. 26, 2010 at 08:46 a.m. Updated: Nov. 26, 2010 at 07:49 p.m. Liked: 4 |
The New York Giants appear to have lost their second left tackle in Shawn Andrews.
Andrews, the 335-pound starter the past three weeks as David Diehl recovers from a hip and hamstring injury, spent a second day in the hospital Friday for treatment of a chronic back condition that cost him the entire work week prior to the Eagles’ game last week. He is listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against Jacksonville. Diehl has been ruled out.
The Giants confirmed Andrews is at the Hospital for Special Surgery and will be released Saturday morning. The nature of Andrews’ treatment hasn’t been made clear, but the veteran provided some insight through his Twitter account on Friday.
“That’s a verrrry uncomfortable feeling having needles stuck 7 inches deep into your back! Not as bad as being cut open, but still rough,” Andrews tweeted.
With the offensive line depleted by injuries — both starting and backup centers Shaun O’Hara and Adam Koets are out as well — the Giants are left with second-year player Will Beatty for left tackle.
Beatty, though, only just got back to playing in spot duty two games ago as an extra tight end after missing seven with a broken right foot.
The Giants now face a situation where the left side of the line, which also includes fill-in guard Kevin Boothe, may not get the necessary push to create a balanced ground game.
“Certainly, if you had your druthers, that wouldn’t be No. 1 on the hit parade,” offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. “Shawn Andrews performed tremendously well for us and was a big part of why we haven’t been sacked the last three weeks.”
I beieve that often in the NFL, the course of the season, a team’s fate is as much a reflection of injuries as well as talent. You can have ther best roster in the league, but if you cannot keep the players on the field the are uselss. One of the reasons the Cowboys finished so strong last year was having almost nobody on IR….if you are going to be a player late in the season, you need a whole lot of luck.