Midweek Gameplan 9-12-12
Midweek Gameplan has returned. After a lengthy holdout I am glad to say that I am back writing Midweek Gameplan. Fortunately, the site and I were able to lock in a long term contract for $0 and a $0 signing bonus. Negotiations were rough, but we were able to hammer out a deal.
Or maybe this sounds a lot better than my day job got in the way and I haven’t posted in a while, but the season is back on and so am I. There has been one change for the season, in that the fantasy focus aspect has been dropped. I tried to make it as much about the Bucsas possible, and it really didn’t work after a couple of weeks. On to the column:
Barber still has the ability to make big plays
THE BUCS LATEST
The Bucs got a big opening day win, no matter how ugly it was. The biggest reason is that they were able to completely shut down the Panthers running game, forcing them to become one dimensional and forcing turnovers. You can say all you want about Cam Newton’s passing numbers, because that is what they are, numbers. The final score is the only one that matters, and it is not like the Panthers were in great position to score a whole lot more than they did.
The other aspect I am excited about is that the team played today, had some discipline and did not kill themselves with stupid mistakes and penalties. I know it is only week one, but there is a noticeable difference on the field already, and it should stay the rest of the season.
INJURY NEWS AND UPDATES
In the off-season and preseason the Bucs lost De’Quan Bowers and Davin Joseph, which were big blows to the defensive and offensive lines respectively. As for Bowers, his is an Achilles injury and he is on the PUP as you already know. In my experience with Achilles tendon ruptures, it is possible to come back after a couple of months and have good strength in the ankle in order to play. The issue is always how much the person can trust the repair. This varies widely amongst people and almost everyone gets there, but the time frame can be all over the map.
As for Joseph, this is a crushing injury, but he should recover without much of a problem, it just takes the greater part of a year, as we all know from Cadillac Williams who made us all familar with the recovery from this type of injury.
AROUND THE NFL
One injury recovery that did surprise me was Adrian Peterson coming back from the ACL injury he sustained last year. It is not so much about the time frame he came back in, it is about how the injury occurred. He had a contact injury to his ACL rather than a non-contact injury to the ligament. I have written before that the recovery from the surgery is affected by whether the injury occurs with contact or not and typically the contact injuries take longer than the non-contact ones. Peterson is the first player I have seen come back this fast from a contact injury. Hopefully, he can maintain production all year as this is a great story from an orthopedic standpoint.
AT THE END OF THE DAY
There was a tragic injury in college football this weekend in the Tulane game, and it reminds us how potentially dangerous this game can be. Just remember that if you are a coach or parent out there that this can be a very real part of the game. While not every serious injury can be avoided, one of the best ways to prevent this type of injury is to teach proper tackling technique and to remind defensive players to never lower their head and dive down into a tackle.
Until next week, remember it is just week 1.