Silverman: Injuries In NFL Won't Go Away, And Teams Must Be Prepared
By Steve Silverman
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The Philadelphia Eagles are no longer soaring.
That what happens when a team loses its best player.
Carson Wentz's torn left ACL has clearly put a damper on one of the best seasons for the Eagles in recent memory. With him, they were likely the best team in the NFC and a clear Super Bowl favorite.
Without him? We'll see.
Even though the Eagles are 11-2, their hard-luck fans have been crying in their cheesesteak sandwiches because the team has never won a Super Bowl. Thanks to the injury suffered by Wentz during last week's win over the Rams in Los Angeles, it seems unlikely they'll win it this season, either.
Nevertheless, the Eagles are going to go for it with Nick Foles at quarterback. He of the 27-to-2 TD-interception ratio in 2013.
But can Philly win it all with a backup QB?
New York football fans certainly know it's possible. Jeff Hostetler was under center for the Giants in Super Bowl XXV against the Buffalo Bills, and Big Blue -- coached by Bill Parcells and with a defense run by Bill Belichick -- came away with the 20-19 upset.
Wentz's injury is the latest in a season where a slew of superstars have gone down. The lost quarterbacks include the Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers (collarbone) and rookie sensation Deshaun Watson (knee) of the Houston Texans.
But quarterback is not the only position that has seen its share of loss.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier suffered a brutal back injury in Week 14. Other long-term injuries have been felt by the Arizona Cardinals (David Johnson, wrist), Texans (J.J. Watt, fractured tibia), Giants (Odell Beckham, ankle), Seattle Seahawks (Richard Sherman, Achilles'), Minnesota Vikings (Dalvin Cook, torn ACL) and New England Patriots (Julian Edelman, torn ACL).
Injuries alter the landscape every year, but we haven't seen a season like this in, well, maybe forever.
But I don't mean this as a "woe is us" type of column. The point is that while the number of big-time injuries to elite players may be higher than usual, this type of deluge could happen again.
And teams need to be ready for it.
Injuries can also be focused on a single team, as has been the case with the Texans in 2017. Watt was considered the best defensive player in the league prior to last season, while Watson appears to be the answer to their long-term quarterback issues. Additionally, the Texans have also lost stellar pass rusher Whitney Mercilus (chest/pectoral).
The 2-11 Giants, who lost receiver Brandon Marshall in addition to Beckham, are finishing the season with an interim head coach and no general manager. They will be hiring a new GM to rebuild their team shortly, and there are clearly a boatload of holes on both sides of the ball.
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They have no running game and they need new talent on the offensive line. Despite the recent support for Eli Manning, they'll eventually need to get a young quarterback.
The Giants have fallen back down the well on defense, ranking last in yards allowed. They had made a huge improvement last year after signing three big-name free agents Olivier Vernon, Damon Harrison, and Janoris Jenkins, but that turned out to be a temporary fix.
They need help on the defensive line, at linebacker, and in the secondary.
But whomever is hired can't just look at the starters. They must get talented depth players who can step in when injuries happen.
Look at the Patriots as an example. While they fell short Monday night at Miami, the reason they had won their previous eight games was due to their depth. They always seem to lose talented starters to injuries and retirement, but Belichick regularly has talented-if-unheralded players readily available to step in, as was the case this time around following the losses of Dont'a Hightower, Rob Ninkovich, and Edelman.
Eagles VP Howie Roseman seems prepared for life without Wentz because he has Foles to step in, while Cardinals GM Steve Keim had Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert to step in for quarterback Carson Palmer and he was smart to find a temporary solution for the loss of Johnson by acquiring veteran Adrian Peterson.
Building a roster is a non-stop and thankless job for a general manager. A team obviously needs star players if it is going to climb the mountain.
If it is going to stay on top, it also needs talented backups who can get the job done when the starters go down.
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