The NFL season has been filled with injuries that have impacted each team in the league. Some of the elite players that have been injured are Michael Vick, Peyton Manning and Jamaal Charles. Each of these injuries have impacted each team’s season.
Vick has been injured on and off the whole season and if he had not been, the Eagles may be atop the NFC East. His first injury occurred in week two during his return to Atlanta where Vick was knocked out of the game in the third quarter with a concussion.
The Eagles were leading at the time 31-21 but the Falcons ended up coming back and winning the game by four. One has to think that if he were not in the locker room, Philadelphia would have been able to hold on to the lead.
His next injury occurred against the division rival Giants in week three. It was thought that Vick had broken his hand but it turned out to be a minor bruise. Vick missed the final quarter of the game. New York ended up outscoring the Eagles by 15 points in that time and went on to win the game 29-16. This is another game that would have been a victory if Vick had just sucked it up and played.
Vick did overcome pain last week against the 49ers. The middle finger on his left hand was dislocated early in the game but Vick stayed in the game and collected a total of 491 all-purpose yards. Even with Vick’s offensive output, the Eagles lost the game and now sit in last place in the division.
If Vick wants to prevent these injuries he needs to stop being a hero and go down like a normal quarterback. The other teams are not hitting him late and it is time to stop blaming the referees.
Charles’ injury was one of the worst injuries by a major player this season. Charles was lost for the season when he tore his ACL in the team’s second game. This injury is going to put a ton of pressure on Matt Cassel. Cassel is not the best quarterback in the league and he can use as much help as possible.
Without a threat at running back, Kansas City has been forced to pass much more. The defenses have been able to focus Dwayne Bowe and make Cassel’s life extremely difficult. He was sacked three times last week. Look for the Chiefs’ struggles to continue, but on the bright side they might have a shot at Andrew Luck, the college superstar.
The injury that impacted its team the most was Manning’s. He missed all of training camp and the first four games of the season with a neck injury. The injury does not seem to be getting better and the Colts are looking worse.
Indianapolis fell to 0-4 last week and are undoubtedly the worst team in the NFL. The injury to Manning has brought out the many flaws that this team has.
Their defense is horrible, their offensive line cannot block the broadside of a barn, and their running backs could not run through a hole if it was the size of a Mack truck.
When Manning is in the lineup, the Colts are a top tier team. Indianapolis will continue to be horrible if he does not come back soon, unless Curtis Painter becomes Superman overnight.
All of these injuries have negatively impacted each team and if they did not occur the NFL playoff picture would look completely different. It is only Week 5 and crazier things have happened in the past.
Joe Beaudoin can be reached at jbeaudoin@spartans.ut.edu.