-- Weather is a huge issue today in a couple of games, obviously subject to the latest info, but as of early this morning:
NE at NYJ = This looks like the worst spot now... Raining all day into the game where it will be 80%+ chance of rain with no real stopping. Probably the two worst QBs in the league playing in a swimming pool...I like the defenses there. 10+ MPH winds
IND at BAL = Rain all day, on and off, odds of rain increase up into and during the game 50-80% chance of rain during the game with no wind effects to speak of. Would’ve been interesting to see Lamar v Richardson running in this, but instead we got Minshew minus his starting center.
BUF at WSH = This one went from worst outlook to the best of ‘the bad’. Rain on and off all morning with 25-50% rain during the game. Wind no issue.
All you can plan for is offense to be down and defense to be up...especially in the NYJ and BAL games.
CAR at SEA = Rain possible in the 2nd-half, 4th-quarter. No wind issues.
-- Isiah Pacheco has toggled from ‘questionable’ to ‘game-time decision’ to ‘he’s probably going to play’. You have to worry that news breaks late for the 4pmET start, so all you can do is go with good 1pmET options or have SNF/MNF options if you want to buy time to see.
I can’t imagine the outcome is = Pacheco is totally fine and gets a full workload...on a team that loves to rotate everybody. I’m not starting Pacheco anywhere I can help it.
-- Joe Burrow...I assume from the Bengals roster moves and practice notes that he is not playing. The Rams-DST is legit in that case.
-- Kenneth Gainwell is back practicing in full...you and me, we have no idea what Philly will do to dole out touches between him and Swift. But I don’t think it’s ‘Gainwell barely plays and watches Swift take 20+ touches’. Gainwell was the original guy.
-- Jaylen Waddle out...not sure there is a great other play off that, and it hurts Tyreek some because now the defenses can focus on him extra.
-- Puka Nacua is banged up but should be good-to-go.
-- Austin Ekeler out. Josh Kelley lead...and this is a much better spot than his start last week v. TEN’s top run defense.
-- Amon-Ra St. Brown will play with a metal plate in his cleat to protect a sprained toe. He practiced in full his last practice and has played with this issue/protection in the past (in high school).
WORST of the injury woes...
-- KC is likely without their starting linebackers Bolton/Gay...but they have depth with Chenal/Tranquill.
-- HOU has the worst defensive injury report of the week...minus their top CB (Stingley), one of their better DBs (Tav. Thomas), their best middle linebacker/leader (D. Perryman), and their single best defensive player SAF Pitre. All good news for the JAX offense.
-- Green Bay could be down 2 key starting OLs (one for sure) + I think Aaron Jones is likely out, but won’t know for a while.
-- Detroit down 2 starting OLs and D. Montgomery with no great runner behind them...heavy bias on the passing game here, especially for Gibbs out of the backfield.
-- Seattle down Woolen and Bryant in the secondary really opens up Carolina to have a decent game passing. Not great, just not shutdown.
-- Chicago has all kinds of injuries everywhere the last few weeks and this week...they are a shell of a team, on paper. Missing veteran leader SAF Eddie Jackson is the latest blow.
-- Baltimore is still missing Humphrey, the starting OC and LT, and Justice Hill. Gus Edwards should get the majority workload in the rain.
-- The Jets O-Line is bad and now its best tackle (D Brown) is out for the waterworks game v. NE.
-- The Dallas O-Line is something to watch...several players banged up or sick. All questionable for their 4pmET game.
