Woe-ffensive Lines: A rough week for NFL offensive linemen
Injuries are a part of the game. And yet, their impact never really gets easier to digest, does it? Week One was particularly brutal with injuries to myriad offensive linemen. Fantasy football scoring rules may not pay much attention to the offensive line, but we fantasy football owners know full well the importance of a great offensive line in keeping our fantasy stars healthy and productive.
Let’s run through this week’s offensive line woes and their potential impact on key fantasy players:
LT Orlando Pace (STL) out for the season
Orlando Pace has been the fixture of the Rams resurgence and is one of the few remaining pieces to their Super Bowl teams of the late 90s. While he may not be the league’s best tackle, he’s in the conversation year in, year out. Unfortunately he tore his labrum and rotator cuff in Week One and is done for the season. This marks the 2nd consecutive season season Pace’s year ended prematurely. HC Scott Linehan hasn’t decided on a course of action yet, but the most likely scenario involves moving RT Alex Barron to the left side and putting Adam Goldberg at RT.
Fantasy Impact:
- Last year, the Rams had Todd Steussie as a fallback plan, this year they don’t [Steussie is currently injured]
- QB Marc Bulger is now playing behind a fairly inexperienced line, and may face more pressure
- RB Steven Jackson won’t have his best offensive lineman opening holes for him
- TE Randy McMichael may be forced to stay in and block much more than fantasy owners hoped
- FB Brian Leonard will probably be on the field more, but may see less offensive touches
LT Jonathan Ogden (BAL) re-injures his toe
After sitting out the entire offseason and preseason schedule, Hall of Fame LT Jon Ogden was in the lineup for Week One only to pull himself from the game with toe pain; the same turf toe that’s bothered him going on nine months now. Ogden was replaced by Adam Terry at LT (moving over from RT) while rookie Marshall Yanda stepped into the RT spot.
Fantasy Impact:
- We don’t know the extent of Ogden’s injury yet, but it’s probably safe to assume he misses a game or two
- Although a healthy Ogden is an elite talent, the Ravens have prepared for his eventual retirement
- Supplemental draft choice Jared Gaither looked excellent playing LT during the preseason
- The Terry/Yanda swap also has potential
- QB Steve McNair isn’t as mobile as he used to be; the severity of Ogden’s turf toe will only be measured once we see how his replacement handles the pass rush
- RB Willis McGahee probably gets a minor downgrade, although I think Ravens fans would tell you that Ogden wasn’t being counted on 100% by the team anyway
RT Jon Jansen (WAS) dislocates ankle; lost for the season
RT Jon Jansen badly dislocated his ankle in Week One and is lost for the season; Jason LaConfora is reporting Jansen has been placed on injured reserve (IR). Rookie Stephon Heyer stepped into the game and played sufficiently well in Jansen’s place. But according to team officials, it looks like veteran Todd Wade will assume the starting RT role from here on out, allowing rookie Heyer to learn the ropes and serve as the team’s emergency/swing tackle.
Fantasy Impact:
- Losing a tackle is never a good thing, but the Redskins are better off with Chris Samuels back from injury and Jansen out, if they had to be short one of them
- Wade struggled in his move to guard this preseason but is a natural and proven tackle; there won’t be as much falloff as some expect
- The addition of G Jason Kendall in early August plus a healthy Samuels should obfuscate some of the concern here
- Don’t downgrade the Redskins offensive players at this juncture
C Al Johnson (ARI) injures his knee; C Chucky Okobi signs as replacement
Al Johnson hurt his knee against the 49ers on Monday Night. Johnson had a solid preseason and was making all the line calls for a rebuilt Cardinals offensive line. While the severity of Johnson’s injury has yet to be formally announced, the team moved quickly to bring in veteran Chucky Okobi as his fill-in. Okobi was primarily a backup in Pittsburgh and played for Cardinals HC Ken Whisenhunt and AHC Russ Grimm.
Fantasy Impact:
- The Cardinals are “lucky” that Okobi was available; he knows the line calls inside and out and should start immediately
- Johnson is a good center, but he’s not a difference maker; and Okobi has experience on excellent, playoff-caliber lines
C Jeremy Newberry (OAK) injuries his hamstring; out “a few weeks”
Jeremy Newberry hurt his hamstring this week and is on record expecting to miss a “couple of weeks.” The team expects to start Jake Grove in his place.
Fantasy Impact:
- Grove has been a disappointment after being highly coveted out of college
- Grove lost the center competition to Newberry in a spirited camp battle
- Mild downgrade of LaMont Jordan
- Mild downgrade of Josh McCown
Agree/Disagree? Curious to hear your thoughts…
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