Three Current Saints Injury Concerns

IMO, I think they are leaning more to cutting Sharper and Ingram than putting them on the PUP list for 6 weeks. I think they want them available before 6 weeks, if possible. And, I think they’re wasting their time with Ingram if he hasn’t seen the field yet.

See also this: http://www.canalstreetchronicles.com/2010/8/31/1660242/on-monday-coach-sean-payton-could#comments

I HOPE it’s not that serious. I know what Payton said, but my BS monitor is on alert so I take it with a grain of salt. I won’t turn off the monitor until I see him take the field against the Vikes.

I also see them considering cutting Sharper since there wasn’t much interest in him from other teams in the off-season. Depending on the unknown injury factor, they might be able to bring him back later if needed.

I “think”? That is Sean Payton Double Speak for, “I hope my novenas pay off!”

Am I worried? Yeah, I think so.

Taking a helmet to the groin isn’t easy to walk off, but most of the time it isn’t something that’s going to have a long term impact. Ingram and Sharper are the ones that get to me. Not seeing anything from them at all makes me wonder just how bad things are.

There’s no way he would clear waivers imo. Either IR, which doesnt look the case now, or buried in the depth chart . Yeah is a shame… he will get his first reps at the end of first blowout…

Funny how I mentioned the possibility of Sharper not making the final 53 man roster when he signed, and everyone else balked at that notion.

…in Sharper’s case, getting cut might be a sign the Saints want him. If they stash him on IR, his career is essentially over. Put him on the PUP list to begin the season, and they lose his services for six weeks. But if they cut him, they can bring him back earlier, provided he’s healthy…and the only risk they take is that someone else might sign him before we can re-sign him. Considering that he got no interest in the offseason, that’s a rather small chance.

Plus, I believe there’s a roster bonus involved. (Do you get that if you’re on the PUP list? Probably not, but I don’t know.) If it means freeing up a roster spot until Sharper may be healthy enough to recall, and saving some money at the same time, there’s little question what PayLoo is going to do. But still, they might not do it yet.

I never expected Sharper to play except in backup duty later in the season. Vilma injury isn’t serious, and worse case he might miss a game or two. Last but not least, i don’t think anyone expect Graham to overly contribute, especially early in the season. All in all, things could be much, much worse.

An impact injury to a muscle heals quicker than a strain and has
less lingering implications. Again I am not an expert but it seems
if the injury was caused by a helmet to groin impact (yikes , my eyes
are watering at the thought) then after the shock and bruising has
abated then he should be OK to go……..fingers crossed.

Maybe somebody can find the answer.
I’ve heard it suggested by players/coaches and even the media that a higher rate of injuries occurs in the preseason than the regular season. I think that this could be true.
The reasoning may be that players aren’t participating at ‘meaningful game’ intensity. Maybe more inexperienced players are on the field at a time. Maybe players get lulled to sleep with ‘vanilla’ tactics and then are more off guard picking up an unexpected blitz etc. Perhaps you have a vet trying just not to get injured going up against an upstart trying to make a name for himself. Or a rookie not picking up a blitz in the backfield and the QB getting rocked. I don’t know if it makes a difference, but I know that these things are taking place in the preseason.
I know one thing: preseason injuries make me sick.
I think a little too much is being made around here of ‘the evaluation process’ that occurs in preseason games. Almost every starter on our roster was decided before preseason. Only LB and 3rd running back were truly up for grabs. You can’t tell me that essentially an hour of pregame film on a player is going to undo weeks of practice and scrimmage evaluation.
It’s nice that we found out that Ivory can play. It sucks that Hamilton (who would have won the short yardage role) is injured/done for season. It sucks that PJ is injured/done for season. It sucks that Graham was injured. It sucks that in our pregame evaluation of a thin crop of LBs there was an injury to Vilma (the only LB worth a damn and probably the MVP of our defense). And what did we gain?—tKnowledge that the fifth running back can play. LB is still a question. And Graham is going to be a stud (which we knew from practice, not preseason games)
Look at Mcnabb and Campbell getting injured on sacks on blitzes that were not picked up. The Redskins and Raiders won’t have their starting QBs on opening day, but by damn they’ll know who the third string TE is going to be.
The preseason is antiquated. Back in the day, Kenny stabler may have needed 4 preseason games to sober up for the regular season. Todays year-round athletes do not. The preseason is an injury waiting to happen. Injuries are part of football, let’s let them happen on meaningful games. No matter where you stand on an 18 game regular season, isn’t it time to shorten the preseason?

I hope Vilma is benched if the injury is not totally healed. I want him to be completely fine with nothing lingering all year. But hopefully he will be healthy by then anyway and we don’t have to worry.

Ingram put on PUP and I think Sharper will be alright to play some by opening day, or they will at least try him. I really don’t see how they cut him; he just might not be playing full time week 1. Jenkins seems like he will develop into a good safety in the future, but I don’t think he’s quite there yet in his coverage skills. We could really use Sharper out there and let Jenkins develope a little more. Maybe they could split some time. Go D Sharp!!

And Graham may come in toward the second half of the year in red zone. I don’t think he will be a good enough everydown player to take snaps from Shockey or Thomas.

I love Usama Young and Jenkins but there is no way they could lead a competitive defense – they would get torn up. Young will be a career backup/special teams guy and Jenkins isn’t ready yet. I think they are just being cautious with Sharper- he does his own thing anyway and will continue and this way they get more time to work with Jenkins. No DSharp means serious depth issues at Safety.

Graham will be practice squad- hopefully no one lures him away but although teams probably would be interested in him, I would doubt any teams would actually give him playing time especially since I don’t think he’s quite ready and I dopn’t think he does special teams. They will probably tell him many things (all true) to keep him here (such as Shockey never plays 16 games, Evans is coming off a missed season and moving D Thomas to Fb will put Graham on active roster, Graham will develop much better/faster under Brees/Payton/ Shockey/Thomas tutelage, and also that whoever our 3rd (or 4th) TE is may not be at the end of the season opening up a position for Graham).

Also, in regards to Ingram, I think they will surprisingly try to keep him- maybe PUP , as every coach wants experience at LB. I don’t think they are thrilled with Dunbar except as a long term project. Casillas looks good, but not spectacular so the depth at LB is questionable too.

from Rotoworld.com

Jeff Duncan @ Times-Picayune reports:

August 31, 2010 – HansDat’s back has been acting up lately.

Here’s hoping he stretches and walks often to keep it loose and ready for the massive amounts of sitting, eating, drinking, pacing around the room and standing up and hollering at the TV on September 9. I’d check into the injury report on the day of the game so a possible last-minute scratch doesn’t ruin your opening week fantasy roster. You may want to be ready to start Stujo4 in his place.