Rapid Reactions Heading into Week Seven
By: Matt Harmon
QB Josh Freeman to start for the Minnesota Vikings
QB Nick Foles takes first team reps in Eagles practice
Packers place WR Randall Cobb on the injured reserve/designated for return list
Patriots LB Jerod Mayo has surgery on his torn pectoral muscle, could be headed to IR
QB Josh Freeman to start for the Minnesota Vikings
- This is probably the right decision. The Christian Ponder era is finished in Minnesota and Matt Cassel showed that he is still just Matt Cassel against Carolina. The Vikings paid Josh Freeman upwards of three million dollars because they believe he can start and help them win some games, and the time is now to find out if that is truly the case. The Vikings sit at 1-4 and need to dig themselves out of that hole very quickly because the other three teams in their division are very good. Freeman’s big arm and athleticism should open the field up for Adrian Peterson to run wild and he may actually be able to get the ball to some of the weapons the Vikings added in the offseason. It is doubtful Freeman is the savior this team needs at quarterback, but he certainly provides more upside and ability than Ponder and Cassel could combine between the two of them. It will be interesting to see what the Vikings do if Freeman plays well for them since he is a free agent after this season. This situation is one that bears watching.
QB Nick Foles takes first team reps in Eagles practice
- Everyone wants to know whether the Eagles should stick with Nick Foles or hand the job back to Michael Vick. The decision is easy for this week; you stick with Foles. Vick was playing well enough in this offense to keep his job prior to his injury, but realistically Vick is old, will not be back with this team next year, and the Eagles know they can do better. His injury presented the perfect opportunity to get Foles on the field, and Foles rewarded them with a lights out performance against a strong Tampa Bay defense. The Eagles now have all the incentive in the world to conveniently wait until Vick is one hundred percent healthy before making a decision at quarterback. If Foles plays poorly they can go right back to Vick, but if Foles continues to play at or even near the level to which he played at in Tampa Bay the Eagles should clearly stick with him. Even though they are in the race for the NFC Least division crown, the Eagles should still be looking to the future throughout this season, and it would be a crime if they left the 2013 season without having a firm grasp on what role Foles plays in their future. I like Foles, but I seriously doubt that this coaching staff views him as the long-term franchise quarterback they covet. However, they need to see what they have in him and if he shows he belongs, the Eagles have a cheap, high-end backup on their roster. There are certainly different advantages that Vick and Foles both bring to this offense when they are behind center, but the decision is an easy one; roll with Foles.
Packers place WR Randall Cobb on the injured reserve/designated for return list
- When Randall Cobb took a shot to his knee against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday it certainly looked like some damage had potentially been done to his knee ligaments. However, the fallout seems to be a bit less extreme as Cobb “only” has a fractured fibula. By placing him on the IR-designates to return list, the Packers leave the door open for Cobb to return to play the final three weeks of the regular season. For a team that believes it will be playing well into the month of January, this is obviously the best-case scenario. The Packers get to fill Cobb’s roster spot until he returns, but filling the role he plays in this offense will be much more of a challenge. The other Packer receiver injured on Sunday, James Jones, looks like he sustained a much less serious injury, and could even play this week. Jones is a fine player, and you never want anyone on your team injured, but it is not even comparable how much easier it would be to replace Jones’ contributions to this team than it will be to replace Cobb’s. Cobb is primarily a slot receiver, but his versatility and quickness causes all kinds of more problems than the traditional slot receiver does for defenses. There is still plenty of firepower on the Packers offense, and they have a strong running game to lean on, but no doubt this injury will hurt Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. I would imagine that tight end Jermichael Finley will see more snaps in the slot to compensate for the loss, and he does excel in that role, but Cobb is likely the hardest piece to replace in the Packers offense outside of Rodgers.
Patriots LB Jerod Mayo has surgery on his torn pectoral muscle, could be headed to IR
- This Rapid Reaction will be updated if Mayo does indeed go on IR and misses the rest of this season, but for now, lets play the hypothetical. The Patriots already lost the man they could least afford to lose on defense when they placed Vince Wilfork on IR, but now could be poised to lose their second most important defender. Jerod Mayo has played on all but ten of New England’s defensive snaps, is a team captain, and by far their best linebacker. Mayo is the only linebacker who is fast enough to play in coverage, and is Bill Belichick’s mouthpiece on the field. Brandon Spikes and Donta Hightower are good players in their own roles, but if they are forced to play extended snaps they will be exposed, especially in coverage. Spikes and Hightower are slow, and cannot be asked to cover running backs or tight ends like Mayo is. I would imagine that second round pick, Jamie Collins, would be the beneficiary in snap counts if Mayo were out rather than Spikes or Mayo. Collins was drafted with the idea of working better athleticism into the Patriots linebacking corps. Combine this news with Aqib Talib’s hip injury from Sunday and we could see a New England defense that has been exceptional this season take a major step back. Belichick finally has developed all the young talent the Patriots have drafted over the past few years, but with all these injuries to major veteran players, it is hard to see the Patriots defense sustaining their early season success.
