Holy Injury Report, Batman!
When was the last time there was no one listed as "Questionable" on a Friday Belichick injury report? When was the last time there were only 5 guys listed on the report? 15 of the 20 players listed on the Thursday injury report were removed from the list on Friday. Even better, all 5 players still on the report are listed as "Probable."
Injury report according to ESPN Boston's Mike Rodak
It's no surprise to see Gronk still on the report, but the fact that he engaged in full participation is a great sign that his arm is ready for some contact. The biggest surprise for me is that Rob Ninkovich was removed from the report altogether. That injury looked pretty bad, and I was definitely worried that it would hinder him throughout the playoffs. The one guy that I do worry about is Alfonzo Dennard, but he's listed as Probable, so that does a lot to ease my mind.
Judging by this injury report, Ninkovich got super lucky. He could have easily had a hip pointer or a pulled groin, and even"Strained hip muscles" can be a more serious ailment. Belichick usually guards the true nature and extent of injuries quite closely, but I think this report is quite telling. It says pretty clearly that, "that bye week was well-used, everybody is good to go, so watch out Houston!"
Still, this didn't happen over the course of two weeks. Many of these players have been "managing" injuries for more than a month, and in some cases longer. To me, it seems that many of them have been ready to go for some time now. Clearly, all 15 of these players were not on the same injury timetable, and none of them received miracle cures last night. It's just time to suck it up and go to work.
The only guy that we've really lost is Julian Edelman, and certainly he brings a nice skill set to the team. Nevertheless, I can't ever remember the team being this healthy across the board. The last time The Pats had all 22 of their week 1 starters active for a postseason game was in 2001. We did pretty well that year last time I checked. We are primed for another superbowl run, but none of that can happen if we don't take care of business against Houston.
Go hard or go home!
Injury report according to ESPN Boston's Mike Rodak
| Player | Pos. | Injury | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Game Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquice Cole | CB | Finger | Limited | Limited | Full | Probable |
| Alfonzo Dennard | CB | Hamstring/Knee | Limited | Limited | Full | Probable |
| Rob Gronkowski | TE | Forearm/Hip | Limited | Limited | Full | Probable |
| Nick McDonald | OL | Shoulder | Limited | Limited | Full | Probable |
| Trevor Scott | DE | Knee | Limited | Limited | Full | Probable |
| Removed from List | ||||||
| Patrick Chung | S | Shoulder | Limited | Limited | ||
| Dan Connolly | G | Back | Limited | Limited | ||
| Nate Ebner | DB | Hamstring | Limited | Limited | ||
| Aaron Hernandez | TE | Ankle | Limited | Limited | ||
| Dont'a Hightower | LB | Hamstring | Limited | Limited | ||
| Chandler Jones | DE | Ankle | Limited | Limited | ||
| Brandon Lloyd | WR | Knee | Limited | Limited | ||
| Logan Mankins | G | Ankle/Calf | Limited | Limited | ||
| Jerod Mayo | LB | Elbow | Limited | Limited | ||
| Rob Ninkovich | DE | Hip | Limited | Limited | ||
| Mike Rivera | LB | Ankle | Limited | Limited | ||
| Brandon Spikes | LB | Knee/Ankle | Limited | Limited | ||
| Aqib Talib | CB | Hip | Limited | Limited | ||
| Wes Welker | WR | Ankle | Limited | Limited | ||
| Tracy White | LB | Elbow | Limited | Limited | ||
It's no surprise to see Gronk still on the report, but the fact that he engaged in full participation is a great sign that his arm is ready for some contact. The biggest surprise for me is that Rob Ninkovich was removed from the report altogether. That injury looked pretty bad, and I was definitely worried that it would hinder him throughout the playoffs. The one guy that I do worry about is Alfonzo Dennard, but he's listed as Probable, so that does a lot to ease my mind.
Judging by this injury report, Ninkovich got super lucky. He could have easily had a hip pointer or a pulled groin, and even"Strained hip muscles" can be a more serious ailment. Belichick usually guards the true nature and extent of injuries quite closely, but I think this report is quite telling. It says pretty clearly that, "that bye week was well-used, everybody is good to go, so watch out Houston!"
Still, this didn't happen over the course of two weeks. Many of these players have been "managing" injuries for more than a month, and in some cases longer. To me, it seems that many of them have been ready to go for some time now. Clearly, all 15 of these players were not on the same injury timetable, and none of them received miracle cures last night. It's just time to suck it up and go to work.
The only guy that we've really lost is Julian Edelman, and certainly he brings a nice skill set to the team. Nevertheless, I can't ever remember the team being this healthy across the board. The last time The Pats had all 22 of their week 1 starters active for a postseason game was in 2001. We did pretty well that year last time I checked. We are primed for another superbowl run, but none of that can happen if we don't take care of business against Houston.
Go hard or go home!
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