Trouble at MLB
 

So the injury report today said that David Hawthorne and Curtis Lofton did not participate, and in the Sean Payton era, players who don't practice on Friday typically don't play in the game. This actually has me scared, if Dallas finds out they can run the ball early in the game we are going to have a long day. Both players are listed as questionable but I believe that's a fluke to make the Cowboys prepare for them. So much for putting Vilma on IR. What is Rob Ryan going to do if the centerpiece of this defense is gone? Either way I still have faith in my saints! Who Dat

Re: Trouble at MLB
 

Welcome aboard. I agree MLB has me worried as well. I'm hoping it was just a day off for Lofton, he was full practice on Thursday.

Hawthorne however hasn't practiced at all this week. I'm certain he's out Sunday.

That leaves Herring, Humber and Reddick. IIRC Herring played pretty well in spots and Humber looked like a kamikaze early on.

We might be fine for a game or two, but we're looking thin for the long run.

Re: Trouble at MLB
 

BTW: I went back to look at the Pats/Bills/Jets injury reports and every player listed as DNP on Friday did not play on Sunday.

And thanks to dueceloose... he posts most of the "Final Injury Report" threads. Made it easy to find.

Re: Trouble at MLB
 

Humber looked like he was going to take the job from Hawthorne in the pre-season, so if Humber starts I wont be worried about him. The problem arises if they both (Lofton and Hawthorne) are out. If thats the case in passing situations we play Herring and rotate Reddick in on the base/running situations.

Personally I think Reddick is a future star for us at ILB, ill be excited to see him start.

Re: Trouble at MLB
 

I agree about Reddick. For the old-timers... I envision Reddick playing the Vaughan Johnson role in the new dome patrol series. Now if we can just locate a new Sam Mills we'll be set in the middle.:p

Re: Trouble at MLB
 

I don't think anyone has been ruled out ... YET.

We will be fine.

Re: Trouble at MLB
 

Courtesy of dueceloose (thanks, bro); I left off the entire list:

Friday’s practice status (injury) – STATUS FOR SUNDAY

DID NOT PRACTICE
LB David Hawthorne (toe) - QUESTIONABLE
LB Curtis Lofton (ankle) - QUESTIONABLE

LIMITED
S Malcolm Jenkins (knee) - QUESTIONABLE

FULL
S Roman Harper (knee) - QUESTIONABLE
S Kenny Vaccaro (chest) – PROBABLE

Harper going FULL on Friday is great, considering the question marks at MLB as Harper should be around the line of scrimmage in run support/short yardage pass coverage. Humber isn't much (or if any) drop-off from Hawthorne, as he's shown he can thrive in Ryan's D. I would love to see Reddick be able to step up and make an impact if both Hawthorne and Lofton can't go.

If they both can't go, I'm still pretty confident in our 3 Safety look to help compensate. Harper's return will be HUGE if either of our 2 or both starting MLB's can't go Sunday night. Something tells me, though, that at least one of the MLB starters will definitely be in there tomorrow.

Re: Trouble at MLB
 

I think they all play. but at first I thought we had trouble at Major League Baseball. I was at that preseason game with da Raiders where Humber took over. He's more than capable I think.

Re: Trouble at MLB
 

Trouble in paradise? I think we will be fine they have a whole 2 days to rest (Sunday night game)

Re: Trouble at MLB
 

It certainly looked like a position of relative strength going into the season, but now with these recent injuries it has become a troubling position as you already mentioned.

I have no doubt that Herring, Humber and Reddick can be an adequate rotation for a short stint, but that's definitely not a trio you want to be showcasing as your regular starters for a substantial amount of time. By now it would've been nice to have Martez to add to that ILB rotation, because I really think he would've fit there very nicely with his size and speed. He would've had the size to be able to take on blocks by the interior linemen on his way to the QB/ball carrier or drop back into coverage when necessary. The early injury probably took away any possibility of the defensive coaching staff to try him out in different positions to see where he best fit in RR's defense, which in the end made him a prime target for a release.

In any case, I have faith these guys can make it work for now...