THE INJURED LIST PODCAST AND FANTASY SPORTS CORPORATION PRESENTS
Week 9
BY: BRIAN SCOTT AND ANDREW LEDUC
WELCOME TO THE MEDICAL TENT
Welcome back for the second year of “Inside The Medical Tent.” Each week I, Andrew Leduc, will be asking Brian Scott, of “The Injured List Podcast,” injury questions that could have a fantasy impact. Brian will be giving his professional analysis of the injury and potential timelines. I will then turn that around into what you should do with that player and who could be a possible replacement. Check back every Wednesday during the season for all the necessary information before hitting your league’s waiver wire.
Daniel Jones - QB (NYG)
Andrew Leduc - With the additional injuries in New York, do we see Daniel Jones rushed back?
Brian Scott - He had been participating in practice in a limited capacity all week, but Tyrod Taylor still got the nod. While Jones was practicing, he was not yet cleared for full contact due to lingering left upper extremity weakness (his non-throwing side). That all changed Monday once it was learned that Tyrod Taylor's rib injuries led him to stay a night in the hospital and likely will spell some extended time on the injured list. There is almost no doubt in my mind that the real possibility of rookie undrafted free agent Tommy Devito assuming the starting role, forced the Giants' hand in clearing Daniel Jones sooner than they had anticipated. I am not sure what his injury is, but it could be worse than what they were originally saying, seeing as how now it’s come out that he is having some neurological symptoms in his left arm. While he might be ready to return, I do foresee him being much more conservative while running out of the pocket. He will be much quicker to slide and get out of bounds for sure.
Andrew Leduc - It was originally thought Jones would miss multiple weeks rendering him useless to a team fighting to make the playoffs. I actually saw Jones dropped in a couple leagues, in which I then swiped him up and put in my IR slot. Check your waiver wire and see if he was dropped, because it seems as though he will be returning. Now, with that said, his ceiling is now definitely limited given his injury and the assumed absence of Darren Waller. I expect Barkley to be leaned on heavily in the offense now. Unfortunately with the BYE weeks that are approaching and the quarterbacks that will be sitting, you may have no choice but to play Jones in some capacity.
Darren Waller - TE (NYG)
Andrew Leduc - Is the Waller injury a result of his previous injury?
Brian Scott - Much like the last few years with the Raiders, Waller again had some hamstring issues earlier in the season. He was able to play through it while limiting his practice time. That does not seem to have worked for his long-term health, as he exited this past weekend's game in the first quarter with a hamstring injury after just 1 reception. Look for Daniel Bellinger to get more targets and reps with the first team. This could be a lengthy absence for Waller, with a strong possibility of him being out past their week 13 bye.
Andrew Leduc - Why not? Right? For me personally, this is just another blow to what has been a horrific fantasy season for me. Waller underperformed to start the year and was finally hitting a nice stride the last couple of weeks, until this injury. I had the opportunity to trade him away last week and I should have. When it comes to redraft format and tight ends, if your name isn’t Kelce, you are definitely available for trade. I didn’t follow that rule and now I pay the price. Bellinger will definitely be a useful option, as he has had success with Jones before. I look for him to be involved, but ultimately it will be the Saquon Barkley show for a few weeks as we see what a hobbled Daniel Jones looks like. You have to hold Waller for now and hope he comes back in some capacity in time for a playoff run.
The Process of Injury Analysis
How do you Brian Scott, go about your injury analysis on a weekly basis?
I am asked quite often how I figure out some of the more intricate details and timetables of these injuries, without having "insider" information or access to these players and teams. Well, one way is through using my professional clinical experience from the last 22 years. You see, I started out my career as an Athletic Trainer, you know, those guys that resuscitated Damar Hamlin on the field when he went into sudden cardiac arrest. During my time, I worked with numerous sports and athletes across amateur, high school, collegiate, and even professional athletes and sporting events.
Listening and reading to the injury reports and commentary, I have a pretty good idea of what has happened before it’s even reported. There are a lot of injuries that occur during these athletic events, but some are more common than others. These are usually sustained through various mechanisms of injury related to certain forces and how they are acting on the athlete's body. Understanding the physiologic properties of muscles and joints, and the biomechanics behind the injuries is essential. I can sometimes determine the injury just by viewing the video replays or seeing it play out live (as in Aaron Rodgers achilles injury which I saw happen and called out on twitter even before the replay showed).
Video replay and live-action viewing is some of the methods I use, but sometimes that is impossible or just not informative enough. So I have to do it the old-fashioned way and read reports from various media outlets about what happened. In doing so, I often can pick up clues as to what the injury is and what the impending workup or prognosis is. Keywords from coaches and media can clue me into the severity of the injury, as well as what the injury itself might be. In some cases that requires me to wait for multiple reports to surface and then correlate their content with the video of the injury itself to gain an even more in-depth analysis.
From there, I can then go back to my clinical knowledge as an Athletic Trainer, but also as an Orthopedic Physician Assistant, which is what I have done for the past 16 years. In this role, I not only can draw from my on-field expertise, but also, my surgical knowledge and skills in treating many of the same injuries in athletes of all levels. Actively seeing patients daily in an office setting and performing surgery several days a week, I continue to enhance my knowledge about the latest treatment and rehab protocols. So in a case like the Aaron Rodgers Achilles surgery (which I just did last week on an amateur athlete), I know firsthand what the particular requirements are to let that surgical repair heal and the length of time needed. These principles can be applied to all patients, regardless of whether are professional athletes or not.
Where the difference lies between the general public and pro athletes, is not necessarily in the physiology, but rather in the time and resources spent in recovery. Money is no object, and time is even more critical. Also, there are a lot higher stakes to consider outside of the medical implications. There are enormous financial considerations that regularly come into play. This is true for both highly-paid and lesser-paid athletes. Let's just say that not every athlete has quite the same microscope on them when dealing with an injury. Much of this type of analysis, I can draw on my years of being in a locker room, on field/court, and in coaches' offices. Behind the scenes, there are a lot of conversations going on about what to do with injured players, how to attack their rehab, and what type of expectations the organization has on each player. It is an unfortunate side of the business, but also a very expensive one, so these organizations scrutinize every factor. Working with Andrew Leduc and Fantasy Sports Corporation has become my assignment. I provide our talented Fantasy Football analysts with critical injury information, not only in the present tense but also using predictive analysis. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. Now, I wonder, who would take over for me should I go on the injured list?
THE DISCHARGE
Come back every week for all of the latest injury updates. If you have other questions we didn’t get to in this week’s edition you can follow us on Twitter below and message us directly.
Brian Scott - The Injured List Podcast - (@injuredlistpod) https://twitter.com/injuredlistpod
Andrew Leduc - (@theRealMrMallard) https://twitter.com/realMrMallard
If you are interested in Andrew’s weekly rankings as well, follow the link below to TSS Fantasy.
Andrew Leduc’s (Mr. Mallard) Rankings - https://tssfantasy.com/andrews-rankings
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