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There’s not as much major news this week in terms of season ending injuries, but there are some segments of news, as well as a rare video of an offensive lineman catching a touchdown. Let’s get to it:
SF – C Marcus Martin injured his knee, might miss Game.
In the fourth quarter against Oakland, rookie center Marcus Martin injured his knee. Joe Looney finished the game, and early signs point to Looney getting the start this weekend. Martin did not practice on Wednesday and the team appears to be preparing to be without this player. Looney is a decent enough substitute and should be sound enough for the spot start. In better news, LG Mike Iupati and RT Anthony Davis practiced in a limited fashion. Davis had been out with a concussion and Jonathan Martin had been starting in his place.
SEA - C Max Unger still not practicing but will try to play.
It is unclear if Max Unger will be able to return this weekend against San Francisco. Unger did not participate in Wednesday’s practice, and the coaching staff is referring to him as day-to-day. If I had to bet, I’d guess he misses another week, as he has missed three games already and the ankle-slash-knee injury sounded fairly severe at the time. Above (click his name) is a good article describing the situation, and what Unger’s absence has meant to the Seahawks’ offense.
TEN – Offensive line still dealing with multiple injuries.
Byron Stingily, filling in at right tackle against the Giants for Michael Oher, left the game with an ankle injury. That left Terren Jones, signed off the Ravens’ practice squad earlier in the week to see his first game action in his career. The Titans gave up 8 sacks last week. First round pick Taylor Lewan didn’t play last week but was limited in Wednesday’s practice with an ankle injury. The team really needs him to return, and that is looking feasible. Stingily and Oher appear unlikely to be ready for this week’s contest against the Jets. If Lewan can’t go, that leaves Jones and Will Svitek to start again. The Jets are a terrible team overall but their defensive line is actually good, and Muhammad Wilkerson will be returning to action. A lot depends on whether Lewan will play (I think he will) but overall this is a bad matchup for an offensive line that is seriously hurting.
Other News:
SD - RT D.J. Fluker (concussion) and C/G Chris Watt (calf) were limited in practice but should be good for this weekend’s contest home against the Broncos. The Patriots defense ran wild against this unit last week and it will be another tough matchup for the Chargers’ line this week, and it’s notable that Von Miller has 8 sacks against San Diego through 6 career games.
AZ – RG Paul Fanaika is listed as out for the Thursday night clash at St. Louis. Ted Larsen started in his place while Jonathan Cooper stepped in at left guard. Cooper seemed fresh and active and the new look offensive line had success against the Chiefs running the football.
IND – RG Hugh Thornton continues to be out with a knee injury, and his backup, Joe Reitz is listed as doubtful with an ankle injury. This leaves either A.Q. Shipley or Khaled Holmes to get the start at right guard against J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans. Shipley is a good player but somewhat undersized and this could be a very tough matchup.
CAR – The makeshift offensive line came together against the Saints last week. Even though starting quarterback Cam Newton has been ruled out with injuries suffered in a car accident, the Panthers’ skill positions should get a boost from the improvement up front.
OAK – LT Donald Penn caught a touchdown last week, the fourth of his career. Anytime a big man gets to do that, it’s making the offensive line news article. The animated gif is here. I can watch it all day.
PIT – The Pittsbugh offensive line enjoyed a dominant performance rushing the football last week against the Bengals. The Steelers are currently our 11th ranked line but considering their recent play, they should be upgraded a few spots to around 8th overall.
NYG – Brandon Mosely saw some action for the first time since Week 5. The team could be searching for guard options, after Geoff Schwartz and Adam Snyder went down for the year.
JAX – The Jaguars offensive line is suffering from the loss of right tackle Austin Pasztor. Sam Young was brutalized last week against the Texans. The good news is that this is a decent young group going forward; here a local Jaguars’ beat writer looks at what the line would be, if everyone were healthy.
WAS – A note from the mailbag, someone asked me about this particular play from Washington’s offensive line last week: VINE. Why did Trent Williams just stand there? Without knowing all the details, my guess is that this was an early snap by center Kory Lichtensteiger. He’s not a natural center and may have snapped it early. The other players (including the QB) try to salvage the play, but it was not to be. Colt McCoy was injured on this play and did not return to the contest. This is the downside of converting a player to center, sooner or later they can make a crucial mistake (see Manny Ramirez in last year's Super Bowl).
As usual, if you have a question about a team not specifically talked about in this article, please feel free to contact me via twitter or in the Shark Pool.