NFL Week 2: How will injuries to Aaron Rodgers and Leonard Fournette shape big games?

Aaron Rodgers considers that his status is not debatable before the Packers game against the Vikings. (Mike Roemer / AP, file)

Cindy Boren

Reporter covering the sport, with a focus on politics and national stories

September 16th at 8:31

If you think he was motivated for a prime time match against a division rival, wait for the Packers to welcome the Vikings, the team that essentially ended his season when Anthony Barr broke up the collarbone on October 15th. Rodgers, who did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday, joined the team on Saturday for his light training of at least an hour (the team does not train on Friday). On Sunday, several reports indicated that he would begin and continue to try to overcome the pain. There is no damage to the knee ligament, ESPN Adam Schefter reportsbut the injury could take up to two months to heal, by source. For the moment, he will try to overcome the pain and hope that there will be more damage.

Their knowledge of Rodgers' hyper-competitiveness led the Vikings and Mike Zimmer to prepare for him all week. "He walks on the water, so I'm sure he's going to play," Zimmer said. However, he is not likely to be the Rodgers, mobile and disjointed. To take his word, he was in his pocket when he came back last Sunday and this Vikings defense is much harder than the Bears outfit he faced last week.

Zimmer's intelligent move to prepare his Vikings for Rodgers. According to ESPN's Peter Demovsky, he has not been able to play the week after an injury, only three times since he became a starter. He broke his collarbone in 2013 and 2017 and had a concussion in 2010.

"Aaron is going to be Aaron," said Xavier Rhodes, Minnesota's cornerback (via Courtney Cronin of ESPN). "I saw Aaron sit in the pocket and drop some money. He will adapt to the game. If it can not be mobile, it will adapt to it. They will execute road concepts to allow him to get out the ball quickly. They will understand our defense – we must adapt to their attack. "

In the second half, against Chicago, he was kept in the pocket and had an average time of 2.82 seconds, the third highest level since 2011. He completed 28 pocket passes for the match.

As he showed last week, his arm is fine.

A surprise Saturday about Josh Gordon

Josh Gordon, the Cleveland Browns' talented catcher, whose substance abuse problems often kept him out of the field, was not supposed to play Sunday with a hamstring injury, but the Browns announced on Saturday. that they would release him on Monday. Gordon, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, was a late arrival at the Browns facility on Saturday and "was not himself", which sparked a red signal for a possible relapse within the organization. Chris Mortensen of ESPN said the problem was due to a hamstring injury, which was discovered Saturday after participating in the practice all week. Adam Schefter of ESPN announced that the Browns would exchange Gordon before Monday and that several teams have already made inquiries.

Gordon missed training camp this summer, saying he needed to focus on his mental health.

Everyone wins on the carousel of cousins

The first week's results left no one complaining about the cascading quarterback movements triggered in part by Kirk Cousins ​​during the off-season. The five men were the winners: Cousins, Case Keenum (who went from Minnesota to Denver), Alex Smith (who came from Kansas City to Washington), Patrick Mahomes (who replaced Smith in KC) and Sam Darnold, rookie by the Jets after their advances were rejected by the cousins. Can they do it again in week 2?

Roethlisberger yes, Bell no

Ben Roethlisberger does not say how he injured his elbow, describing the injury as a hematoma and saying that he intended to play, according to several sources, despite being considered questionable for the match at home of the Steelers against Kansas City. The Chiefs gave 424 passing yards to San Diego last week, so you really can not blame him.

The same intent can not be attributed to running back Le'Veon Bell, which cost him $ 1.7 million. It's just another opportunity for James Conner.

Doubtful supply for the heavy match

The Patriots and Jaguars will meet in a rematch of the AFC championship game won by the Patriots and Jacksonville running back Leonard Fournette is uncertain due to a hamstring injury. In fact, coach Doug Marrone said Friday that the decision could "go to the game".

Keep an eye on Rob Gronkowski and Jalen Ramsey as Ramsey's "NFL Gambler Tour" continues. Last month, he was not too high in the tight end of the Patriots. "I do not think Gronk is good," Ramsey said. "Let me tell you that I do not think Gronk is as good as people think. . . . Whenever Gronk was paired with a corner, he had a very bad game and this corner had a very good match.

Last week he was more measured. "I may be crazy, I'm not sure," Ramsey said. "He's good, do not win, he's good. You tell me it's supposed to scare me or something? I do not fear any man, point. So he will have to go out and queue on me.

A difficult start for new coaches, experienced or not

The new coaches, regardless of their experience, were 0-7 the first week of the NFL season. Yes, it's historically terrible.

A little history of the NFL by the numbers

A total of 765 points were scored in the first week (47.8 per game), the third highest in the history of the NFL on the Kickoff Weekend, according to the NFL. (There were 791 points in 2012 and 788 in 2002). To what extent has the Tampa Bay victory over New Orleans been minimal? The 88 points are the most significant in a single Kickoff weekend game in the history of the NFL. The record of 87 was set by Philadelphia and Washington (Philly won 45-42) on September 28, 1947.

The Rodgers rule is applied

Flags fly with the new "Aaron Rodgers Rule", which requires that defenders be flagged to land on a quarter with all or most of their weight while a quarter is ready to throw. Defenders have been scored 15 times for passing pass penalties in the first week.

Citing figures from Stats LLC, Ben-Goessling of the Star-Tribune reports that penalties imposed on smugglers accounted for 5.9% of week 1 flags, nearly double the 3.1% of last year.

The rule was adopted after Anthony Barr of the Vikings landed on Rodgers last fall with all his weight, breaking his collarbone and limiting him to one game the rest of the season.

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