Time to panic over Bronco injuries? Not just yet
By Rick Jussel
June 11, 2013; Englewood, CO, USA; Denver Broncos cornerback Dominique Rodger- Cromartie (45) during mini camp drills at the Broncos training facility. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
The headline on the CBS Sports web site read “Broncos hit again: Rodgers-Cromartie carted off.”
Yes, it is becoming a bit redundant, this injury bug biting.
But, and this is a huge BUT, the Denver Broncos are going to be just fine, thank you.
For one thing, the only injury that would cost immediately in the won-loss column would be to You-Know-Who.
Everyone else is a replaceable part, even Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the cornerback who sprained an ankle and is expected to miss two to three weeks of training camp.
Remember, training camp is way longer than needs be. Missing some of it, even most of it, will not impact the regular season.
Let’s also think about what the Broncos have become in the last year-plus: They are deep and getting deeper with each muscle pull or sprain as young talent gets a chance to get more reps in practice and become more comfortable playing with the starting unit.
True, center Dan Koppen’s injury was an eye-opener, but as Bronco head coach John Fox pointed out, Manny Ramirez had been and still was the starting center. And the team didn’t panic, instead finding replacements to at least compete for the starting job in free agent Steve Vallos and the retired Ryan Lilja.
And, yes, reports say the Broncos did contact current ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday (You-Know-Who’s former center), with Saturday politely declining, then recommending Lilja, who had also been a teammate of You-Know-Who at Indy.
Yes, Denver has had injury problems in camp, as has virtually every NFL team.
But when we look at the depth chart as camp opened, the only regular who likely won’t be playing is linebacker Von Miller.
And that won’t be because of that nasty old injury bug.
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