As the end of the first quarter of the NFL season approaches, injuries are starting to raise their ugly profile.
New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington suffered a torn rotator cuff on the same throwing shoulder that underwent off-season surgery. Pennington will miss the rest of the season and the injury obviously puts his career in jeopardy.
Sooner or later, injuries affect every team in varying degrees — except the seemingly invincible New England Patriots.
The loss of defensive leader Rodney Harrison for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee will test the Patriots to the limit, especially for a defense already playing the season without linebacker Tedy Bruschi.
Strong safety Harrison and left tackle Matt Light both were carted off the field Sunday in Pittsburgh in the first half. The extent of Light’s injury remains unknown. But just as they looked their most vulnerable, the Patriots put on their most dominating display of football this season.
The notion that Adam Vinatieri field goals are the only thing that separates the Patriots from the rest of a well-balanced league should have been corrected during the 23-20 win.
Behind 13-7, the Patriots took over the game in the fourth quarter from the physical Steelers on defense as well as offense.
Although the spectacular 12-for-12 passing by Tom Brady in the fourth quarter to six different receivers deserved the most attention, what the Patriots’ defense did against Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers was equally impressive.
Although Roethlisberger guided a game-tying fourth-quarter drive of 51 yards, it was set up by a 44-yard kickoff return by Ricardo Colclough and a 23-yard pass-interference penalty against ex-Steelers cornerback Chad Scott on fourth-and-11.
In two possessions before that, the Steelers made one first down.
The Patriots are in the midst of a schedule quirk that has them playing four tough road games in five weeks–at Carolina, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Denver, with their only home break against San Diego this week. But the Patriots so befuddled the Steelers in the fourth quarter that Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin waved the raucous Pittsburgh crowd to make more noise during the touchdown drive and Roethlisberger had to quiet it.
“I was hoping the defense would stop them, but once they didn’t, I said, `OK, now it’s our turn,'” Brady said.
Coach Bill Belichick barely addressed the injuries on Monday because he wants to ignore injuries. When Steelers trainer John Norwig offered to help with Light, Belichick chased him away.
“Nobody is too good to be replaced around here,” linebacker Mike Vrabel said. “Well, maybe besides Tom.”
Patriot time
The Pittsburgh timekeeper inadvertently added 52 seconds to the fourth quarter, the NFL admitted Monday. But the Patriots didn’t need it.
The third snap of the fourth quarter was a false start with 13:59 left. The clock was accidentally reset to the previous play, 14:51.
The Patriots got the ball with 1:14 left after the Steelers tied the game with 1:21 left. The Patriots won with one second left, but they allowed the final 50 seconds to wind down, so the extra time made no difference.
The Patriots had a first down at the Pittsburgh 31-yard line with 57 seconds left and the clock stopped because receiver Patrick Pass got out of bounds. That would have been a 49-yard field goal for Vinatieri. They ran for no gain and Pittsburgh called time out with 50 seconds left. The Patriots then completed a 6-yard pass and let the clock run instead of spiking the ball. They had no timeouts.
Pennington done
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An MRI exam showed the Jets’ Pennington suffered a tear in his rotator cuff against Jacksonville in a game he finished after getting knocked out early.
Pennington was sacked on consecutive plays early in the second half and replaced by Jay Fiedler, who also damaged his shoulder on his sixth play. Pennington came back to lead the Jets on two field-goal drives but clearly was hurting and said after the game that the injury felt “similar to last year.”
Pennington missed three games last season and had off-season surgery. His arm strength was obviously affected in starts against Kansas City and Miami.
“It’s frustrating and demoralizing,” Pennington said.
Despite the injury, coach Herman Edwards thought he and Pennington had made the right call by letting him back in against the Jaguars instead of going with Brooks Bollinger, though the play calling was limited by Pennington not being able to throw long.
Bollinger is the likely starter Sunday at Baltimore.
Aching Akers
In Philadelphia, Eagles coach Andy Reid conceded kicker David Akers probably will have to take at least a week off after an MRI confirmed a tear in his right hamstring. The left-footed kicker gutted it out and made the winning field goal against Oakland.
Reid also revealed injuries to quarterback Donovan McNabb are more extensive than believed. Besides a bruised shin and his recurring chest injury that is “quite sore,” Reid said McNabb also has a sore lower abdomen. That could indicate a sports hernia that sometimes requires surgery.
More pain
Linebacker Takeo Spikes is out for the season with a ruptured right Achilles’ tendon.
Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner is out indefinitely with a groin injury. Josh McCown will start Sunday against the 49ers in Mexico City.
Packers problem
Quarterbacks Joey Harrington of Detroit, Trent Dilfer of Cleveland and Brian Griese of Tampa Bay have thrown seven touchdown passes and two interceptions in wins over Green Bay. Packers quarterback Brett Favre has thrown five touchdown passes and seven interceptions.
Rossley cleared
Packers offensive coordinator Tom Rossley, who coached with the Bears in 1997-98, said Monday his latest heart scare won’t force him to cut back on his long workdays.
“If anything, we’re going to dig in and do more because we’re very close and we’ve got to get over the edge,” Rossley said after spending Sunday night in the hospital for tests. Rossley felt warning signs before kickoff but checked himself out of the hospital and returned to Lambeau Field in the second quarter of Green Bay’s loss to Tampa Bay.
“The radioactive dye they shot through me and took all the pictures and everything came out positive, everything’s very good,” Rossley said.
Rossley was a close friend of former Bears and Packers personnel chief Mark Hatley, who died of a heart attack before last season.
Brady’s bunch
Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who has been around the NFL for 45 years, on Patriots QB Brady: “Probably the most intelligent I’ve ever seen at throwing to the right spot.”
That was before Brady completed his last 12 passes to beat the Steelers.
“He’s definitely the best in the league,” Steelers receiver Hines Ward said afterward.
“I love that guy,” Patriots tight end Christian Fauria said. “I wish he didn’t have a girlfriend. Did I say that out loud? I did, didn’t I?”
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