Depth is such an essential element of success in pro football, and one that is easily overlooked. Part of a football team trying to overcome injuries is pure luck.
When QB Chad Pennington went down in the 2003 preseason, the
Jets’ season was essentially sunk as Vinny Testaverde (7 TDs in seven starts)
performed poorly. The same thing happened this season when Pennington went down
in midseason, and retread QB Quincy Carter led a stumbling Jets offense that
averaged 14 ppg in four starts (two defeats). On the other hand, part of it is smart coaching and
management. Several other teams have had QB injuries but have effective backups
that stepped right in. The biggest story of this NFL season has been the job
that rookie QB Ben Roethlisberger has done for the Steelers after starter Tommy
Maddox was lost back in September. San Diego added star rookie QB Philip Rivers, but still kept
veteran Doug Flutie and Drew Brees. They didn’t know who would lead the team,
but were smart enough to have three talented options. It’s been Brees who has matured as an MVP candidate leading
the way for the surprising Chargers. How would they have fared if they dumped
all the other QBs and handed the reigns over to Rivers? Perhaps as well as the
Giants offense since they gave Eli Manning the starting job. Three years ago the Patriots lost starting QB Tom Brady in
the AFC Championship game in the second quarter at Pittsburgh, yet had All-Pro
Drew Bledsoe on the bench to come in and lead the team to victory. It’s far more than just quarterback depth, of course. The
Patriots have been remarkable the last few seasons at understanding the
importance of depth. Last year New England lost All-Pro starting center Damian
Woody in the playoffs, but were able to insert little-known Russ Hochstein and
still ran for 127 yards in the Super Bowl against a fierce Carolina front four. This season, the Pats have had key injuries to the secondary,
losing All-Pro CB Ty Law and starter Tyrone Poole. Yet, they’ve moved safety
Rodney Harrison and Asante Samuel to corner and even use WR Troy Brown as a
defensive back in passing situations. This versatility and use of depth has
helped to keep the New England machine rolling for the last two years. The Carolina Panthers have been decimated by injuries on
offense, losing WR Steve Smith and RBs DeShaun Foster and Stephen Davis. That
contributed to a 1-7 start, before finally adjusting and going on a 4-0 SU/ATS
run. Tennessee hasn’t been able to adjust to a rash of injuries,
including star QB Steve McNair and a depleted secondary. The Titans offense has
been okay under backup QB Bill Volek, but the defense has been shredded. That
explains a 6-3 "over" run in posted totals for Titans games. The Buffalo Bills offense has been clicking the second half
of the season. A big factor has been the play of RB Willis McGahee, who got the
full time starting job after RB Travis Henry was lost for the season with a knee
injury. McGahee ran for over 100 yards in five of eight games after taking over,
and had 91 yards rushing in another. The Bills went 6-2 "over" the
total in those contests, and Buffalo’s quality running back depth was key. The
Bills also caught fire with a 5-1 SU/ATS run that kept their playoff hopes
alive. There’s no better example of not paying attention to the
importance of depth than the Miami Dolphins. Miami had a weak offensive line and
QB play a year ago, but their big free agent acquisition over the summer was WR
David Boston and overpaying for QB A.J. Feeley. In August, star RB Ricky Williams retired, and Boston was
lost for the year blowing out his knee. Feeley was no upgrade over Jay Fiedler,
and it wasn’t a surprise to see Miami implode, starting 4-8 ATS with an
offense ranked 26th in the NFL and 29th rushing the football. Heading into
Monday Night’s game with New England, Miami was 1-5 SU/ATS at home! Attention to depth and player flexibility would have served
the Dolphins better. It’s not the job of a pro football general manager to be
praying every Sunday for players not to get injured. Rather, he should be
evaluating and planning on improving depth, as injuries are to be expected
because football is such a physical, violent game.
