Injuries are unfortunately part of football, and they certainly impact fantasy football. But rather than throwing up your hands in hopelessness, know that you have an injury resource that can set you apart from your leaguemates. Pro Football Doc has you covered when it comes to everything NFL injuries. Pro Football Doc is led by David J. Chao, an ex-NFL head team doctor who spent 17+years that role.
Among their many offerings, Pro Football Doc provides its fantastic Injury Index® which allows you to see the impact injuries will have on each and every NFL game throughout the season. The best part? It’s free!
To get the Injury Index® for every NFL game, go to Pro Football Doc. Again, by signing up you will gain FREE access to this awesome injury resource.
And for the rest of the season, we’re going to take a look at a few matchups each week along with Dr. Chao’s injury takes.
Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints
Our assumption is that mismatches in talent and scheme are accounted for in the lines but often injuries are not. The Falcons are the healthier side by a full grade (A- vs B-) over the Saints this week. New Orleans’ injuries go deeper than Drew Brees, who has already been ruled out. Tre’Quan Smith is likely out with a concussion. The defensive front also has injuries.
Meanwhile, the Falcons are among the healthier teams for Week 11 and they are likely to get Calvin Ridley back this week, too. Their No. 1 corner, Darqueze Dennard, is also slated to return this week. After a horrid 0-5 start, Atlanta would be undefeated in the last four games (but for Todd Gurley inadvertently scoring instead of falling down at the one-yard line).
The bargain would have been to take the Falcons at +7.5 as we advised on our line movers segment on Sunday night. We opined that Brees would be out for at least this game well before the news came out on Monday. Now the line has moved, but the Falcons are still the healthier side.
– David J. Chao
Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs haven’t looked like the dominant World Champions of late, but they have not been healthy, either. Now, coming off their bye, they get significantly healthier with the return of three key starters. Right tackle Mitchell Schwartz is back to stabilize the offensive line as is Sammy Watkins coming off a hamstring injury. Defensively, cornerback L’jarius Sneed is poised to return from his clavicle fracture.
The Raiders have line issues on offense and COVID issues on defense. Some, but not all, of the defensive starters will come off the list to play. That still leaves the team a full grade lower in health than the Chiefs.
People are talking about the revenge game, the victory bus lap at Arrowhead earlier this year, and the COVID on the Raiders. The real story here as one examines the Field View and Injury Index at Pro Football Doc is the Chiefs are the healthier side and should dominate the game.
– David J. Chao
