Plenty of pain, suffering after NFL’s first week

Published 12:29 am Friday, September 14, 2007

The first week of the NFL season had plenty of drama (San Francisco’s drive late Monday night), controversy (New England’s sideline videos) and celebration (Chad Johnson’s yellow coat), but it might be better summed up in a single word.

Pain.

It’s the oft-forgotten part of America’s favorite game, and yet last weekend’s action sent us a lead-pipe-to-the-head reminder of how much football can hurt.

Pro Bowl players such as the Rams’ Orlando Pace and the Ravens’ Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden went down with injuries. The Redskins lost their starting right tackle, Jon Jansen, for the season. The same hardship befell Bears safety Mike Brown, Texans safety Jason Simmons, Ravens return man B.J. Sams, Cowboys defensive tackle Jason Ferguson and Giants defensive tackle William Joseph.

Both New York teams have gimpy starting quarterbacks — the Giants’ Eli Manning and the Jets’ Chad Pennington. Baltimore’s Steve McNair and Oakland’s Josh McCown are also iffy for this weekend.

If Week 1 of the NFL season came with a tag line, it may well have been: Ouch!

Even the Seahawks took a hit, losing starting wide receiver D.J. Hackett for an indefinite period of time. And the Buccaneers spent a good part of the second half of their game against Seattle without injured starters Jeff Garcia and Cadillac Williams.

Of course, the most tragic injury involved Buffalo tight end Kevin Everett. The third-year player from Miami suffered a spinal-cord injury in Sunday’s loss to Denver. The initial diagnosis was full paralysis, but Everett eventually gained some movement in his extremities, leading doctors to call it “a minor miracle.”

The first week of the season was about a lot more than football, which is a shame.

Just like that, the Ravens may have gone from contenders to pretenders. The Giants, who played long stretches without Manning, Joseph, starting running back Brandon Jacobs and defensive end Osi Umenyiora, might be in trouble as well. The safety position was the already most fragile on Chicago’s defense, and now the loss of Brown leaves Redskins castoff Adam Archuleta as the Bears’ only experienced veteran.

Because of injuries, on-field struggles and some offseason transgressions, Week 2 could legitimately see a list of starting quarterbacks that includes no-names like Jared Lorenzen (Giants), Kellen Clemens (Jets), Luke McCown (Buccaneers) and Derek Anderson (Browns) along with former first-round busts Joey Harrington (Falcons) and Kyle Boller (Ravens).

Chris Chandler, where have you gone?

Roster depth has already been severely tested around the NFL. One former Seahawk, safety Michael Boulware, could very well be in the starting lineup this week for the Texans. Another, defensive tackle Russell Davis, got picked up by the Giants after they placed Joseph on injured reserve.

Fans of the 2006 Seahawks know all too well that injuries are a part of the game — feels pretty good to have Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander back at full strength, huh? — but losing players in Week 1 is almost unfair.

Does anyone really think that the Lorenzen — J-Lo, as the husky QB is called by football fans with a sense of humor — can lead the Giants to the postseason? Does Marc Bulger feel as confident with Alex Barron protecting his backside as he did with Pace over there? Are the Ravens ready to challenge Pittsburgh and Cincinnati for AFC North supremacy with a gimpy left tackle and a damaged middle linebacker?

Players don’t like to think about injuries, but they know what they’re getting themselves into. Just ask Seahawks fullback Mack Strong, who spent part of last week enjoying his final few pain-free days.

“I’m sure this is the best my body will feel from this point on,” Strong said six days before the regular-season opener. “But that’s football. You go in understanding that it’s going to take a toll on you.”

Players and fans alike certainly go into each season realizing that injuries are going to happen. But when the bodies start crumpling — particularly those of star players like Pace, Ogden and Lewis — it’s almost as painful for fans to watch as it is for the player to endure.

Pulled hamstring? Hah! What about lacerated hopes of a division title? Or a broken Super Bowl dream?

Now that hurts.

Scott Johnson is The Herald’s pro football writer