How this week’s injury report affects our picks
Yesterday, I picked the New Orleans Saints to beat the Carolina Panthers in tomorrow’s season opener. I stand by that pick, but the final injury report adds some context that Panthers fans could use to cheer their rooting, or gambling, interests.
There are three items of note off both team’s injury reports, two of which break in the Panthers favor:
The tight ends
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble are both out for this game with a calf injury and a pulled hamstring, respectively. Tight ends are supposed to feature more in Dave Canales’ offense than we saw in Frank Reich’s monster last year and this news leaves Jordan Matthews and Ja’Tavion Sanders shouldering the bulk of that load.
The silver lining is that Matthews and Bryce Young showed great chemistry in their brief joint appearance in the preseason.
The offensive line
The best news all offseason may just be that none of the Panthers starting five offensive linemen appeared on the injury report this week. Young is going to have all the protection he is going to get this season so that he can put his best foot forward on Sunday. How good that best foot will look is still a matter of some debate, but we’ll get a fair look at it.
Khalen Sanders
The only Saints starter out for Sunday is defensive tackle Khalen Sanders. His absence should give the aforementioned offensive line a slightly easier job on Sunday. That means better protection for Young and an easier time for Chuba Hubbard to establish the Panthers ground game.
The bottom line
These factors are almost enough to make me change my pick and bet on the Panthers tomorrow. Only a lack of faith in Carolina’s pass rush and long years of watching this team stumble out of the gate are staying my hand.
Take the information and do with it as you will, and remember to bet the under on total sacks if anybody is daft enough to offer odds on that.
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