Brown BLog Predicts: Injuries

This is that part of the season where if you watch closely, it is not difficult to see that most NFL players are playing banged up.  It's a brutal game and teams don't want to sit their starters if at all possible.

Injuries might be the key today vs Jacksonville.   Last week against the Rams, Myles Garrett was shut out for the first time in his career.   No sacks, no tackles, no assists, no pressures.  That after a game the previous week where Garrett could not lift his arm after the game.  Neither Garrett nor the Browns are willing to admit how serious his injury might be and they both dismissed any suggestion that his injury had anything to do with being shut out.  Teams have been double and triple teaming Garrett as long as he's been in the league but we should believe it was the LA Rams who finally shut him down.   My eyes said Garrett is playing with an injury that 99% of athletes would not play with and watching the Rams game I believe Garrett avoided opportunities to make tackles more than once.  Why?  Because he cannot use his left arm and even one hit to that arm might seriously aggravate the injury.   So the Browns are playing Garrett as a decoy in my opinion.   That proves that Garrett is tough as nails but the concern here is that his injury prevents him from being anything more than a decoy.   As a decoy Garrett can still contribute because teams double team him so the game becomes 10 Browns defenders vs 9 offensive players but if Garrett truly cannot use his left arm, and I think the film shows that he is avoiding using his left arm, Jacksonville is not stupid, they watch film and I think they will test Garrett today if only to force him to use that arm and validate if he's really hurt.  

Bottom line is that the Browns defense with Garrett at less than 50% is not a dominant defense.   I think Garrett "is" less than 50% 

On the Jacksonville side, their franchise QB Trevor Lawrence has a very bad ankle injury.  I watched that one and find it difficult to believe his ankle is sprained.   It looked like a dislocation to me.  Dislocations can happen without bones breaking or ligaments tearing, but once you dislocate any joint, the threat of it dislocating again is serious and healing can take months.  That said, dislocations often "pop back into place" and ankles can be protected by tape and braces so maybe Lawrence can play, albeit risking new dislocations but I would bet that Doug Pederson lands on resting his QB for a few weeks including today against the Browns. 

So which is worse, the Browns with Garrett playing on one arm or the Jags without Trevor Lawrence?

I am going with the Jaguars today, I think CJ Beathard is an experienced solid backup who will execute his game plan.   Unlike Kevin Stefanski, Doug Pederson knows how to win with his backup QB, the Jags will be patient and wait for the Browns to do something stupid.  The weather may be a factor too, lending a hand to whichever team is willing to win ugly.  That too causes me to lean towards the road team today. 

The Brown BLog Predicts

Jacksonville             17

Browns                    13

The Brown BLog are 6-6 season to date.