Injury and illness. The New York Giants will face the Washington Redskins with an injured Rashad Jennings, who has a bum knee. Defensive tackle Robert Thomas will not return in Sunday’s game with a chronic illness, the team’s doctors reported. Safety Mykkele Thompson cannot play due to injury to the safety in last week’s game in East Rutherford
Illness Setback to Thomas and Thompson
In the first two games of the 2016 season, Jennings rushed for 102 yards in 44 opportunities. Experts would agree that Jennings has not entirely impressed McAdoo this season.
On the Redskins offensive starting line-up, running back Matt Jones has a reported shoulder injury. Similar to Jennings, Jones has given his team a significant advantage in rushing. He rushed for 80 yards in the first two games of the season.
As official team reports become public, Jones will likely nonetheless participate in Sunday’s game.
Orleans Darkwa could likely be Jenning’s replacement. Jennings absence may weaken the Giants’ odds of winning, but Darkwa can likely be effective. This chance is slim because in his only carry of the season, he had a loss of a yard. Last year Darkwa performed above predictions. He rushed for 153 yards in 36 carries.
Head coach Ben McAdoo could opt for rookie Paul Perkins or Shane Vereen. Vereen has rushed for 80 yards in 20 carries, averaging 4.0 yards per carry, which is roughly one yard better than Jennings. Jennings may have more potential than Vereen. But there is no point in starting an injured player only to trigger more serious injuries such as season-ending meniscus tears.
In the 2015-16 season, Jennings rushed for 863 yards.
Thompson will recover from injuries he had from last week.
Rashad Jennings Could Return
As determinative as the injury report may sometimes sound, Rotowire.com reported today that Jennings could participate in Wednesday’s practice.
As Jacob Camenker predicts, the Giants will win this game on both offensive and defensive fronts.
"I would not expect the Redskins to be able to run very much against the Giants. The Giants have a stellar run defense that features two very strong run stuffers, Damon Harrison and Johnathan Hankins. Matt Jones is not going to be able to have much success against them, so that could cause issues for the offense if they become one dimensional."
Matt Behre could be a good replacement who had 11 tackles last season. Leon Hall could provide help giving the Giants three tackles in last week’s game. Both Behre and Hall have several years of NFL experience combined which could help a Giants offense with doubts about its effectiveness. The defense allowed points early on in both games of the season.
The Giants have won the first two games of the season and will likely carry this momentum into Week 3 against the Redskins. It would be a surprise if the lack of Jennings and Thomas does not prevent the Giants from taking advantage of a Redskins defense that will be tasked with guarding rookie sensation Sterling Shepard, premier wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and the distinguished Victor Cruz.