Good news on Long, more tests for Saffold
• By Jim Thomas
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_dfefed9f-1be1-5d9f-8255-0c3895547d7b.html
The Rams got good news Monday on defensive end Chris Long, and are keeping their fingers crossed on right guard Rodger Saffold.
Long suffered a right knee injury with four minutes left in the second quarter of Sunday’s 24-10 loss to Green Bay and did not return.
“It’s not an ACL or MCL,” Fisher said. “So it’s good. We feared the worst last night. Don’t know if he’s gonna be available this week or for a couple weeks, but the bye week comes at a good time. We’ll just kinda go week to week on him.”
The injury occurred on the same play in which cornerback Trumaine Johnson made a diving interception of a sideline pass by Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Long was in the process of rushing Rodgers when he collided with Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari, who was desperately trying to keep up with defensive end Robert Quinn. It looked like knee to knee contact on the play between Bakhtiari and Long.
“It’s not a sprain,” Fisher said. “It’s a little bit more than a sprain. It’s not ligament related. It’s technically a hyperextension, but there’s some pain things he has to deal with over the next few weeks.”
As for Saffold, Fisher said he’s undergoing additional testing on his right shoulder. It should be noted that that’s considered Saffold’s “good” shoulder — he underwent surgery on his left shoulder this past offseason.
But the right shoulder is the same shoulder Saffold injured in the Rams’ preseason opener at Oakland. So now that the right shoulder has been injured a couple of times over a two month period, there’s some concern about a possible tear in the labrum.
“Right now he’s probably questionable for Cleveland,” Fisher said. “We’re hopeful we get good news (Tuesday).”
Saffold has had more than his share of shoulder issues in recent seasons. Could this be a case where he simply has some genetic looseness in the shoulder area and socket, predisposing him to such problems?
“He’s a heavy lifter,” Fisher said. “He’s really strong, so I wouldn’t classify it as that. But unfortunately sometimes these things do happen. Sometimes the shoulder will sublux either direction, forward or backwards.
“When it usually goes out backwards, then there’s some labral tear issues. And so that’s what we’re looking at.”
Saffold’s injury also took place on a play that resulted in an interception, only this time the interception resulted in a “pick 6.” Late in the first quarter, Packers defensive end Datone Jones ran between Saffold at right guard and Rob Havenstein at right tackle.
Saffold suffered the shoulder injury as Jones was breaking through to hit quarterback Nick Foles. The contact by Jones led to an errant throw that was intercepted by cornerback Quentin Rollins and returned 45 yards for a touchdown.
“If Rodger doesn’t get hurt on the play and go down, and put Rob in a tough situation on the ‘E-T game,’ then (Jones) doesn’t get the penetration,” Fisher said. “Then Nick can step up and throw the comeback (to Jared Cook) for a first down.”
By “E-T game,” Fisher meant a looping maneuver in which the Packers had Jones and linebacker Mike Neal crisscross, hoping to confuse the right side of the Rams’ offensive line.
That was a huge play, giving Green Bay a 14-0 lead with 53 seconds left in the first quarter. Jones probably doesn’t get through if Saffold isn’t injured on the play.
“That’s how close these things (are),” Fisher said.
Given the frequency of Saffold’s shoulder problems, the Rams have had plenty of practice filling in for him. In this instance, it was free-agent pickup Garrett Reynolds who stepped in and handled his business, according to Fisher.
“The guys kind of seemed to settle down when Garrett went in there,” Fisher said. “That’s not a negative towards Rodger, but it just settled down a little bit for us. So we’ll see where it goes.”
Other than Reynolds, a seven-year veteran, the Rams have rookie draft picks Andrew Donnal and Cody Wichmann who can play guard.
But a bigger concern may be who’s the team’s third tackle should something happen to Havenstein or left tackle Greg Robinson? Normally, it would be Saffold. But should Saffold miss an extended period of time ...
“We know Garrett can step in — he’s played right tackle,” Fisher said. “We also have confidence in Darrell Williams to be able to go play left.”
Williams is an undrafted rookie from South Florida who earned a roster spot with an impressive preseason and training camp.
The Rams have three practices this week during their bye and will use those sessions to work on and evaluate different line combinations minus Saffold.
As for Long, the Rams have experience replacing him as well should he miss some time. Last season, Long missed 10 games following surgery to repair a foot injury. Veteran William Hayes would start in Long’s place, and backups Eugene Sims and Ethan Westbrooks are available as well.
Sims returned against Green Bay after being sidelined for three games with a knee injury suffered on the last play of regulation in the 34-31 season-opening overtime victory over Seattle.
The Rams threw Sims right back into their rotation against the Packers. He participated in 29 plays from scrimmage, or 47 percent, and had five tackles. Even so, the effectiveness of the defensive line isn’t the same without Long in the lineup.
“I hate to see Chris go down like he did,” Quinn said. “I’d love to have him out there. He’s a brother to us. So hopefully it’s not that serious.”
