Patriots Stay Silent on Danny Amendola’s Mystery Injury

Still no word on what’s hurting Amendola

We all know that Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola is expected to miss tonight’s preseason game against the Lions – But what we still don’t know is why.

Amendola has been missing practices with an undisclosed injury and fantasy owners are understandably concerned. The Boston Globe reports that the injury is not serious based on an unnamed source, but the whole thing seems a bit fishy.

Amendola has a history of injuries including elbow, ankle, houlder, and foot problems. In the last two seasons alone, Amendola has only played a total of 12 games.

The Patriots wide receiver played a great game against the Buccaneers last Friday catching 6 balls for 71 yards and a touchdown. During the game, Amendola got hit on the back of the head and called to the sideline. It is unclear whether Amendola was just tired or needed to be checked out. New England took caution with their star wideout after he had some minor setbacks before practice a few days ago.

Fantasy owners should not panic if they still want to draft Amendola. What should concern fantasy owners is how fragile Amendola truly is. With an ADP of 44.4, he’s being drafted in the middle to late 3rd round in most 12 man PPR leagues.

Even with his injury issues, expect Amendola to have a great year because not everyone has “The American Dream” Tom Brady throwing the ball to them.

Draft Zone: 5th Ranked Quarterback – Patriots Tom Brady

New England Patriots Tom Brady is the 5th ranked quarterback in this year’s 2013 fantasy draft standings. With an Average Draft Position (ADP) of 36, he’s likely to be taken sometime in the third round of most fantasy drafts.

We can’t talk about Brady without mentioning his recent knee-injury scare. He got rolled up on during practice this week but seems to be fine. He’s wearing his protective knee brace in practice, but it does not seem to have limited his mobility.

The ageless Brady is coming off another elite season, throwing for 4,827 yards, 34 passing touchdowns, 4 rushing touchdowns and only 8 interceptions. Brady finished the 2012 fantasy season as the third highest scoring quarterback behind Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.

Most would expect Brady to be a top-5 quarterback option in fantasy football once again in 2013, but multiple offseason changes have fantasy owners worried. The decimation of his receiving core is one issue. Brady will no longer have Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker, Danny Woodhead or Brandon Lloyd to throw to. These four players combined for 3,194 of the team’s receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in 2012.

In addition to this, tight end Rob Gronkowski may miss a portion of the season while recovering from back surgery. Brady’s newest weapon, Danny Amendola is also prone to injury issues, playing just 12 total games in his past two NFL seasons. Amendola and Gronkowski are both unique and effective receiving options, and their presence is crucial to Brady’s success.

Luckily for the Patriots, the team has the best run game that they’ve had in years. The Pats led the NFL with 25 rushing touchdowns last season and ranked 7^th in league with 2,184 yards. With a unique set of running backs, the team may choose to lean more heavily on the running game this season.

Brady may not have the best year of his career, but it’s hard to imagine him recording less than 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns.

Tom Brady Returns to Practice with Knee Brace

A day after tweaking his knee, the Patriots Tom Brady returned to the practice field sporting a brace on his surgically repaired knee.

The New England Patriots got the scare of all scares during Wednesday’s scrimmage when Buccaneers defensive end Adrian Clayborn bull-rushed his blocker into quarterback Tom Brady’s knee. Brady went down clutching his left knee, the same knee he had surgically repaired for a torn ACL in 2008. Naturally, this sent New England’s sports media into a tailspin. On top of losing Wes Welker, the Hernandez fiasco and Gronkowski’s surgery issues, the Patriots are already stretched dangerously thin.

Luckily, it seems as though New England dodged a bullet. MRI results showed no structural damage to the ligaments and the team is calling it a sprain. He participated in practice Thursday, with no limitations. Although it was a no-contact practice, he was the same old Brady in 7-on-7s and 11-on-11s with his usual outstanding accuracy.

The brace worried fans and even teammates when he came out in it, as he typically only wears knee braces during games during the regular season. After seeing his mobility and no sense of nagging however, the theories died down and a consensus was reached that the brace was merely a precaution.

Brady and Coach Bill Belichick declined to talk to the press after Thursday’s practice, which likely means Brady will start in his 2nd preseason game against the Buccaneers on Friday. Is it smart to play him on a questionable knee? Probably not. But Brady is too fierce a competitor to miss an opportunity to improve upon himself and his young receivers. Expect to see Brady Friday night with his quintessential fast-paced offense, even if only for one series.

Colts Coby Fleener Sustains Another Concussion

The Indianapolis Colts up and coming tight end Coby Fleener was diagnosed with a concussion Tuesday, and will be held out of practice as a part of the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Couple this setback with Dwayne Allen’s foot injury and the Colts are left without both starting tight ends for this Sunday’s preseason game with the Giants. Coach Chuck Pagano did not specify when Fleener may have suffered the concussion, but it might have happened last week against the Bills.

Fleener now has a history of head injuries dating back to 2011 at Stanford. Last year during his rookie campaign, Fleener sustained another concussion heading into a bye week. In today’s NFL and with what science has determined about head injuries, the league will definitely keep a close eye on Fleener’s health.

Despite this week’s injury, Fleener has been excelling in training camp and has very high expectations this season with quarterback Andrew Luck. His combination of size, speed, and athleticism poses a difficult matchup for opponents. Coach Pagano even predicted that Fleener would double his reception total of 26 in 2012. Assuming he can keep his head up and healthy, Fleener might become a major component in the Colts passing attack this season.