1.) Vince Wilfork will undergo season ending surgery:
As if all the injuries on the Patriots offensive side of the ball was not enough to worry about, the anchor and face of their defense, nose tackle Vince Wilfork, will also be joining a long list of Patriots on the sideline for the rest of the season. Wilfork sustained a season ending torn Achilles tendon in the Partriots victory over the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday night. The team is already without WR Danny Amendolia and TE Rob Grownkoski, which puts added pressure on the defense to perform each week. However, this is the New England Patriots and they are known as being able to turn the impossible into the possible, but will the injury to Wilfork be the straw that breaks the camels back? In my opinion, no. While Wilfork is a Pro-Bowl caliber type player, linebackers such as Jerod Mayo and other will step up in the loss of their defensive linemen while Coach Bill Belichik will be able to tweak the defensive to keep the team afloat.
2.) Sanchez agrees to have surgery; will not play this season:
While the Geno Smith era is off to a shaky start, the questions of a Sanchez return are now at zero percent. The former starting quarterback of the New York Jets once believed he would be able to return to the team after denying surgery regarding an injury he suffered in the preseason against the New York Giants. Believing he won the starting job in training camp, Sanchez attempted to rehab the injury without surgery in the hopes of a return. This news, puts pressure on Geno Smith and the Jets front office as to hat action to take if Geno still continues to underperform. Jet fans alike are possibly calling for now backup QB Matt Simms to possibly show what he can do, but for right now, as always, the Jets find themselves in QB controversy.
3.) The Tampa Bay Bucs start rookie QB Mike Glennon:
After signing Darelle Revis and Dashon Goldson to one of the worst passing defensives in the league, it was thought that Tampa Bay would be able to make a strong playoff push. Unfortunately for all those wishful dreamers, myself included, we forgot to mention the Bucs struggling offense, which all went downhill after the former starting QB Josh Freeman was benched in Week 4 to allow the rookie to step in. Though it was a different person receiving the snaps from the Buc's center, the outcome was not different from any other game the Bucs played in this season- they lost. While I believe it was too early to pull Freeman, expect this move to not improve the condition of the Bucs offensive as well as raise caution flags on possible trade which includes moving Josh Freeman. It will be interested to see where the Bucs go from here, but it is pretty safe to say the hopes of a playoff contention are slipping away.
4.) Tennessee Titan's QB Jake Locker out for 6-8 weeks with hip injury:
Many will wonder why this is on the list of 5 events which will change the rest of the NFL season, but I feel this event will have substantial affects on not only the Titans but the whole AFC. Being a Jets fan brought no happiness to your life as the Titans controlled the game from the minute it started, thanks to the great playing of QB Jake Locker. This was a make or break season for Locker who was starting to get rumored as a bust first rounder. He was playing at pretty high level and week four was no exception. Unfortunately it all came to an end after suffering a hip injury when getting tackled by Jets DE Muhammad Wilkerson. Locker is expected to be out for a little over a month but the true time table could take longer. Back up Ryan Fitzpatrick will take the start in the games to come which will drastically hinder the teams success. Fitzpatrick is a good back up but has proven a starting role is too much for his skill set. I believe this has an impact on the rest of the season due to the fact that the Titans were a wildcard caliber team with Locker and without him, I see the Titans missing the playoffs. Expect the open door to be filled quickly by many rising AFC teams
5.) Three of four NFC East Teams lose:
The NFC East, which was once believed to be the toughest division to win has now suddenly become the easiest. This past Sunday all but the Washington Redskins fell to their opponents leaving the door open for anyone who wishes to secure the division. Unfortunately, not one team has stepped up to fill the position. With the Giants offense in shambles and the Eagles secondary unable to cover wide receivers at a high school level, expect both teams to fall in coming games of the season. While RGIII still struggles, it seems as though each week he is slowly returning to the form of his rookie season. I believe he pulls out a couple close wins, but overall underperforms this season as well as missing at grabbing the divisional title. With all that being said, I feel the Cowboys will walk away with the division as they are the most well rounded team of the four. Although they suffered a tough loss at San Diego I feel the combination of Romo and Dez Bryant will be triumphant in game moving forward, especially games against divisional rivals. Expect to see Dallas in the playoffs as the number 4 seed coming from the NFC East.
