The New Orleans Saints and New York Giants released their initial injury reports on Wednesday, and I’m here to caution you from the jump against hitting the panic button.
New Orleans played an abnormally long game against the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday, and players were still feeling the effects come Wednesday’s first practice. The Saints-Falcons bout lasted 3 hours, 38 minutes which is significantly longer than the Saints’ first two games: 2 hours, 55 minutes against the Cleveland Browns and 3 hours, 13 minutes versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Put another way, the Saints set season highs in snaps on offense (79), defense (68), and special teams (36).