Indispensable Players - NFL News And Picks

Indispensable Players
By Chris Cluff
Posted: 3:00 am PDT 2006-09-30

If one thing has become painfully clear this season, a rough reinforcement of lessons learned every year, it is that almost every team has one seemingly indispensable player -- a guy it cannot afford to have injured because his absence greatly reduces the team's chances of winning.

We learned it in the first two weeks as Carolina went 0-2 without Steve Smith, dropping out as the favorite to win the NFC South (+$215 on WagerWeb.com); Washington started 0-2 without a healthy Clinton Portis, and Kansas City lost a week after quarterback Trent Green was knocked out.

Now we're about to see how Seattle and Dallas do if they are forced to play without their biggest stars.

Shaun Alexander, the reigning NFL MVP, has a broken foot and is doubtful for the Seahawks' game in Chicago this week (the Bears are favored by 3.5 on WagerWeb.com).

Alexander claims he has been healed through his faith, but he still seems unlikely to play. If Alexander can't go, the Seahawks will insert backup Maurice Morris, and Coach Mike Holmgren has no plans to scale back the offense.

The Seahawks used a lot of four-receiver sets last Sunday against the New York Giants, but Holmgren said Alexander's potential absence wouldn't mean the team would play exclusively with one-back formations.

"We're not going to abandon the I-formation or some of the things that have been bread-and-butter for us," Holmgren told reporters. "Mo certainly is capable of functioning in the single-back situation."

The Seahawks have won all three games even with a hobbled Alexander averaging just 2.9 yards per carry, so a healthy Morris might even help the running game.

"Let's face the facts, (Alexander) is the MVP, we're not going to sugarcoat that, but I do have a lot of confidence in Mo Morris," Holmgren said. "I hope not to change things too much."

In Dallas, the passing game might change if receiver Terrell Owens can't play because of the broken finger he suffered in Week 2.

In his first game, Owens caught six passes for 80 yards and a touchdown, but Dallas lost to Jacksonville. He had just three catches for 19 yards in the second game, against Washington, struggling to hold on to the ball because of the finger he broke early in the contest. And the Cowboys won anyway.

Until he was hospitalized Tuesday, Owens seemed likely to play at Tennessee this week. Now he is questionable. If he can't play, the Cowboys and quarterback Drew Bledsoe will rely on Terry Glenn, who needed stitches in a thumb he accidentally cut this week.

Glenn had six catches for 94 yards and a score against Washington, proving that the Cowboys could win with little help from Owens.

The question is whether they can win without him -- something Carolina could not do without Smith, Washington could not do without Portis and Kansas City couldn't accomplish without Green.

Dallas and Seattle might be about to find out how indispensable Owens and Alexander are.

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