Super Bowl 51: Will Bad Wheels Derail Atlanta Falcons?
By Ronald Evans
Super Bowl 51: Will Bad Wheels Derail Falcons? Julio Jones and Alex Mack will play with injuries.
Super Bowl 51 may come down to how two injured Atlanta Falcons players fight through injuries. All-Pro Center Alex Mack and All-World Julio Jones have injuries that would keep them out of most games. But then a Super Bowl has no resemblance to most games.
Mack will be playing with a fractured fibula in his left leg. The Falcons initially reported that Mack suffered an ankle sprain in the NFC Championship game. Upon further review, it was acknowledged Mack has a more serious leg injury.
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Two things you may not know about fractured fibulas. The fibula is paired with the tibia (shinbone) and the tibia is the weight-bearing bone in the pair. Since the fibula is not weight-bearing, Mack can play on Sunday. The more arcane tidbit about playing football with a fractured leg is that Paul Bryant did it.
In 1935, Paul “Bear” Bryant played against Tennessee with a fractured bone in his leg. After the game some sportswriters were skeptical but Alabama produced x-rays that confirmed the fracture. In the 1930’s Alabama versus Tennessee was annually a “super” donnybrook. No player who could walk would sit out the game.
How well Alex Mack can play due to his injury is not known. If it makes him to any degree less effective, the Patriots will gain an advantage.
Julio Jones has the more well-known injury problem. Julio has dealt with toe problems through most of the season. The Falcons insist it is a “toe sprain” rather than the more serious “turf toe.” Whatever is the correct description, the injury kept Julio out of two games in December. He also aggravated the existing injury against Seattle in the playoff game. In addition, he is playing with a less serious sprained ankle.
In a league dominated by quarterback play, Julio is the best of the “Game-changers.” His injury may cause the Falcons to primarily use him as a decoy. They have offensive weapons aplenty. Given the knowledge of the injury, perhaps the Patriots will choose to not double Julio.
Of this we can be sure, Julio’s toughness can be enough for him to persevere over his injured toe.
Julio does not need an abundance of touches to determine the outcome of a game. His physical abilities are so exceptional, he can explode at any moment.
Next: Julio and Upshaw or Hightower and Jones?
Falcons fans will be praying Alex Mack powers through, and Julio explodes past their injuries.