Those betting on NCAA football will be already on the lookout for injuries that happened over the offseason. In the NFL, we’re starting to see injuries affect how teams are preparing, and it could be a tricky preseason for five teams. Buffalo The Bills lost their top two running backs, Fred Jackson (hand) and Marshawn Lynch (hamstring), early in their loss in Washington. Jackson is out for 4-6 weeks, which means he probably won’t be around for the regular-season opener against Miami. Lynch may be ready, but the key is here is that rookie C.J. Spiller is being forced into playing time perhaps before he’s ready. Denver The Broncos didn’t even make it to the preseason before losing running backs Correll Buckhalter (back) and Knowshon Moreno (hamstring), and Buckhalter is questionable for the regular-season opener at Jacksonville. The Broncos picked up Justin Fargas, but we can’t see him boosting a team’s Super Bowl odds too much. He’s a decent back, but unlikely to see much time once Buckhalter and Moreno are back in the fold. Arizona The Cardinals already had enough problems as they move from Kurt Warner to Matt Leinart (or is it Derek Anderson?). Now, they’ll likely go the rest of the preseason without Larry Fitzgerald (knee), who sprained his MCL in the Cardinals’ loss to Houston in their preseason opener. The Cardinals also lost Anquan Boldin, trading the disgruntled receiver to Baltimore, which makes it even more important that they have Fitzgerald at 100% for the beginning of the season. He’s arguably the best receiver in the NFL, and he will be able to make Leinart’s transition a bit easier, that is, if he’s healthy. Dallas The Cowboys are already without prized rookie Dez Bryant (ankle), and now they’ll likely be without tackle Marc Colombo (knee), who left the field on a stretcher. Colombo missed the second half of last year because of a knee injury, and it looks like it’s the same knee that he hurt in practice. Colombo could be out for 2-4 weeks after he gets surgery, but this can’t be encouraging for the Cowboys’ NFL betting online odds. Indianapolis As long as it’s not Peyton Manning, it’s cool, but even Manning must be a little worried at the possibility of not having Jeff Saturday (knee) as his starting center figures to miss the season opener at Houston. Saturday has been Manning’s center since 2000 and he makes all the line calls in the complex Indianapolis offense, which is built around Manning’s ability to call something at the line, and have Saturday relay the blocking assignments to his linemen. The Colts are still very talented without Saturday, but having him in the lineup if definitely better for Indy’s betting odds.
