Other than Barkley the team seemed healthier than I can ever remember. Am I wrong? I know McKinney got hurt, but that's a rookie. Jones was injured for a short stretch but our most impressive win in a few years came with him on the bench. Both lines were very healthy. Those guys are almost always banged up.
Was there a change in anything that this could be a result of or was it just averages catching up with us?
It's a roll of the dice. Guys get hurt when they get hit. Guys get hurt running in shorts on the practice field.
I'd be surprised if we had 2 consecutive weeks of the same 4 LB's in 2020.
Ximines
Fackrell
We did lose a bunch of defensive backs but outside of McKinney, they weren't big names. Some had started games for us.
Overall, I think it was a pretty healthy year in comparison. There were 2 factors that probably came into play a little -
Youth
Being in contention for a playoff spot
When you go to the offense Barkley and Freeman went down. Shepard and Tate missed time, Slayton played hurt. And don't forget Jones missing games.
The big difference is our coaching staff never made excuses for it and never really talked about it.
Slayton played most of the year hurt
Shep played hurt
Hernandez and Peart were never the same after covid
Martinez dealt with injuries the last half of the year