Around the NFL
NFL coaches and players seem to be going out of their way to downplay injuries these days. A staple of this new approach appears to be the word "strain."
Frank Gore has a "strained" ankle. The 49ers called it that after NFL Network reported it as a high ankle sprain; he's expected to miss three weeks -- again, according to the team. The 49ers have a bye in week 6, so theoretically Gore would only miss two games. If it is a high ankle sprain, though, a 4-to-6 week timetable is more likely.
Kevin Smith injured a shoulder in Detroit's win over Washington. The Lions are calling him week to week. They didn't define the injury beyond that, or rule him out for Sunday; Smith said he hopes to play, while Jim Schwartz cited competitive advantage concerns in not revealing the extent of the injury.
Last night Felix Jones suffered a strained knee. Jones rode the bike on the sidelines after the injury and said he'd be fine; hopefully for Jones' owners, that's the case. A knee sprain would be more of a 2- to 4-week injury.
A new one came from Jim Mora yesterday, talking about Matt Hasselbeck's rib injury. He called Hasselbeck "touch and go" for Sunday's game. That's helpful.
In short, don't expect any more information from NFL coaches on the availability of players than they're required to give, and check out the injury reports we post here Wednesday through Friday to find out who's practicing fully, who's limited, and who's sitting out.
And who's "touch and go."
--Andy Richardson
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