We all know about the problem with injuries we've faced as a team for...damn, I don't know, it seems like decades. Seriously, what gives? Everyone wants to blame the strength and conditioning guys, but I just don't buy that. There are so many factors that go into an injury, with much of it having to do with the type of injury and the location. But whatever the cause, we just seem to always be on the short end of the stick, and there has to be some reason for it besides crappy luck.
Yes, other teams are experiencing serious injuries, including injuries to important starters, but it sure does seem like we get more than our fair share, right? Look at this season so far, game by game, with the injuries for each team as reported in the NFL.com gamebook summaries:
@NYJets
BUF: F. Jackson, D. Nelson
NYJ: D. Revis
Kansas City
BUF: G. Wilson, S. Gilmore
KC: K. Boss
@Cleveland
BUF: CJ Spiller, J. Byrd
CLE: B. Skrine
New England
BUF: K. Urbik, S. Gilmore, C. Glenn, M. Anderson, S. Chandler
NE: none
(C. Reinhart injured during practice week)
@San Francisco
BUF: C. Brown, A. Williams, M. Anderson, J. Byrd
SF: none
I would note that a couple of the Bills injuries (such as the injuries to S. Chandler in the NE game, C. Brown and J. Byrd in the SF game, and C. Reinhart) were not reported in the NFL.com gamebook; I got those from what I know and various online reports. Thus, it is possible that our opponents also had additional injuries that weren't reported in the gamebooks.
Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to matter if it's a home or away game, we always end up on the wrong end of the injury report. That's 16 injuries to Bills players already so far this year, compared to 3 injuries for the opponents we played. Of those 3 injuries to our opponents, only one (K. Boss) was significant enough for the player to lose subsequent playing time (he's on injured reserve due to concussion issues). Meanwhile, the Bills have had at least 8 injuries that are/were significant enough to either lose playing time (Jackson, Nelson, Urbik, Glenn, Reinhart, Brown) or to significantly impact their performance (CJ Spiller and probably J. Byrd).
Yes, football is a tough game, and everyone has to deal with injuries. But it sure does seem like we deal with a disproportionate number, particularly when you look at the team we played. Is it something about the way we play? Do we let other teams kick the crap out of us? Are we just more polite on the field? Seriously, what gives??