This has been a nightmare 2009 training camp for Oakland Raider fans. Any day where no one gets punched or placed on the injury list is a pretty good day.
Yesterday was not one of those days.
After chipping a bone in his left wrist on the second play of the Raiders' exhibition Waterloo against New Orleans, Raiders All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha will be sidelined for two weeks, ESPN is reporting. The wrist is not broken and Nnamdi will not require surgery, but ESPN reports Asomugha will miss Game 1 against the Chargers.
But that's not a unanimous opinion. David White tweets that Asomugha has cartilage damage, but will not miss that Charger game.
Missing Week 1's Monday Night game against the Chargers would be significant. If the Raiders had the luxury of a shutdown cornerback, they could allow the defense to better focus on stopping LaDainian Tomlinson and the run.
But the repercussions of the chipped bone in Nnamdi's wrist once he returns may be even more significant. Asomugha is unanimously considered the best bump-and-run corner in the League.
If his wrist is sore or limited, that takes a big part of the "bump" out of his bump-and-run. Asomugha's game is to hold the receiver back at the line of scrimmage, with various legal shoves, pushes, and remarks about the receiver's momma. This all limits the receiver's ability to get past Asomugha. If Asomugha's wrist is less-than 100%, receivers may be able to juke past him more easily in the first few weeks of the season until he's fully recovered.
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And those "first few weeks of the season" all consist of important divisional games against San Diego, Kansas City, and Denver.
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who is just trying to get through the day without being puched or placed on the injured reserve list.
