First Call: Chase Claypool’s injury was initially feared to be season threatening; Lions odds; RMU hockey update
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Thursday’s “First Call” has an interesting angle on Chase Claypool’s injury. The Detroit Lions have some mixed health updates as they prepare to visit Pittsburgh.
The odds on the Steelers-Lions game make more sense the deeper you study them.
And the displaced Robert Morris University hockey teams appear to be gaining traction in their fundraising campaigns.
‘Chase-ing’ the story
Chase Claypool missed practice Wednesday due to a toe injury. It’s an ailment that forced him to get an MRI Tuesday. The Steelers wide receiver was injured Monday night in the 29-27 victory over the Chicago Bears.
Apparently, the injury was cause for significant alarm. According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, there was some concern that Claypool’s injury might be season-ending. But that worry has subsided for now.
Some relatively good news for #Steelers WR Chase Claypool: His toe injury is not considered season-ending. There was some fear of that originally, but he’s now considered week-to-week, source said. May miss some time, but will be back.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 10, 2021
Wide receiver has gone from a position of strength and depth, to an injury red flag in Pittsburgh. With Claypool week to week and JuJu Smith-Schuster likely out for the year the Steelers are down two primary pass catchers. That means more heavy lifting for Diontae Johnson, James Washington and tight end Pat Freiermuth. Not to mention more work for the likes Ray-Ray McCloud and Cody White.
Maybe tight end Eric Ebron gets more targets whenever he returns from a hamstring injury, too.
Looking at the Lions
The news is mixed on the Detroit Lions injury front as they prepare for the Steelers at Heinz Field Sunday.
According to Lionswire.com, Taylor Decker was a full participant in his first practice since being activated off injured reserve. The offensive lineman has missed the entire season after suffering an injury to his left index finger. It needed six pins to repair. The Lions activated Decker over the bye week and he should play against the Steelers Sunday.
However, one of the running backs he’d normally block for could be inactive again. Jamaal Williams is dealing with a thigh injury that caused him to miss the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8 before the bye. Williams was the only Lions player to miss all of Wednesday’s practice.
Thankfully for Detroit, though, running back D’Andre Swift did not appear at all on the team’s injury report. He has been nursing a groin injury since minicamp. However, he has not missed any game action.
Not so fast with your cash
According to BetRivers.com, the Steelers are 8.5-point favorites over the Detroit Lions.
That spread has already dipped from 9.5 at the start of the week.
Given that the Steelers are 5-3 on a four-game win streak and playing at home, you may feel like that line is a bit narrow. Especially since the Lions are 0-8.
However, a closer look at the numbers illustrates why the line is in place. During the Steelers’ five wins this year, they’ve only won by an average margin of five points per game. Four of those victories have come against teams (Cleveland, Chicago, Seattle, Denver) currently out of a playoff position.
Yes, the Lions were terrible in their last game, getting blown out by the mediocre Philadelphia Eagles 44-6. But in their previous seven games, Detroit only lost by a total of 72 points — or 10.2 per game.
Therefore, a 8.5-point spread doesn’t seem too tight, does it?
Also, according to VSIN.com, the Lions are 4-4 against the spread. The Steelers are 3-5.
Making progress
The Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation announced that it is halfway to its cash-in-hand goal to get the Robert Morris men’s and women’s hockey teams reinstated.
The teams need to have $1.4 million in cash raised by mid-December. The PCHF sent out a tweet Wednesday announcing they had reached the 50% mark.
That didn’t take long!! Another large anonymous donation of $20,000 just came in, & we have officially hit 50%! Halfway to the cash in hand goal to reinstate @RMUMHockey & @RMUWHockey! Thank you! Again, please complete your pledges and donate if you haven’t to help #SaveRMUHockey pic.twitter.com/9uLpcw2AAW
— Pittsburgh College Hockey Foundation (@PghCHF) November 10, 2021
The Robert Morris teams raised $65,000 via Sunday’s celebrity hockey game at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. A crowd of 902 turned out to see the sold-out event.