Brandon Albert to start against Washington

thats your opinion but you cant say that with such conviction..if his rehab is done its time to play.

 

I wouldn't say it if I didn't have "conviction" in the potential risk vs. reward. This was a man limping only a couple weeks ago. He's neither mentally tested nor physically in the way an athlete should be coming off major knee surgery.

 

Branden Albert was not in bad condition pre injury, takes very good care of his body in the offseason..hes an elite left tackle not just because of his natural talent but the whole package, folks know how hard he works..he doesnt have the best genetics physique wise but he takes care of what he has and pushes himself.

 

Again, you're refusing to acknowledge age, mounting injury history, and the rigors of that position. The guy hasn't played a full season since 2011 and we're talking about the knee on his pivot leg which he's going to have to push off from, after tearing his ACL and MCL only 10 months ago.

 

ok, I see what your saying, was the kneee he injured the same knee he had trouble with before?

 

Great news. I wish I had more confidence about him lasting an entire season. Outside of C and RT, don't have a lot of confidence in this group. Hopefully the overhaul with the WR/TE and improvement in RTH can cover up those weaknesses.

 

I'm a nervous wreck about Albert going out there for week one. Hopefully they limit his activity for the first four weeks of the season...Maybe in a sense the first four weeks will be "his" preseason so to speak. I personally didn't expect him back until at least October so this is kind of a surprise to me that he's going to start in week one. Albert had the label of being injury prone when he first officially joined our team, and then unfortunately he ends up doing exactly that by blowing out his knee. The injury at the time was fairly gruesome if I do remember correctly so it's a shock to see him back so soon. I hope the team knows what they are doing, I hope Albert himself isn't pushing this along and rushing things....The track record for players that come back from an ACL as quickly as he is, is not that good unless you're Adrian Peterson. If anything you would think Louis Delmas and RG3 would have taught us something about rushing crap like this by now.

 

Just imagine the fallout if he does re-injure the knee, potential firings.

 

you cant rush the recovery of an ACL, you can only work very hard while your rehabbing, that is why I said 10 months ago that he would be ready week 1, because i know his pain tolerance and how hard he works, some human beings just cant push as hard, cant go for that extra rep, which is the rep that accelerates the healing process, some humans dont have the discipline, some understand that the rehab lasts 24 hours if you have a goal to reach, Albert is that kind of person...will push the limits.

 

1) BA takes his training very seriously as evidence by articles and videos easily looked up. He is not a poor athlete.

2) BA himself addressed the limp. That's simply the way he walks.

3) BA's prognosis was 9-12 months. It is now 10 months and within the window.

4) The Patriots cheat.

 

I am not upset. Part of it is how the score is as well. If Miami is up 20-0 and in the 4th quarter Redskins score 2 junk touchdowns with the last one with zero time remaining, then of course I am not worried at all.

I know this is the NFL and any given sunday, however I just want to see Miami win outright. I am hoping mostly for a nice score of 24-10 or 27-14, a nice game where Miami wins and they don't shoot themselves in the foot.

If Miami wins 6-3, of course I will be happy. Heck I would be happy with 3-2 or 3-0. However I would be a little worried if this game is close.

 

Amazing how much you know about what goes on inside Albert's head.

 

amazing how you know the inside of his knee so well..

I dont wanna argue, just that your projecting something you have 0 proof of, im at least projecting something that is reasonable considering the timeframe and work ethic of the athlete.

 

I dont like it either, I think we win Week 1 and 2 without him, its the Redskins and Jags, unless they feel hes 100% and rather have him get warmed up against easier opponents. I dont know, the doctors know more than me, but Id hate to lose him for the rest of the season on games we should have won anyway

 

Nothing about what you're saying is reasonable. Even after physical rehab there is still both mental and physical adjustment. This often leads players not filling "right" until a full year later. Just go look at a trench guy like Geno Atkins.

My awareness of the risks involves is purely logical - obviously contradicts the view thru rose-colored glasses. By the way Louis Delmas says hello and that he was "ready to go".

 

you dont know the mentals of branden albert and how he approaches the game..your just projecting stats... your saying its likely he will injure the knee because he didnt wait longer, or he will be injured again because he was injured before..this is the NFL, hes been cleared and rehabbed by the best..time for the knee to function during football movements

 

I never said "LIKELY". I said the risks are far greater for re-injuring or a subsequent injury to another body part because of him favoring the leg. Why risk it when you can give him 5 more weeks to get ready?

Learn to read.

 

DJ's a respected member around here...unlike yourself, so come off the high horse professor.

So it's not likely?

How do "far greater risk" and "likely" not mean the same thing in this context?

If he's not "likely" to injure it again, what's the worry?

 

as is the case for every injury like this, even with the history, if hes cleared and ready, you roll..a higher risk comes with the territory then.

 

You can manage the risk better with more time, which AGAIN we're afforded if we bring him back after the bye.

Seriously though, where are these miraculous recoveries from knee tears by O-lineman, better yet LT's - particularly at Albert's age? Check out Jake Long's experience after his ACL tear in 2013. Not only did he tear it again the following year, his play leading up to it was was significantly worse.

 

you just simply cannot pull that other players history means it has a greater chance of happenng to our player card..

I'm sure he's not being forced to play, any coach that allows that will not be a coach for long because players will not play for him..now if indeed he's feeling that pressure to play and hes not 100 percent then this team will not accomplish sh&^ and Philbin will be fired soon enough..

If the player says he feels ready to go, then past history of other players means nothing in this instance, each player needs to be assessed individually, if he gets hurt you deal with the consequences, you cut your losses and you move on..Thats just my take.

so your plan is to bring him back after the bye, to give him that extra month off...hmm, I mean I suppose we could just shut him down, but what if dallas or fox cant handle it and hes sittin there like wtf are yall doing, let me in the game...

any coach at this level, after an injury like that, I believe is the doctors,trainers, and players call..

 

It's not even just the other plays - it's logic. Your risk is higher for re-injury or other injuries stemming from favoring the leg ..... as opposed to never having the injury.

I'm not saying he was "forced". I'm saying a lame duck coach will be more than willing to look the other way when a player only 10months off an ACL/MCL tear declares he's ready after having not seen any preseason activity and was limping only weeks ago. Don't buy for a second he "always had a limp" - did he have a pimp cane too? LOL. There's a lot on the line this year, between coaching hot seat and a TON of money spent. It's suspect.

You're still not hearing me. Our schedule allows for us to ease him into the fold. We know what we have in Fox and Thomas and our season will not crumble if either of them start until after the bye.

Any player with a competitive spirit is going to bust his *** to get back out there. That does not mean he's thinking "logically" about how to approach the situation. Just seeing his comments in the media today tells me it's more about proving other people wrong and EGO than it is safely approaching this.

I ask again though - where is this list of offensive line (more specifically LT's) who came back before 12 months and was their former self? There's a pattern there.

 

I could see us giving Albert 2 more weeks rest, but we don't have the luxury of waiting until after the bye and not playing him if healthy for the Buffalo game. That creates a serious risk of another L in the win/loss column.

More importantly, none of us know the state of his recovery. So yes the risk is greater the sooner you put him in, but how much greater is that risk?? Us posters here have no idea at all about that. I think it's just best to trust the doctors/coaches/player on this one (not that we can change the decision anyway). Their careers/jobs are at stake so they certainly have motivations to make the right call.

 

I tore my ACL in a soccer tournament last year, a few months before Brandon Albert, and was able to run again in 8 months without a problem. My PT and surgeon would talk to me about, barring complications, how I had no greater probability of re-injury than anyone else.

What I did find, however, is that ten months away from soccer had a greater effect on my overall rustiness and fitness, or lack there of, when I did return. There is also an aspect of fear involved that, while not a physical detriment, must be overcome or it can impact performance.

I assume Brandon Albert will be fine.

 

Albert tore his ACL and MCL, he's also over 300lbs and plays in a high contact sport.

My cousin had ACL surgery a few years back and has had a lot of trouble with it, there is scar tissue involved, elasticity of said ligaments can be compromised to some degree. so it's not as simple as you make it sound.

Louis Delmas just tore his reconstructed knee up a few weeks ago, after being cleared to play, I wouldn't think anyone needed proof beyond that.

 

i understand where your comin from, you want philbin to take a stand, against what the doctors, trainers and player thinks, take the stand, show the team that hes not gonna show desperation and jeopardize a payers safety, let past history determine a bit more timeframe, if they win and he does that he wins the team over bigtime..its interesting and risky..but I see the angle.

Im hoping a real sitdown happened with the coach and the player and albert leveled with Philbin..and the result of that convo was, Im ready to play coach, ive rehabbed enough, its time to play..im good..

 

I will add this, he is carrying more weight this year as opposed to previous years..

 

Screw it, if he wants to play let him at this point. He's going to be that one guy we are always holding our breath over whenever an unidentified player on our team goes down. The track record for players in all sports that rush back is not good. Marcus Lattimore, Derrick Rose, Sam Bradford...Albert has had injuries in the past so it's going to be a gamble with him every Sunday. At this point there is no reason to argue about it. If he's healthy he needs to be out there....we need him. If it were me i'd ease him into the season. Play him sparingly at first and gradually increase his reps. This is football though and any play can be your last.

 

My problem is I don't trust the trainers for a second considering the ramifications of this season. They were the same guys who cleared Delmas and he re-injured his non-contact. Same guys who cleared Gibson, who was mostly silent last year and recently cut by the Patriots in training camp. Just my opinion, but I guarantee you that if Fox was one of the league's better backup LT's - Albert wouldn't be playing yet.

The thing about rehab is it's just to get the knee strong enough to be medically cleared. That doesn't guarantee functional football condition, nor does it include the mental adjustment that's been well-documented by many of these guys for a full year after they've been cleared. The only position of recent memory I've seen guys make the quick jump is at runningback (i.e. Jamaal Charles, Adrian Peterson). Those guys are top form athletes and downright physical freaks.

That's no bueno. If anything he should be lighter to put less stress on that knee.

I'm gonna stop harping on this. I'm a risk manager by trade so I always tend to view things through that lens.

 

Many, many knee ligament injuries happen that way, whether they're the first or the third. Its so weird.

 

like I said, its not like I dont get your point, Im just saying that this is football, unlike running backs, an offensive tackle doesnt take neary the punishment on the knees...

your conspiracy theory here is not one of solice, there are respected members with sources who do think philbin gave players with injuries a bit of an ultimatum, I just cant believe those kind of things happen at this level, I think your jeopardizing everything you've got risking a players health, players arent stupid, they know whats going on, so if Branden felt that there were alterior motives, chaos would insue, or at least this team will implode...

 

Ahem.

Just sayin'.

 

We need to find a replacement for Albert. He just can't be counted on to stay healthy.

 

I know we handed him a lot of money when we signed him - but the dynamic completely changed once he blew his knee out. At that point the team should have been doing everything in their power to have a viable plan B.