We have been hit with this curse on a number of players, and I just don't get it. All players work their tail off in the off season to be in shape and avoid injuries. Yet, it seems that some, like Ronnie, Smiley, Grove, Penny, etc, just cannot avoid it. Why? Is there just a black cloud hanging over these guys, wrong place, wrong time on a number of occasions, someone with a voodoo doll? I do not understand. Opinions?
I once read CK describing it as a skill. Some guys know how to land and move to avoid injury and others do not.
i think some of it is technique as stated above, and some is simple genetics. some players bodies aren't made to handle the size the game requires, so they are more prone to get injured. just another reason the FO pretty much sticks with certain measureables when it comes to players and positions .....
That's always been my belief too. There are different ways that people move, cut, drop shoulders, etc. I believe it has a lot to do with how they use their weight when they play their feet. As a linemen that encountered contact every play I was very away of where my weight was when I made moves and took hits and I rarely got injured. Where as you could see other guys play a lot stiffer and they seemed to have more nagging injuries. Obviously this can't always be helped. Ronnie for instance I don't think is "injury prone" by default. He broke his finger in a helmet and hurt his knee making a tackle that he typically doesn't make. But other players seem to make little effort to minimize the impact that their bodies take IMO and I think it costs them.
Some of it I think is just bad luck. I mean Ronnie blew out his knee trying to make a tackle on an interception. This year he had someone roll up on his ankle breaking his foot. For the life of me I dont see how he could have avoided either.
Aside from Ronnie, what do you say on guys like Grove and Smiley. I was gonna say their aggressive play but, that was not a reason for their injuries. MANY say you should not sign "injury prone players." How the hell can you possibly know?
Its a contact sport, things happen. It's as simple as that. Players get hurt, those teams that have good depth survive the injuries. Also we brought in players that have a history of injuries (Pennington, Grove etc...) Its not that we are snake bitten.
NJ, The question is why do players have that history? I tried to figure it out, and do not have a clue. Their history, for the most part, is different than what was injured now.
I would classify a player as injury prone if they have had a previous injury of any kind. Take Ronnie. His knee was injured a couple years back. Therefore it is not as strong and more apt to be damaged or torn again. Even with constant recovery, rehab, and conditioning, it's nearly impossible to keep an injury from recurring at least once in your career. It's the same in any sport, at any position. hopefully Ronnie can stay healthy for the remainder of his career and people like Grove and Smiley can keep their injuries to a minimum next season. Edit: To your post above, even though it may not be the same injury, players often focus so hard on not re-injuring the same thing that they end up not being as careful with other parts of their body.
IMO its a lot of factors - Genetics - Position played - Technique - Age - Ability to play in pain - Diligence in taking care of oneself - Use of steroids/drugs
There is a lot of luck involved. Ronnie's foot injury this year was just bad luck. If his foot is two inches to the right then he doesn't get hurt.
