azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Herrion's death prompts concerns about weight
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 23, 2005 12:00 AM
No one knows yet what caused San Francisco 49ers guard Thomas Herrion to collapse as the team finished saying the Lord's Prayer after Saturday's preseason game in Denver.
Maybe it was heatstroke, or a heart attack, or one of any number of other maladies. For now, speculation is running far ahead of information.
This much is known: Herrion, 23, was a large man, listed at 310 pounds but probably at least 20 pounds heavier, and he had just finished playing every down in a 14-play scoring drive that ended with two seconds left in the game.
His death, officially pronounced about an hour after the game ended, prompts a question: Does the NFL have a "big" problem?
Players are bigger and faster than ever. Couple that with their desire to earn paychecks that feature a lot of numbers to the left of the decimal point, and a collision of forces seems inevitable.
"I didn't know the guy, but he's out there doing the same thing we're doing," Cardinals nose guard Russell Davis said Monday at training camp in Prescott. "That could happen to any one of us at any given time. He's a young guy. You're out there going hard, trying to make the team, and sometimes you might push yourself a little harder than you need to."
A decade ago, fewer than 100 NFL players weighed more than 300 pounds. Today, most offensive lines in the league average more than that.
It's not as if players are gaining massive amounts of weight when they get to the NFL, either. It's not unusual to see 300-pound offensive linemen in high school. Arizona State's offensive line will average 300 pounds this season.
Former NFL lineman Ed Cunningham, who played in the early 1990s, wonders where the growth will end.
"I'm surprised we haven't seen more catastrophic injuries or deaths with what's going on," he said. "There has to come a time and place that the NFL has to protect its product. You have a 370-pound defensive lineman hitting a quarterback; they can't let that happen. You can't have Tom Brady broken in two."
To protect their quarterbacks, teams have grown bigger linemen.
"There's the idea that bigger is better," said Paul Steingard, a Phoenix physician who specializes in sports medicine. "You see it. It goes all the way down to high school and college and to the (professionals). Bigger is probably better in terms of blocking."
But who is protecting those blockers? Many physicians believe increased size means increased health risks for players, either now or in retirement.
"When your body fat is 20-30 percent, you know you're fat and you know you're too big," said Dr. William J. Rappoport, a cardiologist with the Arizona Heart Institute. "But the NFL takes players like that because they occupy space, fill gaps in their lines."
It's not as if, however, NFL players are dropping dead every day. Herrion is the first active NFL player to die since Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer collapsed in training camp four years ago. It was later determined that Stringer died of complications from heatstroke.
In that same four-year period, two baseball players have died. A medical examiner said the dietary supplement ephedra played a role in the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Belcher in 2003. St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile died in 2002 from a narrowing of the arteries supplying the heart.
Since Stringer's death, NFL teams have become more aware of heatstroke and how it affects players.
Cardinals coach Dennis Green was coaching the Vikings in 2001, so he's too familiar with the type of tragedy that has befallen the 49ers.
"I just think there is a shock thing that's going on right now," Green said. "Tragedies are very difficult things for people to deal with regardless of why they happen."
It's premature to say that Herrion's size, his physical condition or possible use of supplements played a role in his death, and the NFL is confident that players' increase in size is not due to steroids.
For years, the league has had the toughest drug-testing policy of any professional sport, and it's evident by the body types in the locker rooms. Offensive linemen with chiseled chests and cheese-grater stomachs are gone. Modern counterparts are more squishy than sculpted.
Cunningham played center for five years, including from 1992-95 with the Cardinals. He weighed 288 pounds during his last season, 1996, "and I started to realize I was undersized," he said.
Now a college football analyst for ABC, Cunningham is amazed at the size of college players. A few years ago, Cunningham was broadcasting a University of Texas game and met offensive tackle Mike Williams, who was listed at 340 pounds.
Williams entered the room, and Cunningham started laughing. "You're 380 pounds," he told Williams.
Williams was just as amazed to find out that Cunningham played five years as a lineman in the NFL.
"You know the amazing thing?" Cunningham asked. "This is pretty much done without steroids."
As a former player, Cunningham doubts that players know the health risks involved with carrying so much weight. When he retired, Cunningham dropped weight and now hovers around 225 pounds.
"These poor kids have no idea what they're doing to their bodies," he said.
The pressure to make it in the NFL is great, however, so it's questionable if knowledge would make a difference. For most players, making a roster is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Those on the fringe of the league, like Herrion, can't afford to take plays off, can't afford to tell a coach that he's tired or sick, can't afford to fall below a certain weight.
Maybe that played a part in Herrion's death.
Maybe not.
For now, there's at least one thing everyone does know.
"You're heart goes out to him," the Cardinals' Davis said. "You are out there going hard, trying to make the team. Nobody ever thinks, 'I'm out here going hard, I'm going to die.' "
AIA physical exam rule
A high school student-athlete isn't allowed to practice or compete until a doctor of medicine or an osteopathic physician, a certified registered nurse practitioner or a certified physician's assistant has completed a physical examination. Athletes must pass respiratory, circulatory, urinary, neurological, muscular and skeletal exams before he/she is cleared to play. Physicals must be completed on or after March 1 for participation during the following school year.
Day at camp
The Cardinals opened their final week in Prescott with a practice that was more mentally demanding than physical. There was no hitting, although the players were in pads. The team will work on Raiders tendencies today and Wednesday in preparation for the game Friday. The Cardinals break camp Wednesday and begin practicing in the Valley next week.
Eye opener
The number of players missing practice because of injury. Ten players, including five starters, were out. A few might return this week, most notably right tackle Oliver Ross, who has been out with a knee sprain.
Comings and goings
Nine players, including running backs Troy Hambrick and Josh Scobey, were released. Hambrick was hoping to start practicing Monday after missing all of camp with a foot injury. He suffered the injury in November and hadn't practiced since. He didn't help his chances by choosing to stay home in Florida rather than attend voluntary off-season workouts.
Quote of the day
"There's a way you do football. There really is. That's the way we do football, and we like the way we do football." - Cardinals coach Dennis Green on how he expects top draft choices to contribute
Training room
C Nick Leckey (ankle), C Alex Stepanovich (hand), SS Adrian Wilson (leg contusion), T Ian Allen (back), T Oliver Ross (knee), DT Darnell Dockett (shoulder), TE Bobby Blizzard (back), DE Antonio Smith (knee), MLB Gerald Hayes (knee) and MLB Lance Mitchell (knee).
Coming up
Two practices today: 8:45-11:10 a.m. and 4-5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Park. Call (602) 379-1714 or go to azcardinals.com for more information. Republic reporter Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0823nflhealth0823.html
Kent Somers
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 23, 2005 12:00 AM
No one knows yet what caused San Francisco 49ers guard Thomas Herrion to collapse as the team finished saying the Lord's Prayer after Saturday's preseason game in Denver.
Maybe it was heatstroke, or a heart attack, or one of any number of other maladies. For now, speculation is running far ahead of information.
This much is known: Herrion, 23, was a large man, listed at 310 pounds but probably at least 20 pounds heavier, and he had just finished playing every down in a 14-play scoring drive that ended with two seconds left in the game.
His death, officially pronounced about an hour after the game ended, prompts a question: Does the NFL have a "big" problem?
Players are bigger and faster than ever. Couple that with their desire to earn paychecks that feature a lot of numbers to the left of the decimal point, and a collision of forces seems inevitable.
"I didn't know the guy, but he's out there doing the same thing we're doing," Cardinals nose guard Russell Davis said Monday at training camp in Prescott. "That could happen to any one of us at any given time. He's a young guy. You're out there going hard, trying to make the team, and sometimes you might push yourself a little harder than you need to."
A decade ago, fewer than 100 NFL players weighed more than 300 pounds. Today, most offensive lines in the league average more than that.
It's not as if players are gaining massive amounts of weight when they get to the NFL, either. It's not unusual to see 300-pound offensive linemen in high school. Arizona State's offensive line will average 300 pounds this season.
Former NFL lineman Ed Cunningham, who played in the early 1990s, wonders where the growth will end.
"I'm surprised we haven't seen more catastrophic injuries or deaths with what's going on," he said. "There has to come a time and place that the NFL has to protect its product. You have a 370-pound defensive lineman hitting a quarterback; they can't let that happen. You can't have Tom Brady broken in two."
To protect their quarterbacks, teams have grown bigger linemen.
"There's the idea that bigger is better," said Paul Steingard, a Phoenix physician who specializes in sports medicine. "You see it. It goes all the way down to high school and college and to the (professionals). Bigger is probably better in terms of blocking."
But who is protecting those blockers? Many physicians believe increased size means increased health risks for players, either now or in retirement.
"When your body fat is 20-30 percent, you know you're fat and you know you're too big," said Dr. William J. Rappoport, a cardiologist with the Arizona Heart Institute. "But the NFL takes players like that because they occupy space, fill gaps in their lines."
It's not as if, however, NFL players are dropping dead every day. Herrion is the first active NFL player to die since Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer collapsed in training camp four years ago. It was later determined that Stringer died of complications from heatstroke.
In that same four-year period, two baseball players have died. A medical examiner said the dietary supplement ephedra played a role in the death of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Belcher in 2003. St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile died in 2002 from a narrowing of the arteries supplying the heart.
Since Stringer's death, NFL teams have become more aware of heatstroke and how it affects players.
Cardinals coach Dennis Green was coaching the Vikings in 2001, so he's too familiar with the type of tragedy that has befallen the 49ers.
"I just think there is a shock thing that's going on right now," Green said. "Tragedies are very difficult things for people to deal with regardless of why they happen."
It's premature to say that Herrion's size, his physical condition or possible use of supplements played a role in his death, and the NFL is confident that players' increase in size is not due to steroids.
For years, the league has had the toughest drug-testing policy of any professional sport, and it's evident by the body types in the locker rooms. Offensive linemen with chiseled chests and cheese-grater stomachs are gone. Modern counterparts are more squishy than sculpted.
Cunningham played center for five years, including from 1992-95 with the Cardinals. He weighed 288 pounds during his last season, 1996, "and I started to realize I was undersized," he said.
Now a college football analyst for ABC, Cunningham is amazed at the size of college players. A few years ago, Cunningham was broadcasting a University of Texas game and met offensive tackle Mike Williams, who was listed at 340 pounds.
Williams entered the room, and Cunningham started laughing. "You're 380 pounds," he told Williams.
Williams was just as amazed to find out that Cunningham played five years as a lineman in the NFL.
"You know the amazing thing?" Cunningham asked. "This is pretty much done without steroids."
As a former player, Cunningham doubts that players know the health risks involved with carrying so much weight. When he retired, Cunningham dropped weight and now hovers around 225 pounds.
"These poor kids have no idea what they're doing to their bodies," he said.
The pressure to make it in the NFL is great, however, so it's questionable if knowledge would make a difference. For most players, making a roster is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Those on the fringe of the league, like Herrion, can't afford to take plays off, can't afford to tell a coach that he's tired or sick, can't afford to fall below a certain weight.
Maybe that played a part in Herrion's death.
Maybe not.
For now, there's at least one thing everyone does know.
"You're heart goes out to him," the Cardinals' Davis said. "You are out there going hard, trying to make the team. Nobody ever thinks, 'I'm out here going hard, I'm going to die.' "
AIA physical exam rule
A high school student-athlete isn't allowed to practice or compete until a doctor of medicine or an osteopathic physician, a certified registered nurse practitioner or a certified physician's assistant has completed a physical examination. Athletes must pass respiratory, circulatory, urinary, neurological, muscular and skeletal exams before he/she is cleared to play. Physicals must be completed on or after March 1 for participation during the following school year.
Day at camp
The Cardinals opened their final week in Prescott with a practice that was more mentally demanding than physical. There was no hitting, although the players were in pads. The team will work on Raiders tendencies today and Wednesday in preparation for the game Friday. The Cardinals break camp Wednesday and begin practicing in the Valley next week.
Eye opener
The number of players missing practice because of injury. Ten players, including five starters, were out. A few might return this week, most notably right tackle Oliver Ross, who has been out with a knee sprain.
Comings and goings
Nine players, including running backs Troy Hambrick and Josh Scobey, were released. Hambrick was hoping to start practicing Monday after missing all of camp with a foot injury. He suffered the injury in November and hadn't practiced since. He didn't help his chances by choosing to stay home in Florida rather than attend voluntary off-season workouts.
Quote of the day
"There's a way you do football. There really is. That's the way we do football, and we like the way we do football." - Cardinals coach Dennis Green on how he expects top draft choices to contribute
Training room
C Nick Leckey (ankle), C Alex Stepanovich (hand), SS Adrian Wilson (leg contusion), T Ian Allen (back), T Oliver Ross (knee), DT Darnell Dockett (shoulder), TE Bobby Blizzard (back), DE Antonio Smith (knee), MLB Gerald Hayes (knee) and MLB Lance Mitchell (knee).
Coming up
Two practices today: 8:45-11:10 a.m. and 4-5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Park. Call (602) 379-1714 or go to azcardinals.com for more information. Republic reporter Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0823nflhealth0823.html
