Injuries are just ruining the Game

[SissyBoyFloyd]

It is a shame how much major injuries devastate so many teams. I think it really ruins so many teams' seasons and the game in general. Every year now so many of the greatest players get knocked out for most or all of the season. It changes the records of so many teams. It makes some teams drafts inconsequential when their top picks don't even get to play and get experience through their first year. I don't know if there is any answer to it. They can't protect every player like they do the QBs.

There are just too many times now that a team's entire Oline or Dbackfield are wiped out for all or most of the season. Just think how much better games would be if healthy teams with all their top players got to play the whole season.

For you younger fans, yes there was a time when teams stayed whole year after year with an occasional injury to a starter. But even then there seemed to be a really good player that a good team could trade for to plug that hole quickly. Maybe my memory isn't good, but I just can't remember too many top players going down this often. If they did sustain a major injury way back then though, their career was probably over.

I remember the Rams fearsome foursome playing for years together, and even when Rosie Greer got hurt and retired they just traded for Roger Brown and didn't miss a beat. I suppose the oddest thing is that these guys didn't work out, eat right, or refrain from partying all the time. They were just naturally strong, fast, or whatever. Do you think today's athletes working out so much and being in such great shape is a detriment to them? Or is it the different turfs they manufacture and play on today causing so many injuries?

Can anything be done to greatly reduce the number of major injuries in today's NFL? It seems so prominent and we are so aware of the long term problems players have now that I would think younger generations would start leaving the game and going to other sports. Many could make a good living in other sports instead of football.

If I had it all to do over I would definitely have concentrated solely on baseball, and not wasted so much time playing basketball or football. All I got from it was artificial hips and knees, along with extreme pain throughout the second half of my life. I would never do that to my body if I could have a do over.

 

[cardcrazy]

I think that bigger, faster stronger is making athletes more susceptible to injury. That and players don’t play with injuries anymore. “Next man up” has become the answer.

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

I think that bigger, faster stronger is making athletes more susceptible to injury. That and players don’t play with injuries anymore. “Next man up” has become the answer.

Au contraire, sivuple! I would think it was more like that their bodies are always injured, and only sit when it gets too serious.

 

[oaken1]

I used to own a mustang.... bored .40 over, 4 bbl, cammed, dual exhaust, aluminum rockers,..had a nascar ******, no reverse... a set of street meats on the back about 18 inches wide... that car would do 3rd gear wheelies. it was extremely fast for its 5 miles to the gallon.

But I had to tinker on it almost every day.

Now I drive a tahoe,...all stock, quiet, smoothe, comfortable....146k miles and I never have to open the hood.

thing is, high performance machines run with mu tighter tolerances...everything has to be perfect or they will not perform,..or worse,... they have catastrophic break downs.

the human machine is much the same in my opinion...you get a rare one that never breaks down,... thats how you get pro bowlers and hall of famers....but for the most part it takes a ton of maintenance to keep them in top condition and everything has to balance

 

[BritCard]

Fantasy football has really just become about who gets lucky with injuries. Especially at running back.

 

[Garthshort]

Sissy mentioned the Ram's Fearsome Foursome. Different times. Money is a BIG factor. Also, bigger stronger players contribute to more injuries. JMO.

 

[speedy]

Au contraire, sivuple! I would think it was more like that their bodies are always injured, and only sit when it gets too serious.

I had a couple dudes who played in the 60's give me ish about not playing through an ACL. "I tore my ACL in 63 and kept playing on it; never got surgery." Whatever dude, MRI wasn't even born yet hahahaha

 

[speedy]

This game is so much faster and the guys are hitting a lot harder. I know we always tend to believe the players today are softer than yesterday, but its simply not true. The game has just gotten faster every year as advances in human performance and technology continue. We have linebackers being clocked at 20 mph now!!! haha

 

[Finito]

It is a shame how much major injuries devastate so many teams. I think it really ruins so many teams' seasons and the game in general. Every year now so many of the greatest players get knocked out for most or all of the season. It changes the records of so many teams. It makes some teams drafts inconsequential when their top picks don't even get to play and get experience through their first year. I don't know if there is any answer to it. They can't protect every player like they do the QBs.

There are just too many times now that a team's entire Oline or Dbackfield are wiped out for all or most of the season. Just think how much better games would be if healthy teams with all their top players got to play the whole season.

For you younger fans, yes there was a time when teams stayed whole year after year with an occasional injury to a starter. But even then there seemed to be a really good player that a good team could trade for to plug that hole quickly. Maybe my memory isn't good, but I just can't remember too many top players going down this often. If they did sustain a major injury way back then though, their career was probably over.

I remember the Rams fearsome foursome playing for years together, and even when Rosie Greer got hurt and retired they just traded for Roger Brown and didn't miss a beat. I suppose the oddest thing is that these guys didn't work out, eat right, or refrain from partying all the time. They were just naturally strong, fast, or whatever. Do you think today's athletes working out so much and being in such great shape is a detriment to them? Or is it the different turfs they manufacture and play on today causing so many injuries?

Can anything be done to greatly reduce the number of major injuries in today's NFL? It seems so prominent and we are so aware of the long term problems players have now that I would think younger generations would start leaving the game and going to other sports. Many could make a good living in other sports instead of football.

If I had it all to do over I would definitely have concentrated solely on baseball, and not wasted so much time playing basketball or football. All I got from it was artificial hips and knees, along with extreme pain throughout the second half of my life. I would never do that to my body if I could have a do over.

Injuries have always been there. You brought up the Rams defensive line playing together for years, but what about that supposed great Cardinal defensive line they built in the 90s with Swan, Smith, Rice and Wadsworth? Injuries tore that line apart

 

[NMCard]

I would think developing some of the O line and D Line through an NFL/NFLPA program. Maybe it could help with the conditioning and getting your body ready for violent contact. Just for the younger rookies, second, third stringers that teams are needing more player development for.

 

[DaHilg]

Unless they get to Olympic level drug testing this will continue to be the trend..you’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe a vast majority of these athletes aren’t on HGH or the latest undetectable/untested drug.

 

[AZ Native]

Fantasy football has really just become about who gets lucky with injuries. Especially at running back.

For me, it has been that way for years. I never realized the extent of games missed for injuries until I started playing Fantasy.

 

[Dan H]

Salary cap and expansion has a lot to do with it, too, I'd imagine. Teams used to be able to have solid players up and down the bench, that's tougher now.

 

[oaken1]

Salary cap and expansion has a lot to do with it, too, I'd imagine. Teams used to be able to have solid players up and down the bench, that's tougher now.

not just cap

greed and ego

every good player up for a new contract has to feel disrespected if he aint the highest paid guy at his position....and we all know most of them dont deserve it. all we have to do is look at our own qb to see how foolish that system is.
league needs to take a stand,,, let guys walk, let them sit out seasons...after a while..guys will realize that getting a fat ass paycheck thats smaller than you wanted is much better than getting no paycheck at all.
most jobs in america have pay scales... nfl needs to establish payscales for every position... base it on cap percentage or whatever...but set it up so a guy cant hold a team hostage because his ego says he is better than the next guy.
something like....

quarterback..... 20 percent of yearly cap, with the started receiving no more than 80 percent of available cap, QB2 receiving no more than 20 percent, and QB3 salary will be league minimum and unscheduled

with that example... if the cap was 200mil... 20 percent is 40 mil... the starter, getting max 80 percent of position cap..would max out at 32mil, leaving up to 8mil for qb2,... and any other qb on the roster gets league minimum and does not count against the cap.
maybe add a system to earn outside the cap based on team performance... not individual... win the division,...starters get 100k, rotational guys get 75k, backups get 50k
win a playoff game... starters get 200k, rotational guys get 100k, backups get 75k
win conference championship...starters get 250k, rotational guys get 200k, backups get 150k

that would allow starters to make almost a million more per season if the team makes it to the super bowl....and even the benchwarmers would haul in nearly a half million...

there could still be in contract incentive pay... but never based on individual stats... get voted team captain,... 500k..... get selected to All Pro squad... 1mil.... get voted nfc player of the week...100k... dpoy, 1 mil

those last two are kinda individual stat based, but they are not all about stats and they are national recognition so the player has little control... get voted league MVP...2mil..... super bowl MVP...1 mil...

but try to keep all the incentives team based so it is in the players best interest to help the team succeed, not just to rack up stats.

for example... if you have an edge rusher who is top notch and at max pay for his position... playoff berth on the line, end of the game... opposing qb goes back to make the game winning TD throw and the pass rusher is closing on him... but most likeely aint gonna get there in time... but dude needs 1 final sack to kick in a 5mil bonus... is he gonna try to get that sack even if it looks unlikely?? or is he gonna pull up, jump up with his arms raised, and bat down the pass...thereby winning the game and sending his team to the playoffs??
lots of guys would be selfish enough to try for the sack, because that 5 mil bonus is worth more than a couple playoff bonuses...
so just keep personal incentives out of it entirely, IMHO

 

[Jetstream Green]

The modern athlete as surpassed those of the past due to new technology, genetic progression and understanding how to develop the human body. Guys now are stronger and faster than they ever where...too bad the tendons and ligaments never got the memo because you can't work them out in a gym to keep up with the muscles

 

[Garthshort]

oaken, you make some good points. But, remember FB is a brutal sport. These guys are worth every dollar they are paid. It seems that even retired players suffer some terrible health problems. And we know that the contracts signed by FB players don't compare to the other sports. I love watching NFL games, and I hope that players receive as much money as possible for providing all of us with so much enjoyment. I wish them great health, knowing that it is probably wishful thinking.

 

[BulldogCard]

The game has always been brutal. People got hit hard and all over. A lot of late hits and savage play in 70s, 80s NFL.

 

[Garthshort]

The game has always been brutal. People got hit hard and all over. A lot of late hits and savage play in 70s, 80s NFL.

But the players were not as HEAVY then. It makes a big difference. JMO.

 

[PACardsFan]

Hard to argue with anything that has been said in this thread. I’ve been following the NFL for many years now & at least for me, the game isn’t what it was before injuries have become so prevalent. The NFL has always strived for parity, but parity can be unwatchable at times. Can we be honest right now. There currently are only 2 great teams in the NFL….the Bills & Chiefs. Maybe Philly, but they also have the easiest schedule in the NFL. Injuries have depleted a bunch of teams. I remember my Dad was always more of a baseball fan, because he said football always had to be tinkered with & the sport would eventually run out of options. I’ve always loved the NFL, and I’m sure I will continue to, but I’m sadly beginning to believe he was right.

 

[BulldogCard]

But the players were not as HEAVY then. It makes a big difference. JMO.

Not necessarily, there were some positions like linebacker where they were bigger in the 80s than now. 220 -230 pound lbs in today's speed game are common. Factor in different rules about hitting and coverage, head slaps, etc. Hospital ball were common back then. Non contact injuries are up now because they accelerate and change direction so violently. But make no mistake, back 30-50 years ago; football was every bit as brutal as now. The difference was they practiced way more; they were better fundamentally than now in many areas.

 

[CardNots]

But the players were not as HEAVY then. It makes a big difference. JMO.

You didn’t need to be heavy!

I give u, Chuck Cecil…

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

not just cap

greed and ego

every good player up for a new contract has to feel disrespected if he aint the highest paid guy at his position....and we all know most of them dont deserve it. all we have to do is look at our own qb to see how foolish that system is.
league needs to take a stand,,, let guys walk, let them sit out seasons...after a while..guys will realize that getting a fat ass paycheck thats smaller than you wanted is much better than getting no paycheck at all.
most jobs in america have pay scales... nfl needs to establish payscales for every position... base it on cap percentage or whatever...but set it up so a guy cant hold a team hostage because his ego says he is better than the next guy.
something like....

quarterback..... 20 percent of yearly cap, with the started receiving no more than 80 percent of available cap, QB2 receiving no more than 20 percent, and QB3 salary will be league minimum and unscheduled

with that example... if the cap was 200mil... 20 percent is 40 mil... the starter, getting max 80 percent of position cap..would max out at 32mil, leaving up to 8mil for qb2,... and any other qb on the roster gets league minimum and does not count against the cap.
maybe add a system to earn outside the cap based on team performance... not individual... win the division,...starters get 100k, rotational guys get 75k, backups get 50k
win a playoff game... starters get 200k, rotational guys get 100k, backups get 75k
win conference championship...starters get 250k, rotational guys get 200k, backups get 150k

that would allow starters to make almost a million more per season if the team makes it to the super bowl....and even the benchwarmers would haul in nearly a half million...

there could still be in contract incentive pay... but never based on individual stats... get voted team captain,... 500k..... get selected to All Pro squad... 1mil.... get voted nfc player of the week...100k... dpoy, 1 mil

those last two are kinda individual stat based, but they are not all about stats and they are national recognition so the player has little control... get voted league MVP...2mil..... super bowl MVP...1 mil...

but try to keep all the incentives team based so it is in the players best interest to help the team succeed, not just to rack up stats.

for example... if you have an edge rusher who is top notch and at max pay for his position... playoff berth on the line, end of the game... opposing qb goes back to make the game winning TD throw and the pass rusher is closing on him... but most likeely aint gonna get there in time... but dude needs 1 final sack to kick in a 5mil bonus... is he gonna try to get that sack even if it looks unlikely?? or is he gonna pull up, jump up with his arms raised, and bat down the pass...thereby winning the game and sending his team to the playoffs??
lots of guys would be selfish enough to try for the sack, because that 5 mil bonus is worth more than a couple playoff bonuses...
so just keep personal incentives out of it entirely, IMHO

You do know the NFL can’t unilaterally impose these rules, right? And no way the union would go for these.