Tendonitis - TFB?

[Gumby]

From the latest Clayton-Espn article
[URL]http://espn.go.com/nfl/notebook/_/page/lastcall1116/john-clayton-last-call[/url]

3. Brady's banged-up bunch: Because of shoulder tendinitis, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady often starts games slowly. Because of offensive line injuries, the Patriots almost lost the No. 1 seed in the AFC.


Thanks to Brady's resilience and patience, the Patriots were able to hold off the Miami Dolphins 27-24 and clinch a playoff bye. A win next week clinches home field. The Patriots fell behind 17-0 in the first half, and Brady was rattled. Left tackle Matt Light (ankle) was scratched before the game, and because tackle Sebastian Vollmer remained out, coach Bill Belichick had to gamble by moving Pro Bowl guard Logan Mankins to left tackle.


Then Dolphins defensive end Jared Odrick fell on Mankins' left knee and ankle and knocked him out of the game. The Patriots had to put rookies Nate Solder and Marcus Cannon at tackle. Journeyman Donald Thomas took over Mankins' left guard spot.


In the first half, Brady was 7-of-19 for 87 yards and was sacked three times.


"To lose Matt Light an hour and a half before the game and then lose Logan in the first or second series of the game, a lot of guys really stepped up and played hard, played for 60 minutes,'' Brady said.


Brady took control of the game by going no-huddle. Somehow the rookie tackles responded. "They're tough, they're very well-coached and they have a lot of pride,'' Brady said. "Hopefully, we get some guys back next week. You don't want to certainly make a habit of it, but we did it and we overcame it against a team that played very hard. We showed some resiliency and some mental toughness.''
And they needed it. Had the Patriots lost, they would have lost control of the AFC's top seed to the AFC North heavyweights.

I just don't get this. Is Clayton just making stuff up?

ok, TB was wearing that arm band supposedly for tendonitis before; but first he isnt wearing it anymore and SECOND I just dont get why that would cause him to start slow.

I mean he gets the entire pre-game to warm up. and that is probably a lot more time and CONSECUTIVE TIME; than he has once the game starts. Once the game is going when he comes off he is looking at still-shots and working with coaches; not keeping throwing arm warm.


I thought it was fairly conclusive that the OL near catastrophe was what caused his slow start vs miami. I thought the other slow starts were also more on motivation / team /or having to adapt game plan to the opponent than on Brady.

 

[DarrylS]

The tendonitis has been brought up a couple of times now, of course there is complete denial.. but a lot of makeable throws seem off.

More importantly is the condition of his left shoulder, which was initially reported as injured by Zolak after the game and then by subsequent scribes in the Boston Press. Apparently he was having some serious issues with that, we will know more tomorrow after the injury report is released.

 

[Gumby]

The tendonitis has been brought up a couple of times now, of course there is complete denial.. but a lot of makeable throws seem off.

More importantly is the condition of his left shoulder, which was initially reported as injured by Zolak after the game and then by subsequent scribes in the Boston Press. Apparently he was having some serious issues with that, we will know more tomorrow after the injury report is released.

right; agreed we know all that. BUT WHY WOULD THE TENDONITIS ONLY AFFECT HIM TO START THE GAME?????

 

[ausbacker]

The tendonitis has been brought up a couple of times now, of course there is complete denial.. but a lot of makeable throws seem off.

More importantly is the condition of his left shoulder, which was initially reported as injured by Zolak after the game and then by subsequent scribes in the Boston Press. Apparently he was having some serious issues with that, we will know more tomorrow after the injury report is released.

Wasn't it tennis elbow earlier in the season? That's some journey from elbow to shoulder in a few months.

 

[DarrylS]

Wasn't it tennis elbow earlier in the season? That's some journey from elbow to shoulder in a few months.

The shoulder happened in the final minutes of last week's game..

 

[DarrylS]

right; agreed we know all that. BUT WHY WOULD THE TENDONITIS ONLY AFFECT HIM TO START THE GAME?????

Guess I missed the memo, sorry about that.

 

[bruce_w]

This is pretty simple for anyone that has played sports or even worked a physical job and had tendonitis before.

 

[ausbacker]

The shoulder happened in the final minutes of last week's game..

I'm aware of the shoulder but wasn't it reported as his non-throwing shoulder and why would the article base the assumption of the Patriots recent slow starts on shoulder tendinopathy, a non-confirmed injury that was said to have occurred on the weekend?

All the players have issues to deal with at this stage of the season.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

It must be hard to keep 32 sets of injuries straight. Especially when you don't watch all 16 contests per week and you don't have inside sources on some teams...


Brady was fine before the game. After the game he was forced to one armed hug his boss. He obviously jammed the shoulder late in that game. The crypkeeper is getting his body parts and time lines confused.

And I'm sick of hearing about Tommy's slow starts... Especially when Welker was apologzing for his in the locker room at halftime. Throws are off when receivers are off and blocking is off and intensity is lacking, not just when QB's are off... Brady is throwing to a spot, not a human target. It's the targets job to be precisely in that spot, which under duress and in the heat of battle doesn't always happen. Ditto the missing wide open receivers... Just because they appear wide open on TV doesn't mean they were missed...it often means they ran the wrong route or failed to adjust to coverage or were the third, fourth or fifth progression to begin with and you don't get to those under the kind of pressure Tom faced in the first half.

They don't go hurry up just to tucker out defenses. They do it to ramp up the intensity and focus of the offense.

 

[DarrylS]

I'm aware of the shoulder but wasn't it reported as his non-throwing shoulder and why would the article base the assumption of the Patriots recent slow starts on shoulder tendinopathy, a non-confirmed injury that was said to have occurred on the weekend?

All the players have issues to deal with at this stage of the season.

Let me try again, there is no disagreement that TB has some type of arm injury and somehow it seems to get better as the game progresses. His errant throws are obvious.

My concern now is that injury may take a back seat to his recent injury that occurred on his left shoulder last Saturday, and according to Zolak et al he had difficulty taking off his jersey after the game. Even though it is his left shoulder, any injury can throw a QB out of sync..

Every player has a variety of health issues at this stage of the season...

 

[UK_Pat37]

The tendinitis talk goes back to when he hurt his elbow on his throwing arm back during the Cowboys game....he had bruised it and that can lead to tendinitis forming in the elbow because of such an injury.

Now I thought this issue had passed and surely Tendinitis would have gone by now...but I'm no doctor...so can anyone here shed any light on how long it should take for it to pass...and should it be gone by now?

Clayton appears to be making a lot out of an old injury for me.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Let me try again, there is no disagreement that TB has some type of arm injury and somehow it seems to get better as the game progresses. His errant throws are obvious.

My concern now is that injury may take a back seat to his recent injury that occurred on his left shoulder last Saturday, and according to Zolak et al he had difficulty taking off his jersey after the game. Even though it is his left shoulder, any injury can throw a QB out of sync..

Every player has a variety of health issues at this stage of the season...

Ah, yes there is disagreement...and his errant throws are only obvious to people who choose to look for simple explanations to complex problems...

 

[Ron Sellers]

To the best of my knowledge Clayton is not a medical doctor but he could have at least spent a couple minutes on the internet to educate himself about tendonitis before declaring that opinion as fact.

Tendonitis Treatment - Treatment Options for Tendonitis
Tennis Elbow - Information About Tennis Elbow
Tennis Elbow Treatment Options - Treatments for Tennis Elbow

I don't see any reason to assume that tendonitis would cause a player to start slowly and then get better as the game progressed. Besides ignoring the fact that players warm up prior to a game, if anything it would cause the player's performance to steadily decrease from start to finish, not the other way around.

 

[DarrylS]

Ah, yes there is disagreement...and his errant throws are only obvious to people who choose to look for simple explanations to complex problems...

Thanks for paying such close attention..

So, pray tell, what is the issue then???.. I await with baited breath for your wisdom.

 

[DaBruinz]

right; agreed we know all that. BUT WHY WOULD THE TENDONITIS ONLY AFFECT HIM TO START THE GAME?????

Because you learn to make the adjustments during a game situation to how the arm is reacting to the throws..

 

[DaBruinz]

Ah, yes there is disagreement...and his errant throws are only obvious to people who choose to look for simple explanations to complex problems...

Mo - I have to disagree with your remark here. Brady's throws HAVE been off and it's been obvious to many people. And blaming the receivers for all of it doesn't cut it. Not when so many of Brady's throws have been at receiver's ankles despite them being wide open.

Tennis Elbow is not something that one just "gets over". You have to rest the arm and then build the strength back up. Unfortunately, that can't be done when you are throwing 200-300 passes a day.

 

[RodThePat]

It seems to me as though the only throws he has consistently been missing are short throws directed towards the sidelines. Anything intermediate and/or over the middle of the field has been pretty much alright.

 

[PatsChamp88]

Posting John Clayton articles lol

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Thanks for paying such close attention..

So, pray tell, what is the issue then???.. I await with baited breath for your wisdom.

Sometimes it's scheme, sometimes it's execution and focus or lack thereof, other times it's a combination of a little bit of both. And on occasion it's losing one on one matchups in the trenches or at the LOS. I think while Brady would like to start out strong the miscues and disconnects and occasional lack of intensity lead to his becoming tentative because he knows the one thing this team can't afford is turnovers the likes of which plagued them early on this season through little fault of the QB (tips and poor routes and inconsistent effort). His margin for error is so much smaller than say Brees or Rodgers who are throwing to wide open receivers more often than not. Even Brady's best targets seldom get more than minimal timely seperation. From week to week he has to wait to see which one will step up and make the tough catches and the clutch plays that build a rhythm. Welker almost always finds a way, although it took him a half to last week. Gronk usually does as well because of his catch radius and effort - and when either does they can dominate. Hernandez can but he remains a little too inconsistent. Branch struggled even in his prime in certain situations and he's not in that anymore. Chad is a crap shoot, along with Tiquan and Edleman - as have been the RB's out of the backfield most of the time this season.

This offense has yet to hit it's stride except in spurts. And that's not because of anything Brady is doing any different than he ever has. He looks great when they do and shaky when they don't. As a result they are having to find ways to kick start or re-boot the offense weekly usually by going to no huddle which is a risk reward calculation and something they would prefer not to have to rely on consistently because of the strain it puts on them as well as their opponent. Because from the outset this season this offense seemed incapable at times of executing in synch with consistency and intensity out of the huddle. One or more guys not named Brady seem to have focus issues at least at the outset each week that impacts the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the offense. The tendancy here has become to question Brady whenever that happens...I presume because it's easiest to both single him out and assume he will figure whatever it is out...which for the most part he has. It's not a knock on the players on this offense to say they are largely effort guys and technicians as opposed to all world athletes. They ALL have to play close to if not at the top of their game every week or there are going to be issues. That is the reality of Brady's world. Along with a defense that has ramped up the pressure to score points early and often.

Run blocking has been problematic all season, and lately pass blocking has been a struggle. This week was almost classic as he dealt with a cobbled together OL assembled at the 11th hour and later with the only season starter playing his position an aging FA RT...and his defense letting up 17 first half points to another emerging backup. Yet folks here want to dwell on the perception that Brady was somehow off early although he got it together eventually...:ugh:

And he doesn't have tendonitis, and probably never did (it was a bone bruise). Your all just rehashing it to cavalierly explain away the miscues that were here before it and remain after it.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Mo - I have to disagree with your remark here. Brady's throws HAVE been off and it's been obvious to many people. And blaming the receivers for all of it doesn't cut it. Not when so many of Brady's throws have been at receiver's ankles despite them being wide open.

Tennis Elbow is not something that one just "gets over". You have to rest the arm and then build the strength back up. Unfortunately, that can't be done when you are throwing 200-300 passes a day.

He didn't have tennis elbow and his throws are often at the receivers ankles by design...because few of those ever get tipped or picked and guys like Welker and Gronkowski can make those catches routinely in tight coverage. I bet if Gronk were 2 inches shorter or couldn't jump you'd all be claiming Brady's throws to him were sailing...as opposed to placed where only he can make a play on them and is expected to because that is part of his skillset. He looked bad when Randy lost vertical...not to mention fight.