Reiss mail bag...Welker to be shut down?

[spacecrime]

Mike Reiss' New England Patriots mailbag on the Week 3 victory over the Atlanta Falcons - ESPN Boston

Here it is. I guess just rest him for the playoffs.

Thanks. Looks like it is a deal like Peyton last year. Have the surgery be out for four-six weeks and when you get back be stiff.

Sounds like IR to me unless it heals itself. Manning can play with a stiff knee, but Welker's living is made on quickness and cutting.

Reiss makes sense. Hold off until the bye week and if it isn't getting better .... HEY!!!! Isn't Brandon Tate due to come off PUP after the bye?

 

[Dragda]

This is what Mike reiss has said regarding Welker...."Joe, my hunch is that he is dealing with some type of swelling in the knee, and the fact that it's happened so early in the season is troubling. It will not surprise me if there comes a point at which Welker is shut down -- maybe around the bye -- with the thinking to have the knee cleaned out so he has a chance to return to full health. This is all speculation on my part based on my feeling that that when a player is dealing with a knee injury and is a game-time decision in Weeks 2 and 3, it's usually not the type of situation that goes away on its own."
I do not know what having his knee clean means....OR if that means putting him on IR for the year...Is this a seson ending situation?? Is it something they could do now so he will be in full health LATER in the year?? None of that was mentioned at all...I wonder..usually shutting a player down..means FOR THE YEAR...maybe it can be done so that he can return in a few weeks..I do not know.

Few teams put players on IR quicker than NE. If he was done, he'd be done by now.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

this is not good news, no matter how it sorts out.

 

[BelichickFan]

this is not good news, no matter how it sorts out.

It's not news.

 

[NovaScotiaPatsFan]

Guys, this not reading stuff is getting out of hand. Why don't you just post what Reiss actually said if you can't comprehend it yourself? That way, we don't have to get freaked out by your incorrect interpretation of what he ACTUALLY said.

He said, IIRC, that Welker may have some swelling in his knee and he may need to get it cleaned out sometime around the bye week. He never said anything CLOSE to what you're suggesting.

Yeah, I hear "shut down" and I think "IR"

 

[HarkDawg]

it is a writers opinion. wtf does he know? All he can do is speculate.

 

[Bostonian1962]

I always hate these generic, say nothing, comments by Reiss. What can you tell by this stupid comment? Nothing. "My hunch is", "It will not surprise me", "this is all speculation", etc. If you have some inside scoop, say it. If you truly know nothing, than speculating that they are going to shut him down at the bye week is careless at best.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

it is a writers opinion. wtf does he know? All he can do is speculate.

So you say. Reiss nailed it last year saying the Pats loved Guttierez and would cut Cassell. Oh, wait...

 

[ctpatsfan77]

With all of the Reiss fans here I would have thought everyone had looked at it.

I don't think I am wrong in what he said. He said he expected Welker to be "shut down" around the bye week. Its Reiss, its news.

At least Reiss distinguishes between fact and opinions. A lot of mediots don't even bother with that.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

It's not news.

this is not good information, which may or may not be accurate and which may or may not be defined as "news" until we know all the facts...

 

[BelichickFan]

this is not good information, which may or may not be accurate and which may or may not be defined as "news" until we know all the facts...

It's speculation, he said so himself. That means it's a GUESS. It's not news and it's inaccurate to say it "may or may not be defined as news". It's an opinion, nothing more.

 

[Brady to Brown]

Guys, this not reading stuff is getting out of hand. Why don't you just post what Reiss actually said if you can't comprehend it yourself? That way, we don't have to get freaked out by your incorrect interpretation of what he ACTUALLY said.

He said, IIRC, that Welker may have some swelling in his knee and he may need to get it cleaned out sometime around the bye week. He never said anything CLOSE to what you're suggesting.

With all of the Reiss fans here I would have thought everyone had looked at it.

I don't think I am wrong in what he said. He said he expected Welker to be "shut down" around the bye week. Its Reiss, its news.

 

[mayoclinic]

Thanks. Looks like it is a deal like Peyton last year. Have the surgery be out for four-six weeks and when you get back be stiff.

Sounds like IR to me unless it heals itself. Manning can play with a stiff knee, but Welker's living is made on quickness and cutting.

Reiss makes sense. Hold off until the bye week and if it isn't getting better .... HEY!!!! Isn't Brandon Tate due to come off PUP after the bye?

I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous.

First, all of this is pure speculation on Reiss' part, which he openly admits.

Second, assuming the Welker doe needs is an arthroscopy, so long as there is no significant injury (e.g., a macroscopic ligament tear), recovery time should be no more than a few weeks. So, purely hypothetically, Welker could have arthoscopy right after the TB game and possibly be back in time for the Colts.

Swelling and microscopy tearns in the knee joint generally don't "heal themselves" except with prolonged rest, or with arthoroscopy to clean out the joint. Resting Welker through the bye week might accomplish this, but at a cost. An alternative would be to play him week-to-week and then do arthoscopy if things haven't improved. It's a reasonable scenario, but pure speculation at this time.

Arthoscopy is extremely minor as long as there is no macroscopic ligament injury. Micro tears with swelling are part of the normal wear and tear. There's absolutely no reason to suppose IR would even be a consideration at this point.

 

[IcyPatriot]

I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous.

First, all of this is pure speculation on Reiss' part, which he openly admits.

Second, assuming the Welker doe needs is an arthroscopy, so long as there is no significant injury (e.g., a macroscopic ligament tear), recovery time should be no more than a few weeks. So, purely hypothetically, Welker could have arthoscopy right after the TB game and possibly be back in time for the Colts.

I hate when they play the let's give it time to heal game ... just go in there and clean the freaking thing out ... that's it. In the meantime let Watson play the slot ...

 

[ausbacker]

I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous.

First, all of this is pure speculation on Reiss' part, which he openly admits.

Second, assuming the Welker doe needs is an arthroscopy, so long as there is no significant injury (e.g., a macroscopic ligament tear), recovery time should be no more than a few weeks. So, purely hypothetically, Welker could have arthoscopy right after the TB game and possibly be back in time for the Colts.

Swelling and microscopy tearns in the knee joint generally don't "heal themselves" except with prolonged rest, or with arthoroscopy to clean out the joint. Resting Welker through the bye week might accomplish this, but at a cost. An alternative would be to play him week-to-week and then do arthoscopy if things haven't improved. It's a reasonable scenario, but pure speculation at this time.

Arthoscopy is extremely minor as long as there is no macroscopic ligament injury. Micro tears with swelling are part of the normal wear and tear. There's absolutely no reason to suppose IR would even be a consideration at this point.

If there's swelling and no tearing, there is always the chance it could be something as minimal as bursitis, but they are normally in conjunction with some sort of meniscal tear.

Let's hope it's all rumour and innuendo. I couldn't handle Mayo and Welker gone for long stretches.. just for watching them play.

 

[captain stone]

I'm sorry, but this is ridiculous.

First, all of this is pure speculation on Reiss' part, which he openly admits.

Second, assuming that Welker does need an arthroscopy, so long as there is no significant injury (e.g., a macroscopic ligament tear), recovery time should be no more than a few weeks. So, purely hypothetically, Welker could have arthoscopy right after the TB game and possibly be back in time for the Colts.

Swelling and microscopic tears in the knee joint generally don't "heal themselves" except with prolonged rest, or with arthoroscopy to clean out the joint. Resting Welker through the bye week might accomplish this, but at a cost. An alternative would be to play him week-to-week and then do an arthoscopy if things haven't improved. It's a reasonable scenario, but pure speculation at this time.

Arthoscopy is extremely minor as long as there is no macroscopic ligament injury. Micro tears with swelling are part of the normal wear and tear. There's absolutely no reason to suppose IR would even be a consideration at this point.

Mayo, without knowing any more about Welker's specifics than what you (we) know now, would it not seem to make more sense to have him undergo the procedure ASAP, so that he can return ASAP? What good is he to us now if he's just going to be a game-time decision every week?

 

[mayoclinic]

Mayo, without knowing any more about Welker's specifics than what you (we) know now, would it not seem to make more sense to have him undergo the procedure ASAP, so that he can return ASAP? What good is he to us now if he's just going to be a game-time decision every week?

Don't know the answer to that. Need some data. He would normally have an MRI of the knee done, which would be the most useful test. Personally, if there were adequate evidence on the MRI, I would think it would make sense to have an arthroscopy done sooner.

Again, this is all speculation.

 

[BTTA]

I don't think I am wrong in what he said. He said he expected Welker to be "shut down" around the bye week. Its Reiss, its news.

No, he didn't say that. And no, Reiss or any sportswriter speculates, its not news, its speculation. Its not even information about Welker, its information about what's going on in Reiss' mind.

 

[BelichickFan]

I don't think I am wrong in what he said. He said he expected Welker to be "shut down" around the bye week. Its Reiss, its news.

I hate to sound like an assshole but do you people read ? Reiss specifically says :

This is all speculation on my part

SPECULATION NOT NEWS. Additionally he never says "for the year".

 

[MassPats38]

No, he didn't say that. And no, Reiss or any sportswriter speculates, its not news, its speculation. Its not even information about Welker, its information about what's going on in Reiss' mind.

I agree. Information is based on hard data. Reiss disclaims any knowledge of hard data, other than the injury report's reference to "knee injury" (any doctors want to comment on how broad a characterization that might be as far as injuries go).

Reiss is a great reporter of facts. Clairvoyant he is not. Conjecture, surmise, speculation, guess, etc. The mailbag is conversation with fans, so if someone asks him his opinion, whether based in fact or not, Reiss is kind enough to give it.

Note to Ian - in lieu of T-shirts, I would suggest red, white and blue worry beads or maybe the squeezy stress ball thing with the Patriot team logo on it.