Will the Lockout lead to a rash of injuries in 2011?

[JoeSixPat]

With a CBA hopefully near, we're hopefully soon going to witness a frenetic free agency followed quickly by pre-season games, followed quickly by games that count. Basically thanks to the impasse we're looking squeezing offseason workouts, OTAs, minicamps, training camps, and pre-season games into about 40 days.

One of my ongoing rants during the lockout is the concern I have for the impact all of this will have on the quality of play in the NFL (though ironically, compared to other teams, I'd give the Patriots an advantage having most of their core players already in place).

The higher potential for injuries due to the lack of conditioning has been one of my concerns, and one I've heard noted in the media in the last few days:

A stretch? Players fear layoff could put strain on bodies - NFL - CBSSports.com Football

The example given repeatedly in interviews with players and coaches over the past few days is New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis. He held out in a contract dispute last summer that lasted just under 40 days. It didn't take long once he returned to football to injure his hamstring, not once but twice. It hampered him for a significant chunk of the early portion of the regular season.

Now, instead of just one player trying to find his legs, there will be 1,900 of them doing so. There might be a hamstring revolution.

While many players have been involved in "conditioning" on their own or with other players, my feeling is that this is a poor substitute for working with team trainers. Even professional non-NFL trainers can't pretend to know how to prepare a player for an arduous NFL season.

Hopefully the injury bug won't hit the Patriots as badly as it may with other teams... and hopefully expanded rosters in the pre-season and maybe even regular season (at the very least with practice squads) will fill a buffer.

Do other Patsfans share this concern? Some think that in addition to players like DBs, prone to hamstring injuries, larger players like DLs will feel the impact of a lack of conditioning more.

Any Patriots players in particular you're concerned about being prone to injury?

 

[BlueThunder]

I think it will be obvious early on as we see who failed their conditioning runs before TC .....

If there are alot of players out of shape, it should show up there.....and early on in camp......I'm sure BB will take the lockout into consideration when starting his TC regimen and ease into things.......

The trainers will know who kept up a training regimen and who slacked off....pity the players who thought that the lockout was a reason to vacation and party every nite....

 

[JoeSixPat]

I think it will be obvious early on as we see who failed their conditioning runs before TC .....

If there are alot of players out of shape, it should show up there.....and early on in camp......I'm sure BB will take the lockout into consideration when starting his TC regimen and ease into things.......

The trainers will know who kept up a training regimen and who slacked off....pity the players who thought that the lockout was a reason to vacation and party every nite....

Yeah - but Belichick isn't going to jump right into two-a-days with pads right off the bat for anyone - let alone those out of shape who might "deserve" such punishment.

No doubt such players will have extra work to do and will have a tougher time gaining playing time - and while BB usually makes a cut to make an example of someone he won't be able to do that for all the guys out of shape.

I think the best we can hope for is sub-par play from some - at worst they'll get injured and be fully unavailable.

 

[BlueThunder]

Let's hope the veterans and key players "get it" and come into camp in shape......Would hate to see any of the starters come in out of shape...:bricks:

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

We will see a lot of injuries this year..just hope none are serious for the pats

People we can't afford to lose games IMO:

Brady
Gronk
Mccourty
Mayo
Welker

 

[DarrylS]

Yeah - but Belichick isn't going to jump right into two-a-days with pads right off the bat for anyone - let alone those out of shape who might "deserve" such punishment.

No doubt such players will have extra work to do and will have a tougher time gaining playing time - and while BB usually makes a cut to make an example of someone he won't be able to do that for all the guys out of shape.

I think the best we can hope for is sub-par play from some - at worst they'll get injured and be fully unavailable.

Read somewhere that two adays a no longer allowed, can have a second walk through but no hitting...

OTOH always thought those teams that went far into the playoffs had more injuries the next year, due to a shorter recovery time....

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

There probably be a slight increase in the number of muscle strain type of injuries.

However, all the teams are in the same boat so it stands to reason that it will affect them all. This actually may help the patriots who typically have solid depth on the roster. But, it really depends on who gets affected...business as usual.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Let's hope the veterans and key players "get it" and come into camp in shape......Would hate to see any of the starters come in out of shape...:bricks:

There's an important distinction this year though... most years "in shape" simply means keeping weight where it should be and being able to pass conditioning drills.

This year even those that were smart enough to remain "in shape" enough to pass conditioning drills will be well behind where they would be in terms of the specific conditioning that is a key focus in the work trainers do in the off-season and pre-season to get specific players ready to play their specific positions over the course of a long NFL season.

That's where the risk of injury lies - regardless of whether a player has run a marathon a month during the lockout.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Any word up if the new CBA modified the IR rules?

 

[BlueThunder]

We will see a lot of injuries this year..just hope none are serious for the pats

People we can't afford to lose games IMO:

Brady
Gronk
Mccourty
Mayo
Welker

You forgot Wilfork

 

[TheSolderKing]

You forgot Wilfork

DEFINATELY



I would argue Hernandez as well, but not on same scale as BIG VINCE.


This new CBA w2ill let Hernandez walk in year 4
Gronk is the guy that you sign longterm.