STILL no good answer on Clardige's 2005 rehab...

[coltshater]

Anyone have any insight?

I saw Claridge playing in a charity softball game against the local fire department(Natick, MA). He didn't show any signs of a lingering injury. He seemed to run at full speed around the bases, and played catcher.

 

[spacecrime]

A couple months ago on NE Sports Tonite, Tom Curran said he asked Claridge why he went to Vegas instead of staying in Foxboro. Cladige wouldn't give a direct reply (said Curran) and would only say, "I did what I was told to do."

To answer another question about practicing, players on IR cannot practice with the team but as far as I know they are allowed to attend team meetings and watch practices. Generally this is beneficial, so I have no idea why Claidge was "told" to go to Vegas, if indeed he was.

 

[Lamanai]

A couple months ago on NE Sports Tonite, Tom Curran said he asked Claridge why he went to Vegas instead of staying in Foxboro. Cladige wouldn't give a direct reply (said Curran) and would only say, "I did what I was told to do."

To answer another question about practicing, players on IR cannot practice with the team but as far as I know they are allowed to attend team meetings and watch practices. Generally this is beneficial, so I have no idea why Claidge was "told" to go to Vegas, if indeed he was.

This doesn't directly answer the question, but it does provide some details on his brothers death, etc...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/May-14-Sun-2006/sports/7386004.html

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

Here's another link about Travis' death, though I prefer a more established news service...

http://www.answers.com/topic/claridge-travis

BTW, the PFW LB article on Patriots.com wasn't written by Tom Casale, who I believe is on vacation.

 

[patsox23]

I found this to be strange too. The closest thing I recall seeing as an explanation was that Claridge got permission to work with the trainer at UNLV. It sort of implied that he would get excellent rehab treatment there. At the time I thought it was a weak explanation (and still do).

I agree. There is no way the Patriots would just let him go rehab elsewhere SIMPLY because the guy in Vegas is good. There are other enormous factors and benefits to being in Foxboro besides the quality of the rehab - and I doubt the rehab is, in the Patriots' view, "better" than Claridge rehabbing under their watchful eye.

There's more to the story, for sure. If it's a personal issue re: his brother, family, etc... then that's that. I think it goes without saying that if Belichick of all people thought it was important enough for Claridge to be in Vegas, then we should be okay with it, too.

The main point of the thread is just that there has been little questioning of what happened in the media.

 

[DarrylS]

I sat on a plane from Las Vegas with their cousin, who was living with them in Las Vegas, did not ask why Ryan was rehabbing in Las Vegas. She did tell me he had to fly back to Foxboro quite frequently to check his progress, she intimated he was doing what he was told.

 

[patsox23]

she intimated he was doing what he was told.

Again with the "doing what he was told." That is so...I don't know...ominous sounding. Weird. Maybe it was a personal, family thing that the Patriots decided to respect, and for Claridge's benefit, provided him and others (family?) to answer with the "doing what I'm told" line.

 

[PATSNUTme]

17 more days until training camp.

 

[patchick]

Some pre-draft quotes about Ryan Claridge, from nfldraftscout.com:


This is a player that loves the game and is well-prepared before stepping on to the field. He plays hard and while his lack of strength gets him knocked around some, he won’t give up on the play. He has a good motor and shows urgency in his play. He also does a good job of sparking on his teammates and lifting their level of play through his example.

...

He is the type of player that you will usually find in the football office or in the weight room. He is a great locker room presence who gets along with everyone. He serves on the team’s leadership council and acted as the go-between for the players and coaches.

...

Ryan is a natural leader who acts as the go-between for the players and coaches at UNLV. He has coaching aspirations once his playing days end and is even a volunteer coach during the summer for the tennis and football teams at his high school alma mater.


Everything written about this guy called him a football lifer: film rat, team leader, future coach, etc. We have no clue why he rehabbed in Las Vegas, but lack of commitment to football would be out of character.

 

[CrazyDave]

Cue Twilight Zone music.

 

[spacecrime]

Again with the "doing what he was told." That is so...I don't know...ominous sounding. Weird. Maybe it was a personal, family thing that the Patriots decided to respect, and for Claridge's benefit, provided him and others (family?) to answer with the "doing what I'm told" line.

I forgot to add that CUrran said the doing-what-he-was-told thing made sense in that a fifth round pick would not be in a position to dictate where he would rehab.

Don't understand it, but it is something we might never learn. I can't image BB explaining this at a press conference

 

[shakadave]

At least that explanation seems plausible! We may never know.

I basically crossed Claridge off my mental list when I found out that he rehabbed elsewhere. If he has something more important to do than be with the team, I have other things to think about as well.....

Supposedly, the death of his brother has re-inspired him, so maybe we will see more of him at some point. If not, I wish him well as far as his family situation.

Some brother of his told him a year before the draft that Ryan would play for the Patriots. Does anyone know if that was the same brother that died?

 

[shakadave]

A couple months ago on NE Sports Tonite, Tom Curran said he asked Claridge why he went to Vegas instead of staying in Foxboro. Cladige wouldn't give a direct reply (said Curran) and would only say, "I did what I was told to do."

To answer another question about practicing, players on IR cannot practice with the team but as far as I know they are allowed to attend team meetings and watch practices. Generally this is beneficial, so I have no idea why Claidge was "told" to go to Vegas, if indeed he was.

To me the most logical explanation is that
a) he wasn't good enough to play last year among all the veteran LBs who knew the system already, so
b) he was red-shirted in a location away from the Boston media. Too risky if he's seen in a Massachusetts gym looking good.

 

[DarrylS]

To me the most logical explanation is that
a) he wasn't good enough to play last year among all the veteran LBs who knew the system already, so
b) he was red-shirted in a location away from the Boston media. Too risky if he's seen in a Massachusetts gym looking good.

This makes about as much sense as anything, but one thing we need is some real news and action to minimize a lot of this speculation we get bogged down during the doldrums of NFL July.

 

[Bostonian1962]

His brother committed suicide. Perhaps there were personal issues going on with his family that he needed to be close to home for. For the Patriots to let him not be around the team is unusual. He must have had a very good reason why he needed to be in Las Vegas. Maybe it had something to do with his brother.

I was going to say the same thing, and thus IRB, you are obviously brilliant. Although, I didn't think it was suicide, but he did indeed die, and I can see the need to be close to home after it happened (6 months ago). Before that, not sure.

 

[Pats726]

Answers....

PFW just talked about this..seems like he did a PFW a few months ago....(May) They had a few answers...he had had a shoulder injury before and had rehabbed it in LV...and since THAT was the injury that IRed him..the thinking may have been that the rehab he had was good and should continue.
Also and more important...they asked a few lower Pats FO people about it and sort of got the run around..sort of as they said..implied there was a story but could NOT say why...meaning maybe personal family issues. NOT a big deal at all....5th round?? NOT a big deal...Mystery solved...

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Re: Answers....

Had he graduated? Was he in position to do graduate work while rehabbing? There was an item a while back saying his Vegas trainer got a thumbs up from the Pats for knowing what would be needed to get Ryan ready for this year (a trainer who had already worked with Ryan recovering from a season ending injury). If BB can take tape to the beach, I'd think it was possible Ryan could be watching tape without being in the Pats' film room. We can speculate on family problems, etc., but the simplest answer is BB felt he could rehab and develop just fine in Vegas and allowed him to pursue some personal goal to better himself (which, you may recall, is something BB reportedly supports for his troops).

Myself, I could give a rat's tail, BB has done okay by me so far. I'll wait for Stan and Mrs. B to provide TC highlights.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

Or BB allowed him to stay home and rehab because Claridge would be hopelessly distracted in Foxboro from whatever was the pressing issue that nobody wants to mention. Just depends on whether we think the glass is half full or half empty.

 

[I'm Ron Borges?]

Or BB allowed him to stay home and rehab because Claridge would be hopelessly distracted in Foxboro from whatever was the pressing issue that nobody wants to mention. Just depends on whether we think the glass is half full or half empty.

I don't think anybody is suggesting the glass is half empty or questioning why Belichick allowed this to happen. I think we are more interested in the unusual nature of a young player not being around the team in what seems to be the norm for a player on the Patriots roster once he's injured.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

Perhaps you took me very seriously?

I think it would not be a national secret if he had gone back to complete a graduate course or take lessons for law school or something. Fact is, he can watch tapes more efficiently with the rest of the defense with people like Bruschi around.

I don't much care because I sort of lost interest when I learned that he didn't stick around the team. It puts him at least a year behind, in my crazy old opinion. So I won't sweat it!