Unreasonable Expectations Regarding Injuries

[mgteich]

I've heard many say that we'll be fine when Talib, Kelly, Amendola and Vereen are all back healthy, and throw in Washington for good measure.

IMHO, this is simply an unreasonable expectation. These players are out. I expect them all to be back. I also expect others to be injured before the end of the season.

Personally, I am optimistic enough to hope for Talib and Amendola to be back before the bye with no further injuries before the bye.

After that, players could be back; other could be injured.

I believe that current team (including Talib and Amendola) is a potent playoff team.

 

[old 55]

Good points. I'd like to see the offense gel and one of the backup DBs step up before I'm willing to consider us a potent team.

 

[Archeryaddict12]

I've heard many say that we'll be fine when Talib, Kelly, Amendola and Vereen are all back healthy, and throw in Washington for good measure.

IMHO, this is simply an unreasonable expectation. These players are out. I expect them all to be back. I also expect others to be injured before the end of the season.

Personally, I am optimistic enough to hope for Talib and Amendola to be back before the bye with no further injuries before the bye.

After that, players could be back; other could be injured.

I believe that current team (including Talib and Amendola) is a potent playoff team.

I think vereen will be fine. But Kelly I have no expectations. It would be nice to have armstead, but who knows how much of a factor he can be if he plays.

Talib, amendola and vereen are key. But like you said, injuries will be inevitable, so its just a matter who goes down. You hope no one, but its almost inevitable that every team will have injuries.

 

[mgteich]

Fair enough.

I do expect the offense to be much better with at least 3 of our 5 wide receivers healthy going forward plus Gronk. Amendola, Edelman, Dobson, Collie and Thompkins will provide the 3 we need. I do expect them to gel better as we come out of the bye. We may even be able to run no-huddle for more than one play at a time.

I think that Ryan is stepping up. Harmon and Cole also seem ready for at least minor roles.

Good points. I'd like to see the offense gel and one of the backup DBs step up before I'm willing to consider us a potent team.

 

[Deus Irae]

....I believe that current team (including Talib and Amendola) is a potent playoff team.

Re-read your post, and focus on this line. Think about what you wrote.





You'll probably want to scrap this entire thread.

 

[supafly]

I see no reason to bring Talib back for next week's game. He's obviously going to miss tomorrow, so why not give him the full benefit of 5 weeks rest, instead of bringing him back too early for one game?

We saw the mistake of doing this last season, when they continued to try and play him for a couple of quarters, a game here and there, etc. Then it bit us in the ass vs BAL in the most important game of the year.

I would hope that they handle the situation a bit differently this time.

Do the Pats force Talib to undergo surgery if he is retained? And does this become a problem during negotiations? It's been FOUR seasons in a row now. I don't see any reason why things are suddenly going to change regarding his hip issues.

 

[supafly]

And I agree with your thoughts on the fact that we'll continue to see more injuries that are traded for those who everyone keeps hoping to see return. To me, that is inevitable. We aren't likely to get all of these "important" players back without experiencing new problems.

 

[RayClay]

It's true we can't expect 100% health from the injured or nn injured but...we have two winnable games and a bye at a nice time for a playoff run.

One game at a time boys.

 

[supafly]

It's true we can't expect 100% health from the injured or nn injured but...we have two winnable games and a bye at a nice time for a playoff run.

One game at a time boys.

Yes, the bye is occurring at a good time. That should enable guys like Talib, Amendola, Vereen, and possibly even Kelly (not to mention #12) to all become fully healthy. That isn't even taking into account all of the questionable players on the report who have been experiencing relatively "minor" nicks and bruises.

If we can get through these next 2 games with wins in each, we should all be extremely thankful in my opinion. That would open up the division a bit, while also allowing the team to remain in competition for the #2 seed. Forgive my next comment, but I have a feeling of apprehension that we can come out victorious in both games, and I don't take either team lightly despite record or popular opinion.

 

[PATRlOT]

Your thread barely makes sense

 

[supafly]

Your thread barely makes sense

He is claiming that it's unreasonable to expect all of the important players back this year, as has been the mantra here on patsfans since they've gone down, without also expecting others to take their place.

"Unreasonable expectations regarding injuries"

It's much more likely that some of these players' injuries are worse than we initially thought, while others won't contribute the level of production that most felt. In the meantime, we can also expect to switch out some of these players with others who will be taking their place on the report every week, missing time, etc.

 

[Ozymandias]

The most important is winning. Lots of injuries or no injuries, the approach and expectation doesn't change. You play to win no matter what. No excuses.

 

[supafly]

The most important is winning. Lots of injuries or no injuries, the approach and expectation doesn't change. You play to win no matter what. No excuses.

This is why the offseason, the draft, free agency, roster building, the salary cap, and in-season moves are so important regarding our depth. Some injuries are much more severe than others, and I think we're seeing this yet again. It sure would be nice to be able to bring in another defensive player on the line who could help to contribute.

If the offense could only carry us like they have in the past, we probably have an improved enough defense to compete at a very high level once again. Unfortunately, that may not be the case this year--although it's still early enough where they can make progress and build towards something bigger.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I found this ESPN blog post interesting, as it mentions a significant increase in ACL injuries this season.

After a staggering weekend of injuries, @JTERIOS sent this question to the our Daily Rap chat: "It seems like a lot of acl's are being torn this year. Am I just now noticing, or is there an increase?"

At the time I was still seeking out documentation, but I have it now and it's as staggering as you might imagine. The bottom line: 30 players have already been placed on injured reserve this season because of confirmed torn ACLs, a pace that has already exceeded the total for all of 2011 and has nearly done the same for 2012.

That's right. In all of 2011, according to StatsPass.com via ESPN Stats & Information, confirmed ACL injuries sent 25 players to injured reserve. The figure was 32 in 2012. Those numbers do not include players who suffered a torn ACL but were waived/injured rather than placed on injured reserve.

So around the halfway point of this season, we're already close to or surpassed the full-season totals of the past two seasons.

There are a few theories, such as the emphasis in high hits has led to diving low, or less workout time has meant less strength. Not sure I'm convinced of either, but a lot of teams seem to be way more banged-up than usual.

 

[Efstratios]

I have tempered my expectations to the point that getting to the AFCCG would be a successful season in my book. Given all the issues the O has along with the injuries on the D, I'm not expecting anything more than a trip to the divisional round this year. But who knows, maybe that will change?

 

[old 55]

Based on last week and this week, I'm not sure where our next win comes from.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Re-read your post, and focus on this line. Think about what you wrote.





You'll probably want to scrap this entire thread.

DI,

6-2 ! 6-2!! 6-2!!! That is a projected 12-4 record. Yes it is a Playoff Quality team.

I suggest you stop sucking lemons...

 

[Fencer]

Wilfork, Mayo and it regrettably seems Vollmer too is a lot of talent to have out for the season, however you want to measure it (cap hit, likely Pro Bowl appearances, your opinion as to where they rank among the team's most valuable players, etc.)

Even leaving them -- and AHern -- out of the discussion, Talib, Gronk, Amendola, Kelly & lesser guys (Washington) or lesser injuries (Brady's hand) is a non-trivial injury burden to have carried through this point in the season.

For the Pats to go deep into the post-season, injury luck probably needs to improve from this point out.

 

[patsfan-1982]

they are going to need Kelly and Talib back at 100 for the playoffs and the defense is going to have to play lights out for them to make a playoff run cause this offense is going to have a really hard time putting 20 on some of the really good defenses in the AFC.


right now other then Brady's hand and now Vollmer this offense has all its toys and its still not doing much yes they are missing Vereen but lets face it he's not Marshall Faulk, so yes it is unreasonable to expect the offense to get worlds better then it is now but this is a 6-2 team and anyone in the AFC that sleeps on them come playoff time is going to get hit in the mouth

 

[Fencer]

Besides injuries, another issue is youth. I think that works mildly to the Pats' favor. I say only "mildly" because of position emphasis -- the young DTs are candidates to be worn down as the season progresses, and that would be a bad outcome. But I expect the WRs and DBs to keep improving over the course of the season. Hopefully ditto Collins and some 2nd-year players.