Cruz's injury

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

 

True, but there's something to be said about a much bigger dude who pushes around other really big dudes and carries around all that weight on a surgically repaired knee...I'm not saying it isn't apples and oranges but it may be a closer comparison than you think.

 

I think the most interesting thing to take from that article is the thought that Cruz was probably nursing a sore knee as it was. And he's suffered at least one sprain in the past year. What I've read also indicates that the injury rarely happens in isolation and typically, previous and even current knee injuries contribute to that kind of tear. Just goes to show that players playing while nursing injuries can often further injure themselves. It might also explain Cruz's, in my view, lack of explosiveness during this season.

And it points out the essential flaw with professional sports in general but the NFL specifically... guys playing semi-healed. This would improve if Football stopped being a league of no guaranteed contracts... cause guys would have an incentive to not play injured...

[CrazedDogs]

And it points out the essential flaw with professional sports in general but the NFL specifically... guys playing semi-healed. This would improve if Football stopped being a league of no guaranteed contracts... cause guys would have an incentive to not play injured...

 

They should have to guarantee the contracts, and just not count it against the cap if a guy has to be cut.

 

Also, expand the roster size. A big problem with guys playing injured is that teams just don't have enough prepared players. If Kevin Ogletree was already on the roster, and Cruz was having some minor knee issues, maybe he could have had a little more rest and avoided the huge injury.

[Nas]

 

They should have to guarantee the contracts, and just not count it against the cap if a guy has to be cut.

 

Also, expand the roster size. A big problem with guys playing injured is that teams just don't have enough prepared players. If Kevin Ogletree was already on the roster, and Cruz was having some minor knee issues, maybe he could have had a little more rest and avoided the huge injury.

 

All valid points... you're much smarter in this section

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

 

They should have to guarantee the contracts, and just not count it against the cap if a guy has to be cut.

 

Also, expand the roster size. A big problem with guys playing injured is that teams just don't have enough prepared players. If Kevin Ogletree was already on the roster, and Cruz was having some minor knee issues, maybe he could have had a little more rest and avoided the huge injury.

Exactly... the owners in their greed are putting paid to penny wise and pound foolish... They have no vision...

[CrazedDogs]

Exactly... the owners in their greed are putting paid to penny wise and pound foolish... They have no vision...

 

I agree. And the players, I still don't understand how they got rolled so badly in the last collective bargaining agreement. The league is all about the players, there is no league without them. They should have held out for far more than they accepted.

[Herc]

they should've but it's tough to have a strong union that takes a stand like that when everyone's peak window for making money is so short

[CrazedDogs]

they should've but it's tough to have a strong union that takes a stand like that when everyone's peak window for making money is so short

 

True, but honestly I still think there was some collusion between the player's leadership and the ownership.

[Herc]

wouldn't surprise me. you don't get to those types of positions without looking out for #1

[BlueInCanada]

 

I agree. And the players, I still don't understand how they got rolled so badly in the last collective bargaining agreement. The league is all about the players, there is no league without them. They should have held out for far more than they accepted.

 

Because at the end of the day 3/4's of the players would be working jobs at McDonalds or homeless with the level of education they have received riding on just playing football since highschool. Not to mention I read an article that a lot of pressure was coming from the players who would end up bankrupt/homeless because they would rather own a diamond studded wrist watch, four houses, and three cars than save a paycheck from time to time.

 

If the owners didn't have the NFL they would still be multi-millionaires, just slightly less.

[fishgutmartyr]

 

True, but there's something to be said about a much bigger dude who pushes around other really big dudes and carries around all that weight on a surgically repaired knee...I'm not saying it isn't apples and oranges but it may be a closer comparison than you thin

 

Just to be clear, I wasn't making light of the stress a lineman's knees take during their careers--the amount of force being compressed into those joints must be incredible. The difference is most of the action and force is linear and straight-forward--very little of the side to side force that a WR's knee has to take when making a sharp cut in a pattern. Not that I'm a doctor, but I would think that has to be a factor in how well Cruz recovers from that injury.

 

 

 

They should have to guarantee the contracts, and just not count it against the cap if a guy has to be cut.

 

Also, expand the roster size. A big problem with guys playing injured is that teams just don't have enough prepared players. If Kevin Ogletree was already on the roster, and Cruz was having some minor knee issues, maybe he could have had a little more rest and avoided the huge injury.

 

Guaranteeing contracts off of the cap for injured players would be very fair, and keep things competitive. But even now, IR players are being paid, and a player doesn't lose a paycheck if they're too injured to play in a game. I agree that IR'd players shouldn't be considered for the cap, but maybe that changes someday. If the cap wasn't an artificial barrier meant to keep contracts lower rather than keep things competitive, it probably would have happened already.

 

But I don't think a larger roster would have mattered here because we had 3 reserves on the squad already at this point. You could argue that he wouldn't have kept playing if Beckham wasn't out so long AND Jernigan wasn't on IR; but we could have had 12 WRs and he would have still played. Simply having bodies available doesn't mean that there wouldn't be a drop-off in talent, or a willingness on the coach's part to lose further effectiveness on the field.

 

You'd have to change the mentality of football itself. The whole "playing hurt=tough" thing. And that would require a change in perspective among players, coaches, front office, and fans. Could you imagine the posts in this place if you kept a player out if he wasn't limping?

[Treehugger]

How does the cap factor into it? It's not like there is a pool of players demanding Cruz money waiting to be signed.

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

 

True, but honestly I still think there was some collusion between the player's leadership and the ownership.

this...and remember the first strike... too many of the stars...like LT and Dan Fouts...thumbed the noses early (Fouts) or later (LT) and came into play during the replacement games in 87. The biggest farce and tragedy ever... This was the original sin that has plagued the players union since the beginning. The superstars will get paid and don't feel too much of an obligation to the lunch pail guys supporting them and the players from previous generations. The owners and their lawyers know this and bargain accordingly.

[TaylorBanksCarsonVanPelt]

 

Just to be clear, I wasn't making light of the stress a lineman's knees take during their careers--the amount of force being compressed into those joints must be incredible. The difference is most of the action and force is linear and straight-forward--very little of the side to side force that a WR's knee has to take when making a sharp cut in a pattern. Not that I'm a doctor, but I would think that has to be a factor in how well Cruz recovers from that injury.

 

 

 

Guaranteeing contracts off of the cap for injured players would be very fair, and keep things competitive. But even now, IR players are being paid, and a player doesn't lose a paycheck if they're too injured to play in a game. I agree that IR'd players shouldn't be considered for the cap, but maybe that changes someday. If the cap wasn't an artificial barrier meant to keep contracts lower rather than keep things competitive, it probably would have happened already.

 

But I don't think a larger roster would have mattered here because we had 3 reserves on the squad already at this point. You could argue that he wouldn't have kept playing if Beckham wasn't out so long AND Jernigan wasn't on IR; but we could have had 12 WRs and he would have still played. Simply having bodies available doesn't mean that there wouldn't be a drop-off in talent, or a willingness on the coach's part to lose further effectiveness on the field.

 

You'd have to change the mentality of football itself. The whole "playing hurt=tough" thing. And that would require a change in perspective among players, coaches, front office, and fans. Could you imagine the posts in this place if you kept a player out if he wasn't limping?

And there is the dilemma... so few games...they are all high stakes... no 182 game schedule to fall back on...who cares if you lose 20-50 games... Its one reason why the NFL fought to have themselves exempted from anti-trust legislation...