PDA

View Full Version : Roethlisberger explains turf comment



polamalubeast
08-29-2012, 10:35 AM
After watching right guard David DeCastro hurt his knee in Buffalo, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger blamed the injury on FieldTurf.

There's only one problem: Ralph Wilson Stadium uses A-Turf Titan, not FieldTurf.

Roethlisberger corrected himself on that fact, but he didn't back away from his dislike of artificial surfaces.

"In my postgame interview on Saturday, when asked about the knee injury David DeCastro suffered, I mistakenly referred to the artificial grass in Buffalo as FieldTurf," Roethlisberger said in a statement on his own website. "My intention was only to say I believe real grass is the safest surface for football, and allows some knee injuries to be avoided. I was really bothered by David’s injury in that moment, and can only wish him the best now in his recovery."

Roethlisberger and the Steelers are among 16 NFL teams who play their home games on grass (the Browns, Texans, Jaguars, Chiefs, Dolphins, Raiders, Chargers, Titans, Cardinals, Panthers, Bears, Eagles, 49ers, Buccaneers and Redskins are the others). Two other teams, the Broncos and Packers, use a blend of natural and synthetic called DD Grassmaster. That means 14 teams play on some sort of artificial surface, whether it's FieldTurf, Sportexe Momentum (Ravens), Sportsfield Softtop, UBU Speed Series-S5-M (Bengals) or A-Turf Titan.

In March 2010, an NFL panel found that certain serious knee and ankle injuries happen more often in games played on FieldTurf. An NFL spokesman said at the time that further study was needed before anyone could draw conclusions, and FieldTurf president Eric Daliere argued that the study was flawed.

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/53673/roethlisberger-explains-turf-comment

fansince'76
08-29-2012, 11:05 AM
After watching right guard David DeCastro hurt his knee in Buffalo, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger blamed the injury on FieldTurf.

There's only one problem: Ralph Wilson Stadium uses A-Turf Titan, not FieldTurf.

:rolleyes:

You say "toe-may-toe," I say "toe-mah-toe." I happen to share Roethlisberger's opinion about artificial turf - ALL artificial turf. There's absolutely no give in it whatsoever and if a player gets their cleat(s) stuck in it and winds up falling awkwardly, they can seriously tear up their knees.

suitanim
08-29-2012, 11:17 AM
I don't know, the new Fieldturf is quite a bit better than the nasty old astroturf. It's very similar to natural grass.

tube517
08-29-2012, 11:17 AM
Jamison Jackhole with really nothing else to write about. :coffee:

ALLD
08-29-2012, 11:18 AM
4 game suspension for derogatory comments by a Steeler.

Kornbread
08-29-2012, 12:07 PM
I just hope David DeCastro makes a quick recovery..

SteelerFanInStl
08-29-2012, 12:13 PM
If the NFL actually cared about the health of the players, they'd get rid of all artificial turf.

Edman
08-29-2012, 12:26 PM
For a field supposedly voted the "worst playing surface EVAR", Heinz Field hasn't seen many injuries. The only time I ever seen Heinz truly fail was the Pittsburgh/Miami game in 2007, and that was only because there was so much rain that night that it turned the field into a giant sponge.

Wake me when Heinz Field causes so many injured/banged up players at once like in Super Bowl XLV. That state o' the art marvel of playing surfaces injuring players left and right. Grass is the way to go. It gets beaten up quickly, it doesn't look pretty in the late months thanks to Pittsburgh weather and the Panthers and WPIAL Championships played on it, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

Texasteel
08-29-2012, 01:15 PM
If the NFL actually cared about the health of the players, they'd get rid of all artificial turf.

Artificial turf belongs on a patio, not a freaking football feild.

Craic
08-29-2012, 02:04 PM
I don't know, the new Fieldturf is quite a bit better than the nasty old astroturf. It's very similar to natural grass.

The study was actually comparing Fieldturf to games on natural grass. The rate of ACL injury was eighty-eight percent higher on FieldTurf.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?confirm=true&id=09000d5d816e77f1&template=with-video-with-comments

Count Steeler
08-29-2012, 02:55 PM
The study was actually comparing Fieldturf to games on natural grass. The rate of ACL injury was eighty-eight percent higher on FieldTurf.


http://www.nfl.com/news/story?confirm=true&id=09000d5d816e77f1&template=with-video-with-comments

Link to "Page not found". And of course FieldTurf responded that the study was skewed?

Craic
08-29-2012, 03:14 PM
Link to "Page not found". And of course FieldTurf responded that the study was skewed?

??? Worked for me.

Maybe the site was down for a few moments - it timed out on you.

suitanim
08-29-2012, 03:29 PM
I wasn't comparing Fieldturf to grass, I was comparing it to the old cement-like Astroturf.

Craic
08-29-2012, 03:36 PM
I wasn't comparing Fieldturf to grass, I was comparing it to the old cement-like Astroturf.

I know, but then you said, "it's very similar to natural grass." The study shows that it really isn't, at least in the area of injuries. I was actually surprised, because I thought it was an excellent compromise between the old fake stuff and grass, but not with these injuries.

fansince'76
08-29-2012, 03:41 PM
I wasn't comparing Fieldturf to grass, I was comparing it to the old cement-like Astroturf.

Hell, a stadium's parking lot would be preferable to Astroturf.

XxKnightxX
08-29-2012, 04:16 PM
In March 2010, an NFL panel found that certain serious knee and ankle injuries happen more often in games played on FieldTurf. An NFL spokesman said at the time that further study was needed before anyone could draw conclusions, and FieldTurf president Eric Daliere argued that the study was flawed.

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/53673/roethlisberger-explains-turf-comment

Yeah Lets file that under the ' NO SHIT SHERLOCK' Category. Lets face it NFL, turf blows. All theyre trying to do is lower costs on field maintenance and keep that artificial shit on the field. Besides the injuries to the knees and hard surface since theres no soil under the turf, lets not forget the damn rug burn you get from these fields when players slide or get tackled. Or the fact that during the summer months those fields become heat sponges and causes cramping to all the players.

zulater
08-29-2012, 07:06 PM
As Far as Ben is concerned. He lost a teammate. It's natural to bitch, it doesn't make him right, it makes him human to complain.

As for artificial turf, in all it's forms. The greatest team that ever played this game ( 70's Steelers) played the majority of it's games on a surface that would make the runways at your local airport seem forgiving. So get over it already!

steelerdude15
08-29-2012, 09:54 PM
First off, why is this even a big deal? Second, I've ran on both natural grass and artificial turf with cleats and its easier to run on natural grass. You're faster, can cut faster, and its easier to lift your legs when in a running motion. Plus, you have to deal with little black particles from artificial turf that gets in your shoes.

suitanim
08-30-2012, 08:36 AM
Anyway, I've played on all 3, and it's:

Natural Grass>>>>>>Field Turf>>>>>>>>>>>Astroturf

My guess is that technology will improve and we'll see both A) More stadiums use natural turf, even domes (ala Cardinals Stadium out in Phoenix) and, B) Continual safety improvements to artificial turf, which probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

NCSteeler
08-30-2012, 09:39 AM
Is there ANY DOUBT that if Field Turf caused more concussions, it wouldn't require "further study" maybe a few players should sue the NFL for allowing Field Turf to be used. Concussions, Knee Jerk extremes, career ending knee injury"further study" Anyone know if Field Turfs maker is financially linked to the NFL or any NFL franchises?