Wave of season-ending injuries crippling NFL

[stillers4me]

Troy Polamalu isn't sure why there has been an inordinate number of season-ending injuries this NFL season. He's certain, however, that only the strong will survive.

A study of league transactions and injury reports revealed that 241 players have been placed on injured reserve or characterized as out indefinitely entering these Week 8 games. In contrast, 235 players were on injured reserve as of Week 12 last season...............


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/-topstories/4940277-74/injuries-players-season#ixzz2iw7S6ymk

[steelreserve]

I know why! Player safety.

[smokin3000gt]

Nothing that another bucket full of more rules and regulations can't fix!

[Mojouw]

Injuries are random. 241 by Week 8 and 235 by Week 12 are likely about the same thing statistically speaking. Be interested to see if there is more long-term data on this somewhere. If the # of injuries were moving upwards multiple years in a row, then there would be trend and something (at least statistically speaking) that could be identified and defined. Additionally, the underlying point of the article is that the concussion concern is forcing players to hit low. In turn this is driving more season ending knee and leg injuries. Good to see that there were exactly ZERO data points for this in the article. Once again, a well researched piece by the print journalists.

Just to belabor a point, here is a list of injuries for each team that took me exactly 20 seconds to Google and post http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/injuries

I would suspect that there is a trend towards hitting lower to avoid penalty and/or fines. This should create more opportunities for injury to the knee/leg/ankle. Anecdotal evidence seems to back this up. But the job of a reporter is to actually report something. I have said it before, but I am convinced that in a cost-cutting move they have shut the internet down at the Trib offices.

Finally, we all need to just admit that the NFL has zero concern for player safety. This is evidenced by Thursday games, talk of an expanded season, a refusal to expand the game-day roster, the lack of research into and implementation (forced if necessary) of new safety equipment. The NFL has a great deal of concern for the IMAGE of player safety. As a result they have undertaken a series of public relations friendly steps to deal with the concussion and head trauma issue. Now that they are viewed as "addressing player safety" they can go back to printing stacks of cash, secure in the knowledge that the public will continue to watch in droves.

[X-Terminator]

2 more players lost today to season-ending injuries.

[tube517]

Mojouw is absolutely right. It's all about the image of player safety.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk

[fansince'76]

IMO, a big reason for this is the provision in the new CBA calling for fewer padded practices and more no-contact practices. It's making the players soft, bottom line.

[smokin3000gt]

IMO, a big reason for this is the provision in the new CBA calling for fewer padded practices and more no-contact practices. It's making the players soft, bottom line.

I agree with that. It also seems like a lot of the teams took an extra 2 or 3 games before looking like a reg season team instead of pre-season.

[Mojouw]

IMO, a big reason for this is the provision in the new CBA calling for fewer padded practices and more no-contact practices. It's making the players soft, bottom line.

While teams may be "soft" or taking longer to round into form as another poster noted, I don't see how padded and contact practices will make players more resistant to catastrophic ligament and bone injuries.

Muscle pulls, strains, and other soft tissue injuries as well as the associated ability (or inability) to play through them may have some relationship to how much contact and hitting is done in practices. If anything, less contact in practices is exposing players to less chance of a practice based season ending injury.

For instance, no amount of padded practice would have done anything to avoid Miller's knee injury last year or Pouncey's injury this year.