It's not about being good anymore.
 

Too many injuries to key players have ruined the NFL.

Even with teams I can't stand it takes the competition away. The Texan lost two key players and last weeks victory didn't seem like a win.

GB lost Aaron Rodgers. This makes a Bears fan's day.

Some teams seem better at health and their record shows it.

While some of the political turmoil has reduced ratings I think much of it also has to do with injuries. Most nationally televised games are scheduled in advanced on what would look like good matchups that previous season only to find star players are out. Imagine a Colts vs. Pats on MNF. You will get the diehard fans on one side but most viewers would not find it worth watching.

Probably your most valuable people in the NFL are position coaches. They are the ones who have to make improvements on the other 30 players on the roster. Backups rarely become stars anymore.

It's almost a certainty that the eventual Super Bowl champion will be the team that has healthy players at the key position, and by key position I mean QB. In today's game, the QB is so important to success that a team with an injury at that position is doomed. Maybe they need to return to older style football and allow more bump and run and contact by the DBs and thus, make the running game more important and the passing game less important.

If every Colt was healthy they still suck.

2017 ALL-IR Roster:

QB: Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Deshaun Watson
RB: David Johnson
WR: Odell Beckham Jr, Allen Robinson, Pierre Garcon, Julian Edelman
TE: Tyler Eifert, Greg Olsen
OT: Joe Thomas, Jason Peters
OG: Marshall Yanda, Mike Iupati, Jack Mewhort
OC: Weston Richburg

EDGE: J.J. Watt, Cliff Avril, Whitney Mercilus
INTERIOR: Haloti Nagata, Dominique Easley, Nick Fairley
LB: Dont'a Hightower, Jerrell Freeman
CB: Richard Sherman, Jason Verrett, Sidney Jones
S: Eric Berry, Malik Hooker, Jimmie Ward

PK: Caleb Sturgis
P: Kasey Redfern
KR/PR: Darren Sproles

Could that team win the SB?

Walk Worthy,

Didn't realize Garçon was out. I saw him in a couple of games early in the season and he was looking great. Too bad.

This is why the Colts' midgets are injured every year. When a team or fanbase has to make excuses literally every year "we have too many injuries", then maybe it's time to reconsider player acquisition strategy.

The NFL is a brutal and violent game. Big men can withstand that toll better than smaller men. Ideally, you'd love to have players who are both big and fast. But if you have to choose, being big is important. And for a long time, the Colts have always been a small skill position team.

This was true in the Polian era. We had 280 lb. guards and Keyunta Dawson was our 255 lb. DT. Our average LB was the size of a SS. But that's not really the case anymore. Who are you referring to? Across the roster I see lots of big guys.

JJ Watt is no small man and he just keeps getting injured. Henry Anderson does too. Bigger doesn't necessarily mean less susceptible to injuries.

See Arthur Jones.

It's kind of a funny observation because after Polian's exit I might have agreed.

Now we have guys with size and I miss some of the "small" guys who could actually, you know, play ball.

o


"Give me the athletes".


Tony Dungy, when asked if he wished that his team had larger linemen and linebackers when he was coaching the Colts.


o

I'd want to know if there's actually a trend of increasing injuries around the league, and if there is, does it coincide with the changes the NFLPA has negotiated in to the CBA regarding practice lengths, what is and isn't allowed in practice, and when and how teams can have contact with players in the offseason.

I dont think it's an either / or when it comes to size....I think what's a bigger determinant of success is that they are smart (ie capable of learning new things quickly), mentally tough (their highs aren't too high and their lows aren't too low....it's a delicate balance of confidence balanced with humility), and of course athletic ability. I think this is why I dislike TJ Green (and Pagano since he so passionately advocated for his recruitment).....The guy may be a very nice guy...don't know.....but he's dumber than a box of rocks. I heard him interviewed shortly after Pagano tried his experiment in moving him to a new position and he was all about hoping he wouldn't have to do as much thinking....of course as we've seen any form of thinking seems to be too much for the guy, including the basic judgment to know its foolish to launch your body on a pile after the play is so obviously over

I bet those changes do have something to do with it, along with quick turnarounds for Thursday Night Football games. There is no way it's good for your body to play on Sunday and then turn around and play another game on Thursday. It's particularly bad for a team that has to travel and play on the Thursday game.

Good point. Steroids could be an issue too. We all remember Bob Sanders.

what about him?


he was never busted for steroids.

We need a "Dumb" button on this forum. I mean, wtf?

There are child predators out there. We all know Gimmick.


See how that works. Just because someone thinks it doesn’t mean it’s so.:rolleyes:

come on man

What? Make a fucking case dude. There is no proof the guy ever juiced. So either provide a good argument or fuck off.

There was never proof Bob was on roids but it wouldn't surprise me at all.

Nothing would surprise me anymore especially if it came out Watt was on them, but the lack of contact in preseason and practice may be a factor in injuries. Or it could be that these in-game injuries would've happened in practice with more contact. Would be interesting if any stats could be pulled to correlate that.

Not a terrible idea Ed. There is also a ton of good backs coming into the league the last couple of years. For a dying/transitioning position, it sure has seen a lot of talent get on the field.

They test players for that stuff.

They also lie about player's height and weight on the roster. No doubt with guys like Bob Sanders. Jack Lambert was listed at 220 and he was probably lighter. You think they were honest on William Perry's weight?