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The Pollack Injury Saga


HoosierCat

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However, I don't know of a case of a young NFL player having a non-paralyzing broken neck.

Kelly Washingon had a neck injury his senior year, right? Ended up with a couple fused vertebrae, IIRC; was the big reason he dropped on draft day. I dunno if the injuries are comparable, but obviously he's been playing.

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However, I don't know of a case of a young NFL player having a non-paralyzing broken neck.

Kelly Washingon had a neck injury his senior year, right? Ended up with a couple fused vertebrae, IIRC; was the big reason he dropped on draft day. I dunno if the injuries are comparable, but obviously he's been playing.

I had completely forgotten that he had broken neck, but that's right.

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Well, now that we know that Pollack is OK, is apparently going to be OK, and will -- at least according to Marvin -- be able to resume his career next year, I feel that it's time to move on to that favorite of message board sports, busting on the oft-injured high draft pick.

Chris "Two-Carry" Perry has been the favorite target the last couple of years, but I think we have to admit now that David Pollack has worked really, really hard (or, perhaps, not worked really, really hard) to take that crown away from Chris. We don't yet know if he'll be able to. Chris still has four weeks of PUP, plus 21 days after that, to get hit with a season-ending hangnail or something like that. I have faith that he can do that, his track record says that theres no injury he won't pursue, but if he can't get that ding, if he's forced to actually get out on the field and contribute, then hes in serious danger of losing his place to Pollack.

With that in mind, I've been thinking about a new nickname for David. Looking back to the inspiration provided by "Two-Carry Perry," and to the sum total of David's stats for this season (1 tackle), I think "One-Play Pollack" fits the occasion. (Yeah, I know, technically the tackle is an assist, so it should be "Part Of One Play Pollack," but that's kind of long. It does have a good acronym, tho...)

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However, I don't know of a case of a young NFL player having a non-paralyzing broken neck.

Kelly Washingon had a neck injury his senior year, right? Ended up with a couple fused vertebrae, IIRC; was the big reason he dropped on draft day. I dunno if the injuries are comparable, but obviously he's been playing.

Nathan Vasher too IIRC. Dropped to 4th round and now kicks a$$ at CB for Bears.

The loss of Pollack on the field this year for the Bengals is most significant at the edge pass rushing. The expectation for him to perform at a high level at SSLB was very promising but the Bengals loss of him on the field in that capacity is not as great as it would be for another position.

The pass rushing does need to be addressed but I don't see how it can be at the double-digit sack level that was attainable for Pollack this year. Jumps is there, true, but his sack party at Arrowhead looks like it probably won't be the norm for him. Jeanty might get lucky and get 1 or 2. Frostee Frucker might get his shot but I'd much rather see Brooks get the crack at it and soon, especially standing up with a 3 man front.

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guys that are calling for brooks, nicholson and jeanty are wrong. You already know who the 3 will be: it'll be Simmons, Thurman, and L. Johnson. Jeanty should see some PT, but this is our 3. Pollack will be a big loss if out for the season, because of his versitility at the OLB position and his pass rush abilitiy. Simmons is looking like a new man, maybe we leave him at middle and put O dog on the right side....

So you're preferred LB corps would be 2 Will's and a Mike with the Mike lining up...on the weakside? Doesn't make sense to me. Odell's a MLB. And he probably won't be starting before Week 7 (Carolina), so we're going to need another solution. And to think he'll then be able to switch positions? Uh, no.

Jeanty and Miller will fill in for Pollack and when Odell comes back, he'll be in the middle. Whether or not Landon or Simmons is versatile enough to play strongside...probably could handle it in a pinch, but we're probably not to that point just yet. When Odell returns I would expect Simmons to move back to Will and Landon to backup both of them.

Unless it's time for Landon to replace Simmons as the starting weakside LB.

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Good read on bengals.com how their not worried about him as a football player but how the hell he's gonna get through a year with no football o_O

Sometimes I sit up and wonder what would have happened if the Bengals had first round picks in 2004 and 2005....allright, I'm just bitter. And drunk after free drinks at the hotel's happy hour.

That aside, if he really is lucky enough to have no soft tissue damage, and assuming the break is clean, then this is not that much more complicated than most other broken bone injuries, probably. They'll be more cautious, obviously, given what's at stake, but the bone will heal in about 8 weeks. Of course he won't play football this year. However, he should be ready to rehab in a few months, and from a football perspective, will probably be able to make up for any muscular atrophy with a good off-season regimen.

Given that it's a cervical fracture, I'm guessing that he could be allowed to resume activity by November or so. I don't play football, but I have had a few fractured vertebrae. He should be ready for any contact by the time camp opens.

Realistically, this is probably - and I mean *probably* - less problematic than Sharpe's or Washington's injuries. If his discs stay where they ought, he should be OK.

In the meantime, good luck to him. I wish the NFL didn't need to have someone paralyzed or nearly so every 5 years to remind players why it's stupid to hit with your helmet.

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