Sportsdoc Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 FSR announced that if Pollack's neck fracture does not heal (without surgical intervention) it may be career threatening......................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaxonFord87 Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/CIN/9707629 Pollack's neck healing, future unclearNFL.com wire reportsCINCINNATI (Oct. 5, 2006) -- Bengals linebacker David Pollack will know in a couple of months whether the cracked bone in his neck is healing properly or whether he'll need career-ending surgery to fix it.In his first interview since the injury, Pollack said that he has to wear a halo brace for two more months. If the cracked vertebra has healed by then, he can start rehabilitation and eventually resume his career."If it heals by itself, then I'm fine," he told writers in a conference call from his Cincinnati-area home. "It's just a matter of how it heals. If it doesn't heal properly, then I'll have to have surgery."Surgery would involve fusing vertebrae in the neck, a career-ending procedure."One doctor said it: Not very many people walk away from a broken neck twice," Pollack said. "And that's something that kind of hits home, you know."When you fuse two vertebrae together, the likelihood for injury is greatly increased."The former first-round draft pick was injured while tackling Cleveland's Reuben Droughns during the Bengals' 34-17 victory on Sept. 17 at Paul Brown Stadium. At first, he thought he'd only pinched a nerve -- a so-called "stinger" -- on the tackle."I couldn't really feel my arms for a little while. That was scary," he said. "I knew something was wrong. I assumed it was a real bad stinger because I had tingling from my neck to my fingertips."Pollack could move his arms and legs when he was taken off the field on a protective back board. X-rays and a magnetic resonance imaging test detected the cracked bone."When you hear you broke your neck, it sounds kind of bad," Pollack said. When they told me I fractured my C-6 (vertebra), it was kind of -- I don't know. I had a lot of peace. I never cried once."Recent X-rays indicated that the bone is healing. He is still feeling effects from the injury."My first two fingers on my left hand are still kind of numb on the fingertips, and I can't feel things a lot of times," he said. "But that's starting to come back. I'm starting to feel more and more stuff."Even if the bone heals without surgery, Pollack faces a long rehabilitation."It definitely wouldn't be lengthy enough to miss the whole of next season," he said. "But like I said, let's worry about that when I get to it. I've got more important things to be worried about."The halo brace is screwed into Pollack's skull, immobilizing his neck. While he wears the brace, he's essentially housebound."I wake up, play video games, basically sit around the house all day," he said. "There's not much I can do. I really can't go out. I go to the doctor's office once a week and get X-rays, get my halo tightened and my screws tightened and everything."The brace prevents him from putting his head on a pillow at night."That's one of the roughest parts, the part I probably struggle with the most," he said. "I probably don't sleep about four hours a night."Pollack got choked up when he talked about how his wife, Lindsey, cleans his head every day and does all of the chores he can no longer accomplish because of the brace."I can't deal without crying right now," he said in mid-sentence.Pollack, the 17th overall pick out of Georgia last year, got a late start on his rookie season because of a contract dispute. A sprained knee also slowed his transition from defensive end to linebacker. This year, a pulled hamstring during training camp set him back.There was no self-pity when he talked about his latest setback."Coming into this year, I wanted to be a Pro Bowler," he said. "I had a bunch of goals I wanted to reach. But that's not something I look at and go, 'Dang, why me?' I could be homeless on the street looking for a way to feed myself and looking for a way to pay the rent. I'm just so blessed and fortunate." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazkal Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 Freaking pollack plays with the falcons >_< h8 playing agaist the falcons always sacking me in 2 seconds. and then never catching vick as he throws a bomb after scrambeling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPalmer9 Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 move your line backers to DE's and slide line all the way to the left and be the right end to rush him...works every time on online john Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agreen_112 Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 It's almost the same injury that ended Sterling Sharpes career. It'll be very fortunate if he ever plays again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalboomer7 Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Makes football not so important, huh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Makes football not so important, huhNot in this instance. I wish him a healthy life first, and a great NFL career second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jditty47 Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 if he heals correctly, he'll be back for sure. i just wonder if he'll be the same player once that happens...will he be worth it?but i wish him health first, then my hopes and prayers second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincy9275 Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 sounds to me he is seriously mulling over coming back or not . i wonder if he does not come back how much of his contract will he receive ? i wish him well and hope he can just get back to normal . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChadJohnson-85 Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 So now that Odell is suspended for the rest of the year & Pollacks injury might be career threatening anyone think we'll draft a LB in the second or first round in the 2007 draft? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekshank Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 So now that Odell is suspended for the rest of the year & Pollacks injury might be career threatening anyone think we'll draft a LB in the second or first round in the 2007 draft?If Pollack ends up needing surgery... yes. Maybe even if he does come back. Brooks will get on the field eventually, but if we don't have Pollack or Thurman, our LB depth looks pretty pedestrian. We need as many impact defenders as we can get, so I'm in favor of taking anything that resmbles a top tier LB or DE.Hey... weren't there rumors that we would have taken Manny Lawson and convert him to LB if he had fallen to us? That tells me that LB is still a priority in the draft. Simmons won't be around forever. Landon Johnson is solid, but will never be a star. Marvin loves drafting LB's almost as much as he loves drafting WR's. I predict we'll take a LB in the 1st round in '07. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 So now that Odell is suspended for the rest of the year & Pollacks injury might be career threatening anyone think we'll draft a LB in the second or first round in the 2007 draft?The question has been raised on the draft board...http://forums.bengalszone.com/index.php?sh...=12030&st=0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazkal Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 Hey... weren't there rumors that we would have taken Manny Lawson and convert him to LB if he had fallen to us? That tells me that LB is still a priority in the draft. Simmons won't be around forever. Landon Johnson is solid, but will never be a star. Marvin loves drafting LB's almost as much as he loves drafting WR's. I predict we'll take a LB in the 1st round in '07.I think it depends on if odell keeps clean between now and the draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnstownsteel Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 This is terrible news. Aside from Rudi, this guys my favorite Bengal. Seems Pollack is an all around stand up guy. Like I said...terrible news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 This is terrible news. Aside from Rudi, this guys my favorite Bengal. Seems Pollack is an all around stand up guy. Like I said...terrible news.Not really. Terrible news would be the guy lying in a bed with partial or total paralysis. Worst case scenario for Pollack now is that he's a millionaire who can't play football anymore. That would stink from a fan's perspective, but he certainly wouldn't be the first first-round blowout around these parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnstownsteel Posted October 8, 2006 Report Share Posted October 8, 2006 This is terrible news. Aside from Rudi, this guys my favorite Bengal. Seems Pollack is an all around stand up guy. Like I said...terrible news.Not really. Terrible news would be the guy lying in a bed with partial or total paralysis. Worst case scenario for Pollack now is that he's a millionaire who can't play football anymore. That would stink from a fan's perspective, but he certainly wouldn't be the first first-round blowout around these parts.Shoot, my bad. Great news...great news!!Naw, I see your point. There's definitely worst cases out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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