Bengals' lead league in "preventable" injuries

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Enquirer Story

[redsrule2500]

Whose fault would that be? The medical guy? Trainers? Marvin?

[HoosierCat]

Whose fault would that be? The medical guy? Trainers? Marvin?

Chad Johnson's, of course.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Whose fault would that be? The medical guy? Trainers? Marvin?

The Bengals' are never at fault. It must be someone outside conspiracy. I say it's Goodell's fault.

[damiancasey]

I have narrowed the injury problem down to the following root causes:

1) Hip Hop Music

2) Chad Johnson

3) Mike Brown's grand scheme

Seriously, though this is actually a great point they bring up. I have been wondering about this and wondering why more of a stink hasn't been raised.

[HoosierCat]

I have narrowed the injury problem down to the following root causes:

1) Hip Hop Music

2) Chad Johnson

3) Mike Brown's grand scheme

You forgot:

4) Global Warming

[WhoDey93285]

I have narrowed the injury problem down to the following root causes:

1) Hip Hop Music

2) Chad Johnson

3) Mike Brown's grand scheme

You forgot:

4) Global Warming

Thank you, Al Gore.

[Bengals1]

I have narrowed the injury problem down to the following root causes:

1) Hip Hop Music

2) Chad Johnson

3) Mike Brown's grand scheme

You forgot:

4) Global Warming

And

5) Vast right wing conspiracy

[HairOnFire]

Whose fault would that be? The medical guy? Trainers? Marvin?

The Bengals' are never at fault. It must be someone outside conspiracy. I say it's Goodell's fault.

Uhhh, you posted the article so why not give the opinion of the fitness expert quoted in the article. Short answer: The players are at fault.

"One fitness expert who has tracked injuries to Bengals players this season is Rocco Castellano, founder and CEO of askROCCO .com and Rocco's in Over-the-Rhine. He thinks the seeds of injury are sewn before training camp opens in July at Georgetown College near Lexington.

"These football players are making millions of dollars, and it is their job to be in their best physical shape when they come to training camp," said Castellano, who counted 30 players on the Bengals' injury report since Aug. 1. "Instead, what we are seeing is a bunch of athletes who are playing catch-up on their conditioning and, as a result, they are pulling muscles left and right."

So I guess that answer is ignored because you don't like it, huh? And you don't like it because it doesn't fit the rant, right?

[damiancasey]

Whose fault would that be? The medical guy? Trainers? Marvin?

The Bengals' are never at fault. It must be someone outside conspiracy. I say it's Goodell's fault.

Uhhh, you posted the article so why not give the opinion of the fitness expert quoted in the article. Short answer: The players are at fault.

"One fitness expert who has tracked injuries to Bengals players this season is Rocco Castellano, founder and CEO of askROCCO .com and Rocco's in Over-the-Rhine. He thinks the seeds of injury are sewn before training camp opens in July at Georgetown College near Lexington.

"These football players are making millions of dollars, and it is their job to be in their best physical shape when they come to training camp," said Castellano, who counted 30 players on the Bengals' injury report since Aug. 1. "Instead, what we are seeing is a bunch of athletes who are playing catch-up on their conditioning and, as a result, they are pulling muscles left and right."

So I guess that answer is ignored because you don't like it, huh? And you don't like it because it doesn't fit the rant, right?

The players may be at fault but it's strange that they picked this guy to be their fitness "expert". This guy used to be (might actually still be) one of the personalities Gary Burbank had on his show every afternoon. I don't know Rocco's credentials but I know that he always came off as a bit of a dumb meathead clown. As far as I know he's just the owner of a gym that happens to know a lot about working out. I could be wrong - this guy could have a PhD from Stanford but that's certainly not how he comes off.

He's definitely not someone whose advice I would take as gospel when making decisions about the conditioning of an NFL team.

All that being said, how would it sound if our medical/strength and conditioning staff was asked to explain why there were so many preventable injuries and they resonded, "it's the players' fault - ask them"?

[Scott]

Ludwig talked about this earlier in the season. He mentioned that the Bengals supply plenty of Gatorade and other drinks for their players. It's there at all practices, it's there in the locker room. And it's also available at the hotels they're staying at. Since the organization supplies the fluids I would say it's the players fault.

[The PatternMaster]

This article kinda sums the ridiculousness of the Cincy media, imo...

The author makes statements that are just not true...

Pain and injuries are part of football. And many injuries - a helmet to a knee that causes ligament damage or a broken bone - are inevitable over the course of a season or a career.

But some types of injuries - hamstring and groin strains and pulls, for example - can largely be avoided through proper stretching, weight training and diet, especially adequate hydration.

But the Bengals, for all of their self-described efforts, have suffered an inordinately high number of these preventable injuries so far this season

Curnette assumption that Ahmed Brooks could have avoided that groin pull or Rudi could have avoided tweaking the hammy if they would have done a few things simply isn't true. How does Curnette know the hydration level of the players, does he know the pre-game stretch routines and exercises that the players do throughout the week, or even the workout schedule of the players. He doesn't mention that he researched that during the article but yet he assumes that the strength and conditioning coaches aren't doing their jobs correctly, even though he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about, don't you just love responsible journalism at it's finest.

If Curnette every played a down of football at a competitive level he would know that injuries are impossible to avoid and during a game your body get's put in certian positions and gets put under a level of stress that is impossible to duplicate during practice. He makes it seems as if the coaching staff isn't trying to avoid the injuries, when that is the exact opposite of the situation.

I think this a more accurate picture of the coaching staff in question..

Rookie safety Chinedum Ndukwe, who has played defense and special teams, made the roster with an impressive training camp and preseason. He was the Bengals' second of two seventh-round draft picks.

"Every opportunity I had to get on the field, I was," said Ndukwe, who injured his hamstring during the opener vs. Baltimore and tried to play through it. He missed Games 2 and 3.

Ndukwe credits the team's strength and conditioning coaches for helping him get back on the field quickly.

You can't control injuries, they are a un-managable part of the game. You can do everything possible to prevent them and I believe the coaching staff has done that, once they occur you can do everything you can to help guys recover, but you don't want to rush someone back and risk further injury.

[damiancasey]

You can't control injuries, they are a un-managable part of the game.

Well...I don't think that's entirely true.

The strength & "conditioning" and medical staff is paid and recruited to treat injuries and reduce the risk of injuries. If there's no way to prevent injuries then what's the point in having the staff? Let's fire them and save some money. Along those same lines...you would expect that if they aren't doing they're job right then we would see an increase in injuries.

That being said - it SEEMS like we have experienced an unusually high number of injuries this year. The question that needs to be answered first is - is this bad year just the result of the normal fluctuation in the amount of injuries or is there something systemic that's causing these injuries? No way we are going to know this unless someone does some statistical analysis here.

Anal retentive nerd answer - I know - sorry.

I think the enquirer story was very half baked, poorly researched, subjective, and generally dumb too but I DO think it's an interesting point and worth looking into.

[Jet23]

I can't speak to the prevention of injuries. Brooks is a freak of nature and they are prone to injuries...ala Eric Davis. My problem is with the diagnosis and the treatment of these injuries. I also believe that the coaching staff is getting bad information relating to who should be placed on IR, PUP... This translates into wasted roster spots and position shortages on game day.

Would anyone be surprised if it is reported that Brooks' injury is more serious than originally thought? If they can't diagnose an injury correctly than they certainly can't tell a player when it is safe to resume work. Any trainer will tell you that there is a difference between injury and pain. If the distinction is lost on them, it may explain why injured players can never seem to get back on the field.

IMO there is sufficient evidence to totally overhaul the medical / training staff. It will never happen though, because Mike Brown is.............Mike Brown.

[HairOnFire]

Would anyone be surprised if it is reported that Brooks' injury is more serious than originally thought? If they can't diagnose an injury correctly than they certainly can't tell a player when it is safe to resume work.

Well, what was the original diagnosis and when was Brooks projected to return? Everything I've read lists the injury as a groin pull or strain...with absolutely no projection offered for when the player will return. Nor would I expect them to quess since the seriousness of groin pulls vary and it's not uncommon for a player to be out 8 or 9 weeks. A quick glance at the calendar confirms that under this scenario Brooks wouldn't be expected back for several more weeks.

[Whur CHad At?]

it's George Bush's fault

[HairOnFire]

I also believe that the coaching staff is getting bad information relating to who should be placed on IR, PUP... This translates into wasted roster spots and position shortages on game day.

It seems to me like fertile ground for second guessing. For example, let's say the Bengals were originally told that Brooks groin pull would likely keep him out of action until week 10. How many of you would immediately put him on IR?