Positions - most risk / least risk

[GrnBay007]

What football positions are viewed as greatest chance of injury vs. a lesser chance? Of course all can be, but I'm curious what a ranking would be. I would think WR, RB, QB highest risk?



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[Anti-Polar Bear]

Most: RB, every defender comes after them on every single carry.

Least: QB, qbs have 5-plus players protecting them, plus they dont get hit in training camp or practice.

[OS PA]

I think the top three positions with a high injury potential would have to be Wide Reciever first, Defensive Tackles second, and Running Back third

Least - 1st - Cornerback, 2nd - Offensive Tackle, 3rd - Quarterback.

[woodbuck27]

"Most: RB, every defender comes after them on every single carry." Anti-Polar Bear

Thinking of OUR - 'RB coming off of injury- - problem, I thought I'd toss this in.

The Running Back Two Year Major Injury Rule

August 17, 2004

note: I edited this article for content (no stat's) to retain the meat of it. woodbuck27

Okay football fanatics---huddle up. It’s time to re-release a FootballDocs timeless classic. In this article, the Docs go behind the numbers to outline the running back two-year major injury rule...a rule that should be strongly considered when evaluating your player rankings.

It is also a rule that could help give your team that winning fantasy football edge on draft day and prove to be the difference between winning and losing.

When it comes to most fantasy football drafts, there is hardly a position in fantasy football that is more coveted than the position of running back. With only 32 NFL teams and typically two running backs required for the start in most fantasy football leagues, it doesn’t take long to see that quality RB’s are hot commodities on fantasy draft day.

Throw in the fact that several NFL teams support running back by committee (RBBC) offenses (offenses that fail to feature a workhorse running back and consequently distribute the carries to several different running backs), and quality running backs can go faster than free BBQ at a NFL pre-game tailgate.

What constitutes a workhorse running back?

By “workhorseà¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚, we mean a back that is likely to get at least somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 touches in a game (either directly from a hand off or from a pass reception out of the backfield). Typically these are your household name backs--- LaDainian Tomlinson, and Edgerrin James to just name a a couple; however, they could also be “up and comers” that people feel are going to get those kind of touches but have yet to do so in the past.

Regardless, the idea here is to select a back that is slated to be the featured back in a NFL offense, but be sure to exercise extreme caution when selecting such a back. It is imperative to consider the leg injury history of a running back with respect to time, otherwise you may effectively pay the price for a Lexus only to receive a Corolla.


Major injury history with respect to time?

You bet. It is not enough for a running back to be declared the feature back in an NFL offense. The back should also be two years removed from the season when the major leg injury occurred before paying the high price of an early round pick in your fantasy football draft.

Major leg injuries and running backs do not mix. . . . and it takes time (typically two full years from the season when the major leg injury occurred) to recover to the pre-injury form that these backs enjoyed when punishing NFL defenses on a regular basis.

Jamal Lewis was the only back to produce numbers extremely similar (in fact, slightly better) to his pre-injury form on his first year back from a major leg injury.

There are two possible explanations that could help account for this. The first lies in the fact that Lewis tore his ACL during the preseason in the summer of 2000, hence Lewis had longer to rehab the injury and prepare for the 2002 season when compared to previous backs that tore their ACL during the regular season. The second possible explanation lies in the fact that Lewis had previously torn his ACL during his sophomore year of college while playing at Tennessee; consequently, he already experienced the recovery process and knew both physically and mentally what it would take to rehabilitate his knee and return to a high level of play.

Garrison Hearst also had one of the better years on his return (70% of his previous fantasy performance based on a standard performance scoring system), but similar to Lewis, Hearst also had more time to rehabilitate his injury compared to other players (in fact, he had an additional year to recover). Regardless, the overall trend illustrates that some of the best backs in the game struggled on their first year immediately returning from a major leg injury.


Why does this RB two-year injury rule seem to exist?

In a word---hesitation. When returning to the gridiron after recovering from a significant leg injury, it is almost impossible for a running back to not hesitate when running with the ball. Minor leg injuries such as sprains and pulled muscles can and should be expected for running backs in the NFL, but major leg injuries such as a torn ACL can be devastating to a RB and delay their progress to returning to their pre-injury form.


Note: Maybe this is what we are seing in Samkon Gado on his return from injury? woodbuck27


The key to this immediate one-year slump lies in the function of the ACL itself. The ACL holds the femur and tibia in place and is one of the most critical ligaments to athletes because of its primary function of stabilizing the knee joint during deceleration. Without the ACL, players would fall to the ground due to the knee buckling when applying pressure from either stopping or changing direction.

It is only natural for a RB to be hesitant when running during the first year after an ACL injury. Given the speed of the NFL, there is no room for there to be any kind of hesitation and still expect a running back to put up big numbers.

By the way, for those that have endured a significant leg injury and played some ball, we’re preaching to the choir. For those that haven’t, go talk to someone who has. Physical therapy is brutal and requires not only considerable time to “fullyâà ¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚ recover, but also requires tremendous determination and sheer guts. The mental anguish on a player can at times prove to be as strenuous as the physical anguish. It is not uncommon for a player to ponder thoughts of retirement when going through this process, and it is a credit to those that made it all the way back to be able to play at the level the NFL demands.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I would guess kickoff coverage is the most dangerous job.

Safest: any high draft pick that can't play football so hot. Ride that inactive list, invest signing bonus wisely, still get in team photo. Donnell Washington, BJ Sander, Jamal Reynolds.

[KYPack]

I would guess kickoff coverage is the most dangerous job.

Safest: any high draft pick that can't play football so hot. Ride that inactive list, invest signing bonus wisely, still get in team photo. Donnell Washington, BJ Sander, Jamal Reynolds.

Back-up QB. Only a poisoned clipboard could sideline those guys. Being a highly paid NFL back-up QB should be the wish of every young football player.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Being a highly paid NFL back-up QB should be the wish of every young football player.

Well, certainly the wish of every mother of young football players.

[billy_oliver880]

You know it always boggles my mind when kickers get injured.... :?

[GrnBay007]

Being a highly paid NFL back-up QB should be the wish of every young football player.

Well, certainly the wish of every mother of young football players.

You are so smart Harlan....of course I was doing a lil fishing. :oops:

I am a bit disappointed there was not more input/views........I mean c'mon, tanky posted his liberal utopian thread about the same time and look at the number of responses he got! :roll:



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[ny10804]

From top to bottom more likely to get injured:

RB
WR/TE
OL
CB
LB
DL
QB
S

[Partial]

I think all are equally likely.. as they say.. any given sunday

[Harlan Huckleby]

I think all are equally likely.. as they say.. any given sunday

I don't know what the stats say. But it sure seems like RBs and WRs take a beating.

[MJZiggy]

My guess would be WR get hurt most because they have to go up for the ball and lose the protection of their feet on the ground and as they're reaching up, they also lose the protection of their arms leaving their midsections vulnerable. I also think you see the possibility of them coming down wrong and getting neck injuries that I don't recall seeing from other positions (someone please correct me on that as I could be wrong). Linemen seem to tend to hurt their knees and backs and sometimes ankles. RB's seem to blow their knees. I always thought if a kid of mine ever wanted to play football, I'd want him to punt, but Harlan's right. Backup QB is a mother's dream--third string even better. Problem is you have to play college QB to get that gig. What injuries to linebackers and corners usually get when they get injured?

[bigcoz75]

What injuries to linebackers and corners usually get when they get injured?

I would guess shoulders, collarbones, concussions.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Well, corners are also subject to severe burns.

[Green Bud Packer]

w.r. most vulnerable long snapper least vulnerable