Bad News : Guards could miss first playoff game

[Patler]

Sometime I think it just comes down to the fact that some players can play effectively when injured and others can not.

I think this is a myth. All NFL players are tough. And they all lose the same amount when their parts aren't functioning.

I know it is not a black and white issue, there are some differences in mental toughness, but it is greatly exaggerated in peoples minds.

Joey Harrington is every bit as tough as Brett Favre.

Has nothing to do with "toughness". More with mental focus, and not all people have the same abilities to focus on the task at hand, injured or healthy. It becomes more important when you are injured.

If you think all athletes (or people in general) respond the same to injuries and pain, in my opinion your are clearly wrong. Considering that to be "toughness" is also wrong, in my opinion. It is simply a physical response which is more intense in some than others. It's no different than some people being quicker and others being slower.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Has nothing to do with "toughness". More with mental focus, and not all people have the same abilities to focus on the task at hand, injured or healthy. It becomes more important when you are injured.

You are splitting hairs. You just defined mental toughness, after saying it has nothing to do with toughness.

If you think all athletes (or people in general) respond the same to injuries and pain, in my opinion your are clearly wrong.

pro athletes regularly deal with pain, it's part of football starting with highschool. I did not say people are the same, just that the differences among athletes is a lot smaller than what fans project into the players.

A related pet peeve is the "injury prone" accusation. If players were all exactly equally prone to injuries, I suspect the distribution of injuries would look something like it currently does. Somebody who flips "heads" three times in a row is not "heads prone." I observe that injuries occur in a roughly normal distribution.

I know a guy who is an extreme iron man type, unbelievably tough and disciplined. He was a middle linebacker for Duke back in the 60's when they were a top ten team, was drafted by the Cowboys. Anyway, he would play hurt sometimes, and said he was completely ineffective. In his experience, the "rub some dirt in it and get back out there" method is retarded.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Nah, some guys can better handle pain than others. Fact of life.

[Patler]

Has nothing to do with "toughness". More with mental focus, and not all people have the same abilities to focus on the task at hand, injured or healthy. It becomes more important when you are injured.

You are splitting hairs. You just defined mental toughness, after saying it has nothing to do with toughness.

If you think all athletes (or people in general) respond the same to injuries and pain, in my opinion your are clearly wrong.

pro athletes regularly deal with pain, it's part of football starting with highschool. I did not say people are the same, just that the differences among athletes is a lot smaller than what fans project into the players.

A related pet peeve is the "injury prone" accusation. If players were all exactly equally prone to injuries, I suspect the distribution of injuries would look something like it currently does. Somebody who flips "heads" three times in a row is not "heads prone." I observe that injuries occur in a roughly normal distribution.

I know a guy who is an extreme iron man type, unbelievably tough and disciplined. He was a middle linebacker for Duke back in the 60's when they were a top ten team, was drafted by the Cowboys. Anyway, he would play hurt sometimes, and said he was completely ineffective. In his experience, the "rub some dirt in it and get back out there" method is retarded.

The difference is that mental focus has nothing to do with a macho attitude as is commonly associated with "toughness" when talking about football players. Some of the most focused people I have encountered are the farthest thing from "tough" as is associated with athletes. It is simply concentrating on the task at hand. Some people do it better than others. In less than optimum circumstances they continue to function well. Others do not.

Maybe your friend had problems with injuries. Others don't as much. I've seen it with teams I have been associated with. It doesn't matter if he was/is an extreme iron man type or not. Other people are just the opposite. It is simply how they respond to discomfort or other situations. It doesn't make one tougher, stronger, more of a he-man or more of an iron man type. It is just who we are.

The differences are small, I agree. But the results are not.

As for tendency to injure, that is clearcut. People have different muscle/tendon/bone relationships in size, relative placement, strength, resiliency and elasticity. Some are more susceptible than others to different types of injuries. However, a lot of injuries in football, hockey and other contact sports are, as you suggest, just the result of circumstances.

[4and12to12and4]

I agree with Patler that Spitz is the key. He has been the best of the young bunch, and his absence would hurt.

As for the other two, I think the team just needs to make one jersey, put the name "Costedge" on the back, and just stick whichever of the other two is not hurt/playing better into the lineup.

[Harlan Huckleby]

People have different muscle/tendon/bone relationships in size, relative placement, strength, resiliency and elasticity. Some are more susceptible than others to different types of injuries.

OK, sure, some biological variability. But this is not why players usually get labeled, I think chance is much more important. Davenport was fragile in Green Bay, then solid in Pittsburgh. Players often flip between periods of injury or good health.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Davenport has missed 4 games in Pittsburgh. Not bad, but it's not like he hasn't gotten hurt. Da Poop is injury prone because of his upright running style. I don't think it's toughness or biological.

[Ballboy]

This is why they worked hard for the bye week.

Even if the injury bothers them a little, they need to play cause ain't no next week if we don't win.

[Harlan Huckleby]

big backs always get the shit knocked out of them. Brockington didn't play long. neither did the Nigerian Nightmare.