the future of finley

[King Friday]

It is a good thing for Finley long term.

Short term, it likely means he's done for 2013. Those are injuries that typically take months to fully recover from.

This could also make his resigning a lot more likely for Green Bay. Other teams aren't likely to throw top dollar at a guy coming off a spinal injury.

[red]

yeah but we weren't willing to risk letting nick collins back on the field after his spinal injury

[Guiness]

Nothing wrong with the hit IMO. Guys hit players who are already wrapped up all the time, hoping to force a fumble. The injury resulted from Finley dropping his head into the hitting zone, plain and simple.

I doubt this is the last we've seen from Finley. This could potentially change the way he plays the game, where he becomes less of a physical player and goes down more easily...but I see very little chance of him hanging it up and leaving $30M on the table.

I'm not so sure. After his concussion earlier when his kid got upset, it sounded like he was actually paying attention to him and thinking about it. This is a lot worse, and might put a scare in him. If he's been careful he should be set financially. I've got a bad feeling about this.

[pbmax]

For starters, the defender did NOT lead with his helmet. Take a look at the first still photo posted of the tackle. Finley is the one who is LEADING with his head into the impact, not the defender. In fact, the defender's SHOULDER is what contacted Finley.

Secondly, there is no rule stating you have to look at what you are hitting. Perhaps it is dumb and certainly not fundamentally correct...but it is hardly against the rules.

He has NO idea what part of him will hit Finley first. You cannot claim he led with his shoulder when he has no idea where Finley will be when he gets there. That's like spinning on ice, finally stopping with your head pointed north and claiming you were a compass all along. Maybe you are, maybe you aren't, but you weren't in control of the outcome in either case. he is blindly throwing himself into Finley's path. Its not a tackle its a leap of faith.

And I am not arguing for another flag or a different flag. This guy simply thinks diving at a player (and when you do this, the foremost point of your body is your head, you are leading with it whether your poor aiming means you hit first with it or not) in an attempt to achieve a stop (because we can't call it a tackle) is aggressive and salutary. Its horesbleep and he is just praying that God, angular momentum and padding save him from being immobile in the near future.

The thing to ask yourself is this: why aren't his hands extended? If it was a good faith effort to impede Finley's progress, then extending you arms would extend your reach and help guarantee that the O player can't get by you. But on these kinds of hits, the defender never has their arms out. Why? Two reasons, grabbing someone is not as dramatic as slamming into them with something less likely to move (helmet, shoulder). And secondly, they trust the helmet to protect them (foolishly as we have learned recently) but they know not to trust whatever arm pads they are wearing.

As for Finley leading with his helmet, I would like to know the kinetics you suggest for a player, whose legs are tackled and who needs to keep both hands on the ball, to go to the ground without his head going there first.

[Bossman641]

is that a good thing or a bad thing? sounds not so bad.

bruises heal, right?

I'm sure every case is different but a Baltimore LB had a bruised spinal cord and just returned this past Sunday after being out 10 months. I'm sure Finley is done for the year, just hoping for the best long term now.

[3irty1]

A bruised spinal cord is plenty serious.

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/nervous_system_disorders/acute_spinal_cord_injury_85,P00770/

I don't know what the spectrum is for a best case scenario. We can be sure its not a tear but even a bruise can mean physical therapy to recover.

[ThunderDan]

For starters, the defender did NOT lead with his helmet. Take a look at the first still photo posted of the tackle. Finley is the one who is LEADING with his head into the impact, not the defender. In fact, the defender's SHOULDER is what contacted Finley.

Secondly, there is no rule stating you have to look at what you are hitting. Perhaps it is dumb and certainly not fundamentally correct...but it is hardly against the rules.

Then why is all I see of the Cleveland player an orange circle with a white stripe on it?

The hit is with the shoulder, the player led with his head. If the CLE player tackling Finley from behind isn't slowing his momentum that would have been a classic helmet to helmet hit.

[red]

so, if we're talking about 10 months like that ravens player, that puts him into next season

would we resign a guy this offseason that is coming off of this injury and not knowing what his future holds?

[pbmax]

is that a good thing or a bad thing? sounds not so bad.

bruises heal, right?

The bruise is a good thing now that he has regained feeling and movement (could have been much worse), but any bruise indicates swelling and potential damage to the spinal cord nerves permanently. That guy who injured his spinal cord in Buffalo but made a miraculous comeback was treated with some pretty far out techniques, including a refrigerated IV or perhaps local injection to try to immediately reduce swelling. The less time there is pressure on the nerves, the less damage. I should say this player made a comeback to walking, not playing, it was a more serious injury.

Finley still has some damage to the nerves and needs to recover full function from that.

They also need to examine his spinal column to see if he has a narrowing that would leave him at a higher than normal risk to re-injure the area. That would be the end of his career.

[hoosier]

Definitely done for the season. If he gets medical clearance to come back and decides to try it, he probably re-signs with Packers for a modest short-term deal.

[Patler]

They also need to examine his spinal column to see if he has a narrowing that would leave him at a higher than normal risk to re-injure the area. That would be the end of his career.

That is an important issue still remaining for determining his future career. What caused the bruise? Was it due to freakish forces not likely to recur, or due spinal stenosis such that the same or worse could likely happen again? Sterling Sharp had instability in his spinal column, which ended his career. I wonder if it would even today, or if more modern fusion procedures could have allowed him to play again.

JSO has a chart summarizing Packers' neck injuries over the years:
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/228706681.html

[red]

didn't sharpe have some vertebrae fused, or am i thinking of someone else?

so according to that list, no player that has suffered a serious neck injury has returned to the team, they were either all released, or retired after the season

not a very good list to bring up patler

i do like how chmura never played after his injury but the article made sure everyone knew he was released for diddling little girls after getting them drunk

[3irty1]

The bruise is a good thing now that he has regained feeling and movement (could have been much worse), but any bruise indicates swelling and potential damage to the spinal cord nerves permanently. That guy who injured his spinal cord in Buffalo but made a miraculous comeback was treated with some pretty far out techniques, including a refrigerated IV or perhaps local injection to try to immediately reduce swelling. The less time there is pressure on the nerves, the less damage. I should say this player made a comeback to walking, not playing, it was a more serious injury.

Finley still has some damage to the nerves and needs to recover full function from that.

They also need to examine his spinal column to see if he has a narrowing that would leave him at a higher than normal risk to re-injure the area. That would be the end of his career.

The narrowing won't stop him from playing as they already said there was no spinal damage and he won't have to get anything fused.

[run pMc]

I don't think it was good tackling form.
I don't think it was a dirty play either.

It looks to me like Finley was falling down and dropped his head, Gipson hit Finley with his shoulder, and Finley's neck basically played shock absorber.

Finley was falling down so it's debatable if the hit was necessary...but I'm pretty sure S's are coached to hit anything that crosses the middle...intimidate, make them pay, etc. If he doesn't hit Finley, the coach, the fans, etc., think he's soft and will play someone else.

Personally, I think Elam's hit on Cobb was more egregious. Meriweather's hits on Lacy and Starks even moreso.

[Bossman641]

didn't sharpe have some vertebrae fused, or am i thinking of someone else?

so according to that list, no player that has suffered a serious neck injury has returned to the team, they were either all released, or retired after the season

not a very good list to bring up patler

i do like how chmura never played after his injury but the article made sure everyone knew he was released for diddling little girls after getting them drunk

I believe Sterling had 2 vertebrae fused together.

The list certainly doesn't make you feel very good about Finley's chances.