Apparently he's ditched the crutches and is bending his surgically repaired knee at a 95 degree angle per twitter. Great news after last nights let down.
guys are getting on my case for merely being the messenger. The bulk of the sports medicine related articles with respect to Cruz's injury clearly state that it is not given that Cruz will be able to return to form. In fact some say it will be extremely difficult for him.
That's not me, but doctors.
And the fact that he has discarded the crutches doesn't change that.
guys are getting on my case for merely being the messenger. The bulk of the sports medicine related articles with respect to Cruz's injury clearly state that it is not given that Cruz will be able to return to form. In fact some say it will be extremely difficult for him.
That's not me, but doctors.
And the fact that he has discarded the crutches doesn't change that.
+1
Not to mention, Cruz HAS to bend the knee. It's therapy 101 and the docs want everybody who had any knee surgery to start bending it at a 95 degree angle or risk losing the proper functionality of the knee forever.
It's great that he is healing. of course he will heal.
The question is what sort of burst will he have when he returns. And as Eric has said, a lot of medical evidence shows a lack of burst in athletes who return following a torn patellar tendon. Can he run routes and catch a pass? That's great, but will his burst be there and will his separation be there? We should be cautious in our expectations on this.
hop really quickly. Maybe he should start practicing those one-legged catches in practice so when he does it in games, it's not thought to be a fluke...but seriously, guys, it's a long healing process, and no one knows how it'll go. But I believe in Victor!
he is never the same. His game was predicated on cat like quickness, not even so much top end speed but quickness.
How could an injury like this not have an impact? I think he will come back and may be able to play in the NFL again, but I doubt he is a top threat like he was.
I have no doubt he will make a full recovery, but there is a full recovery for a regular joe and there is a full recovery for an all-pro NFL athlete.Giants have to plan as though the Cruz we all loved will not be returning. If he does its gravy.
Shame, JPP does not seem the same, Cruz knee exploded, Nicks who the hell knows. So many stars from that corps have either flamed out or sustained massive injuries. If anything this makes the coaching job and QB'ing that led to that title even more impressive.
Cutting and burst are not the same thing. Cutting involves body control and agility. Cruz did not get separation with a burst of speed. He did it by making his man to lean the wrong way or take a step in the wrong direction.
Now, of course, he likely won't have the same acceleration out of his cuts. But this will have a greater impact on his YAC than getting open. But he had already lost some of that YAC ability, probably because the knee was already affecting him.
So, will we see the 2011 Cruz? Unlikely. But we will probably get something close to the 2013-4 version.
If OBJ keeps developing, this trio of OBJ, Cruz, Randle will be as good as Nicks, Cruz, MM in 2011.
It's silly to not realize there's a good chance that won't happen and brace yourself for the possibility.
We've been down this road a fair amount of times in recent years, from Steve Smith to David Wilson to even Kiwanuka. It's okay to learn from previous experience.
isn't even w/r/t the knee he injured. It's him favoring that knee when he starts running and making cuts again - which will probably lead him to injuring his other knee.
guys are getting on my case for merely being the messenger. The bulk of the sports medicine related articles with respect to Cruz's injury clearly state that it is not given that Cruz will be able to return to form. In fact some say it will be extremely difficult for him.
That's not me, but doctors.
And the fact that he has discarded the crutches doesn't change that.
You are not being a messenger. You are quoting the most ominous doctor reports and ignoring once again the multitude of data that says he'll return and be productive. I reposted it in the other thread and was waiting for a response to it. Never got one.
If you'd be upfront and says you're refusing to count your chickens because this is a very difficult injury to rehab from. I get that, and I personally play those games to keep disappointment from happening.
But you keep coloring it like we're never going to see the Victor Cruz we love again, almost as if it's fact when really it is not even in the realm of truth at this point.
Odds are he is going to be back and he is going to be productive, Eric.
what about this injury makes it likely his performance would decline? I understand that is a common result, but why? Cruz depends on muscle strength, flexibility and joint stability to do what he does. I would presume his muscular strength can return to what it was. Would his flexibility be impaired by this injury? Possibly, but I would think not. His joint stability becomes the issue only if he mentally distrusts it, it generates pain that holds him back, or the joint fails.
So what is it about this injury that makes it so hard to come back?
Odds are that no, he won't have the same explosiveness as
before. But knee injuries don't affect smarts - you don't need top-end speed to know how to get open in the middle of the field for crucial first downs.
what about this injury makes it likely his performance would decline? I understand that is a common result, but why? Cruz depends on muscle strength, flexibility and joint stability to do what he does. I would presume his muscular strength can return to what it was. Would his flexibility be impaired by this injury? Possibly, but I would think not. His joint stability becomes the issue only if he mentally distrusts it, it generates pain that holds him back, or the joint fails.
So what is it about this injury that makes it so hard to come back?
Good question. When I tore my ACL, it was repaired with a piece of my patellar tendon from the same knee. Everything I read said that my knee would be STRONGER than it was before, because the patellar tendon is sturdier than the ACL. Furthermore, the portion of the patellar tendon that is removed eventually grows back, albeit with scar tissue and it is not quite as flexible as the original tendon.
If the entire patellar tendon ruptures (as happened here), what is the repair? I assume what was left of the tendon could not be salvaged or "grow" back. A piece of the patellar tendon from the other knee? Cadaver? Hamstring?
I always remember how he sort of faded after taking that monster hit in Pittsburgh in 2012. Hopefully he'll be confident enough in his body to cut and move like he used too.
he will be no where near what he was. A severe injury and surgically speaking brutal. I hope he gets through and comes back but the odds are against that. Remember he is from this area and that is why people love him so much besides being a great player and good person.
I hope he is able to walk without a limp and lead a normal life. If he is able to function as a professional athlete again that would be great. His knee post surgically is can not be the same "gifted athletic knee" that helped make him special previously. That Victor Cruz is gone forever. With his work ethic and positive attitude I wouldn't bet against him getting back on the field next year. Just don't expect him to be "special" anymore.
Thanks for the article. That explained a lot for me and put me in the optimists camp. Geez though, those two poor bastards who ruptured BOTH patella tendons simultaneously! Not even one leg to stand on and it just sounds agonizing.
he will not be the type of WR he was before the injury. But he will be a contributor as a possession guy who runs good routes and plays hard. Beckham looks like the real deal so we will be fine at WR with Randle and someone else. And you never know VC is a special guy who has beaten big odds before.
That's not me, but doctors.
And the fact that he has discarded the crutches doesn't change that.
That's not me, but doctors.
And the fact that he has discarded the crutches doesn't change that.
+1
Not to mention, Cruz HAS to bend the knee. It's therapy 101 and the docs want everybody who had any knee surgery to start bending it at a 95 degree angle or risk losing the proper functionality of the knee forever.
How could an injury like this not have an impact? I think he will come back and may be able to play in the NFL again, but I doubt he is a top threat like he was.
I have no doubt he will make a full recovery, but there is a full recovery for a regular joe and there is a full recovery for an all-pro NFL athlete.Giants have to plan as though the Cruz we all loved will not be returning. If he does its gravy.
Shame, JPP does not seem the same, Cruz knee exploded, Nicks who the hell knows. So many stars from that corps have either flamed out or sustained massive injuries. If anything this makes the coaching job and QB'ing that led to that title even more impressive.
Now, of course, he likely won't have the same acceleration out of his cuts. But this will have a greater impact on his YAC than getting open. But he had already lost some of that YAC ability, probably because the knee was already affecting him.
So, will we see the 2011 Cruz? Unlikely. But we will probably get something close to the 2013-4 version.
If OBJ keeps developing, this trio of OBJ, Cruz, Randle will be as good as Nicks, Cruz, MM in 2011.
Behind? On? Ahead?
We've been down this road a fair amount of times in recent years, from Steve Smith to David Wilson to even Kiwanuka. It's okay to learn from previous experience.
That's not me, but doctors.
And the fact that he has discarded the crutches doesn't change that.
You are not being a messenger. You are quoting the most ominous doctor reports and ignoring once again the multitude of data that says he'll return and be productive. I reposted it in the other thread and was waiting for a response to it. Never got one.
But you keep coloring it like we're never going to see the Victor Cruz we love again, almost as if it's fact when really it is not even in the realm of truth at this point.
Odds are he is going to be back and he is going to be productive, Eric.
So what is it about this injury that makes it so hard to come back?
So what is it about this injury that makes it so hard to come back?
Good question. When I tore my ACL, it was repaired with a piece of my patellar tendon from the same knee. Everything I read said that my knee would be STRONGER than it was before, because the patellar tendon is sturdier than the ACL. Furthermore, the portion of the patellar tendon that is removed eventually grows back, albeit with scar tissue and it is not quite as flexible as the original tendon.
If the entire patellar tendon ruptures (as happened here), what is the repair? I assume what was left of the tendon could not be salvaged or "grow" back. A piece of the patellar tendon from the other knee? Cadaver? Hamstring?
Oh, and Eric, no one would begrudge you one bit for banning Exit for being a smart ass... :)
Needless to say, for me it was never the same, but I am not pro athlete with a multimillion dollar stake...
I always remember how he sort of faded after taking that monster hit in Pittsburgh in 2012. Hopefully he'll be confident enough in his body to cut and move like he used too.
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