Injuries around the league

Couple that with less practice time and more injury awareness and here we are. 75% of the head injuries reported today wouldn't have been recognized 25 years ago.

less conditioning for contact...

It's just what the NFL has become. Very, very large strong men smashing into one another or even running and jumping with incredible force leads to more injuries. Heck, the '99 Giants had 11 starters on IR. Not a new thing.

and it's unlikely to get better. Bigger, faster, stronger.....but not immortal or unbreakable.

Today seem to take the game on Sunday to another level which makes you question is practice really at close to game speed. Normally a sport is taken
thru different levels to build the individual up to actual performance speeds during the week. From the 1st day of practice weekly you may start with a light jog or stretch mostly workout. From there the goal is to insert and improve the game plan for that week until it's at game speed by weeks end.

The game day is all about making sure the players are loose and ready to perform this could be something which needs to be looked at more closely or individually with all the soft tissue injuries in today's game. Diet on game days may also be something that might be of major importance to players to prevent some of the other field type hydration problems.

Foot injuries are also on a major rise much like knees were years past now it seems like weekly a player has a high or low foot problem. There are more injuries to consider today due to advances in sport medicine but it's now time for the teams and players to get aggressive in sport injuries prevention.

I'm losing enthusiasm for the game in general. Injuries are a part of the game I realize that. But because of the salary cap it is very difficult from year to year to maintain the quality depth you need to win consistently and challenge for the playoffs.

If Eli were to go down the Giants might as well mail it in. Conversely in 1990 pre salary cap Simms went down and Hoss took it the distance. Look at the wealth of linebackers the Giants had for years and were able insert when one went down. The back ups could start for most teams in the league. Those days are long gone.

At the moment the Giants are down three defensive backs and it hurt on Sunday against the Redskins. And now Berhe is questionable. As fans we invest so much of our time and more often then not you get nothing in return because when guys start going down they don't come back and the replacements in a lot of instances just don't measure up.

I believe the NFL needs to take a good look at how to better keep teams competitive as injuries occur. To be honest it's like EJJ said in his opening post one player goes down and it could take the whole season with it. Pre salary cap that was the exception rather then the rule. The NFL to be fair to the teams and especially the fans who pay the freight needs to fix it.

Over the years the game has changed, often not for the better.

Not expanding the rosters to give teams a chance to develop more depth is just one more example. Having teams play on Thursday night when you know they are not fully recovered from the previous game is another.

And the biggest is the salary cap. Revenue sharing made the NFL a great league. But a salary cap is more to protect the owners than it is about competitive balance. It is very discouraging for fans to see their team have to make choices of whom to keep based on money and not talent.

for the NFL, especially in guaranteed markets like New York and Dallas....how many championships and playoff victories has Dallas had in the last 20 years? Yet they are constantly sold out.....teams with strong fan bases, can put whatever they want on the field..

While the Cap has leveled the playing field by preventing rich teams from buying championships, it also is guaranteed money for the owners, no matter what their teams do....

I remember the beatings qb's took in the past.....it was like a badge of honor, to get hit and stagger back to the huddle for the next play......Guys like Deacon Jones head slapping OLmen......guys like Stingley going over the middle, knowing what's in store for them.....and as others have mentioned, many of the tackles LT made today would be flagged.....

Rules are being changed, and the game with it....and while the game today looks "tame" to us old timers, it has to be done to protect players, and keep them on the field...

we spent a lot of money on starters.....leaving the rest of the roster paper thin.....

Reese put all his eggs in one basket to fix the defense.....

We knew we had to stay away from injuries.....and here it is, only the 4th game and we might be signing guys off the street...

I think the offense has been too conservative....I think it has to really open up, and score, because this defense is not at the level we expected it to be....

no problem with making the game safer. Big problem with rule changes that basically legislate defense out of the game. It is especially aggravating when I believe it was done for the simple fact that more scoring increases interest in fantasy football.

This time the NFL owner greed might be catching up to them. Part of the reason NFL ratings are down might be because fans more than ever have little interest in the outcome of the actually games and tune into the red zone to keep track of fantasy stats. Or even worse for t.v. ratings, they keep track of game stats on mobile devices while engage in other activities.

The NFL's arrogance from PSL's to paying for preseason games, has known no bounds and it is beginning to impact their popularity.

Every year on this site you read about once totally commitment fans who have waning interest in the game. We even had one today on one of the posts.

I love the Giants and I still love the NFL, but it is not the game it once was, and it is not because of the emphasis on safety.

The cost of paying for tickets, parking, and then having some drunk spill beer on your, having your kids hear swearing, having fights break out around you, etc., not to mention the time spent just to get in there and get out of games(RT.1 is a nightmare at Foxboro).....it's something you do when you are younger, but not worth it in my opinion, anymore.....

The HD TV's make me want to sit in my chair and watch the game in surround sound.......no wasted time....no lines to the bathroom....beer is just a cooler away....watching with friends.....I'm spoiled....

I enjoy going to a local HS game, more than trials and tribulations of going to an NFL game....

are unavoidable: bone breaks, and somewhat, joint breakdowns are going to happen in a violent sport.

soft injuries, like muscle pulls, hamstring, etc, are a large function of conditioning, preparation, stretching. some are going to happen no matter what, but most muscle pulls can be prevented.

when I hear hamstring, or groin, I cringe, because I think those are a direct cause from preparation, for the most part.

I'll never figure out how their "next-man up" approach is so effective every year. No other team comes close.

Their success is just phenomenal. (And it bugs the shit out of me.)

You wouldn't have 300lb men running the 40 in under five seconds if it wasn't for steroids. And the same goes for 275lb men running a 4.6. If they could remove steroids from the game injuries would be cut in half (at least!).