nocloning

I guess I mostly agree with WhoDat on this one. Even if he hasn\'t learned to run like a RB, he normally won\'t have to run straight against a defensive lineman. He has the size to sustain a collision with a LB, his feet are what makes him special. A blindside hit by a defensive end is more likely to get him injured than a tackle by a safety.
On the other hand the five times he scambles with the ball in a game instead of throwing it away are five more opportunities to get hurt. With a normal QB you don\'t want him to take that chance for the extra 2 yards. But if it\'s an extra 10 or 15 yards things look different.
Is there a higher probability he will get hurt when he runs the ball because he doesn\'t have the technique? Yes. Does that mean he should become a pocket passer? No. This would take away his advantage.
He will continue to cut through defenses and, yes, he will probably get hurt again. But his scrambling gives the Falcons the best chance to win, if he plays it save he will just be ordinary.

\"What is Wal-Mart? Is it like they sell wall stuff?\"

BillyCarpenter1

Once again you come here not knowing what you\'re talking about. The fibula is a non-weight bearing bone but there are different kinds of breaks and depending on if it needs screws to heal properly it could be more serious that you make it sound. At the very least it\'s 6 weeks worth of serious to Vick and the falcons.

And I don\'t blame you for not worring about the Falcons since all your time is consumed with the Brook\'s led Saints who own the Bucs.

[Edited on 18/8/2003 by BillyCarpenter1]

Batwood

Billy,

Calm down there sparky. I do know what I\'m talking about. I didn\'t say he\'d make the opener just said it won\'t be a lingering injury, it will heal up. And as far as worrying about the Saints, it pales in comparison to you worrying about the Falcons, remember the Bucs lost both games close and it could have gone either way and it was just a bump in the learning curve to our eventual championship. Saints won\'t squeek by next time.

You have not played the Champs yet and by the looks of your starting unit (not scoring a TD yet in the pre-season) it looks like the gelled Bucs O will outscore the Saints O this next meeting between us. Lucky for you the Bucs and Saints don\'t play till November, that way you have almost three months to ride the coatails of last years sweep before it ends

\"I don\'t think he has many tools on offense that he actually likes,\" says Randy Mueller, former Saints GM. Wait until he gets his own players. Watch out.\"
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BillyCarpenter1

Batwood,

I suggest you go to the Falcons site and read up on exactly how serious the injury COULD be before you start speculating on how minor it is and how quick it\'s going to heal. Batwood M.D. you are not!!

Unlike some, I enjoy rival fans that come to this site, but Batwood you got to come with more than the weak stuff about how the gelled Bucs O is going to outscore our offense. We know we can beat the Bucs.

lumm0x

If the Falcons start the season 0-4 then I\'m very pleased. I will never wish for a guy to get injured but I do wish for our divisional opponents to sh!t the bed.

Walter Payton

My take on Vick....Any player who gets tackled while carrying the ball has an equal chance to get hurt. Those who get tackled more often will obviously be more prepared in what to do to reduce the impact. Also, when a RB gets hit, he is usually in a much different position at the time of impact than a QB. The often awkward positions that a QB can be in will only increase the possibility of injury since they aren\'t in a protected stance. Sure Vick has more opportunity for injury because he chooses to carry the ball more often than the average QB. He is also built better than the average QB and should take a hit better. To compare him to a Steve Young or Doug Flutie with little size, they have a more advanced \"spidey sense\" that tells them when to bail out, throw it away, or duck out of bounds. Vick is learning that every play doesn\'t need to go the distance.

Memnoch_TP

Well, considering the fact that it is reported as a clean break that won\'t need surgery, it seems like he did know what he was talking about. See, he was talking about Mike Vick\'s break, and not the hypothetical one you made up so you can say he is wrong.

But, I just heard there might be some ligament damage. They won\'t know for about 10 days or so... If there is, he is out for the season.

BillyCarpenter1

At least try to get your facts straight before trying to prove someone wrong.

saintz08

Sports writers are even saying it was good for the Saints . Players going down are just part of the game .....

Time for Plan B
SI.com\'s Don Banks
So much for Falcons Fever.

With Mike Vick\'s broken fibula Saturday night against Baltimore, this season\'s NFC playoff picture just got considerably less predictable. The big winner at first glance? That would be the New Orleans Saints, one of the Falcons\' biggest rivals in the NFC South.

Last season, the Falcons beat the Saints twice, which proved to be the difference between Atlanta making the playoffs at 9-6-1 and New Orleans missing out at 9-7. With Tampa Bay still the favorite to defend their NFC South title, the Falcons and Saints figured to again battle it out for one of the conference\'s two wild-card spots.

They still might, but without Vick, the man whom the Falcons\' entire franchise resurgence is built around, the advantage has to shift to New Orleans -- at least in the season\'s first half.

\"Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn\'t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed.\" - George S. Patton
On another note, I\'ll take a bite of that crow 08. - Saintfan
Brooks is a moron!! - Halo

BillyCarpenter1

What I said is the injury COULD be more serious than Batwood is trying to make is sound. If you read the injury update Memnoch you will see what I\'m saying is true and how very wrong you are!!




VICK INJURY UPDATE: SUNDAY, AUGUST 17

Falcons Team Doctor Andrew Bishop said Sunday that Mike Vick\'s fractured fibula injury was externally rotational in nature, and did not involve any rolling of the ankle joint. He believes there was minimal ligment damage, but the next 10-14 days will be critical. He will monitor Mike\'s progress over the next 10-14 days by taking X-rays. If the X-rays show two of the bones in Mike\'s right ankle migrating laterally, then that indicates the ligaments have been damaged to the point where they cannot hold the fibula in the proper position to promote perfect healing. If this is the case, then further measures, such as screws, etc. would need to be taken to promote healing. Right now, Mike\'s bones are in perfect position for normal healing.

Mike will be put in a cast this week, and his progress - as mentioned - will be monitored via X-rays for the next 10-14 days.

Should the bones continue to stay aligned, the average length of time for normal bone-healing for this injury is about six weeks. Mike would eventually transition to a walking cast and begin rehabilitation with the team trainers.

Bishop cautioned that should the bones stay aligned and heal in six weeks, this does not guarantee that Mike will be playing football in six weeks. But he also said the possibility of Mike playing in six weeks does exist. The next 10-14 days will help further clarify the injury.

Bishop does not see leg atrophy as an issue if Mike is immobilized for a period of 6 weeks. Bishop said Vick will recover 100 percent from this injury. Bishop also mentioned that the FieldTurf surface was not a factor in this injury - this injury happens on grass, artificial turf, and FieldTurf.

The following is a text transcript of some of the key points of Sunday\'s briefing on Vick\'s injury:

Dr. Andrew Bishop: “The ankle is made up of three bones, basically the talus, the tibia and fibula. The bone that Mike broke was the fibula. What happens is external rotation injury of the foot basically gets planted and the foot rotates out. We can’t tell exactly how much damage there was to the ligament. We think it is minimal because the break is very clean, it is not displaced at all and the bones are perfectly lined up. If there was substantial ligament damage then the talus and the fibula would shift over laterally and that would require a surgical intervention. We don’t know for certain – no MRI or test will tell you – how much damage there is (in the ligaments). If there is significant damage then we would expect the two bones in the next 10 days to two weeks to migrate laterally. We will follow this very carefully and very closely to be sure that doesn’t happen. If it does then it would change our treatment plan. It would require surgery. I don’t think that is going to happen, but we don’t know. Only time will tell. The plan right now is to simply treat him with a cast, follow it along with X-rays, at the appropriate time place him in a removable-type cast and then start some rehab. Typically it takes six weeks for a bone to heal; uncomplicated bone healing is about six weeks. That just means the bone is healed, it does not necessarily mean that everything else is like it should be. We don’t know. It maybe as little as six weeks that he will be back playing football full speed, but we don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see.�

Q: How will you be able to monitor how much damage there is?
Dr. Andrew Bishop: “Just watch the X-rays. If it does not move then that means that the ligaments are holding everything together.�

Q: What if there is surgery?
Dr. Andrew Bishop: “There is no reason to speculate. If it happens then we will address it at that time, but there is no reason to speculate right now.�

Q: If there is surgery will it mean longer than six weeks?
Dr. Andrew Bishop: “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now I don’t expect that to be the case. It could happen, but it just depends on a lot of things.�

Q: Once he goes through the healing process and rehab, is it accurate to say that he will come back at 100 percent?
Dr. Andrew Bishop: “Absolutely. He will be absolutely 100 percent.�

Batwood

I had a clean break of my right fibula at the head, where the ligaments attach. I didn\'t even need a cast (knee brace only) and it healed up easily and no ligamnet damage and no sugery. THAT is what I was basing my opinion on since his injury was similar (clean break, no surgery, no ligament damage)

Sure something else COULD happen but I was speaking from experience with a similar break. Billy on the other hand was speculating hypothetical situations, from NO experience. Neither of us are Doctors but Billy was the one coming in with the smug remarks that I didn\'t know what I was talking about when it is obvious he is just reading stuff and never had the experience like I had.

and his other post confirms what I said initially by the doctors quote: \"Dr. Andrew Bishop: “Absolutely. He will be absolutely 100 percent.� \"

Looks like my opinion was not too far off

\"I don\'t think he has many tools on offense that he actually likes,\" says Randy Mueller, former Saints GM. Wait until he gets his own players. Watch out.\"
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