TC4 Posted July 23, 2003 Share Posted July 23, 2003 Well, this is certainly a NOTEWORTHY development: http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~86~1527521,00.html Surgery to sideline Gardener By Adam Schefter, Denver Post Sports Writer Six weeks and five days before the Broncos open their regular season in Cincinnati, heralded defensive tackle Daryl Gardener was diagnosed with torn ligaments in his right wrist that will leave him in a cast for six weeks and out for up to eight. The Broncos already are thinking of Gardener as questionable for the Bengals. Gardener declared himself probable. "Right now," Gardener said Tuesday night from New York, "I'm anticipating that I will be ready for that game." Until then, Gardener will have plenty to overcome. On Thursday, Charles P. Melone - chief of division of hand surgery for Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City and the doctor who operated on boxer Lennox Lewis and former Nuggets center Dikembe Mutombo - is scheduled to do his work on Gardener. When Melone examined Gardener's X-rays and magnetic resonance imaging test Tuesday and told him the surgery could sideline him up to 12 weeks, Denver's $39 million defensive tackle responded, "I'm a fast healer." To which Melone replied, "I don't care how fast a healer you are, it needs time to heal." Six weeks in a cast. Eight weeks out of the lineup. Possibly 12 for the wrist to heal properly. But Gardener is used to returning quicker than doctors' projections. During the 2000 season he played in Miami, Gardener underwent back surgery and astounded doctors when he returned to action five weeks later. Last summer, he battled back spasms and did not sign with the Washington Redskins until August. Despite playing only one preseason game, Gardener was ready for the regular-season opener. "I started in the opener and was rolling from that point on," said Gardener, who was selected the Redskins' defensive MVP. "Football to me is an easy sport. There's not a bunch of things I have to do. I have to get the mental reps and mentally know what I have to do. And if I do that, I'll know how to prepare myself. "So when I'm down, I'm down with my right hand only. The rest of my body still ticks. Now when I touch that field, there's going to be a fury coming out of me." Upon learning the severity of the injury Gardener suffered in a fight Friday morning in the parking lot of an Aurora International House of Pancakes, the Broncos displayed little fury. Instead, they said Gardener's injury represented an opportunity for Dorsett Davis, last year's third-round draft choice, to make the types of plays they were expecting Gardener to when training camp opens Friday. "This is unfortunate, but right now, I'm so upbeat about everything that I realize this could have happened the first day of practice," general manager Ted Sundquist said. "Now this is an opportunity for one of the young guys to get more reps until the first part of the season. That's what they need." Similarly, expanded roles are expected for former starting defensive tackle Lional Dalton and rookie fourth-round draft pick Nick Eason, who reached agreement Tuesday on a three-year contract. "This is going to force some guys to step up," said Dalton, who reported that his weight is 310 pounds, 10 pounds lighter than this time last year and the lightest he has been since 1998. "We just have to pick up the slack. The coaches are going to get a good look at everybody. Everybody is going to be fighting for the position. They'll let us fight it out and the best man will start." Gardener and fellow Denver defensive tackle Russell Newman were arrested Friday morning after officers said they witnessed them fighting another man in the restaurant parking lot. According to the police report, a man identified as Keithan Holiday hit Gardener and Newman first. Gardener and Newman retaliated, punching and kicking the man. Gardener and Newman were booked and released on personal recognizance bonds. On the advice of his agent, Neil Schwartz, Gardener declined to address the fight and the pending legal situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted July 23, 2003 Share Posted July 23, 2003 I bet the Broncos wish they were as dumb as the Redskins front office, and based his contract on the amount of games played, as the Skins wanted to do. I bet he doesn't play in more than 8 games this upcoming season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzSkinsFan63 Posted July 23, 2003 Share Posted July 23, 2003 8 weeks from now his back will be hurtin...:rotflmao: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thito_da_skins_fan Posted July 23, 2003 Share Posted July 23, 2003 how many games did he miss last season? why are we bashing someone who was a complete monster for us and silenced every doubter there was about his injuries? you sound like those idiot fans when we signed him last season talking about injury this and injury that.. he gave us everything we had and i don't understand how you can sit there and talk sh!t.. makes no sense to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panel Posted July 23, 2003 Share Posted July 23, 2003 Originally posted by THiTo11 how many games did he miss last season? why are we bashing someone who was a complete monster for us and silenced every doubter there was about his injuries? you sound like those idiot fans when we signed him last season talking about injury this and injury that.. he gave us everything we had and i don't understand how you can sit there and talk sh!t.. makes no sense to me Thank you. We don't play even Denver this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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