Hollis Thomas breaks his foot in pregame introductions?

[OrangeSkin]

It looks like this is the year for freak injuries in the NFC East...Bill Gramatica, Hollis Thomas...what's next?

I was also just reading that Mike Caldwell strained a hammy during introductions at Arizona? Good Lord, Andy Reid has to calm those guys down.

[ by OrangeSkin on January 01, 2002.]

[Guest fuji869]

It is kind of funny, you have people flying around and colliding w/ each other @ fast speeds and most of the times no one gets hurt. Now you are getting people hurt during player introductions and field goal celebrations.

[ by fuji869 on January 01, 2002.]

[redman]

Actually, non-contact injuries are the subject of debate in the sports medicine world. There's a serious argument to be made that the technology that allows more and more muscle to be added athletes' frames has gone beyond what the human body can handle. In other words, while we're able to add more muscle to people's bodies, we aren't able to also strengthen the tendons, ligaments and bones that form peoples' frames. So, the argument goes, the increasing amount of non-contact injuries like Hollis Thomas sustained are the natural result.

I happen to agree with this and believe that we will ultimately on average see linemen in the NFL become slightly smaller, not bigger, because the trade off in size and brute strength will allow them to remain more athletic and durable over time. And as we've seen in places like Denver in recent years, smallish lines with good continuity in personnel year-to-year and good technique can provide excellent run and pass blocking.

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