2013: Year of the Injury?

[OhSnap]

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/12/04/nfl-injury-increase-2013/

I don't know why they thought it would be good to do this story BEFORE the season ended but they did so I'm pretty sure the numbers for 2013 would have been a little higher, If they had waited 3 more weeks they would have had Romo on the list and I'm sure you can think of others from around the league that went down in Dec.

The first thing I did was compare the number of Cowboy(8) injuries to Den.(8) SF(7) and Sea. (8). This doesn't change my mind on the effect injuries had on the Cowboys season because it doesn't take into effect the number of players playing hurt(Ware for example)or the depth that each team had to fill in for those injuries. I think most people would agree those other 3 teams are in much better shape to handle the injuries. The Cowboys just didn't and still might not have the talent to spare. The same could be said for Green Bay and other teams.

“Ultimately, starters are starters for a reason,” linebacker Clay Matthews said that day, on which he’d ditched the bulky club worn to protect the broken thumb that sidelined him for four games. “They’re great players who play exceptionally well, and it’s no different on this team.”

The NFL’s injury surveillance data, courtesy of Edgeworth Economics, shows a slow upward trend in the total number of injuries sustained in all practices and games from 2004 (2,623) to 2012 (3,126); a spike of 4,493 injuries in 2011 was attributed mainly to greater reporting of minor injuries that season. The data also shows a steady annual increase in the number of injuries that require surgery and those that result in eight or more days of missed playing time.

 

[xwalker]

Somebody posted a really good review of how possible draft targets from the 2013 draft fared. I was shocked that a really high number of them ended up injured.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

It was even worse for Dallas because Ratliff isn't included on that list. It was like he was on "IR" for the Cowboys because they weren't going to get any snaps out of him.

Basically 3 of their defensive lineman were out for the season... Crawford, Ratliff & Spencer. And then you had two more, Hatcher & Ware, who missed quite a few snaps due to injury.

It's one thing to have a number of guys on IR. It's another to have many of them come from one unit of the team.

 

[Nova]

Can't find the article where I read it... might have been even this one, but one reason injuries are on the rise is because teams are now required to report relatively minor issues as "injuries".

 

[xwalker]

Can't find the article where I read it... might have been even this one, but one reason injuries are on the rise is because teams are now required to report relatively minor issues as "injuries".

I'm fairly certain that injuries were up in 2013 even if you just look at the ones where players missed games.

 

[Nova]

I'm fairly certain that injuries were up in 2013 even if you just look at the ones where players missed games.

Maybe. Just feel like we say it every year. There's always bound to be "Is this the worst year for injuries" thread just about every season.

 

[xwalker]

The Cowboys biggest problem has been that injuries all hit at the same positions.
DL in 2013 and OL in 2012.

 

[Beast_from_East]

"Green Bay.........14 players on a reserve list because of injury, not to mention a starting quarterback sidelined with a broken collarbone"



And the team still won the division and went to the playoffs.................that is why I keep saying that injuries are part of the game and should not be used as an excuse for losing or to absolve the coaching staff of any responsibility. Besides, going off that list we are not even in the top 10 on guys on IR so this idea that we suffered way more injuries than anybody else in the league and that is why we could not compete doesn't hold water.

My .02

 

[jobberone]

It was even worse for Dallas because Ratliff isn't included on that list. It was like he was on "IR" for the Cowboys because they weren't going to get any snaps out of him.

Basically 3 of their defensive lineman were out for the season... Crawford, Ratliff & Spencer. And then you had two more, Hatcher & Ware, who missed quite a few snaps due to injury.

It's one thing to have a number of guys on IR. It's another to have many of them come from one unit of the team.

Lost a rotational guy, too, in Bass.

 

[Future]

Ware, Spencer, Rat, Hatch, Crawford, and Bass were probably your top 6 entering into the season. You can argue all day about whether or not they should have been depended on to begin with, but when 3 don't play a snap, 1 plays only one game, and the other both miss time and play hurt, you're simple not going to be as good. I don't care how strong your organizational depth is, it just doesn't happen.

Who would Seattle have if Clemons, Avril, Bryant, Bennett, and McDaniel all went down?

Injuries don't tell the whole story, no, but they are a reason why this defense was so terrible. Call that an excuse if you will, but that's the reality of it.

 

[jobberone]

Ware, Spencer, Rat, Hatch, Crawford, and Bass were probably your top 6 entering into the season. You can argue all day about whether or not they should have been depended on to begin with, but when 3 don't play a snap, 1 plays only one game, and the other both miss time and play hurt, you're simple not going to be as good. I don't care how strong your organizational depth is, it just doesn't happen.

Who would Seattle have if Clemons, Avril, Bryant, Bennett, and McDaniel all went down?

Injuries don't tell the whole story, no, but they are a reason why this defense was so terrible. Call that an excuse if you will, but that's the reality of it.

That's just part of it, too. Most of the injuries were all on one side of the ball. I've never seen that. You lose your DL, your LBs, and have to play with one hurt CB with no depth and Heath starting for you....and you are in serious do do.

 

[Vanilla2]

The most recent loss.

Saw Cowboys get ball.

Went to restroom.

Sidetracked for a beer.

Came back and Eagles had the ball.

I was feeling every negative emotion I had.

The replay made me sick.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

It's a young mans game....play it boys.

 

[OhSnap]

"Green Bay.........14 players on a reserve list because of injury, not to mention a starting quarterback sidelined with a broken collarbone"



And the team still won the division and went to the playoffs.................that is why I keep saying that injuries are part of the game and should not be used as an excuse for losing or to absolve the coaching staff of any responsibility. Besides, going off that list we are not even in the top 10 on guys on IR so this idea that we suffered way more injuries than anybody else in the league and that is why we could not compete doesn't hold water.

My .02

I agree with that but I can't ignore the lack of depth. If the 49 ers loose a couple people and blame losses on it next year that would be using it for an excuse but the Cowboys have lacked depth at allot of places in the last few years, thats why you see these second rate free agent signings IMO. Green Bay won the same number of games as the Cowboys so it's not like they done any better because of some higher standard they slipped into the playoffs and still went 8-8-1

 

[Coy]

Let's not forget that we were a very healthy team on Offense, so it kind of evens out. Injuries or not we were just not a good football team IMO.

 

[ShiningStar]

injuries are one thing, injuries to certain players are another, Dallas should have just kept playing and coaching, but it seemed that defense quit for more than just injuries. I saw other teams get injuries and lose important guys and still win games, Dallas just flat out gave up.

 

[iceberg]

Let's not forget that we were a very healthy team on Offense, so it kind of evens out. Injuries or not we were just not a good football team IMO.

i dont give a flying moose guano our offense put us in the lead with minutes to go.

if the defense gave it right back.

i agree as a team we're not "whole" but i'm ******* sick and tired of people looking for singular blame.

 

[rpntex]

Simply comparing the number of injuries Dallas suffered to that of other teams is incredibly misleading. Three projected starters on the DL---Spender, Ratliff, & Crawford---never played a snap. In addition, Dallas had a two week stretch without any of the stating LBs on the field.

Talk about GB missing 14 players on IR. Did they lose 3/4 of their starting DL? The situation on the line crippled the entire defense.

I get it---injuries are a part of the game. They happen to everyone. But what Dallas went through last year doesn't happen to everyone. Show me one other team---just one---that had to survive what gapped to Dallas' defensive line last year.

I'll be waiting...

 

[TheFinisher]

It was even worse for Dallas because Ratliff isn't included on that list. It was like he was on "IR" for the Cowboys because they weren't going to get any snaps out of him.

Basically 3 of their defensive lineman were out for the season... Crawford, Ratliff & Spencer. And then you had two more, Hatcher & Ware, who missed quite a few snaps due to injury.

It's one thing to have a number of guys on IR. It's another to have many of them come from one unit of the team.

And none of them are here anymore, except Crawford. I'm happy to remove those excuses from our team.

 

[Doomsay]

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/12/04/nfl-injury-increase-2013/

I don't know why they thought it would be good to do this story BEFORE the season ended but they did so I'm pretty sure the numbers for 2013 would have been a little higher, If they had waited 3 more weeks they would have had Romo on the list and I'm sure you can think of others from around the league that went down in Dec.

The first thing I did was compare the number of Cowboy(8) injuries to Den.(8) SF(7) and Sea. (8). This doesn't change my mind on the effect injuries had on the Cowboys season because it doesn't take into effect the number of players playing hurt(Ware for example)or the depth that each team had to fill in for those injuries. I think most people would agree those other 3 teams are in much better shape to handle the injuries. The Cowboys just didn't and still might not have the talent to spare. The same could be said for Green Bay and other teams.

“Ultimately, starters are starters for a reason,” linebacker Clay Matthews said that day, on which he’d ditched the bulky club worn to protect the broken thumb that sidelined him for four games. “They’re great players who play exceptionally well, and it’s no different on this team.”

The NFL’s injury surveillance data, courtesy of Edgeworth Economics, shows a slow upward trend in the total number of injuries sustained in all practices and games from 2004 (2,623) to 2012 (3,126); a spike of 4,493 injuries in 2011 was attributed mainly to greater reporting of minor injuries that season. The data also shows a steady annual increase in the number of injuries that require surgery and those that result in eight or more days of missed playing time.

It doesn't tell the whole story, but it is objective and quantifiable. Predictably, it is getting attacked by some who are perpetually searching to excuse the inexcusable.