News: BR: Jaylon Smith Practices in Pads for 1st Time in 19 Months After Knee Injury***Merged***

[Sydla]

Yet this organization led some to believe that they remained helpful that he would help them last year in the event of a Super Bowl run? I'm not sure what is worse..the organization for creating this FAKE buzz at times....or the segment of the fanbase that believes it!

I remember saying at the time....if this kid....who had not even put on pads since college....who had not tackled anybody since college...who had never even taken on a blocker in the NFL....could come in and be BETTER than the LBers we had playing all year....either this kid was destined to be Lawrence Taylor....or the people we have a LBer are just awful!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Cowboys...so this is no Debbie downer talk....I'm just saying he looks like a JAG right now....hope he becomes EVERYTHING people project....but lets stop pretending we see things that are NOT there!

He looks good in his first camp.

What's the problem?

 

[Sepia]

As most reporters said, not one of them anticipated him even practicing yesterday. By the end of minicamp, they were projecting him to alternate practicing and resting every other day, so practicing in pads after two days of reps is an unexpected surprise for them. He must be doing well and progressing further than they thought.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith practiced in pads and without a knee brace for the first time Wednesday since he was selected 34th overall in the 2016 draft, according to The MMQB's Peter King.

Smith, who suffered a torn ACL and LCL as well as nerve damage in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl, didn't take a snap last season.

"We knew Jaylon’s situation, the first year was going to amount to a redshirt year," Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said, per ProFootballTalk's Charean Williams. "We had no expectation he’d be able to play, but he’s on schedule. We’re excited to see him come back."

Williams added that Smith will practice every other day at training camp as he continues to work his way back toward 100 percent in anticipation of a 2017 debut.

The Cowboys appear to have a set group of starting linebackers in Sean Lee, Anthony Hitchens and Damien Wilson, but Smith should offer reinforcements as a run-stuffing specialist who largely plays a two-down role provided he can stay healthy.

For now, though, the focus will be on slowly but steadily bringing the Notre Dame product along so he's ready to go in time for Week 1.

Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com

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[dogunwo]

he is not 100%
would you be worried about an injury if he was not wearing some protective gear?

it is not an AFO, but some type of custom ankle brace that other players have worn for high ankle sprains.

see: http://www.dallascowboys.com/content/jaylon-smith-guarded-optimism

"For starters, there’s the brace the 2016 secondround pick out of Notre Dame has been wearing on his left leg. It’s not an AFO (ankle/foot orthoses) brace, which has been widely reported. It’s actually a custommade Richie Brace, with plastic, bendable, hinged sides, much like an air-cast for a high-ankle sprain."

“I’ve heard some doctors and trainers, who haven’t ever seen Jaylon, say that there’s no way he could play in the NFL with an AFO brace, and they’re right,” said Cowboys associate athletic trainer/director of rehabilitation Britt Brown. “With the brace he is wearing, Jaylon can take his natural linebacker stance and come off the ball the same way he would without the brace.”

Why is this quote from Britt Brown not getting more play? You Jaylon pessimists said you were waiting for someone credible within the organization to say something. Well, here it is.

 

[Aven8]

Wake me up when he makes a tackle!

 

[Scotman]

Why is this quote from Britt Brown not getting more play? You Jaylon pessimists said you were waiting for someone credible within the organization to say something. Well, here it is.

I read this and thought the exact same thing. This is actually news...from some one who actually knows....who's actually involved. This is a big deal.

The key here isn't that the nerve is firing. It's that it is firing and now we need to wait and see exactly how much control he regains. How much spring will he recover? How will the reaction time of the muscle improve (which I personally think is the real issue now after the progress he's made)? How much strength can he regain after that long with the muscle being dormant or nearly so?

There are still a ton of questions that either aren't being asked...or aren't being answered. But Jaylon's progress this last 4 or 5 months has been truly encouraging. I'm truly hopefully and optimistic that he will be at nearly 100% within the year.

The next big question is, one that I'd be shocked if Jerry and Stephen don't have some sort of gentleman's agreement on, is there an understanding between Smith and the Cowboys to extend his contract since we invested so heavily in him. Jerry' is a player's owner. He wins a lot of these guys over. My gut says that Jaylon loves him at this point. We will miss this influence when Jerry retires more than anything else.

 

[jazzcat22]

Yet this organization led some to believe that they remained helpful that he would help them last year in the event of a Super Bowl run? I'm not sure what is worse..the organization for creating this FAKE buzz at times....or the segment of the fanbase that believes it!

I remember saying at the time....if this kid....who had not even put on pads since college....who had not tackled anybody since college...who had never even taken on a blocker in the NFL....could come in and be BETTER than the LBers we had playing all year....either this kid was destined to be Lawrence Taylor....or the people we have a LBer are just awful!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Cowboys...so this is no Debbie downer talk....I'm just saying he looks like a JAG right now....hope he becomes EVERYTHING people project....but lets stop pretending we see things that are NOT there!

You were doing fine until you used the term JAG....

 

[jazzcat22]

wasn't he kept on the roster the majority of the year...and wasn't the ringmaster jerry jones constantly dropping hints that he might be ready for the playoffs?

He was on the NFI list all year, and did not count against the roster. Once they had to make a choice, he was moved to the IR list, or whatever list it was. So then he was not eligible for the last few games nor any post season games.
Dallas did not act as if he would ever play in the playoffs...that was Jaylon and his cryptic tweets. It was not until after they were out of the playoffs when he said he could have played.

 

[Alexander]

As most reporters said, not one of them anticipated him even practicing yesterday.

By the end of minicamp, they were projecting him to alternate practicing and resting every other day, so practicing in pads after two days of reps is an unexpected surprise for them. He must be doing well and progressing further than they thought.

I think a lot of them took the limited thing way too seriously.

Usually "limited" does not mean anything close to what he did yesterday. It was still cautious, but good work nonetheless.

 

[Alexander]

Why is this quote from Britt Brown not getting more play? You Jaylon pessimists said you were waiting for someone credible within the organization to say something. Well, here it is.

I thought it was pretty much well known that he was wearing a custom device and not an orthotic. There was even a thread about it.

 

[dogunwo]

I thought it was pretty much well known that he was wearing a custom device and not an orthotic. There was even a thread about it.

There was a heated debate within that thread on whether or not it was a real AFO or not. The usual suspects participated.

 

[xwalker]

No he isnt

He just said in an interview that he is wearing AFO for practice but now does not wear it when away from practice/working-out.

 

[xwalker]

he is not 100%
would you be worried about an injury if he was not wearing some protective gear?

it is not an AFO, but some type of custom ankle brace that other players have worn for high ankle sprains.

see: http://www.dallascowboys.com/content/jaylon-smith-guarded-optimism

"For starters, there’s the brace the 2016 secondround pick out of Notre Dame has been wearing on his left leg. It’s not an AFO (ankle/foot orthoses) brace, which has been widely reported. It’s actually a custommade Richie Brace, with plastic, bendable, hinged sides, much like an air-cast for a high-ankle sprain."

“I’ve heard some doctors and trainers, who haven’t ever seen Jaylon, say that there’s no way he could play in the NFL with an AFO brace, and they’re right,” said Cowboys associate athletic trainer/director of rehabilitation Britt Brown. “With the brace he is wearing, Jaylon can take his natural linebacker stance and come off the ball the same way he would without the brace.”

All Richie products are AFOs. They vary widely, but AFO is a generic term for anything that helps with drop-foot and some other issues where both the foot and ankle are involved.

Saying that it's not an AFO is like seeing a player with an Air-Cast and saying it's not a cast. An Air-Cast and a Plaster-Cast are both in the generic group "Cast".

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

All Richie products are AFOs. They vary widely, but AFO is a generic term for anything that helps with drop-foot and some other issues where both the foot and ankle are involved.

Saying that it's not an AFO is like seeing a player with an Air-Cast and saying it's not a cast. An Air-Cast and a Plaster-Cast are both in the generic group "Cast".

You know for a fact that his custom piece is an AFO? Do you have a source? I'm not sure it matters because it's obviously different from most traditional AFOs. I'm not sure your analogy is apt, but it could be. I just haven't seen any credible source call his custom brace an AFO, but I have heard some folks speculating that it is.

 

[xwalker]

You know for a fact that his custom piece is an AFO? Do you have a source? I'm not sure it matters because it's obviously different from most traditional AFOs. I'm not sure your analogy is apt, but it could be. I just haven't seen any credible source call his custom brace an AFO, but I have heard some folks speculating that it is.

That's the only type of products Richie makes.

The only thing he could wear that would not technically be an AFO is a simple custom shoe insert that is only under the foot and does not come up the back of his foot. There are many companies that specialize in shoe-inserts, but just a few that make AFO products and Richie appears to be the leading AFO provider, and as I said, that's all they do. They don't make knee braces or anything else.

 

[waldoputty]

All Richie products are AFOs. They vary widely, but AFO is a generic term for anything that helps with drop-foot and some other issues where both the foot and ankle are involved.

Saying that it's not an AFO is like seeing a player with an Air-Cast and saying it's not a cast. An Air-Cast and a Plaster-Cast are both in the generic group "Cast".

i have no idea.
i just quoted from the cowboys website quoting the cowboys trainer Brit Brown.
he differentiated between a normal AFO and the custom brace jaylon is using.

 

[GhostOfPelluer]

That's the only type of products Richie makes.

The only thing he could wear that would not technically be an AFO is a simple custom shoe insert that is only under the foot and does not come up the back of his foot. There are many companies that specialize in shoe-inserts, but just a few that make AFO products and Richie appears to be the leading AFO provider, and as I said, that's all they do. They don't make knee braces or anything else.

I know it's not a knee brace, that would make no sense. Richie makes braces for a wide range of issues, not just drop foot. Some of their products are simply for ankle sprains. They might technically be called an AFO but I think that's the problem with this whole discussion is that certain people hear AFO and they don't take into account the wide range of products that are technically in that category. For folks to say that an AFO has never been worn in a game is simply not true. Any ankle brace that secures under the foot is technically an AFO.

And given that this is a custom piece, it doesn't necessarily mean it classifies as an AFO is all I'm saying. Or it could. I don't think anyone has clarified that point yet.

It may be semantics, because the guy can obviously do what he needs to on the field judging by the clips from yesterday.

 

[Them]

..."ain't it great!...

 

[Skillit]

I don't think the organization had any grand plans to over hype Jaylon.......how can a guy like him--who was projected as a top 5 pick, get hurt and fall the the Cowboys (who some will say reached) and this not turn into a bit of a media circus when he finally steps on the field after such a terrible injury? It's been a huge gamble from the start. He's just now getting on the field.

I'll wait until he's had several games under his belt to figure out what I think.

 

[Alexander]

Saying that it's not an AFO is like seeing a player with an Air-Cast and saying it's not a cast. An Air-Cast and a Plaster-Cast are both in the generic group "Cast".

So, what are you saying?

Do you mean, gulp, he's not back to 100%, shedding his braces like Forrest Gump and "dominate" in his first practice?