Sturm thinks there is more the story re: Tony's shoulder

[ilykdrama]

Tony, get out while you can still walk.

Not a chance. You have to haul a player like him out on a bodybag. Him and Witten are the same.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

My Brother-In-Law has had this procedure. It did not end well for him. He was a Mechanic for Harley Davidson. Now, he is on permanent disability. Not saying this is what will happen to Tony but it would be stupid to think that there is no reason for concern. There is certainly justification for concern.

As to the idea of filling holes........ well, I guess I would say that we have been trying to take the approach of filling holes for years. Personally, I think it's high time we start thinking about figuring out who is kicking holes in the damn boat to begin with.

 

[jjktkk]

I tend to disagree with this. I believe it has mended, but they are concerned that now that he has broken it twice, the odds are really good he will break it again. I don't think this is as much about mending as it is about trying to find a way to prevent it from breaking again. Because of Tony's age, they won't get several chances as this. They have to pick the winning solution right now and so far, it is likely that none of the potential solutions stands above the others which would explain the delay in having any procedure done.

Don't forget his bad back. So we have Romo's back, collarbone, and age all working against him. It's pretty alarming to me.

 

[jjktkk]

Age and injuries catch up to everyone. I see 2 good years left in Tony. Not going to say he will play all 16 games each of the next two years, but I think he only has 2 solid years left.

Two good years, provided Romo can stay healthy. A perfect world would be needed wouldn't you say?

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Sturm did a fairly big Q&A that can be found here:

http://sportsday.***BANNED-URL***/d...oys-mailbag-part-1-doubting-tony-romos-future

His response re: Tony's shoulder was a bit disturbing. Sturm makes no pretense to indicate it's anything other than his opinion/speculation, however, I've got a lot of respect for Sturm and I hope in this particular case he is wrong.

Here is the excerpt:

"Here it is: I don't think Romo's situation can be classified as a QB with "injury issues" anymore. Rather, I would suggest that Romo's collarbone situation would have to be called a "ticking time bomb." I think his future is week to week, not year to year. No longer a question of "if", but rather a matter of "when". I think that his collarbone has obviously not mended like they had first hoped and so here we sit - 159 days since Jordan Hicks broke it in September and 92 days since Thomas Davis got him again on Thanksgiving Day - without any further resolution that he is as good as new and ready to play. I might remind you that the Cowboys resisted the obvious plans of putting him on injured reserve because they originally assumed he would be available for the NFC Championship Game which was played on January 24th. 33 days ago.​

So, I don't believe his collarbone has mended properly since Thankgsiving. And I sure don't believe it healed like they thought it would from September - as evidenced best that he broke it again on a rather normal-looking hit on Thankgsiving Day. I am far from a medical expert, but I can read a calendar. When they talk about this 8-10 weeks business and we sit here at the end of February and discuss further procedures, but still under the banner of "everything is fine and there is no reason for alarm", I am tempted to sound the sirens. I am not buying it anymore. This Mumford procedure that discusses shaving off part of the clavicle seems like a very odd way to strengthen a collarbone. I am positive I am showing my medical ignorance, but I also am assuming that most people having that procedure are not having 300 lb linemen like Fletcher Cox or Johnathan Hankins trying to slam them right on their collarbone at their first chance in an effort to remove the Cowboys biggest and most indispensible weapon from the proceedings.​

I don't like it. In fact, I don't believe the rhetoric coming out of Valley Ranch on this topic anymore. I don't believe this 5-year window nonsense, and frankly, I don't believe they believe it either. There have been 8 QBs who were starters when Tony Romo took over the job in Dallas and remain starters today (Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer, and Romo). The only one to have started as few games as Romo is Palmer, and that is only because the injury-prone Palmer also has a 9-game contract holdout to his credit. In other words, Romo has the worst health-related attendance record in his peer group, and it doesn't look like it will ever get better."​

Mates, chaps, blokes and fugitives: I don't know about a ticking time bomb but I do know the clock is ticking for Romo. He's not getting any younger. The older you get the more fragile the body becomes (with the exception of bobsledder/ballet dancer Herschel Walker).
Like, death, aging is a sure thing. Tony and Sir Jerry are sure the QB can keep on playing. I think he can keep on playing, for a while. But every hit he takes will bring a gasp to the sidelines and to fans. Aside from his collarbone, his back has had issues. His shoulder has had issues.
Anybody who thinks he can get through 16 games is living in denial, blokes!
If Tony were smart he'd retire with his $50 million and write his book ("How 2 Career Playoff Wins Made Me a Superstar") and give Sir Jerry the OK come draft day to get on with it and go for broke for a QB like Goff or that Paxton Guy. Forget the Dakota guy because, think about it, all our Super Bowl QBs have come from big colleges, not the N. Dakotas or Eastern Illinoises of the world.

Well, tea time, A toast to youth!

 

[Frozen700]

It must really suck thinking like you do.
So basically you have no hope for this team winning for several years regardless? Or does your only hope lie in hoping we draft a QB in the first round AND Romo gets seriously injured again and somehow this rookie QB will come in and carry us to playoff success?
You say Romo will never be the same...so then you have to hope he gets injured? AND you have to hope his backup is ready to come in and play at a level anywhere close to the level Romo has played over the last few years.....

Nice.

Look look look.... So we draft a QB right? Let him play, build a relationship with the WR's that we have and the ones we bring along. Build a relationship with the O-Line, we won't do much for 2 years maybe 3, because he'll still be green.

But then once the phase is over, we are most likely set.

Instead bringing back bad back and shoulder romo, letting him play for 2-3 years, while we still do nothing, and while the, the rook gets no PT. Then after romo leaves after screwing us for another 2-3 years, now we suffer for another 2-3 years letting the use to be Rook take over, and get use to the players.

Face it, wake up. Cut the crap we are not winning with Romo. Not now, not next year, not ever.

I use to be like you, thinking he could do go all the way with Romo.

NOPE!

 

[Vinnie2u]

Two good years, provided Romo can stay healthy. A perfect world would be needed wouldn't you say?

Sure if you can roll him out in a plastic bubble.. Put some yellow caution tape around the pocket and build a moat...

 

[Frozen700]

It must really suck thinking like you do.
So basically you have no hope for this team winning for several years regardless? Or does your only hope lie in hoping we draft a QB in the first round AND Romo gets seriously injured again and somehow this rookie QB will come in and carry us to playoff success?
You say Romo will never be the same...so then you have to hope he gets injured? AND you have to hope his backup is ready to come in and play at a level anywhere close to the level Romo has played over the last few years.....

Nice.

Or we bring in RG3 in let him do what Romo could not.

 

[Frozen700]

Been saying this the whole offseason. Pure speculation in my part, but I think Tony is a lot closer to retirement than is being let on.. His back, his shoulder, 2 very young kids and he doesn't need the money. He loves other things besides football like golf... He doesn't owe this organization anything.

Exactly my man.

Somebody with sense

 

[Frozen700]

Sure if you can roll him out in a plastic bubble.. Put some yellow caution tape around the pocket and build a moat...

Agreed.

Romo, you have kids. Nice wife. Millions. Just retire man. Thanks for everything though

 

[BigStar]

I've always been more concerned with his back than any CB. We orchestrated an offense around 3rd down passing efficiency/while not using PA to go deep unless absolutely necessary (12-4 season). Romo can still make the deep out throws that take back strength, but the long ball has disappeared from this O.

Romo had outstanding efficiency ratings to allow the run heavy offense to function, but his deep attempts dropped substantially. We only went deep in the GB playoff game until the last minute desperation lob to Dez. And some fans took that as we were a possible SB team in 15 even while being lucky to beat CAR in the wildcard game? Romo made it all season bc we hid him well and teams didn't have answer to his 3rd down efficiency even as the running game slowed down towards the end of the year.

 

[jjktkk]

Or we bring in RG3 in let him do what Romo could not.

I don't think RG3 has the instincts to play in a NFL offense. It's a zone read option or bust with him, but even then RG3 has trouble knowing when to slide. I haven't even mentioned his 'RGME' reputation, so...

 

[noshame]

Sturm did a fairly big Q&A that can be found here:

http://sportsday.***BANNED-URL***/d...oys-mailbag-part-1-doubting-tony-romos-future

His response re: Tony's shoulder was a bit disturbing. Sturm makes no pretense to indicate it's anything other than his opinion/speculation, however, I've got a lot of respect for Sturm and I hope in this particular case he is wrong.

Here is the excerpt:

"Here it is: I don't think Romo's situation can be classified as a QB with "injury issues" anymore. Rather, I would suggest that Romo's collarbone situation would have to be called a "ticking time bomb." I think his future is week to week, not year to year. No longer a question of "if", but rather a matter of "when". I think that his collarbone has obviously not mended like they had first hoped and so here we sit - 159 days since Jordan Hicks broke it in September and 92 days since Thomas Davis got him again on Thanksgiving Day - without any further resolution that he is as good as new and ready to play. I might remind you that the Cowboys resisted the obvious plans of putting him on injured reserve because they originally assumed he would be available for the NFC Championship Game which was played on January 24th. 33 days ago.​

So, I don't believe his collarbone has mended properly since Thankgsiving. And I sure don't believe it healed like they thought it would from September - as evidenced best that he broke it again on a rather normal-looking hit on Thankgsiving Day. I am far from a medical expert, but I can read a calendar. When they talk about this 8-10 weeks business and we sit here at the end of February and discuss further procedures, but still under the banner of "everything is fine and there is no reason for alarm", I am tempted to sound the sirens. I am not buying it anymore. This Mumford procedure that discusses shaving off part of the clavicle seems like a very odd way to strengthen a collarbone. I am positive I am showing my medical ignorance, but I also am assuming that most people having that procedure are not having 300 lb linemen like Fletcher Cox or Johnathan Hankins trying to slam them right on their collarbone at their first chance in an effort to remove the Cowboys biggest and most indispensible weapon from the proceedings.​

I don't like it. In fact, I don't believe the rhetoric coming out of Valley Ranch on this topic anymore. I don't believe this 5-year window nonsense, and frankly, I don't believe they believe it either. There have been 8 QBs who were starters when Tony Romo took over the job in Dallas and remain starters today (Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer, and Romo). The only one to have started as few games as Romo is Palmer, and that is only because the injury-prone Palmer also has a 9-game contract holdout to his credit. In other words, Romo has the worst health-related attendance record in his peer group, and it doesn't look like it will ever get better."​

Agreed. Glad to see others catching up.

 

[visionary]

If you are not worried about the health of a 36 year old QB who has been injured the last 3 years, then you are either inattentive or an idiot

 

[Brooksey]

Or we bring in RG3 in let him do what Romo could not.

No we don't.

 

[jobberone]

We don't know a lot. We have no xrays or other scans to see how it has healed. Is it anatomically correct or is there some rotation etc of the bone from the healing?

There is no reason why the bone is not healed by now unless there is a non-union. If it were then they would have already operated so we can rule this out.

That leaves doing something to prevent a further break which would only occur in an athlete in a contact sport. You and I would likely not be contemplating this.

My educated guess is they just want to reduce the risk of another break. The arm is suspended from a wishbone in the form of the collarbone and the scapula. The scapula floats which is why is takes a significant direct blow to break it. Think Roy on Emmitt and that is highly unusual as we generally think high impact car accidents etc to break the scapula.

The collar bone attaches to the sternum or breastplate. Impact on the end of the shoulder as in a fall onto the shoulder drives the wishbone into its attachment. Being a longitudinal bone the clavicle generally loses the battle and breaks from midshaft to distal shaft generally the latter.

If you remove part of the distal clavicle then you increase the zone of compressibility and move the clavicle further away from the direct transmission of the force. I didn't look at any data to see if there is a decreased incidence of recurrent injury following this procedure. I've never heard of it but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. My guess is there is no great data as there are too many variables to arrive at good conclusions and too small a sample size. You'd have to have a curbside consult with someone like Andrews who has enough personal knowledge to give you an inclination albeit not a great answer.

The vascilation is just a symptom of the inability to move forward. Romo doesn't have enough good data to formulate a decent plan. That doesn't mean he won't do anything.

And there is no way to strengthen the shoulder here to decrease the likelihood of another break. If he falls on the shoulder hard enough in the right position it will break again as would yours or mine. It's simple physics.

And for the last time.....his back is at only a slightly greater risk than any other starting QB in the NFL.

 

[Alexander]

This is a true test of this franchise's pathological optimism. It is just amazing that nobody else outside the organization believes Romo can finish the next four years.

 

[sureletsrace]

Or we bring in RG3 in let him do what Romo could not.

....LOOOOOOOOOOOL.

 

[65fastback2plus2]

I've been doing that ever since he broke it the first time.

I usually jump around the room like a father expecting a first child with my hands clasped murmuring to myself "please get up please get up please get up please get up please get up please get up please get up please get up"

 

[Sportsbabe]

Tony, get out while you can still walk.

I don't want to think about it but eventually...