FuzzyLumpkins said:
Another way to look at this is that he was playing with not enough strength and it doesnt take a genius to figure out that increasing the strength in the shoulder would lessen the chance of injury.
A couple of points here.
Gross strength of the muscles of the shoulder girdle is related to the large superficial muscles such as pec major, lats, deltoid, etc. These muscles are actually rarely involved in any significant shoulder pathology and their strength is usually preserved and quickly re-established in my experience.
The issue usually becomes one of dynamic scapular stabilization and maintenance of glenohumeral stability which is provided by smaller, deeper muscles which are harder to re-train and recruit in an appropriate manner.
If you recall, T-New's draft stock may have fallen due to concerns about some nerve injury about his shoulder. Despite this injury he was still able to bench press large amounts of weight.
The fact Rogers has done well from a gross strength POV is good but I don't think it necessarily discounts his future risk of injury which is unknown but likely considerable.
A lot of this anti-Rogers sentiment comes from Eskimo's doom and gloom prognosis. Fact is that he has not seen the xrays and MRIs. He has no idea what the nature of the injuries nor what has been done to correct said problems. He will admit that he has no idea. I also think that he is tempered because he works PT for the average joe and sees people with chronis shoulder problems. These are professional athletes trained every day year round by the best trainers in the business.
Actually I have worked with some of the Eskimos from time to time with one of the sports med guys here so I do see pro athletes albeit not at the NFL level but he CFL level. I have seen a couple of the NHLers, too.
I do not have any insider information on any of Rogers' injuries or surgeries.
I do read quite a bit about shoulder injuries as nerve and tendon injuries about the shoulder are a particular interest of mine and the injuries that athletes get are always amongst the most interesting of the lot.
My main concern with Rogers is that his injuries are
bilateral and
recurrent. This
likely speaks to some anatomical or biomechanical predisposition because going under the knife four times (two on each shoulder) at such a young age is very unusual.
I don't mean anyone to take my work here as gospel on this subject. My information is extremely limited and I can only speak from my clinical experience with the public and athletes and my reading.
Another thing to consider is the state of sports medicine. Pitchers such as Pedro Martinez and Wade Miller have had torn rotator cuffs and other shoulder issues yet are able to come back and throw 95+. I would say that a power pitcher puts just as much if not much more strain on the shoulder as does a offensive tackle.
Don't discount the strain an offensive tackle puts on his shoulders. Restraining charging 300 lb lineman is no small feat.
The other thing is the nature of a pitcher's work is predictability - this means they are under complete control of what they do with their arms and no one will interfere with them when they pitch. The offensive lineman deals with unpredictability where what happens to their shoulder depends on what is happening around them. Very different situation.
Vollers did a very servicable job as a backup and is an asset to the team. The Cowboys know what Rogers medical prognosis and I would like to think that they would at least hedge there bets a bit better if they felt he was a serious injury risk. Just like they did at RB and CB.
All I've ever advocated is that for the next while until Rogers re-establishes hsi ability to maintain his health at this level of competition, we need a guy who can step in and be a solid starter. If Parcells thinks Vollers can do that, then so be it.
Also do not forget that Allen and Noll can play tackle in a pinch. I can live with keeping Pettiti and Vollers to back up Adams and Rogers.
I don't know about Allen at OT again but haven't been impressed with Noll. BP likes him so I guess we'll see. Recall him being overpowered quite a bit in the Giants game at OG.
I think if Rogers goes down, Vollers will fill in the rest of the season. He will be no worse than Tucker was last year and probably will be better. Having Campbell back should make things easier for whoever lines up at RT.
