Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
That's a good way to limit the possibility of injuries in training camp but there's a downside. part of training camp is preparing players for the real season. If players aren't conditioned well enough they get hurt when the real games start. It seems like we've seen a lot of early season injuries in recent years and many have speculated that the players weren't ready. Most teams teams don't play their starters much in pre season anymore. That's a relatively new thing. They used to play about one quarter in the first game and then one half the next. The 3rd game was where they got most of the action and the the 4th was mostly to see who made the final cuts.
Now they only have 3 pre season games so the starters barely get any game time. That might be one reason they aren't in great "game" condition when the season starts. This has always been a guessing game. How much and how hard do we practice? Push them or pamper them? Worrying about camp injuries is a real thing but if the players aren't ready when the season starts and some get injured in the first couple of games, what good does it do to try and protect them in camp.
I agree, it's a good question that idk if there is an answer to currently.
for example, harbaughs camps were insane but we seemed pretty healthy until his fourth year. Was it luck and those camps contributed to his fourth year injuries? Idk
i do believe that football camps need to be physically intense. You're asking guys to maximize their body's every play and also take the impact of car accidents every play (specifically O & D line), you're body needs to have some real preparation for that. Especially short weeks.
the league probably needs to find a happy medium intensity wise, let players work with coaches, team coaches, if they want to. They also need to ban turf fields and make it all grass.
