I promised to not talk about the 2011 NFL Lockout once it was lifted and the new collective bargaining agreement was ratified, but this latest flurry of injuries has made me bring it up one final time. Since camps have opened, many players have been seen carted off the field or have suffered season ending injuries just one week into new season.
Why have there been so many serious injuries? Have they been fluke injuries or is it a result of the lockout?
There is no substitute for live action, so during the lockout players were not preparing their bodies in an appropriate manner. They were often involved in player organized walkthroughs and sessions that involved shorts and t-shirts. It is no way to condition your body and the NFL teams are seeing the unfortunate result.
Too many players have shown up to training camps out of shape and not ready for the season. Now they will have even longer to sit on the sidelines without any real football reps.
Hopefully this epidemic can get the NFL to reconsider the lack of two-a-days and full pad practices for the next ten years. If player’s bodies are not going to be conditioned and able to take the punishment of a grueling NFL training camp, then how can you expect them to make it through a full season.
The injuries do not only hurt the teams, but they hurt the players and their development. A handful of rookies have been carted off the field and many veterans are missing the last valuable years of their careers.
Let’s hope that we will never have to sit through an offseason again that includes little to no real football practices and out of shape players showing up to camp. This is going to be one sloppy preseason.
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