Not easy to ignore the pain

Every week in the NFL, it seems more and more players deal with injuries.

By RICK STROUD, Times Staff Writer
Published October 14, 2007

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman (32) waits to be taken off the field during the second quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007.
	[AP Photo]

TAMPA - Michael Pittman was almost afraid to look. He heard a sickening pop in his right ankle last week against the Colts and worried that his foot might be contorted in the wrong direction.

"That's why I looked down at my leg. I was trying to make sure it was straight," Pittman said.

A week earlier, the patellar tendon on Cadillac Williams' right knee exploded. Tackle Luke Petitgout had a player fall on his leg and tear ligaments in his right knee. Before that, receiver Paris Warren dislocated his left ankle in a preseason game.

Pittman was lucky. Although he tore ligaments, he can return from a high ankle sprain in six to eight weeks. But the plaster of Paris and the casts on other Bucs players signaled the end of their seasons.

In fact, after just five games this year, the Bucs have watched more guys drive away in carts than a golf course superintendent. Ten players are on injured reserve in Tampa Bay and more than 180 around the league.

Although there's no data to suggest injuries in the NFL have significantly increased this year, the stars are falling like meteor showers.

Jake Delhomme, Alex Smith and Matt Leinart are among the eight starting quarterbacks not playing because of injury. Trent Green has a Grade 3 concussion and might consider retirement. Fullbacks Mack Strong and Mike Alstott will call it a career after sustaining neck injuries.

Of course, none of those ailments can compare to the one sustained by Buffalo tight end Kevin Everett, who had a life-threatening neck injury that left him partially paralyzed, ending his career and altering his future.

"I don't think I can sit up here and say it isn't something that crosses your mind," quarterback Jeff Garcia said of injuries. "It's something that does have an affect on you at times. It's something that in some way or another you have to find a way to block it out. My way of dealing with it is I feel like I've already taken some of the hardest hits I can take. If you shy away from or go into a game thinking about that, I really believe that's when you put yourself in a position to potentially be injured because you're going to be hesitant in ways, you're not going to be as aggressive as you need to be, and I feel like those are the times when negative things happen.

"It's just the game we've grown up with, that I've played for a lot of years. The speed of the game and the size of the game has definitely improved and increased. And when you have those type of collisions taking place on the field, something's got to give, and unfortunately sometimes it leads to a bad injury or now having to miss games or being out for the season."

Many think the increased speed and size of players is causing greater collisions, therefore creating more devastating injuries.

But Titans coach Jeff Fisher, the co-chairman of the NFL's competition committee, suggests nothing has really changed.

"We look at injuries by position and the nature of injuries, and there's really no trends," Fisher said. "What happens is when you have some big names come up in some specific positions, we draw more attention to it. Because we've got 12 or so quarterback changes since the start of the season, those are issues. We'll continue to look at it, but the game is good right now after the first five weeks. The numbers are good and it's competitive, and I think everything is moving right along. It's unfortunate we've lost some key players, but injuries are a part of the game."

Part of the game. Those four words are sewn into the fabric of football.

Because it is a violent sport, players learn to wear blinders when it comes to injury. It's what enables them to stand over Cadillac and watch him writhe in pain after one play and then return to the huddle for the next.

In fact, the carnage can be a lot harder on players' families

Receiver Ike Hilliard suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to miss a day of practice last week. But when he got home from Indianapolis after the game, his ears started hurting.

"It's hard for me, because when I get home, my wife is in my ear about it," Hilliard said. "She was ticked off at me last week. She said, 'I just don't see you getting down or going out of bounds, you'll end up getting hurt.' I've got a little injury, and she said, 'I told you, you need to get out of bounds.' I think I hear it more from her than anyone in this locker room. I think we all understand what we signed up for, and we've just got to go out and play the game."

Linebacker Ryan Nece, the son of 49ers and Raiders Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott, is in his sixth season and says he has seen players evolve during that period.

"They say it's where it's always been. I think it's interesting," Nece said. "I don't know whether it's because the coverage on injuries is more prevalent or it's because of the bigger names of people who are getting hurt or the season-ending nature of the injuries. I don't know what you attribute that to. It's a violent game, and guys are faster and they're bigger. But guys used to play with no helmets. There's a lot of safety improvements that prevent us from being hurt and allow us to play 16 games.

"But come on. There's some times your mouth is open. You call them specimens, the Simeon Rice's out there that are running around and you wonder how is this guy running next to me and he's trying to run by me and he weighs twice as much as I do. That's pretty crazy."

Not as nutty as this: The latest player to go on injured reserve for the Bucs is quarterback Chris Simms, who had a splenectomy in September 2006. Granted, Simms hasn't regained his '05 throwing form. Although Pittman, Williams and Petitgout are limping around on crutches, Simms spent his first official day on injured reserve running and throwing ropes on an adjacent practice field.

The reason? The Bucs needed Simms' roster spot to begin filling the void at running back, and they signed Zack Crockett.

"It's hard. It's crazy," coach Jon Gruden said. "I've never seen anything like it. I don't care what the other people say. We've lost three running backs and a left tackle already. Every injury seems to be season-ending.

"The thing I've said to our team is the Falcons have had some key injuries. Carolina lost their quarterback. We've got several injuries. It's unfortunate. But somebody is going to weather the storm."

[Last modified October 13, 2007, 17:28:46]