Bad special-teams news: Caden Kolesar and William Wagner (long snapper) out for the season
October 5th, 2022 at 8:37 AM ^
Happened on the same play.
And they're roommates.
Horrible.
October 5th, 2022 at 8:47 AM ^
Much appreciated Twitter shortcut! There is only so much time.
October 5th, 2022 at 10:23 AM ^
It also happened at almost the same spot on the field! Crazy! Heal quickly gentlemen.
October 5th, 2022 at 1:15 PM ^
That's terrible for him that it happened on a random move like that, probably something he's done thousands of times without issue and this one time, pop. He's a senior so this may mean his playing career is over unless he goes for a 5th year.
October 5th, 2022 at 3:39 PM ^
Roughing the snapper.
October 5th, 2022 at 8:54 AM ^
Bad news.
As an aside on the injury topic: I caught some of the Maryland game this weekend, and in the second half there was a graphic listing all the MSU injuries and the announcers went on and on about how devastated they have been by injuries. I found that interesting, because off the top of my head I could list Hill-Green, Hayes, Keegan, Edwards, All, McNamara and pretty quickly match their list of players that have missed games.
I found myself wondering: does that narrative come from their pre-game day interviews with the coach? From a head coach speaking to the injuries during their weekly pressers?
October 5th, 2022 at 8:58 AM ^
Mel has to find sympathy anywhere he can right now. Time for him to visit the Tom Izzo School For Complaining About Injuries And Having To Play Weird Guys.
October 5th, 2022 at 9:08 AM ^
Dunder - this is fine. I'm happy with "everyone" providing as much sympathy as possible for the team in EL. I hope they reach deep - and note other critical elements like - weather during practices, the brand(s) of soap used in the showers, planned enhancements to Spartan Stadium, the academic calendar and quiz schedule, the start time for specific games and how it disrupts the rhythm and cadence of such a finely tuned machine, and - whether they have changed their provider of organic eggs used for breakfast sandwiches.
I will certainly be understanding and patient. My hope is - this incredible foundation that has been established in EL - doesn't change at all. I've said it before -and - will say it again - the Athletic and University leadership need to - increase his salary and bonus - and - extend his contract from ten to twenty years - to ensure prospects in the transfer portal know he'll be there a long, long time.
October 5th, 2022 at 9:10 AM ^
I-think-you need-to-use-more-hypens
October 5th, 2022 at 11:17 AM ^
Gul-dam inflation- people can’t even afford commas anymore- people are being forced to jam in any old punctuation and typographical device they’ve got laying around
October 5th, 2022 at 3:23 PM ^
I literally laughed out loud on this one. 😂
Well done, sir. Well done. 👏👏👏👏🤣
October 5th, 2022 at 9:26 AM ^
I just woke up my wife guffawing to this Spartyness.
Thanks to you...I have to make the effing coffee. Damn you Amazinblu.
This is horseshit!
October 5th, 2022 at 9:44 AM ^
Empiricus, My apologies for having done something that required you to make coffee.
FWIW - I make coffees for my wife and myself every morning when I'm home. So, I'm familiar with the drill.
October 5th, 2022 at 2:23 PM ^
The bible specifies that men should make coffee. Haven't you ever heard of the book of He-brews?
October 5th, 2022 at 9:29 AM ^
This whole time, I've been perplexed about how they've lined up such an excellent recruiting class - but now I see it: "organic eggs used for breakfast sandwiches".
October 5th, 2022 at 3:04 PM ^
I hear they also provide cream cheese for their bagels.....
October 5th, 2022 at 1:13 PM ^
Don't forget about the uncontrollable couch fires stopping practice.
October 5th, 2022 at 9:13 AM ^
Injuries are only notable when they happen to MSU. That rule has always been a thing for some reason.
October 5th, 2022 at 9:29 AM ^
This is true. And the corollary to this rule is "and at no time should Ohio State ever suffer an injury to a key player."
The exception to the OSU rule is of course "that is unless a five star athlete is positioned immediately behind injured player on said depth chart."
October 5th, 2022 at 10:35 AM ^
the secondary corollary is that OSU injuries will be timed so that aforementioned five-star backups get plenty of game reps against tomato cans to the point of being just as good as the guys they replaced... who will all heal in time for the Michigan game
October 5th, 2022 at 10:41 AM ^
the tertiary corollary is that most OSU losses are tied to influenza and/or inclement weather which are headwinds that they alone must endure.
October 5th, 2022 at 11:07 AM ^
My guess is when a season is going poorly and below expectations, reporters try to focus on the causes and reasons.
When a season is going well, most people don't focus on injuries and what a team is overcoming unless it is a really high-profile player.
October 5th, 2022 at 11:23 AM ^
Leaders and Best, this is a far too rational take. Cut that out.
October 5th, 2022 at 12:09 PM ^
Much like there's no overanalysis of a 4th down play that succeeds , only when it fails
October 5th, 2022 at 11:16 AM ^
"We are a MASH unit" is a perennial Sparty talking point
October 5th, 2022 at 12:12 PM ^
Well their current record couldn’t possibly be because he’s a shit coach.
October 5th, 2022 at 7:34 PM ^
MSU is missing several key players and they simply don't have the depth to afford it. Also, this is a fact that just serves a timely narrative. Historically speaking no one cares when looking things up except for the affected team and their fans. I hope we boat race them.
October 5th, 2022 at 9:09 AM ^
Wishing them both a complete and quick recovery.
I'm confident Jay Harbaugh will reach into the Special Teams and identify the "next man" on the depth chart to replace them for this season.
Go Blue!
October 5th, 2022 at 9:18 AM ^
Does Cheeseman have any eligibility left?
October 5th, 2022 at 9:45 AM ^
This is a gouda joke. I came here to make a similar one, but you brie me to it. I havarti type faster.
October 5th, 2022 at 10:59 AM ^
don't be sorry, be cheddar
October 5th, 2022 at 9:47 AM ^
The weird thing is, yes. He left a year early to go to the NFL but he’s a starter so that was a smart move by him
October 5th, 2022 at 10:56 AM ^
I had selfishly hoped he would play for the Packers. The endorsements would have been phenomenal.
October 5th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
It is so disappointing to me with all the gobs and gobs of money flowing into college and pro level teams, they can't figure out how to have natural grass surfaces.
I know they require more upkeep and that means more money, but football (and soccer and baseball etc) should be played on safer, natural grass whenever possible.
This came up with Sterling Shephard blew his ACL on a non-contact play basically just walking down the field at MetLife. Kolesar barely cut and went down.
Lambeau Field seems to have figured it out with a 95% natural / 5% synthetic surface; B1G (and other) teams should follow.
October 5th, 2022 at 9:40 AM ^
doesn't sparty have natural grass? if that brain-trust can figure it out, so should others.
October 5th, 2022 at 9:45 AM ^
Just paint the dirt green. Worked when I was in the army.
October 5th, 2022 at 9:47 AM ^
i remember the first time we played at jack murphy stadium in S.D. 30+ years ago, where the chargers used to play. on T.V. it looked just fine but when we went out for warm-ups i realized that there were a bunch of places that were scrub grass/dirt at best, and they'd just simply painted them green.
October 5th, 2022 at 11:03 AM ^
When I moved the youngest to OKC earlier this year..... watched a landscaping company spray green paint on the 'lawn' at his apartment complex.... apparently that's a common thing in the south. Seems very strange to someone who grew up in northern Michigan....
October 5th, 2022 at 11:26 AM ^
Fort Campbell, KY in 1981 was the first time I saw this done. When I was at Ft. Sill (Swill) 2 years later they didn't bother, it was all dust and dirt. I think the painted dirt just blew away.
Had never seen this growing up in western PA.
October 6th, 2022 at 9:36 AM ^
Off-Topic: Do most MGoBloggers know that you played hockey AND football at Michigan? I don't recall ever learning that. I suspect that there aren't too many Michigan alums who played both of those sports for the Wolverines. I'm impressed.
October 5th, 2022 at 9:46 AM ^
To be fair, sparties entire reason for existence is basically figuring out how to grow better grass. I'm ok with them being better grass growers than us. They can win that one.
October 5th, 2022 at 10:37 AM ^
Do we have evidence that the modern fieldturf surfaces contribute to injuries? Obviously, the old artificial turf carpets were terrible. The new ones are better. But if grass is that much superior, one might speculate that it can be measured.
I prefer the look of grass in Michigan Stadium, (although the blue end zones and large block M look really good now) but mainly I want a good playing surface. Guys can and do get hurt on natural surfaces too.
The issue with Michigan Stadium is the water table, of course, but things have advanced a fair amount in 20 years with moveable fields. I remember someone on this board suggesting VaTech's portable solution and thinking that it was a silly idea... but actually whomever that was had a good idea, because VaTech's solution isn't dependent upon what's happening in the ground in the stadium at all.
October 5th, 2022 at 11:14 AM ^
There have been studies, but not that many, which is unsurprising considering the people who would pay for the studies have an interest in not doing them (as they are saving money as we speak). The NFL Union, which does have the money, should be leading the charge on this, but they are one of the weakest unions in sports, so it's unsurprising they don't have their act together.
https://www.drdavidgeier.com/ask-dr-geier-acl-tears-on-natural-grass-or-fieldturf/
In a study performed by the National Football League Injury and Safety Panel, published in the October 2012 issue of the American Journal of Sports Medicine, Elliott B. Hershman et al. reviewed injury data from NFL games played between 2000 and 2009.
They found that the injury rate of knee sprains as a whole was 22% higher on FieldTurf than on natural grass. While MCL sprains did not occur at a rate significantly higher than on grass, rates of ACL sprains were 67% higher on FieldTurf.
Turf fields lead to 32% more non-contact knee injuries and 69% more non-contact foot and ankle injuries, the group said, citing NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018.
These Field Turf fields are definitely better than the AstroTurf from the 70s and 80s that were at Veterans Stadium and the Silverdome. But anyone who has walked / played on them (and I have, dozens of times) can see they don't give in the same way as natural grass. That's by design; they are built to stand up to more traffic for less "wear & tear" -- on the playing surface itself. I am sure that increased "stickiness" actually *prevents* some other injuries (e.g., a player is less likely to fall over when making a cut), but for ACLs, MCLs, Achilles and other ligaments, owners/administrators are being pennywise and pound foolish.
October 5th, 2022 at 12:21 PM ^
One of the key variables in this comparison is the quality of the natural grass. For example, everyone agrees that the Chicago Bears field is horrible and it is natural grass. While it "gives" better in certain situations, it also can result in more injuries as well. Not only does Michigan stadium have the water table issue, they also have the climate issue with most games being played in the late fall. One advantage they have, however, is that the field only really needs to survive about 10 uses per year. It isn't a multi-purpose field like most big stadiums. While that should make grass work better, it also means that pumping more time and money into expensive up-keep is less field turf.
One of the things I do wonder about with artificial surfaces (or grass for that matter) is the footwear. With grass fields you always wore true cleats and the height of the cleat depended on the condition of the field. With these artificial surfaces I wonder what the "right" shoe is. Some people wear turf shoes with few cleats, some wear traditional cleats, some wear almost tennis shoe like bottoms. Feels like an opportunity for study as well.
October 5th, 2022 at 12:57 PM ^
It's anecdotal but I tore my ACL playing weekend soccer on a non-contact injury like this. The problem is the field turf is too grippy so when you plant, if there's a need for give, your foot usually won't turn even slightly like it would on natural grass. So if there's no give at ground level, there has to be at the ligament.
My surgeon was like FieldTurf, huh? I was like, yep. Says he sees it all the time. Always the FieldTurf.
To the comment above, I was wearing traditional cleats. Surgeon (and PT) said you gotta wear turf shoes with almost no contour on the bottom since the natural grip of the field (really the rubber pellets) is already so good.
I'm sure these guys are wearing the right shoes which hopefully mitigates some of the issues. Butt still looks from the studies like ACLs happen 67% more on FieldTurf which is a lot.
October 5th, 2022 at 1:16 PM ^
We had natural grass in Michigan Stadium in the 90s as I recall. It actually was a complex system because there is a spring located under the field, so the problem wasn't watering the field it was more "unwatering" the field to keep it from being a swamp. It seems to me that it was a mess and sometime around 2002 we gave up and went back to artificial. I remember one article that went into the detail of the 2-3 ft crown that was normal for an artificial surface to promote drainage, and it could actually affect swing passes into the flat as the runner would be moving downward as they went toward the sideline
October 5th, 2022 at 1:38 PM ^
Yeah, we had a problem with the water table being very close to the field level, which prevents grass from taking root very deep.
Some stadiums have removable grass fields. I'm not sure if that would be feasible at Michigan Stadium?
October 5th, 2022 at 9:38 AM ^
Well, this just sucks. I hope they can both recover fully and get back on the field next season (not sure what class either is in). Good luck to them...
The team will be fine, next man up and all that. I believe this team has the depth needed to absorb these things - except at LB. No more injuries at LB are allowed until (at least) NHG gets back on the field.