Harbaugh: Newsome out for the year. Knee injury is "serious"
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:33 PM ^
Oh man. Positive thoughts his way. Hoping it is not career threatening at least.
October 3rd, 2016 at 2:24 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:33 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:03 PM ^
I cringed when I saw the replay. It is just horrible timing for that play to happen the way it did. His right foot had to step almost perfectly at that split second to be in that planted position to take that blow. I feel for him. He was looking good at the LT spot. Do the rehab young man and get back out on the field for next year's opener.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:34 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:36 PM ^
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October 3rd, 2016 at 1:09 PM ^
It's a bit of a challenge for a 220 lb dude hitting a 300 lb dude above the waste and expecting a positive result. Much like when we saw Peppers "miss" the kicker.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:16 PM ^
Try 185 lb dude agianst a 315 lb dude.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:34 PM ^
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October 3rd, 2016 at 12:41 PM ^
Looked like a Jaylon Smith and Willis McGahee injury where the knee was extended and bent in..Hope there is no nerve damage but thats what i fear.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:54 PM ^
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October 3rd, 2016 at 7:45 PM ^
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October 3rd, 2016 at 9:28 PM ^
The downside is that with "big guys" (or really high-speed events) the joint forces are very large. It's the whole, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall" analogy.
At full hyperextension, at his size, you can tear the ACL and the PCL, and even the MCL, plus the meniscus and a heft bone bruise and condyle fracture. It just depends on how far it went.
Now, the upside, is that he's an O-Lineman, so he never has to do too much full joint extension movment via full sprint/run/jump (unlike a WR, DB, RB, LB, etc.).
So, I would expect that if he can recover, should he return, it will take slightly longer due to his size (think Mone), but he shouldn't be too limited.
Remember, Wormley tore his ACL as either a Fr. or So. and he hasn't done anything but get better. Lineman (and non-running QBs) have the luxury of having ACL/collateral ligament tears be less hindering than other positions.
Either way, the kid is going to get world-class medicine/surgeons/therapy from UMHS.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:16 PM ^
hyper-extension does suggest ligamentous injury. What could be complicating things is a concurrent chondral (cartilage) injury. Brandon Graham had this and took over a year to get going. If there is damage to the articular cartilage that protects the bone in the knee, that needs to be corrected before return to play or chronic pain and early arthritis is what happens. Chondral injuries are corrected by cartilage replacement or microfracture, both of which would extend recovery time in comparison to stand-alone ligament repair.
It did not appear from what I saw on TV that he dislocated the knee, but that doesn't mean he didn't have a multi-ligament injury, which can also be quite complex.
*I'm just trying to answer FMH's question and obviously have no knowlege to the specifics or extent of GN's injury, just offering knee injuries that are more complex that *just* an stand-alone ACL tear (which is a damn tough injury by itself)
October 3rd, 2016 at 2:01 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:35 PM ^
... but I've always hated that it is legal to just thrust yourself like a missle at an opponent's knees.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:24 PM ^
I've never understood why that is legal especially when linemen do it to each other. Why aren't linemen afforded the same protection as QBs? They are almost as valuable.
October 3rd, 2016 at 5:09 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:35 PM ^
Harbaugh asked if Newsome's knee injury is career-threatening, Harbaugh: "it's too early to tell" but "as serious as a knee injury can be"
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) October 3, 2016
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:36 PM ^
that sucks. I hate those low blocks on big guys - the fact that they are legal is too bad, and unsurprisingly things like this happen.
i've often wondered how different football would be if you couldn't "go low", i.e., you always had to tackle/block/cut/etc. in the upper body, much like greco-roman wrestling...
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:46 PM ^
The other options are:
1. Stand there as a 185-pounder and get trucked by a guy who's 315.
2. Run away.
#1 ends with the dreaded concussions sometimes, and #2 will get you sent to the sideline. It's unfortunate, but it's a part of playing football. Running backs have to worry about getting taken out at the knees, too.
I hope Newsome turns out okay. I think he was developing into a potentially dominant LT.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:58 PM ^
When they see a DB in front of them on long-developing play like this, are they taught to "block down" (e.g., lean forward) so they are more ready for the DB going low? Or would that take the OL off-balance? Or is there another technique?
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:23 PM ^
The goal is to get in the way, not make a crushing block. You teach your linemen to lower their center of gravity and bowl over the defensive back, creating a pile. The idea is that the RB will cut around you. That's why it was problematic when Newsome would get too deep on toss sweeps, because the RB didn't have enough space between himself and Newsome to read the play properly. If you lower your center of gravity and get your weight out front, you won' have your leg planted and therefore are less likely take hits like Newsome did.
October 3rd, 2016 at 2:06 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 3:10 PM ^
It's been answered above but one important thing not mentioned is to focus on the space you are occupying. One of the hardest things for an offensive lineman to do when pulling or going out on the edge is to maintain their focus on the current space they are in. You'll see bad moving offensive linemen run into other blockers or trip their rb/qb.
It's very easy to focus more on where you are headed or who you are trying to block. If you are focused on the space you are occupying while moving you drive the defender diving at you into the ground with shoulder, arms or hands and keep on moving to your intended target.
One of the big differences between why a protection rule exists for QBs, but for linemen the protection is only provided when egaged is the QB is expected to focus down the field and in areas other than they are in. A lineman is expected to focus on the space he's occupying and move that space. Obviously everyone needs to be aware of both at all times, but the emphasis is very different.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:07 PM ^
I know Peppers is a special athlete, but why can't they try and sneak around the blocks like he does.
Clearly the db can't win running into the lineman but a <200 lb db should have way more agility than a 300+ lb lineman and they should be forced to try and get around the guy, rather than dive right at the knees.
The holding call JBB got was when the same guy dove at his knee on the same type of play
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:20 PM ^
It's the same thing as running away. Jump inside, the RB goes outside, and then you're toast. Jump outside, the RB cuts up into a big hole, and you're toast. Peppers gets away with a lot because he's a special athlete, but lesser athletes can't do those things without getting embarrassed.
JBB did a better job of lowering himself than Newsome did. He would have been fine if he hadn't grabbed onto Tindal.
October 3rd, 2016 at 3:58 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 4:10 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:53 PM ^
You'd have more concussions and targeting penalties, for one thing. When the whole targeting/concussion thing started getting traction, I remember a lot of offensive players saying they hated it because you're forcing defenders to go low which puts knees at risk.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:30 PM ^
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October 3rd, 2016 at 12:36 PM ^
the knee going backwards looked really bad. I hope for his sake it is not career ending, or something that will be a cronic issue through life. I wouldn't be suprised if he is out for two seasons between surgery and coming back from conditioning. At least he can get a red shirt next year to recover.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:40 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:43 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:44 PM ^
that seems like a play that should be changed. The UW guy just dove helmet first right into his knee and crushed it.
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:54 PM ^
Does someone have to suffer a career ending injury before they change the stupid rule?
You should not be allowed to dive at someone's knee on either side of the ball.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:03 PM ^
Does that include ball carriers?
If so, giving up 30ppg is going to be a great defense.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:41 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:43 PM ^
The problem that is now starting to be addressed is using the helmet at the point of contact. Obviously the focus now is on helmet to helmet contact but why not extend the rule generally. Take the helmet out of the tackle (or any type of collision, like the one that hurt Newsome), whether it is the head or knees, and you will eliminate a lot of injuries.
October 3rd, 2016 at 3:09 PM ^
expanding on the rule would be worse and you would see bad offense averaging 30+ points if that's the case. Plus the interpretation of the targeting rules are awful and inconsistent that the refs can't get it right. Why put more on their shoulders especially when the refs are bad at judgement calls?
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:47 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:50 PM ^
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October 3rd, 2016 at 12:56 PM ^
A couple questions regarding his well-being and ability to get an education.
1) If he can't play anymore, is this what a "medical hardship" is and will he be covered financially to get his degree?
2) To those in the other thread (Buckey supporter specifically), this is why some 5* players will still choose Michigan or Stanford over OSU. You said both were football factories, but Newsome will be much better off with that UM degree than one from OSU or Alabama.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^
>>1) If he can't play anymore, is this what a "medical hardship" is and will he be covered financially to get his degree?
Yes
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:50 PM ^
October 3rd, 2016 at 12:56 PM ^
Maybe this is a dumb question - but where is the knee-brace technology that stops, or helps stop, a knee from hyperextending backwards? This seems like it could be possible with today's knee braces.
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:05 PM ^
The announcers mentioned something about it after the play. I think they said Kalis was the only player wearing a knee brace on out line. Maybe it can't prevent the injury, but it would at least keep the knee from bending backwards (like it did with Newsome).
October 3rd, 2016 at 1:12 PM ^
with the foot planted, i'm not sure if there is something that can keep the knee from bending while allowing normal use the rest of the time with 180+ lbs hitting it dead on. That force has to go somewhere
October 3rd, 2016 at 2:51 PM ^
Unfortunately the force gets redirected somewhere else in that scenario.....likely up to the hip or down to the ankle. Not sure which scenario would be worse.