Michael Vick gone for 6 weeks... (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

Say it ain't so: It might have been the shoes!

The local Atlanta newspaper ran a short story discussing that perhaps the shoes Vick was wearing weren't good for that new turf. Vick was wearing shoes with 1/2" cleats, the shortest cleats available to the players. Maybe if he was wearing shoes more suited for turf surfaces, his foot doesn't get stuck in that awkward position during the tackle that caused the break to his fibia. Anyhow, a lot of speculation because he was a scary multi-dimensional threat as QB.

 

[Steve_Tk]

I read that article also in the AJC. I wonder if someone is getting their ass chewed out because they put him in those shoes.

 

[Patrick Sun]

And then Vick goes and says (in his press conference today) that it wasn't the field or the shoes, that these injuries are going to happen in the game of professional football.

 

[nolesrule]

The league could eliminate the preseason entirely, not add any more regular season games and not lose any competitive quality.

I'd have to disagree with this. Mini-camps and training camps are no replacement for in-game action. It's the only way to get your players ready and to be able to assess exactly which 53 players will be on the final roster. Going against your own guys in camp becomes too monotonous and too predictable to be able to achieve all the goals of the preseason. Having the chance to go up against a few teams that have different players and different philosophies will lead to better preparation.

I've been following arena football closely for 14 years, and 2003 was the first year since 1991 that there were no preseason games. The quality of play during the first month of the season was not up to par compared to previous years.

Let's not forget that all the big four sports have preseason games.

 

[Mark Schermerhorn]

I doubt they would cut pre-season games. Unless they did a study showing that the financial loss due to falling interest after star players get injured in the preseason is greater than the revenue generated in the preseason, it won't happen.

I could see them cutting one game at most, or maybe modifying the rules for the preseason games. Turn it into flag football, or something similar.

I don't think much can be done, as injuries are an inherent part of a game involving intense body contact, and the preseason is necessary to get pro teams up to pro standards of play.

 

[Greg_R]

[quoet]Vick was wearing shoes with 1/2" cleats, the shortest cleats available to the players. Maybe if he was wearing shoes more suited for turf surfaces, his foot doesn't get stuck in that awkward position during the tackle that caused the break to his fibia. [/quote]How would longer cleats help? I would think that they are more likely to stick in the turf...

 

[Brian Perry]

Paul Tagliabue must be monitoring HTF! Earlier in this thread, on August 18, I wrote:

I predict that in coming years, the NFL will either completely do away with preseason games, or have only two while making the regular season 18 games.

And from ESPN today:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1610190