Official Spring Practices Thread

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Think of it like this, if you wear a brace or tape that restricts the the movement of a joint, the stabilizing muscles aren't used to stabilize because the brace I doing that job to an extent. This causes the stabilizing muscles to weaken, which makes the joint more prone to injury if the brace is off.

I use to wear those ankle air casts when I played basketball. I had two of the worst sprains I've ever had while wearing them. ( I've had more ankle sprains than I can count). They gave me a false sense of security.

 

[JMBuffs]

Because I have observed absolutely zero RBs elect to wear a knee brace when at full health I feel pretty confident believing the perspective that eliminating a knee brace will benefit a runner.

It feels weird that this is even a discussion right now

 

[MtnBuff]

My understanding of linemen wearing knee braces was to prevent injuries due to being rolled up on in scrum-like piles. I seem to remember a discussion of that during an NFL game years ago.

I would also point out that if a brace has no medical use or benefit to a RB, then wearing one would be contra-indicated, exactly as Medford M aptly explained. The human body is meant to most optimally operate sans assistance.

It raises the interesting discussion of bare-foot running from the book Born to Run. Of course, the knee was not designed for hard lateral cuts nor being hit with a chop block - nor was a bare foot built to run on pavement.

I'm an old guy, played prior to braces being common for linemen and I ended up with both knees trashed early on.

All but one of those knee injuries happened in the trenches with guys falling or diving onto my knees from the sides/back. Would braces have prevented or reduced the injuries? Absolutely no way to know but I think they would have.

The one positive is that the knee injuries ended my football career early enough that I didn't have time to mess up my back like a lot of the linemen I know who played longer ended up.

Football involves a lot of things the human body wasn't designed for. Legs, ankles, and feet weren't designed for the hard cuts, neither were they designed for the pounding that occurs on artificial turf fields, the head wasn't designed to protect the brain against repeated impacts of the head, the lower back was not designed for one 300lb man to run into another 300lb man at full speed and to continually get up and repeat that impact.

In general the human body was not designed to live carrying the mass that most football players carry for their careers and often for the rest of their lives, often the organs can't keep up with the strain.

 

[BuffWarHog]

Well that was the starting name, but evolved to the PAC from Pacific Athletic Conference, so it’s not really different from the ACC or SEC in that regard. Picking nits here of course.

“Oregon and Oregon State joined in the summer of 1964.[75][76][77] With their addition, the conference was known unofficially as the Pacific Athletic Conference,[78][79][80][81][82] and then the Pacific-8 (as there already was a major conference called the Big Eight). In 1968, the AAWU formally renamed itself the Pacific-8 Conference, or Pac-8 for short. The Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team from the conference until the 1975 season;[83] in basketball, participation in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was not allowed until 1973.[84]”

That is incorrect. It was never the Pacific Athletic Conference.
one of these screen shots is from a reference story in your post. The other is from Wikipedia.

Eugene Register-Guard - Google News Archive Search

 

[DBT]

Well that was the starting name, but evolved to the PAC from Pacific Athletic Conference, so it’s not really different from the ACC or SEC in that regard. Picking nits here of course.

“Oregon and Oregon State joined in the summer of 1964.[75][76][77] With their addition, the conference was known unofficially as the Pacific Athletic Conference,[78][79][80][81][82] and then the Pacific-8 (as there already was a major conference called the Big Eight). In 1968, the AAWU formally renamed itself the Pacific-8 Conference, or Pac-8 for short. The Pac-8 did not allow a second bowl team from the conference until the 1975 season;[83] in basketball, participation in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was not allowed until 1973.[84]”

On my phone, it autocorrects Pac to PAC. Or it used to. Maybe I finally have it trained.

 

[buffaholic]

Think of it like this, if you wear a brace or tape that restricts the the movement of a joint, the stabilizing muscles aren't used to stabilize because the brace I doing that job to an extent. This causes the stabilizing muscles to weaken, which makes the joint more prone to injury if the brace is off.

Think of it like this:
2 hours a day, at contact practice and games. That's 0.114 % of their annual hours awake. Not to mention the P.T. and special exercises he does.

I'll wait for the scientific facts you quoted. Until then, I'll defer to common sense.

 

[Creebuzz]

That is incorrect. It was never the Pacific Athletic Conference.
one of these screen shots is from a reference story in your post. The other is from Wikipedia.
View attachment 44145View attachment 44146

Eugene Register-Guard - Google News Archive Search

Yes, you are right. It was never officially the Pacific Athletic Conference, but rather the lame egg-head AAWU. Nevertheless, it would seem that the origin of the PAC is from the unofficial Pacific Athletic Conference. I don’t really care all that much either way, but for the last 50 years, I’ve always equated PAC with Pacific Athletic Conference.

 

[BuffLuke80]

To pile on here, Broussard himself mentioned in an interview that it increased his confidence to know he could go without the brace. Anecdotal evidence from practice claims he’s moving faster due to the confidence boost.

That's anybody that's ever ****ed their knee up. You have to trust it again at some point where you aren't thinking about it, just playing ball.

 

[Medford M.]

Think of it like this:
2 hours a day, at contact practice and games. That's 0.114 % of their annual hours awake. Not to mention the P.T. and special exercises he does.

I'll wait for the scientific facts you quoted. Until then, I'll defer to common sense.

The Effectiveness of Prophylactic Knee Bracing in American Football: A Systematic Review - PMC

Knee injuries, particularly of the medial collateral ligament (MCL), are the most common injury sustained in American football. In 1979, Anderson et al described a knee brace that could protect uninjured knees from MCL injuries resulting from ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Here's one study on prophylactic bracing (preventative bracing) which shows that regardless of position, the occurrence of knee injuries shows virtually difference between braced and unbraced players. At least one study showed an increase in injuries for players wearing braces.

 

[30Something]

This response does not, in any way, address the assertion that wearing the brace weakens the knee. That is the information I am unfamiliar with. I understand and agree with your reply here.

I've had both an ACL and a Microfracture surgery on my left knee, plus a couple of meniscus scopes on the same.

The ACL was done by the head orthopedic surgeon for the USOC in the Springs, and the Microfracture by a Steadman-Hawkins surgeon. Both said that it was preferred to get out of the brace and build strength, on a very predefined schedule, to strengthen the muscles around the knee (mostly the quad) and to improve range of motion as quickly as possible.

The Microfracture was a MUCH longer recovery period, but I was way more concerned mentally about getting back to full speed after the ACL. I wore a brace, against doctors orders, following the ACL until I was mentally ready to cut, turn, and move at full speed. That said, I 100% agree that a brace acts as a mental crutch, is detrimental to your recovery (physically and mentally), and hinders your ability to go full speed sooner than you'd be without one.

Just my experience.

 

[hokiehead]

On my phone, it autocorrects Pac to PAC. Or it used to. Maybe I finally have it trained.

Everytime I get a new phone i have to train it to NOT correct "Hokies" to "Homies". Incredibly frustrating, especially as the latter isn't a term I ever use. One more reason for me to avoid team nicknames.

 

[buffaholic]

I've had both an ACL and a Microfracture surgery on my left knee, plus a couple of meniscus scopes on the same.

The ACL was done by the head orthopedic surgeon for the USOC in the Springs, and the Microfracture by a Steadman-Hawkins surgeon. Both said that it was preferred to get out of the brace and build strength, on a very predefined schedule, to strengthen the muscles around the knee (mostly the quad) and to improve range of motion as quickly as possible.

The Microfracture was a MUCH longer recovery period, but I was way more concerned mentally about getting back to full speed after the ACL. I wore a brace, against doctors orders, following the ACL until I was mentally ready to cut, turn, and move at full speed. That said, I 100% agree that a brace acts as a mental crutch, is detrimental to your recovery (physically and mentally), and hinders your ability to go full speed sooner than you'd be without one.

Just my experience.

But wearing a brace 24/7 was never my point. I'm simply talking about wearing the knee brace while in uniform (ONLY), which Medford asserted that there was scientific evidence to support was weakening his knee.

Wearing a brace less than 0.1% of non-sleeping time (i.e. while helmet is on) is quite different than the situation your doctors are discussing above.

He's not doing himself harm by wearing a brace and he's still not going to have breakaway speed either way.

 

[bigbang2]

nm

 

[bigbang2]

The defense is winning spring ball so far. Hopefully both sides can win. Good news about the development of young players like A Williams, and Hamm. Dorrell said the young ILBs are explosive. That is a good sign. I actually prefer to see the Defense win in practice. Will help the Offense get better.

 

[Creebuzz]

Everytime I get a new phone i have to train it to NOT correct "Hokies" to "Homies". Incredibly frustrating, especially as the latter isn't a term I ever use. One more reason for me to avoid team nicknames.

Whenever my wife or I go out solo with our friends, it’s mandatory that we sing “rollin’ with the homies” on the way out the door. RIP Brittany Murphy.

 

[hokiehead]

Whenever my wife or I go out solo with our friends, it’s mandatory that we sing “rollin’ with the homies” on the way out the door. RIP Brittany Murphy.

In my previous life working fast food, i was working next to Chris, who happened to be a black man. We had worked together a few years and knew each other well.

He referred to another employee once that i was intendeling to send in break...

Chris: "I just asked homeboy to take out the trash"
Me: "ok, i'll send Nick on break and 'homeboy' can get his when Nick is done"

5 seconds of silence

Me: "I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've ever used the word 'homeboy'"
Chris: "believe it. didn't sound right either... Don't do it again"

We both laughed, but i think that may we'll be the only time I uttered that word, or any derivatives, out loud.

 

[Alfred91]

I love this. I honestly think KD could be very successful here, but he's gotta find a way to get the athletes in to do it.

 

[bigbang2]

Mel Tucker leaving CU to take the Michigan State job is like CU winning the lottery.

 

[bigbang2]

B Lewis looks like a Linebacker. Maybe he should reduce the weight lifting.

 

[Not Sure]

All this talk about blown knees from playing football makes me very glad that I was on the swim team.

 

[4BienemyTDs]

B Lewis looks like a Linebacker. Maybe he should reduce the weight lifting.

Not following that logic? He looks awesome and has a lot of Mahomes look to him. Mahomes is 6'-3" and 230 pounds, and Lewis is 6'-2" and 225 pounds as a True Sophomore. Gotta be able to be tough in the pocket and to improvise. Lewis just looks like a winner.

 

[bigbang2]

Not following that logic? He looks awesome and has a lot of Mahomes look to him. Mahomes is 6'-3" and 230 pounds, and Lewis is 6'-2" and 225 pounds as a True Sophomore. Gotta be able to be tough in the pocket and to improvise. Lewis just looks like a winner.

You don't want to be too bulky as a QB. I don't see a lot of QBs looking like Linebackers in the pros. I like his work ethic, but got to dial it back a little bit in the weight room. Less on adding muscle mass, more on conditioning or getting faster.

 

[Duff Man]

Lewis is basically exactly like Mahomes.

 

[4BienemyTDs]

Lewis is basically exactly like Mahomes.

Totally on track to be Duff, thanks for the backup

 

[Alfred91]

Lewis could well be Mahomes part 2, but if he doesn't have Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and most importantly Andy Reid and Eric Bienemy, does it matter?

 

[Go Buffs]

Lewis is literally exactly like Mahomes.

FIFY

 

[bigbang2]

I don't think you need to be built like a linebacker to play QB. He should be looking at avoiding contact not looking for contact. He does need functional strength to do the things he needs to do at the position.

 

[MtnBuff]

Being big has certainly gotten in the way of QBs having success in the NFL. Just think of what Big Ben, Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, etc could have accomplished had they been DB size instead of LB size and of course nobody would have wanted some guy who was 6'3" and had built himself up to about 240 by the end of his career, even if he wore #7 for the Broncos.

Some people can't help but to complain. Either a guy is to big or he should be bigger so he can take hits better. Being big doesn't mean you have to play like a fullback. Peyton Manning was 6'5" and a pretty solid 230 most of his career. Didn't mean he was looking for contact but it certainly didn't hurt him the times he did get hit.

 

[GawainBuff]

Being big has certainly gotten in the way of QBs having success in the NFL. Just think of what Big Ben, Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, etc could have accomplished had they been DB size instead of LB size and of course nobody would have wanted some guy who was 6'3" and had built himself up to about 240 by the end of his career, even if he wore #7 for the Broncos.

Some people can't help but to complain. Either a guy is to big or he should be bigger so he can take hits better. Being big doesn't mean you have to play like a fullback. Peyton Manning was 6'5" and a pretty solid 230 most of his career. Didn't mean he was looking for contact but it certainly didn't hurt him the times he did get hit.

Well said. Also, as I have learned to my disappointment over the years, some guys just build sculpted muscle far more naturally. Others work hard and still look a bit doughy. I assume CU strength trainers work with our QBs keeping in mind that throwing a football is pretty much their focus.

 

[The Alabaster Yak]

You don't want to be too bulky as a QB. I don't see a lot of QBs looking like Linebackers in the pros. I like his work ethic, but got to dial it back a little bit in the weight room. Less on adding muscle mass, more on conditioning or getting faster.

We aren’t prepping Lewis to be an NFL QB. We are prepping him to win games at CU, which is going to require him to be an athlete and make a lot of plays with his legs, which in turn requires a bigger body.