I guess the silver lining for him is that "sources" are even mentioning a return to football. Hopefully that means an otherwise normal life is not in question at this point.
2017 Steelers: MyFace Champions
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It was said --- by teammates and other team sources. Not by anyone officially or by his doctors
Surgery might not have been initially needed but stuff changes sometimes. It could have been evacuation of a hematoma that was stable until it wasn't. But it is all speculation at this point and hopefully the guy doesn't have any permanent spinal damage.
The statement from the GM Kevin Colbert on the night it happened at almost 1:30 in the morning said "Ryan's injury will not require surgery at this time and he continues to improve."
I added the bold.
I just want him to recover, don't care about timetables really.
I added the bold.
I just want him to recover, don't care about timetables really.
This is such a sad and scary time for Shazier:
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ryan-shazier-has-spinal-stabilization-surgery-two-days-after-scary-injury/
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ryan-shazier-has-spinal-stabilization-surgery-two-days-after-scary-injury/
What this almost definitely means is that he didn’t have a fracture that was evident on X-ray but due hsvdban unstable ligamentous injury that became apparent on mri. His stabilization surgery would be a fusion, which would leave a chance of returning to play but with significant risk. I’d frankly be surprised if he ever plays again
Ugh. He's only 25, too. I hope he finds a way to have a happy and successful rest of his life. This is scary stuff.
It is just a stupid game but it affects so many lives in terrible ways.
I hope players around the league, including Gronk and the rest of the Pats and the Bills are thinking about this.
I hope players around the league, including Gronk and the rest of the Pats and the Bills are thinking about this.
Wa Post had an article this morning on this. Josh Norman quotes, with the Hyman Roth "this is the business we've chosen" vibe:
“When you go out there on the field, you ask for cover and you go to work,” Norman said. “If I see a play, shoot, I’m going to get it. Consequences be the consequences.”
His smile gave way to a wince as he peeled his sweaty practice jersey over his shoulders and head.
“This is what we signed up for,” Norman said. “If you don’t want to do it, don’t play. Ain’t nobody forcing you. It’s your right.”
“When you go out there on the field, you ask for cover and you go to work,” Norman said. “If I see a play, shoot, I’m going to get it. Consequences be the consequences.”
His smile gave way to a wince as he peeled his sweaty practice jersey over his shoulders and head.
“This is what we signed up for,” Norman said. “If you don’t want to do it, don’t play. Ain’t nobody forcing you. It’s your right.”
I think Norman would agree that nobody signed up for what Gronk did last Sunday.
What's maddening about this - and I suppose it's no different than a lot of things in life - but imagine spending the next 50 years thinking that if your head had just bee in a slightly different place or at a slightly different angle or you'd gotten there a second earlier or later, everything would be different.
At least you get to spend your years thinking about that while sitting on an NFL pension and accumulated career earnings in the seven or eight figures.
Imagine similar recriminations for all of the injured veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan or the other places we send our troops. Some people take that loss and become Lieutenant Dan, moping about, while others take it and become Senator Daniel Inouye.
Imagine similar recriminations for all of the injured veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan or the other places we send our troops. Some people take that loss and become Lieutenant Dan, moping about, while others take it and become Senator Daniel Inouye.
“See, the thing is, you only got to fuck up once. Be a little slow, be a little late, just once. And how you ain’t gonna never be slow, never be late?”
Definitely, yes. This happens to football players multiple times every game but that is the thought of every person who has been in a catastrophic accident or had an tough injury. I am sure you've got a couple yourself that you lament.
I know I dislocated my shoulder playing ice hockey in college. It's never been the same. If only I had turned right into the corner and not left. . . .it would have saved me decades of trouble. And that's a tiny thing, ultimately. It didn't cripple me.
Imagine if being paralyzed was the result? The mental anguish is no joke.
For sure, and InstaFace is right that it holds true for so many things in life - good and bad - but something with these stakes, something that's televised that you can go back and see for eternity, man that's rough.
And, yes, first time I broke my hand was sparring. I was done for the day and didn't bother to retighten my wraps before I hopped back in the ring last minute. Guy moved right into a hook that I didn't quite have turned over enough. And that was that. Plus, if I'd taken time off to let it heal. Seen a better surgeon so that the first operation wasn't a bust, etc. etc. But, that way madness lies.
The One That Got Away is a recurring theme throughout life, certainly. How you deal with it - whether you deal with it - is a test of character.
That said, injuries in the NFL, even permanent, life-altering injuries, are fundamental to the sport. They can be reduced but they can't be eliminated. So Norman's "business we've chosen" attitude, frankly, sounds like sense to me. You just hope you get out in one piece, and can enjoy your money, and still have your marbles 20 years later.
That said, injuries in the NFL, even permanent, life-altering injuries, are fundamental to the sport. They can be reduced but they can't be eliminated. So Norman's "business we've chosen" attitude, frankly, sounds like sense to me. You just hope you get out in one piece, and can enjoy your money, and still have your marbles 20 years later.
It may be callous, but it's true.
Similar to the line of thought that, had Shazier not speared a guy already being tackled by a teammate, and instead made a good form tackle, he'd be playing next week.
Things can be both heartless and true.
It's been a recurring concern among Steelers fans for a long time.
And yeah I wonder if I had tightened my shoulder pads and been going as fast as the other guy in a supposed half speed drill in football practice if I'd have avoided 70+ dislocations, 2 surgeries, blood clots and significant quality of life impacts. But that pales against what Shazier is facing. And he's a really good kid.
I’ve though about this in the case of people who lose a child, particularly via suicide. We’ve had two recent ones here by HS students, including a youngwoman who threw herself off an overpass into traffic.
Seems to me you are presented with a choice: do we sit by and permit the whole family to be ruined, especially the lives of the siblings, or do we move on?
If he's not going to play again then so be it. He's a hell of a player and it's going to suck as a Steelers fan to lose that kind of talent.
But as long as he can walk and enjoy his kids and have a normal life then it's all good. He'll do fine in whatever endeavor he chooses to do.
Nah, only ever Portnoy's Complaint and that didn't inspire me to read anything else by him. Is it good, or relevant, or both?
Both. The main character is kind of an All-American success story whose perfect life is destroyed by his daughter doing something terrible and he obsesses over all the things he could have done differently. You referenced "that way madness lies" and that's sort of the path he goes down. Like all the other Roth I've read, it's a self-centered first-person narrative, but it's more earned (and I like Roth) because there's a real tragedy at its core, not just "oh, people are lonely."
Two women I'm close to have lost husbands within the last couple of years. Both have teen age kids. They both said that the needs and general lives of their kids helped keep them all moving forward. But they both have talked about wondering how they'd have gone on if they didn't have kids to sort of propel them. And they try not to dwell on the enormity of the empty nest ahead.
Its just semantics, but the word 'choice' may not quite be right in all circumstances. Though I'm not sure what is.
Anyway...you don't have to be particularly religious for "there but for the grace of God . . ." to come up.
Read Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl. It's pretty short but an excellent read. The nutshell is: if you have a reason to live you can survive almost anything.
He was a concentration camp survivor (his family did not survive) and a phd in psychology so he has some first hand experience on the subject. The first half is his experience in the camps, the second half is thoughts/conclusions.
He was a concentration camp survivor (his family did not survive) and a phd in psychology so he has some first hand experience on the subject. The first half is his experience in the camps, the second half is thoughts/conclusions.
It's his right, but this is brave talk uninformed by experience. An elite level NFL athlete becoming a prisoner in his own body must be hell.
As someone who shed a tear for Darryl Stingley, I wish Shazier a speedy and full recovery, and a full life off the field.
A win is a win is a win and I'll take it but our guys have no shot next week. If garbage like Huntley and Flacco are torching you well then ...
As always with the NFL, a lot depends on any physical effects from Miami/short week.
Yeah next week is going to be a tough lift to pull off. A healthy Shazier and Haden I'd feel a lot better about the odds, but not now. Best strategy may be to try to just grind clock themselves, figure Brady can't beat you if he's on the sidelines.
This team has a ton of talent, but the defense is a mess right now and their variability from game to game, hell from quarter to quarter and sometimes series to series, is massive.
This team has a ton of talent, but the defense is a mess right now and their variability from game to game, hell from quarter to quarter and sometimes series to series, is massive.
Haden pretty much took away the long ball option from other teams. His return will at least stabilize the secondary. Obviously losing Shazier at a position that was thin to begin with is something they are going to have to scheme around somehow.
update on Shazier
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 14, 2017 – Ryan Shazier remains hospitalized at UPMC recovering from the spinal stabilization surgery performed last week by UPMC neurosurgeons and Steelers team physicians Drs. David Okonkwo and Joseph Maroon. Mr. Shazier has started physical rehabilitation as part of his recovery process. Further updates will be provided by UPMC.
emphasis mine.
PITTSBURGH, Dec. 14, 2017 – Ryan Shazier remains hospitalized at UPMC recovering from the spinal stabilization surgery performed last week by UPMC neurosurgeons and Steelers team physicians Drs. David Okonkwo and Joseph Maroon. Mr. Shazier has started physical rehabilitation as part of his recovery process. Further updates will be provided by UPMC.
emphasis mine.
It actually is garbage. I’m trying to figure out how the ground can cause a fumble after the plane has already been crossed by the ball. As much as I want the Pats to win, doesn’t the ball breaking the plane initially render anything after pointless? How many dives into the EZ have the ball pop out right after when the guy hits the ground?
MOD NOTE:
As was the case with the Miami thread, absolutely NO trolling allowed here. Discuss the play and the call if you want but respect the Pittsburgh fans and stick to the topic.
As was the case with the Miami thread, absolutely NO trolling allowed here. Discuss the play and the call if you want but respect the Pittsburgh fans and stick to the topic.
Exactly. If someone had smacked the ball out of his hands after he crossed the plane would it have been a fumble?
EDIT: IN A SITUATION WHEN YOU ARE FALLING TO THE GROUND DURING A CATCH You have to 100% control it all the way to the ground EDIT WHEREVER YOU ARE INCLUDING END ZONE OUT OF BOUNDS The Ernie Mills catch that basically won the 1995AFCCG for pitt wouldn't be a catch today.
But didn’t he already get a knee and elbow down before anything moved and while crossing the plane? An elbow is two feet, right?
The rule is that a catch has to survive the process going to the ground no matter where it is on the field. Breaking the plane doesn’t matter. He went to the ground while attempting to secure a catch and did not survive going to the ground without the ball moving. That’s the rule.
It’s not a good rule. It’s a dumb rule. But it was applied 100% correctly.
I don’t root for either team but can tell you that after tuning into the second half today for the most NFL I’ve watched all year (Love college and love football and used to be a big NFL fan), that call pretty well epitomizes a lot of casual fans’ issues with the NFL.
That has always been and was a TD. Even the announcers, one of whom played QB last year, were like “not sure why this is taking so long.”
The player caught the ball, stretched, broke the plane. If he didn’t catch it then how was he able to bring it across the plane? Jedi Mind trick?
That has always been and was a TD. Even the announcers, one of whom played QB last year, were like “not sure why this is taking so long.”
The player caught the ball, stretched, broke the plane. If he didn’t catch it then how was he able to bring it across the plane? Jedi Mind trick?
That play hasn't been a TD since Dez Bryant. His hand was not under the ball, he did not control it through the ground.
Probably a good point about it being not a TD since Dez Bryant. I don’t know and am not the guy to ask; just saying that not being a TD, and calls like that, are a huge part of why I don’t watch the game.
I didn't watch the game, but note that having two feet (or other body part) is necessary but not sufficient for a catch:
Here is the specific rule that came into play on this one.
Item 1. Player Going to the Ground.
A player is considered to be going to the ground if he does not remain upright long enough to demonstrate that he is clearly a runner. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.
According to the rules, it was correctly ruled an incompletion, but that's a tough one to take for any team. It's pretty much the exact same scenario as the Dez Bryant catch a few years ago.
Item 1. Player Going to the Ground.
A player is considered to be going to the ground if he does not remain upright long enough to demonstrate that he is clearly a runner. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.
According to the rules, it was correctly ruled an incompletion, but that's a tough one to take for any team. It's pretty much the exact same scenario as the Dez Bryant catch a few years ago.
Brown has a partially torn calf, expected back for playoffs (per Schef).
I would be shocked, SHOCKED if Brown comes back and is effective in any way. For a torn calf to heal you really need at least a few weeks worth of recovery (even for minor tears), and then a few weeks worth of rebuilding strength and subsequent achilles stability/strength.
He may play, but he’ll be a decoy. He’s effectively done for the year.
I would be shocked, SHOCKED if Brown comes back and is effective in any way. For a torn calf to heal you really need at least a few weeks worth of recovery (even for minor tears), and then a few weeks worth of rebuilding strength and subsequent achilles stability/strength.
He may play, but he’ll be a decoy. He’s effectively done for the year.
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