Quin Williams has to stay on the field before he deserves comparison to those guys. Sapp only missed 10 games in 13 seasons and about half of those were week 17 games he sat to rest for the playoffs.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Quincy Williams get most of the reps at LB ahead of Sherwood. The dude has a checkered injury history but he can ball. Sherwood is the future but I don't think he is the present, at least not yet.
I know this is a Run D thread but I can't wait to see the D-line on passing downs. I'm thinking Huff-Q-Rank-Ward is a pretty good rotation with speed guys outside and penetrators in the middle. We'll see the cow on rollerskates in week 1 as they collapse the pocket.
The first two years of all of the aforementioned players careers look extremely similar to Quinnen Williams first two years. You're right though. The big boy needs to stay healthy and stay on the field. It's an absolute shame that he broke his foot and missed most of the off-season. He's our most talented player. For Sapp to avoid injury at his size before the real true incredible sports science advancement that's taken place over the past ten years or so, is unbelievable. Hopefully Q can do the same moving forward.
Yeah I think you're right. I know a lot of the injury stuff has been attributed mostly to limited contact in practice and union rules, but I wonder over that time how much of the increase in injuries can be attributed to business decisions.
While this is spot on, it is also fair to note that the rules and approach to the game has changed considerably. People back then were playing injured, playing with concussions, playing with a cast on their arm. That is no longer acceptable, not just to the players, but to the the coaches and the NFL. I think staying on the field for many years is now more amazing than ever before.
Maybe, but I don't think anyone's advocating that players play through bad concussions or serious torn ligaments or anything. I think what Nagle + byz were alluding to is that a sore thigh from a hit to the leg is now a "thigh contusion," i.e. a bruise. A slightly twisted ankle is now a month long injury. We saw Curtis Martin play on high ankles sprains throughout his career. It was the nature of the game and didn't cause serious post-career trauma. There's so much money involved now and so much guaranteed money, that guys can make business decisions because who wouldn't work less for getting paid the same?
