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Why is everyone assuming Deshaun Watson is gonna be back to 100% next season?


VanS

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Watson has now had 2 ACL tears in the last 3 years on both knees.  We all saw how much that second ACL tear took from RG3's game.  He had a spectacular rookie season in 2012 and then was never the same.  I'm not saying Deshaun Watson is finished.  I just find it interesting how everyone in the media is assuming that he's gonna be picking right back up from where he left off in that Seattle game next season.

I wouldn't be surprised if Watson suffers a significant sophomore slump next season.  Partially because of the knee and partially because teams will now have an entire off-season of film on him.

 

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Regardless of whether youre positive or negative about his return, all anyone can do at this point is speculate  

He very well might not be 100%, and he very well could have a sophomore slump....but I think the media talks about him returning to what he was doing last year because thats the most exciting scenario, and getting viewers/readers excited is what they try to do.   If they were overly pessimistic, it wouldnt be as good for business. 

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1 minute ago, Yin-Yang said:

Watson isn’t RGIII. RGIII’s issues stemmed less from his ACL year and more from the coaching going on in Washington. 

While I agree the coaching played its part, his ACL tear and fragility in general had a HUGE impact on him and his game.    

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56 minutes ago, FourThreeMafia said:

While I agree the coaching played its part, his ACL tear and fragility in general had a HUGE impact on him and his game.    

RG3 wouldn’t have torn his ACL (at that moment) if it weren’t for his coach. He should never have been allowed to play and he straight up lied about the justification. 

Then there were disagreements about rushing him back/not bringing him back soon enough. Then there was dissention between the coach, owner, and QB. Then he and Shanahan were basically taking shots at each other in the media. The coaching and chemistry in Washington had a lot more to do with Griffin’s failures than his ACL (which the coaching staff caused). 

Even then, he rushed 86 times in 13 games. Doesn’t seem to be a guy who lacked confidence in his legs.

 

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Most fans assume players are going to be 100% until proven otherwise and most news articles like to be positive with injuries unless there's mystery around the injury. Watson hasn't had any setbacks and should be fine for training camp, so he should be fine.

 

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12 minutes ago, Yin-Yang said:

RG3 wouldn’t have torn his ACL (at that moment) if it weren’t for his coach. He should never have been allowed to play and he straight up lied about the justification. 

Then there were disagreements about rushing him back/not bringing him back soon enough. Then there was dissection between the coach, owner, and QB. Then he and Shanahan were basically taking shots at each other in the media. The coaching and chemistry in Washington had a lot more to do with Griffin’s failures than his ACL (which the coaching staff caused). 

Even then, he rushed 86 times in 13 games. Doesn’t seem to be a guy who lacked confidence in his legs.

 

Im not going to get into a big debate about it because you could debate that any number of ways.

All Im saying is that the injury did have a big impact on him going forward.

Not saying that will happen to Watson.....and I agree we shouldnt just assume it will because it happened to RG3.   Just saying that injuries like this can linger with a player....both physically and mentally. 

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17 minutes ago, OleXmad said:

Most fans assume players are going to be 100% until proven otherwise and most news articles like to be positive with injuries unless there's mystery around the injury. Watson hasn't had any setbacks and should be fine for training camp, so he should be fine.

 

That's pretty well it for any injury. You assume the best case scenario and hope that modern medicine can fix it. However, we will not know till he plays, the rest is all supposition!

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1 hour ago, Yin-Yang said:

Watson isn’t RGIII. RGIII’s issues stemmed less from his ACL year and more from the coaching going on in Washington. 

A second ACL is a second ACL.  He might not completely fall off like RG3.  But I think its weird how nobody is concerned he might never be the same guy we saw in that Seahawks game.

Also there's no guarantee he'll stay healthy.

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10 minutes ago, VanS said:

A second ACL is a second ACL. 

The first happened in 2014 on the opposite leg. Think it’s safe to say he’s not limited by it anymore.

10 minutes ago, VanS said:

He might not completely fall off like RG3.  But I think its weird how nobody is concerned he might never be the same guy we saw in that Seahawks game.

Sure, he might not. He might also be the GOAT quarterback. Or he might retire and become a dolphin whisperer. Lots of “might”s in here.

Using RGIII was a lazy example. They’re not similar at all.

10 minutes ago, VanS said:

Also there's no guarantee he'll stay healthy.

Newsflash: NFL player isn’t guaranteed to not get injured. 

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I like that he has shown to be as tough as nails but just ONE ACL tear has proven to diminish careers within 2 years after recovery. Two of them?!? He's playing with fire. Forget the football aspect of it all for a second. If I'm him at what??? 24, I'm done. Hell, I still feel the effects from a high-ankle sprain that I suffered decades ago.The throbbing pain waking you up in the middle of the night and being half asleep, you take a step and it gives out on you causing you to fall into the dresser while you one-leg it to the medicine cabinet after waking everyone up. Now I'm not a doctor but the long term injuries from 2 ACL's seem worse to me than a high ankle sprain. 

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2 hours ago, Yin-Yang said:

The first happened in 2014 on the opposite leg. Think it’s safe to say he’s not limited by it anymore.

Newsflash: NFL player isn’t guaranteed to not get injured.

Some players are more injury prone than others.  Thus far you would have to be concerned about Deshaun Watson's durability going forward given the fact he's already had 2 ACL tears at just 22 years old.

Also, in some ways tearing an ACL on each knee is worse than having torn it twice on the same knee.  At least if its the same knee, you know your other knee is good.  Now with both knees having tears, you don't get that confidence from knowing the other knee is good.

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6 hours ago, VanS said:

Watson has now had 2 ACL tears in the last 3 years on both knees.  We all saw how much that second ACL tear took from RG3's game.  

Coming in as a biased observer, but an expert on knees (tore my ACL twice in my left knee, tore my patellar tendon in my right knee, had microfracture in my left knee). I've spent significant time with Orthopedic Surgeons and Physical Therapists rehabbing my own two knees - not to resume playing sports, but to ensure quality of life. I've become a bit of an expert on knees, simply because I've had to know about them for my personal use.

Comparing Watson to RG3 isn't a right comparison because of the nature of the injury. RG3 didn't just tear his ACL the 2nd time, he tore his LCL too, along with a complete tear of his meniscus. This was probably due to it being the 2nd tear in that same knee (which poses it's own challenges in terms of rehab, as you've got to break up existing scar tissue to re-establish range of motion to perform the modalities necessary to strengthen the muscles surrounding the ligaments. Additional scar tissue also leads to other quality of life issues - most notably pain management).

Watson's injury was to a knee he's never hurt - and in a really rare case of good fortune, there was no accompanying meniscus tear to account for; Given the position of the ACL, the required force to separate the tibial plateau from the femur to the point of tearing the ACL almost always leads to a meniscus tear, but not in Watson's case. It's also a fresh knee with no scar tissue, so range of motion and pain management should be manageable. He's been through this with his left knee before (on his "plant" leg for a right handed QB - which is a tougher recovery in terms of throwing mechanics. Think Carson Palmer/Kimo Von Olhoffen) so restoring his "drive" leg should be a matter of following many of the same protocols he followed the first time around and not having to rework his mechanics. 

All reports have been glowing given his rehab, and everyone says he's ahead of schedule - ACLs aren't the career altering injuries they once we're, and when you have a "basic" ACL tear with no other ligament or soft tissue damage to account for, it's easier to think of a return to form. It's not a given, he could regress - but given what we know medically, there shouldn't be a reason to regress unless there's a mental or confidence issue. The knee should be fine by late April/mid May.

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1 hour ago, VanS said:

Also, in some ways tearing an ACL on each knee is worse than having torn it twice on the same knee

That's actually incorrect from a medical perspective. Sure, maybe from a confidence perspective it might impact him, but when have we known this guy to be anything other than confident?

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Another thing to consider is the methods used to repair ACLs today. Maybe back as early as 2005, you had two options in repairing your ACL - using the ACL from a cadaver (shorter recovery time but higher propensity to re-injure) or using tissue from your patellar tendon (longer recovery time because you have to rehab the tendon as well, but more thorough recovery that can withstand additional impact).

Nowadays? Doctors are almost exclusively using tissue from the hamstring - which provides the same longevity of the patellar tendon as well as the shorter recovery time of the cadaver. 

These are also teamed up with newer modalities in rehab - using sonar to provide deeper tissue stimulation/regeneration, techniques involving platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections to the injury, the famous "blood spinning" that Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods used to fast-track their recovery. These were cutting edge procedures about five years ago, now it's old hat, especially if you have the resources of a professional athlete. 

Overseas, they even go as far as stem cell treatment, which has the potential to make recovery from injuries such as these a matter of weeks, not months. (Probably won't see FDA approval on stem cell treatment, but that doesn't stop multi-millionaire athletes from getting it done). There have been claims of surgeons in Germany who can repair and recover an ACL in a matter of six weeks with stem cell therapy, PRP injections and standard modalities. I believe six weeks is a stretch (and I'm certain there's some HGH involved to speed up the process) but it's facinating nonetheless.

TL;DR - Medical experts are getting more and more efficient at repairing these injuries, and it's becoming "paint by numbers" for athletes in terms of recovery. Following the rehab plan and not rushing any milestones ensures a return to form nowadays (just ask Adrian Peterson or Wes Welker).

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