appstatealum wrote: ↑Sun Mar 01, 2020 10:50 pm
AppStFan1 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:54 pm
AppinVA wrote: ↑Sun Mar 01, 2020 3:38 am
AppStFan1 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 01, 2020 1:57 am
AppinVA wrote: ↑Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:35 pm
I don’t see how the combine is much more important than an all star game. One shows how well a player does in practice and game-like conditions. The other is a modified indoor track meet.
In general you are right about the all-star game but you are comparing it to what you see on TV. The most important part is the medical tests and interviews, which we don't see.
Look at it this way. If Gaither could have had this done a long time ago and been 100% maybe he clears the tests this week and does not have to return for a recheck in April just before the draft. That is the biggest reason for why I said what I did. Moore's injury was worse and when he went back for a recheck his progress was not as good as they hoped for.
Say Gaither goes this week after 2 months of rehab and is still not 100% it would have been good to know the injury is worse than it is. Because he waited he will have this cloud over his head with having to go back and get checked out again just before the draft. Like I said, he will still get drafted but when teams are spending millions on these guys I understand it is important for them to get as much verifiable data and to see as much of the rehab done as possible.
Tua went ahead and had his surgery to get it done as early as possible. Most scouts say if a player has an injury it is best to get it fixed as early as possible instead of waiting and playing on it. You increase the likelihood of re-aggravating it and extending the rehab time when you play on it.
So, ADG aside, if the interviews and physicals were done in conjunction with the all-star games, the track meet would seemingly be useless.
Still though, if you have an injury like that every trainer will tell you it is best to have surgery as soon as you can. He could have injured it worse at the Senior Bowl on day one and not helped himself. He took a gamble. So far it has not hurt him but he needs to be 100% before the draft.
After talking to some NFL guys, apparently this is common....player wants to play out their senior year, feels like they should just notify scouts about injury and wait for combine/team physicians to advise on surgery. I knew about the injury (it happened in the UNC game), but had no idea it had lingered. ADG will be fine, his skillset works will for today’s NFL. Could he drop? Maybe, but he will have his moment and I have no doubt he will make the most of it.
If this is true, then my question is why not have surgery right after the SBC title game so you could at least be healthy for the combine and possibly the Senior Bowl? Would be curious to hear why he waited.
I don't blame ADG for playing the entire season but I think if you know about the injury, and he had to know, then you go ahead and clean it up immediately after the SBC title game. He could have just skipped the bowl game, and I would not have blamed him for putting the NFL ahead of that bowl game, and then been ready for the Senior Bowl and NFL Combine.
A player does not have to wait for the combine to see what doctors say. Dr James Andrews, the most respected doctor by the NFL, and others who the NFL uses could have been consulted right after the season. I am curious why he did not go that route if he knew about the surgery prior to the combine.
I'll have to see what the combine reports as the details and make sure it matches what is publicly known. There are some players who did not workout at the combine who have some serious issues going on that the media has not reported. Happens every year.