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A Long Way From Lambeau
Playing Hurt Means Playing Weak
by Mark Lyne-Austen
22/1/2008
 Playing hurt means playing weak. The incredibly tough athletes of the NFL pride themselves in playing hurt, overcoming debilitating injuries to turn out for their side and press for victory. Fan culture applauds their dedication, and exhorts tales of legendarily tough gridiron warriors. There is no doubt that playing hurt is remarkable in such a physically demanding sport where every weakness is a potential source of attack for the opposition. Players returning from injury far quicker than prognosis indicated represent a morale boost to the team and to their supporters but injured players are not particularly effective players.
We saw how playing hurt meant playing weak for the Chargers during the AFC Championship. Philip Rivers was the main subject of a polarised discussion on whether he should be pulled from the game in favour of the healthier but less practiced Billy Volek as the Rivers-led offense failed to penetrate the end zone even once. Undoubtedly, Rivers has been very effective at the helm but his lack of mobility and the inability to escape pressure made him a much easier target for Mike Vrabel and the rest to hit.
Rivers does have a fiery demeanour and a fearsome will to win that sees him eager to battle everyone and everything including injury to get the W. That drive is considered a key leadership quality but it is not the only leadership quality that matters. Delegating and getting the best out of others is an equally admirable trait. Kurt Warner’s clipboard carrying technique is well known but it is a genuine attribute to be able to step back and allow others to take the glory for the good of the team. The player themselves is often not in the best position to know what is the right thing to do for the good of the team as a whole, the coaching staff are the ones responsible for making that decision. There is no knowing whether San Diego head coach Norv Turner made the right decision in keeping Rivers in the game, star RB LaDainian Tomlinson did not last long but the backup plan in the form of Michael Turner was in place. There appeared to be no such plan to relieve the clearly impeded Rivers.
A player who is injured but playing takes away a place on the practice ground and the gameday roster from someone who may have less star quality and probably less natural talent but would be operating at much closer to full effectiveness. Would the Colts have comeback against the Chargers with the next man on the depth chart been given the same opportunities that an ineffective Marvin Harrison was offered? It may not have been enough to make the difference but Harrison certainly showed he was not the right option. An injured player is often getting by on reputation alone, unable at times to run or jump as effectively or use the right technique and strength to explode into a block or launch a deep ball to an open receiver.
A player who is injured is not always doing the best for their team, often they may just be doing the best for themselves. No-one wants a reputation for being soft, the worst slight a pro-footballer can receive. The mantra that a player should not lose his job due to injury bears little resemblance to the cut-list as squads are trimmed through the pre-season and into the weekly battle. Matt Schaub is a classic case in point, rehabbing furiously during the regular season as Sage Rosenfels showed that being the main QB in Houston is not a job only achievable by one man. There was no benefit to the Texans in Schaub attempting to show his dedication to returning from an injury that will keep him from being effective until at least Spring of 2008. All the high profile rehab achieved was to put pressure on an incumbent who had been surprisingly effective.
Playing through pain and rehabbing early carries wider risks than just performing poorly on the day. Long-term injury is far more likely to happen to a player who keeps on battling while damaged. I may still be a long way from Lambeau but I am fairly sure my own ligament injury would be less of an impediment to my NFL debut had I not gone through that barrier myself when I felt I had no choice and would have let down so many who believed in me by quitting. A chronic injury is far worse than the impact as the injury itself just does not recover. A chronic injury foreshortens a career as it is not possible to just run off, and the player is never as effective as before the injury struck.
A greater spectre is the means by which players seek to overcome a ridiculous level of pain. Taking painkilling shots is a short-term solution to numb the pain, one that can yield permanent damage in later life as the repeated blows take their toll. Players, coaches, and fans throw about the prospect of reduced quality of later life as if it were a necessary by-product of the game. Horrific incidents are obvious for all to see such as those afflicting Kevin Everrett this season or Darryl Stingley who finally lost his fighting hold on life in 2007, an incredible 30 years after being paralysed on the field. Veteran players speak of their battles against debilitating structural damage and brain injury but for the up and coming NFL prospect, that vision seemingly means little.
The desire to press players back into action as early as possible does lead to positive technological innovation such as the hyperbaric chamber featured in Terrell Owen’s personal notebook. However, not all of the innovation is positive and the most well-known means of recovering from injury quickly are steroids. The NFL’s testing programme does catch drug takers but they are few and far between. Heroes of days gone past such as John The Tooz Matuszak are well-known for their use of steroids to aid injury recovery. While testing has improved, it would be complacent to assume that it prevents all use especially while the pressure on a player to prove his worthiness by suffering is so strong.
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