Bad Karma Bites Us Again

by BSD on Apr 11, 2008 8:19 PM EDT in Injuries Comment 38 comments

Let's just look at this head on. No, that sucks. Take a few steps to the right...still sucks. How about we take it from the top. No, that sucks too. No matter how you look at it, this sucks.

Penn State senior linebacker Sean Lee sustained a serious right knee injury at practice Friday. Preliminary indications, according to two different sources, suggest the injury is a torn ligament.

Lee was injured during a practice at Holuba Hall in front of several hundred high school coaches in town for Penn State's Coaches Clinic. The injury happened on a non-contact play, according to several sources.

He was taken from the field on a cart.

At this point I'm going to sum up my feelings by quoting a little Pink Floyd.

Goodbye cruel world
I'm leaving you today
Goodbye Goodbye Goodbye.
Goodbye all you people
There's nothing you can say
To make me chaaaaaange my mind
Goodbye

I think next year I'm just going to pack up BSD after the bowl game and shelf it until August. Covering the offseason with this team blows. Absolutely blows. We have no good karma. None. I was just talking to RUTS this morning and we were talking about how burnt out we are covering all the negative news with this program. It's not fun, and this is not why I got into blogging.

What is it with this team and their knees. Let's take a look at our history in recent years. Paul Posluszny, Tom McEowen, Devon Still, Matt Hahn, Jerome Hayes, and now Sean Lee. All of them have had serious knee injuries. Is this normal for one team to suffer this many serious knee injuries? Are we doing something wrong in our strength and conditioning program?

If you're the kind of person that always looks for a silver lining you could say Lee is lucky to still have a redshirt to burn. I expect the coaches will probably use it so he can come back healthy in 2009.

Fortunately, if there's one position we can afford to sustain a hit like this it's linebacker. We'll throw one of our young studs out there on the field and we'll still be better than 90% of the teams out there. I'm not worried about that. But what we cannot replace is Lee's leadership. He's the heart and soul of the defense. The emotional blow to the team far outweighs the physical blow. I'm worried the defense will spend the rest of spring moping around feeling sorry for themselves. Somebody needs to step up and take charge and get these guys focused. And right now I don't know who that is going to be. The only seniors we have left are Gaines, Scirrotto, Davis, Rubin, and Sargeant, and none of those guys are especially known for their leadership. This has the potential to be very bad unless someone steps up quick.

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CRAAAAAAAAAP

(Pulls hair, kicks desk, kicks dog)

Enter someone who's not Morelli!

by MarkoMancuso on Apr 11, 2008 9:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Can he get a medical redshirt?

I'm not ready to lose Sean!

Enter someone who's not Morelli!

by MarkoMancuso on Apr 11, 2008 9:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ooops

"Lee is lucky to still have a redshirt to burn"

Please ignore my last post. This is what happens when I skip the rest of the post to fume. Excuse me, I need to step away from the computer.

Enter someone who's not Morelli!

by MarkoMancuso on Apr 11, 2008 9:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

oh bother...

if i could convey an exhaustingly tired and belabored sigh, i would like to do it now...

For the glory

by lionalum05 on Apr 11, 2008 9:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Out for 2008

So he's 100% out for 2008? No chance whatsoever of recovering in time for the season?

Geez, I'm glad I'm moving to Houston. Maybe some distance between me and this program will help my mental health.

Between my Indians sucking, the Cavs sucking, and the PSU football program falling apart, I'm at my "sports' wits end."

by ignition719 on Apr 11, 2008 9:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Best Case Scenario

Let's say 6 months. That puts us into October. Maybe he gets into the second half of the season, but he's not going to be in good football shape and he probabaly will not be 100%. His NFL stock will drop like it's the Great Depression. If he really wants to play in the NFL he should sit out and come back in 2009 to prove he's fully recovered. But maybe he'll go the Willis McGahee route and enter the NFL anyway hoping to get good care and prove himself later.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Apr 11, 2008 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Best case scenario

Is that he participates in spring practice next year.

This is jump off a bridge bad.

For the Glory National Champions 1982, 1986, 1994,

by jesse. on Apr 11, 2008 10:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

forget it!

I'm in Israel. Believe me there is no place in the world you can go. If you are a Penn State fan you are pretty low now. Do what I do. I ignore the realities. Give it try. Not forever, but to deflect the blow a little.

by aluf on Apr 12, 2008 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

torn acl i hear

arn't those like at least 6 months?

by rmcmillen50 on Apr 11, 2008 9:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

More like a year

and more to get back to full speed.

JoePa is my hero.

by psuphiman80 on Apr 11, 2008 9:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Poz was a junior captain wasn't he?

What about Evans or Odrick?

by PSU Nick on Apr 11, 2008 10:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Evans maybe

He would be a good choice. I hear a lot of good things about him. Heck, it's probably his last year here anyway.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Apr 11, 2008 10:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Junior Captain

I dont like the idea of handing out a Captaincy to a junior just cuz Lee got hurt. It is a special thing at Penn State to be a Junior Captain. Something that Poz really had to earn, it wasn't given to him because Tamba Hali got hurt.

I think Scirrotto showed excellent leadership skills in orchestrating the apartment raid. Now just need to get him to use his powers for good instead of for evil!

by platnumkid on Apr 13, 2008 9:27 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ACL is 9 to 12 months

I saw Matt Hahn the other day and while he is off of crutches, he certainly had a bad limp and didn't move his knee much. That is about 5 months from his surgery. No way you are playing football in 6 months, especially when you are a potential first day NFL draft pick.

by JGuiher on Apr 12, 2008 12:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Looking for a Leader?

Derrick...WHERE YOU AT?

by Stately NOVA Lion on Apr 12, 2008 3:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Williams doesn't play defense

We're talking about the defensive side of the ball.

by PSU Nick on Apr 12, 2008 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

comic book guy

in all seriousness... "worst news ever"

by doctadas on Apr 12, 2008 11:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

workout

Is there a workout we could be doing to strengthen our knees as a team? I know that working out in general and lifting strengthens the legs and knees but we are losing more than our fair share from injuries. I realize you lose a few guys to accidents and freak events but the way our players are going down with knee injuries makes me wonder if there isn't something we could be doing. I don't know of any other teams with this many knee injuries.

by PSUfooball13 on Apr 12, 2008 11:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Damn

that blows, Connor got alot of the notority(which I believe he deserved) but Lee could be better than him...I'm down about the news, its like you get bad news in droves..

These damn knee injuries question some of our techniques, you don't see star lbs getting knees blown out every other yr like PSU does....check the technique boys...

WE ARE, PENN STATE!

by LinebackerU on Apr 12, 2008 12:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Are you kidding me?

You're blaming this on Sean Lee's technique? Wow.

Get up State.

by speedomike02 on Apr 12, 2008 8:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I believe

He is blaming the coaching techniques not players.

by platnumkid on Apr 13, 2008 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

are you kidding me????

I'm not blaming Sean Lee for anything, nobody goes and gets a torn acl on purpose...if you meet that hard ass individual let me know??

What I'm saying is, a few of our guys over the yrs(and key guys at that) are getting torn knee ligaments quite a bit and I'm saying maybe it's something the coaches are teaching that increases their chances of serious knee injuries??? As the way they are teaching some of the techniques...

WE ARE, PENN STATE!

by LinebackerU on Apr 13, 2008 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Holuba Hall

I've never been in Holuba Hall but I bet the artificial surface there is of an older vintage that has less give then the more modern version. No give in the footing puts a lot of stress on the knees and ankles.

by ageing lion on Apr 12, 2008 1:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Holuba

I've been to holuba quite a few times. It's a good turf it's the kind with small black rubber balls underneath the "grass" surface. So it has some padding and it doesn't really grab like crappy turf does. Also for the person that thinks we should lift more to reduce injury risk. Not knocking your post we do need to do something seems like guys are getting hurt alot. But lifting actually puts more strain and wear and tear on your knees. Knees were meant to carry people not five times their bodyweight like these guys do when they do squats.

by psuwresfan on Apr 12, 2008 5:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i agree

I agree with what you are saying... but thee should be something we can do to try to stop these injuries. I am not an expert by any means but we should have some sort of program for our team.

by PSUfooball13 on Apr 12, 2008 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I dont think

there is anything that can be down. Blown knees are a product of football.

This is an unfortunate situation to a great football player and even better kid. We are extremely deep at LB, but it obviously still hurts to lose the best LB in the country. Sean get well and come back in 2009 for another PSU Butkus award.

Now it is time for another LB to step up and continue the tradition at Linebacker U. Colasanti, Mauti, Yancich, Zordich...this is your time to step up.

Pat Devlin in '08

by Nick7 on Apr 12, 2008 5:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Wow where's the love...

for Andrew Dailey and Nathan Stupar, also 4 star recruits from Colasanti's class. By pass both these guys for incoming freshman, thats cold Nick, stone cold =)

by platnumkid on Apr 13, 2008 9:36 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bani

I bet Bani Gbadyu gets the start... Stupar and Mauti get increased playing time... not sure about Dailey (probably third string action)... Yancich and Zordich almost definitely get redshirted.

by BSM PSU 93 on Apr 14, 2008 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Knee injuries

I'm really wondering if any of you have ever watched the game of football before. These knee injuries are fluke things. It's a violent sport and it happens. You want to stop these injuries? Cut the football program. Unless someone can provide some substantial evidence that these types of injuries are more common at Penn State than at other schools, we need to back off on all this "do we need to re-examine the strength program"? Especially those of you that are throwing the Poz injury into this. Do you not remember how that happened in the Orange Bowl? What could a strength and conditioning program have to do with that? It'd be one thing if wide receivers were tearing hamstrings running routes, but this is a fluke injury that is a function of a violent game. The only reason it seems worse is because we follow Penn State so closely. Sorry for the rant.

Get up State.

by speedomike02 on Apr 12, 2008 8:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Conditioning

I think it's a fair question. Yes it's football and people get injuries. ACL tears happen. Cancer happens too, but it's been proven that some people are at higher risk than others due to their genetics and lifestyle.

Everyone knows we're basically the only program in the country that still uses HIT. I don't have any hard statistics, but it seems like we've been hit harder by the ACL bug than most teams. A lot of these players are going down without even taking any contact. It just doesn't seem right to see Lee, Hahn, and Hayes go down when nobody touches them.

I'm not a strength and conditioning expert by any means. I just threw the question out there in case there was one reading who could give some feedback. Is there a particular muscle group we're not strengthening enough? Maybe we're not stretching properly? Maybe the turf is to blame? I don't know.

Mike
Black Shoe Diaries

Hail to the Lion!

by BSD on Apr 12, 2008 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

a few thoughts

I don't know the statistics either, but I'd be interested in knowing. Maybe PSU does have a bigger issue, but all this speculating is getting us nowhere. Of course it seems like we have more when Penn State is the only program we're following this closely. It does seem like a lot, but maybe it's just a string of bad luck too.
THe no-contact thing. Well, that's when a lot of ACL tears happen. It's when someone is trying to twist one way when their body is going the other. It has nothing to do with contact.
It's a fair question and I didn't mean to sound like I was attacking you. So I apologize if that's how it came across. I'm just getting tired of the we suck at everything, including preventing ACL tears attitude around Penn State football and its fans.

Get up State.

by speedomike02 on Apr 12, 2008 8:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wisconsin and Purdue

It looks like Wisconsin and Purdue are getting hit hard with the same kind of injuries.http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/281457

by ageing lion on Apr 15, 2008 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry Sean

I feel for you. I don't see how people can blame technique when we are linebacker U, not injury U.

On a side note, here is why I think a succession plan is important....

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?id=3339790&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos1

by JGuiher on Apr 12, 2008 10:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Knee Injuries

There are a lot of ways to strengthen knees other than squats with five times your body weight, but my answer would be yoga...lots and lots of yoga. Make them so bendy they can't snap or tear anything! I have a friend who used to do some yoga instruction with the football players back in 1994, but I get the impression it was not a regular part of their workout routines. Poor Sean. :(

by PSUWifey on Apr 13, 2008 12:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

knee problems

yoga is a very good suplement to strength and cardio training. And it doesn't have to be all touch feely with the "ohms" that most people think of. Muscles, ligaments and tendons are like elastic bands and if they are not getting stretched with appropriate blood flow then there is a higher probability of tears, etc. Obviously there is no protection from the freak accident/hit, but a well rounded training program is going to be the best for long term healthiness.

by Jen on Apr 13, 2008 8:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Is it wierd...

that with all the news from the past few months about the team, that I didn't even react to Sean Lee's injury...it's like I almost expect for more to go wrong.

by blt on Apr 13, 2008 1:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Sean is a good kid

Hoping for a quick recovery and back in 2009. The youngsters will have to step up in '08.

by Umberto on Apr 15, 2008 1:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This is tough

new to take. Sean was good; damn good! IMHO he was right up there with Poz and Connor. I was confident that this would be "his" year and he would certainly come on strong. However, I'm certain that we will overcome and someone will step up. Although I'd rather see him on the field; hopefully, at least this year (until he heals), Sean can assume the leadership role, one that he does very well, from the sidelines.

One can see that Sean was a fearless competitor and certainly played with "heart". Regretfully this can be brutal on the body. There is no doubt knees and ankles take a beating.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Sean!

by unitboy on Apr 15, 2008 10:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs