Doc Posted September 13, 2011 Posted September 13, 2011 (edited) Do you think that Berry's knee buckling like that had anything to do with Stevie's block in that exact same knee a few plays earlier? In medicine, there is a term called "mechanism of injury." It deals with what causes an injury. The block Stevie put on Berry isn't the mechanism of injury for a torn ACL. Torn Achilles, maybe, but Berry wouldn't have returned after a torn Achilles OR ACL, and he did. On the play where Berry crumpled to the ground, that is the mechanism of injury for an ACL tear. So no, it didn't have anything to do with it, any more than any other block Berry has received in his football career. And if he had a partial tear of the ACL and he and/or his trainers decided it was a good idea to go back out there, that's on them. Edited September 13, 2011 by Doc
GG Posted September 13, 2011 Posted September 13, 2011 In medicine, there is a term called "mechanism of injury." It deals with what causes an injury. The block Stevie put on Berry isn't the mechanism of injury for a torn ACL. Torn Achilles, maybe, but Berry wouldn't have returned after a torn Achilles OR ACL, and he did. On the play where Berry crumpled to the ground, that is the mechanism of injury for an ACL tear. So no, it didn't have anything to do with it, any more than any other block Berry has received in his football career. And if he had a partial tear of the ACL and he and/or his trainers decided it was a good idea to go back out there, that's on them. I think it's obvious that Berry didn't tear the ACL on the block. The question is whether the block weakened the knee structure that contributed to the ACL tear a few plays later (which no one has answered yet). I think it's also obvious that it's on the medical staff to clear Berry's return (in retrospect). I am puzzled why you think that SJ's block would affect the Achilles more than the knee, even though there's a direct hit by SJ's helmet to the side of Berry's knee?
K-9 Posted September 13, 2011 Author Posted September 13, 2011 I think it's obvious that Berry didn't tear the ACL on the block. The question is whether the block weakened the knee structure that contributed to the ACL tear a few plays later (which no one has answered yet). I think it's also obvious that it's on the medical staff to clear Berry's return (in retrospect). I am puzzled why you think that SJ's block would affect the Achilles more than the knee, even though there's a direct hit by SJ's helmet to the side of Berry's knee? Unfortunately medical staffs don't have the benefit of hindsight. If Stevie's cut block on Berry did anything to the structure of the knee, then it's entirely on the medical staff to determine that. A decent med-school student can palpate the knee area to determine any damage to ligaments, etc.. If the stability of Berry's knee was ever in question he never would have been allowed back in the game, regardless of how loudly Berry would have protested. Team medical staffs routinely take the players helmet and that's that. Has Berry said anything about the situation? I'd be interested in his viewpoint on what transpired on the sidelines after he was first taken off the field. GO BILLS!!!
Doc Posted September 13, 2011 Posted September 13, 2011 I think it's obvious that Berry didn't tear the ACL on the block. The question is whether the block weakened the knee structure that contributed to the ACL tear a few plays later (which no one has answered yet). I think it's also obvious that it's on the medical staff to clear Berry's return (in retrospect). No one can definitively say that the block didn't weaken something because no one knows what his ACL looked like after the block. But as I alluded to, no one can also definitively say that any block on him or tackle he made in that game up until that point didn't also weaken his ACL. His ACL was getting a good workout during the game, even on plays where he wasn't getting blocked. The major point is that he returned to the game and crumpled after a textbook mechanism of injury for an ACL tear, i.e. planting one's leg and twisting. Chiefs fans are just looking for someone to blame because they can't accept that it was a freak injury that just happened. I am puzzled why you think that SJ's block would affect the Achilles more than the knee, even though there's a direct hit by SJ's helmet to the side of Berry's knee? To me, the hit looked like it was more on his lower leg than knee. I'm not saying that that block would have necessarily ruptured his Achilles, just that if there were an injury on that play, I'd expect an Achilles rather than an ACL. Had Berry's leg been planted, I'd blame the block for weakening his ACL, and had he crumpled to the ground, I'd blame it for tearing his ACL, but again, the actual tear happened later and after it was decided he should return.
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