Ponder's injury/toughness

[J. Kapp 11]

IMO he should have suited up and made an effort regardless. At the very least he would have gained some respect and after a few bad throws nobody would've complained if he was taken out.

After reading just a few of your posts, I can say with a fairly high degree of certainty ... you would have complained.

[Purple bruise]

After reading just a few of your posts, I can say with a fairly high degree of certainty ... you would have complained.

How true Mr. Kapp There are several others here that their posts are interchangable with all the same theme

[CalVike]

It was impossible for him to play. Injuries happen, unfortunately his hit at the worst possible time. If he played there would have been no passing. This is utter nonsense to question his toughness.

[Mothman]

ROFL good stuff. I thought of Chris Rock immediately. Let that 'tussin get down to the bone

Here's the whole bit on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd-EBG3a7jU

This is how I see it, they had all week but waited until 2 hours before kickoff to decide. That doesn't sound like a severe injury to me. If it was that iffy it tells me he could have sacked up and at least given it a go. Maybe adrenaline would've been enough to get him through, or how bout a pain killing injection? If they had named Webb the starter on Monday then that would have been a different story. Sure you could argue they postponed the announcement to gain a slight advantage, but that's not how it played out.

I'd like to hear some medical opinions or see some precedent. Have other QB's missed meaningful games with a similar injury? As far as I know the decision was all up to Ponder and him just telling us he was too sore to play is not good enough and that's why people are questioning his toughness. And no, the pictures don't look that bad to me. All I see is some bruising. Maybe it was worse earlier but all I care about is how it was at game time. Did you see what Favre played through in '09? IMO he should have suited up and made an effort regardless. At the very least he would have gained some respect and after a few bad throws nobody would've complained if he was taken out.

Today we'd be talking about the cojones Ponder showed instead of assembling a search party to go out and look for the ones that are missing.

This is such complete and utter nonsense. All you see is some bruising? Did you expect to see a bone sticking out of his arm?

If you want to know more about the nature of this kind of injury then do a little research. It's not hard. Here's a start:

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00341

Most contusions are minor and heal quickly, without taking the athlete needing to be removed from the game. But, severe contusions can cause deep tissue damage and can lead to complications and/or keep the athlete out of sports for months.

Contusions cause swelling and pain and limit joint range of motion near the injury. Torn blood vessels may cause bluish discoloration. The injured muscle may feel weak and stiff.

After a few days, inflammation should start to go down and the injury may feel a little better. At this time, the doctor may tell you to apply gentle heat to the injury and start the rehabilitation process. Remember to increase your activity level gradually.

Depending upon the extent of your injuries, returning to your normal sports activity may take several weeks or longer. If you put too much stress on the injured area before it has healed enough, excessive scar tissue may develop and cause more problems.

Injuries like the deep bruise Ponder suffered can severely limit range of motion. Since that's essential to a QB in his throwing arm, it's not simply matter of pain endurance or will to play. If the strength and range of motion to effectively throw the football aren't there, then they aren't there. There's nothing to be done about it but continue with rest and rehabilitation.

[John_Viveiros]

Can Ponder be a tough guy, but also be injury prone? You mention two college injuries in the original post. He came out of three games last year due to injuries - Detroit, Washington, and Chicago. And then the elbow this year.

I was pleasantly surprised that he made it through the 2012 regular season without missing a game, after getting dinged up a lot in his first season. Of course, some small injury would have given Webb a shot at some playing time, especially during the time when Ponder's play was abysmal...

[dead_poet]

Can Ponder be a tough guy, but also be injury prone? You mention two college injuries in the original post. He came out of three games last year due to injuries - Detroit, Washington, and Chicago. And then the elbow this year.

I don't know if he's necessarily "injury prone." His injuries in the NFL have come on significant hits. I don't know if anyone outside of Wolverine or RoboFavre would've been able to play through them. Granted, he may hold onto the ball too long at times, which could contribute to sustaining these injuries (the one last season for sure anyway).

[PurplePPLEater]

Can Ponder be a tough guy, but also be injury prone? You mention two college injuries in the original post. He came out of three games last year due to injuries - Detroit, Washington, and Chicago. And then the elbow this year.

I was pleasantly surprised that he made it through the 2012 regular season without missing a game, after getting dinged up a lot in his first season. Of course, some small injury would have given Webb a shot at some playing time, especially during the time when Ponder's play was abysmal...

Are you serious? Have you ever played a down of football in your life? I'm pretty sure that through every NFL season, almost every player encounters some sort of "small injury." Not only did he start all 16 game this season, but Webb didn't even play one snap all season long. And it's not like he had an amazing OL blocking for him all year, either.

[PurpleMustReign]

Are you serious? Have you ever played a down of football in your life? I'm pretty sure that through every NFL season, almost every player encounters some sort of "small injury." Not only did he start all 16 game this season, but Webb didn't even play one snap all season long. And it's not like he had an amazing OL blocking for him all year, either.

Webb played in the game against TEN, he took some snaps. Just letting you know.

[Demi]

How true Mr. Kapp There are several others here that their posts are interchangable with all the same theme

Taking shots at other posters again.

I won't question his toughness, he took a lot of big hits and bounced right back up. As far as injury prone, I've gone back and forth before on certain players, and to me he hasn't been injury prone, he had issues in college and there were questions in the draft about his ability to stay healthy. But this wasn't like Harvin, who was missing practices, missing snaps during games, and on the injury report more often then not.

[PurpleKoolaid]

How true Mr. Kapp There are several others here that their posts are interchangable with all the same theme

Name them and the theme dude, you are getting old.

[DanAS]

Just so you guys know, I am a biased Ponder supporter, my screen name will probably tell you why. I saw some posts yesterday questioning his toughness and I wanted to tell you some of what I saw him do while at FSU.

His Junior season, he broke 2 ribs vs NC State and still played the next week vs Clemson. It was a horrible performance, he was in major pain, and ended up separating his shoulder and being lost for the year that game. His senior year, against OU, he was hit on the elbow and for about 6 straight weeks, had to have fluid drained off the elbow before every game. He may not be the best QB to ever play, he looks like he is getting better (was surprised but happy to see him go as high in the draft as he did), but the last thing you should question is his toughness. He played through some major injuries in college so when I saw on Saturday that he was out, I thought it must be pretty bad.

To me, the guy is a capable backup who was taken way too early in the draft and now has to be considered as a "starting QB," for which he lacks the talent. That said, I think it is ridiculous to question his toughness simply because of one game time decision to scratch him. You've got to give a QB who doesn't have a history of missing games -- or even plays -- the benefit of the doubt when it comes to toughness. If the Vikes say that his bruise was so awful that he couldn't throw, I'll take them at their word.

The real problem is why didn't they have a better QB to compete with Ponder for a starting job. Putting in Webb was disgraceful, and embarrassing to the franchise and its present brain trust.

[John_Viveiros]

I don't know if he's necessarily "injury prone." His injuries in the NFL have come on significant hits. I don't know if anyone outside of Wolverine or RoboFavre would've been able to play through them. Granted, he may hold onto the ball too long at times, which could contribute to sustaining these injuries (the one last season for sure anyway).

That's leads to the question of whether Ponder takes bigger hits than other players. I know the topic is probably still taboo after Saturday, but even if you think he couldn't complete a pass over 2 yards downfield, Joe Webb seems to be a guy who never takes a big hit, based on his athleticism. Other QB's don't take the hits because they perceive the rush better than other QB's.

Before Griffin got injured, some friends and I were having a discussion about his running style, and a couple of us thought that it would lead to injuries - but that other QB's like Russell Wilson or Andrew Luck (or Aaron Rodgers for example) can run effectively but safely. And in the end that is what happened.

[Eli]

Joe Webb seems to be a guy who never takes a big hit, based on his athleticism. Other QB's don't take the hits because they perceive the rush better than other QB's.

Joe Webb hasn't been on the field enough to really gauge that. What's he played, something like three or four full games in total? I haven't seen Ponder take many big hits. He doesn't have the greatest pocket presence, but he's mobile and avoids hard sacks. To tell the truth, when he runs he looks a lot more athletic than when he passes.

Where I see many QBs taking devastating hits is when they run and don't slide. It's as though they subconsciously still expect to be protected somehow and they don't even try to avoid the hit. As though they don't realize they're just another ball carrier at that point. To me, that's the biggest danger of the whole sliding thing - it conditions them to feel safe as running backs when they're not.

[dead_poet]

Christian Ponder says he went to ER two weeks after his triceps injury because it came back. Whole arm swelled and got rock hard. Ponder was scared it was a blood clot. They did at MRI. But he was ok and it went away for good a couple minutes after that.

Tom Pelissero on Twitter