Marcus Lattimore Likely Done Until 2014

[PossibleCabbage]

Originally Posted by TitanHope

It would be provided by the university, considering the injury took place during a game.

Great news about Lattimore.

The university and/or the insurance company (assuming the player has insurance). In a case where a player has medical insurance, the university covers whatever the insurance will not.

[FUNBUNCHER]

If the early reports are true, Lattimore may have difficulty walking and running again, forget football.

Repairing ligaments is one thing. Fixing broken bones along with shredded ligaments AND a broken patella is worse than a nightmare scenario.

Does anyone remember the specifics of McGahee's injury???

[Taber21]

I can't remember exactly, but I do believe he tore 3 of the ligaments.

[Cigaro]

Originally Posted by Don Vito

Consider me kind of lost but what is the good news? I thought he broke his femur and tore every ligament in his knee or was that incorrect? I would love to see him find a way back but I've never seen an injury like that. First things first I hope he recovers and is able to live normally, if he could come back and maybe play again that would just be awesome.

That was something that has been circulating Twitter since before Spurrier's announcement. Like someone said, dislocated knees usually also mean torn ligaments(but not always), so that part may be true, but nothing was mentioned about the femur, so that part may not be.

The good news is that the injury is not projected to be career ending.

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

If the early reports are true, Lattimore may have difficulty walking and running again, forget football.

Repairing ligaments is one thing. Fixing broken bones along with shredded ligaments AND a broken patella is worse than a nightmare scenario.

Does anyone remember the specifics of McGahee's injury???

Like I stated, Spurrier's statement did not indicate that his kneecap or femur were broken. That could end up being the case, but Spurrier did not mention it.

McGahee tore his ACL, MCL and PCL, so they could end up being pretty similar injuries. Like McGahee, the doctors are indicating he will need a full year or more to recover.

[Matthew Jones]

Am I just crazy or are knee injuries not nearly as severe as their reputation?

When Tom Brady tore his ACL and MCL, there were rumors that he would miss the following season as well; he was back for week one. Wes Welker tore his ACL and MCL in Week 17 and was back on the field for week one of the following season. Logan Mankins played through last season with a torn ACL, and Philip Rivers played in the AFC Championship Game with a torn ACL and recovered by the start of next season. Adrian Peterson was supposed to be on the PUP list, and Rashard Mendenhall was supposed to miss the season. Frank Gore has torn two or three ACLs.

Sure, tearing an ACL is a season-ending injury, but it's not nearly as devastating as its perception; torn ligaments are becoming more common and the recovery times keep getting shorter. At this point it's a surprise if anyone misses more than eight months, and tearing an ACL doesn't seem to increase anyone's likelihood of reinjury. These aren't career-threatening injuries anymore, and I'm expecting Lattimore to return to action sooner than people are speculating.

[Cigaro]

Originally Posted by Matthew Jones

Am I just crazy or are knee injuries not nearly as severe as their reputation?

When Tom Brady tore his ACL and MCL, there were rumors that he would miss the following season as well; he was back for week one. Wes Welker tore his ACL and MCL in Week 17 and was back on the field for week one of the following season. Logan Mankins played through last season with a torn ACL, and Philip Rivers played in the AFC Championship Game with a torn ACL and recovered by the start of next season. Adrian Peterson was supposed to be on the PUP list, and Rashard Mendenhall was supposed to miss the season. Frank Gore has torn two or three ACLs.

Sure, tearing an ACL is a season-ending injury, but it's not nearly as devastating as its perception; torn ligaments are becoming more common and the recovery times keep getting shorter. At this point it's a surprise if anyone misses more than eight months, and tearing an ACL doesn't seem to increase anyone's likelihood of reinjury. These aren't career-threatening injuries anymore, and I'm expecting Lattimore to return to action sooner than people are speculating.

Perhaps, the initial prognosis is he will not be able to play until 2014.

[PossibleCabbage]

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

If the early reports are true, Lattimore may have difficulty walking and running again, forget football.

Repairing ligaments is one thing. Fixing broken bones along with shredded ligaments AND a broken patella is worse than a nightmare scenario.

Well, it's not exactly a "nightmare scenario" since it's all theoretically fixable, it's just that if the initial report is correct (dislocation + 4 ligament tears + broken femur) the treatment will require multiple surgeries (surgically fix one thing, let it heal, surgically fix another thing, let it heal, additional surgeries as needed, etc.). So he's potentially a ways away from even being able to rehab it.

McGahee's injury was an MCL, ACL, PCL combo, so Lattimore's knee is almost certainly fixable. The fibia fracture is more worrisome (if true), recall Alabama WR Tyrone Prothro a few years back had a complete tib/fib fracture (and those bones are much easier to break than your femur), plus various knee injuries and he never recovered to a point where he was able to play football again let alone walk normally (which is a shame since he was pretty good.)

[PossibleCabbage]

Originally Posted by Matthew Jones

Am I just crazy or are knee injuries not nearly as severe as their reputation?

When Tom Brady tore his ACL and MCL, there were rumors that he would miss the following season as well; he was back for week one. Wes Welker tore his ACL and MCL in Week 17 and was back on the field for week one of the following season. Logan Mankins played through last season with a torn ACL, and Philip Rivers played in the AFC Championship Game with a torn ACL and recovered by the start of next season. Adrian Peterson was supposed to be on the PUP list, and Rashard Mendenhall was supposed to miss the season. Frank Gore has torn two or three ACLs.

A torn ACL plus MCL isn't that much worse than a torn ACL. Generally the procedure is to allow the MCL to heal on its own (it does that in a few weeks if you go easy on it, much like a sprained ankle) and then surgically repair the ACL once the MCL is sufficiently healthy. This is pretty common as many ACL tears occur after the MCL is first torn, and the resulting loss of stability puts the ACL at risk for injury.

The whole other kettle of fish is when you have more than just those two though, which was McGahee's problem (he tore an ACL, MCL, and PCL). We have gotten very good at treating ACL injuries, but treatment for PCL injuries is significantly less advanced. The surgery to repair the posterior cruciate ligament is very difficult due to where it's located (it's behind the ACL), and IIRC grafts to PCL tears tend to "wear out" with use requiring future surgery.

[descendency]

I think the 2014 talk was based on a torn ACL, MCL, PCL, and LCL with 2 broken bones (Femur and Patella)

The recovery time for that would be a minimum of 12-18 months, as it would require a ton of surgery and a ton of physical therapy.

[Shane P. Hallam]

Originally Posted by descendency

I think the 2014 talk was based on a torn ACL, MCL, PCL, and LCL with 2 broken bones (Femur and Patella)

The recovery time for that would be a minimum of 12-18 months, as it would require a ton of surgery and a ton of physical therapy.

The 2014 talk came from Steve Spurrier's mouth.

[Cigaro]

Ligament damage but no fractures or other damage is the official report. I know some of you ignored it when I said Spurrier gave no indication that there were broken bones, but that turns out to be the case, so his injury seems to mirror McGahee's.

http://www.gamecocksonline.com/sport...102812aac.html

[PossibleCabbage]

That's fantastic if he didn't break any bones. But if it's more than an ACL and an MCL, his availability for next season is likely in doubt.

[Cigaro]

Originally Posted by PossibleCabbage

That's fantastic if he didn't break any bones. But if it's more than an ACL and an MCL, his availability for next season is likely in doubt.

Correct, Spurrier indicated he wouldn't be able to play until 2014. Like I said, his injury seems to mirror McGahee's, and he was forced to sit out a year as well. We can only hope he can make a similar quality recovery.

[FUNBUNCHER]

Lattimore should just rehab all of 2013 and get ready for the 2014 draft.
If I were him, Saturday would have been my last collegiate carry for the Gamecocks.

[bigbuc]

I would leave school as well. Could he be a 3rd to 5th rounder in 2013? Willis went late one and is still having a great career? I think Lat will come back from this.

[Matthew Jones]

Originally Posted by bigbuc

I would leave school as well. Could he be a 3rd to 5th rounder in 2013? Willis went late one and is still having a great career? I think Lat will come back from this.

I think so. I was looking through some statistics regarding running backs, and fourth/fifth-round picks have only a slight chance and lasting five or more seasons in the league (about 11%.) We've already seen Lattimore produce like a starting running back, so I'd be more willing to take a chance on him recovering than one of the less talented players relegated to that draft range by talent rather than circumstance. If Lattimore fails to sustain his NFL career beyond that point, he'll be lumped in with the other 89% of running backs whose careers were similarly brief.

The mid-to-late rounds of the draft are a good time to capitalize on some low-cost prospects with upside; Lamar Miller signed for four years and $2.58 million last season as the second pick of the fourth round. Obviously Lattimore's medical evaluations where teams feel comfortable drafting him (if at all), but typically finding even a rotational player in the fourth or fifth round is considered a success.

[dannyz]

I would take a shot on him in 4th or 5th Round. Most guys taken in that range have an average Career for about 5 years and if Lattimore comes back like McGahee and have a long productive career then it was a complete steal. I could see a team that won't need a RB for a year or so take him and let him recover then play him in 2014. I just Pray he can make it into the NFL and have a Good Career.

[soybean]

I don't know if ineligible Juniors were able to take insurance policies out but Andrew Luck took out a multi million dollar injury insurance last year when he decided to come back.

Hopefully if eligible Lattimore and his family were smart enough to secure that before the season.

[LonghornsLegend]

Originally Posted by FUNBUNCHER

If the early reports are true, Lattimore may have difficulty walking and running again, forget football.

Repairing ligaments is one thing. Fixing broken bones along with shredded ligaments AND a broken patella is worse than a nightmare scenario.

Your overreacting, which isn't surprising, because the injury just happened. But I think we are all underrating rehab at this point. First of all, Chad Jones is about to make a comeback to football, and have we forgotten how bad that was? Lattimore isn't going to have trouble walking or playing football at some point, come on man, that's a huge overstatement.


It's going to be an extremely long process and ruin his draft stock, but the fact that it was a sickening injury doesn't mean that any of the overreactions are true in this thread.

[PossibleCabbage]

I think that if you're rehabbing a serious injury, you should always stay in school. Not only will you continue to get medical care on the dime of the university, but you can also spend that time going to class and getting your degree which you might appreciate having in case your serious injury does end up cutting short your football career.

[MassNole]

This should teach a 5* to ever play for Spurrier. There is a fine line between winning games as a college coach and preparing your players for the NFL, Spurrier has no idea where that line even begins.

[PossibleCabbage]

Originally Posted by MassNole

This should teach a 5* to ever play for Spurrier. There is a fine line between winning games as a college coach and preparing your players for the NFL, Spurrier has no idea where that line even begins.

Do other coaches somehow prevent their running backs from getting hit in the knees? I'm not sure how you would do that short of "don't use your running backs" (in which case other people might get injured, but the RBs would be safe.)

[CashmoneyDrew]

Originally Posted by MassNole

This should teach a 5* to ever play for Spurrier. There is a fine line between winning games as a college coach and preparing your players for the NFL, Spurrier has no idea where that line even begins.

What the bloody hell are you even talking about at this point?

[dannyz]

Originally Posted by LonghornsLegend

Your overreacting, which isn't surprising, because the injury just happened. But I think we are all underrating rehab at this point. First of all, Chad Jones is about to make a comeback to football, and have we forgotten how bad that was? Lattimore isn't going to have trouble walking or playing football at some point, come on man, that's a huge overstatement.


It's going to be an extremely long process and ruin his draft stock, but the fact that it was a sickening injury doesn't mean that any of the overreactions are true in this thread.

I agree the rehab process is going to take a long time but in today's time with Science and Medicine I think he can come back from this. Look at AP, I know his injury was not as bad but people said there was no way he starts the season on time but he did and is playing great. If this injury happened 20 years ago his career would be over for sure but in today's time I think he can come back.

[Caulibflower]

Think even if you take away some of his explosiveness you're still talking about a prospect who physically profiles along the lines of LeGarrett Blount - certainly going to be worthy of a roster spot and regular touches on offense, but might be more of a complimentary player. Then again, Blount's always been a head case and Lattimore would probably be better-liked by his coaches.

But Willis McGahee is probably a good comparison. Physically similar, similarly catastrophic injuries, similarly long projected recovery period. Does McGahee get drafted in the first round today? I'd say not, but he's still been a good player and I think that's still a possibility for Lattimore unless his injury turns out to be such that playing football again is out of the question. Lattimore is a big back, and while losing speed always hurts, it doesn't tank his stock the way it would if speed was his biggest attribute, which it never was. So I agree with those who say they'd be fine taking him in the 4th-5th rounds hoping for a recovery, but I'm also reaaaally leery of running backs with knee injuries. If there's one injury to one position that kills a players stock for me like no other, it's running backs tearing apart their knees. No other position is required to plant and cut with such force.