2012 AFCW Champion...

[Mile High Mania]

Ok, so there's still a lot that needs to settle in with a number of the teams in the AFCW, but that doesn't stop the fan from making predictions.

Now, every team will be hit with an injury of some sort and it's impossible to predict which player. So, let's just assume for the sake of this discussion that none of the AFCW teams has a key player missing significant time.

Base your judgement on the additions each team has made so far, the schedule and how you think they will finish.

Which team is best positioned to win the AFCW title in 2012?

And, feel free to state whatever opinions you like...

[Mile High Mania]

Originally Posted by Dave

We had our fill of injuries last season.

The Gods owe us.

Huge.

Peyton Manning is likely saying the same thing...

[keg in kc]

Assuming no repeat of last year's injuries, I think the Chiefs have the best team but the worst QB. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out. They should win the division despite Cassel, but he could also be anchor enough to drag them down.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

Peyton Manning is likely saying the same thing...

He's old. KC's injuries happened to guys just entering thier prime.

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

Peyton Manning is likely saying the same thing...

Like he wasn't already pushing the injury envelope before last season?

He was due, and has had a great career even if he goes down again right away.


Bye

[Quesadilla Joe]

Originally Posted by PGM

He's old. KC's injuries happened to guys just entering thier prime.

There was a study done on ACL injuries that showed that production dropped 33% to RB's and WR's who tore an ACL.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Originally Posted by MagicHef

The Broncos will win the AFCW, because all the other teams don't have Peyton Manning.

Fixed ur post!

[Quesadilla Joe]

Performance of wide receivers, running backs post-ACL injury falls by one third

The good news for NFL players who sustain an injury to their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is that they'll likely play again in the NFL. The bad news is, they'll return with diminished performance on the field, concludes a study in the December issue of The American Journal of Sports Medicine.

"Although there have been over 2000 articles on the ACL in the past 20 years, only a few have focused on the pro player," writes author James L. Carey, MD (Dr. Carey is now affiliated with Vanderbilt Sports Medicine, Nashville, Tenn.) and colleagues from the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pa.

"Our study is the first to objectively measure an NFL player's performance before and after an ACL injury." Brian J. Sennett MD, co-author and Chief of Sports Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, believes "this article will have significant impact on setting appropriate expectations for the injured players, their agents, team owners, and fans. It is the first article to establish that injuries may have a significant negative impact on a player's performance if they are able to return to action."

The researchers collected data on ACL injuries sustained by NFL running backs (RBs) and wide receivers (WRs) during a five-year period (1998-2002). This data came from NFL game summaries, play-by-play documents, weekly injury reports, and player profiles. The injury group was compared to a control group consisting of all NFL RBs and WRs without an identified ACL injury who played during the 2000 season.

Carey, Sennett and colleagues devised a unique measurement of game performance output in the professional athlete. They assigned a "power rating" for every player in every season, defined as a weighted sum of total yards and touchdowns, likely the most important statistics of RB and WR performance. The power ratings for the 3 seasons prior to ACL injury were compared to the power ratings for the 3 seasons following ACL injury.

Data were analyzed for 31 players with 33 ACL injuries. Of the injured players, 21 percent (7 of 33 ACL injuries) never returned to play in another regular season NFL game. Of the 79 percent that did return, most players returned to action 9 to 12 months after an ACL injury.

For those players who returned to NFL action following an ACL injury, performance fell by one-third, the researchers found. Power rating per game played decreased from 9.9 pre-injury to 6.5 post-injury. This decline in player production was statistically significant when compared to the 146 players in the control group.

Knee pain, stiffness, loss of strength, deconditioning and reduced proprioception (the sense of knowing where your leg is) may be factors explaining the loss of production in players after an ACL injury, the authors theorize. Further, ACL reconstruction does not perfectly recreate the complex anatomy and composition of a person's ACL before injury.

Interestingly, prior to their injury the ACL-injured players performed better than did controls. "High-performance RBs and WRs are more likely to be injured because they compete in more plays per game, carry the ball longer on each play, and attract more defensive attention," the authors say. "The same qualities of RBs and WRs that contribute to high performance -- instantaneous decelerations as well as explosive pivoting and cutting maneuvers -- may increase the risk for ACL injury."

The researchers cite a recent survey of all 31 NFL team physicians who were asked to quantify "what percentage of players return to play in the NFL after ACL reconstruction." Ninety percent of team physicians responded "90 to 100 percent" of players (assuming not borderline talent) return to the NFL. The current study found the number of players who return to play after an ACL injury was actually less, at 79 percent.

"Most studies report good to excellent results in the majority of ACL reconstructions regardless of technique or patient age, but the professional football player presents unique demands on the reconstructed knee," Carey concludes. "Our findings may be useful for athletes, coaches, and team owners in anticipating the future contributions of a player who has injured an ACL."

http://psychcentral.com/news/archive...pow113006.html

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by Cassel>Manning

There was a study done on ACL injuries that showed that production dropped 33% to RB's and WR's who tore an ACL.

What about old fogey's that break thier neck?

[Quesadilla Joe]

Originally Posted by PGM

What about old fogey's that break thier neck?

Not a large enough sample size. There have been fullbacks, LB's, and safeties who have had the same fusion and they have came back.

[TEX]

I'm going with the Broncos simply because they have Manning. I think KC has the better team, but not by what it will take to compensate for the QB disadvantage.

Broncos
Chiefs
Chargers
Raiders

[Pasta Little Brioni]

If I thought he'd be the same, I'd go Denver. Too flawed a team though and I don't think he will.


Faid will finish in the basement.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Munson

Chiefs, despite Cassel's worst efforts.

This.

And when the play offs come knocking, we'll all get our ELEVENTY BILLIONTH lesson in why having a real QB matters at that point.

Lather...

Rinse...

Repeat.

[RealSNR]

Actually, don't sleep on the Chargers this year. It doesn't take much more than 10-6 to win this bitch, and the Chargers have the most experience with beating good teams out of all four teams.

Then again, they also have the most experience losing to bad teams...

[ChiefsCountry]

Chiefs with Brady Quinn leading the way.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Cassel>Manning

There was a study done on ACL injuries that showed that production dropped 33% to RB's and WR's who tore an ACL.

What year was that study done? 1972?

Also, how many of those RBs tore the ACL at the beginning of the season instead of the middle or end? That makes a huge difference, as we're seeing this offseason in Jamaal's recovery versus someone like AP's.