Michael Bennett to the Saints

[Scooby 0]

KFFL) Len Pasquarelli, of ESPN.com, reports the New Orleans Saints have reached a contract agreement with free agent RB Michael Bennett (Vikings). Bennett, who will serve as the primary backup to RB Deuce McAllister, will sign a two-year contract worth $3 million. The deal also includes a $1 million signing bonus. Bennett can also earn $1 million in incentives in each year of the deal

 

ESPN

[Vikings4ever 568]

Just what they need, another injury prone back.

[Timinator 0]

Reggie Bush? Seems a little crowded. Saints must have something 90% up their sleeve with that pick.

[Savage Beast 1]

Reggie Bush? Seems a little crowded. Saints must have something 90% up their sleeve with that pick.

 

Why would anybody think the Saints would try to move up to get Bush?????? They already have a "HUGE" money contract RB in Deuce Mac. The Saints cannot afford another one in Bush.

[Timinator 0]

Why would anybody think the Saints would try to move up to get Bush?????? They already have a "HUGE" money contract RB in Deuce Mac. The Saints cannot afford another one in Bush.

 

My very bad. I got my Texans and Saints mixed up there for a second. Which is really, really funny in a literal sense. I'll quit posting while I'm thinking about work. Sorry. Decent move for NO.

[jocstrap 8]

Or - Mcallister's injury might just be a little worse - or - is rehab is a little behind schedule? What's is his status?

[adam smitty 0]

I love seeing bad teams add people that they dont even need.

[shovelheadt 71]

Or - Mcallister's injury might just be a little worse - or - is rehab is a little behind schedule? What's is his status?

 

Doesn't it take RBs a while to get back to full strength from an ACL? Edge took a while I think.

[unckeyherb 2]

I too am interested in DUECE. The last I read, he was a few weeks AHEAD of schedule. (granted this was awhile ago)

 

This move makes me little nervous, being a Duece owner. Anyone have any new info?

[Vikings4ever 568]

Doesn't it take RBs a while to get back to full strength from an ACL? Edge took a while I think.

They're usually ready to play the next year, but they're not back to 100% until the year after.

[Savage Beast 1]

Or - Mcallister's injury might just be a little worse - or - is rehab is a little behind schedule? What's is his status?

 

This is why they signed Bennett, as Deuce Mac behind schedule insurance. They will not be moving up to get Bush as overpriced Deuce Mac insurance.

[Vikings4ever 568]

As a Viking fan, let me say:

 

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

[Portis26 0]

The turf will help Bennett run fast

[football_scooter 0]

Doesn't it take RBs a while to get back to full strength from an ACL? Edge took a while I think.

 

The "2 year rule" - it's been discussed at length, and it seems to continue to be proven accurate year to year.

http://www.footballdocs.com/RB_injury_rule.html

The Running Back Two Year Major Injury Rule

 

August 17, 2004

 

Okay fantasy football fanatics---huddle up. It’s time to re-release a FootballDocs timeless classic. In this article, the Docs go behind the numbers to outline the running back two-year major injury rule...a rule that should be strongly considered when evaluating your player rankings. It is also a rule that could help give your team that winning fantasy football edge on draft day and prove to be the difference between winning and losing. Remember, the Docs are the geeks whose life-long pursuit is to develop the most accurate fantasy football projections available. The RB Two Year Major Injury Rule is but one of the scores of variables that are part of the Docs’ “secret sauce”, otherwise known as our predictive mathematical model used to power the Draft Advisor and FootballDocs Player Rankings.

 

When it comes to most fantasy football drafts, there is hardly a position in fantasy football that is more coveted than the position of running back. With only 32 NFL teams and typically two running backs required for the start in most fantasy football leagues, it doesn’t take long to see that quality RB’s are hot commodities on fantasy draft day. Throw in the fact that several NFL teams support running back by committee (RBBC) offenses (offenses that fail to feature a workhorse running back and consequently distribute the carries to several different running backs), and quality running backs can go faster than free BBQ at a NFL pre-game tailgate.

 

What constitutes a workhorse running back?

By “workhorse”, we mean a back that is likely to get at least somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 touches in a game (either directly from a hand off or from a pass reception out of the backfield). Typically these are your household name backs---Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Edgerrin James to just name a few; however, they could also be “up and comers” that people feel are going to get those kind of touches but have yet to do so in the past. Regardless, the idea here is to select a back that is slated to be the featured back in a NFL offense, but be sure to exercise extreme caution when selecting such a back. It is imperative to consider the leg injury history of a running back with respect to time, otherwise you may effectively pay the price for a Lexus only to receive a Corolla.

 

Major injury history with respect to time?

You bet. It is not enough for a running back to be declared the feature back in an NFL offense. The back should also be two years removed from the season when the major leg injury occurred before paying the high price of an early round pick in your fantasy football draft. To help illustrate this point, let’s examine the numbers for running backs the year before the season they suffered a major leg injury and then the numbers the year after returning from a major injury:

 

Year Proceeding Major Injury 
Player
Year
Injury
Rush Yards
Rec. Yards
Total TDs

Edgerrin James
2000
ACL
1709
594
18

Jamal Lewis
2000
ACL
1364
296
6

Jamal Anderson
1998
ACL
1846
319
16

Terrell Davis
1998
ACL
2008
217
24

Garrison Hearst
1998
Leg
1570
535
9

Robert Edwards
1998
Knee
1115
331
12




Year Returning from Major Injury 
Player
Year
Injury
Rush Yards
Rec. Yards
Total TDs

Edgerrin James
2002
ACL
989
354
3

Jamal Lewis
2002
ACL
1327
442
7

Jamal Anderson
2000
ACL
1024
382
6

Terrell Davis
2000
ACL
78
4
2

Garrison Hearst
2001
Leg
1206
347
5

Robert Edwards*
2002
Knee
107
126
2

 

*not a starter on return from injury

 

Major leg injuries and running backs do not mix, and it takes time (typically two full years from the season when the major leg injury occurred) to recover to the pre-injury form that these backs enjoyed when punishing NFL defenses on a regular basis. Jamal Lewis was the only back to produce numbers extremely similar (in fact, slightly better) to his pre-injury form on his first year back from a major leg injury. There are two possible explanations that could help account for this. The first lies in the fact that Lewis tore his ACL during the preseason in the summer of 2000, hence Lewis had longer to rehab the injury and prepare for the 2002 season when compared to previous backs that tore their ACL during the regular season. The second possible explanation lies in the fact that Lewis had previously torn his ACL during his sophomore year of college while playing at Tennessee; consequently, he already experienced the recovery process and knew both physically and mentally what it would take to rehabilitate his knee and return to a high level of play. Hearst also had one of the better years on his return (70% of his previous fantasy performance based on a standard performance scoring system), but similar to Lewis, Hearst also had more time to rehabilitate his injury compared to other players (in fact, he had an additional year to recover). Regardless, the overall trend illustrates that some of the best backs in the game struggled on their first year immediately returning from a major leg injury.

 

Why does this RB two-year injury rule seem to exist?

In a word---hesitation. When returning to the gridiron after recovering from a significant leg injury, it is almost impossible for a running back to not hesitate when running with the ball. Minor leg injuries such as sprains and pulled muscles can and should be expected for running backs in the NFL, but major leg injuries such as a torn ACL can be devastating to a RB and delay their progress to returning to their pre-injury form. The key to this immediate one-year slump lies in the function of the ACL itself. The ACL holds the femur and tibia in place and is one of the most critical ligaments to athletes because of its primary function of stabilizing the knee joint during deceleration. Without the ACL, players would fall to the ground due to the knee buckling when applying pressure from either stopping or changing direction. It is only natural for a RB to be hesitant when running during the first year after an ACL injury. Given the speed of the NFL, there is no room for there to be any kind of hesitation and still expect a running back to put up big numbers.

 

By the way, for those that have endured a significant leg injury and played some ball, we’re preaching to the choir. For those that haven’t, go talk to someone who has. Physical therapy is brutal and requires not only considerable time to “fully” recover, but also requires tremendous determination and sheer guts. The mental anguish on a player can at times prove to be as strenuous as the physical anguish. It is not uncommon for a player to ponder thoughts of retirement when going through this process, and it is a credit to those that made it all the way back to be able to play at the level the NFL demands.

 

When it comes to your fantasy football draft this year, keep the RB two-year major injury rule in mind. These players have a place in your fantasy draft, but not in the early rounds. Let someone else fall prey to the memories of yesterday when selecting a running back that is in his first year returning from a major leg injury.

 

Credit where due - Football Docs is a solid fantasy website. I am not a big fan of their rankings, but they have some outstanding content.

[pimptastic69 0]

"By the way, for those that have endured a significant leg injury and played some ball, we’re preaching to the choir. For those that haven’t, go talk to someone who has. Physical therapy is brutal and requires not only considerable time to “fully” recover, but also requires tremendous determination and sheer guts. The mental anguish on a player can at times prove to be as strenuous as the physical anguish. It is not uncommon for a player to ponder thoughts of retirement when going through this process, and it is a credit to those that made it all the way back to be able to play at the level the NFL demands."

 

I can vouch for the physical therapy brutality. That f-ing sucked. When that chick was trying to bend my knee in ways that it didn't want to go, I seriously contemplated either suicide or homicide.

 

Had I not had a flourishing "angry young guy" softball career going, I never would have had it done.

 

(BTW, "Fat construction worker" is a whole lot more fun than "angry young guy".)

[football_scooter 0]

I can vouch for the physical therapy brutality. That f-ing sucked. When that chick was trying to bend my knee in ways that it didn't want to go, I seriously contemplated either suicide or homicide.

 

Had I not had a flourishing "angry young guy" softball career going, I never would have had it done.

 

(BTW, "Fat construction worker" is a whole lot more fun than "angry young guy".)

 

Yeah - that's an outstanding article all around - I can relate to it from the perspective of a multiple-dislocated shoulder and labrum surgery. 3 months of immobilization, followed by a couple years to get the range of motion, strength and confidence back in it.

 

Right arm, right handed - good reason to recover...living a normal life dictated it. And it has been as arduous recovery.