<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>QBs Not the Same After Injury, SurgeryBy Len PasquarelliESPN.comATLANTA -- He is roughly 1,000 miles removed from Chad Pennington and his onlyfamiliarity with the ailing passer comes from a big-screen television, but former GreenBay Packers quarterback Don Majkowski can certainly commiserate with the famouslysore-shouldered New York Jets’ star.“Last year, just watching him try to play through , yeah, I could feelhis pain," said Majkowski, Who's now nine years into retirement, a decade and a half afterrotator cuff surgery sent his promising NFL career into a downward spiral. "A secondtear, though, if that's what he's got, man, I couldn't even imagine it. I can relate to whyhe's doing everything he can to avoid another. Living with the pain is prettymuch unbearable. Surviving through the is almost as bad."There are no current players, former players or orthopedic surgeons -- at least among thedozen or so people interviewed by ESPN.com this week -- who could readily identify aquarterback who has even undergone two rotator cuff procedures, let alone come backfrom them. There is, as ESPN colleague Chris Mortensen noted in one of several reportsthis week on Pennington's situation, no celebrated case studies relating to multiple rotatorsurgeries on NFL quarterbacks. Pennington, if he requires surgery this time around -- asecond invasive procedure on his shoulder in less than a year -- could become the stuff ofmedical and orthopedic journals.It will, however, be a painful journal entry.On the other hand, there is a painfully lengthy litany of professional and college-levelquarterbacks whose football careers were either ended by rotator cuff surgery, or whoseperformance diminished dramatically following the procedure.Don Majkowski threw for 4,318 yards and had 27 TD passes in 1989.Majkowski, who led the Packers to a 10-6 record in 1989 with all manner of legendaryderring-do and was second in the NFL MVP balloting that year before suffering a rotatorcuff injury the following season, is one of them. Others include Hall of Fame quarterbackBob Griese, Jim McMahon, Gary Danielson, Greg Cook, Jim Miller and Tim Couch. Andthat's just scratching the surface of the quarterbacks who discovered rotator cuff injures tobe the bane of their professional existence.Said Danielson, now a college football analyst, in describing the injury: "A rotator cuff, to a throwing athlete, is like cancer." There might be a bit of hyperbole there, butfor athletes who earn a paycheck throwing a ball from an over-the-head motion, rotatorcuff damage is probably viewed as being just as insidious as a tumor.Certainly the pain, as described by several quarterbacks who spoke with ESPN.com, isincredibly debilitating. Earlier this summer, Couch, the former Cleveland Browns starterand the first overall pick in the '99 draft, detailed how the pain in his right shoulder wasso bad last summer when he was in training camp with the Packers, that he didn't havesufficient strength at one point to even toss the bed sheets off himself on a warm night inthe dormitory. A friend of Couch recalled getting a phone call from the quarterback, whoneeded assistance because his right arm was shaking so violently that he couldn't grip thesteering wheel of his truck. Majkowski said that his shoulder was so bad he couldn'tchange the channels on his car radio. Miller said stories about people with rotator cuffinjuries (some say they couldn't even lift their arms high enough to comb their hair) are"more truth than fiction, believe me."Currently a free agent, but healthy again after having been released this spring by the NewYork Giants because of surgery to repair a labrum in his hip, Miller basically played theentire 2002 season for the Chicago Bears with a torn rotator cuff. It was one year afterMiller piloted Chicago to a 13-3 mark, its first division championship since 1990, earninghimself a handsome contract extension. It was also, Miller recalled, easily the worstseason of his itinerant career."It was the most miserable time of my life and there's really no other word to describe it,"Miller said. "Unless you've been there, it's hard to explain, really. But you keep tellingyourself: 'I owe it to the team. They're paying me to go out and play. I've got to go outthere and try it.' And all you really do is make it worse, to be honest. Worse for yourself.Worse for the team. Worse for everybody. There's just no relief from it."Miller underwent rotator cuff surgery following the 2002 season, and then admittedlyhurried back far too soon. It has taken three subsequent shoulder operations (none of themto the rotator cuff), and pink slips from three different franchises, but he is finally painfree. In fact, some team with a need for a veteran backup could do worse than to auditionMiller. He is healthier than at any point in the past three years, feeling pretty spry andanxious to resume his career, even if it means the No. 3 spot on a depth chart. Mostimportant, he's able to gun the football 65 yards again without fear of his arm falling off.The message that Miller, Majkowski, Danielson, Couch and Buffalo Bills backup KellyHolcomb would have for Pennington, if they were asked to counsel him: Take your timein recovering and don't try to play again until 100 percent rehabilitated. No matter howlong and frustrating a process that entails."Those are small, tedious muscles and they take a long time to heal," Miller said. "I mean,I'm no doctor, but I think I know a little bit about shoulders now, right? Smaller musclegroups, while it might sound , take more time. That's just how it is. My guess isthat, if needs another surgery, he's not going to start feeling well again untilsometime around the first month or so of next season. This is a year-long rehab, and I'mnot saying he rushed back, because that's not my call. But my bet would be he doesn't getback on the field until about the sixth game next year."Majkowski, the beloved "Majik Man," whose trademark blond locks and late-gameheroics made him the stuff of lore for a few seasons in Green Bay until some kid namedFavre came along, actually played six seasons in the league following his rotator cuffrepair. But he lost his job to Brett Favre in '92 and then, after two seasons each inIndianapolis and Detroit, retired following the 1996 campaign.Now 41 years old, Majkowski is a partner in a suburban Atlanta real estate investmentfirm. He is moving into the media end of things, with a growing network of Wisconsinradio stations for which he provides NFL analysis and commentary, and he has his ownWeb site, which is flourishing.But these days, his primary athletic endeavor is playing in the ultra-competitive ALTAtennis league that is so pervasive in the Atlanta area. He is also the quarterback of a flagfootball team, and his stiffest competition at the position is Atlanta Braves pitcher JohnSmoltz. He can still throw a football better than the former Cy Young winner and ace ofthe Braves staff. There are times, though, when he hits a backhand on something otherthan the sweet spot of his racket, when he recalls all the pain he endured with hisdamaged rotator cuff."It's by far the most grueling, torturous thing I've ever been through," Majkowski said. "Imean, it's excruciating. People don't understand, maybe, unless they've had it. But theshoulder is the biggest range-of-motion part of anyone's body. Bigger than the knee even.Just to get back that range of motion -- to get it to the point where you can just function,and I'm not even talking about the football part, but more like everyday stuff -- takes anenormous amount of work and pain."The sobering truth is, some guys never get the football part back, and end up out of thegame prematurely. Cook, who led the NFL in passer efficiency rating as a rookie in 1969with the Cincinnati Bengals, was a brilliant touch passer. His future was bright but hiscareer brief, a rotator cuff injury ending his tenure after he threw just three more passes infive years. Couch is seven months removed from surgery that included rotator cuff repair.Despite some interest from teams, he isn't quite ready to fully cut loose yet. Danielsonwent from player in ascent to backup after a rotator cuff injury in 1986. McMahon, wholed the colorful Bears team to a Super Bowl XX title, won just one playoff game afterenduring rotator cuff problems."So you really don't know what's going to happen ," Danielson said. "Nomatter how hard he works to come back, there aren't any guarantees."At the outset of his rehabilitation, Majkowski could throw only a Nerf ball, and not evenall the way across a living room, and he struggled to lift a one-pound dumbbell. Weeksinto his rehabilitation regimen, he developed soreness in the posterior portion of hisshoulder. Months into the grueling program, even after regaining some strength, it wasobvious that Majkowski had lost the quick release that was a huge element of histhrowing motion.Trying to compensate mechanically, Majkowski altered his motion and release point, andthat led to a build-up of scar tissue and eventually elbow tendinitis. He never did recoverhis previous throwing motion or arm strength. And he questions whether Pennington willreally be able to come back all the way from severe shoulder problems in consecutiveseasons.Like Miller, the candid Majkowski wonders whether Pennington pushed things thisspring and summer and got back on the football field too soon. No one who spoke withESPN.com questioned the wisdom of the Jets or their handling of Pennington and hisrehabilitation. The consensus, particularly from those who know a little about the Jetsquarterback and his competitive nature, figure Pennington pushed himself. He is, after all,a player who noted last week that the team "would have to cut off arm to keep himfrom playing this week." That was, course, before he knew the extent of the latest injury.One quarterback who underwent rotator cuff surgery several years ago, but who asked notto be identified for this story, noted the Pennington comment of last week. Reacting to it,he said: "You know what? If someone told me I had to go through surgeryagain, and all the it takes to come back from it, hell, I might have to tell them toamputate, too."There is, Majkowski and Miller concurred, no shortcut that Pennington can take now ashe embarks on a second rehabilitation in nine months. Miller, who recently had a plumberinstall an industrial grade ice machine in his basement, said that Pennington will have toice his shoulder every day for the rest of his career, and perhaps beyond. And Majkowskinoted that Pennington, no matter what transpires as far as surgery in the coming weeks,had better get accustomed to a chilling reality."Even if he sits out and doesn't play until next year, no matter how diligent Pennington iswith the rehabilitation, a rotator cuff is like a lifetime thing," Majkowski said. "That's justhow it is. I mean, for a guy who makes a living throwing a ball, it's an absolutenightmare."</div>Old article, but so true.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Johnny White Guy @ May 15 2006, 11:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>This is why Ramsey will end up being your starter.</div>If Ramsey is starting, I might not even watch the games. But it would ensure that we would get Adrian Peterson in next years draft. Ramsey is right up there with Tommy Maddox in my book.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AdropOFvenom @ May 15 2006, 12:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Johnny White Guy @ May 15 2006, 11:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>This is why Ramsey will end up being your starter.</div>If Ramsey is starting, I might not even watch the games. But it would ensure that we would get Adrian Peterson in next years draft. Ramsey is right up there with Tommy Maddox in my book.</div>Screw that injury prone fool, Michael Bush is the way to go.
I agree, Adrian Peterson can't stay healthy in college, it will be worse for him in the pros. That's not a franchise runningback.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Johnny White Guy @ May 16 2006, 05:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I agree, Adrian Peterson can't stay healthy in college, it will be worse for him in the pros. That's not a franchise runningback.</div>I was just throwing a name out there, and being that hes only had one injury i wouldnt exactly be so quick to label him injury prone.
