You can't keep Thomas Davis down

[Skydivingcows]

In the eight years that Thomas Davis did not have an ACL injury, the Panthers have finished no worse than 2^nd in the NFC South.  That dates back to 2005 when he was drafted out of Georgia.  Since draft day with Davis on the field the Panthers are 86-55-1 (.605).  When Davis is not on the field they are 14-29 (.326). 

 

 The Panthers have been to the playoffs in five of those eight years.  The first four of those years have all ended in a loss. After 3 ACL Tears, Thomas Davis Wants a Super Bowl Ring Now with the Panthers

 

The first time, it stunned him.

The second time, Thomas Davis sobbed in his wife's arms.  He had always thought he was the toughest man on the field. 

The third time, Thomas Davis quit.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10176758/carolina-panthers-linebacker-thomas-davis-thriving-recovering-three-acl-injuries

 

Quote

Thanks for everything you did for me, he said. I'm done.

He called a teammate Jon Beason, who was in bed recovering from his own surgery for an Achilles tendon tear. This is it, Davis said. No one's going to want me.

That night, he talked it over with his wife, Kelly. This time, he'd get a cadaver ligament to replace his ACL. It wasn't flexible enough for pro football, but maybe he could shoot hoops at the gym. The rehab wouldn't be as hard. He wouldn't have to train for the torque and thrust of life as an NFL linebacker. He'd stop when he was well enough to run around the backyard with his kids.

At first, he felt peace. No NFL player -- no pro athlete of any kind -- had come back from three ACL tears on the same knee. There was no point in thinking about it.

Then he thought about it.

He thought about all he had gone through that everyone knew about. He thought about the one thing almost nobody knew about.

One day not long after, their son Thomas Jr. sat on Davis' lap. Thomas Jr. was 3 then. Davis' leg was bandaged.

Well, Thomas Jr. said, why don't you just stop playing football?

I've never quit anything, Davis told his son. I'm not a quitter.

It matters to him that he is noticed. It hurt him a little in 2012, his first year back from the third knee surgery, when it became clear Peyton Manning was going to win Comeback Player of the Year. But it matters more to him that he is needed. He missed 39 games over three years (2009-11), but the lost games didn't bother him as much as the lost time in the locker room, pushing his teammates, having them push him.

"There's so much I can't get back," he says. "Now that we're making a run at the playoffs, I have to appreciate every moment. And I have to get my teammates to do the same."

"It was a tough time," he says. "You know, to be playing this game this long, playing at a high level, and knowing that -- just like that -- it was possibly over. That changes the way you look at things."

After all the surgeries, through all the pain, he took away an underlying message: His knee might fail again and again, but his heart is strong.

"You know," he says, "I was a kid who was determined to stay out there all day."

 

“Given the fact that I've dealt with the injury history that I have with 3 ACLs; this moment right now is extremely special to me.  I don't really know how much time I have left to play this game.  I haven't won a Super Bowl and that's something we'll fight hard for, we're working for, and I want to be able to someday walk away from this game with a Super Bowl ring and bring that to this city.”

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3a3bk3_after-3-acl-tears-thomas-davis-wants-a-super-bowl-ring-now-with-the-panthers_sport

 

 

 

 

[Swedish Butt-Whistle]

g.o.a.t

[Cat]

I want the Panthers to win the SB for many reasons. If we do no moment will make me happier than seeing Thomas Davis holding that Lombardy Trophy.

[The Huddler]

i could take him

[csuncc1989]

I couldn't think of a more deserving player to get that ring. I might shed a tear when I see TD hoist that Lombardi.

[JawnyBlaze]

Wow I didn't know those win stats with and without him. Great post. 

[MadHatter]

1 hour ago, The Huddler said:

i could take him

Remember.....drunk idiots are still idiots.

[Jangler]

2 hours ago, The Huddler said:

i could take him

Just make sure to video and post it on YouTube

[UKPanther94]

He's getting an INT in the Superbowl, you just know it

 

Also it still annoys me reading that and getting reminded of the injury Johnson got in the Patriots game, he's never been the same since

[coralreefer_1]

When Luke was drafted I was one of those ( there were quite a few other than me) that moaned that TD should be cut and released so Luke could fill in that space and not lose playing time to someone with so many injuries.

 

So happy to say that I didnt then ( and still dont) know what the fug im talking about.

[Darth Biscuit]

Yeah... all these people talking about Peyton getting another ring, blah, blah...

 

There's not a man in the NFL that deserves it more than TD does.

[xXxBretWeedxXx]

Why don't I have a Davis jersey yet? Gotta fix that.

[shaqattaq]

1 hour ago, csuncc1989 said:

I couldn't think of a more deserving player to get that ring. I might shed a tear when I see TD hoist that Lombardi.

I cried like a little bitch when he lifted the George Halas! When he hoists the Lombardi, it'll be an old Yeller moment.

[SOJA]

Quote

One day not long after, their son Thomas Jr. sat on Davis' lap. Thomas Jr. was 3 then. Davis' leg was bandaged.

Daddy, did you hurt your knee again? Thomas Jr. asked.

Yeah, I hurt my knee again.

Well, Thomas Jr. said, why don't you just stop playing football?

I've never quit anything, Davis told his son. I'm not a quitter.

 

god damn who is cutting onions in here