Dolphins rookies to spend time in classroom, not on field this week

[Toker Smurf]

First-year players will not participate in on-field drills and will put all of their focus on mental preparation during the three-day camp that runs May 6-8.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15446099/no-field-drills-tap-miami-dolphins-rookie-camp

Interesting. What do you guys think? I'd especially be interested in Jeremy's take, since he has seen the rookie camps in the past.

[stirs]

Cause they don't draft smaht players like we do

[top dawg]

I believe more teams will follow that model because, at the end of the day,  rookies will actually get decidedly more out of mental preparation than running around in shorts. 

[stan786]

I agree this will become the norm, especially after watching Dante Fowler tear his ACL before signing his contract last year.  Better for players, better for teams, and there will be a big push by agents to make it so.

[Jesse]

You guys know why some people will be absolute monsters in college and fizzle out in the NFL? Or why some people who we've never heard of end up with 7 TD's and 800 yards once they get in the NFL? It is their ability (or inability) to grasp new and complex concepts. These guys who pop off in an Air Raid system running screens and go's don't have any clue how to dissect a zone. I think its a smart idea for an organization to do that and I expect a lot more to do so in the future. 

[Nick_81]

6 minutes ago, stan786 said:

I agree this will become the norm, especially after watching Dante Fowler tear his ACL before signing his contract last year.  Better for players, better for teams, and there will be a big push by agents to make it so.

You can avoid the knee injuries by properly stretching before starting.  That's why you see so many of those types of injuries during the preseason.  Probably has less to do with that, and more with the kids learning the system sooner.

[Toker Smurf]

Kind of what I was thinking too. How much benefit will you really get, physically, in three days. Spend that time making sure they understand the concepts in your schemes, terminology, etc.,  making it easier for them to study the playbook.

[stan786]

7 minutes ago, Nick_81 said:

You can avoid the knee injuries by properly stretching before starting.  That's why you see so many of those types of injuries during the preseason.  Probably has less to do with that, and more with the kids learning the system sooner.

Yeah, but at the end of the day Fowler got lucky being a top pick.  If that happens to a day 3 player the team could easily walk away, agents and players know this and its helping contribute to teams making these decisions.  I agree it definitely helps the learning side of things though and that's a big aspect.

[Nick_81]

2 minutes ago, stan786 said:

Yeah, but at the end of the day Fowler got lucky being a top pick.  If that happens to a day 3 player the team could easily walk away, agents and players know this and its helping contribute to teams making these decisions.  I agree it definitely helps the learning side of things though and that's a big aspect.

I guess what I'm saying is, that sitting in a classroom doesn't protect them from the injury.  It's just delaying the inevitable, if they're not warming up properly to begin with.  They're not using this "classroom time" to prevent injuries, because it doesn't.  They're wanting them to learn the system sooner.  It's a pretty good idea. 

As far as the injury side goes, here's a good article on it.  Pretty significant risk reduction outlined.

Quote

"You can reduce risk [of non-contact ACL injuries in the NFL] somewhere between 50 and 70 percent," according to Dr. Timothy Hewett, director of biomechanics and sports medicine research at the Mayo Clinic, who has researched knee injuries for over 20 years.

This drastic reduction does not involve abolishing preseason games, eliminating joint practices or boxing players in packing peanuts until the opening-day kickoff. All it takes is an open-minded approach to proven medical research, a minor shakeup of the traditional NFL practice routine and maybe a few plastic milk crates.

Source:  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2555624-preseason-acl-injures-can-be-drastically-reduced-heres-how

 

[thefuzz]

Like the idea, especially for WR's, TE's, QB's, CB's, and S's.

Don't care as much about the lines and RB's having to do this.

[Mr. Scot]

If you're doing it right, the field is a classroom.

[stan786]

19 minutes ago, Nick_81 said:

I guess what I'm saying is, that sitting in a classroom doesn't protect them from the injury.  It's just delaying the inevitable, if they're not warming up properly to begin with.  They're not using this "classroom time" to prevent injuries, because it doesn't.  They're wanting them to learn the system sooner.  It's a pretty good idea. 

As far as the injury side goes, here's a good article on it.  Pretty significant risk reduction outlined.

 

Yeah totally on the same page with you there, I was just more focused on the financial aspects of taking any injury risk without a contract being signed.  

[Nick_81]

Just now, stan786 said:

Yeah totally on the same page with you there, I was just more focused on the financial aspects of taking any injury risk without a contract being signed.  

Ohhh, I think I see what you're saying now.  Getting injured before the rookie contract is signed.  Is that what you're referring to?

[stan786]

1 minute ago, Nick_81 said:

Ohhh, I think I see what you're saying now.  Getting injured before the rookie contract is signed.  Is that what you're referring to?

Yeah, that's where I was coming from.  You saw Dante Fowler sign his deal 4 days after he tore his ACL last year, he still got a max deal but other guys drafted lower could easily not be that fortunate.