THIS NEWS DESERVES ALLLLLL CAPPPSSSS

I spoke with Phil here in Florida about two hours ago. The issue with Freeney is not if he will play. He will. The issue is pain tolerance. How far into the game can he go before the pain prevents him from playing? Tha’ts the main issue now.

and Phil B is almost never wrong. Freeney’s playing, and the Colts are going to win.

http://www.tmz.com/2010/02/02/reggie-bush-pre-games-on-south-beach/

form Phil B:

The news on CB Jerraud Powers is more encouraging. The rookie says his left foot feels much better after the time off and he assured, in a brief chat at the end of today’s interviews, he’s looking forward to playing. I know it has been suggested he was 50-50 for this game, but that was a week ago, and in the spirit of such a picturesque Wednesday, optimism seems to be in abundance. A colleague informed Powers estimated himself at 90 percent when the defender was put on the spot during Tuesday’s media day at Sun Life Stadium.

BTW, Powers and Freeney were the only ones held out of practice today, per Kuharsky’s Facebook posting.

I feel so special now.

Anyway: BBS, Scottishcoltsfan, and diagenesis are right. Freeney can have all the pain tolerance in the world, but if the wrong ligament is torn – and I don’t think anyone said which of the ankle ligaments it was – then the ankle itself won’t be stable in certain motions. That’ll lead it to acting funny when those motions are put on it, and that will hamper Freeney’s ability to make certain moves. If the tibia ends up slipping around even just a tiny bit, he won’ be able to cut as fast, won’t be able to spin well, etc. because his leg simply won’t be working right. That’s what those ankle ligaments do: They keep the foot and lower leg aligned for the muscles to work properly mechanically. If one of them is torn, then it’s only the muscle tone that’s keeping the ankle even remotely in line, and that won’t be enough for certain movements (which is why Freeney walking around isn’t actually encouraging: It’s the stressful motions that matter – like his pushoffs for his spin move – not mundane movement that don’t involve the whole range of motions the ankle can be put through in a game).

But, if his playing time is rationed well, then maybe he can be in for crucial situations. I worry about that, though, because the Saints can keep him out by simply going no-huddle, and forcing the Colts to use timeouts to get him in. But, Indy is stuck with the situation; they simply have to find ways to be effective, either by rationing his plays or by others stepping up. There’s no other choice; Freeney’s not just going to magically become well. They’ll simply have to overcome in one way or another.

We might be getting worked up for naught. A single ligament on the outside of the ankle joint will not, in general effect the stability of the ankle. There are three that make up the lateral complex and the most commonly sprained one is the first in the complex. We’ll call it the ATFL. They hurt like hell to tear at first but they are the quickest to recover from. The second in line, call it the CFL, if torn can be more problematic from a stability standpoint, but if the ATFL and the third ligament (PTFL) are intact, the ankle will still be painful, and weakened but stable.

The real concern is if we aren’t being given all of the medical information and they are actually describing what is generally termed a “third degree ankle sprain” – a rupture of all three ligaments, the ATFL, CFL, and PTFL. If that were the case, there is little conceivable way he could play, shot or none.

A single ligament tear, in the properly motivated athlete, with the best their training staffs have to offer, could be healed enough in two weeks to allow him to play through the pain with proper bracing and taping. He won’t be the same, but a fresh Dwight, as mentioned above, inserted in the second half could be enough to give the D a lift. A multiple ligament tear, however, would be nearly impossible to stabilize, get rehabbed from and be ready to play on by a 265 lb Tazmanian Devil.

I’d be optomistic if it is a single ligament, that he will play and play fairly well on. Color me skeptical if he truly has torn all three ligaments – which I do not believe he has done, given that he is already out of the boot and walking with a slight limp.

My thought is that we have been given a term, “third degree ligament injury” by nonmedical people in an attempt to keep everyone guessing as to what has been injured. The stakes have now been raised on the game, getting more people talking and wondering now if the Colts D has what it takes to stop the Saints’ O. That draws in more casual fans, keeps people from assuming this will be a blowout, and make even the most devout Colts fans worry just a bit more about the game.

Are classified as you have shown, but the lateral ankle sprain, because it is so common, has a classification of its own as well. In an ankle sprain, it is anticipated that the 1st ligament (ATFL) is ruptured if there is swelling, limping and maybe even bruising, so it is called a 1st degree ankle sprain involving a Grade 3 ATFL tear, depending on whom you talk to. If the torque was strong enough, the rotation causes the second ligament (CFL) to fail, it is then called a 2nd degree ankle sprain (Grade 3 ATFL, CFL), and if all three (ATFL,CFL,PTFL) tear then it would be termed a 3rd degree sprain. The ankle at this point would be inherently unstable and I can’t imagine the medical staff would give him clearance under most any circumstance.

You have been correct though that if we were talking about say the knee, the elbow or maybe even the shoulder AC joint, you can call a single ligament sprain Grades 1-3.

With Dwight, the Colts have been oddly quick to define his injury as a “Grade 3” ankle injury. The Colts are rarely candid with their players’ diagnosis. That makes me wonder why they are doing this. We didn’t have a “Grade” on his quads injury, his abdominal injury, Power’s foot injury, Dallas’ knee injury a few years ago. I guess it has been done to make his murky injury status “clear as mud”. They give the perception of being up front and give a reason for why he might not play, but they also make lets say a 1st degree ankle sprain (Grade 3 ATFL) sound to the Saints like he might not play. I don’t know which it might be, but I don’t blame them for the subterfuge. This is the SUPER BOWL.

strip-sacks Mr. Brees a few times, just because. : O