by Stephie Smalls @Stephiesmallls
WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?
It’s been a beautiful few weeks of Giant’s football, even arguing the first time in years the fanbase is seeing some meaningful football. I know seeing Daniel Jones (hamstring) grab his leg simultaneously broke hearts across Giant’s nation.
HE NEEDS TO LEARN HOW TO SLIDE. Ok, sorry I just needed to get that off my chest. Moving forward. I wasn’t convinced by a lot of media sources talking about the injury being very severe. How could you possibly know that Smalls?
- Mechanism of the injury
- DJ walking up and down the sideline
- His attempt to return
- Stretching done by trainers
Why the MRI:
Yes, my loves I know, an MRI is scary. Settle down…The NFL MRI’s everything. Why? Because they can. Crib notes are as follows:
SMALLS CHEAT SHEET – MRI FACT
- MRI’s are used with professional athletes for assessment of severity of injury. The average Joe with a hamstring injury isn’t getting an MRI, but NFL has the luxury of money.
- MRI aids to predict RTP (return to play) and prevent recurrent injuries or premature returns.
- Confirms the strain diagnosed clinically— informs about location, cross-sectional area, and grade of injury
- Research confirms correlation between percentage of abnormal muscle area/volume of muscle injury and RTP
- Age is included in studies because younger players have the ability and potential to heal sooner (this works in Danny’s favor being the young stallion he is)
Ok, Smalls we get it… just tells us how many games. Each grade yields a different average of missed games.
- Grade I: 1.1 games missed
- Grade II: 1.7 games missed
- Grade III: 6.4 games missed
WHEN WILL DIMES RETURN?
We will never know the radiologist’s exact read on a player’s imaging, but one can infer that “very positive” and “minor injury” is most likely a Grade I strain. This is good. We like this. The biggest issue with hamstring injuries is premature return. Danny looked great with the trainers this week on video (despite some obvious guarding). By giving Danny an additional week to recover it will minimize his risk of a more severe reinjury. I know it’s painful to hear, especially with the rising success, but I would hate to see the Giant’s use & abuse their promising young QB.
PREDICTION: He will suit up and drop dimes against the Cardinals. This allows for a complete 14-days since his injury. A lot will depend on his practice status last week, but do not let LP (limited practice scare you).
SMALLS INJURY CHEAT SHEET WEEK 13:
Cam Brown LB (illness): limited practice Friday, will play and expect him to play a bigger role than weeks past. Snaps – 20% Defensive snaps (79% special teams).
Kyler Fackrell LB (leg): Kyler was added to Injured Reserve. The earliest return is week 16. (Coughlin & Brown are VERY promising in his absence).
Nate Ebner DB (knee, limited practice, will more likely than not play.
Sterling Shepard WR (toe/shoulder): are you starting to believe the whole “don’t be surprised if you see Shep LP the rest of the year” thing I have been preaching?
Darius Slayton WR (shoulder/foot): I am pretty frustrated with this one. He was LP all week, I wouldn’t expect him to play a massive role this week.
Oshane Ximines LB (shoulder): Rotator cuff surgery and will miss the season. I’m still processing this disaster.
Ryan Lewis CB (hamstring): At this rate in the least sour smalls tone ever—consider him out for the remainder of the season. This is an example of hamstring recovery gone bad.
Devonta Freeman RB (high ankle sprain, hamstring): he was eligible to return this week, but no word or sight of him.
ENDING ON A POSITIVE NOTE – RAINBOWS & UNICORNS
Kaden Smith, Matt Peart, and yet to play, Dante Pettis were activated off Reserve/Covid-19 list. This is fantastic news, Smith & Peart are great weapons to have back with the looming match-up.
Barkley: Saquon spoke to the press about his surgery and is doing great! His MCL healed without requiring intervention and his meniscus was left alone. All fantastic news that we love.
Get ready for the defense/Gallman/Gano show on Sunday! In McCoy we must trust. #togetherblue
xo, Stephie Smalls