McNair: Cushing "ahead of schedule"

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by Brisco_County

He's a good interview. He's seems to have matured even more.

He also looks like he's around 230 lbs. He'll probably be 245 by the start of the season.

If he makes it to 245 by then, that would still be 10-15 lbs under what he normally plays the position. An ILB especially needs to maintain his "normal" playing weight/muscle to be optimally effective.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Nawzer

There's good reason to feel doom and gloom. I don't expect Cushing to be 100% this coming season and he may never be 100% as a matter of fact. Even with Cushing back I think ILB is the weakest position on defense and we need to seriously address it this year. Texans can't rely on Cushing to carry the full load and he shouldn't honestly.

I believe that is a legitimate concern. I also believe moving Brooks to ILB addresses that concern. If Cushing can't be that guy we need him to be & Brooks doesn't appear to be capable... we'll draft a guy in next year's draft.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

I believe that is a legitimate concern. I also believe moving Brooks to ILB addresses that concern. If Cushing can't be that guy we need him to be & Brooks doesn't appear to be capable... we'll draft a guy in next year's draft.

I'm not sure that the Texans would trust Reed as a THREE down ILB with his coverage skills being quite suspect.

[Brisco_County]

Originally Posted by CloakNNNdagger

If he makes it to 245 by then, that would still be 10-15 lbs under what he normally plays the position. An ILB especially needs to maintain his "normal" playing weight/muscle to be optimally effective.

This is why comparing his recovery to Peterson and Charles is the wrong gauge. A runningback has attributes other than strength and mass to rely upon. An ILB requires those attributes to be a flying brick wall.

[amazing80]

I think its pretty hard to accurately say how much he weighs bases on that video.....he was in dress clothes and long sleeves, its not like he was this bulging freak in street clothes before

[JamesBill]

Originally Posted by CloakNNNdagger

If he makes it to 245 by then, that would still be 10-15 lbs under what he normally plays the position. An ILB especially needs to maintain his "normal" playing weight/muscle to be optimally effective.

He plays at 250.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by JamesBill

He plays at 250.

Actually he has played between 255 and 260. This and his weight loss were both confirmed by McLane on 610 today.

[JimBaker488]

I'm thinking Cushing was in the low 260s his rookie year when he was playing in the 4-3 as the SAM, but he was probably 15 lbs lighter playing in Wade's defense.

[JamesBill]

Originally Posted by CloakNNNdagger

Actually he has played between 255 and 260. This and his weight loss were both confirmed by McLane on 610 today.

He said he was 250 on mic'd up. Probably fluctuated but I will take Cushing's word over pancakes.

[infantrycak]

Just as a comparison, PFT is reporting Darrelle Revis is resuming running in his 5th month after surgery.

[GP]

Originally Posted by Brisco_County

This is why comparing his recovery to Peterson and Charles is the wrong gauge. A runningback has attributes other than strength and mass to rely upon. An ILB requires those attributes to be a flying brick wall.

I disagree.

I think they're the same, actually.

You have two "trenches" in terms of an OL and a DL....

Behind an OL you've got a RB who makes a lot of contact on every play except the rare time when they flare out to the sideline and never get touched.

Behind a DL you've got LBs who make a lot of contact on every play, except the times when they are in zone and are staying home to patrol and area.

Then you've got WRs and DBs who compare to one another, probably making the least amount of contact other than perhaps the QB.

I think LBs and RBs actually compare fairly well to one another. Sure, one is trying to NOT get hit and the other is trying to DO the hitting...but the fact remains that they both start off at the snap by being behind a trench of bigger guys and they're on a collision course with one another. A LB has to have the same off-the-snap explosion and agility as a RB does, IMO.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Just as an aside reference for typical rehab running schedule from a USA TODAY article written about Adrian Peterson.

Adrian Peterson leads way in ACL recovery in NFL
3:39a.m. EST December 7, 2012

Prehab and rehab

Surgeons typically don't reconstruct ACLs until a week or two after the injury. That interim is for the prehab.

"The best thing to do before surgery is to get as much swelling out of the joint as possible to get their range of motion back," said Anna Hartman, a physical therapist and Director of Physical Performance Therapy at Phoenix-based Athletes' Performance, a training/rehab center for elite athletes.

"The more range of motion they go into surgery with and the less swelling … the better the outcomes they have."

That means ice and elevation, massage and manipulation of the knee and exercising muscles of the hip that shut down after a leg injury. Hartman also has her patients work on range of motion in a pool with his or her body unweighted.

After surgery, Hartman said the doctors typically have the athletes stay home for 2-3 days. The knee is in an immobilizer (a type of brace that can be adjusted to allow for varying degrees of knee bending), and the athlete is on crutches.

After that, the rehab moves into full swing. Hartman said athletes usually are off crutches in two weeks, although the immobilizer will stay on for about four weeks.

From five weeks to 16 weeks, she said, the athlete does exercises to strengthen the muscles of the hip, thigh and calves. "Typically around 12 weeks, we'll clear them to start running straight ahead," she said.

The cutting and running come between 4-6 months.

"Six months, usually, the doctor will clear them to return to sports-specific activities," Hartman said.

She added, "I won't allow somebody to cut until they've shown me they have good strength and hip stability and are tolerating things well."

The emphasis is on the quality, not the quickness, of the recovery.

"In the early 2000s, there were a lot of people pushing -- without any science -- returning in like 2-4 months," Harner said. "Many of these athletes weren't ready. They didn't have the muscle power. They didn't have the balance. ... Their knee would fatigue, and they'd blow the graft out again.

Now, the rehab is more carefully monitored, Harner said: "We're now looking at what is the function of the knee and the leg and the lower extremity. Can they do a shuttle drill (changes of direction around cones)? Can they do one-legged hops and can they run on a treadmill for 15 minutes and then stand on a single leg without having it wobble?"

Peterson rehabbed at the Vikings complex and near his Houston home, at Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute, where he worked with physical therapist Russ Paine.

"The things you guys don't see is how much I work and grind and fought through different situations to get back," Peterson said. "Mentally, I was able to push through when I was tired and didn't want to do anything. I definitely give credit to the things I put into my off-season."

The patella tendon is still sore after games, but it's a small price to pay for Peterson to return to the form that makes a 2,000-yard season possible to him.

FOR ALL OF THE STORY

Simply stated, although Cushing may be doing well, beginning to run at 5 months......., i.e., at 20 weeks......doing so can in no way be interpreted as being "ahead of schedule."

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by CloakNNNdagger

Just as an aside reference for typical rehab running schedule from a USA TODAY article written about Adrian Peterson.
FOR ALL OF THE STORY

Simply stated, although Cushing may be doing well, beginning to run at 5 months......., i.e., at 20 weeks......doing so can in no way be interpreted as being "ahead of schedule."

Well, as long as he's on schedule, I'll take it as a positive.
Should I ?

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

Well, as long as he's on schedule, I'll take it as a positive.
Should I ?

I don't believe that with what we know, it is a negative. However, it is way too early to be discussing "outlook." If he sustained other significant ligament or cartilage tears of the knee besides an ACL (which unfortunately is not so uncommon), it could explain the 20 week period rather than the 12 or 16 week run start time. On the other hand, it could also give greater reason to be somewhat concerned over the ultimate prognosis for ability to return, time of return, potential later setbacks and level of final performance attainable. Meanwhile, let's just say we'll all try to stay optimistic.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by CloakNNNdagger

I don't believe that with what we know, it is a negative. However, it is way too early to be discussing "outlook." If he sustained other significant ligament or cartilage tears of the knee besides an ACL (which unfortunately is not so uncommon), it could explain the 20 week period rather than the 12 or 16 week run start time. On the other hand, it could also give greater reason to be somewhat concerned over the ultimate prognosis for ability to return, time of return, potential later setbacks and level of final performance attainable. Meanwhile, let's just say we'll all try to stay optimistic.

You just made me turn around 180%

[IDEXAN]

Brian Cushing told the Houston Texans' team website in mid-April that he is preparing to be "110 percent" in time to have a career-best season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament early last October.
So far, so good. Owner Bob McNair said in February that the team's best linebacker was "ahead of schedule" in his rehabilitation. Now, head coach Gary Kubiak says Cushing is "champing at the bit" to get back on the field.

"I'm watching him today, he sure looks like he's ready to go," Kubiak said Monday, via HoustonTexans.com. "I know that it's not time to turn him loose yet, but he's come a long way."

The Texans will continue to exercise caution with Cushing's knee throughout the offseason, but he's on track to participate in training camp. He will be nine months removed from surgery by early August. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson needed just eight months of rehabilitation before the start of his historic 2012 season.

Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips desperately needs his defensive leader back at full strength this season. Phillips' defense fell off sharply when Cushing went down, surrendering 25-plus points in five of the last 11 games after not allowing it to happen once in the first five.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap100...ry-kubiak-says

[Nawzer]

Counting on Cushing to be 100% is naive imho. He's coming off a major surgery, a surgery we know sometimes take 2 years to fully heal if it ever does. I expect him to play but I don't expect him to be what he was. I'm worried that the Texans are not apparently worried about him. That's why I'm surprised that the Texans didn't go after a couple of veteran ILBs. Maybe they will before training camp opens and after the teams cut some of their vets.

[Brisco_County]

It's not the injury recovery I'm worried about. It's his strength rehab. Cushing's game relies on speed and physical dominance. If his strength is off, he's off.

[noxiousdog]

Props for proper use of champing. Of course mcnair is a horse guy, so makes sense.

[CloakNNNdagger]

Originally Posted by noxiousdog

Props for proper use of champing. Of course mcnair is a horse guy, so makes sense.

http://grammarist.com/usage/champing...ng-at-the-bit/