I wish it was just the two. I've been following these medical malaprops for 3 years now with the Texans, and have been getting educated by Dr. CND more recently. This is, in my opinion, a systemic problem within the organization. O'Brien, having just walked in the door, doesn't have the benefit of hindsight that we who have followed this team have.
And just to emphasize some of Dr. CND's points...
You said you thought Clowney should have had an overhaul and sit out the year after the hernia?
At the time of the hernia revelation, I was hoping that they would have addressed his bone spurs as well as any hip problems (which are so commonly associated with sports hernias). Time lost would only be determined after treatments pursued and postoperative progression observed.
Technically...... neither the hernia or the bone spurs have presented to be an issue. Jadeveon Clowney has been held out of games resulting from an injury that happened week 1 of the regular season. Complications from that recovery has made his availability spotty.
With more time to evaluate , do you think he needs to shut it down and get everything fixed?
Again, the team doctors have made a determination not to address anything other than his post meniscus surgery situation. As long as he has continued swelling, rest is mandatory. There is no reason to not believe Clowney when he is quoted as saying he indeed has swelling of his knee.........this is not a subjective finding and would readily be evident to any doctor or trainer with access to him.
Again, I don't read this to say, "The Texans should have known & they are rushing Clowney back." He had his surgery, gone through rehab, was cleared for practice, was observed after practice... knee swelling or reports of a lot of pain & he was kept out of the game.
He continued rehab, was cleared for practice, worked out with the team, observed after practice, cleared for the game, played the game, reports of swelling & pain, he was shut down & held out of practice & the following game.
He continued rehab, was cleared for practice, worked out with the team, his condition was assessed after practice, was cleared for the game, he played, they re-assessed the information, now it is being reported that his knee is swelling & there is obvious pain.... he's being held out of practice.
Just like CnD is saying, the body says stop & they stop. A swollen knee does not mean you put him on IR. It's an injury that has to be managed & the Texans are managing it.
It's not like the Texans are draining his knee & shooting him up with pain killers then throwing him out there on game day. If there's any swelling or pain, he's being kept out of practice & he's not playing Sunday if he doesn't practice.
Do you think the Texans should stop extending contracts after major injuries ( Cushing & Schaub )?
Yes. Especially since these have not been structured on the basis of incentives and ability to perform to a certain level.
Is this a sign that the don't put enough emphasis on injuries?
This is a sign of short-sidedness at many levels.
"Short-sidedness on many levels" is an
understatement. Even a knucklehead like me "saw" the Schaub outcome coming -- when I hear
Lisfranc or
microfracture surgery...
Here, I have to disagree.
Schaub was given a contract to prove he can perform at an elite level. He basically had two years to do so. He did not, we traded him. The contract was set up to allow us to do it on our time-table. We won 12 games the first year of that contract, with Schaub playing at a high level for much of them. We won a play-off game, with Schaub starting.
He did not beat Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers, but it's not like we thought he would, or that we were paying him like them.
Cushing... after his first knee injury, CnD reported that we should expect Cushing to return to pre-injury performance with a high level of probability. I believe he even mentioned the contract as a win for the Texans.
& it's not like there was no contact with Cushing's second injury, or that there were complications with his recovery. Someone could put their helmet through Jj Watt's knee Sunday & it would be no different than what happened with Cush. An injury after the contract that had nothing to do with any previous injury.