Why do players think they can get away with optimistic injury sound bites without providing any details to back it up? For once, I have an answer. They do it because they can. Nobody ever seems to question them about it.
There’s a curious story developing right now with San Francisco 49ers’ linebacker NaVorro Bowman. Bowman pretty much shredded his left knee, tearing his ACL and MCL, in the NFC Championship game. That game was played on January 19, 2014, and that timing is important. A lot of NFL players have made amazing ACL recoveries and come back to start Week 1 of the following season, but none have done so after being injured so late in the season. Adrian Peterson’s legendary recovery started after a late December injury. Wes Welker and Robert Griffin III both made impressive recoveries to start in Week 1 after January injuries, but those were both in the first week of January. Even those extra two or three weeks can make a huge difference in terms of being ready for the following season.
NaVorro Bowman gave an interview to ESPN’s Sports Center on April 3, 2014. At that time, Bowman was almost exactly two months removed from his knee surgery. In the interview, Bowman claimed to be, “ahead of schedule,” in his ACL rehab. To back that up, he said that he has, “great flexion,” in his knee. (That means he can move his knee in the full range of a healthy, non-injured knee). That’s cool and all, but that’s not really relevant. It would be useful news if he still didn’t have full flexion, but really, that’s a goal that rehab patients want to hit at between two to six weeks after surgery. By this point in Bowman’s recovery, he should be well past the flexion work. And perhaps he is. He didn’t state exactly when he achieved that goal, so maybe he hit that mark long ago.
What’s more telling though is what he outlined as his future goal in that interview. When asked what his timeline looked like, Bowman replied:
“I’ll be able to run in the pool really fast and strong by the next month, month-and-a-half or so.”
Let’s just dig right into that, shall we? Bowman’s surgery had occurred almost exactly two months before that interview. So, if we use that timeline and try to project his expectations into it, his quote would read something like, “I’ll be able to run in the pool really fast and strong by three months, three-and-a-half months or so post surgery.” Do you follow me there? His words, his actual dates, I’m just mashing them together for a new statement. The big thing that stands out to me is that, when framed that way, Bowman looks like he’s actually behind schedule! I will never claim to be a doctor (or all that smart), but my friend The Internets tells me that pool running is usually done prior to the three month post surgery mark. See for yourself here or here. The three month point is an important window where patients typically begin “dry land running,” or, as you and I might call it, “plain old running.” Sure, it’s not the same for everyone. I’m a bit of a slacker and a baby, and I’m confident I’d miss that three-month mark. There are all sorts of reasons that someone might not start running or jogging until later than that three-month mark. All I’m saying here is that I’m not seeing anything to get optimistic about. If his quotes lead me to believe that he’s behind schedule, why should I believe his quotes (from the same interview!) that say he’s ahead of schedule?
Big disclaimer here… I don’t know jack about Bowman’s actual recovery or timetable. All I’m doing is speculating based upon what Bowman himself is saying publicly. For all I know, Bowman might be correct. Maybe he is ahead of schedule. Maybe he means that he will wrap up pool running at exactly the three-month mark and transition right to dry land running. Maybe he’ll come running straight out of that pool on May 4th and win the Runs With Scissors Marathon in Brighton, Colorado without so much as toweling himself off. Again, all I’m saying here is that, looking at the information Bowman is providing us, there’s no reason to really believe that he’s ahead of schedule. Also, I need to point out that even though Bowman keeps pushing that, “ahead of schedule,” status, he has stopped short of predicting exactly when he’ll return.
For my money, the most interesting part of this story actually comes from San Francisco head coach Jim Harbaugh. In a previous post, I criticized Dallas Cowboys’ owner/president/general manager/chief-meddler/egomaniac for the rosy picture of QB Tony Romo’s recovery from back surgery. Without any real milestones to measure by, Jones seemed to just expect us all to believe that Romo was, “ahead of schedule.” In sharp contrast to that, take a look at how Harbaugh has handled NaVorro Bowman’s recovery. In an interview on February 20th, when asked about Bowman’s return-to-play timeline, Harbaugh said,
“Realistically, halfway through the season, something like that.”
You see what Harbaugh has done there? He, just like everyone else, has no real idea when Bowman will be ready to play. But rather than keep the, “Will he or won’t he start Week 1,” chatter alive, Harbaugh has just stamped it out with his characteristic ugly black cleats. He’s basically saying, “I don’t know, ask me again when it matters and maybe, just maybe, I’ll have a better answer.” That’s smart. More coaches need to do that.
Now what I’ll be watching for is to see how many times this offseason Harbaugh has to keep squashing that question. If Bowman continues with his vague, “ahead of schedule,” talk, it could be quite a bit.
