Hampton surgery hurts in more ways than one

by tdbragg66 on Jan 27, 2012 6:00 AM EST

After having xrays and mri's done on his knee after the loss to Denver , team officials all said , Casey will not need surgery to repair his ACL . Now today , Casey is going under the knife to have his ACL repaired . That does'nt bode well for a guy who will be 35 years old before the 2012 season starts . In addition , it really hurts the teams defense because the only other nose tackle on the roster is second stringer Steve McClendon . The team now is going to either draft a nose tackle or bring someone in during free agency . The question I have is , why the delay ? This should have been diagnosed two weeks ago after the playoff loss and it wasnt . If I'm Mike Tomlin , I'm having some serious discussions with my team doctor .

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Well.....

since I have enough sports medicine experience to make myself dangerous to others I will chime in. Between the swelling and girth that Big Snack presents it is very difficult to get an accurate diagnosis on a knee injury until the swelling subsides. The signs of a grade two (partial tear) and grade three (ripped to hell) are very similar and you don’t want to be hasty to put someone under the knife until you are sure. In addition, they would not preform surgery until the swelling subsided anyway. He should have time to rehab for the upcoming season. My concern is his weight, he has a hard time controlling that with two good legs.

I wasn't hired for my disposition!

by Burgernazi on Jan 27, 2012 8:53 AM EST reply actions

doctor

"I think the beard will decide when the time is right to come back. It will know when the time is right and all of a sudden appear." -The Deisel

by count'em_six on Jan 27, 2012 9:36 AM EST up reply actions

Doctor

"They timed it perfectly, they just went too soon." - Darrell Waltrip commenting on an illegal restart.

by alfresco on Jan 28, 2012 12:00 PM EST up reply actions

Doctor

United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.

by PaVaSteeler on Jan 28, 2012 2:30 PM EST up reply actions

mind if I play through?

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by Dr. Spaceman on Jan 29, 2012 9:45 PM EST up reply actions

Typical...

…a doctor on the fairways, wanting special treatment – lol!

United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.

by PaVaSteeler on Jan 29, 2012 10:07 PM EST up reply actions

Well, if the entire Browns staff can't tell

when their quarterback may have suffered a concussion…

Bill Beeelichick proved that in America it’s okay to cheat, as long as you cheat your way to the top. – Eric Cartman

by Alba on Jan 27, 2012 9:43 AM EST reply actions

Hah !!! +1

United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.

by PaVaSteeler on Jan 27, 2012 11:57 AM EST up reply actions

Move to the 4-3?

With Hoke out and Hampton in perhaps his last year?

Bill Beeelichick proved that in America it’s okay to cheat, as long as you cheat your way to the top. – Eric Cartman

by Alba on Jan 27, 2012 9:44 AM EST reply actions

No

It’s not going to happen.

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by John Stephens on Jan 27, 2012 10:19 AM EST up reply actions

Why would we do that when we're already thin at DT?

by Superstar25 on Jan 30, 2012 1:13 AM EST up reply actions

Can I speculate...

I think Casey didn’t want to have the surgical procedure done, as mentioned he is 35 and Snack is not a workout warrior. He’ll have to shut down for a long period of time and then get back into shape to attempt to come back for 2012. I speculate he is not motivated to do the long exhausting rehab.

by ColinP on Jan 27, 2012 10:22 AM EST reply actions

Just a thought

but isn’t it common to wait a few weeks for the swelling to go down and testing to be completed on an ACL before the surgery?

It seems like a lifetime ago, but the game was less than 3 weeks ago. It’s not like he put it off to enjoy his offseason and then had it done right before camp. (wasn’t that what Ward did last year – with nobody raising a stink?)

by lkwdsteel on Jan 27, 2012 11:09 AM EST reply actions

It's not a stretch...

I’ve been saying that I think the Steelers need a NT in either the 1st or 2nd round next year. It might have become a bigger priority than Guard at this point. Both will be addressed by either the draft or FA.

by twault on Jan 27, 2012 1:20 PM EST reply actions

I don't think anything is a bigger priority than OL this draft.

We can restructure Casey,especially now with his injury and uncertainty re his future. We have McLendon and Ziggy as backs for that position and can do well as a D with those guys.

Can you honestly say we can do well on O without getting a top young Gor OT? I think not…

by ColinP on Jan 27, 2012 2:47 PM EST reply actions

1. Will Casey even be ready for the start of the season? Will he get cut or will he restructure his contract? There are too many uncertainties with him right now.

2. McLendon is a damn good backup, sure, but I don’t want him as a starter just yet. Maybe he can improve and take over the starting spot but at this point he needs to stay a backup.

3. Hood has never played NT and sure as hell isn’t big enough so I don’t want him as a backup.

"If you havin' dragon problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 arrows but my knee took one."

by Riddlah. on Jan 27, 2012 3:35 PM EST up reply actions

Ziggy is bigger and strong than McLendon.

by Blackadar on Jan 27, 2012 4:11 PM EST up reply actions

That doesn’t matter. He still doesn’t know how to play NT while McLendon does. Btw, McLendon is most likely around 315 if not more, so I doubt Ziggy is bigger than him.

"If you havin' dragon problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 arrows but my knee took one."

by Riddlah. on Jan 27, 2012 4:25 PM EST up reply actions

Thanks

Ive been trying to figure out how much he weighs now!! I only ever see him at 290 or so and its been bugging the hell out of me.

by OIF3GUNNER on Jan 30, 2012 11:35 PM EST up reply actions

And yet that strength wasn't good enough to handle double teams this year

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Cleveland Cavaliers fan - um yeah, about that...

by StoneColdSteel on Jan 28, 2012 1:38 AM EST up reply actions

handling double teams

I would have to think that balance, footwork and handwork are part of the equation as well.

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by Cold_Old_Steelers_Fan on Jan 31, 2012 12:45 AM EST up reply actions

The diagnosis may have been premature

However eve if the diagnosis was different surgery requires the swelling to go down. I look at Baron Batch during training camp he tore his ACL and I don;t believe had surgery till a week later. At most a different diagnosis would have sped this up by a week. This is still a six to eight month injury and with a person the size of Casey Hampton it will also take him longer to get into playing shape. Hampton in my opinoin would be back till after the first month of the season.

The Steelers have two options then;
Cut Casey Hampton and save some cap money or keep him and put him on the PUP. (Means he wouldn’t be able to play for the first six weeks.)
Either way they will need a NT that can come in a play some snaps if only to spell McLendon. The Steelers are aided by an incredibly deep guard draft.

If they cut Hampton they can always resign him for cheaper when he appear to get healthier. However we may have to compete with other teams. Until is he is healthy though no team will touch him.

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by Steel34D on Jan 27, 2012 4:14 PM EST reply actions

Either way hampton is 35

That’s a dinosaur for a NT
Need to try out hood at least. Draft and FA – thinking of Pouha

Impose your will.

by ALDOG on Jan 28, 2012 2:28 PM EST reply actions

Snack did pretty well in the Strong Man comp at the Pro Bowl

250lb/39 reps/1 minute. Nothing wrong with his upper body strength…lol

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by 1BlkGldFan on Jan 29, 2012 11:59 AM EST reply actions