Extra time during lockout to rehab injuries can be beneficial

MARTINSVILLE, N.J. -- Offensive lineman Damien Woody is no Nastia Liukin.

So when the 320-pound Woody tries to balance on a metal strip laying on the artificial turf at the TEST Sports Club workout center, part of his rehab from a ruptured Achilles' tendon, it is, well, a bit awkward.

It's also productive, as are his, uh, leaps on a mini-trampoline, and his squats while holding weights in each hand, his back pushing against a huge, round ball.

And when New York Jets receiver Jerricho Cotchery imitates the crane pose from "The Karate Kid" to enhance his balance and rotational skills? Simply part of his regimen as he heals from back surgery.

Woody, a free-agent tackle who was hurt in the Jets' playoff victory at Indianapolis in January, and Cotchery are among dozens of NFL players fighting back from major injuries on their own because of the league's labor lockout. Some, such at Colts safety Chip Vaughn, can have contact with the team's doctor because that's who performed his left ankle operation.

Others, including New Orleans Saints tackle Jon Stinchcomb, went back to their college roots for his rehab.

They all would be recovering and working at their team's facilities had there been no lockout, which is in its fourth month. And each of them normally would be fighting the itch to rush back and join their teammates for minicamps and the like.

This year, as the labor impasse continues, these players might be benefiting from the work stoppage.

"This has given a lot of guys time to heal and to get rid of those nagging little injuries, too," Cotchery said after more than an hour's worth of exercises, during which he displays the intense concentration any NFL wideout must have. "You can go at your own pace, get your rest, and that has benefited a lot of guys."

"The Top 100: Players of 2011" countdown continues on NFL Network on Sunday, June 19 at 8 p.m. ET. Stay tuned for a reaction show after players Nos. 21-30 are revealed.

Added Woody, with a tired smile, his T-shirt soaked with sweat: "Even if there were an offseason program now, I'd be doing rehab. I don't have to worry about the football side at all, just focus on getting 100 percent, and I'm getting closer. It's an opportunity to freshen up all the other aches and pains you get from playing 12 seasons in the NFL. So, yeah, in a way it's perfect timing to have the lockout."

Woody was released by the Jets on March 1, but he hopes to be back with them once he is fully recovered from what he calls "the most major injury of my career." He intends on playing somewhere in 2011, if there's a season.

So he spends his mornings at TEST, along with Cotchery; Jets star linebacker Bart Scott; defensive tackle Barry Cofield, a former Giant who is a free agent; and several other NFL players. Brian Martin, CEO of the facility and another in Florida, has several former players on his staff, plus a rehabilitating player in Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington.

"We're very careful to make sure we are in no way competing with what the teams do or want their players doing," Martin says. "But they know the players are getting intensive personal care and rehab work here from a highly trained group of professionals. Our only purpose is to help the players who are recovering from injuries to get well, or to keep the other players who come here, like Bart, in the best of shape."

Players who were injured last season have their recoveries paid for by their teams under workman's compensation plans. Vaughn, who is rehabbing in South Florida at Bommarito Performance Systems, is putting in more physical work than in other offseasons. That work simply doesn't involve playbooks and pass defense, because those aspects of his game depend on contact with the team -- which he can't have.

He starts his workout routine at 7:30 a.m. with two hours of rehab on both his ankle and left shoulder, which also was operated on in the offseason. Then comes stretching for an hour or more, followed by lifting weights.

He also does Pilates twice a week.

"If I was with the team, I'd be rehabbing still, but mixed in with meetings and practices," he said. "As far as team stuff goes, there isn't any of that now.

"This whole process is very delicate. I don't want to come back to the team in worse shape or with something lingering from last season to now. You don't want the team doubting how you were working. I can't give the Colts any reason to think I have not been busting my butt."

Vaughn also has been aided by garments made by Evidence Based Apparel that he might not have discovered without the extra recovery time the lockout has provided. He said his shoulders are stronger than ever, and he's been plagued by shoulder issues since his freshman year at Wake Forest. Such EBA jackets and shirts also have been worn by Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Brian Urlacher and Troy Polamalu.

"The straps are positioned to help correct the posture," he said. "At first, I said, 'What the heck is that?' But they say in tests, if your posture is where it needs to be, your body produces at maximum output.

"My jumps would go higher and higher, and I knew this can't just be my rehab. I am starting to use every muscle in my back and shoulder and deltoids. The shirt helps you keep the kind of posture you are supposed to have."

There's supposed to be football right around now, too, from minicamps to optional workouts. Without that structure, players have had to improvise to get their own regimen in place.

"This lockout is nasty business," said Stinchcomb, coming off left knee surgery. "It poses each guy a little different set of issues and problems.

"The University of Georgia was quick to welcome not only me, but there were other former Georgia players in the training room at UGA. So obviously there was a lot of guys that returned to their college campus to get the rehab ... and you're just trying to make the best of it all the way around."

Cotchery is one of the NFL's most graceful players, yet he struggles with some of the movements Martin and his staff ask him to do. He admits the most difficult are those designed to enhance his balance and stabilization, and he attacks them as if he was going after a Mark Sanchez pass in traffic.

At times, he gets frustrated. A botched exercise is no different to Cotchery on this June day than a drop in November.

"If you don't hit the rep right, you want to do it over and over," he says. "If I feel like I conquered that exercise, it makes me feel better when I come in the next day.

"There's no football, so I want to come in the next day ready to give my rehab everything I can give it."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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Former NFL players gather at forum to discuss head injuries

When Eric Hipple was on the wrong end of bone-crushing hits during his NFL career, he wore it like a badge of courage.

Hipple knows better now. After a post-NFL life marked by pain, depression and personal tragedy, the former Detroit Lions quarterback is speaking out.

The 53-year-old was one of about 20 former players who shared their stories during an NFL-sponsored forum Wednesday at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Detroit. "NFL Community Huddle: Taking a goal line stand for your mind & body" addressed head injuries and mental disorders such as Alzheimer's and dementia.

The risk of memory-related diseases for former players, including Alzheimer's, is 19 times the normal rate for men ages 30 through 49, according to an NFL-commissioned study in 2009.

"Took a lickin' and kept on tickin'," Hipple told The Detroit News, referencing the nickname that he earned during a playing career that lasted from 1980 to 1989. "I actually took pride in that name."

Hipple's body is a walking cautionary tale of the realities of an extended career in professional football. He underwent seven surgeries in his 10 seasons and battled severe depression after his career was done. He was in denial about his head injuries for years, and he dealt with the suicide of his 15-year-old son in 2000.

"Even the best health care in the world doesn't do you any good if you don't use it," Hipple said. "That's the problem with stigma. It stops people from getting the services they need."

The forum featured panelists Dr. David Satcher, a former U.S. surgeon general, former Buffalo Bills safety Mark Kelso, and Sylvia Mackey, wife of Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey.

Sylvia Mackey belives her 69-year-old husband wouldn't have developed dementia had he been better protected during a 10-year career in which the Colts great missed only one game.

Mackey's story prompted the NFL and NFL Player's Association to create the "88 Plan" in 2007 to help support players with dementia and their families. More than $7 million has been distributed through the initiative.

One of the forum's goals is to erase the "tough guy" thinking that leads to long-term issues for pro football players.

"There was a saying, 'You can't make the club if you're in the tub' and you're hurt," former Lions linebacker George Jamison said. "I always tried to get back out there and play."

Satcher believes there has to be a new way of thinking when it comes to protecting the players.

"People take protection of the brain for granted," he said. "Hopefully that will change."

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Bills lose WR Parrish, LB Davis to injuries

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Not only have the Buffalo Bills been losing games, they just lost two significant players to injuries.

Starting receiver Roscoe Parrish won't play again this season after sustaining a right wrist injury in Buffalo's 22-19 loss to the Chicago Bears in Toronto on Sunday, and starting inside linebacker Andra Davis is done for the year because of a nagging shoulder injury that he originally sustained in the season-opening loss to Miami.

Parrish, who finished with 33 catches and a career-high 400 receiving yards, will need surgery to repair the damage.

"You don't just replace guys that have been that productive," coach Chan Gailey said Monday. "It's an opportunity for somebody else to step up."

Parrish was hurt on Buffalo's next to last drive. On third-and-10 from the Chicago 44 with 2:31 left in regulation, he dove along the right sidelines to try and haul in Ryan Fitzpatrick's pass, and wound up falling awkwardly on the wrist.

It's the same wrist that forced Parrish to miss the first six games of his rookie season in 2005 when he broke it during training camp.

Parrish's injury is a blow to an offense that has been improving. The diminutive receiver had emerged as a solid option for Fitzpatrick after a forgettable 2009 in which he had only three receptions. Parrish was also Buffalo's best punt returner, averaging just under 11 yards on 12 returns this year. He came into the season with the fourth-highest punt return average (12.2 yards) in NFL history.

Gailey said the team will consider all of its options before either promoting Naaman Roosevelt, a Buffalo native, or Paul Hubbard from the practice squad, or simply signing a free agent to replace Parrish.

"We'll see what the best fit might be for us at this point," Gailey said.

Davis missed two games because of his shoulder injury, including Sunday's loss to Chicago. The nine-year NFL veteran signed with the Bills this offseason to serve as the defensive play-caller as the team made the switch to a 3-4 defense.

The damaging news comes a day after Buffalo dropped to 0-8, the worst start since losing 11 straight to open the 1984 campaign. Fitzpatrick, though, has been part of a second-half turnaround, and thinks history can repeat itself.

In 2008, he played on a Cincinnati Bengals team that lost its first eight games, but the Bengals were able to salvage some respectability by going 4-3-1 over their final eight. That recovery helped set the tone for a 2009 campaign in which they won the AFC North at 10-6.

"This team, at least from an offensive standpoint, is probably more talented," Fitzpatrick said when asked of the similarities between the two winless clubs. "That's something that I look as a positive. We haven't given up on the season."

To the Bills credit, they haven't rolled over in their last three gut-wrenching losses that included two straight overtime defeats. But one can't take away the "bumbling" description when talking about the Bills quite yet, as big turnovers at inopportune times have kept victory No. 1 from their grasp.

"It's the first time I've ever been through something like this in my career," receiver Lee Evans said. "It's trying on you mentally and physically."

Notes: The Bills also signed RB Quinton Ganther and released RB Andre Anderson and practice squad RB Rodney Ferguson Monday. Ganther has 262 yards rushing on 71 carries in 28 career NFL games. He was released by Seattle last Tuesday. ... Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions will be the first played in Buffalo since the Bills lost 36-26 to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 10. ... Newly acquired LB Shawne Merriman said on Monday that he expects to practice Wednesday. The team didn't practice on Monday. ... Receiver Steve Johnson had his franchise-tying five-game touchdown reception streak snapped. ... Fitzpatrick has thrown a touchdown strike in nine straight games dating back to last season, the longest franchise TD stretch since Drew Bledsoe threw at least one pass for a score in 10 consecutive games in 2002.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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Injuries claim Panthers QB Moore, LB Connor for season

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers' miserable year took an even darker twist Monday when tests revealed starting quarterback Matt Moore has a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder and will require season-ending surgery.

Moore was injured when Sedrick Ellis drove his right shoulder into the turf on a sack in the second quarter of New Orleans' 34-3 rout on Sunday. In the last year of his contract and after failing to move the Panthers except in their lone victory this season, Moore may have played his last game in Carolina.

But coach John Fox's reluctance to commit to struggling Jimmy Clausen over fellow rookie Tony Pike as Moore's replacement further illustrated his predicament as the Panthers (1-7) flirt with being one of the lowest-scoring teams in NFL history.

"The two quarterbacks on the roster, we'll take a look at them this week and decide who gives us the best chance to win," Fox said.

To make matters worse, the only bright spot for the Panthers this season -- the defense -- took its own hits. Starting middle linebacker Dan Connor is lost for the season after breaking his hip Sunday, and the team has decided not to bring back weakside linebacker Thomas Davis this season from his second major knee surgery in a year.

Fox also confirmed Jonathan Stewart sustained a concussion Sunday and gave no timetable for fellow running back DeAngelo Williams' return from a foot injury.

The Panthers can't seem to hit bottom.

Moore's injury may end a stunning fall after he finished 4-1 as a replacement last season, leading to Carolina's decision to release seven-year starter Jake Delhomme. Moore threw five touchdowns, 10 interceptions, lost two fumbles and had a passer rating of 55.6 this season.

And he's been Carolina's best QB.

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Fox yanked Clausen, the second-round pick from Notre Dame, shortly after he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Jabari Greer Sunday. Clausen has one touchdown pass, four interceptions, two lost fumbles and a 48.0 passer rating.

Pike, a sixth-round pick from Cincinnati, took over and was 6-for-12 for 47 yards against the Saints.

None of the three QBs led the Panthers into the end zone Sunday, leaving them with 88 points at the halfway point of the season. Failing to reach double digits in points in half their games, they're on pace to score 176 points. That's not far off from the pace that would leave them in the top five for fewest points in a season since the 16-game schedule was adopted in 1978.

"We're just out of sorts a little bit," Fox said. "Whether it be somebody seeing the right read, turning the protection the right way, throwing the ball accurately. A variety of things that have occurred to us offensively, not just at the quarterback position."

While Fox said signing another quarterback is unlikely because "I'm not sure there's a huge list available right now," he's ready to experiment.

Fox said third-round pick Armanti Edwards, a college quarterback at Appalachian State who had been converted to receiver, would get some snaps at QB in practice this week.

"If we did not bring in another quarterback, he would be the next best emergency quarterback that we have," he said.

The embattled Fox also has problems at linebacker. Connor was playing well in his first full season as a starter. Davis, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament for the second time in June, was hoping to come off the physically unable to perform list by Wednesday's deadline.

"It's been 5 ½ months and I think in his best interest I wouldn't want to rush that and risk another injury," Fox said on the decision to place Davis on IR.

Davis agreed with the assessment, and is confident Carolina will re-sign him.

"It was a joint decision and ultimately, and I appreciate them for this, they left it up to me," Davis said at halftime of Monday's San Antonio-Charlotte NBA game. "They left me the option of whether I wanted to do it and I made the decision to go ahead and shut it down."

The speedy weakside linebacker was having a breakout season in 2009 when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in a November game against New Orleans. He was making a rapid recovery seven months later -- clocked at 4.47 seconds in the 40-yard dash -- when he suffered the same injury in a June workout.

The Panthers didn't put him on IR and Davis had said he was determined to play this season despite Carolina (1-7) being in the midst of a terrible season. But Davis acknowledged his knee still isn't 100 percent.

"It's very tough. I know how much hard work I've put in," Davis said. "But even bigger than that, I know how much I want to be out there with my teammates week in and week out. I think of how much work we've put in to get this thing going and it's just not happening right now."

The move means Davis will enter free agency not only with the uncertainty surrounding the expiring collective bargaining agreement, but not having played in more than a year.

Davis believes he'll be in Carolina next season.

"That was a concern going in, but I know what I'm capable of," Davis said. "I have the utmost respect for the organization, and I feel like they're going to do a great job of handling the free agency situation. I've pretty much been assured by them that I'm going to be a Panther, so I hope that it all works out."

Asked if staying in Carolina was what he wanted, Davis didn't hesitate.

"Definitely," he said.

Fox indicated Jon Beason would likely move back to middle linebacker with Jordan Senn a candidate to start at weakside.

The roster shifting means more headaches for Fox, who tried to backtrack from a day earlier when he seemed to blame the front office for offseason moves that slashed payroll and left Carolina as the NFL's youngest team.

"That by no means is an indictment of our personnel by any stretch," Fox said. "I like our football team. I wish we were playing better."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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Colts lose Collie, Clark for indefinite period with hand injuries

First Joseph Addai, then Dallas Clark and now Austin Collie. If this run continues, the Indianapolis Colts might not have any healthy offensive players left by the time they return from a bye week.

The Colts announced Thursday that Collie, their second-leading receiver, had thumb surgery. The team said a timeframe for Collie's return hadn't been established, but a source with knowledge of the situation told NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora that the receiver will be out at least two weeks.

Collie has 44 catches for 503 yards and a team-high six touchdown receptions.

The news hit the Colts on the same day president Bill Polian revealed that Clark will be out indefinitely because of a wrist/hand injury, according to The Star.

Clark was examined by Dr. Thomas Graham at The Cleveland Clinic on Thursday, the tight end's agent, Neil Cornrich, told La Canfora. Graham is one of the nation's premier hand surgeons, and Clark and the Colts anticipate having more details about when the tight end can play by the end of the day.

"We're just not sure right now whether Dallas would be out a few weeks or if it's going to be longer than that," Cornrich said.

Polian spoke Thursday morning at a CEO Forum at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he told the audience about Clark: "He's got an injury to his wrist, which is a relatively rare injury. He's visiting a doctor in Cleveland today. He's due to come in and talk late this afternoon when he gets back and I get back. I don't know what the prognosis is. This is not the kind of injury that is very common where our doctors can say 'Hey, look, this is a four-week injury or this is a six-week injury.' So we'll know more later tonight."

Clark is tied for fourth in the NFL in receptions, but he leads tight ends with 37. He has 347 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He had 100 receptions for 1,106 yards in 2009 season.

Three-year pro Jacob Tamme will fill in for Clark. Tamme has played in 34 games and has six catches for 47 yards, none this season.

La Canfora reported Wednesday, citing a league source, that Addai could miss several weeks because he sustained nerve damage in his left shoulder. He suffered the injury last Sunday against the Washington Redskins.

The Colts also announced Thursday that backup defensive tackle Antonio Johnson, who has eight tackles in six games this season, underwent knee surgery.

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Browns bring back Ratliff after injuries to Delhomme, Wallace

The Cleveland Browns have a second quarterback with two healthy legs.

Desperate for help because of ankle injuries to Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace, the Browns confirmed Tuesday that they have re-signed Brett Ratliff as the probable backup to rookie Colt McCoy, who likely will make his first NFL start Sunday in Pittsburgh.

NFL Network analyst Charles Davis says that while Eric Mangini and his staff have the Browns on the right track, QB Seneca Wallace gives the team the best chance to win. More ...

Ratliff's agent said Monday that his client was on his way back to Cleveland.

Ratliff, 25, had been on the New England Patriots' practice squad, but the Browns know him well. He spent all of last season with Cleveland, and he was with the team throughout training camp before he was waived Sept. 4. Ratliff knows the Browns' offensive system, bringing some comfort to coach Eric Mangini as the team prepares to face the blitz-happy Steelers coming off a bye last week.

Mangini hasn't announced McCoy as his starter, and the coach might not tip his hand until just before kickoff to keep the Steelers guessing.

On Monday, Mangini said he believes McCoy, the former University of Texas star who slipped to the third round in April's draft, is prepared for his professional debut.

"Sometimes the opportunity knocks, and if you get that opportunity, you got to be ready to seize it," Mangini said. "He's played a lot of games, not at this level, but a lot of games in college at a very high level, and he's been in this system now for quite some time."

Delhomme, who missed the Browns' previous three games with a high ankle sprain, appeared to re-injure his ankle during Sunday's loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He was pressed into action after Wallace, making his fourth consecutive start, injured his ankle during the first half when he was sacked by Falcons end John Abraham.

Mangini refused to give specifics on the injuries to his veteran quarterbacks -- the team hasn't provided any updates on their status or test results -- but The Cleveland Plain Dealer cited league sources in reporting that Delhomme suffered a high and a low ankle sprain and Wallace had a high ankle sprain.

The Browns' decision to sign Ratliff seems to indicate that both Delhomme and Wallace will be out for an extended period. League rules guarantee Ratliff will be on Cleveland's roster for at least three weeks.

The Browns also terminated the contract of wide receiver Sam Aiken, who had one reception for 7 yards in three games last season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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