Kyle Long...a Warrior!

butkus3595
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Kyle Long...a Warrior! May 21, 2020 19:42:05 GMT -6 AlexM, riczaj01, and 3 more like this

Post by butkus3595 on May 21, 2020 19:42:05 GMT -6

Just in case you had any doubts on the physical toll this game can take on your body, read this article about Kyle Long and the injuries he endured and played through:

theathletic.com/1825706/2020/05/21/a-freakin-warrior-at-30-kyle-long-carries-the-scars-of-his-bears-career/

Dude was tough as nails, and we should appreciate him.

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riczaj01
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Kyle Long...a Warrior! May 22, 2020 5:52:03 GMT -6 butkus3595 likes this

Post by riczaj01 on May 22, 2020 5:52:03 GMT -6

ya you wouldn't think a guy built like him would get this beat up and rack up these injuries, but here it is. And it again goes back to, if you get hurt, chances are greater you will get hurt in the future. There is just no real chance to let your body fully recover.

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JABF
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Kyle Long...a Warrior! May 22, 2020 8:05:26 GMT -6 riczaj01 and butkus3595 like this

Post by JABF on May 22, 2020 8:05:26 GMT -6

Exactly. And even with the QB protection rules in place now, we still see quarterbacks drop like flies to injuries every year. Alex Smith is 17 surgeries "in" on his injury and it's a miracle he still has his leg. It's a brutal sport. Still.

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Last Edit: May 22, 2020 8:06:43 GMT -6 by JABF

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butkus3595
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Kyle Long...a Warrior! May 22, 2020 19:30:00 GMT -6 riczaj01 likes this

Post by butkus3595 on May 22, 2020 19:30:00 GMT -6

May 22, 2020 5:52:03 GMT -6 riczaj01 said:

ya you wouldn't think a guy built like him would get this beat up and rack up these injuries, but here it is. And it again goes back to, if you get hurt, chances are greater you will get hurt in the future. There is just no real chance to let your body fully recover.

Especially if your mentality is like his: "I can run so I can play".

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butkus3595
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Kyle Long...a Warrior! May 22, 2020 19:36:26 GMT -6 AlexM, riczaj01, and 2 more like this

Post by butkus3595 on May 22, 2020 19:36:26 GMT -6

For those of you who don't have a subscription to the Athletic, here's a snippet:
"Despite the shoulder injury, Long plays well for the first six games of the season. Then he takes the field for pregame warmups at Lambeau Field. By this time, the left side of his upper body is a mess, with some muscles atrophying and others overcompensating. He comes off a snap and locks out against fellow offensive lineman Eric Kush, and his triceps pops and rolls up in his arm.

He can run though, so he can play.

Two games later against Tampa, Cutler calls, “Fake Toss Right Shovel Right.” Long and right tackle Bobby Massie double-team a Bucs lineman, and Cutler pitches a shovel pass to fullback Paul Lasike, who fumbles. While most of the other men on the field dive for the ball, Long, unaware of what’s happening behind him, keeps blocking. And then the entire pile of humanity lands on the back of Long’s extended right leg."

The dude played with a torn labrum in his shoulder...without a shoulder brace. Then played 2 games with a torn tricep, until a leg injury finally did him in for the season. Like I said...WARRIOR!

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paytonisgod
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Kyle Long...a Warrior! May 23, 2020 10:44:45 GMT -6

Post by paytonisgod on May 23, 2020 10:44:45 GMT -6

While it's impressive what he played through, reading that also demonstrated that he might not have had to go through that if he had taken better care of his body. I've known the type of person that he seems to be. Someone who was basically given exceptional physical or mental abilities, so much so they don't really have to try that hard to stay on top. This ends up biting them later on because they never had to develop the work ethic or mental mindset necessary to reach their maximum. As the article pretty much states Long should have been a 7 time Pro Bowler and possibly a bust in Canton. It's hard not to feel like he may have squandered that despite his resilience.

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butkus3595
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Kyle Long...a Warrior! May 23, 2020 19:19:50 GMT -6

Post by butkus3595 on May 23, 2020 19:19:50 GMT -6

May 23, 2020 10:44:45 GMT -6 paytonisgod said:

While it's impressive what he played through, reading that also demonstrated that he might not have had to go through that if he had taken better care of his body. I've known the type of person that he seems to be. Someone who was basically given exceptional physical or mental abilities, so much so they don't really have to try that hard to stay on top. This ends up biting them later on because they never had to develop the work ethic or mental mindset necessary to reach their maximum. As the article pretty much states Long should have been a 7 time Pro Bowler and possibly a bust in Canton. It's hard not to feel like he may have squandered that despite his resilience.

Thats what you got from that article? That he didn't work hard enough? I'm gonna have to strongly disagree with that take.

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paytonisgod
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Kyle Long...a Warrior! May 23, 2020 19:23:38 GMT -6

Post by paytonisgod on May 23, 2020 19:23:38 GMT -6

May 23, 2020 19:19:50 GMT -6 butkus3595 said:

May 23, 2020 10:44:45 GMT -6 paytonisgod said:

While it's impressive what he played through, reading that also demonstrated that he might not have had to go through that if he had taken better care of his body. I've known the type of person that he seems to be. Someone who was basically given exceptional physical or mental abilities, so much so they don't really have to try that hard to stay on top. This ends up biting them later on because they never had to develop the work ethic or mental mindset necessary to reach their maximum. As the article pretty much states Long should have been a 7 time Pro Bowler and possibly a bust in Canton. It's hard not to feel like he may have squandered that despite his resilience.

Thats what you got from that article? That he didn't work hard enough? I'm gonna have to strongly disagree with that take.

He literally said that himself.

Though Long was as strong as anybody, he wasn’t as strong as he could have been. Born with genes that would let him get away with it, Long acknowledges he rarely trained as hard as he could have.

“It was very unprofessional of me not to have a regimen to follow,” he says. “What did (former Seahawks running back) Marshawn Lynch say at the Super Bowl media sessions? I’m only here so I don’t get fined. I relied a lot on just showing up. At a certain point in time, you can’t do that.”

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Last Edit: May 23, 2020 19:23:50 GMT -6 by paytonisgod

butkus3595
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Kyle Long...a Warrior! May 23, 2020 19:40:02 GMT -6 JABF likes this

Post by butkus3595 on May 23, 2020 19:40:02 GMT -6

May 23, 2020 19:23:38 GMT -6 paytonisgod said:

May 23, 2020 19:19:50 GMT -6 butkus3595 said:

Thats what you got from that article? That he didn't work hard enough? I'm gonna have to strongly disagree with that take.

He literally said that himself.

Though Long was as strong as anybody, he wasn’t as strong as he could have been. Born with genes that would let him get away with it, Long acknowledges he rarely trained as hard as he could have.

“It was very unprofessional of me not to have a regimen to follow,” he says. “What did (former Seahawks running back) Marshawn Lynch say at the Super Bowl media sessions? I’m only here so I don’t get fined. I relied a lot on just showing up. At a certain point in time, you can’t do that.”

Strength is somewhat overrated. In fact one could argue being too strong is a limiting factor in sports. He was strong enough. Strength doesn't keep you from tearing your labrum, it doesn't keep you from getting rolled up on and having a devastating ankle injury that keeps you from having your torn labrum taken care of, it doesn't keep you from getting a foot injury, and it generally won't help you from tearing your adductor.

Kyle Longs deterioration in play is not because he wasn't strong enough. It's because his injuries built on one another. He injured his shoulder, and instead of taking time off he played through it. The body needs to compensate, and because of that he injures his tricep. Because he never had his shoulder fixed he injures his neck and that causes a host of issues. I can speak from experience to that. I have a neck issue where the cervical part of the spine meets the thoracic part of the spine. I've recently lost all strength in my left arm and its atrophied. I've had this issue before on my right side too. It takes a while to work out the issues going on around my spine and in my back and build myself up again. His leg injuries all stem back to his ankle injury. Nothing to do with strength.

Now if you wanted to argue he should have taken more time off to actually heal and thats what you meant by taking care of himself, well then I'd be in agreement with you. I know guys who have "just showed up"...they were no where near as good and no where near as injured either. We had a guy who was a starter and has won two super bowls in his career come to train with us once and during the warm up said to us "You know this is week 1 right? Why you killing us?". He later on went to go train with a guy who trained tennis players. LOL...thats a guy who "just showed up".

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JABF
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Kyle Long...a Warrior! May 23, 2020 21:19:17 GMT -6 AlexM and bears40 like this

Post by JABF on May 23, 2020 21:19:17 GMT -6

“I was trying to be a good teammate, and it backfired”

It sounds like he played hurt a lot. He was thinking that was best for the team. In hindsight it looks like it was not the best thing to do. Not for the team or for Kyle. It's a brutal sport. Human bodies really are not engineered to withstand the forces and trauma of the sport. With linemen you have 300+ pound athletes in an explosive sport that I have often though resembles explosive martial arts type combat. In addition to that you also have 300+ pound bodies just flying around. Even your own guys can end up accidentally landing on you, breaking bones and tearing your ligaments and tendons on plays when they land on you in plays. It doesn't matter how strong you are because some things in the human body simply can't take that kind of trauma or stress. Body parts break. I think of Zack Miller and Alex Smith's injuries... they came mighty close to having their leg amputated.

Few if any sports are this brutal. I love football, and I do have a great respect for the men who play the sport. I respect Kyle Long.

Kyle Long seems like a really good guy and a good Bear. Unfortunately he had an accumulation of serious injuries that hurt his career. I just hope he can have good health after football and enjoy the next phase of his life, whatever that may be.

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Last Edit: May 23, 2020 21:28:44 GMT -6 by JABF

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