Are the medical/training staff/ protocol refinements this off-season bearing fruit?

[Taro T]

It was brought up in IIRC Adams end of the season press conference that they were going to look hard at why they've been suffering so many injuries the past few years and what they could do differently to reduce them & their severity.

So far this year, through 10 games only 3 players have missed time with injuries and 2 of those injuries couldn't have been avoided without equipment modifications (puck into the lower leg & into the face).  Even the 3rd seemed a bit flukish as it occurred when the player threw what is typically a routine check but ended up twisting awkwardly.

So, is the reduction in injuries due to better training/ recovery protocols, due to having so many guys under the age of 25 when soft tissue injuries simply don't happen nearly as often as when guys are older, having better players that don't have to push their bodies beyond their limits to have success on the ice, simple luck, a combination, or something entirely different?

Absolutely did not expect them to get this far into the year as healthy as they are.

Thoughts?

Edited November 3, 2022 by Taro T

[matter2003]

14 minutes ago, Taro T said:

It was brought up in IIRC Adams end of the season press conference that they were going to look hard at why they've been suffering so many injuries the past few years and what they could do differently to reduce them & their severity.

So far this year, through 10 games only 3 players have missed time with injuries and 2 of those injuries couldn't have been avoided without equipment modifications (puck into the lower leg & into the face).  Even the 3rd seemed a bit flukish as it occurred when the player threw what is typically a routine check but ended up twisting awkwardly.

So, is the reduction in injuries due to better training/ recovery protocols, due to having so many guys under the age of 25 when soft tissue injuries simply don't happen nearly as often as when guys are older, having better players that don't have to push their bodies beyond their limits to have success on the ice, simple luck, a combination, or something entirely different?

Absolutely did not expect them to get this far into the year as healthy as they are.

Thoughts?

The Bills have had this pay off hugely under McDermott and Beane and been consistently one of the least injured teams in the NFL over that time in terms of man games lost to injury. By far and away the NFL leaders in that category over 5 years by at least 80 games on the 2nd place Rams and somewhere in the 400-500 game range over the most injured teams in that timeframe. Pretty remarkable.

 

And as bad as they have had it from an injury standpoint this year, it still 12th best in the NFL this year, which shows just how frequently other teams experience injuries...what is a huge rash of injuries to us is still below average for many teams.

[Thorny]

Have long said and believed this is an under-exploited area of potential improvement for all teams. Where so many seem content to chalk it all up to “injuries. They happen. Bad luck” there’s always been the option to take a more active approach in at least controlling what you CAN control and see if it lowers the numbers a bit. As well as planning for injuries (re: depth) under the assumption, despite your best efforts, that will inevitably happen. 

I have no idea if it’s bearing out yet but the fact that they are focusing on it is just so positive and a breath of fresh air 

Edited November 3, 2022 by Thorny