Joe Paterno injured at practice

[NankerPhelge]

Just outta curiosity, how big was Rudy? He sure looks little in that movie.

 

[BeauBenken]

Just outta curiosity, how big was Rudy? He sure looks little in that movie.

He musta been tiny. In his acting career after ND football, he played a very short hairy person in some God of the Finger Band...

 

[pkt77242]

@cbfowler


Fractures at 84 hairline or otherwise can end up fatal. Think not - ask your grandparents or parents (or dshans). I'm sure PSU has a team of physicians on top of this. Nonetheless, disconcerting.

^This

Fractures that affect movement (feet, ankles, pelvis, hips etc) usually increase the risk of death within the next year or 2.

 

[pkt77242]

Just outta curiosity, how big was Rudy? He sure looks little in that movie.

Different time. Wikipedia lists him as 5'6" 165 lbs. He played in the mid 70's and there was a reason he was a walk on and not a scholarship player.


PS: Not to slight Rudy, as I love the movie and the real story but facts are facts.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

That has nothing to do with brain injuries. Brain injuries, as relates to football, are all about inertia, and repetition.

Linemen tend to suffer lots of small concussions from the repetitive but relatively low velocity hits to the head. QBs, on the other hand, suffer less frequent but much more severe concussions from getting blind-sided by DEs. Both types can ruin your life.

Two big guys, having more mass, create more inertia at the point of impact than two small guys do. It stands to reason that a big guy and small guy meeting at the point of impact would fall somewhere in between.

Let's perform a little thought experiment. Let's have Manti Te'o line up 20 yards away in pads, accelerate to full speed, and launch himself into various targets.

First, Louis Nix; at ~330 lbs., Manti knocks Big Lou back a few steps, but doesn't take him to ground. Nix's size and musculature effectively absorbs most of the force, and barring a helmet to helmet hit, there's probably no brain trauma either.

Next, Michael Floyd; at ~225 lbs, Manti has about 30 lbs on Mike, but #3 is still a big muscular WR. Te'o definitely takes him to ground, but once again, Mike's size and strength allows him to absord the hit well and control his fall. Floyd shakes it off without a problem.

Now, Devon Smith; at 157 lbs, Manti has nearly 100 lbs on this waify WR. What do you think the outcome of the hit is? Does he simply stagger back a few steps like Nix? Does he take the hit well like Mike Floyd? Or does Te'o completely knock him off his feet, inflicting brain trauma both on the initial hit and as the kid's head whips into the turf?

Taking this to its logical conclusion, let's have Manti launch into a 2nd grader who weighs maybe 50 lbs. Manti has 200 lbs on him. The hit could easily result in a grade 3 concussion, internal bleeding, or even death.

If it truly "stands to reason" that lighter players create less inertia, thereby suffering less force at the point of impact, then the 2nd grader should be the least scathed of all these guy; but we all intuitively know that wouldn't be the case.

Mass and strength allow players to better absorb and deflect forceful impacts; it's armor, of a sort, and players like Devon Smith have precious little of it. Playing at such a light weight is seriously dangerous, and it's one reason why kids of Smith's size only get offers if they have blinding speed; if you can't outrun the defenders, you're going to get crushed in short order.

 

[BGIF]

...

Taking this to its logical conclusion, let's have Manti launch into a 2nd grader who weighs maybe 50 lbs. Manti has 200 lbs on him. The hit could easily result in a grade 3 concussion, internal bleeding, or even death.

If it truly "stands to reason" that lighter players create less inertia, thereby suffering less force at the point of impact, then the 2nd grader should be the least scathed of all these guy; but we all intuitively know that wouldn't be the case.

...

A logical conclusion? Your first 3 examples were pitting 18 to 20 year old young men against each other. Your fourth example had the 20 run into a child with a still developing bone structure. INVALID

A more appropriate example would have been Lucas's varsity play. But even he was supposed to be only a 14 year old.

But even the 7 year old 2nd grader has more bone density than JoePA regardless of mass.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

INVALID

A logical conclusion? Your first 3 examples were pitting 18 to 20 year old young men against each other. Your fourth example had the 20 run into a child with a still developing bone structure.

I was merely trying to describe the importance of mass and strength in handling forceful impacts. On that basis alone, the age of my examples is irrelevant.

Make it an athletic 20-year-old midget weighing roughly 50 lbs. Shouldn't change anything.

 

[BGIF]

I was merely trying to describe the importance of mass and strength in handling forceful impacts. On that basis alone, the age of my examples is irrelevant.

Make it an athletic 20-year-old midget weighing roughly 50 lbs. Shouldn't change anything.

Don't be embarrassed Aristotle misunderstood inertia. You're not alone.

Your introduction of a juvenile (check it out it means not fully developed) skeletal system introduced a new variable not present in the 3 other examples and is patently invalid even to the most casual observer. (Lawyers excluded)

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Your introduction of a juvenile (check it out it means not fully developed) skeletal system introduced a new variable not present in the 3 other examples and is patently invalid even to the most casual observer. (Lawyers excluded)

A point which I already conceded, as it has no bearing on the larger argument I made.

Seeing as you're in an especially spicy mood right now, I will accept your ignoring of my argument in favor of irrelevant minutiae as an implicit admission that I am right.