Are the Turf Demons Real?

[Bralidore(RAMMODE)]

Upon reading an article by Will at Ramsherd, Ive begun to wonder yet again if most of the Rams injuries are indeed because of the controversial Turf.

Here's a nice list Ive found on the site that details all the injuries the rams have suffered this year from the Preseason and Regular Season:

Pre-preseason: Two rookies — WR Brooks Foster and Safety Eric Bassey — injure their knees on the brand-new Lindenwood turf during a very light-hitting exhibition game for fans. It’s the same type of turf that is used in the dome. Meanwhile, Adam Carriker badly sprains his ankle on the same field. Preseason: Donnie Avery suffers a sprained foot in practice, while making a cut on the turf. Avery is able to return in time for the regular season opener. Carriker is not so lucky, though, sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury during the Governor’s Cup game against the Chiefs.
Home Game #1 (Week 3 vs Packers): Laurent Robinson’s season ends on the turf as his ankle gets rolled onto while setting a block. He fractures his fibula and sprains his ankle. Marc Bulger is also removed with a shoulder injury, though he would return to start three games later.
Home Game #2 (Week 5 vs Vikings): Gary Gibson, the promising DT who stepped in for Adam Carriker, breaks a bone in his ankle joint during a routine play on the home turf. His season is over.
Home Game #3 (Week 7 vs Colts): CB Bradley Fletcher and long snapper Chris Massey both tear up their knees during routine plays and are done for the year. Richie Incognito sprains his foot and misses several weeks, just as Donnie Avery did in preseason.
Home Game #4 (Week 10 vs Saints): WR Keenan Burton, the team’s most prolific pass catcher to this point, is lost to a gruesome knee injury in the first quarter, running a simple dig pattern.
Home Game #5 (Week 11 vs Cardinals): Before the Rams even get to the game, CJ Ah You is lost for the season to a knee injury sustained on the practice turf. Ah You is the third DT to go down. OJ Atogwe finally returns the favor by bouncing Kurt Warner’s helmet off the turf, sidelining the QB for a game and a half, and breaking his career-long streak of games started. However, karma would bit bite back hard, as Marc Bulger’s season unofficially ends with a tibia bone fracture at the knee joint. Jason Smith also suffers a major concussion that would knock him out for the rest of the season, though he is never placed on IR.)
Home Game #6 (Week 12 vs Seahawks): Jason Brown sprains his knee and misses the second half, leaving the offensive line in tatters. And Jason Smith, while merely sitting on the sidelines of this house of horrors, suffers a relapse and has to be hospitalized.
Week 13 (At Soldier Field vs Bears): Even though it’s not turf, Soldier Field has been called “the worst natural grass surface in the league.” Atogwe can attest to that, after severely injuring his shoulder while trying to tackle Matt Forte. The season-ending injury breaks his string of 60 consecutive starts for the Rams.
Week 14 (vs Tennessee): Jacob Bell’s season is done after suffering a hamstring injury. He and Atogwe are the lone members of the IR not injured on turf.
Home Game #7 (Week 15 vs Texans): The team’s most trusted TE, Daniel Fells, and its newest rookie commodity at cornerback, Quincy Butler, both wreck their knees on the turf and are placed on IR.
Home Game #8 (Week 17 vs *****): Not content until someone’s viscera is shredded, the turf grabs ahold of practice squadman Roger Allen III, who had been pressed into starting duty after a season-ending triceps injury to Mark Setterstrom. In his first career start, Allen’s left ACL is torn. And as a closing act, Keith Null and Donnie Avery are both removed with concussion symptoms.



What do you guys think? Is the Turf really to blame or is Lady Luck?

[Azul e Oro]

This has been chewed over before but, as far as I know, there's no conclusive evidence, ie a higher than normal incidence of opposing team players similarly injured when playing at The ED, that The Rams' artificial surface is worse than any other venue.

NFL players certainly seem to think grass is better-there was a player survey a few years back in which over 80% felt that way- and some studies done years ago when artificial turf was becoming more common contended that there is a 30-50% greater risk of ankle/knee injury on turf than grass but that wasn't your question.

Plenty of successful teams don't seem to have the turf demon issue; NO, Vikes,etc.

Personally, I think the repetitive stress of being slammed into plastic coated concrete & the unpredictably stressful traction involved in changing direction on it can't be a good thing but I don't know that it's any more of a problem for The Rams than any other team.

The fact that The Rams replace the carpet every year does seem to be worth trying to fix since there does seem to be some improvement when the stuff gets "broken in". Apparently The Rams have had no place to store the stuff when it's rolled up to use the ED for other events in the off-season. Anybody in STL got a big garage?

[FestusRam]

I've played on turf before and i've walked around on the ED turf and i dont see how it could be more injury-prone.

I'm not sure if it's the reason but, i don't think it really makes a difference.

[MoonJoe]

Fake grass aint right, and it ottta be illegal!!

[RAMFANRAIDERHATER]

Fake grass aint right, and it ottta be illegal!!

Totally agree. Football is meant to be played OUTDOORS, not on a freakin' rug inside. IF you must play indoors, do what the Cardinals do and roll the real grass inside when you play.

What's that you say? It gets too cold in Mo. in the fall and winter for the fans?

Oh, cry me a river....

[tomahawk247]

leg injuries, like all the knee sprains and torn ligaments, could be attributed to the turf
i dont think injuries like concussions are down to it though, just a coincidence

Also i have to point out that Gary Gibson's injury didnt occur on a routine play, he was pushed over late, after the play, by Artis Hick's of Minny. It was a cheap shot that led to Gibson's injury, but maybe it wouldnt have been so bad if it wasnt for the turf

[Trevor]

Just a very big coincidence...

[RockinRam]

It could be a contributing factor.

[MauiRam]

Totally agree. Football is meant to be played OUTDOORS, not on a freakin' rug inside. IF you must play indoors, do what the Cardinals do and roll the real grass inside when you play.

What's that you say? It gets too cold in Mo. in the fall and winter for the fans?

Oh, cry me a river....

Rolling "real grass" inside when we play? Well .. who knows, after a 1 - 16 season, maybe it would help ..

[MOM]

What's that you say? It gets too cold in Mo. in the fall and winter for the fans?

Oh, cry me a river....

This coming from someone who lives where 65 degrees would be considered a hard freeze...LOL

[RebelYell]

Totally agree. Football is meant to be played OUTDOORS, not on a freakin' rug inside. IF you must play indoors, do what the Cardinals do and roll the real grass inside when you play.

What's that you say? It gets too cold in Mo. in the fall and winter for the fans?

Oh, cry me a river....

I think the same thing about hockey. Hockey is meant to be played outdoors. It's a joke that anyone would even consider watching the game inside.

As for the grass, I'd think you would need to compare it to other teams playing on a similar surface. What do they play on in New Orleans, Atlanta, Indy, Houston, Detroit, Minnesota, Syracuse, etc and how have the injuries been in those cities?

[PeoriaRam]

Totally agree. Football is meant to be played OUTDOORS, not on a freakin' rug inside. IF you must play indoors, do what the Cardinals do and roll the real grass inside when you play.

What's that you say? It gets too cold in Mo. in the fall and winter for the fans?

Oh, cry me a river....

Arizona gets away with it through having a stadium in the middle of nowhere, irrigation that would make Sustainability majors quake, and never having winter.

[thermobee]

3 out of the 4 playoff games this weekend were in a dome.

[blood85]

Get rid of the phony stuff.