Singing The ACL Tear Blues

Lost in the hysteria following the announcement of the loss of Dominique Foxworth is the injury situation surrounding the 2 players expected to begin the season as the Baltimore Ravens 2 starting cornerbacks. With Dominique's unfortunate injury yesterday during a non contact practice, the Ravens are left with the option of starting day 1 with Fabian Washington and Lardarius Webb as the 2 starting Defensive Backs, leading me to believe that day one these corners will play opposite Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes. The issue is not with the talent level but instead with the injuries both men have worked all off season to recover from. Fabian Washington was carried off of the field last year in a week 11 game against the Indianapolis Colts with a torn ACL as was Lardarius Webb in a week 15 game against the Chicago Bears. Both were major injuries and ironically enough is the same injury that will sideline Foxworth for the year. With a serious injury such as an ACL tear affecting a player at a speed position, the return to game action may be gradual to protect the player from reinjuring the repaired knee. This similar schedule of reps was put in place for former Colts cornerback Marlin Jackson who suffered from an ACL tear himself. As the season began he was 4th on the depth chart and as the weeks went by he climbed up into the nickel back position, one he was very familiar with. Unfortunately for Marlin, the bigger workload may not have worked as he again went down with an ACL tear. Obviously I am not a doctor so I could not confirm whether an increased role on the defense led to the 2nd injury but what I can say is that recovering from a serious injury may require a slower return to activity as the speed of the game may be too much for a surgically repaired knee to withstand. That assumption is based solely on common sense. With the Ravens 2 starting corners now forced to return to the field in a more demanding role, it's a scenario that would have me very concerned.