A number of things can cause injuries in the NFL. Players running full speed at each other and intentionally crashing into each other is definitely one of the major causes of injuries to football players, and is a cruel part of the game. It’s even worse when one of your teammates causes it.
The injury to Pittsburgh Steelers rookie guard David DeCastro was one of those unfortunate incidents. DeCastro was a victim of friendly fire when fellow Steeler Marcus Gilbert fell on the back of the first-round draft pick’s right leg, which resulted in a torn MCL, dislocated kneecap, and damage to the patellar tendon. These injuries could keep DeCastro out from three to five months.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said that he blames the field turf for DeCastro’s injury. Big Ben’s explanation was that players have a tough time getting their feet out of the ground, and further states that field turf should be banded from football.
Now, obviously I wasn’t on the field when this happened, but I did see the replay on television. From what I saw, DeCastro’s foot wasn’t even close to being stuck in the field turf, which tells me that the condition of the field had nothing to do with the rookie’s freak accident.
Maybe, just maybe, the reason why DeCastro injured his right knee is because the 330-pound Gilbert fell on it. I think that it is safe to say that if a 300-plus pound man falls on anybody’s leg, that some major damage will happen.
Roethlisberger made it seem as if they were playing on the hard Astro turf in the old Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. This was far from the reality of the matter.
As a fan of football, I do believe that the game should be played on natural grass, and outdoors. The elements of nature are what sets this sport apart from sports that are played in controlled environments. So I do agree with Big Ben about the field turf issue just for those reasons.
However, I think that he is jumping the gun a bit in putting the blame on the field turf for this incident.
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Three more injuries on field turf in the Jets Panthers game tonight. The dude that wrote this article obviously never played the game. I have played on the stuff many times and it stinks!! Hard as hell and very easy to slip on at times. I take Ben’s opinion over this guy. Ben plays the game. Get rid of the crap!
FieldTurf is not used at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Buffalo has a different type of artificial surface, “A Turf Titan,” manufactured in western New York, and installed in 2011. Ralph Wilson is the only NFL stadium with this artificial surface.