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@mattschneidman:  David Bakhtiari today: "Whatever the team needs for me to be. They want me to yell and scream at 'em, I'll yell and scream. They want me to shut the fuck up, I'm gonna shut the fuck up. I just wanna win. I've been around the block enough times and I want to win."

Bakhtiari matter-of-factly says he’s at voluntary OTAs for his bonus money, while adding: “Honestly, I’m having a great time when I’m back.”

Bakhtiari said later: “I had four surgeries in 20 months. That sucked, so finally have a breath of fresh air.”

I generally like Basaraski's videos, but the Twitter source for Gary being ready week one has zero connection to Gary, his doctors, or the Packers training staff. It's just a random guy speculating based on type of injury near as I can tell.

I'm with @PackLandVA. At 100% Gary is a foundational part of the defense entering his prime years of production. Everything we know about the Packers approach to recovery should be given a lot more weight than a Twitter fantasy football injury advice account.

Gary's contract extension is going to be a tricky negotiation. Bak got lucky to get his extension before his injury. Gary would likely already have his extension if not for his. It's going to be tough to find a number both sides feel fair about. For Gary it's the culmination of his life's work and he just got a good reminder about how quick it could all go away.

If I'm Gary and my knee is in significant pain or my recovery isn't going as planned I'm doing everything in my power to conceal it from the Packers doctors. If they ask me how it's going it's even better than before it was hurt. I'm doing everything the coaches ask with a smile on my face even if it feels like the knee is about to give out. It's in his best interest to get to his signature on the dotted line. I'm keeping that motive in mind for anything he says about his recovery. He has to do what's best for him. First and foremost I hope he comes back 100%, but I wouldn't think anything less of him for securing his family's future if he wasn't.

For the Packers they absolutely love the player but I'm sure they'd feel a lot more comfortable if they weren't rolling the dice that his trajectory has been affected by a major injury. They know the situation as well and have to balance finding out if he can go full out before asking him to do too much before he's ready knowing his incentive to push it.

I'd love for all the people who complain about the Packers lowballing players to try to put a number on this extension before it's agreed to. Everyone's going to have the perfect take 3 years from now. If he's not the same player again Gutekunst will be labled an idot for giving all that money to a guy who never had 10 sacks in a season. If he ends up a top 5 pass rusher these same exact people will be aghast at how Green Bay insults their best players by not offering them the money they deserve.

There's strategy from both sides. The Packers can likely get a lower number if they risk offering enough before the season and his full recovery to get the extension done. If Gary wants to risk it he can skyrocket his asking price by showcasing his recovered skills towards the latter half of the season.

As a two-time acl victim back in the dark ages when it really did affect one’s athletic ability going forward, it seems to me that knees are the one injury that modern techniques and rehab have rendered correctable . It’s amazing the number of guys who have torn acl’s and comeback with no further issuesâ€ĶRodgers tore his ago yes? Brady? Burrow.

@Blair Kiel posted:

As a two-time acl victim back in the dark ages when it really did affect one’s athletic ability going forward, it seems to me that knees are the one injury that modern techniques and rehab have rendered correctable . It’s amazing the number of guys who have torn acl’s and comeback with no further issuesâ€ĶRodgers tore his ago yes? Brady? Burrow.

ACLs and ulnar collateral ligaments in pitchers (Tommy John surgery). I work with a lot of orthopedic surgeons (including being on some grant review panels with team doctors) and they only half-jokingly say if they had a kid who was on a track to be a major league pitcher, they'd do the Tommy John surgery ASAP because, if anything, it makes your arm stronger.

The ACL repairs are fine in the short term, but you are probably looking at a knee replacement in 15-20 years even with modern techniques.



The ACL repairs are fine in the short term, but you are probably looking at a knee replacement in 15-20 years even with modern techniques.

There are always outliers!

Torn right acl in ‘81 which was fixed arthroscopically. Complete reconstruction on left knee in’88 with what they called an IT band replacement —bringing a hip tendon over and screwing it into the knee to give stability.

36 years later, still managing to matriculate (mostly walking these days) 50 miles a week. Those are like klicks, but farther. 😀

ACLs and ulnar collateral ligaments in pitchers (Tommy John surgery). I work with a lot of orthopedic surgeons (including being on some grant review panels with team doctors) and they only half-jokingly say if they had a kid who was on a track to be a major league pitcher, they'd do the Tommy John surgery ASAP because, if anything, it makes your arm stronger.

The ACL repairs are fine in the short term, but you are probably looking at a knee replacement in 15-20 years even with modern techniques.

Relevance of this post completely rests on one pressing question.   The "grant review panels with team doctors", did you happen to sit "first chair" on any of them?

Last edited by KonKrete
@Blair Kiel posted:

There are always outliers!

Torn right acl in ‘81 which was fixed arthroscopically. Complete reconstruction on left knee in’88 with what they called an IT band replacement —bringing a hip tendon over and screwing it into the knee to give stability.

36 years later, still managing to matriculate (mostly walking these days) 50 miles a week. Those are like klicks, but farther. 😀

I know the ITB all too well.  I got the syndrome running marathons.

And now I no longer run marathons.

Last edited by DH13

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