J.J. McCarthy’s torn meniscus sparks turf field issue | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

Mike Florio and Chris Simms outline how J.J. McCarthy’s injury is just another reason to revisit the conversation about artificial turf fields versus grass fields. #NBCSports #ProFootballTalk #NFL #minnesotavikings

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What torn meniscus means for J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

[BrandoBricksTV]

ALL US FOOTBALL FANS WANT REAL GRASS FIELDS!!

[williamusher]

Say whatever you want about Florio he’ll always hold the league accountable always, and that’s respectable

[IAMAMMAFAN]

The players union needs to put it in the CBA all teams must have a natural grass field.. Give the Owners 2 years to get it done or no CBA no 18 game season. Fight for it and force the owners to do it.
In the end everyone wins.

[kemalpodrug]

He looked great against Raiders, very sad for Vikings.

[chalesgolding]

How come all the top tier soccer teams in Europe ( many with harsh climates) can consistently maintain the highest quality playing surfaces in the world and the filthy rich NFL can’t ? I don’t think the U.S. has the high quality “groundskeepers” that England and most of Europe have

[ZZSmithReal]

It's nearly impossible to get a great QB, you pay him $55M, and then you make him play on a field where he's more likely to get injured. Ridiculous.

[IamCaleum]

Start putting it in contracts that if an injury occurs on an artificial turf then the rest of the contract is guaranteed fully.

[angelcanez]

I don't understand why owners will pay someone $250 million dollars but not replace the turf that will prevent injuries.

[HBTLions]

The grow outside wheel inside only works for stadiums that were designed to do it as well as the room to grow a field next to the stadium. A place like Ford field would have to have the pallet sized pieces of grass which nrg stadium was using but stopped as it had a similar amount of injuries as turf and cost a lot more money

[AlbinoRhinoEventCenter]

As a former offensive lineman who played as high as D2, I always preferred turf. The reason for me being that when I reached the top of my kickstep and went to anchor with not only my inertia but also that oven oncoming defensive lineman grass often gave way underneath my cleats which could lead to slipping and slipping, often led to strain, though I was lucky not to get injured for the most part. While others may feel differently about turf It was a relatively predictable surface. I understand that offensive line is different than the “ skill positions” But I always found it reassuring that the ground wasn’t going to give way under my feet.

[ARNM-lv]

Older former Athletic Trainer here. Everything you've said about artificial turf is true, especially that it's hard & the friction between the bottom of the shoe & turf [coefficient of friction] is pretty significant. There probably isn't much you can do to lessen the negative impact effects of playing on hard artificial turf. There may be options to lessen the rotational lower body injuries associated with playing on artificial turf. So why doesn't anyone talk about the types of shoes being worn on artificial turf???

On natural grass the players wear cleats that dig into the ground to give them traction. Under a given amount of force [especially torque] the ground [field] gives-way to some extent, before a joint [often a knee] experiences a structural injury, often from rotation where the foot stays planted & the body twists. Well, right now you are stuck with a number of artificial turf fields, that is the given. So if the turf doesn't allow the necessary amount of "give or twisting action" between the shoe & the turf surface then you need to do something to lessen the "grip" / friction of the shoe being used on artificial turf. I suspect that is why pellets are being used on some artificial surfaces now, to help decrease the friction between the turf & the shoe.

Remember back when many artificial turf fields felt like green painted asphalt. Many athletes wore flat or near flat sole shoes. Most type of cleats were impractical because you wouldn't sink in to the turf. I remember seeing hundreds of the little black rubber nubs from the "turf shoes" scattered all across artificial turf fields. The friction literally torn them off the bottom of the soft cleated "turf shoes". When deeper & softer padding was introduced under turf, to mimic the "feel of grass", to lower the impact related issues, longer cleats became more popular again.

The next practical option is to go to a shoe that offers less than the desired amount of traction or grip. Players need realize they probably shouldn't try to obtain the same degree of traction [grip], similar to what they are accustomed to on grass, when playing on artificial turf. They should probably wear a shoe that offers a lesser degree of traction when playing on artificial turf.

Sometimes circumstances dictate that you can't always get what you want, great "grass field like" traction, on artificial turf, without putting yourself at risk for greater risk of a knee injury. You might run a little slower, decrease your ability to push off a little, you might not cut as sharply as you could on a grass field if you wear a lower friction shoe or you need to accept you might have a higher risk of a knee injury, in certain situations, if you don't us a lower grip shoe when playing on artificial turf.

A player might have a tissue or structure physically at a point where they are, unknowingly, right on the edge of sustaining an injury if it is subjected to just a little bit more stress than usual. It isn't unreasonable to surmise that some of the turf related injuries might be caused by structures being pushed just a little further as a result of playing on an artificial surface.

[PickedaName_]

Almost every player says they prefer grass. I've never heard a player say they prefer turf or anything other than grass. Fuck what they owners want their field to be, the players are the ones interacting with the field. "Turf is bad" has been a topic every season for awhile.

[TimRHillard]

Astroturf has been BS since it started like 50 years ago. You’d think as much as these teams pay these athletes they would change to grass. So much technology, been growing grass for forever. I am sure they could figure it out, even in Minnesota. It makes no sense why teams like the cowboys don’t have grass.

[CH-qthr]

Soccer is way different. The players weigh much less and the "wear areas" are much more spread out.

[Philippe-zdrk]

A topic that is hardly ever touched on is the tear and wear on the bodies of the newcomers to the NFL : most of them go through 3 years of highly competitive football right at the time of adolescence's growth spurts. And then they spend four years in college football, which for all intent and purpose is indistinguishable from the pros (heavy training, max intensity games, etc).
So yeah, for some of these guys the sad truth is that they achieved their dream to play in the NFL... but wrecked their body in the process. 😕

[vincentoravec]

Florio is just crushed, its written all over his face.

Wishing JJ a full recovery.🙏

[mikejones]

Just means they’ll get a top pick in the upcoming draft.

[wilfredignorance]

I wonder if anyone has ever done a comparison of how much it might cost to put in the grass systems into the design of new stadiums or even renovate for grass in old stadiums vs. how much money has been spent on players who aren't able to play due to injuries likely caused by turf. I know the player cost loss is probably less than I think because of guaranteed vs non-guaranteed money, but I still think there might be an argument that investing money into grass might save you money in sunk costs for injured players.

[richj]

I'm hoping Kevin Warren learned his lesson and puts a grass stadium in Chicago.

[richardpace]

The Vikings turf was changed this year to turf that has better injury data. It is very nice stuff, and yes will not maybe be as forgiving as natural grass, but it is better stuff from the data currently available. The first thing hosted in the New Vikings stadium was on grass, they had special sod with mesh throughout it to hold it together, that was placed on basically a plastic layer above the turf. Florio should know that as a Vikings fan that they update it, trying to do better for their players.