Branch and his Knee

by abender20 on Jun 11, 2009 8:43 AM PDT in Daily Links Comment 28 comments

Most post-injury player articles look the same. When asked about their injury and subsequent recovery, players invariably say something along the lines of, "I'm stronger than ever and feel better than I did before the injury." The article then will go on to talk about how Player X has been dedicated to their recovery and is primed for their best season as a Pro/Collegiate/High Schooler/Rodeo Clown. But not Deion Branch.

"You will never be back to normal once you have this type of procedure done. I actually feel stronger, but it's not normal," said Branch, who turns 30 next month.

OK, so maybe Branch did say that he feels stronger, but at least he's honest about his injury. Having been out as long as Branch has, getting back to activities with the team excited everyone.

"I think I'm like the jumper cable for the team," Branch said. "All the guys, I think they were way more excited, screaming in the locker room when they saw me trying my helmet on."

Wednesday's workout limited to position drills was Branch's first practice of any kind with the team since the days leading into last season's finale Dec. 28 against Arizona. He then elected to have a second, clean-out surgery on his reconstructed left knee.

A completely functional Branch will go a long way helping the Hawks' efforts at returning to the top of the NFC West. This ongoing subplot of the offseason (the hopeful return to health of quite a few of the key veteran Seahawks) remains one of the major factors in determining the height of the Seahawk rebound.

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I think it would be great if...

Deon Branch took Deon Butler under his wing so to speak… Branch will never again be in his Super Bowl MVP form… but that man has a lot of experience, technique, and advice which could benefit a rookie receiver like Butler a great deal. …especially in light of their similar size, and body type.

out of all of our draft selections this year.. even including Curry… i’m the most excited about Deon Butler. mind you, i don’t have unreasonable expectations or anything, and, i realize that he may not be able to reach his true potential for a plethera of different reasons… he may have even already peaked, so to speak… who knows?

but, if this kid can take the next step, and take that step in a big way,…
[and, i emphasize the word “if”]
we very well could be witnessing the birth of a future Pro-Bowler, and Seahawks Ring of Honor inductee.

"And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short." Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan"

"But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel." Edgar Allen Poe "The Masque of the Red Death"

by Grimm Blackwood on Jun 11, 2009 10:19 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Please use proper capitalization and punctuation. It makes it easier for everyone to read.

by abender20 on Jun 11, 2009 10:27 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Looked fairly readable to me for the most part...

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 11, 2009 10:46 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Readable, yes, but more readable

without the “…” and the skipping to the next line at random points of the argument.

by LantermanC on Jun 11, 2009 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sure.

"And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short." Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan"

"But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel." Edgar Allen Poe "The Masque of the Red Death"

by Grimm Blackwood on Jun 11, 2009 12:09 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right, future Pro-Bowlers and Ring of Honor inductee

No unreasonable expectations for a 3rd-round pick, not at all.

by Vasilii on Jun 11, 2009 10:40 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What don't you understand...

about the word “if.” I’ve got an old Websters laying around here someplace should you need it.

"And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short." Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan"

"But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel." Edgar Allen Poe "The Masque of the Red Death"

by Grimm Blackwood on Jun 11, 2009 12:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hmmm...nope, still looks weird

I can if anyone, and I’ll still be hyping up the expectations. You can’t say “he’s potentially a Pro-Bowler and Ring of Honor inductee” and not say your expectations are unreasonable. Even to think he has such potential is pretty unreasonable, and is just setting up expectations he can never fulfil.

by Vasilii on Jun 11, 2009 12:20 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

You've got to be kidding.

I doubt the ‘Hawks would’ve traded up to get a guy without potential. No, i don’t have expectations of Bulter being a Pro-Bowler, nor do I have expectations of Butler being a Ring of Honor member. For some bizarre reason, you’re missing the entire point here. If a player with the skill-set that Butler possesses can, in fact, take it to the next level, then there’s nothing unreasonable about stating the guy has the potential [NOT the probability, but the POTENTIAL] of doing great things.

And, frankly, I have no clue what “I can if anyone” means. Sorry.

"And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short." Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan"

"But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel." Edgar Allen Poe "The Masque of the Red Death"

by Grimm Blackwood on Jun 11, 2009 12:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not sure where that opening sentence came from either

That said, here’s the thing: any rookie who hasn’t played yet is a potential Pro Bowlers/Hall of Famer/Ring of Honorer. It’s kind of the fun thing of never having seen a player play.

But that’s all I’m seeing you say. Sure, I’d agree, I’d personally say “I’d be happy if he becomes a decent WR2 with a handful of 700+ yard seasons in the coming years, but if he becomes even better that’s great!” No one’ll disagree it’s great if he exceeds expectations.

But “we very well could be witnessing the birth of a […] Seahawks Ring of Honor inductee”? How is that not setting up unreasonable expectations? If you’re indicating his upper platform is RoH inductee, which I find very unlikely, then anything less by default becomes more disappointing. If find such an expectation pushing it for a first-round pick, but for someone who went to the third? Ehhhhh.

by Vasilii on Jun 11, 2009 1:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

"i don’t have unreasonable expectations or anything"

“we very well could be witnessing the birth of a future Pro-Bowler, and Seahawks Ring of Honor inductee.”

Heh, come on man, I’d be beyond satisfied if became a decent #2. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 11, 2009 10:47 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

My point was...

[and, i think i made this crystal clear, gentlemen] “IF” this guy can take the next step. ie: He has the potential to do great things.

"And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short." Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan"

"But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel." Edgar Allen Poe "The Masque of the Red Death"

by Grimm Blackwood on Jun 11, 2009 12:06 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I know your enthusiasm seems a bit overly ambitious,

but I tend to agree. Career receptions leader at PSU with crappy QBs? Blazing fast speed? I know he’s a 3rd round pick, but I think this guy is going to be very very good. I’m baffled that he wasn’t a 2nd/1st round pick. What makes Heyward Bey a higher rated prospect than him? Size?

by LantermanC on Jun 11, 2009 12:27 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bey-Area

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 11, 2009 12:51 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, but still, he was rated 25th or so by most mock drafts is what I meant.

by LantermanC on Jun 11, 2009 1:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh.

I suppose it is size and he looked like somewhat of a consistent deep-threat, something that Butler hasn’t done. Or at least, hasn’t done often.

Though I’m not a fan of Heyward-Bey at all really and think he was a marginal first rounder, let alone a top 10 pick…

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 11, 2009 5:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Clever, Fearless

I see what you did there….

by thebyron on Jun 11, 2009 2:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

POINT:

Stating that someone MIGHT have the potential to do great things IS NOT unreasonable expectation.

This is precisely why I don’t like commenting here anymore.

"And the life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short." Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan"

"But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel." Edgar Allen Poe "The Masque of the Red Death"

by Grimm Blackwood on Jun 11, 2009 12:16 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 11, 2009 12:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

First, subject line.

Second, lay off the pictures.

by BrianL on Jun 11, 2009 1:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ok.

"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."

by Fearless Frog on Jun 11, 2009 5:39 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sorry you feel that way.

All in all I think FG does a great job of not being overly mean or harsh though. There are a lot of other websites that really have the ‘his opinion is inferior to mine therefore I will treat him like crap and make fun of him until he concedes he is lesser than I am’ mentality.

That, along with the top notch analysis and great questions and suggestions posed by the community as a whole make FG an award winning sports blog.

by LantermanC on Jun 11, 2009 1:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Grimm may have a legitimate gripe.

I agree that, in general, FG is parsecs ahead of some of the other sites where Seahawks cyber-fans tend to congregate, but this particular thread bears some resemblance to TNT, and not because of Grimm’s stray carriage return. What’s the point in people’s bashing the guy for being irrationally exuberant (unless he also happens to trade in derivatives)?

Like some others, I also raised my eyebrows a little at the notion that Butler’s a potential Ring of Honor inductee. But then again, this is the team that produced Steve Largent. Before the crypto-Jimmy-the-Greeks chime in on how Largent’s whiteness in the aught years of the twenty-first century would mathematically eliminate the possibility of his repeating his feats in today’s NFL, let me preemptively redirect readers’ attention to my point: Butler and Grimm are frolicking in the realm of Right Now, Everything Is Still Possible. I say, let them have their fun.

by dagraham on Jun 11, 2009 3:05 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

Bashing?

Not my intent to bash anyone or anything, and I don’t think I did. I was commenting on a comment that seemed a bit off to me, and that’s it.

by Vasilii on Jun 11, 2009 3:12 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Word parsing

I didn’t mean to imply that a major offense had been committed. I’m just noticing that someone is coming away feeling put down, for mistakes of both punctuation and judgment, simply for enthusing about the Seahawks’ new WR. As someone who frequently self-censors and cancels his own posts before publishing, precisely in order to avoid the same kind of fate (on one of my previous posts, I was chided for including too few carriage returns), I would like to advocate for a “spirit of the game” (to borrow from Ultimate parlance) here on FG that takes care to encourage well-meaning participation by members of the Seahawks faithful—even those who aren’t leading lights of the Seahawks cognoscenti.

Sorry if that last sentence was too long.

by dagraham on Jun 11, 2009 3:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

shrug

I guess I’m too new here to give much valid comment.

Still, in my opinion it’s better if people do engage each other in debate, even if it is preferable from a niceness standpoint if no one replies to anyone else.

…

No browbeating necessary, tho’

by Vasilii on Jun 11, 2009 3:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like greek.

I think the collective snear from the commenters at Grimm’s post has more to do with his annoying over use of brackets, and bolding sentences. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what Butler can do. I won’t be dissapointed if he doesn’t cure cancer, though.
As for Largent, I’m pretty sure he faced a large number of DB’s of west african descent in his day. Would things be much different today? If anything the relaxed rules would make his life easier, I’d imagine.

by Steen on Jun 11, 2009 3:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs