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What with all the talk about Gurley's ACL I was curious about comeback success stories, found this article:
All-ACL team: NFL's rehab warriors
11/19/2014 - NFL
Jim Davis/Getty Images
There were no surgical options such as the one David Fleming detailed in this week's ESPN.com Hot Read. No one got to choose between a cadaver's ligament or an internal replacement. There were no elite rehabilitation centers.
The advent of arthroscopic surgery shifted the question ever so slightly: Could a player regain anything close to his previous performance upon his return?
Only in recent years has the paradigm changed. Punctuated by Adrian Peterson's 2,097-yard season in 2012, it is now routine for a player to pick up his career where he left off -- often less than a year after the injury. Those whose careers are ended or altered for the worse now occupy the minority.
With that trend in mind, ESPN.com's NFL staff has assembled an "All-ACL team" of active players who -- for the most part -- are excelling post-injury. We have relied on objective data whenever possible, but in some cases employed ratings from Pro Football Focus to assess players' pre- and post-injury performance.
We present the All-ACL offensive team below. Click here for the All-ACL defensive team.
ESPN.com's All-ACL Team: Offense
QB: Tom Brady
Injury date: Week 1, 2008 Return date: Week 1, 2009
Key before/after facts: Brady has become more efficient since the injury, with a touchdown/interception ratio of 3.51, compared to 2.29 before. He also has been more than three times as harried, pressured on 18.6 percent of his dropbacks, compared to 5.2.
Honorable mention: Robert Griffin III, Redskins; Brian Hoyer, Browns; Philip Rivers, Chargers.
RB: Jamaal Charles
Injury date: Week 2, 2011 Return date: Week 1, 2012
Key before/after facts: Charles' yards per carry dropped from 6.1 before the injury to 5.2. But he actually is averaging more explosive runs per game -- 12 yards or more -- since the injury (1.7) than before (1.2).
Honorable mention: Frank Gore, 49ers; Adrian Peterson, Vikings.
WR: Jeremy Maclin
Injury date: Preseason, 2013 Return date: Week 1, 2014
Key before/after facts: In a small sample and in a new scheme, Maclin has been more explosive after his injury. He is averaging 16.1 yards per catch and 0.9 touchdowns per game since the injury (13.38 and 0.4 before, respectively). Also, his drop percentage has lowered from 3.4 to 1.0.
WR: Reggie Wayne
Injury date: Week 7, 2013 Return date: Week 1, 2014
Key before/after facts: In the nine games since returning, Wayne has been just as productive (5.22 receptions per game, compared to 5.13) and nearly as explosive. He's averaging 12.7 yards per catch, compared to 13.5 before the injury, and is still getting downfield. The average air yards of passes thrown his way is 10.1 compared to 11.5.
WR: Donnie Avery
Injury date: Preseason, 2010 Return date: Week 4, 2011
Key before/after facts: Avery is averaging fewer receptions per game after the injury (2.7, compared to 3.2) and less yards after the catch (3.7, compared to 4.2) but is producing slightly more per reception (13.4 yards, compared to 12.6).
TE: Rob Gronkowski
Injury date: Week 14, 2013 Return date: Week 1, 2014
Key before/after facts: Since returning, Gronkowski has a higher touchdown rate (0.9 per game, compared to 0.84 before). He's averaging slightly fewer yards after the catch (5.64, compared to 5.90), but is averaging more yards after contact (3.19) than he was prior (2.40).
Honorable mention: Heath Miller, Steelers.
LT: Joe Thomas
Injury date: Bowl game, January 2006 (college)
Return date: Week 1, 2006 (college)
Key before/after facts: Thomas didn't miss a game after suffering the injury, maintaining his status as an elite NFL prospect. He was selected No. 3 overall by the Browns in the 2007 draft and has gone on to seven Pro Bowls. He is a four-time All-Pro at the position.
RT: Bryan Bulaga
Injury date: Preseason, 2013 Return date: Week 1, 2014
Key before/after facts: The injury scrapped plans to convert Bulaga to left tackle. Back on the right side this season, he is rated No. 23 among tackles by PFF. He was at No. 48 in 2012 but No. 7 in 2011.
LG: James Carpenter
Injury date: Week 11, 2011 Return date: Week 4, 2012
Key before/after facts: Carpenter was injured in his rookie season. Since then, he has started 31 of a possible 35 games. He was PFF's 65th-ranked guard in 2013 but has elevated to No. 22 this season.
Honorable mention: Logan Mankins, Buccaneers.
RG: Marshal Yanda
Injury date: Week 5, 2008 Return date: Week 1, 2009
Key before/after facts: After returning from the injury, Yanda made himself into a three-time All-Pro (2011-13). PFF rates him the best guard in the NFL this season.
C: Maurkice Pouncey
Injury date: Week 1, 2013 Return date: Week 1, 2014
Key before/after facts: Pouncey has started all 11 games since returning from the injury. PFF rates him its seventh-best center in 2014. He was No. 12 in 2012 and No. 20 in 2011.
Honorable mention: Jason Kelce, Eagles; Kory Lichtensteiger, Redskins.
LB: Von Miller
Injury date: Week 16, 2013. Return date: Week 1, 2014.
Key before/after facts: Miller is actually accumulating sacks at a faster rate (one per game) since the injury than he did before (0.88 per game). At this pace, he'll challenge his career high of 18.5 sacks from 2012.
Honorable mention: NaVorro Bowman, 49ers; Chad Greenway, Vikings.
LB: Melvin Ingram
Injury date: Spring 2013. Return date: Week 11, 2013.
Key before/after facts: Ingram played 16 games as a rookie, but since the ACL injury, he has played in only seven of a possible 26 contests. He has two sacks in those games.
LB: Thomas Davis, Panthers
Injury date: Week 2, 2011. Return date: Week 1, 2012.
Key before/after facts: The injury was the third torn ACL of Davis' career, and simply getting back on the field has been an extraordinary accomplishment. Since then, he's played in 41 of a possible 43 games, racking up 306 tackles in the process. In the only comparable portion of his earlier career, Davis was credited with 289 tackles in 46 games.
DE: Chris Clemons
Injury date: Wild-card playoff round, January 2013.
Return date: Week 3, 2013.
Key before/after facts: Clemons has played in 24 consecutive games since his return, but his sack rate has dropped. He has 8.5 sacks over that span (35 percent) compared to 53.4 in his previous 116 games (46.1). He had totaled at least 11 sacks in each of the final three seasons before the injury.
DE: Dominique Easley
Injury date: Week 4, 2013 (college).
Return date: Week 1, 2014.
Key before/after facts: The Patriots were so sold on Easley that they made him a first-round draft pick despite the ongoing ACL recovery. Easley has appeared in nine of 10 games, including two starts, and has 10 tackles and a sack in 231 snaps.
DT: Geno Atkins
Injury date: Week 9, 2013. Return date: Week 1, 2014.
Key before/after facts: Atkins has managed one sack in 10 games since returning this season, a sack rate of 0.15 per game. In 41 games prior to the injury, he amassed 26 sacks, a rate of 0.63 per game. Pro Football Focus has credited him with 22 hurries, tied for second in the NFL among defensive tackles.
Honorable mention: Tank Carradine, 49ers; Henry Melton, Cowboys
DT: Ray McDonald
Injury date: Two ACL injuries in 2005 (college).
Return date: Week 1, 2006 (college).
Key before/after facts: McDonald has played an eight-season NFL career (and counting). Since the start of the 2008 season, he has missed just four games.
CB: Chris Harris
Injury date: Divisional playoff round, January 2014.
Return date: Week 1, 2014.
Key before/after facts: Harris hasn't missed a start and has two interceptions in 10 games, one shy of his career high for a season. Through Week 11, he was Pro Football Focus' top-ranked cornerback. According to PFF, opposing quarterbacks have a league-low 41.7 passer rating on passes thrown into his coverage.
Honorable mention: Lardarius Webb, Ravens.
CB: Darrelle Revis
Injury date: Week 5, 2012. Return date: Week 1, 2013.
Key before/after facts: Revis is intercepting passes at a lower rate since his injury (0.15 per game) than before (0.24), but Pro Football Focus rated him as its top cornerback in 2013 and has him No. 7 this season.
S: Eric Berry
Injury date: Week 1, 2011. Return date: Week 1, 2012.
Key before/after facts: Berry has four interceptions in 36 games since the injury after recording four in 17 games before it. Still, his overall post-injury play has been recognized. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2012 and 2013 and won first-team All-Pro honors last season.
Honorable mention: Brandon Meriweather, Redskins
S: Tyrann Mathieu
Injury date: Week 14, 2013. Return date: Week 2, 2014.
Key before/after facts: Mathieu has played in nine games, starting three, since his return. He's intercepted one pass and defensed a total of four after intercepting two and defensing nine in 13 games before the injury. He has worked to regain confidence and is currently Pro Football Focus' No. 31-ranked safety.
PR/KR: Travis Benjamin
Injury date: Week 8, 2013. Return date: Week 1, 2014.
Key before/after facts: Benjamin has not yet regained his explosiveness as a returner. He averaged 37 yards per kickoff return and 16.2 yards per punt return before the injury. Those numbers are 21.0 and 2.7, respectively, since then.
K: Mike Nugent
Injury date: Week 10, 2010. Return date: Week 1, 2011.
Key before/after facts: Nugent has been a more accurate kicker (82.1 percent conversion rate) after the injury than before (79.0), keeping pace with the overall recent uptick of NFL kicking.
P: Chris Jones
Injury date: Week 7, 2012. Return date: Week 1, 2013.
Key before/after facts: Jones punted only 22 times before his injury. His gross average is higher after the injury (45.1 yards) than before (44.0), but his net (39.6) and percentage of kicks inside the 20 (38.4) have been lower since his injury (they were 42.3 and 54.5, respectively, before the injury).
All-ACL team: NFL's rehab warriors
11/19/2014 - NFL
Jim Davis/Getty Images
Kevin Seifert, NFL Nation
Not too long ago, there was only one relevant question for a football player with a torn ACL: Where's the retirement party?
There were no surgical options such as the one David Fleming detailed in this week's ESPN.com Hot Read. No one got to choose between a cadaver's ligament or an internal replacement. There were no elite rehabilitation centers.
The advent of arthroscopic surgery shifted the question ever so slightly: Could a player regain anything close to his previous performance upon his return?
Only in recent years has the paradigm changed. Punctuated by Adrian Peterson's 2,097-yard season in 2012, it is now routine for a player to pick up his career where he left off -- often less than a year after the injury. Those whose careers are ended or altered for the worse now occupy the minority.
With that trend in mind, ESPN.com's NFL staff has assembled an "All-ACL team" of active players who -- for the most part -- are excelling post-injury. We have relied on objective data whenever possible, but in some cases employed ratings from Pro Football Focus to assess players' pre- and post-injury performance.
We present the All-ACL offensive team below. Click here for the All-ACL defensive team.
ESPN.com's All-ACL Team: Offense
QB: Tom Brady
Injury date: Week 1, 2008 Return date: Week 1, 2009
Key before/after facts: Brady has become more efficient since the injury, with a touchdown/interception ratio of 3.51, compared to 2.29 before. He also has been more than three times as harried, pressured on 18.6 percent of his dropbacks, compared to 5.2.
Honorable mention: Robert Griffin III, Redskins; Brian Hoyer, Browns; Philip Rivers, Chargers.
RB: Jamaal Charles
Injury date: Week 2, 2011 Return date: Week 1, 2012
Key before/after facts: Charles' yards per carry dropped from 6.1 before the injury to 5.2. But he actually is averaging more explosive runs per game -- 12 yards or more -- since the injury (1.7) than before (1.2).
Honorable mention: Frank Gore, 49ers; Adrian Peterson, Vikings.
WR: Jeremy Maclin
Injury date: Preseason, 2013 Return date: Week 1, 2014
Key before/after facts: In a small sample and in a new scheme, Maclin has been more explosive after his injury. He is averaging 16.1 yards per catch and 0.9 touchdowns per game since the injury (13.38 and 0.4 before, respectively). Also, his drop percentage has lowered from 3.4 to 1.0.
WR: Reggie Wayne
Injury date: Week 7, 2013 Return date: Week 1, 2014
Key before/after facts: In the nine games since returning, Wayne has been just as productive (5.22 receptions per game, compared to 5.13) and nearly as explosive. He's averaging 12.7 yards per catch, compared to 13.5 before the injury, and is still getting downfield. The average air yards of passes thrown his way is 10.1 compared to 11.5.
WR: Donnie Avery
Injury date: Preseason, 2010 Return date: Week 4, 2011
Key before/after facts: Avery is averaging fewer receptions per game after the injury (2.7, compared to 3.2) and less yards after the catch (3.7, compared to 4.2) but is producing slightly more per reception (13.4 yards, compared to 12.6).
TE: Rob Gronkowski
Injury date: Week 14, 2013 Return date: Week 1, 2014
Key before/after facts: Since returning, Gronkowski has a higher touchdown rate (0.9 per game, compared to 0.84 before). He's averaging slightly fewer yards after the catch (5.64, compared to 5.90), but is averaging more yards after contact (3.19) than he was prior (2.40).
Honorable mention: Heath Miller, Steelers.
LT: Joe Thomas
Injury date: Bowl game, January 2006 (college)
Return date: Week 1, 2006 (college)
Key before/after facts: Thomas didn't miss a game after suffering the injury, maintaining his status as an elite NFL prospect. He was selected No. 3 overall by the Browns in the 2007 draft and has gone on to seven Pro Bowls. He is a four-time All-Pro at the position.
RT: Bryan Bulaga
Injury date: Preseason, 2013 Return date: Week 1, 2014
Key before/after facts: The injury scrapped plans to convert Bulaga to left tackle. Back on the right side this season, he is rated No. 23 among tackles by PFF. He was at No. 48 in 2012 but No. 7 in 2011.
LG: James Carpenter
Injury date: Week 11, 2011 Return date: Week 4, 2012
Key before/after facts: Carpenter was injured in his rookie season. Since then, he has started 31 of a possible 35 games. He was PFF's 65th-ranked guard in 2013 but has elevated to No. 22 this season.
Honorable mention: Logan Mankins, Buccaneers.
RG: Marshal Yanda
Injury date: Week 5, 2008 Return date: Week 1, 2009
Key before/after facts: After returning from the injury, Yanda made himself into a three-time All-Pro (2011-13). PFF rates him the best guard in the NFL this season.
C: Maurkice Pouncey
Injury date: Week 1, 2013 Return date: Week 1, 2014
Key before/after facts: Pouncey has started all 11 games since returning from the injury. PFF rates him its seventh-best center in 2014. He was No. 12 in 2012 and No. 20 in 2011.
Honorable mention: Jason Kelce, Eagles; Kory Lichtensteiger, Redskins.
LB: Von Miller
Injury date: Week 16, 2013. Return date: Week 1, 2014.
Key before/after facts: Miller is actually accumulating sacks at a faster rate (one per game) since the injury than he did before (0.88 per game). At this pace, he'll challenge his career high of 18.5 sacks from 2012.
Honorable mention: NaVorro Bowman, 49ers; Chad Greenway, Vikings.
LB: Melvin Ingram
Injury date: Spring 2013. Return date: Week 11, 2013.
Key before/after facts: Ingram played 16 games as a rookie, but since the ACL injury, he has played in only seven of a possible 26 contests. He has two sacks in those games.
LB: Thomas Davis, Panthers
Injury date: Week 2, 2011. Return date: Week 1, 2012.
Key before/after facts: The injury was the third torn ACL of Davis' career, and simply getting back on the field has been an extraordinary accomplishment. Since then, he's played in 41 of a possible 43 games, racking up 306 tackles in the process. In the only comparable portion of his earlier career, Davis was credited with 289 tackles in 46 games.
DE: Chris Clemons
Injury date: Wild-card playoff round, January 2013.
Return date: Week 3, 2013.
Key before/after facts: Clemons has played in 24 consecutive games since his return, but his sack rate has dropped. He has 8.5 sacks over that span (35 percent) compared to 53.4 in his previous 116 games (46.1). He had totaled at least 11 sacks in each of the final three seasons before the injury.
DE: Dominique Easley
Injury date: Week 4, 2013 (college).
Return date: Week 1, 2014.
Key before/after facts: The Patriots were so sold on Easley that they made him a first-round draft pick despite the ongoing ACL recovery. Easley has appeared in nine of 10 games, including two starts, and has 10 tackles and a sack in 231 snaps.
DT: Geno Atkins
Injury date: Week 9, 2013. Return date: Week 1, 2014.
Key before/after facts: Atkins has managed one sack in 10 games since returning this season, a sack rate of 0.15 per game. In 41 games prior to the injury, he amassed 26 sacks, a rate of 0.63 per game. Pro Football Focus has credited him with 22 hurries, tied for second in the NFL among defensive tackles.
Honorable mention: Tank Carradine, 49ers; Henry Melton, Cowboys
DT: Ray McDonald
Injury date: Two ACL injuries in 2005 (college).
Return date: Week 1, 2006 (college).
Key before/after facts: McDonald has played an eight-season NFL career (and counting). Since the start of the 2008 season, he has missed just four games.
CB: Chris Harris
Injury date: Divisional playoff round, January 2014.
Return date: Week 1, 2014.
Key before/after facts: Harris hasn't missed a start and has two interceptions in 10 games, one shy of his career high for a season. Through Week 11, he was Pro Football Focus' top-ranked cornerback. According to PFF, opposing quarterbacks have a league-low 41.7 passer rating on passes thrown into his coverage.
Honorable mention: Lardarius Webb, Ravens.
CB: Darrelle Revis
Injury date: Week 5, 2012. Return date: Week 1, 2013.
Key before/after facts: Revis is intercepting passes at a lower rate since his injury (0.15 per game) than before (0.24), but Pro Football Focus rated him as its top cornerback in 2013 and has him No. 7 this season.
S: Eric Berry
Injury date: Week 1, 2011. Return date: Week 1, 2012.
Key before/after facts: Berry has four interceptions in 36 games since the injury after recording four in 17 games before it. Still, his overall post-injury play has been recognized. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2012 and 2013 and won first-team All-Pro honors last season.
Honorable mention: Brandon Meriweather, Redskins
S: Tyrann Mathieu
Injury date: Week 14, 2013. Return date: Week 2, 2014.
Key before/after facts: Mathieu has played in nine games, starting three, since his return. He's intercepted one pass and defensed a total of four after intercepting two and defensing nine in 13 games before the injury. He has worked to regain confidence and is currently Pro Football Focus' No. 31-ranked safety.
PR/KR: Travis Benjamin
Injury date: Week 8, 2013. Return date: Week 1, 2014.
Key before/after facts: Benjamin has not yet regained his explosiveness as a returner. He averaged 37 yards per kickoff return and 16.2 yards per punt return before the injury. Those numbers are 21.0 and 2.7, respectively, since then.
K: Mike Nugent
Injury date: Week 10, 2010. Return date: Week 1, 2011.
Key before/after facts: Nugent has been a more accurate kicker (82.1 percent conversion rate) after the injury than before (79.0), keeping pace with the overall recent uptick of NFL kicking.
P: Chris Jones
Injury date: Week 7, 2012. Return date: Week 1, 2013.
Key before/after facts: Jones punted only 22 times before his injury. His gross average is higher after the injury (45.1 yards) than before (44.0), but his net (39.6) and percentage of kicks inside the 20 (38.4) have been lower since his injury (they were 42.3 and 54.5, respectively, before the injury).
