[msqueri]

A few comments on injuries.

First, injuries are mostly stochastic.  You put enough force at the wrong angle, and even the most resilient players can get injured. Sometimes it is dumb luck: does a cleat catch on something as a lateral force is applied to the knee. Did two hits happen within a fraction of a second, or did the player have time to absorb the first hit before the second came.

That being said, within all the effect of luck, strength and conditioning can play a role. It is well know that underdeveloped hamstrings compared to quads are a risk factor for ACL injuries (mostly in jumping sports like basketball). Generally speaking, stronger players are more likely to be able to resist forces (but also, stronger players generate more force, which can be bad).  Teasing it all out is not easy, especially given my first point.

Notwithstanding specific injuries during Turkey’s tenure, I think my subjective perception of the data (and I am welcome to being proven wrong) is that there have been more players losing more time to injury since he left than when he was here. I remember at one point in time the discussion was about our “injury luck” while he was here.  I’d love to see someone compile the data and test the hupothesis if it is accessible to see if my subjective assessment is merited.

Even if the above is true, establishing a causal link between Turley’s presence and fewer injuries is impossible. We might have just been lucky, and then experienced a reversion to the mean.

All that being said, Sam is right that the other consideration is that the impact of injuries due to critical lack of depth at key positions. “Next man up” only works if the next man up is up to the task.

BC

Was referring to him as "Turkey" a Freudian slip?

I imagine that, unlike the Stanford football team, BC hasn't seen Turley with his pants down and has some plausible deniability on your question.

[msqueri]

A few comments on injuries.

First, injuries are mostly stochastic.  You put enough force at the wrong angle, and even the most resilient players can get injured. Sometimes it is dumb luck: does a cleat catch on something as a lateral force is applied to the knee. Did two hits happen within a fraction of a second, or did the player have time to absorb the first hit before the second came.

That being said, within all the effect of luck, strength and conditioning can play a role. It is well know that underdeveloped hamstrings compared to quads are a risk factor for ACL injuries (mostly in jumping sports like basketball). Generally speaking, stronger players are more likely to be able to resist forces (but also, stronger players generate more force, which can be bad).  Teasing it all out is not easy, especially given my first point.

Notwithstanding specific injuries during Turkey’s tenure, I think my subjective perception of the data (and I am welcome to being proven wrong) is that there have been more players losing more time to injury since he left than when he was here. I remember at one point in time the discussion was about our “injury luck” while he was here.  I’d love to see someone compile the data and test the hupothesis if it is accessible to see if my subjective assessment is merited.

Even if the above is true, establishing a causal link between Turley’s presence and fewer injuries is impossible. We might have just been lucky, and then experienced a reversion to the mean.

All that being said, Sam is right that the other consideration is that the impact of injuries due to critical lack of depth at key positions. “Next man up” only works if the next man up is up to the task.

BC

Was referring to him as "Turkey" a Freudian slip?

I imagine that, unlike the Stanford football team, BC hasn't seen Turley with his pants down and has some plausible deniability on your question.