Quote:I'm no doctor, so I'm asking this honestly:  Is rehabbing a broken ankle prohibitive from getting stronger in the rest of your body?

 

I think we all hope LJ works on his craft in the offseason.  His issues are not just strength, he had alot of mental errors that either point to his lack of heart or his lack of football IQ...  

 

Let's just say he's got a lot of work to do...

Your body can only do so much. How much strength training can you do while you have a cold? A cold doesn't directly cause your muscles to atrophy but it takes bodily resources to fight off. It also takes time to rehab an injury, you cannot simply do a normal workout then do less on one muscle(especially a leg or core muscle) because a lot of stuff is compound and you can injure yourself further trying to (possibly unconsiously) compensate for a weak muscle in something like, say, a deadlift or military press. Also keep in mind that even if you could isolate it and somehow work the rest of your body the same, a lot of your strength as a lineman come from your legs, as with most athletes(QBs step into throws, boxers step into punches, etc). Having a weak leg is a severe detriment to your strength, watch lineman use something like a blocking sled, a lot of it is lower body.

 

No one is saying he is Jonathan Ogden, but he does have some legitimate reasons for being behind, namely his age and that injury AT THAT AGE. If he got that injury at age 26 I would not give him a pass for it like I am inclined to now when he is still younger than some guys coming out.

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