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25 Aug 2012

David DeCastro Probably Out for Year

Terrible news for the Steelers, who may be stuck with the same offensive line problems as years past now that rookie guard David DeCastro has torn his ACL and MCL in tonight's preseason game against Buffalo. UPDATE: Apparently, DeCastro has not torn his ACL. He "only" tore his MCL and patellar tendon with a dislocated kneecap. He's still probably done for the season.

Posted by: Aaron Schatz on 25 Aug 2012

22 comments, Last at 27 Aug 2012, 8:37pm by chemical burn

Comments

1
by The Ninjalectual :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 12:08am

Ugh. Injuries are the worst part of football. I want my team to win because they beat the other team's best guys, not because the other team's best guys were hurt.

Is DD IR-fodder, or does he have a shot to play this year?

2
by Paddy Pat :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 12:15am

ACL and MCL? That's IR. That's an injury that might make it hard to rehab in time to be ready for the start of next year's training camp. Poor guy.

3
by Insancipitory :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 2:05am

At least he has the good fortune to be injured now as opposed to 20 or 30 years ago.

4
by Danish Denver-Fan :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 6:45am

Or 30 weeks for that matter...

5
by Mr Shush :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 7:31am

Between this, Suggs, and the continued ageing of Polamalu, Harrison, Reed and Lewis, this is the first time in years that I struggle to see the AFC North producing a credible Super Bowl contender. It seems likely that there could be a real dearth of top level teams in the AFC as a whole. The Patriots will be one. The Texans and/or Broncos could be. Outside of those three, I can't see it. 11-5 probably gets the #2 seed, and 9-7 could be enough for a wild card.

6
by Vicious Chicken of Bristol (not verified) :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 9:08am

This isnt really a sky is falling moment. Losing DeCastro isnt ideal, but the OL is still much better than it has been.

Allpro center, solid LT in Starks, solid RT in Gilbert, LG is vastly upgraded from last year. RG is going to the same as last year.

And it's hard to ignore the fact that the Steelers tore the revamped Buffalo D a new one after DD went down.

7
by chemical burn :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 10:03am

This game was 14-7 at halftime before the starters came out. The Steelers 2nd and 3rd stringers did indeed trounce the Bills 2nd and 3rd stringers. That is, however, unrelated to the DeCastro injury.

17
by Vicious Chicken of Bristol (not verified) :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 8:19pm

The 98 yard TD drive in under two minutes kinda, sorta, showed that the starters could still compete. Dont ya think?

22
by chemical burn :: Mon, 08/27/2012 - 8:37pm

I think one drive versus an unproven defense that has been terrible for years kinda sorta tells us nothing.

9
by Terry (not verified) :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 10:30am

How one can look at the constant hits Big Ben has taken over the past couple years, yet say that losing the highly-rated offensive lineman they used their first round selection on "isn't really a sky is falling moment" is, to me anyway, the height of cognitive dissonance.

Let me guess, you're going going to say that the Steelers' game plan heavily involves Ben getting hit a lot, so it's all cool.

18
by Vicious Chicken of Bristol (not verified) :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 8:22pm

And ignoring the fact that the Steelers have been one of the best teams in the league the last several years without David DeCastro is the definition of intentional ignorance.

Is isnt a sky is falling moment because the Steelers have been there and done that. Their O-line, as I already clearly stated, is still going to be better than last year. Barring further injury of course.

21
by Aaron Brooks Go... :: Mon, 08/27/2012 - 8:48am

You know, an injured deCastro is probably still better than a healthy Wayne Hunter, so there's that.

8
by dmb :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 10:24am

FYI, Adam Schefter reports that it's a torn MCL, but the extent of any ACL damage won't be known until DeCastro undergoes an MRI today. If his ACL isn't torn, then this isn't an automatic move to IR.

10
by Tomlin_Is_Infallible :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 2:12pm

sigh,
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000055039/article/david-decastro-ou...

another year, another BigBen crippled by midseason

--------------------------------------
Velvet Sky fan

11
by wr (not verified) :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 2:47pm

Be glad Ben is as big as he is. If he was the same size as Vick, and
took the same beating that he has, his career would be over by now. As
it is, I seem him being toast in another season or two unless his sack
rate drops dramatically.

12
by Danish Denver-Fan :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 4:37pm

This. I'm not to concerned about the Steelers losing too many games because of this. But this kind of punishment is impossible to withstand much longer. The fact that he hasn't missed more games is nothing short of a miracle.

13
by Mr Shush :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 5:19pm

Even if he doesn't start missing more time, he's likely to start losing effectiveness.

14
by Paddy Pat :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 5:58pm

Injury has been somewhat downgraded. Torn MCL, damaged PCL, dislocated kneecap, but the ACL is okay. That makes it possible, though somewhat improbable that DeCastro returns this year. Certainly, rehabbing will be much more within reason.

15
by Insancipitory :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 6:31pm

can't they put him on the PUP then revisit putting him on IR around week 6?

16
by tuluse :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 7:13pm

Pretty sure the injury has to be prior to preseason or non-football related.

19
by Intropy :: Sun, 08/26/2012 - 11:07pm

There is that new one man 8 week IR that's up for vote with the NFLPA. As I understand it, if approved it would go into effect immediately.

20
by akn :: Mon, 08/27/2012 - 12:58am

Even without ACL involvement, this is an injury that takes way more than 6 weeks to recover. I haven't seen any reports of surgery being required, but I wouldn't be surprised with the plurality of structures involved. This is at the very least a 10-12 week injury, and more likely 5-6 months. If surgery it involved, it's even longer.

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