All right, I need to vent...

[ACStrider]

I started a season right after the first patch with the Houston Texans. I made the playoffs (which shows the incomplete nature of the first patch), but decided to stick with it until the second patch. I had heard some reports from people about injuries following the second patch but figured it was a little bit of hyperbole. So I got the second patch and decided to start the second season with Houston.

The drafting was obviously better, which was a serious plus. So I get to the beginning of the season, and within a couple of games, I lose one of my starting DE's to a ruptured Achillies Tendon...out for the season. It was a shame too because he was in his second year and within six games had already matched his first season numbers.

I figure...alright, that's a hard hit but I can manage...my defense isn't centered around the line (particularly the ends) anyway. So I go a couple more weeks and I see my MLB who was leading the league in tackles suffer ACL dammage to the knee...out for the season. Now this one hurts. I have a solid core of linebackers but it's not deep. He was a shoe in for first team all-pro LB with the numbers he was putting up. (He'll end the season third on my team in tackles even though he only played half the year).

OK, that one hurt, but I guess it's not unreasonable to expect to see two starting players go down with season-ending injuries. A bit unususal but it happens.

So I sim a couple more weeks...My starting LG decides to go down with a Strained Adductor Muscle...season ending injury (unless somehow I make it to the superbowl). Now I'm starting to get a little annoyed. Almost as soon as he goes down I see this...

Starting LT out with MCL Knee Surgery...out for season...expected back in 63 WEEKS!!!

Right now my roster has 10 injured players, four of them season ending. I'll conceed that my coach's injury rating is "fair" but I tried to compensate for this by spending more time in preseason doing strength and conditioning. Still, this is rediculous. Has anyone else had this happen to them or is it just me?

[wade moore]

Umm... how many players do you think are out during an NFL season? I'm pretty confident that 4 starters is not that reasonable...

I just loaded up FOF4 myself, so I haven't had much experience with it, but looking compared to the NFL this does not seem all that unreasonable to me..

[Ben E Lou]

I did some checking on this a while back, so I don't want to take the time to look up hard figures again, but it seemed that the average NFL team had 6-10 guys on injured reserve by the time December rolled around, another 5-10 on the Probable-Questionable-Doubtful list, and then another handful of guys who had injuries that affected their level of play (see Michael Vick), but who weren't listed at all.

[ACStrider]

hehe...I just noticed that one of teams going into the Wild Card game in my league has 9 players listed as out due to food poisening. they had better hope that the remaining healthy players can pull off the win. Bad time to catch food poisening.

[ACStrider]

Dola...and these 9 players are out in addition to the other 3 out plus 2 doubtful, 1 questionable and 2 probable

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by ACStrider
Dola...and these 9 players are out in addition to the other 3 out plus 2 doubtful, 1 questionable and 2 probable

there was a point this year where like 12 players on the 49ers were questionable because of the flu. This stuff does happen in real life.

I think the injury rate is pretty realisitic, making it a lot higher than most other football video games.

[ACStrider]

Well, okay, I'm open to the possibility that it is in fact the case that teams get hit this hard with injuries. In the least it's frustrating, as I know it is in real life. I'm simming the playoffs as I type, so I'm caught up in the moment. And the team with all those with food poisen did in fact lose (I'm sure everyone is shocked to hear that one...according to scouts they were picked to win by 10) Thanks for the input all.

[Bee]

As Bucc would say, just adjust the injury slider.

[Maple Leafs]

I've had injury problems, but nothing as severe as what I'm reading about others getting. Maybe one or two injuries a year that really hurt, but nothing I can't manage. I usually hire a coach who's "good" in avoiding injuries.

Theory: maybe the issue is that the coach's injury rating has too much effect. Since I always assumed that the rating was meant to reflect a coach's commitment to conditioning, should it even still be there any more, now that we can make that decision ourselves (at least at training camp)?

[Craptacular]

See the 2002 Green Bay Packers. During the season, the Packers lost both starting offensive tackles and both starting defensive ends for the rest of the year, or for significant time. Not to mention the endless supply of other key players who missed weeks at a time. Injuries can certainly snowball in the NFL.

[Easy Mac]

I had both my starting WR's out for the year by game 2. They were the top 2 receivers in the league ratings wise (one was injury prone, so he didn't accumulate stats). After 2 years both were gone.

Some years I get hit with injuries. I think one year I had 6 guys who were out for the year my the 7th week. Mainly by the end of the year, if I'm out of the hunt, I abuse IR and place anyone who will be out hte rest of the year (even probable) on it. Just to make sure I don't get re-occurring injuries.

[DataKing]

If you want to take a look at season-ending injuries, the Bears are another good example from this past season.

WR David Terrell
OT Mark Columbo
OG Rex Tucker
DT Ted Washington
OLB Warrick Holdman
TE Fred Baxter

On top of that, the following players missed a significant number of games:

QB Jim Miller
RB Anthony Thomas
DE Phillip Daniels
CB R.W. McQuarters
I am sure there are others that I am forgetting about.

My beloved Bears actually set a new NFL record for number of players who started in a single season. The injury bug can strike any team at any time.

Just my two cents.