The Dolphins got one tailback out of the concussion protocol just as another one went into it. According to multiple reports, Jay Ajayi has cleared the final step in the concussion protocol and has been fully cleared to return to practice nearly two weeks after he suffered a concussion on a hit from safety T.J. McDonald. Coach Adam Gase said during his Tuesday press conference that no decision has been made about whether Ajayi will play against the Ravens this Thursday. Running back Kenyan Drake almost certainly will not be playing. Drake left Monday’s practice after a hit from Torry McTyer and he has been diagnosed with a concussion. Drake will now go through the same steps Ajayi had to take to get clearance to return to action and it’s hard to imagine that happening by Thursday or that the team would be in a hurry to play him so soon after a head injury. Damien Williams, Storm Johnson, Senorise Perry and De'Veon Smith will be Miami’s running backs if neither Ajayi nor Drake gets the green light this week.
I wouldn't play Ajayi this week. He knows how to run. I don't think he needs the preseason action here. Drake likely isn't going to be there either. I'd let Williams see some minimal action early, then roll with Storm, Perry and Smith. See what they've got to offer. It's only preseason.
When Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi suffered a concussion in practice more than two weeks ago, it was the first of his career. At any level. Ajayi confirmed for reporters on Tuesday that he’d never before had a concussion, and that he started to feel normal after a week. He also discussed his symptoms. “Just kind of the fog that you get, not being able to concentrate, those kinds of things that happen with concussions, so that was the most frustrating thing is that some days I would feel good and then maybe the symptoms would come back,” Ajayi said. “So it was about just taking your time, being patient, going through the protocol, listening to the trainers, and now I’m back on the field. I’m happy.” He also said he’s not worried about future concussions, and that he doesn’t know whether he’ll play on Thursday night against the Ravens. With Kenyan Drake now in the concussion protocol, the Dolphins may need Ajayi to take a few reps.
I wouldnt play ajayi till week 1. **** the preseason, too many camp fodder/secind and third stringers running around like they have suicide vests on.
don't play ajayi at all jay and drake need to be 100 week 1, who cares about preseason!!!! play em both sparingly week 4 and get ready for the opener.
I'd play him just one series...to get him back in the saddle and ensure he's still mentally and emotionally there. Put another way... At Fort Bragg, when a paratrooper would burn in (Chute wouldn't open and died on impact), unit commander IMMEDIATELY scheduled another "jump" for the unit, usually less than a week after the burn in. This was done to get the solders over the fear of their chutse not opening and instill confidence in their equipment and their abilities. Same thing here. Ajayi needs to hit the field, even if it's just one series, get hit, get tackled and re-instill that confidence in his ability. It would also show us NOW whether or not he's suffering any emotional trauma from the concussion; if he's lost his nerve and loses yardage to avoid getting hit. Like I said....just one series.
Let Storm Johnson and Damien Williams take the bulk of the carries this week and quite a few each next week as Ajayi gets some snaps in to get game speed reps in the all important game 3. Storm Johnson needs to be looked at as a serious option for us. He has been doing well from what I hear.
Last year there were 21 civilian deaths out of 3.2 million jumps in the US. Military deaths have increased by 60% over the last 5 years compared to the 5 years preceding that. It's rare, but military deaths happen much more often than civilian deaths. Which is to be expected due to the nature and complexity of military jumps.
As Marino stated, it happens with much more frequency than civilian skydiving. That's not to say that skydiving is "safer" than Airborne Operations, but more indicative of the amount of equipment US Army Paratroopers have to jump with. Combat jumps entail soldiers jumping static line on a Dash 5 or Dash 10 chute at 1200 feet, in full combat gear, plus ruck sack and weapon. Typically, an additional 75 lbs. If a solider's primary chute fails to deploy, depending on the nature of the failure, that paratrooper has to make a split second decision to save the chute deployment, cut away and/or pull his reserve...all of this at 1200 feet.//which is why paratroopers LOVE "Hollywood Jumps". Civilian skydiving entails different chutes, free falling from a higher altitude which gives a greater margin of error, not to mention skydivers aren't encumbered with all of the additional gear that paratroopers have to jump with. Besides if a civilian burns in, the others can decide for themselves whether or not they ever want to jump again. Paratroopers don't have that luxury. They HAVE to jump and when one of their comrades burn in, the best cure for any fear is to get up there and jump again...right away. Which is why I made that comparison regarding Jay Ajayi. He NEEDS to get back out there on the field and get hit one time, to reaffirm his confidence carrying the ball. Just ONE series...he truly needs to know that every hit he'll encounter isn't a potential concussion.
I'd play him the first series just like we did with Moore last week. Maybe you don't even hand off to him....just let the guy suit up and go through a few reps.
That seems like an awfully big number. Don't skydivers normally have a back-up chute for that exact reason?
"C 130 rollin down the strip, Airborne daddy gonna take a little trip, stand up hook up, shuffle to the door, jump right out on the count of 4, if my chute don't open wide, I got another one by my side, if that one should fail me too, look out ground I'm a coming through" Yes, everyone has a reserve chute, but they can be tricky. Also, no skydivers in the military, lol, only paratroopers , or simply, Airborne. Although, perhaps a Seal jumping could be considered a sky diver, but the diver part would mean something different
They have back-ups. It's not as simple as the movies make it seem. A lot of times when the main chute doesn't open they have very little time to pull the reserve. Often times they are spinning out of control and can't pull it or if they do pull it they're too close to the ground for a good open or the reserve gets tangled in the main and doesn't open also. Recently there was a Green Beret doing a jump at Ft. Lewis and unknown to him or the dozens of other people that had inspected his chute there was a vital piece not sewn on properly. He jumped and his reserve chute deployed, but didn't open. He thought the main chute had deployed, was tangled, and so he actually cut it free thinking that he would then deploy the reserve. Well, I don't have to tell you what happened...I'll see if I can find the story and post it. "What he and his fellow jumpers failed to notice was that Ahn had accidentally attached his ruck sack to the ripcord of his reserve chute. When Ahn jumped, the weight of the 39-pound pack immediately deployed the reserve parachute. One of four lines connecting him to the chute broke loose due to the manufacturing defect. Ahn likely believed it was his main parachute that was malfunctioning and didn’t realize he didn’t have the reserve chute as a backup. He started spinning in mid-air. A jump master in the plane noticed Ahn was in trouble and tried to follow him down, but Ahn fell too fast. To deploy a second chute, Ahn first needed to jettison the malfunctioning parachute so the two canopies would not become entangled. He apparently used a knife to cut the three lines suspending him, detaching himself from the reserve chute. When he went to deploy what he thought was the reserve chute, he would have been confused to find it gone, investigators said, and probably pulled the ripcord for the main parachute instead. Unfortunately, he’d already separated himself from the lines connecting him to the main chute and it flew away..." Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article95503357.html#storylink=cpy
That's freaking awful. These men and women are always in danger, and deserve our utmost gratitude and respect.
Oh man, that's just terrible. It makes you wonder why anyone would willingly jump out of a plane (and I realize that in the military, it's not always willingly). Besides covert missions by special forces, is that still a part of standard training in the armed forces? I wouldn't think there are a lot of scenarios where we send troops into an area like that anymore. Then again, if people aren't trained....that option is off the table. So maybe we do still have folks jumping out of planes regularly. Just curious.
Actually, paratroopers are all "voluntary", so to speak, you have to join, no one just ends up there, during basic training a guy from Airborne comes to try and recruit, but first things first, you have to get through basic. There's still no better way of getting men behind enemy lines, it's still an integral part of the military.
No, it's not standard training and never has been as far as I know. Very few people, relatively, get to jump out of airplanes in the military. As Finster wrote, it's all voluntary and a person has to request to go through that training. It's very expensive and the entry is very competitive so typically only those who need it or those who earn it get to do it.
Thanks for the informative reply. As for how it pertains to Ajayi, I'd say that hit he took from Eric Weddle was the one he needed to reaffirm any possible loss in confidence.
Years ago I was acquainted with a guy who was a civilian skydiver, and he told me most fatalities came from reasons other than chutes failing to open. Would you agree?
I'd guess that it's a combination of human error and faulty equipment that causes the majority of injuries and deaths. As with the Green Beret I mentioned above. If he had not of attached his ruck sack to the rip cord he most likely would not have died. However, if the chute wasn't faulty he most likely could have recovered and survived.
I agree, test passed! Notice Ajayi didn't play that long....just long enough to to get his legs in motion and take that hit.
