First off, Hartman did a fantastic job avoiding catastrophe by twisting his body out of that awkward position (I'm a physical therapist by the way). Just a little more force into that direction and he may have been coming out of that game with at least an MCL tear and/or an ACL tear.
What bothered me was this though. The camera zoomed in on Hartman on the sideline after that play, and Jason Garrett went off about Hartman not wearing any knee pads for protection, and insinuated if Hartman was wearing the proper gear he would be more safe. Basically blaming Hartman for the could be injury.
Knee pads DO NOT protect against these forceful ligamentous injuries. Knee pads only protect against blunt forces to the front part of the knee. They are also good at inhibiting some knee function and thus potentially slowing a player down, that's why you don't see a lot of players wearing them anymore. In a sense, they are futile.
Anyway, screw Jason Garrett and his ignorance. They shouldn't let these clowns be commenting on medical issues on air like that.
What bothered me was this though. The camera zoomed in on Hartman on the sideline after that play, and Jason Garrett went off about Hartman not wearing any knee pads for protection, and insinuated if Hartman was wearing the proper gear he would be more safe. Basically blaming Hartman for the could be injury.
Knee pads DO NOT protect against these forceful ligamentous injuries. Knee pads only protect against blunt forces to the front part of the knee. They are also good at inhibiting some knee function and thus potentially slowing a player down, that's why you don't see a lot of players wearing them anymore. In a sense, they are futile.
Anyway, screw Jason Garrett and his ignorance. They shouldn't let these clowns be commenting on medical issues on air like that.