Odell Beckham Jr. shouldn’t be a fan of synthetic turf.
Last December, within the wake of New York Giants veteran extensive receiver Sterling Shepherd struggling a torn ACL in a recreation towards the Dallas Cowboys, Beckham took to social media to blast the MetLife Stadium taking part in floor. “Just get rid of it all the [expletive] bro,” Beckham tweeted in response to a video of the noncontact harm. “Billions made off this game I can’t understand why we can’t play on grass.”
Beckham is aware of the sphere properly. As a member of the Giants in 2017, he suffered a season-ending damaged ankle there in a recreation towards the Chargers when his leg acquired twisted with that of defensive again Casey Hayward. Ever since, the star extensive receiver has had points with the ankle, together with every of the previous few weeks after tweaking it within the Ravens’ win over the Bengals in Cincinnati, which additionally performs on an artificial floor.
He returned final week towards the Pittsburgh Steelers — and their grass subject — however was a nonfactor with simply two catches for 13 yards within the loss.
This week, as Beckham and the remainder of the Ravens look to proper the ship after dropping two of their previous three, they’re again on turf with Sunday’s recreation towards the Tennessee Titans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Premier League soccer membership that calls it dwelling performs on a grass subject that’s rolled out like a carpet — the Hellas SoftTope Convertible Turf System is identical one utilized by the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium — however a turf subject that slides out from beneath the grass one is getting used for the 2 NFL video games being held there to protect the pristine grass of the Spurs’ floor.
Beckham doesn’t agree with that call.
“It’s something people have seen me talk about on Twitter and it sounds like I’m the one being a baby and complaining, yet you see a lot of major injuries happen on turf,” he mentioned. “Just look at the results. Look at how many major injuries have happened on it.”
He didn’t need to look very far again, both.
Already, the Tottenham turf has been the speak of gamers across the league after a number of accidents occurred on it throughout final week’s Buffalo Bills-Jacksonville Jaguars recreation on the $1.3 billion facility. Bills linebacker Matt Milano suffered a fractured leg and can also be feared to have a season-ending knee harm. Cornerback Taron Johnson, who was injured within the third quarter however ultimately returned, mentioned the turf was “terrible” and questioned why the league selected to play on it.
Thursday, Bills star Von Miller took the criticism a step additional.
In an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show,” the skin linebacker mentioned the turf at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was one of many worst he’s ever performed on. “I really couldn’t believe that we had high-class athletes playing on this stuff,” he mentioned. “It was insane.”
How the soccer subject works is that it’s cut up into three elements that slide out from the south finish of the stadium, and the floor is made up of artificial grass and tiny rubber balls. Once it’s in place, nevertheless, because it was for final yr’s Giants-Green Bay Packers recreation, the NFL Players Association acknowledged that there was a seam alongside the numbers that was a priority. But it additionally mentioned the sphere handed the joint NFL-NFLPA pregame evaluation.
For this week’s Titans recreation, Baltimore didn’t appear to have any considerations however would favor to be taking part in on grass, which is what the staff switched to at M&T Bank Stadium in 2016 after utilizing an artificial floor the earlier 13 years. Then-team president Dick Cass mentioned {that a} rash of accidents, together with a torn ACL suffered by quarterback Joe Flacco, didn’t play a job within the resolution.
Still, coach John Harbaugh echoed Beckham’s sentiments.
“I’m a grass guy,” he mentioned. “I’m with the gamers on that. Grass is pure. It performs higher.
“I just appreciate our owner, Steve Bisciotti, seven or eight years ago, [he] had an opportunity, the players came to him. We [had] turf [in our stadium], and they just asked him, ‘Can you make the stadium grass?’ And he did it, right away. It didn’t matter what the cost [was].”
Which is the place the rub lies, each with the NFL video games being performed at Tottenham and the 17 groups that use some kind of artificial grass: It prices much more cash to keep up an actual grass subject than a pretend one.
This week, the Ravens have been working towards all week on grass at Tottenham’s coaching floor, although there are a number of artificial fields. Harbaugh mentioned that’s what his gamers desire as a result of they’re much less sore.
Never thoughts that the Spurs are so specific about their grass that the Ravens even have use of only one subject, and that earlier than Thursday’s session the soccer membership put up indicators reminding gamers to please keep off the adjoining pitch.
Harbaugh isn’t involved about going from one floor to a different.
“It’s usually not a problem,” he mentioned. “They’d rather practice on grass and they feel like they can make the adjustment in the game. This grass here is a little different, it’s England, it’s a little slicker, it’s a soccer field, but our guys adapted OK.”
Some gamers did slip and fall in the course of the portion of follow that was open to the media Wednesday, together with linebacker Patrick Queen, who stayed down for a minute earlier than resuming follow, however they didn’t have the identical problem Thursday. Beckham can also be attempting to not concern himself with the sphere, saying it’s what it’s and that there’s nothing the staff can do about it.
“God willing there’s [no injuries] this game, but it’s just not a surface that’s great for players to play on,” he mentioned. “I believe [these teams] make sufficient cash to the place placing grass in stadiums is absolutely not that large of a factor, not that arduous to maintain up with.
“If we’re talking about the safety of players, I think grass would be a better surface area for them. Turf is what we’re playing on this week and it is what it is. It’s not really top to us, but I think that there’s a solution. Whatever it is, I hope one day they figure it out.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com