Sims: Video Sparks Absurd Debate — Is Santonio Holmes Running?
By Abby Sims
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Debating whether a video showing Santonio Holmes jogging along the sideline is proof that – despite his claim otherwise – he is actually able to run is totally off base.
According to Rex Ryan, Holmes' general conditioning is at a peak, and he is pushing his limits as he continues to recover from surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury. Though no one besides the player himself knows how his foot is feeling, it isn't unreasonable for Holmes to state that what we saw on tape isn't really running.
In the context of returning to competitive form, it was only a start.
ESPN's report that suggested some in the Jets organization are concerned that Holmes is "milking the injury" may or may not reflect reality. None of us will ever really know. But the worst way to find out that the critics are wrong: if he plays too soon only to wind up out for the long haul. Feet take a pounding and it is very easy to exacerbate an injury or wind up with chronic issues. Rasheed Wallace would attest to that.
The half or three-quarter speed short-distance run that Holmes does on the fan video is only indicative of the fact that Holmes' recovery has progressed to include movement drills in his program. He will have to run longer distances repetitively and at faster speeds – without pain during or afterward – before taking it up another notch. At that point he would include rapid changes of direction – agility – and then add a power component by running against resistance, using props like a Sportscord or running parachute.
Holmes isn't likely to say he can run until he is doing sprinting T-drills, cutting and running the distance of the field at full speed. In other words, when he can do what he used to do.
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