Tiny Legs

[Chapow]

Gotcha. Thanks.

I'm gonna go ahead and continue to not give one single crap about the size of anyone's legs. Just because some guys don't have redwood trunks for legs doesn't mean they don't have strong legs and it certainly doesn't automatically mean they are an injury risk or whatever nonsense has been thrown out there.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Sherm and Browner both had twigs for legs, they did just fine.

 

[bmorepunk]

Great picture

Speaking of which, watching NFLN, holy crap! MJD has some Tree Trunks for legs! Dude looks unnatural!

Maurice Jones Drew? If so then yeah....there's a reason why he was so hard to tackle and played with such power. It comes from the core. Legs, butt, abdomen, back...that's where a ton of football strength comes from. The flip side of that is that the mass tends to cut into top end speed. Both is really, really rare. Maintaining quickness can also be a challenge, which is why I bet that Mike Davis slows down some.

Agreed that everything comes from the hips and goes outward.

But I think many people apply to much value to raw cross sectional area of extremities. Some guys have seemingly skinny legs (especially their calves) and are strong as balls and can squat/deadlift stupid numbers. I've seen the opposite be true as well; dudes with great looking musculature who are relatively weak (such as your average bodybuilder bro). Cross sectional area comparing individuals isn't something you can consistently do when measuring how strong they are. Genetic variance and programming (what you're training for) make a lot of difference.

 

[vin.couve12]

Gotcha. Thanks.

I'm gonna go ahead and continue to not give one single crap about the size of anyone's legs. Just because some guys don't have redwood trunks for legs doesn't mean they don't have strong legs and it certainly doesn't automatically mean they are an injury risk or whatever nonsense has been thrown out there.

There's a limit to that though. That Bama Williams DT we got was doomed. He had Browner size legs with about 280 of the 300 plus pounds carried on top. He looked like a character from an old Popeye cartoon. Structural integrity does matter. That dude was so disproportionately shapen that I was surprised his tibia a fibia didn't snap just walking.

 

[vin.couve12]

Great picture

Speaking of which, watching NFLN, holy crap! MJD has some Tree Trunks for legs! Dude looks unnatural!

Maurice Jones Drew? If so then yeah....there's a reason why he was so hard to tackle and played with such power. It comes from the core. Legs, butt, abdomen, back...that's where a ton of football strength comes from. The flip side of that is that the mass tends to cut into top end speed. Both is really, really rare. Maintaining quickness can also be a challenge, which is why I bet that Mike Davis slows down some.

Agreed that everything comes from the hips and goes outward.

But I think many people apply to much value to raw cross sectional area of extremities. Some guys have seemingly skinny legs (especially their calves) and are strong as balls and can squat/deadlift stupid numbers. I've seen the opposite be true as well; dudes with great looking musculature who are relatively weak (such as your average bodybuilder bro). Cross sectional area comparing individuals isn't something you can consistently do when measuring how strong they are. Genetic variance and programming (what you're training for) make a lot of difference.

I don't disagree at all. We've seen some extremes though.

 

[Chapow]

Gotcha. Thanks.

I'm gonna go ahead and continue to not give one single crap about the size of anyone's legs. Just because some guys don't have redwood trunks for legs doesn't mean they don't have strong legs and it certainly doesn't automatically mean they are an injury risk or whatever nonsense has been thrown out there.

There's a limit to that though. That Bama Williams DT we got was doomed. He had Browner size legs with about 280 of the 300 plus pounds carried on top. He looked like a character from an old Popeye cartoon. Structural integrity does matter. That dude was so disproportionately shapen that I was surprised his tibia a fibia didn't snap just walking.

Yet, Jesse Williams managed to have a successful enough career at one of the premier college programs in the country to be an NFL draft pick. Yes, he sustained knee injuries when he got here, but lots of guys sustain knee injuries regardless of the appearance of the size of their legs. Like you said, it's the structural integrity (and strength) that matters, not the appearance.

BTW, it wasn't knee injuries that ended his football career, it was cancer. The knee injuries may have ended his career, but we'll never know due to the cancer.