Über das Forum » re not showing they want it. Ashley William

SEATTLE -- The John Ross who made the Stanford secondary look as if it were running through maple syrup last week has come a long way in the past two years.The Washington wide receiver has added 17 pounds to his 5-foot-11 frame, which means at 190 pounds he is no longer as vulnerable to a strong wind or a strong safety.This past March, Ross ran a hand-timed 4.25 40-yard dash. While some NFL scouts turn up their nose at the inaccuracies of hand times, how far off could it be? Maybe it was only a 4.35. Ask the Cardinal defensive backs who couldnt get near Ross -- except when they committed pass interference against him twice -- how fast he is.Oh, yeah. There was one other small thing. Nothing, really. Just that Ross is sprinting through secondaries and kickoff coverages after recovering from major injuries to both knees. The repaired fourth-year junior has become one of the big reasons the Huskies have risen to No. 5 in the AP poll.I would never, ever see myself in the position Im in now, Ross said. Im honestly happy that I got hurt. It just changed me physically, mentally, emotionally, in football, in every aspect. I got to learn so much just by watching. It was almost like a redshirt year. It was?a redshirt year, but just so late in my career.Ross didnt always see the injuries as a gift. He suffered his first injury against Illinois in the third game of the 2014 season, tearing his meniscus in his right knee. He also needed microfracture surgery after the season. Yet Ross never let on that he was hurt.Hey, NFL, you can check the toughness box.It was a kickoff return, Ross said. Just got rolled up on pretty good. And I felt something in my knee, but I didnt think nothing of it. My knee swelled up after the game. And it never really went down. But I was worried if I said something, I probably would have to sit out for the rest of the season.Ross had caught a touchdown in each of the Huskies first three games. He missed the following week, and then played five straight weeks before the knee caught up to him. He caught only 11 passes combined in those games, and now says he wasnt anymore than 75 percent of his best self.There were days when my leg was so stiff I couldnt run, Ross said, night games where it was harder for me to get warmer because I had that swelling in my knee. The swelling did not go down at all. There was no chance of the swelling going down. The doctor ended up telling me after I got the MRI after the season, I waited so long, [the knee] started to heal itself. I dont know if that was good or bad.The following spring, on the first day the medical staff cleared Ross to practice in full pads, he still didnt completely trust his knee.I was running a simple go route, and a lot of people were in the way, Ross said. My first instinct, instead of running someone over, was jump out the way. So I was kind of favoring my meniscus [right] knee, jumped out the way to my right. Didnt want to land on my right. Landed in an awkward position on my left and I felt my knee snap. Thats when I tore the ACL and meniscus on my left knee.It was kind of a weird deal, Ross said. After I got off the ground, I could still run. I was walking without a limp. Going to class. I got my MRI, and I went home and went to sleep. I woke up, and my leg was stuck in a bent position. I kind of figured something was really, really wrong at that point.Ross said he could have played late in the 2015 season. But he and the coaches agreed it would be smarter to fully heal, and to complete the redshirt year and have that season in the bank. He participated in bowl practices, where he learned just how far behind he had fallen. In the first conditioning drill he took part in, the team ran six sprints, with minimal rest between.On the first two, he ran out front of everyone.On the next two, he stayed out in front of everyone.By the sixth and final one, he had to be helped off the field.I kind of wanted to show everyone I could still run, Ross said. The first couple of reps, I was just killing em. Our last two reps, I almost passed out. ... I just felt my whole body cramping up. I felt it completely slowing down. There was nothing I could do about it.Being cleared to practice, and being able to practice, and proving that you are 100 percent back and better than ever in practice, all are important. But they are a long way from putting on the Husky uniform and standing on the goal line awaiting a kickoff. Ross started a countdown on his phone. Imagine looking at it and seeing you have 100 days to go.It was the longest summer of my life, Ross said.When the countdown reached zero, and Sept. 3 had arrived, Ross didnt have to wait long. On the Huskies second snap, Jake Browning threw him a quick pass for 2 yards. Before the first quarter ended, Ross had caught touchdown passes from Browning of 38 and 50 yards. But those catches werent the things that had infiltrated his sleep.Washington didnt have to return a kickoff until late in the second quarter. The Huskies scored the first 24 points of the game before Rutgers kicked a field goal. Ross went back to the goal line. He caught the kick at the Washington 8, and he ran as if he hadnt run back a kick in two years. Touchdown, Huskies.I actually dreamed about something like that, Ross said. I would talk to the guys about it. I dreamed that the first kickoff return I touched would go to the house. And for it to happen, it was mind-boggling. It wasnt exactly like I pictured it, but it happened.All the doubt, all the swelling, all the pain, all the waiting. All gone. Nearly two years had taken an eternity to pass. When Ross reached the end zone, time stopped again. It was a completely different feeling.It felt unreal, Ross said. I might have been standing there for a long time. My teammates did come and grab me. It was so unreal to me.Ross finished the opener with five catches for 90 yards. He leads the Huskies in touchdowns (eight), receptions (21), kickoff returns (five, 35-yard average) and all-purpose yards (96.2 ypg). John Ross is back, and so are the Huskies. Thats not exactly a coincidence. Bob Miller Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. Pittsburgh Pirates Pro Shop . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. https://www.cheappiratesjerseys.us/1292e-roberto-clemente-jersey-pirates.html . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Starling Marte Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. Aramis Ramirez Jersey . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats.Arsenal great Charlie Nicholas believes his former side are in a mini crisis and will be out of the Premier League title race if they lose the north London derby. The Gunners find themselves six points off the top of the table heading into Saturdays trip to Tottenham following back-to-back defeats, with Arsene Wenger admitting his side are lacking confidence after their 2-1 defeat to Swansea at the Emirates.With the prospect of ending the weekend nine points adrift of leaders Leicester - who visit Watford on Saturday Night Football - Nicholas fears the Gunners title hopes will be killed off by defeat at White Hart Lane. Charlie predicts... Find out what Charlie Nicholas is tipping up for the north London derby here. The Soccer Saturday pundit said: Theres a mini crisis happening at Arsenal and you can see it from the managers changes. Hes throwing players in and hoping it will work out.There is not one player that is in form right now and you dont see any angry reactions from the players. Theyre not showing they want it. Ashley Williams celebrates scoring Swanseas winner at the Emirates You cant be in this position in a title run-in and have a manager admitting their confidence is draining out of the side, even if that is the case.If they are short of confidence after playing Swansea then what are they going to be like after a derby defeat? Arsene Wenger has confirmed Petr Cech faces up to a month out If they do lose then its done, theyre out of the title race.ddddddddddddSpurs can afford to draw or even lose as the worst theyd be is six points behind Leicester. Biggest derby for 25 years Paul Merson says its crunch time for Tottenham and Arsenal How crucial is the north London derby? Let us know by leaving a comment if youre reading on skysports.com or by tweeting @SkyFootball. Follow Tottenham v Arsenal, as well as all of Saturdays Premier League action, on Soccer Saturday and via our live blogs on skysports.com and the Sky Sports apps. Also See: Pundits pick their top four Cech facing four weeks out ' ' '