Quote:He came into minicamp without too many expectations and it is going about as well as he can hope.

"I was a little rusty, but I knew that's how it was going to be," Fisher said. "I hadn't played football since last November, so there's going to be rust. You've just got to take it [for] what it is, understand what you're doing wrong and fix it and get out there the next day and do it again."

Fisher, who remains the leading candidate to start at right tackle, didn't enjoy sitting out through portions of OTAs, but he tried not to worry about when he would be cleared for full participation, he said.

He used the time on the sideline to prepare mentally, as the Bengals are installing a new offense in Bill Lazor's first full season as offensive coordinator. The offensive line has gone through changes as well under new position coach Frank Pollack, and Fisher had some time to help bring rookie center Billy Price -- recovering from pectoral surgery after the NFL combine -- along as the two sat out of drills together.

(06-14-2018, 10:28 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: Fisher had heart surgery for that irregular heartbeat, but was cleared to return to practice fully.

He said that, even when he couldn't do physical drills, he was still always mentally trying to improve and get all of Pollack's schemes and things down, as well as doing individual drills, which is awesome because he seems to be buying into the new regime and mentality that we seem to have here, which is getting better, being the best player you can be, and winning:


Hopefully he can become even better under Pollack and live up to his second round draft status and be a force!

(06-14-2018, 10:33 AM)BengalD Wrote: What exactly was his heart condition / surgical repair?  I have a good friend and his wife is a cardiologist and might be good conversation next time I see her.

(06-14-2018, 10:37 AM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: Hope he can fully recover, and be our starting RT.  Maybe Pollack can bring out his nastiness.

(06-14-2018, 10:38 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: Not sure because I was absent that day in med school 

An irregular heartbeat is the most in-depth description I've heard.

See if she knows anything about what's going on with him!

(06-14-2018, 10:41 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: It's tough to imagine ever being able to play pro football again, after having heart surgery.  If the medical community deems it safe for him?  Then, hooray Science!

Now aside from the obvious heart concerns, he's likely endured a little atrophy and physical diminishment since this all began.  Even before the heart issue, he was what I considered a developing Tackle.  He's still young enough to quickly gain his size/strength/stamina back in time for the season.   Hopefully, there will be enough time for Coach Pollack to work on the technical part of his game, so that he has a fair shot at competing for a starting job.

(06-14-2018, 12:18 PM)Go Cards Wrote: If it were a heart ablation and pretty sure it was or something similar done in Cath Labs. He would not lose any size at all and just a minor hurdle in strength and stamina I believe. 

In and out of hospital in 6-8 hours with hardly a scar to show. 

But hopefully the problem was corrected. That is the main thing. 

(06-14-2018, 10:28 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: Fisher had heart surgery for that irregular heartbeat, but was cleared to return to practice fully.

He said that, even when he couldn't do physical drills, he was still always mentally trying to improve and get all of Pollack's schemes and things down, as well as doing individual drills, which is awesome because he seems to be buying into the new regime and mentality that we seem to have here, which is getting better, being the best player you can be, and winning:


Hopefully he can become even better under Pollack and live up to his second round draft status and be a force!

(06-14-2018, 10:33 AM)BengalD Wrote: What exactly was his heart condition / surgical repair?  I have a good friend and his wife is a cardiologist and might be good conversation next time I see her.

(06-14-2018, 12:11 PM)Go Cards Wrote: Irregular heart beat is usually treated by going through the groin and running up into the heart and believe a radio frequency or something is used to seal it off to correct. Something like that anyway.  

It is called a heart ablation and one can resume regular routine fairly quick afterwards.

It is usually an outpatient surgery unless complications arise, which sounds as if it went smoothly.

Best wishes to him.

(06-14-2018, 03:43 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Great news for Fisher. However, I still wonder how much the heart issue affected him in 2015-2016 because he was not an above-average OT then either. So I guess what I'm saying is I still have doubts he'll become a solid starter even after his heart issue has been resolved and cleared. Hopefully he does become one though because the Bengals could definitely use one.

(06-14-2018, 04:49 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Here is the bad news about Fisher.  Back in the off season after the '16 season he said he was training harder and getting stronger.  He said one change he had made that had been holding him back was getting off of a medication for his heart that he felt was making him sluggish.  That is probably why he had the problems with his heart last year.

So if he has to go back on the medication it will continue to make him feel weak and sluggish.

I don't have a lot of hope for Fisher unless the surgery fixed the problem forever so he does not have to be back on the medication.

(06-14-2018, 05:55 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: I'm guessing he had the procedure done to avoid going back on the meds.

(06-14-2018, 12:11 PM)Go Cards Wrote: Irregular heart beat is usually treated by going through the groin and running up into the heart and believe a radio frequency or something is used to seal it off to correct. Something like that anyway.  

It is called a heart ablation and one can resume regular routine fairly quick afterwards.

It is usually an outpatient surgery unless complications arise, which sounds as if it went smoothly.

Best wishes to him.