Brian Hartline off to hot start after tumultuous offseason (Shutdown Corner)
 

Four weeks into the 2012 NFL regular season, an unlikely name appears at the top of the "Receiving Yards" leader board. Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brian Hartline, who had 549 receiving yards as a 16-game starter in 2011, leads the NFL entering Week 5 with 455 receiving yards on 25 receptions, thanks in large part to his 12 receptions for a franchise-record 253 receiving yards against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4. What makes Hartline's production through four games even more impressive is that the 2009 fourth round pick out (No. 108 overall) of Ohio State most of the OTAs and preseason due to a calf injury and an emergency appendectomy in early June prevented him from participating in mini-camp. Hartline discussed his medical situation with Jeff Darlington of NFL.com, which included complications after his surgery that caused him to lose 25 pounds during a 12-day stay in Broward General Hospital. "It was to the point where my stomach wasn't even processing my bile, so I had to put a tube down my throat," Hartline said. "Every 24 hours, I was emptying 600 CCs of bile from my stomach (the equivalent of a 20 oz. bottle of soda)... "So the doctor says, 'Some people, they're in here for a day or two, if that. Then, you have people who die from this. But you're somewhere in the middle.' I look at the doctor and say, 'Wait, doc, are you telling me I have a 50-percent chance of dying?"

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