Rastak
09-20-2007, 06:16 AM
I was wondering about this. Mentioned it to the wife during the game and talked about it with my coworkers. The NFL instituted a whistleblower policy for players playing the week after sustaining a concussion and the Lions purposely throw a guy out there late in the game when the game is close. The dude got knocked silly earlier in the game....anyway from PFT.com
FAVRE SURPRISED BY KITNA CONCUSSION COMEBACK
We previously haven't addressed the assertion by Lions quarterback Jon Kitna that his concussion was cured as a result of a miracle from Above because, well, the contention is too freakin' stupid for us to waste our time on.
First of all, it presumes that God actually cares about the outcome of sporting events, and that His (or Her) will on Sunday was that the Lions should be victorious. Not, mind you, by allowing chronic NFL failure J.T. O'Sullivan to reach unprecedented heights of performance, but by waving His (or Her) hand and clearing out the cobwebs in Kitan's brainbox.
Second, if God is giving out miracles on a Sunday afternoon, aren't there bigger problems in the world than whether a skinhead-looking guy who throws a ball for a living needs a quick tune-up from the Almighty in order to finish a football game?
Third, giving any credence to Kitna's contention that his ability to play was the result of a miracle undermines ongoing efforts to ensure that players who have suffered concussions won't be allowed to return to the field until they are ready. At a time when players now have the ability to blow the whistles on efforts by coaches to push them back into the fray prematurely, teams now have a new tactic for cajoling concussed quarterbacks.
All they have to do is suggest that there's been another Festivus miracle.
But now, thankfully, quarterback Brett Favre has addressed the situation, openly questioning the fact that Kitna was permitted to return.
"I have to admit I'm a little bit surprised in today's game, with the huge emphasis on concussions, that he was allowed to go back into the game," Favre said on Wednesday. "Now, maybe later on in the game they maybe determined it wasn't a concussion. I don't know. I'm not going to speculate."
Favre, noting that he likely has "had concussions and never really knew it" talked about one of his own experiences from 2004.
"When the cobwebs started going away a little bit," Favre said, "I was on the sidelines and the offense was on the field. Two plays later, I ran on the field. It was fourth down, which I didn't know. Threw a pass, threw a touchdown. Never played the rest of the game."
He didn't return because the doctors wouldn't let him return.
"I was mad at them," Favre said. "Wanted to play. Felt like I could have. The next day I argued with them, said, 'You made a mistake, I should have played.' But I understand where they're coming from."
As we've recently said, the only way to properly deal with the issue of game-day concussions is to assign a truly independent doctor to every NFL game, and to give that person the full ability and discretion to evaluate players who have suffered head injuries, and to decide when or if they can return. This will protect players from their teams and, more importantly, from themselves.
FAVRE SURPRISED BY KITNA CONCUSSION COMEBACK
We previously haven't addressed the assertion by Lions quarterback Jon Kitna that his concussion was cured as a result of a miracle from Above because, well, the contention is too freakin' stupid for us to waste our time on.
First of all, it presumes that God actually cares about the outcome of sporting events, and that His (or Her) will on Sunday was that the Lions should be victorious. Not, mind you, by allowing chronic NFL failure J.T. O'Sullivan to reach unprecedented heights of performance, but by waving His (or Her) hand and clearing out the cobwebs in Kitan's brainbox.
Second, if God is giving out miracles on a Sunday afternoon, aren't there bigger problems in the world than whether a skinhead-looking guy who throws a ball for a living needs a quick tune-up from the Almighty in order to finish a football game?
Third, giving any credence to Kitna's contention that his ability to play was the result of a miracle undermines ongoing efforts to ensure that players who have suffered concussions won't be allowed to return to the field until they are ready. At a time when players now have the ability to blow the whistles on efforts by coaches to push them back into the fray prematurely, teams now have a new tactic for cajoling concussed quarterbacks.
All they have to do is suggest that there's been another Festivus miracle.
But now, thankfully, quarterback Brett Favre has addressed the situation, openly questioning the fact that Kitna was permitted to return.
"I have to admit I'm a little bit surprised in today's game, with the huge emphasis on concussions, that he was allowed to go back into the game," Favre said on Wednesday. "Now, maybe later on in the game they maybe determined it wasn't a concussion. I don't know. I'm not going to speculate."
Favre, noting that he likely has "had concussions and never really knew it" talked about one of his own experiences from 2004.
"When the cobwebs started going away a little bit," Favre said, "I was on the sidelines and the offense was on the field. Two plays later, I ran on the field. It was fourth down, which I didn't know. Threw a pass, threw a touchdown. Never played the rest of the game."
He didn't return because the doctors wouldn't let him return.
"I was mad at them," Favre said. "Wanted to play. Felt like I could have. The next day I argued with them, said, 'You made a mistake, I should have played.' But I understand where they're coming from."
As we've recently said, the only way to properly deal with the issue of game-day concussions is to assign a truly independent doctor to every NFL game, and to give that person the full ability and discretion to evaluate players who have suffered head injuries, and to decide when or if they can return. This will protect players from their teams and, more importantly, from themselves.