Pretty sickening that he got two concussions in a three-week span while at Stanford. Is college football so goddamned important that it's worth putting a young man out on the field three weeks after he suffered a concussion? An injury to the brain? Something needs to change in the way these things are handled.
it's kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. there is still much to be learned about concussions and how to handle them. currently, there are medical protocols (which are fluid) in place as to how to handle these situations. If the player passes all the tests, then there is not medical reason to keep a player off the field...and unfortunately "just because" is not a good enough reason. you also have to take into account how it could hurt the player's future pro career as well if he's held out unnecessarily. so, as i said, damned if you do, damned of you don't.
I disagree. I think the "rules" ought to change to err on the side of caution. A player's health and life are MUCH more important than his possible future pro career.
i would tend to agree, but i've never played a sport at it's highest level and depended on it to make a living...and a handsome one at that. so there's that blurred line where yes, the good of the athlete needs to be looked out for, however, that athlete's livelihood is dependent on his ability to play. one of the reasons these guys make so much money (and deservedly so) is how brutal the game is on their bodies. so you have a situation where, in a sense, it boils down to a philosophical debate as to the athlete's health and his ability to make a living. some athlete's would(and have) sacrifice(d) their health to make a more lucrative living. that decision boils down to the athlete himself, first and foremost, the medical team and organization. even with all the research that's been done with concussions, they still remain somewhat of a mystery. i mean, at what point do you finally say it's "safe enough" for the player to take the field beyond passing all the requisite tests and protocols? for people like you and me, yeah, health and life ARE much more important than a future pro career. but, i'm not naive enough to think that everyone in this society holds the same values.
Have you read about all the former NFL players who had multiple concussions while playing and now have headaches, memory loss, anger issues, and several have committed suicide? I think particularly with college students who are younger, they ought to be held out longer to protect them. Then after that period of time and medical examinations, they could advise the player to sit out another game or two if they deemed it necessary, but leave it up to the player. If it is a health issue and becomes commonplace, they will no longer be penalized for missing a game or two.
Concussions are so tough because it seems like especially in this case it's random. It's not something players are particularly prone to outside of receivers and linebackers and tons of receivers go 5, 6, 7 years without ever receiving one. The logical answer is keep a player out a radical amount of time to simply limit the possible concussions per year they get. It's ashame because it can be somewhat of a freak injury as simple as catching an unintentional knee. The NFL is walking a very thin line with these injuries with the Junior Seau/Jovan Belcher suicides looming. We're already going to see a radical decrease in parents allowing their children to play the sport. It's really only a matter of time before someone dies on the field during a game and it's sad to say. Players are too big, physical and wreckless. We may see the extinction of the sport within some of our lifetimes at this rate, and if not to that extreme, definitely an increase in the talent in other sports/a decrease in talent in the NFL over the next 20 years. Chris Borland is a pretty good example of it. He said shit man I don't want to end up killing myself or even have thoughts of killing myself over this profession.
of course i have...anyone who's a fan of the game is aware of those situations. but that's besides the point... at what point do you say "ok, it's enough time". like i've said repeatedly, there are medical protocols in place(which continue to be fluid as more information from research comes through), that are used as guidelines for the safety of the players. once all these tests and exams have been passed, how much time is enough time to say it's ok to go back to full contact??? a week, a month, a year??? keep on testing them until they find something different? if it was that cut and dry, it would've been already implemented. unfortunately, the medical staff gets pressure from not only the organization, but the players themselves. yes, college players should be looked after, but leave it up to the player??? that would actually result in the complete opposite of what you are championing. have you ever been around high level college or pro athletes? their compete levels are off the charts. many of them will not come off the field if it was up to them...especially if it means losing draft position status. how are players at the college level being penalized for injury? do you mean the school/team? i guess i'm misreading that statement...it's late. look, i'm with you in that the protection and well-being of the athletes SHOULD be above all, but there's the other side of the coin where the question lies in when is enough enough(time that is)? as much as you and i would like it to be black in white, it simply isn't. it's very blurred line, and at the moment, there is no right answer. there is still MUCH to be learned about concussions and as was said above, it doesn't help that athletes continue to get bigger, stronger and faster.
What's been in the word on Shaq Evans?How has he looked so far?Being a fourth round pick from the Idzik regime I was assuming he would have been cut or injured again
If he's smart he'd hang up the cleats right now. Multiple concussions are no joke and you never know when the next one will scramble all your eggs for good. Not worth it.
I think he has a rib injury now too. enunwa has been looking god though. He might get some run with the 1s today
if you think Owusu was a fringe player, you haven't been paying attention. he was a starter on offense and special teams, and now his career may be over. that's why it's been potentially the worst injury so far. we'll have to wait and see how he progresses, but i don't think the team can depend on him at this point.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him, I hope he makes the most of it. On paper he's got all the skills to be a #1 receiver, we'll see how he responds.
Hi new Jets fan here from London just wondering why don't NFL refs eject players who deliberately use the crown of their helmets to hit an opposing player in a defenseless position, fining players retrospectively doesn't really make any sense to me when these NFL players get paid a lot of money.
Unless you're s selfish bastard that only cares about your own pleasure in watching the game, it is NOT beside the point. As human beings we should care about others. I'm not a medical professional so I can't answer the question of how much time, but I'm sure they can or they can err on the side of caution. If they think two weeks is the absolute minimum before a player should return to action, they could lengthen that time to three weeks or four. You didn't read what I wrote carefully. I said that once the prescribed time the doctors set for the player to refrain from practicing and playing had passed, they could talk with the player, tell him he could go back to practice and play if he wants, but it would be better to give it another week or so. I wasn't saying leave it up to the players in place of the prescribed time the doctors set. Talking to the player is IN ADDITION TO THE PRESCRIBED TIME. Of course, most players would choose to go back at that point, but some might not, they might take their health more seriously than others. With more study of concussions by the medical community, they may learn that having the player sit out another week or two lessens his chance of having permanent damage or having another concussion by 40-50% or something. I love football as much as anything, but not at the expense of others' minds. If they want to risk walking with a limp, having knee or hip replacements, or being in pain the rest of their lives, that's bad enough. But I don't think we should allow a young person who thinks they're invincible or who is too caught up in the fame, lifestyle or money, to risk the hell that some former NFLers have gone through. If more research isn't done, more caution used, and more honesty by the NFL, eventually (sooner rather than later) the NFL will get sued and will be forced to cease operations. Is that what you want? I'd rather see the game continue and players be safe and healthy. Another win or two here or there and/or no SB Championship is worth ruining the rest of someone's life.
i think we're going in complete circles here with this discussion, so i'm gonna bow out at this point...but like i said before, for the most part i agree with your intentions.
He hasn't done anything impressive as a receiver in the three years he's played. He's never been starter material on offense. Other than a good training camp, which doesn't guarantee success, he hasn't accomplished anything in the NFL. We have a number of receivers who should be ahead of him on the depth chart.
so Owusu hasn't accomplished anything in the NFL, yet your suggestion was to go with Smith? what has he accomplished? what are these other accomplished receivers who should start over him? re-watch the Miami game last season, and read up more on how this offseason has been progressing. you are way behind. he was a starter.
IMO the only receivers who should be ahead of him on the depth chart are Marshall and Decker, maybe Kerley, and maybe Smith by virtue of his draft position. Owusu has looked great in camp. He has speed, smarts, good route running ability and good hands. I hope he can come back and never have another concussion. If he can stay healthy, I think he has the potential to blow Kerley out of the water.
