Nfl must change playoff concussion protocol
 

I'm still sour about Jamaal Charles, then flowers getting knocked out of the Colts playoff game a few years ago. Regular season... Sure. But ending a season on a doctors fuzzy opinion? Yeah, not a fan of that at all.

I'd argue that concussion protocol can make playoff games even more dangerous. We saw with bountygate what lengths a team will go to to knock a player out. What incentive does a DC have to not coach dirty football they can get away with? It's easy to play super dirty without risk of targeting.

Maybe Wentz didn't want to go back in. We know that Jamaal Charles was super pissed years ago that he couldn't. What say you... Is this an nfl rule that needs to be re-thought?

There's no way in hell they change it.

If someone dies the NFL ceases to exist. Why would the NFL risk losing billions?

Imagine the firestorm on here if Mahomes enters concussion protocol during the Texans game.

All the NFL in-game deaths, are just astounding.

Exactly.

And do we really think DCs aren't looking at the Seattle game and telling their players to maybe add a little bit of extra dirty to a few hits? Do we really think there isn't still less obvious bountygate shit still not going on? On one play, Seattle knocked out the most important eagle... And clowney didn't get ejected let alone penalized. Huge advantage for the Seahawks.

I'm not saying there's an easy solution. But the protocol isn't making the game as safe as the NFL wants to pretend it is.

I don't understand your argument... If it's a concussion in the regular season it's still a concussion in the playoffs.. The NFL isn't changing its criteria...

This makes no sense lmao.

Why would you even THINK that, let alone type out the words on this forum.

LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA I'M NOT LISTENING TO YOU! LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA...

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So to change that, if Mahomes gets a concussion, he should get to play and possibly hurt his head again?

How would that stop DCs who are telling their players to "add some extra dirty" from telling their players to keep adding the "extra dirty" until a player is all the way ****ed up?

:spock:

The idea of bountygate was that knocking out an important qb is well worth whatever fines or penalties you get. Offense loses a huge piece, and defenses at worst lose a player who's probably replaceable. Huge incentive for even dirtier football. Especially in the playoffs where desperate teams will do anything to win.

So let me ask this question instead? How do you disincentivize this? Because penalties and targeting barely accomplishes that.

I agree. What happens to the guy that took him out? He should be forced to leave as well. Teams can simply target a key player and get a simple fine. I think clowney targeted him.

ONLY way these issues get fixed is a referee sitting in a booth reviewing every play and making sure as hell he doesnt miss ANY head to head contact.
I'm all for more replay, I'm all for more challenges, I'm all for a "safer" game.... but missing those types of play is now not a reason for no penalty.
I'd add to that that the player who causes another player to be forced to leave a game for head to head contact should also not be able to finish the game.

How does removing the concussion protocol stop players from playing dirty?

SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH!!!!

Jamaal Charles was knocked the **** out. Go look at a video of it. It's a dumb example.

The incentive to keep racking up penalties and fines isn't big if you're just trying to rough a qb up. The incentive is HUGE if theres a good chance you can knock him out of the game. Especially since a qb is arguably the most important in all sports.

You still aren't addressing the whole dirty hits concern. Why would removing the protocol make players not hit dirty? The only thing that would change if they removed the protocol is that they'd be able to hit the QB even more after the initial concussion. I don't see how that's a solution.

I don't like where this is going... Bad karma...

I didn't say remove it. I said reconsider how it's enforced.

Should the criteria be looser provided the player fully understands the risk. A lot of people here have been barking for years about waivers

Or here's another idea... Why shouldn't clowney be automatically ejected for as long as Wentz was out? Doesn't that remove some incentive and force Seattle to lose something too?

Yeah the best way to stop this would be the player of same position is also removed from the game. In other words take out my starting QB yours is also out of the game.

The NFL is not going to change much about their concussion protocol. Billions are at stake.

Part of the problem is that there's no definitive way to assess the degree of injury to a brain and what level of risk is involved at the stadium, or the hospital for that matter. They don't have a piece of equipment that they can put your head in, look at a screen and say,"oh yeah, he can go back in; he's fine."

Concussions don't work like that.

And Wentz's wife was called down to the locker room after he left the field, so I'm thinking he had a fairly serious concussion and wasn't going to be allowed back on the field anyway.

Because Clowney didn't do it on purpose?

A lot of people do not believe in karma.

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Because there's a huge difference between knocking a player out of the game and forcing a 40 year old backup to play vs. Chipping away at the starter hoping he plays less effectively. Everyone knows the eagles game ended as soon as McCown went in. That is a monumentally huge "ejection."

So if Mahomes looks like he has a concussion, you'd rather him go back out there and get ****ed up some more?

That is his decision to make. Based on good, thorough, impartial medical advice. Up to a certain limit of course. Do you really think Brett Favre didn't play through a million hits that by today's standards would be considered concussions?

It is all dependent on what the player reports is going on that determines whether they are in concussion protocol or not. Some will lie to stay on the field and some will lie to get off the field. I've said all along that some players will take advantage of this to get a couple of weeks off in order to rest and still get paid while avoiding particular upcoming opposition they would rather not face.

It really is on the player whether they play or not in what they report is going on and you know all the players know what symptoms to report IF they want off the field. Some will call in sick when they are not.

He hit his head on the turf. He didn't get knocked out. He was begging to go back in. Kelce is a little different. He was definitely seeing stars.

:rolleyes: You should see a shrink.

The inherent challenge in having a player decide for themselves is that they've just been hit in the head hard enough that there's a concern that they can't think clearly.

You don't think some players mail it in ??? You are naive if you don't.

A player who may be suffering a concussion shouldn't make the call on if they want to keep playing. 1

And I'd rather Mahomes have a long career and life so if the concussion protocol is needed to protect himself from himself, then it is what it is.

https://image.businessinsider.com/52...400&format=gif

He is out.

great thought! :spock:

then you could cheer for Deshaun with a clear conscience!

Him hitting his head on the turf knocked him out :spock:

Pretty clearly knocked out.

that isn't turf, it's concrete.

so so glad we don't play on that crap in the playoffs.

I could see the player who hit another player in the head and the player is out and got flagged being ejected.

There is a huge incentive to take out a difference maker. But, it would still not be a deterrent. Losing a starting CB/LB/DL would still not be comparable ejection to a QB, especially one at Mahomes level.

Yet if we had field turf then most likely Thornhill would still be playing.

It isn’t concrete. It is 4-6” inches of rubber infill underneath.

It really isnt that bad to play on unless it is hot out. Nothing like that AstroTurf crap that we had before Montana.

It is at least a start. I don’t see the nfl relaxing rules on protocol. But this at least creates some kind of equal loss. Unlike targeting which ejects a player even if the other guy isn’t hurt, it seems fair that if a player knocks another player out, that player should also sit out until the hurt player clears protocol. This is at least realistic.

STFU

They only true way it would be fair is if the other teams starting QB had to sit out the same amount of time as the QB in concussion protocol.

This is entering bad deberg troll thread territory lol. That's such a dumb idea lmao.

I guess I’m not seeing where it’s obviously any worse than the many plays a game that helmets are hitting things full speed. From what I remember he popped up soon after and was sprinting on the sidelines trying to get back in.

So a defensive player can knock out the best offense player intentionally, and the biggest punishment to the defense is a 15 yard penalty? Are you aware that New Orleans knocked out not 1, but 2 qbs to get to the bountygate super bowl?

There is less than a zero percent chance of this. No way the NFL is opening themselves up to another lawsuit. This helps them for legal reasons as much as anything else because it protects the league and gives them something to show they're proactive.

Isn't it the pass rushers job to target the guy doing the passing?

ROFL

He is face down with arms in an unnatural position. No way he wasn’t out. Not uncommon to go dark for just a few seconds and that is all it takes.

Which QBs were those?

And can you show me this happening in the concussion protocol era? Must be widespread for you to be so worried about it.

I agree protocol likely won't change. But bountygate was a huge black eye too, and Wentz getting knocked out of the game while clowney gets zero penalty is a really bad look too. And a retroactive fine isn't going to fix it.

It's not a bad look. Shit happens in NFL games. Most people understand that. As long as Clowney wasn't doing it maliciously, then there's no reason he should be forced out of the game or anything like that.

Yeah maybe, but none of that stuff is going to cost the NFL $1 billion in a lawsuit again.

The bolded is incorrect. The NFL sideline concussion assessment has objective observations.

Sure, a player is able to lie and get pulled, or state symptoms they don't have, but how the hell could you prevent that?

Also, a player cannot fake answers in regards to orientation. Either they know them or they don't.
Being able to sign a waiver to play anyway is dumb

If you've experienced a concussion, or been there when someone did, you'd know that people react in all kinds of ways after the event.

My worst concussion was in a football game in HS. In short, I got smashed by a guy that out-weighed me by about 60 pounds. I don't remember the event. I don't even remember the game.

What I was told afterwords by my teammates and my brother who was on the team with me, watching from the sidelines, was that I got up about ten seconds after the hit, and trotted over to the sidelines. Except I went to the other team's sidelines.

About five minutes after that play, I evidently went over to our DC and asked him to put me back in. My brother told me I asked him twice. Then I apparently threw up on his shoes. I have no memory of any of it.

The other problem is that concussions are cumulative, meaning that every concussion makes it easier to have another one. So you're never going to heal 100% from a concussion. Each one incurs a little more damage.

The saints knocked Kurt Warner out on a legal but pretty dirty hit. The Brett Favre game was blatant targeting over and over again, including a dirty as hell high low hit that totally destroyed his ankle and made him finish as an ineffective cripple.

Sure, it still happens. Burfict cheap shotting Antonio brown in the playoffs. Myles Garrett, judon, etc... You don't think the ravens and jags weren't intentionally hitting mahomes late to send a message? Not saying get rid of it, but if the NFL has rules in place to create an enormous incentive for defenses to do it, why shouldn't there be thought about how to reduce that incentive? Sure some of the penalties and fines have helped some, but today should be a reminder about how impactful these things can be.

What if the player is not in a state to make an intelligent decision because of their condition? Who makes a call on when a player is or isn't capable of advocating for themselves? Where is the line?

I also don't like using the past and how people "got by" as an argument for why we should keep doing things that way. If you have better information than you did in the past, use it.

Zilla needs to be in the concussion protocol.

Whatever, what I'm saying is stuff most people were chirping about for pages and pages after the chiefs/Colts and chiefs/titans playoff games. A lot of these opinions have changed because it wasn't our team. Most people here agree that there's a very real problem of Tonya harding it without any real repercussions. I appreciate the discussion because obviously the fix isn't easy... Maybe not even possible. That's why we're talking about it.

Brett has a photographic memory, and apparently doesn't remember an entire season due to concussions.

If you make a hit that looks intentional that ends with the other player winding up in the protocol: you're off the field as long as that player is off the field.

I never said make it completely on the player. Like I said, obviously there's a limit. Kelce vs Tennessee was brutally obvious that he shouldn't have gone back in. I don't know where that line is. None of us really do. But would it surprise you if that line wasn't drawn way more conservatively than it needs to just to add extra cushion to liability?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jadeveon Clowney expects death threats for hit on Carson Wentz, says <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Eagles?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Eagles</a> have &#39;worst fans in the world&#39; <br>�� ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/SportsRadioWIP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SportsRadioWIP</a>⁩<a href="https://t.co/3sauNr9sZY">https://t.co/3sauNr9sZY</a></p>&mdash; Dave Briggs (@davebriggstv) <a href="https://twitter.com/davebriggstv/status/1214024543993499649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So no QBs getting intentionally concussed in order to put them in the protocol...?

And there's a difference between a QB getting hit/shoved late and intentionally trying to concuss them like you're alleging.

not saying that was an intentional shot to the head but he def. dipped his shoulder down and smacked him in the back of the head.

The line is where the independent numerologist says that the player had a concussion.

Yeah he should have been flagged.

On the surface, sure sounds logical. Until people start throwing undrafted 3rd string scrubs at drew brees.

Of course players aren't intentionally punching QBs in the head are hitting them with anvils and hammers (though Garrett came close). That's not what happened with Brett Favre during Bountygate either. You have a bit of a strange position in defending concussion protocol, while believing that behaviors that contribute to concussions are just a part of football. Do players purposefully try to put players into concussion? I don't know about that. Do players hit with the intent of making it hurt as much as possible? Definitely. Do they toe the line as much as they can legally get away with? Definitely, some teams and players much more than others. Do they do it with intent to injure - as we learned in Bountygate, lots of teams (not just the Saints) were.

It's not perfect, but it's at least something. And it's a hell of a lot easier to consistently enforce than targeting.

I mean this type of shit is exactly why hockey has it right.

Dear God, OP is reeruned.

Amen

How is that strange? Concussions are part of the game. But if a player suffers one like many other injuries, precaution needs to be taken to mitigate the risk of reinjury or making the injury worse.

Unless it's obviously clear a player had malicious intent in the hit or if they are a multiple repeat offender, ejecting the defender just seems dumb and overkill.

It would be similar to the Colts playoff game. Forcing Charles out of the game killed us. He was basically our offense.

So who will be the judge of what he's look or don't look intentional?

Lol we scored 44 points that game.