On Monday we ran a story about how the Philadelphia Eagles handled the concussions of Kevin Kolb and Stewart Bradley. Of note was Stewart Bradley and his “punch-drunk” appearance then returning in two plays to make a tackle.
Per current guidelines for head injuries Bradley should have been evaluated before returning, which the Eagles say they did. However if you put a stop watch on the time Bradley was out it was not over four minutes. I don’t care how good you are at concussions, FOUR minutes is NOT SUFFICIENT enough time to properly evaluate a head injury. What is more is that the signs of Bradley were so OVERT that in any other level that player would have been out for a minimum of 20 minutes, and most likely the game.
The New York Times ran a story today discussing this incident, as well as other concussion news.
On national radio this morning, Mike & Mike, the topic was brought up and all parties involved in the discussion were of the belief that the Eagles were in some sort of trouble.
Mike Greenberg said something to the effect of, the Eagles should be made an example of, and he is DEAD NUTS RIGHT!!!
If the NFL is going to make this an issue and a priority then when millions of viewers, including young athletes see that there has to be some sort of penalty. When an unidentified NFLPA Head and Spine Committee member pauses and questions the actions taken by the Eagles, then there is smoke.
When a dazed player, who is crawling and looking for a pillow and bed one minute after a hit and in the next making a tackle some wrong steps were taken. The Eagles could and should have done better, regardless of the situation. The head athletic trainer may have been with Kolb, but there are way more eyes on that play than his, why was this not relayed to them?
I would love to hear your comments…. (Thank you to Ken for sending this my way).
The Concussion Blog 