Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 608 of 1503)

      Jamal Lewis done for the season, and his career

      December 3, 2009 /

      The Browns placed running back Jamal Lewis on injured reserve on Wednesday night with post-concussion symptoms, effectively ending his season and his career.

      From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

      Lewis, who previously announced this would be his last NFL season, has played his last down of football. He will retire as the 21st leading NFL rusher with 10,607 yards in 131 career games.

      But Lewis’ place on the all-time rushing list is the furthest thing from his mind.

      A source said that Lewis was “pretty shaken up” when an MRI test showed “brain abnormalities.” They may be the result of excessive trauma triggered by a recent hit. More tests will be done to determine the extent of Lewis’ injury, the source said.

      The injuries to Lewis and Pool really bring home the wave of concussion awareness currently sweeping the NFL. Recent concussion injuries suffered by Philadelphia running back Brian Westbrook, Washington running back Clinton Portis, Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner and Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger accentuated national attention on the NFL’s need to deal better with head injuries.

      The NFL is trying to make head injuries more of a priority by making players wait longer after they suffer post-concussion symptoms. With the amount of head injuries that players have suffered this year, it’s a good thing that the league is being more proactive but it’s still up to the players to be honest when they’re suffering any symptoms.

      As for Lewis, his 2009 season will end with career lows in total yardage (588), touchdowns (0), catches (8) and rushing yards per game (55.6). He’ll mostly be remembered for his 2003 season with the Ravens when he rushed for 2,066 yards and 14 touchdowns on 387 carries. He rushed for 5.3 yards per carry that season and had 16 runs of 20-plus yards.

      It’s unlikely that Lewis will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but he put together a nice career for himself and he’ll retire with a Super Bowl ring.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      NFL changes rules on concussions

      December 3, 2009 /

      According to a report by ESPN.com, NFL teams now have new, stricter instructions for when players should be allowed to return to games or practices after suffering head injuries.

      In the latest step by the league to address a hot-button issue, commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to the 32 clubs Wednesday saying a player who gets a concussion should not return to action on the same day if he shows certain signs or symptoms.

      Those include an inability to remember assignments or plays, a gap in memory, persistent dizziness and persistent headaches.

      The old standard, established in 2007, said a player should not be allowed to return to the same game if he lost consciousness.
      Nearly one-fifth of 160 NFL players surveyed by The Associated Press from Nov. 2-15 replied that they have hidden or played down the effects of a concussion.

      The new policy states, in part: “Once removed for the duration of a practice or game, the player should not be considered for return-to-football activities until he is fully asymptomatic, both at rest and after exertion, has a normal neurological examination, normal neuropsychological testing and has been cleared to return by both his team physician(s) and the independent neurological consultant.”

      Teams were told this month they have to find an outside neurologist who can be consulted on concussions, and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday all of those independent doctors have been approved and are in place.

      It’s good to see that the league can adjust when a rule or regulation needs to be changed. The NFL has a responsibility to its players to protect them from serious, long-term injuries the best it can.

      That said, players also need to admit when they’re suffering from symptoms, which will be hard because most players don’t want to show weakness. Hopefully the league and its players will take a more active role when it comes to head injuries.

      It’ll be interesting to see if Big Ben plays this weekend given these new rules. It sounds like he hasn’t suffered from any symptoms lately, but the league is going to start paying extra attention to head injuries and his concussion will become a focus.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      Michael Vick returns to Atlanta this week…not that anyone cares.

      December 3, 2009 /

      What’s great about the majority of sports fans (and maybe the American public in general) is that we have short attention spans. For weeks, a topic can be talked about and debated on sports blogs ad nauseum, then a few months later it’s almost like the situation never happened.

      Take Michael Vick for example. He’s making his first trip back to Atlanta this week since tap dancing on many Falcons fans’ hearts by throwing his career away for a sick hobby and yet more people are searching for Tigers Woods’ alleged mistress than Vick’s Georgia Dome re-appearance.

      This was someone who was talked about day in and day out over the offseason in regards to whether or not Roger Goodell would allow him back into the NFL. Then when he was reinstated, countless rumors circulated the web daily about where he’d end up.

      But now, he’s a nobody – a backup who won’t see much playing time barring an injury to Donovan McNabb or Kevin Kolb. Vick’s been out of the public eye for so long that people forget that he’s even in the league. Considering he almost single-handedly sunk an entire franchise and used to bring 80,000 people to their feet every time he left the pocket (and many more sick to their stomach when reading what he did to those dogs in his backyard), one would think that people would be interested in his return.

      But we’re not.

      Consider this: Chris Redman will be more significant in Atlanta this weekend than Michael Vick, proving that if enough time passes, we’ll make anyone irrelevant.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NFL

      TCU’s Patterson talks about benefits of bowl system

      December 2, 2009 /

      Despite reports that he could be heading to South Bend to coach at Notre Dame, TCU head coach Gary Patterson signed a contract extension through 2016.

      He also talked about the current BCS bowl system (via ESPN.com):

      “Is it easier to win one game for a championship? Or to have to win four?” Patterson asked. “If you have a playoff, you practice and get on a plane and play. And if you lose, it’s over. If you go to a bowl game, you’re there seven days and the kids can enjoy a place and get rewarded.”

      “Ninety percent of the teams [in the BCS] don’t have an opportunity to win a national championship,” Patterson said. “It’s the same 10 teams. We’ve now gone to a BCS over 80 percent of the Big 12, 80 percent of the SEC, 80 percent of the Big Ten. We’ve achieved something that all those other teams talk about because they are part of a conference that can get there. We’ve now jumped over a hurdle by going to a BCS game.”

      Some media outlets are already spinning this by saying Patterson doesn’t want a playoff. But if you read his comments, he isn’t necessarily saying that he wouldn’t want college football to adopt a playoff system, he’s just listing some pros to a bowl structure.

      It’s nice to see TCU reward Patterson for his hard work over the last couple years and here’s hoping he doesn’t ditch them for an opportunity to coach at a bigger program. He recognizes that he has a decent shot of competing for a national title right where he is, and that has been proven this year.

      I would love to see what TCU could do against Florida, Alabama or Texas. Everyone thought that ‘Bama would run Utah over last year and the Utes pulled off one of the better bowl upsets of the decade. Remember, we’re not talking about a full playoff schedule – we’re talking about one game. The Horned Frogs could definitely hang.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football

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