So has Jake Delhomme been permanently banned yet?

I wonder what would happen to the number of concussions during game play if the NFL actually enforced the ban on illegal performance enhancing substances.

snowman44: So has Jake Delhomme been permanently banned yet?

I was just about to comment "this descirbes Jake's normal state", but you've in effect beaten me to it.

So, Big Ben's NFL career is over, then.

//HARF HARF.

Don't NFL players suffer these symptoms before the game even starts?

snowman44: So has Jake Delhomme been permanently banned yet?

I've been sticking with Delhomme all year, but no more. Please god allow this to happen.

Woozy? You wont have to worry about QBs since they'll be out of receivers by the 2nd quarter. Then it will be 45 minutes of exciting off-tackle runs.

Who judges if a player is woozy or has memory loss? If its the team doctor, why would they tell the truth. This rule changes nothing.

Goodell didn't even play football in college/pros. How is he qualified?

vinnydoz007: If its the team doctor, why would they tell the truth

Didn't stop the Pittsburgh team doctor, now did it?

"woozy, has general dementia or memory loss,"

I called that Saturday morning when I was an undergrad.

Sounds like John Madden got out of the booth just in time.

scud!: Goodell didn't even play football in college/pros. How is he qualified?

Well, because he didn't even play football in college/pros, he doesn't have those nagging migraines and short term memory loss that would impair his ability to be Commissioner.

So when the entire league is on medical suspension by week 3 what do we do?

So, now we're going to get to live the novel "Playing for Pizza", eh?

I don't know if this rule will really change anything, but I do think that the NFL needs to get more serious about concussions. Football is a violent sport, but the NFL has been ignoring the long term effects of them for too long.

So with non-star players like those on special teams being dependant on continued employment, I'm sure that this edict will make them more forthcoming in the description of any injuries they suffer.

This is a smart move on his part. This is all about litigation. If the Players Association or even just individual players manage to put together a string of lawsuits proving that the NFL's policy towards head injuries shortened the careers, it could be the end of the NFL. They will be sued into oblivion.

Besides the litigation it is bad for the game to have star players out of the lineup. It looks like an 18 game season is in the works and it is imperative to keep players as healthy as possible.

Goodell is a joke. This guy shows up and added and changed all sorts of rules that make football WAAAAY less fun than it was even 10 years ago. Excessive celebration? No spiking the ball after big yard gains? No catch when pushed out of bounds? WTF, it might as well be flag football soon with this asshole in charge.

WeezinTheJuice: No catch when pushed out of bounds? WTF, it might as well be flag football soon with this asshole in charge.

Removing the forced out rule, encourages contact.

FarkIlk01: This is a smart move on his part. This is all about litigation. If the Players Association or even just individual players manage to put together a string of lawsuits proving that the NFL's policy towards head injuries shortened the careers, it could be the end of the NFL. They will be sued into oblivion.

Besides the litigation it is bad for the game to have star players out of the lineup. It looks like an 18 game season is in the works and it is imperative to keep players as healthy as possible.

Well, it's not just litigation; some would call this an ethical move. It is finally acknowledging that players' brains are extremely vulnerable after suffering a good hit without proper time to recover.

There will be future advancements in helmet protection (and even proper mouthguard protection helps), but for now it is prudent to keep concussed players on the sidelines.

I think Goodell is trying to tell Brett Favre to STAY retired.

scud!: Goodell didn't even play football in college/pros. How is he qualified?

Because playing football has nothing to do with his job. At all.

He's the chief excutive of an entertainment conglomerate. Do you complain about movie execs not being actors?

BunkoSquad: Sounds like John Madden got out of the booth just in time.

Still no cure for Troy Aikman.

woozy, has general dementia or memory loss



/ lolwut

So this is where we pretend we care about the health and well-being of professional athletes, only to get pissed when our team's star player is held out of a critical regular season or playoff game?

This is a well-covered shot at fantasy football. It might very well destroy it.

jack21221: vinnydoz007: If its the team doctor, why would they tell the truth

Didn't stop the Pittsburgh team doctor, now did it?

Obviously they are going to protect their franchise QB. It would just be silly not to. But what about a lineman or line backer. Think they are going to care as much with them?

Mike_LowELL: So this is where we pretend we care about the health and well-being of professional athletes, only to get pissed when our team's star player is held out of a critical regular season or playoff game?

It isn't the professional athletes that I am worried about. This will trickle down to High School and Pop Warner. If that weren't the case I would totally be ok with unlimited use of PED's and Rollerball type rules for the NFL.

vinnydoz007: Who judges if a player is woozy or has memory loss? If its the team doctor, why would they tell the truth. This rule changes nothing.

1. QB gets creamed and concussed.
2. GM orders QB back onto field.
3. Team doctor "certifies" QB is fine.
4. QB gets subdural hemotoma on next hit.
5. Game continues with next QB.
6. Injured QB dies shortly afterwards.
7. GM has press conference, fires team doctor.

It's a rule designed to protect the owners from liability, nothing more. Given the horrific rates at which NFL players sustain brain injury, the rule is meant to demonstrate the NFL's "sensitivity" to the issue. More likely, it's in response to the recent House committee investigation regarding the issue.

Emrick: Mike_LowELL: So this is where we pretend we care about the health and well-being of professional athletes, only to get pissed when our team's star player is held out of a critical regular season or playoff game?

It isn't the professional athletes that I am worried about. This will trickle down to High School and Pop Warner. If that weren't the case I would totally be ok with unlimited use of PED's and Rollerball type rules for the NFL.

Huh? I think this is a trickle up, around here in all high school and youth leagues if it's a blow to the head and the coach has to go on the field the kid is sent to the ER immediately.

ArthGuinnes
Well, it's not just litigation; some would call this an ethical move. It is finally acknowledging that players' brains are extremely vulnerable after suffering a good hit without proper time to recover.

from today's Pittsburgh PostGazette (Roon Cook):

I saw an example of this (i.e., long-term effects of head injury) a few weeks ago with former Pitt star and Steelers safety Paul Martha, who estimated he had at least 10 concussions during his career. He's 67, has dementia issues and lives in an assisted care facility in St. Louis. He's one of more than 100 former players who receive up to $88,000 a year in assistance from the NFL for such problems.

Read more: http://postgazette.com/pg/09334/1017347-87.stm#ixzz0YMYzRjOA

As for the tests, the tests don't lie. A team may "strongly encourage" a physician to overlook test results, but that;s basically asking a physician to violate the oath, be brought up on ethics charges, and risk losing one's license. The top doctors won't do that for all the money in the world (since they already got); quacks rarely find themselves in the position of team neurologist.

KiwDaWabbit: I wonder what would happen to the number of concussions during game play if the NFL actually enforced the ban on illegal performance enhancing substances.

You wouldn't see half as many ligament tears either.

Bartleby the Scrivener: As for the tests, the tests don't lie. A team may "strongly encourage" a physician to overlook test results, but that;s basically asking a physician to violate the oath, be brought up on ethics charges, and risk losing one's license. The top doctors won't do that for all the money in the world (since they already got); quacks rarely find themselves in the position of team neurologist.

Are you kidding?

WeezinTheJuice: Goodell is a joke. This guy shows up and added and changed all sorts of rules that make football WAAAAY less fun than it was even 10 years ago. Excessive celebration? No spiking the ball after big yard gains? No catch when pushed out of bounds? WTF, it might as well be flag football soon with this asshole in charge.

I know man, I cant tell you how much I miss it when the lineman spend 5 mins dancing around cus they just ran a 3rd and 1 and he pushed the other lineman back just enough to let the QB fall over the first down line.

If it isn't a TD, an INT, or a crucial first down in a championship game, stop gallivanting and get back on the line.

if a player is "woozy, has general dementia or memory loss"

ManGenious thankful this will not apply to coaches.

INeedAName: WeezinTheJuice: Goodell is a joke. This guy shows up and added and changed all sorts of rules that make football WAAAAY less fun than it was even 10 years ago. Excessive celebration? No spiking the ball after big yard gains? No catch when pushed out of bounds? WTF, it might as well be flag football soon with this asshole in charge.

I know man, I cant tell you how much I miss it when the lineman spend 5 mins dancing around cus they just ran a 3rd and 1 and he pushed the other lineman back just enough to let the QB fall over the first down line.

If it isn't a TD, an INT, or a crucial first down in a championship game, stop gallivanting and get back on the line.

I do miss Gastinau's sack dance. That was pretty funny.

FormlessOne: Are you kidding?

That article is basically about hospitals/health care systems paying teams for advertising rights. They get signage and all that crap. The care that physicians provide is still subject to all the ethical considerations part and parcel of the profession.

vinnydoz007: jack21221: vinnydoz007: If its the team doctor, why would they tell the truth

Didn't stop the Pittsburgh team doctor, now did it?

Obviously they are going to protect their franchise QB. It would just be silly not to. But what about a lineman or line backer. Think they are going to care as much with them?

Yes, they're doctors, you douchebag. Most care about their patients.

Story, on the topic of third string QBs and their teams:

So my friends are driving home from Thanksgiving at her mom's house in NC, and they're in Virginia. He's getting tired, to the point that he thinks they've passed DC already...even though they're in Virginia. So his wife gets him to get off the highway and get to the hotel.

Well, he misses it, and rather than go to a light, he just finds the first break in the divider and cuts over. In front of a cop.

So the cop pulls him over, his mother in the back seat freaking out (like she *always* does), and eventually the cop comes back. "You know, I could've given you two tickets. One for that move you just pulled, and one for having the state name covered in your license plate." It's his wife's car, she makes Sarcastica75 seem tame when it comes to the Steelers. Steeler plate frame over her license plate STLRGRL, along with the Steelers window decal and other stuff. "But," continues the cop, "my 8-year old son's a Steelers fan, so I'm letting you off. Have a nice day."

Once he was out of range, his wife lost it, and pretty much didn't stop laughing the rest of the night.

Bartleby the Scrivener: FormlessOne: Are you kidding?

That article is basically about hospitals/health care systems paying teams for advertising rights. They get signage and all that crap. The care that physicians provide is still subject to all the ethical considerations part and parcel of the profession.

Did you read the whole thing? Y'know, to the part where administrators apply pressure to ensure that the medical facility keeps the endorsement of a team? Or that doctors are already concerned that ethical considerations are indeed juggled, along with economic and social considerations, when such decisions are made?

Or that a single "team doctor" is a typical fallacy? While there may be a lead, very often an entire medical facility is included as part of a team's medical care. If they don't like the decision-making skills of one physician, another one with, shall we say, looser ethical boundaries will be rotated into place and the game will continue.

Yes, most individual doctors take their Hippocratic oaths quite seriously. Some do not. It's not a black-and-white issue, unfortunately, and when money's involved, that issue gets grayer by the day.

jack21221: vinnydoz007: jack21221: vinnydoz007: If its the team doctor, why would they tell the truth

Didn't stop the Pittsburgh team doctor, now did it?

Obviously they are going to protect their franchise QB. It would just be silly not to. But what about a lineman or line backer. Think they are going to care as much with them?

Yes, they're doctors, you douchebag. Most care about their patients.

and the world is full of rainbows and lollipops...

Bartleby the Scrivener: FormlessOne: Are you kidding?

That article is basically about hospitals/health care systems paying teams for advertising rights. They get signage and all that crap. The care that physicians provide is still subject to all the ethical considerations part and parcel of the profession.

Better yet, another article, describing how NFL doctors aren't advocates for the players.

Doctors shooting players with painkillers so they can continue playing while injured should be a big ol' red flag on their ethics, right? The discussion has very little to do with the ethical considerations of physicians and more to do with the financial considerations of the owners. "Quacks" don't get hired, because quacks aren't effective in player care - but when you realize that the medical staff working on an NFL player balances the physical health of the player with the performance of the team, it's easy to see how a doctor will provide the necessary advice to an NFL player, attempt to protect them from harm as best they can, and step aside when that NFL player then pushes back onto the field because of financial and performance pressures. The doctor isn't responsible for the NFL player's subsequent serious injury - the doctor did, after all, provide the necessary advice.

WeezinTheJuice: Goodell is a joke. This guy shows up and added and changed all sorts of rules that make football WAAAAY less fun than it was even 10 years ago. Excessive celebration? No spiking the ball after big yard gains? No catch when pushed out of bounds? WTF, it might as well be flag football soon with this asshole in charge.

If end zone celebrations and spiking the ball after a play are what you consider "the fun" of the game, you're a pathetic excuse for a football fan.

kwame: WeezinTheJuice: Goodell is a joke. This guy shows up and added and changed all sorts of rules that make football WAAAAY less fun than it was even 10 years ago. Excessive celebration? No spiking the ball after big yard gains? No catch when pushed out of bounds? WTF, it might as well be flag football soon with this asshole in charge.

If end zone celebrations and spiking the ball after a play are what you consider "the fun" of the game, you're a pathetic excuse for a football fan.

I just don't like that it's 15 yards. I don't care too much the celebrations, but make it an individual fine, suspend the player for a series... don't penalize with yards. That's just ridiculous.

/I'm so excited to have done something to help my team win that I can't contain it.
//Whistle. You have now caused your team to lose.

Came for "Batman"

Leaving packed with disappointment

This Looks Fun: I just don't like that it's 15 yards. I don't care too much the celebrations, but make it an individual fine, suspend the player for a series... don't penalize with yards. That's just ridiculous.

Fair enough, but excessive celebration penalties are the easiest penalties for players to avoid, so it's not like you're penalizing them for doing something they can't control. The Emmitt Smith rule seemed excessive a while back, but now no one notices because players simply leave their helmets on.

This Looks Fun: kwame: WeezinTheJuice: Goodell is a joke. This guy shows up and added and changed all sorts of rules that make football WAAAAY less fun than it was even 10 years ago. Excessive celebration? No spiking the ball after big yard gains? No catch when pushed out of bounds? WTF, it might as well be flag football soon with this asshole in charge.

If end zone celebrations and spiking the ball after a play are what you consider "the fun" of the game, you're a pathetic excuse for a football fan.

I just don't like that it's 15 yards. I don't care too much the celebrations, but make it an individual fine, suspend the player for a series... don't penalize with yards. That's just ridiculous.

/I'm so excited to have done something to help my team win that I can't contain it.
//Whistle. You have now caused your team to lose.

The fine is for excessive celebration. If you're excited, sure, jump up & down or shout - great. Nobody penalizes basic exuberance. If your "excitement" requires a four-player scripted performance in the end zone, or requires you to support a viral advertising campaign, then, yeah, there's a problem.

The only gripe I have with the call is that there's too much subjectivity associated with it - firm up the guidelines for what qualifies as "excessive celebration" and ensure that both players and referees stick to those guidelines.

jack21221: vinnydoz007: jack21221: vinnydoz007: If its the team doctor, why would they tell the truth

Didn't stop the Pittsburgh team doctor, now did it?

Obviously they are going to protect their franchise QB. It would just be silly not to. But what about a lineman or line backer. Think they are going to care as much with them?

Yes, they're doctors, you douchebag. Most care about their patients.

Wait...Im the douchebag? For thinking that it might be possible that a doctor, who is paid exobitant amounts of money by a team, might put the interests of said team before the interests of a player? It sounds like your an ignorant stupid douchebag from where im standing.