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Tuesday Morning Open Thread | 173 comments (173 topical)

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I have to agree with Donald here (none / 0) (#93)
by Democratic Cat on Tue Sep 10, 2013 at 04:44:01 PM EST
Set aside any consideration of whether it is ethical to send an obviously injured player on the field in such a physical sport. Even setting that aside, the coaching staff, including the team doctors, have an obligation to protect the team's assets. RGIII can say he is ok to play, but he should not get to decide whether in fact he plays. If he throws three interceptions in a row, the coach could bench him even if he promises on a stack of bibles that he will not throw another one. Whether he plays is actually never his choice, it is the coach's.

In contrast, the Nationals shut down Stephen Strasburg last year to protect the health of his arm after coming back from Tommy John surgery -- and Strasburg was begging to keep pitching. But it was the right thing to do. It respected him as a human being rather than treating him like cattle, but at the same time it protected his arm (which the company has invested a great deal in) for the future.

I wish more corporations thought long-term like the Nats, and fewer thought short-term like the Washington football club.

And if I owned the team, I would have fired Coach Shanahan -- if not instantly, then certainly after he made the lame excuse that RGIII claimed he wasn't hurt too badly. It's bad enough that Shanahan sent RGIII out to play, but to blame it on the player afterwards, well, that's not the "buck stops here" attitude I want in a coach.

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You have a fair point (none / 0) (#96)
by Slado on Tue Sep 10, 2013 at 04:53:24 PM EST
The owner is ultimately responsible for the team put on the field.

He could have over ruled Shannahan about not only that game but the type of offense and how many hits RGIII took during the season.

But in that specific game RGIII was looked at by doctors and declared by them and himself ok to play.   What was the coach supposed to do?

It's football.  Player play hurt all the time, lie about their condition and keep playing.

To put this on only the coach is simply not fair.   Especially when you consider the fact that doing everything possible still won't prevent horrible injuries.

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I see that point (none / 0) (#103)
by Democratic Cat on Tue Sep 10, 2013 at 05:41:04 PM EST
I take your point that the owner should not be involved in all of these decisions on the field.  And clearly players lie all the time about whether they are fit to play.  But that's exactly why with something that was manifestly as serious as this, it was folly to send him back in.

I'd fire the doctor too. He was likely under tremendous pressure to ok sending him in, but he should have known better.

And of course it also was folly for RGIII to say he was ok -- it would have been very difficult for such a competitive individual and the team leader to take himself out. I'm not saying he's not at all to blame, but that the Coach makes the ultimate decision, so in the end it's on him.

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I Would Like to Know... (none / 0) (#127)
by ScottW714 on Wed Sep 11, 2013 at 09:56:25 AM EST
...how much bonus cash RG3 had in his contract for a playoff win, ditto for Shanahan and his staff.  

The NFL already removes the players and coaches choice for head injury situations and puts the decision into medical hands.  Which is great, the problem of course is that the clock doesn't always allow this kind of thorough examination and evaluation for non-head injuries.  

But even if it did, these are human beings and anyone claiming they could predict an injury from 3000 miles away is disingenuous at best.  You would have to look high and low to find a player that isn't dealing with some sort of injury in the post season.  Acting like a coach or player is going to remove the star player in a close playoff game just isn't reality in the NFL.  Shanahan didn't do anything the other 15 post season coaches and numerous star players wouldn't have done.  Right or wrong, that is the norm today.

How many times do you think Shanahan told RG3 to stop getting sandwiched for a yard or two, or to take the slide, or run out of bounds, to quit taking unnecessary hits in general ?  That is all we heard last year, he can't sustain those kinds of hits in the NFL and it turns out occasionally, the announcers make a good point.  

That is what rookies do, take chances that seasoned players know aren't worth taking and they generally pay for them in the form of an injury.

No one knows what transpired between coach, player, medical staff, and whoever else was involved.  Ultimately, they all share responsibility, maybe not evenly, but to say the player has no responsibility in deciding if they should play is silly, especially when you consider that they have the most to lose.

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Tuesday Morning Open Thread | 173 comments (173 topical)

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