OT: Finally someone has the guts to say it.

Richard Sherman: I played through a concussion and it paid off

Posted by Michael David Smith on October 24, 2013, 9:36 AM EDT

Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman says he stayed on the field after the only concussion of his NFL career, and he’s glad he did.

Sherman wrote in a guest column at TheMMQB.com that in his first NFL start, against the Bengals in Week Eight of the 2011 season, he suffered a concussion on the seventh play of the game. But Sherman kept playing, played well, and established himself as one of the league’s best young cornerbacks.
“I couldn’t see,” Sherman writes about the effects of the concussion. “The concussion blurred my vision and I played the next two quarters half-blind, but there was no way I was coming off the field with so much at stake. It paid off: Just as my head was clearing, Andy Dalton lobbed one up to rookie A.J. Green and I came down with my first career interception.”

In Sherman’s opinion, every NFL player has enough information to assess the risks of playing through a concussion, and it’s not for anyone else to say when a player should play and when he should sit out.
“All of us NFL players, from wide receivers to defensive backs, chose this profession,” Sherman writes. “Concussions are going to happen to cornerbacks who go low and lead with their shoulders, wide receivers who duck into contact, safeties who tackle high and linemen who run into somebody on every single play. Sometimes players get knocked out and their concussions make news, but more often it’s a scenario like mine, where the player walks away from a hit and plays woozy or blind. Sometimes I can tell when a guy is concussed during a game—he can’t remember things or he keeps asking the same questions over and over—but I’m not going to take his health into my hands and tell anybody, because playing with injuries is a risk that guys are willing to take. The players before us took that risk too, but they still sued the league because they felt like they were lied to about the long-term risks. Today, we’re fully educating guys on the risks and we’re still playing. We have not hidden from the facts.”
Sherman said his plan for the next time he suffers a concussion is to “get back up and pretend like nothing happened.” That’s the mentality of a lot of NFL players, and there may not be anything the NFL can do to change that.
access and/or disclosure.

Brian Kelly and Urban Meyer would attest to games paying off when not taking players out because of concussions. But I guess putting it in print wouldn't look right.

It's still a touchy subject. But it really hits close to home when I think of former UM great, Leroy Hoard, who has a slew of health problems now from all the concussions he took.

INdeed, WH, it is a touchy subject, in deference to you.  But also, in deference to Fish, I personally don't believe a "blanket", "one-size-fits-all" rule should be foisted on the players.

IMO, the biggest factor is, to excerpt from your post, "all the concussions [L.H.] took."  As in, an implication of plurality.  A player should weigh in not only his age, general health and like factors, but how many times (if any) he's previously concussed.  

One of the few admirable (again, IMO) things I've seen from Mike Ditka was his long, repeated efforts (which finally paid off) to talk Steve Young into retirement. "Steve, you've already had four [concussions], and you're 37," he said to the 49ers' HOF QB who was still playing well at the time.
"Of course we ALL want to go on playing, but you have to think of your life after football."

great post! and sherman makes a great point about current players on any level: they all know the risks now (as opposed to the retired NFL players that sued.)

it's a violent sport, they signed up for it, and it's impossible to play without risk unless you make it flag or touch. there is risk in everything, and with football one of the risks is concussions. if you don't want that risk, don't play.

this is somewhat related but on another note, they should get rid of the targeting penalties, unless it's totally obvious, even then it's still a grey area. under most circumstances, kicking a player out of a game for that is really stupid though.

michmike wrote:

INdeed, WH, it is a touchy subject, in deference to you.  But also, in deference to Fish, I personally don't believe a "blanket", "one-size-fits-all" rule should be foisted on the players.

IMO, the biggest factor is, to excerpt from your post, "all the concussions [L.H.] took."  As in, an implication of plurality.  A player should weigh in not only his age, general health and like factors, but how many times (if any) he's previously concussed.  

One of the few admirable (again, IMO) things I've seen from Mike Ditka was his long, repeated efforts (which finally paid off) to talk Steve Young into retirement. "Steve, you've already had four [concussions], and you're 37," he said to the 49ers' HOF QB who was still playing well at the time.
"Of course we ALL want to go on playing, but you have to think of your life after football."

good luck with that though. the intent is good, but i dont see players willfully disclosing their health. any organization definitely should be pro-active and should be responsible in regards to your post, but ultimately, it's on the individual. they've all been warned now anyway. if they keep playing with multiple concussions, it's on the player. obviously if a team is aware of the number of concussions, they should block the player from playing as the lions did with best.

You misinterpreted, 93.  I meant to state that a player should "weigh into his [personal] decision"...I wasn't implying he must disclose any of that to anyone else (e.g., the NFL or his team).

Rather, how he assesses his own strategy, and his consequent actions.

not to nitpick, but i was just going by what you said, "A player should weigh in not only his age, general health and like factors, but how many times (if any) he's previously concussed." as it reads as he should disclose that info to his team.

that said, i agree then, it should be a personal decision and the accountability should be personal too.

Here's an idea.

Have all football players sign documents saying they can not sue the NCAA or NFL, etc.

Then remove the spearing penalties and make it all legal.

No penalties for hitting "defenseless" receivers. No penalties for hitting above the shoulders. No horse collar penalties.

Get rid of them all. Make them all legal.

You can still call Late hits and facemask calls and such.

Look, as far as I can remember the idea of football was to be bigger, stronger, faster and MEANER than your opponent. So many of the books I read while growing up taught me you hammer the dude coming across the middle. Then next time he doesn't wanna come across the middle.

I don't want illegal stuff but I'd like to see it go back to how it was about 10 years ago.

Pretty soon everyone will be wearing pink jerseys and it ain't gonna be because of Brest Cancer Awareness Month!

Pretty soon those dudes that hit with their heads will stop. Or they'll stop themselves with concussions. So, have them sign a disclaimer.

I know this is impossible but if it could happen the game would self-regulate itself. I honestly believe if you remove some rules hit will happen in the short term but in the long term the players will take care of dirty players or cheaters. You think if a dirty guy hurts your wide receiver that your teammates won't take care of that situation? Self Regulation.

Guess I'm old school eh?

GRIND THE BASTARDS DOWN!!!!!

Anyone notice Bret Favre said today that he can't attempt another comeback because of serious memory loss? 44 years old.

dwoody wrote:

Anyone notice Bret Favre said today that he can't attempt another comeback because of serious memory loss? 44 years old.

well how does he know that's football related, he wasn't the brightest bulb to begin with...lol jk

i agree joe...and the game is probably a lot safer that way anyway. let it correct itself naturally as opposed to artificially. how many times have we seen a player say after a personal foul (due to what used to be a clean hit) "it's the only way i know how to play;" or a coach say to high school or younger, "if you're afraid of getting hit, or you play half speed, or you let up, you're going to get hurt."

I think the only solution to better safety is technology with helmets and equipment, and encouraging players to wrap up.

It might actually be safer with no equipment, all the pads and the helmet make guys far less inhibited. The last time I saw a study it suggested that there were far fewer serious injuries in rugby. What does a modern football helmet weigh these days? I remember the last time I put one on being struck by how heavy it seemed.

Not proposing this, just making an observation.

'shoes

wshoes wrote:

It might actually be safer with no equipment, all the pads and the helmet make guys far less inhibited. The last time I saw a study it suggested that there were far fewer serious injuries in rugby. What does a modern football helmet weigh these days? I remember the last time I put one on being struck by how heavy it seemed.

Not proposing this, just making an observation.

'shoes

I think the idea of no pads is far from ridiculous. players would be forced to use their shoulders and refrain from using the head. wrapping up would become preferred as well.

also, the pads cause a greater force and impact during hits. a more violent collision is created when two hard shells or objects collide, as opposed to say two guys in leather helmets and padded sweaters. obviously there would still be injuries, but injuries can't be avoided anyway.

maybe a new type of helmet with a soft shell can be tested..or try no helmets...and likewise maybe less armor.

LOL LEATHER HELMETS!

But seriously folks, That's the way I see it.

The game will adjust itself but not if there's a lawsuit hanging over every single hit.

Alas, this is all wild hyperbole. Sigh

I certainly feel for the all the former football players that have suffered issues from concussion related injuries. I hate to see anybody, for any reason, struggle with anything.

That being said, at least these days more than any, guys know what they're getting themselves into. Speaking specifically to the NFL guys, they're accepting that risk for the MILLIONS of dollars they're making. We discussed this before on here, and I believe every single one of us admitted that despite knowing the health risks involved, we would all strap up and face that risk for the opportunity to make millions of dollars. Hell, I think some of use would assume that risk for a couple weeks just to step foot on an NFL field and say you 'made it'.

I am with Joe, and I'm sick of all the penalties. I understand what the two leagues (NFL and NCAA) are trying to accomplish, and it's admirable in a way that they're starting to care, but for me, it all comes back to knowing the risk and making a personal decision to assume that risk or to avoid it altogether.

That's where my point that know one really knows what can happen until it is too late. Remember, I love the game and want to see it continue but not for it to be completely barbaric.