Big Ben's Night Out

Most of the QB's in the NFL must have neurological disorders if we are using these playing characteristics to determine whether or not Roethlisberger has been mentally hampered by his head injuries.

 

Also in poor taste was a dress shirt with an open collar and a pocket square with no tie.

 

So he's 'inventing' this other option when there were already several to begin with, before the play broke down.

This 'inventive' option is nothing more than a fudge.

 

Hmm. Seems to me I wrote that in plain English.
The option he "invents" is the result of an imminent sack.
When Manning faces an imminent sack, he generally throws away the ball.
Roethlisberger generally does not.
Is that so hard?

 

He deserves about as much credit for that win over the Seahawks in the Super Bowl as I do. He threw two picks and his running game bailed his ass out.

 

True, and he didn't play well in the playoff victory over the Jets his rookie year, either. That said, he was outstanding in the three victories that got them to Super Bowl XL and he deserves plenty of credit for Super Bowl XLIII.

Does he do some dumb shit on the field sometimes? Yup. He forces things. He tries to make plays when he should just eat the ball (insert joke about his conditioning here) or throw it away. But he has certainly shown a lot more stupidity off the field than on it.

 

Again, the data regarding long-term brain damage from concussions is there. The date regarding long-term brain damage from steroids is not. And not all of these players in question were known steroid users. I have never heard of any link at all with Strzelczyk to steroids. He was just a big guy, and he certainly wasn't built the way you would expect a guy using steroids to be built.

It is worth exploring, but the concussion issue deserves every bit of attention it is getting and perhaps more.

 

haha....nicely done.

(Though I REALLY don't want that guy touching me, much less hugging me.)

 

Just a little bit of Googling, OOP.
Why do you doubt me?

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2007/06/chronic_traumat.html

 

That was brilliant. I'm wiping away tears of laughter. Thank you.

 

This is the article I referenced, by the great Jeanne Marie Laksas in GQ. And this is how deep into the article the steroids subject is deeply addressed: Page 8 of 9.

http://www.gq.com/sports/profiles/200909/nfl-players-brain-dementia-study-memory-concussions?currentPage=8

I tend to believe Dr. Davies is onto something.

 

So, we have one mention of Strzelczyk "dabbling in steroids" with absolutely no corroborating information and one doctor who admits he is not a trauma expert blaming steroids because the brains look different than what he is used to seeing.

You really think that matches up to all of the data regarding concussions, especially the effects of multiple concussions? Seriously?

Again, this isn't just about bashing the league, though the NFL has a terrible history regarding the treatment of concussions. This is about informing athletes about the dangers of concussions. This is about changing the culture, so you don't have guys like Hines Ward insisting that players should be hiding concussion symptoms.

Was Ward right about Roethlisberger being soft? Maybe. There is some evidence to back that up. Was he right to say football players should hide concussion symptoms from trainers, coaches and doctors? Hell no.

Ask Merril Hoge. He wasn't soft. He what he claims was the first concussion of his career during his first season with the Bears. It was not diagnosed properly and he played with it. Then he suffered a second trauma to the brain and nearly died. He suffered from debilitating brain damage, though he has mostly recovered, and even he expects to have issues later in life.

Are steroids dangerous? Yes. Are they more dangerous than playing football with a concussion? No fucking way.