I love the NFL.
When no one’s looking they can dance away from some serious turn of events.
There was a time that player safety was a prime concern.
Permanent brain damage from concussions, the whole CTE deal, including helmet to-helmet tackles were indeed addressed.
Lawsuits were settled and that alarming trend seemed to be checked off.
Then came the more recent Tua Troubles and the resulting overreaction ensued.
Last weekend reportedly more than 21 players including two quarterbacks I know about, were removed from their games with concussion issues and not permitted to return.
I know we wouldn’t have seen that high a figure had Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa not been allowed to come back against the Bills after he was hit, staggered after getting up and fell to one knee before being helped off the field and soon after, headed for the locker room without paying a visit to the medical tent on the field as required.
Tua then returned for the second half citing a back injury and presumably cleared by the independent neurologist from any concussion problems.
Four days later Tua, flew with the team to Cincinnati, started against the Bengals and again was hit.
This time he did not get up.
He then made a “fence” gesture with his hands in front of his face, a movement indicating a probable concussion.
He was removed from the field on a stretcher, did not come back and days later said he was feeling okay
It has since been revealed that Tua is still in concussion protocol and will miss this week’s game against the Jets. He had experienced headaches a day after the game, reports he feels 100%, but there is no timetable on when he will return.
So the league cracked down, to the extent that quarterbacks Tyrod Taylor of the Giants and Brian Hoyer of the Patriots, among others, were quickly removed from their games, due to concussion issues.
So why was Tua allowed to return against the Bills?
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said he was “astonished” that the player was permitted to continue.
The league has an independent neurologist on hand to work with the team doctors.
But something fell through the cracks. The specialist in Miami has since been fired by the Players Association and they have worked with the league in establishing new guidelines.
The newest declaration is that any motor instability will mean a player can not return to the game.
Obviously, players should not have any determination on whether they are fit to play.
They all say they can continue. It’s their livelihood. They’re fighting for their jobs.
And perhaps team doctors should not be the final decision-makers as well.
But what does that mean for Tua Tagovailoa?
He’ll be hit again.
If he has a concussion, what does that spell for his future as a player, and the health for the rest for his life?
And other players as well.
The problem will never go away.
I don’t have an answer, because it’s football, and that means collisions, and players suffering head injuries, and that also means some helmet-to-helmet contact, some of which is unavoidable.
The problem will never go away.
A loyal reader to this column, Roland Van Deusen has often brought up the existence of what is known as the Guardian Cap which is a rubber add-on to the helmet.
Dr. Allen Sills, the Chief Medical Officer of the NFL told the NFL Network that he was looking forward to this year’s training camp and pre-season for continued evaluation of the benefits of wearing the device.
Guardian Cap was submitted for laboratory testing and the study showed results indicating at least a 10% reduction in the severity of impact force if one player is wearing it, and a 20% reduction in impact force if two players in a collision are wearing it.
More recently, Dr. Sills, reportedly announced that Guardian Caps reduced concussions by 50%, but there are no announced plans for its use at this time as a league requirement.
The device has been used by players in the past. Hall of Fame linebacker Willie Lanier of the Kansas City Chiefs was one.
So, player safety has returned to the forefront.
But not before rules were ignored, creating another controversy.
Of course the latest controversy involves the young quarterback of the Miami Dolphins, who seem to be in the crosshairs of some strange doings over the past year.
Head coach Brian Flores, who was fired, claimed that owner Stephen Ross offered him $100 thousand to lose games so the Dolphins would improve their draft status.
Ross was cleared of that charge, with the league deciding the offer was not taken to be serious, and that Flores still had the team competing to win.
But the league confirmed that on multiple occasions, Ross expressed belief that the Dolphins position in the 2020 draft should take priority over the team’s won-loss record.
What does THAT mean?
To me, it means he would rather lose games to help their draft picture.
However, the league did take action on the principal owner when he was fined $1.5 million and suspended from being involved with the team until next weekend, for tampering with Tom Brady between 2019 and 2020 and the agent of then-Saints head coach Sean Payton.
The Dolphins also had to forfeit their first round pick in 2023, and their third rounder in 2024.
NFL Commissioner termed the tampering violations “unprecedented in scope and severity”.
Why is it, the tanking accusation by the head coach, the tampering penalties, and the revival of the player safety issue were all centered around the Dolphins?
This is a franchise that was once the model of the NFL.
No one who follows the game forgets the only perfect season in league history.
The 1972 Dolphins, under head coach Don Shula, finished 17-0, capped by a Super Bowl title. The first of two consecutive championships.
Nor does anyone forget the likes of Bob Griese, Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield, Nick Buoniconti, Dan Marino, Jason Taylor, and many others.
This season, I believed they had their finest roster in years, and, as long as Tua Tagovailoa, made progress and stayed healthy, they were a prime playoff contender.
Now, I’m not so sure about the health part.
The problems surrounding the Miami Dolphins don’t seem to end.