NFLPA: Eagles acted "appropriately" with Kolb, Bradley
The NFLPA's top doctor said the Eagles followed the proper procedures when it came to handling concussions to Kevin Kolb and Stewart Bradley.
NFLPA: Eagles acted "appropriately" with Kolb, Bradley
Jonathan Tamari
The Eagles acted appropriately when it came to evaluating quarterback Kevin Kolb and linebacker Stewart Bradley and their concussions Sunday, according to the top doctor for the players' union.
Thom Mayer, the NFL Players Association's medical director, said he came to that conclusion after an NFL doctor spoke to the Eagles medical staff Monday morning to review the steps the team took after Kolb and Bradley got hurt. Mayer said he then spoke with the NFL doctor.
"It appears to me that they followed the procedure as laid out by the commissioner and by the NFL Players Association appropriately," Mayer said.
Mayer was watching the game on TV and saw the Bradley stumble that seemed to clearly indicate a head injury, but he said it is possible that he could have been OK to return. Both Kolb and Bradley got back in the game after suffering their injuries, but were soon pulled for good.
"The key is whether after that episode he returned to normalcy," Mayer said when asked about Bradley. Relaying information that was provided by the Eagles trainers, Mayer said, "He cleared very quickly, and that's the reason he was put back in the game."
Mayer said a concussion might not be immediately apparent. The tests for such an injury generally involve giving the player three words to remember, and then running them through a cycle of tests: seeing how their eyes respond to light and track, testing their strength, asking the player to run, and then, at the end, asking if the player can remember the three words. It all takes about three to five minutes, he said.
The NFL and NFLPA have recently stressed safety on head injuries.
FROM EARLIER
Andy Reid moved to squash any quarterback controversy Monday, saying “Kevin Kolb’s the number one quarterback.”
Reid said Michael Vick's comments about perhaps having a chance to win if he had played four quarters, were not meant as a slight of Kolb.
"He was really saying that he kind of ran out of time there, he wished he had another quarter back and might have pulled that thing out there," Reid said.
Vick might still start Sunday, though.
It’s not clear if Kolb or middle linebacker Stewart Bradley will be able to play this week after each were diagnosed with concussions in the second quarter against the Packers.
“There’s a chance this week (Vick) might be called on, with Kevin’s situation,” Reid said.
Reid defended his team’s handling of the injuries to Kolb and Bradley, which came under question after both players were allowed back in the game after suffering concussions.
“I’ve got full confidence in (head trainer) Rick (Burkholder),” Reid said. “We stuck to the criteria there and then followed up on it. As we look at this, that’s the most important thing. We didn’t just stick them out there without having to follow the protocol, but we also made sure that we stayed on top of it when they came back off the field.”
The NFL has recently stressed safety when it comes to head injuries and in December issued guidelines that said any player with a concussion should not be allowed to play again on the same day.
One of the symptoms to watch for in the guidelines is “confusion as evidenced by disorientation to person, time or place; inability to respond appropriately to questions; or inability to remember assignments or plays.”
That led to questions about Bradley, who stumbled and fell after hitting his head on a teammates leg, but was still allowed briefly back into the game.
“I will tell you that when he came off the field and went through the protocol, the testing, I think he was clear minded, was able to pass,” Reid said.
Kolb and Bradley were both examined by team doctors Monday. They will also be examined Wednesday and Friday, until they are cleared by the team. After that, they must also be checked and cleared by independent Philadelphia doctor William Welch.
“There’s no pressure to get back in the game and go, that’s not part of this,” Reid said.
Reid declined to make Burkholder available to answer questions.
“I gave you everything that needed to be done,” Reid said.
Other Injuries
After entering Sunday with a clean injury report, Reid listed off a litany of damage done in week one.
Most severe were the injuries to fullback Leonard Weaver and center Jamaal Jackson.
Weaver has a “severe” anterior cruciate ligament tear, Reid said. He is out for the year, as expected.
Weaver was on crutches at the NovaCare Complex Monday.
“I’ve never felt anything like that,” he said of the pain of the gruesome injury. “It looked pretty nasty.”
Weaver said it was “heart breaking” to get hurt at the outset of a new season.
Jackson has a torn triceps – not biceps, as Reid initially reported Sunday. He is likely out for the season as well and is scheduled to have surgery today. Reid said he would talk with general manager Howie Roseman about possible moves on the offensive line.
The team did work out two fullbacks: Jason Davis, who in the past has been with the Eagles, Raiders and Bears, and Owen Schmitt, formerly of the Seahawks.
Other injuries include: Antwan Barnes had a wrist sprain; Mike Bell had a toe strain; Brodrick Bunkley and Todd Herremans had ankle sprains, Trevor Laws had an oblique strain and Jason Peters has a knee sprain.
VOTE: Eagles report card
How did Mike Bell get a toe sprain? Did somebody move the bench? No Laws has an oblique career.— jimmyj- I drank the Kolb Kool-Aid and it's not tasting all that great at the moment. Maybe it needs a little more time to ferment.— PhillyFanSouth
- so do we go after mankins now? that would be expensive, but nice.— sasquatches
I recall DeSean Jackson saying that his position coach tried to coax him to play with a concussion.- haha, nicely put PhillyFanSouth, Im in same boat but we gotta give him more than half a gm. Fire Bobby April, those kickoff returns were pathetic. Youve had all preseason to fix it and it looked worse in gm 1.— peteike
- Where's all the Kolb supporters at now??? Where was all the hype we were fed by them all offseason. Kolb so this...Kolb so that, he's the next Montana. Wow, probably from the same posters that were quick to boo him last night. I do agree with Reid, that he should start once healthy, you give the guy a full season to see what he can do.— DontBeAHypocrite
There's no question Kolb should remain the starter. Vick is no doubt a talent, and played well in relief yesterday by offsetting the Packers defensive game plan of bringing constant pressure. That's what a QB of Vick's skill set can do. But this is a west coast offense which relies on timing and precision, which is what Kolb's strengths are (this is not me speaking, this is the opinion of AR, MM, other great QB's that have seen Kolb extensively, and other expert opinions). Despite yesterdays horrendous performance, Kolb has proven he can run this offense. Now it's up to the coaching staff to correct the problems along the O line. If not, then neither Kolb or Vick will have a chance to run this offense effectively. Yesterday was not winning football, it was a matter of the back-up QB coming in and changing what the Packer's D had game-planned. Give Vick credit, he took full advantage of his situation, but unless you scrap the entire philosophy of this coaching staff, Kolb remains the starter.- The truth is coming out slow and steady..the Eagles FO (Bush Administration II) are a bunch of creeps!!!— RoastedBird
- Strains, sprains and pains... oh my! Not looking too good already. Hope all are okay, but others will have to step up now.— TerryW
- #1 for all time worst 1/2. That concussion saved him from having worst numbers! His arm is weak, he's built like a pencil, and there is absolutely no quick release. He accurately threw the ball to Green at but they can't catch. It was only a matter of time until opposing defenses got enough film on him to realize all of his weaknesses and exploit them. He's a fraud!!!— Eaglesfan804
- #1 for all time worst 1/2. That concussion saved him from having worst numbers! His arm is weak, he's built like a pencil, and there is absolutely no quick release. He accurately threw the ball to Greenbay but they can't catch. It was only a matter of time until opposing defenses got enough film on him to realize all of his weaknesses and exploit them. He's a fraud!!!— Eaglesfan804
- Kolb will be ok. He does need to be put in a better position to succeed though. That means more time to get rid of the ball. On Kolb's part, he needs to see the field better and stop making dangerous passes into double coverage. His strength last season was the short pass and spreading the ball around. I'm not sure what happened to him between then and now...— Carcharios
- He has no choice....he made his bed and now he has to sleep in it....nighty, night, Andy. Enjoy the slide downhill.....can't rely on #5 bailing you out over and over anymore. You're on the way out....finally!!— philly449
- Carcharios....it's called reality. Kolb was a backup and had no real pressure to succeed....now he does. Welcome to reality, everyone.— philly449
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i really tried to give kolb a shot at proving me wrong because he is only 25 and because of the two games that he started. but now it is clear who is the better qb. i want to win. period. and if we arent winning, i atleast want the games to be exciting. come on andy, you know that vick is better. have some balls and name him your starter. football is suppose to entertaining and kolb just isnt entertaining. he's brutal to watch!- This is a moot point because Kolb will not be cleared to play on Sunday. After their embarrassing handling of concussions yesterday, the team and medical personnel are going to be exceptionally cautious. And frankly, it is probably wise to sit out a week even if it looks like he recovers immediately. As I've been firmly in the "Andy Reid is a bad game day and game plan coach" crowd, I don't think the Eagles have much of a chance no matter what. I do feel bad for Kolb, though.— plugh
- More cover up....league stooge, talks to team doctors and everybody covers their butts....it is a joke.....When Stewart or Kevin get lost at the age of 30......where will Jeffery be? Where will Andy be? Now is the time to file the lawsuit...against the league, the Eagles and the Doctors and the Coach....nothing the league does will happen unless they think they might get sued or it will cost them money.....— nuggett
- Besides, they couldn't be sure that Kolb's jaw injury didn't come from sucking so hard . . .— Sgerat
- We have to stick with Kolb and give him a real shot. That means no Vick every three plays. A major part of the reason that Vick looked so good was because the Packers didnt' game plan for him. Trotter used to shadow him and render him ineffective when the Falcons played the Eagles. Our chance at a reasonably good relatively immediate future is for Kolb to be as advertised.— bwillie
- We've seen this before. With Andy Reid coached teams. Yeah, Kolb looked frustrated and unsettled. He made some mistakes and so did his offensive teamates and things snowballed. And we all know that when we look back later, we'll find out he wasn't as bad as he looked and neither was the offense. He may even have a great game soon. But we'll find out that he isn't quite that good either. He'll settle in somewhere in between and things will proceed from there. Then we move on to measuring his improvement game to game. Don't you guys know the routine by now?— MikeP
- philly449 the idea of McNabb bailing out Reid is just ridiculous. You seem to forget the record Garcia had with Andy. McNabb was great, I loved him. But if you were watching last night, the Redskins defense bailed out McNabb!— vincemcd
- Not a Cobb fan, but as well as Vick played, he is a one year Eagles QB. For better or worse Cobb is the QB for the immediate future.— richd618
- So who are the Eagles going to take with their top 10 pick next year?— SlinkTMP
- I agree with bwillie (and Aikman) that using Vick so much was detrimental to letting Kolb develop into some sort of rhythm. Regardless of how bad he looked it would be a mistake to go with Vick for any reason other than an injury to Kolb. We need to see him for 4-5 games to truly judge his potential. Thinking about the playoffs this year is pointless in my opinion. Even if they sneak in they'll be eliminated fast. The two longer term concerns I have based on Kolb's limited performance are all the bad decisions he made -- hanging on to the ball way too long and throwing into coverage -- and the fact that he looked so breakable. They're not going to beef him up overnight but he seems too small to me.— s
- Kolbs strength last season was playing against an awful defense, then a defense who was up by so much at half they just did the old bend but don't break in the second half ... Kolb is a fraud, always will be. He is only holding the position for Kafka or whoever the post Andy reid regime has as their number 1. If he got hurt on the play he "fell" and was landed on, anything more than having the wind knocked out him, then he is no NFL player. Not tough, can't throw, bad decisions ... bout sums it up.— AsValidAsYours
- I'm not going to close the book on him yet. As for the play where he got hurt, the replay clearly shows his arms tied up so he couldn't break the fall with anything but his head/face. To say getting injured on a play like that doesn't make him an NFL player is ridiculous -- players get hurt on many seemingly innocent looking plays. He *does* look fragile to me. The 6'3" they list him at seems generous and he needs to bulk up a bit. He's bigger than a Detmer but he looked smaller yesterday than I remember. Maybe it was just how bad he was playing that magnified it.— s
- History usually shows that when you are a contender, you want a proven quarterback, otherwise the team goes downhill fast before it rises. Well the Eagles will either sink with Kolb this year, or maintain or rise with Vick. How do you like what you are seeing Lonewolf from Kolb, your man! Welcome to reality and not dream land. Vick demonstrated what an experienced and quality quarterback can do for you. Yeah, Vick was right. One more quarter and he could have pulled this game out. A shout out to all of you Vick haters. You have to admit it. He looked great as a passer and a runner. He showed how you can run this offense. He looked like early McNabb.— dross
- If the Eagles acted appropriately the rules need to be changed quickly, two players with concussions were allowed to go back into a game, need to verify everyone did what they were supposed to.— keepitreal1234
- RoastedBird The truth is coming out slow and steady..the Eagles FO (Bush Administration II) are a bunch of creeps!!! Yea we shall put you in charge then we will have a complete OBAMANATION LIBERAL WHACK JOB!!!!— slapback
- thanks guys for not pointing the accusatory finger At AR and the Eagles staff like ALL THE OTHER STAFF MEMBERS working for philly.com did. I think they feel their jobs are to run AR, JB, and JL right out of town. Seems they prefer Rich Kotite, Ray Rhodes, and an occasional used car dealer to quality coaches/owners. They forget how bad the FO and coaches were....— Cdiggy
- Slapdick- You got real issues... get some help— Cdiggy
- I'm remembering an Eagle/Steeler game in the late 60's with Norman Snead at qb played at Pittsburg. Final 6 to 3 Philly win. Nothing was as bad as that until watching Kolb over these last three preseason and one half of regular season games. No matter how you cut it or how much time he's given the results are already in. I'm still glad McWaddle is gone. Would not have been any different and you would have to listen to him afterwards with his rose colored glasses.— JACK V
- they obviously need to come up with a better way to test for a concussion. any test that bradley passed wasnt good enough.— djack10
- Kolb is being evaluated after 10 passes? If Vick was in on every other play there might have been some continuity. Vick should only come in once per drive when Kolb is quarterbacking. It makes no sense to keep swapping them out. It reminds me of Jaworski and Cunningham doing that. Put one quarterback in or the other and evaluate them after a full game.— NoBama
