Last Sunday, all of DC collectively held its breath as
Robert Griffin III struggled to get up after a crushing hit to the head. He managed to stagger to his feet, but he was
soon taken to the locker room where he was diagnosed with a mild concussion.
The question on everyone’s mind this week has been whether
Griffin would be ok to play Sunday against the Vikings. Griffin has practiced all week and has not
exhibited any concussion symptoms. He
has passed every test administered by doctors and, barring any setback between
now and Sunday, it appears he will be able to play.
But should he? There
seems to be little discussion among the Redskins’ coaches or the fans in
DC. Why would you sit the most exciting
player to play for the Redskins in at least 20 years? Nationally, however, many are asking why the
Redskins would risk it (as a quick aside, I find it ironic that the Nationals
were skewered for even considering shutting down Stephen Strasburg, but now everyone
thinks Griffin should sit. Granted the
Redskins are not playoff bound and we are only talking about one week, but I
still find it ironic). Concussions are
very tricky. They affect everyone
differently and are very hard to predict.
The severity of concussions
and their symptoms may worsen with successive injuries, even if a subsequent
injury occurs months or years after the initial one. Griffin suffered a concussion last year at
Baylor and now five games into his NFL career he has already suffered
another. If he is concussion prone it is
likely that each one will be more difficult to recover from and recovery from
severe concussions can take up to several months (see Nicklas Backstrom).
The Redskins are
not headed to the playoffs. Let’s be
real. They’re 2-3 right now, and their
schedule is going to get increasingly more difficult. They are not the terrible team they have been
over the past few years, but they still are not a playoff team. What
do they gain, therefore, by playing Griffin only a week after his concussion?
I’m not a doctor
so I’m not saying definitively whether Griffin should sit or play, but while
most people are asking if Griffin can play Sunday, there’s a more important
question that needs to be asked: will Griffin be less likely to suffer a
concussion if he does not play this week?
Obviously he won’t be concussed if he doesn’t play, but barring that,
would there be any benefit to his health if he were to sit? The Redskins should not just be concerned
with whether Griffin passes the concussion tests, they should be thinking about
how to prevent him from getting his next one.
Even if he does
play, there are things the Redskins can do to better protect their quarterback. Kyle Shanahan has come out and said Griffin’s
injury will not affect his play-calling, but that’s probably just him posturing. The Redskins have to be smarter offensively
and they have already altered their calls accordingly. In the first four games, Griffin averaged
over 10 rushing attempts per game. He
had only one against Atlanta. If teams
think the playbook is wide open, however, they will have to prepare for it,
explaining Kyle’s seemingly hard-line stance.
Griffin will also
have to slide better. He has taken more
than a few shots this season that perhaps he did not have to take. He has worked on sliding in practice this
week, so hopefully we will see more of it as the season continues.
Ultimately, it
all comes down to what the doctors say.
Concussions have become a major issue for the NFL so it is not as if he
will be allowed to play before he is ready.
The issue is whether some “Strasburg” like precaution would benefit
Griffin. Even if he passes the
concussion tests, will he benefit from sitting out this week? If the doctors say he is completely fine and
that another week won’t help him, then by all means let him play. If there is any possibility, however, that it
could help prevent another concussion.
You have to sit him. Is the
chance to go 3-3 worth risking your franchise QB? Not to me.
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