Only one person says, “Enough” to a star quarterback who wants to continue: the coach.
… And if ever a veteran coach needed to accept responsibility for the reins of a player, it was Shanahan over Griffin in this game. Yet he simply passed the buck to his player. Griffin said he could play, was in pain but wasn’t injured and had earned the right to be the quarterback — all the sideline buzzwords to keep yourself in the game. And Shanahan listened and bought it. Soon, we’ll find out the price.
Griffin entered the game recovering from one month-old knee injury, playing in a big brace. Before the end of the first quarter, he had reinjured it and, in the process, lost almost all of his mobility and become completely ineffective. The Redskins led 14-0 when he hurt himself. Griffin passed for just 25 yards the rest of the day.
Thomas Boswell in this morning's Post.
The most-powerful orthopedist on Earth will never win an on-field debate with a star player or coach. There is no such thing as a reasoned medical checkup during an NFL game. It's all battlefield surgery—bracing and retaping and injecting to get wounded players back on the field. In these moments, the right choice of inspiromatic sports cliché will override most any diagnosis. You're a competitor? You don't want to let your team down? Get on out there, franchise quarterback. These are the playoffs. Be a man.
Josh Levin on Slate.
567. This is a question on which the NFL season starts and ends for me: in light of the violence of football, will I at some point abandon my fandom and re-direct to another sport (soccer? the NBA?)?
