Steelers Injury Report: With ‘Report-like’ symptoms

While writing this post, I may have sustained carpal tunnel like symptoms and needed to pause several times before completing the post.  At times, I may have displayed hunger pains and worked very closely with my wife to formulate some sort of dinner making strategy to alleviate those pains as quickly as possible.  My tendencies to make fun of the Ratbirds will be monitored all week, but more than likely is untreatable.

The Steelers are receiving a bunch of flak from the media about how they report player injuries – or rather how they aren’t reporting injuries.  What’s the big fuss?  Teams aren’t really obligated to disclose full details or even be completely honest with injury statuses. I mean, look at Baltimore a couple weeks ago – they lied up and down about Ray Lewis’ condition and he didn’t play anyways.  It can work as a tactical advantage up until they must do final injury reports, and what justifies the media for having to know what happens in-game?  It’s certainly not their given right, and it doesn’t mean a team is being tighter lipped than those who lived on the ‘East-side of Berlin,’ as the play calling buffoon, Al Michaels, put it.  Really, Al?  East-side of Berlin?  You lived through the Cold War dude.  Now I’m not going to get all Bob Costas preachy, but geesh… get a grip.

I find nothing wrong with Tomlin, or any coach for that matter, ‘beating around the bush’ as it were when talking about injuries of his players.  Quite frankly good sir, it’s none of your damn business.  Ok, well maybe it’s a little bit of our business, but it’s not the end of the world if we don’t know the complete status of a player.  Let’s turn the microscope (pun intended) to Troy’s ‘injury’ this past Sunday.  After making a wicked tackle in which he was blasted in the helmet with a knee, Polamalu was pulled from the remainder of the game for showing ‘concussion like symptoms.’  The NFL has a very stringent process of diagnosing players on the sideline.  If a player is showing signs, then they can’t come back onto the field.  That’s part of player safety.  It’s obvious that Troy wanted back on the field, but he never got the green light to go.  All the while, the NBC sideline reporters kept trying to get updates on his condition and to no avail.  That’s when Al busted out the Ronald Regan with a plea for team doctors and Tomlin to tear down that wall.

It’s great for them to think that it makes them all knowing, but if a team doesn’t feel comfortable coming out and saying that a player sustained a concussion, then why should they?  In this case Polamalu was showing symptoms, but maybe not enough to get a full diagnosis of a full blown concussion.  And after all the fuss, his symptoms went away once they got back into town.

As much of all of us would love to talk about actual injury reports, the cross we must bare is one of speculation.  So be it.  If gives us ‘what ifs’ to talk about from Monday to the following Sunday.  So for those who want to complain about not getting all the info, get used to it as far as the Steelers are concerned.  Tomlin’s not willing to release any info that might jeopardize his players, his team or his chances of winning.

Alright.  Time to go ice down for the time being and get some acupuncture.  Later.