10-19-2022, 05:29 PM
(10-19-2022, 11:43 AM)Essex Johnson Wrote: You really have no factual basis to say that ZT had put people out to play hurt outside of a injury report.. lol... and to be honest, in todays game it is much more out of the control of a HC to do what you are suggesting ZT is doing. This team actually has been overall one of the more healthy teams than past bengal teams, maybe we should actually praise the coaching and medical staff for maybe making some changes to prevention and treatment with injuries
And you have "no factual basis" to say something like this lol. It's sort of the point. We believe different things and that's ok. But both Logan and Tee played through torn labrums all postseason (!). Hendrickson a concussion. When Mixon turned his ankle last year it was immediate damage control to say the Internet doctors "had no idea" what they were talking about. Then he played all of 10 snaps the next game. I guess even Mixon couldn't justify putting himself through the rigor. "No idea" what they were talking about indeed.
As much as I despise the way Zac has turned this into a board game, I'm not claiming the players don't make the final call. Of course they do. It's their legal right to not play when they feel they can't. They can't be forced onto the field. That said, given how Zac has seemed like a snake oil salesman around this stuff publicly- speaking from personal bias, to be fair lol- I can't dismiss the pressure being put exerted on them in the locker room. To some extent they surely put it on themselves. For better or worse, Burrow sets the tone in this regard. More importantly, while he may not be able to force players to play, the head coach does have a responsibility to protect them from themselves. As a fan, I've always felt strongly about that given the debilitating nature of this game long-term. The most experienced coaches do this (the Reids, Belichicks, McCarthys, Harbaughs... the glaring exception may be Carroll, but I associate that more with his college pedigree and player's coach mentality).
So you can celebrate how rarely Zac steps in and how he demonstrates his youthful im/maturity by "listening to the players" but I won't. We have no way to know whether they're healthier this year, like you say, or just playing through more. For me, the fact it's taken such a wild turn from regime to regime raises more questions than answers. These are the same players playing the same sport with generally the same medical team operating by the same principles, yet producing wildly different outcomes. But it's speculation regardless. I agree with that.
