NFL Thread

[merylinkid]

Just heard about the statement.   "Neurologically intact" sounds positive.   Continued prayers, thoughts, good wishes/vibes, etc.

[Lady Whistleup]

This is cautiously good news. "Neurologicalky intact" means that a brain scan must have shown some positive signs.

[DrSpaceman73]

Neurogically intact I assume means ct/mri shows no damage and basic neurologic exam is all normal. Which is good news. The fact he is awake is probably the best news.  

[roamyn]

19 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Neurogically intact I assume means ct/mri shows no damage and basic neurologic exam is all normal. Which is good news. The fact he is awake is probably the best news.  

He’s awake?  That’s great news!

It seems like having on site care may really have saved his life, in more ways than one. Thank goodness that’s one thing the NFL & NFLPA have done right, together.

[bluegirl147]

5 minutes ago, roamyn said:

He’s awake?  That’s great news!

It seems like having on site care may really have saved his life, in more ways than one. Thank goodness that’s one thing the NFL & NFLPA have done right, together.

I think I read that if you are treated within three minutes of what happened to Hamiln you have a 58% survival rate.  So yeah every second counts.

 

[emma675]

I'm stalking CNN this morning, lol. They are now reporting that his agent says he is awake and has been holding hands with his family. Another tweet from a reporter says he opened his eyes last night and is responsive (although I don't recognize the name of the reporter in that one, so I'm not sure it's 100% legit).

[meowmommy]

When I worked in ICU, if the patient was unable to give consent for anything and had no health care proxy, be it medical procedures, release of information, DNR status, whatever, it was always the next of kin who had control. 

If they said nobody could receive medical information, then nobody could receive it.  Sometimes the question of who gets to make decisions when next of kin disagree comes up, but we always erred on the side of caution.  Hospitals push HIPAA training so much you'd think they cared more about that than your medical training.

46 minutes ago, emma675 said:

They are now reporting that his agent says he is awake and has been holding hands with his family.

Awake, alert and oriented, if all present, would be a huge, huge step, even if he's still on the ventilator.  That means he can actively cooperate with weaning and hopefully get off the vent.  This ordeal has undoubtedly taken a lot out of him, even as a well-conditioned athlete, so it is still important to be patient with his progress and not expect too much too fast.

[DrSpaceman73]

Imagine waking up from this and learning all that has happened as a result of his injury?  He just passed out and then has no idea what's transpired since. Would be so surreal wake up and thrust into the countrywide spotlight

[Notabug]

2 hours ago, emma675 said:

The Bills just released more info, per CNN: Hamlin has shown remarkable improvement over the last 24 hours and per the physicians caring for him, he has shown that he appears to be neurologically intact. His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress. Link

ETA link.

If he is awake and responding to family, that is absolutely the best news ever and a very good indication that he is going to make a significant recovery.  if he is aware and able to interact with the people he loves, the rest is just gravy.

Quote

Good thing Damar's mom is trustworthy.  I don't know about his uncle;

It could be that the family is grateful that the uncle has taken some of the pressure off of them to make a public statement.  Even if he's a blabbermouth and some of the info he's given has been not quite correct, he's run some interference for the rest of them.  Nothing he's said has been very detailed nor invasive of the family's privacy.  

[xaxat]

 

[merylinkid]

Doctors just had a press conference.   Which of course the family would have to approve.   Or possibly Damar himself because HE IS AWAKE AND COMMUNICATING IN WRITING.   That means he can think and form words.   

 

Long way to go but this is GREAT, AWESOME, FABULOUS  news.

 

Wait until he hears how much his charity has raised.   

[mojoween]

This appears legit, but I’m giving a side-eye to everything.  Allegedly Damar asked who won the game (in writing) when he regained consciousness. 

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by mojoween

[JTMacc99]

8 minutes ago, mojoween said:

This appears legit, but I’m giving a side-eye to everything.  Allegedly Damar asked who won the game when he regained consciousness. 

It's legit. I am listening to the press conference. 

That made me choke up a bit, despite the way the doctor said it so matter of fact. If you were one of his teammates and found out that Damar was communicating and freaking asked if they won the game, how does that not make you feel kind of awesome. You know he's got a long way to go to be out of the woods, but your teammate, your friend, is communicating. And while you're worried sick about his health, you find out that he's worried about who won the game.

[merylinkid]

2 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

It's legit. I am listening to the press conference. 

That made me choke up a bit, despite the way the doctor said it so matter of fact. If you were one of his teammates and found out that Damar was communicating and freaking asked if they won the game, how does that not make you feel kind of awesome. You know he's got a long way to go to be out of the woods, but your teammate, your friend, is communicating. And while you're worried sick about his health, you find out that he's worried about who won the game.

The teammates have GOT to feel better.   Now they can relax.   Which, as crass as it sounds, means they can get ready for this weekend's game without being distracted.    

 

And yes, I am crying happy tears over this news.   

[Jane Tuesday]

I thought this was really interesting. It talks about all the medical personnel at the game, and how they were trained to respond.

'Were Going to Need Everybody’: Recordings Captured Response to N.F.L. Crisis When Damar Hamlin’s heart stopped during a game on Monday night, medical personnel can be heard responding to the kind of emergency the league hoped it would never face.

[bluegirl147]

33 minutes ago, xaxat said:

 

I  had this very discussion with a coworker. The way the NFL treats players who get hurt and are unable to play again is shameful.

[DrSpaceman73]

8 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

I  had this very discussion with a coworker. The way the NFL treats players who get hurt and are unable to play again is shameful.

I've seen a couple videos on this. Most concerning is there cutting back on disability for players and denials plus not paying the cte money promised. 

[Carey]

9 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

19 minutes ago, bluegirl147 said:

I  had this very discussion with a coworker. The way the NFL treats players who get hurt and are unable to play again is shameful.

I've seen a couple videos on this. Most concerning is there cutting back on disability for players and denials plus not paying the cte money promised. 

Doesn't surprise me one bit, sadly

[Jane Tuesday]

What's up with their union?  How come they're letting the owners reduce everything in the CBA?  I agree with the gentleman on that clip that they owners should do the right thing regardless.  But the union leaders aren't doing their jobs, either, and I think it's fair to call that out.

I'm not a usual football viewer, so I didn't realize they didn't have any better protection than this.  It's horrible.

[Carey]

IMO, the union has pretty much been on the losing end more than the winning end after Upshaw died.  I'm hoping that things will improve when they get a new "spokesperson" or leader.  As harsh as I am, it's JMO

[merylinkid]

3 minutes ago, Jane Tuesday said:

What's up with their union?  How come they're letting the owners reduce everything in the CBA?  I agree with the gentleman on that clip that they owners should do the right thing regardless.  But the union leaders aren't doing their jobs, either, and I think it's fair to call that out.

I'm not a usual football viewer, so I didn't realize they didn't have any better protection than this.  It's horrible.

Because the owners throw money at them rather than give them things like extended healthcare.   And the players fall for it ..... every single time.   

The owners also know the players are NOT united.   The top players, the Bradys the Mannings, the Watts (all 3 of them) will ALWAYS get paid no matter what the CBA says.   So they are not big into work stoppages.   Meanwhile the little guy who doesn't even get the League Minimum (which is the lowest of the major sports leagues) also doesn't even get that pittance in a work stoppage.

The 2011 lawsuit worked so well because it did have Brady and Manning as Plaintiffs.   It shows the rich guys were not going to cave at the expense of the little guys.

[emma675]

CBS Sports had a good write up of the press conference. I'll admit to tearing up over hearing what Damar wrote as one of his first questions. It does seem like his lungs are what they are focusing on now to help him get off the vent.

I hope he and his family have a good circle around them going forward. The entire nation it seems has been paying attention to this story and everyone is going to want a piece of them. For people not used to this kind of spotlight, it can be overwhelming. 

[Calvada]

2 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

Imagine waking up from this and learning all that has happened as a result of his injury?  He just passed out and then has no idea what's transpired since. Would be so surreal wake up and thrust into the countrywide spotlight

Ed McCaffrey of the Broncos suffered a fracture of both the tibia and the fibula bones in one of his legs during the first Monday Night Football game in 2001. He was taken to the hospital where surgery was performed. I read a news story about what it was like for him waking up in the hospital on a morphine drip the next day, trying to comprehend what was on the TV.  It was September 11, 2001.  

i imagine they don’t want to overwhelm Damar with too many details at this point. Finding out they didn’t play the rest of the game was probably a lot for him to take in. 

[DrSpaceman73]

I recall reading somewhere that the average nfl player is in the league 4 years and often ends up bankrupt, divorced and with lifelong medical problems.  

This was many years ago so it could have changed but I dont think it's much of an exagerration.  I know 4 years is still about correct amd medical problems .....sure. bankruptcy and divorced not as sure about but I find it believablf

Edited January 5, 2023 by DrSpaceman73

[mojoween]

One of my local TV stations is reporting, based on comment from two anonymous people who spoke with the AP, that Monday’s game will not be resumed.  And that was the entirety of their report.

[Lady Whistleup]

Apparently Tee Higgins has not left the hospital since the incident. I feel horrible for him and hope he has a strong support system.

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, merylinkid said:

Doctors just had a press conference.   Which of course the family would have to approve.   Or possibly Damar himself because HE IS AWAKE AND COMMUNICATING IN WRITING.   That means he can think and form words.   

 

Long way to go but this is GREAT, AWESOME, FABULOUS  news.

 

Wait until he hears how much his charity has raised.   

The fact that he's writing indicates he's got decent motor skills, at least in one arm.  The fact that he even remembers they were playing a game prior to his hospitalization means his memory is probably also in pretty good shape.

Quote

1 hour ago

I thought this was really interesting. It talks about all the medical personnel at the game, and how they were trained to respond.

'Were Going to Need Everybody’: Recordings Captured Response to N.F.L. Crisis When Damar Hamlin’s heart stopped during a game on Monday night, medical personnel can be heard responding to the kind of emergency the league hoped it would never face.

Really interesting article which shows just how well the medical team performed on Monday and just how much preparation goes into being ready for a medical crisis.

For those who were wondering since we were discussing it the other day; there are specific people charged with removing player's shirt and pads in an emergency and they actually train so that they can do it as quickly as possible.  

From the article:

Quote

“We get down to the details: how you access the chest, how you open the jersey and the shoulder pads, when do you remove the helmet and shoulder pads, who is doing CPR, who is putting on the defibrillator pads,” said Dr. Jonathan A. Drezner, a team doctor for the Seattle Seahawks and the director of the Center for Sports Cardiology at the University of Washington. “All of these are fine details that we discuss and hope we never have to live in real time.”

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Notabug

[Chit Chat]

43 minutes ago, Calvada said:

Finding out they didn’t play the rest of the game was probably a lot for him to take in. 

And finding out that you flatlined on national TV is going to be a lot to process.  Although we couldn't see what was happening (which is best), we knew what was going on and that was enough for all of us to just sit there in disbelief and shock.  It's awesome though that his family stated they felt everybody's prayers and the love & concern flowing their way.  Some people make fun of the "thoughts & prayers" sentiment, but when you're on the receiving end of it, it really does give one a sense of peace.  At least it has for me. 

Although it will be devastating to him if he can't play contact sports anymore, maybe the silver lining is that this incident prevents it from happening again.  What if he hadn't been on the field with all of the medical people around him?  What if he had been playing ball with friends and had a freak accident like this, but no medical people around him?   Now he knows his limitations.  He may go on to do other great things, maybe with his charity.  I'm sure the NFL will find a place for him too in some capacity.  

[meowmommy]

48 minutes ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

I recall reading somewhere that the average nfl player is in the league 4 years and often ends up bankrupt, divorced and with lifelong medical problems.  

This was many years ago so it could have changed but I dont think it's much of an exagerration.  I know 4 years is still about correct amd medical problems .....sure. bankruptcy and divorced not as sure about but I find it believabl

But an "average" going to include the whole range, from players who washed out in their first season to Tom Brady.

I know football is a hard job, but man, the minimum rookie salary is over $700,000.  That's not much less than I made in my entire 40+ year working lifetime combined.  Somebody should have been telling them not to blow their whole wad the first year.

[twoods]

For most of them (and us), they’ve never seen that much in their life. Then they feel they have to take care of their family and friends so the money goes away very quickly. Not everyone has a money advisor to help them with these decisions. 

[Carey]

Exactly.  Plus, not everyone has a parent or guardian that is good at advising a player with that.  In addition, not everyone was raised by people that were smart with their money

[bluegirl147]

9 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

Somebody should have been telling them not to blow their whole wad the first year.

I know the NBA has people who specifically work with rookies showing them the ropes and how to be responsible.  I doubt the NFL does that.

Edited January 5, 2023 by bluegirl147

[Chit Chat]

31 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

I know football is a hard job, but man, the minimum rookie salary is over $700,000. 

You see the guys like Terry Bradshaw and those before him, and they made peanuts compared to today's players.  He said that he made all of his money after football.  I know he likes to play dumb, but he's a pretty smart guy.  I used to watch his reality show.  He has a really nice home with a horse ranch.  He's done well!!

30 minutes ago, twoods said:

Then they feel they have to take care of their family and friends so the money goes away very quickly.

I heard the same thing from someone who knew an ex-NFL player.  Every time the guy came home, he'd always go back to the same friends and get into trouble all over again.   He felt like he owed them something and would hand out money.  The guy had a rough upbringing, and his former college tried to help him, but you can only do so much.  Sad.   

[Bastet]

20 hours ago, Court said:

I hope Tee Higgins is ok. I saw a report today that he is feeling an immense amount of guilt. He is not to blame but I can't imagine being in that position. 

I was pretty emotional all night after seeing what happened to Hamlin, and when I heard about Higgins coming out of the locker room with his mom's arm wrapped around him, I cried.  That he didn't do anything wrong wasn't going to make a dent in how he felt, especially in the immediate aftermath.

I'm glad he sounded good talking to the media after Hamlin's mom gave him the positive update.

And I love Hamlin's "Did we win?" question upon waking.  He has no earthly idea what happened to him and what everyone has been going through; to him it's like if he had to go into surgery for a broken leg before the game was over, so when he comes out of anesthesia the first thing he wants to know is if they won.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Bastet

[Danielg342]

5 minutes ago, meowmommy said:

Somebody should have been telling them not to blow their whole wad the first year.

That's the thing- it's very easy for them to do so. Give someone a lot of money all at once and many of them will blow it within a few years. Add in the recklessness of youth, perhaps with the feeling that, as a rookie, you're "destined" to a long career in the majors, and it's easy to see why many players squander their salaries.

Obviously, players need better direction with their money and leagues should do more to help with that. I won't belabour that point.

One other thing that should happen is teams ought to scrap that stupid hazing ritual where the rookies have to pay for a team meal. How many of them lose a lot of money they'll never get back because they fell for this "harmless prank"? Maybe that bill doesn't appear to be a lot in the grand scheme of things but every little bit helps, on top of denouncing that abuse on principle.

For what it's worth, the Bills have a good history dealing with players who suffered devastating injuries. When Kevin Everett went down in 2007, the Bills intentionally waited until he had passed three years on the roster so that he could collect all the health benefits that he needed. I can imagine Buffalo will do the same for Damar Hamlin, if not more, if they need to do so.

[Chit Chat]

Just now, Danielg342 said:

Obviously, players need better direction with their money and leagues should do more to help with that. I won't belabour that point.

And some of them are paid huge amounts of money when they haven't even proven themselves yet, but that's a pet peeve of mine.  Some of the contracts are mind boggling!  

[cambridgeguy]

2 minutes ago, ChitChat said:

You see the guys like Terry Bradshaw and those before him, and they made peanuts compared to today's players.  He said that he made all of his money after football.  I know he likes to play dumb, but he's a pretty smart guy.  I used to watch his reality show.  He has a really nice home with a horse ranch.  He's done well!!

That's true for all sports, even if you take into account inflation.  Magic Johnson signed a 25 year, 25 million dollar contract back in 1981 that was the richest contract ever.  Even taking into account inflation that's less than 100 million these days. 

3 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

Obviously, players need better direction with their money and leagues should do more to help with that. I won't belabour that point.

There's only one thing that would work - find some third party financial advisor with impeccable integrity and tell the rookies that this person is going to handle the vast majority of your finances for a few years.  But then there would be endless bitching and moaning about robbing players of their agency, etc.

[Notabug]

13 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

That's the thing- it's very easy for them to do so. Give someone a lot of money all at once and many of them will blow it within a few years. Add in the recklessness of youth, perhaps with the feeling that, as a rookie, you're "destined" to a long career in the majors, and it's easy to see why many players squander their salaries.

o.

Not to mention all the players who end up losing money to various scam artists.  Take a young guy who probably doesn't come from much money and then went to college where he was sheltered as a big time college football star, relocate him to another city far away from his hometown where people treat him like he's special just because he plays for their team and you'll get a sucker ripe for the picking by unscrupulous people.  So many of these guys have invested in various business ventures, figuring it would give them security after their playing career only to discover some criminal has absconded with their money.

[Chit Chat]

8 minutes ago, cambridgeguy said:

There's only one thing that would work - find some third party financial advisor with impeccable integrity and tell the rookies that this person is going to handle the vast majority of your finances for a few years.

Seems like I read one time that players from the Univ. of Alabama are given guidance on these things before they leave the school, but once they're on their own, I'm sure it's just too tempting for many of them to go nuts with that kind of money.  Being young, they probably think they're invincible and they'll play a long time in the NFL, but they need to squirrel away as much as they can from the start in case they either get injured, or their career doesn't pan out like they thought it would.  

[mojoween]

Even though he drives me bonkers, Rob Gronkowski’s family did the smartest thing they ever could by giving him sound financial advice.  He may look and act dumb, but he is going to be a wealthy man for the rest of his life.

[Chit Chat]

Just now, mojoween said:

He may look and act dumb, but he is going to be a wealthy man for the rest of his life.

Its guys like him who seem to not have a clue who are usually some of the smartest guys around!  Again, Terry Bradshaw is always the butt of a joke and is self-deprecating, but I admire how he built a life after football and is doing quite well.  

[Lamb18]

On 1/2/2023 at 8:40 PM, Lamb18 said:

The only reason I'd want them to continue is if he's OK because the first thing he'll want to know is who's ahead or who won.

Looks like I called it. The New York Times reported that Hamlin asked in writing, who won the game. He'll probably be surprised to learn they did not finish the game because of his injury.

In the past couple of years both my mom and brother have been in ICU for weeks unconscious and on a ventilator or using a trache. That Hamlin is awake so soon and knows who he is and where he is in space and time, and can remember what he was doing just before his accident is great!!

[Chit Chat]

4 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

That Hamlin is awake so soon and knows who he is and where he is in space and time, and can remember what he was doing just before his accident is great!!

He's probably wondering what all the fuss is about!  He will be stunned when they tell him everything that happened.  They can tell him that the entire football nation (and many others) is rooting for him.  It would be weird to wake up after a couple of days having no idea what's been going on.  

[Mountainair]

My 10 year old son had an appointment with his cardiologist this morning to check up on his repaired aortic coarctation. He is not allowed to play contact sports so naturally I brought up this Hamlin incident. He was very aware of what happened and it called it some big C word. Corc....? I can't remember but he suggested this was not related to any sort of undiagnosed heart condition (which was my first thought) and that this could happen to anyone but the odds are like 1 in a million. 

I'm so relieved to hear he has been improving!

[Danielg342]

1 hour ago, ChitChat said:

And some of them are paid huge amounts of money when they haven't even proven themselves yet, but that's a pet peeve of mine.  Some of the contracts are mind boggling!  

I think Ryan Leaf mentioned that as a reason he flamed out. San Diego paid him like a huge star so he didn't believe he had to work hard because he had now "made it". I wonder how many other well-paid rookies have thought the same way.

[Bastet]

45 minutes ago, Mountainair said:

He was very aware of what happened and it called it some big C word. Corc....?

Commotio cordis.  We don't yet know that's what caused his cardiac arrest, it's just the common guess floating around because he got hit in the chest (it happens when you get hit in exactly the wrong place at exactly the wrong time in your heart's rhythm, which is why it's rare).

Edited January 5, 2023 by Bastet

[Popples]

2 hours ago, twoods said:

For most of them (and us), they’ve never seen that much in their life. Then they feel they have to take care of their family and friends so the money goes away very quickly. Not everyone has a money advisor to help them with these decisions. 

I remember from the 30 for 30: Broke episode, Leon Searcy said that his leeches friends knew his payday schedule better than he did and would be waiting in the parking lot for their cut. Many people feel guilty when they come in to a lot of money and don't take care of the people who were with them on their way up, but so many of the ones they thought cared about them end up bleeding them dry.

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Apparently Tee Higgins has not left the hospital since the incident.

He was at practice today and talked to DeMar's parents via text this morning so I do not think this is accurate.   Honestly,  as much as I know his teammates wanted to be with him, the last thing the hospital needed was a lot of teammates/others coming to visit to stay while he's in the ICU.

2 hours ago, Carey said:

Exactly.  Plus, not everyone has a parent or guardian that is good at advising a player with that.  In addition, not everyone was raised by people that were smart with their money

Plus, players have to pay their agents and pay taxes.  And they likely roll with teammates who make more than they do which can lead to peer pressure spending. 

2 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

I know the NBA has people who specifically work with rookies showing them the ropes and how to be responsible.  I doubt the NFL does that.

They do but having an advisor only goes so far when you want to help loved ones.  Plus, the basketball season is long and they're around their team more.  The NFL offseason is much longer.

16 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Commotio cordis.  We don't yet know that's what caused his cardiac arrest, it's just the common guess floating around because he got hit in the chest.

I've read that it's an exclusionary diagnosis.   They have to rule out everything else first.

[Chit Chat]

58 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

I think Ryan Leaf mentioned that as a reason he flamed out. San Diego paid him like a huge star so he didn't believe he had to work hard because he had now "made it".

We've heard that some of the ones coming out of college programs that had very strict workout programs slack off once out of that environment.  I'm not sure how the rules are with the NFL teams about weight and strength training, but with some of the college programs, you have to comply or you're out!  I guess some of the guys don't have the same motivation in the NFL as they did in college, especially after hitting the football lottery!

ETA:  For all of the non-sports reporters:  It's BEN-gals, not BAN-gles.  This drives me nuts!!  There are NO sports teams named after bracelets!!

Edited January 6, 2023 by ChitChat

[Black Knight]

So the NFL has apparently decided to cancel the game. This CBS Sports article just posted lays out some scenarios they're kicking around to try to make it a bit fairer to the teams most negatively affected by the cancellation.