Doctor makes proposal for concussion prevention

At a time when the NFL and the NFL Players Association should be turning over every medical and/or scientific rock they can find in trying to deal with concussions, there seems to be a tragic failure in communication between a doctor with an interesting idea and those two entities.

Dr. W. Dudley Johnson, a retired heart surgeon from Milwaukee who is credited with one of the most significant developments in bypass surgery, has a seemingly simple idea for players to use supplements that serve as preventive care for the trauma involved in concussions.

"The whole concept is to change the body so the response to brain injury is less traumatic," said Johnson, who developed the idea from treatments that are used to reduce the effects of strokes. "This is a prophylactic measure, but it's with everyday, over-the-counter, normal natural products you can find in the store."

In essence, Johnson is trying to find a way to prevent excessive inflammation of the brain when it's bruised in a concussion by having players take supplements.

Johnson has the backing of three people with strong ties to the NFL: former NFLPA Executive Director Ed Garvey, former NFL player and recent University of Wisconsin athletic director Pat Richter and former NFL star wide receiver Al Toon, a man whose career was cut short by numerous concussions.

Furthermore, he has apparently caught the interest of the Green Bay Packers and one of the natural supplements (fish oil) he's suggesting is already being used by the Pittsburgh Steelers, according to Johnson and Garvey. However, the NFL, which has a history of funding medical research and earlier this month awarded $1.5 million to several research entities, can't find Johnson's proposal and the NFLPA has been slow to react to the request. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello searched the league offices Tuesday, but came up empty.

Regardless of who's responsible for the miscommunication – Johnson said he didn't know exactly who the proposal was sent to – the league and the union would be wise to get on the phone with Johnson, who's looking for $600,000 for his study. For roughly the cost of a minimum-wage veteran backup, the NFL and its players could be looking at a substantial solution for the actual injury caused by a concussion.

That hope is based on a very simple regimen of over-the-counter substances. Johnson is talking about using things such as fish oil and figuring out the best combination of that and whatever else he uses. At a time when most players have mini-GNC stores in their lockers, Johnson's idea for a daily supplement would be easy to sell to players, literally and figuratively.

Considering the 79-year-old Johnson's credentials (Garvey, a very smart man himself, called Johnson "brilliant") and the simplicity of what he's trying to introduce, the league and the union should be jumping at this idea.

What the league and the union have been very busy with on the concussion front is basically window dressing that doesn't really get to the heart of the issue because they can't. Give NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell credit, his recent moves, such as putting a neurologist on sidelines, are solid ideas. Sadly, it took a threat from Congress for the NFL to react, but at least the league is reacting.

However, those are after-the-fact measures. The neurologist doesn't get involved until the player is already hurt. Furthermore, all the disability programs that retired players talk about, such as dealing with dementia, are fine and good. But preventing the problem (or at least doing the best you can to limit it) is better. Way better, as in that whole "ounce of prevention, pound of cure" adage better.

This is the real duty the NFL and the NFLPA have to the players.

Holmgren is out of football this year after 17 seasons with the Pack and 'Hawks.
(Jeff Curry/US Presswire)

Holmgren's future: The news that former Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren has met with Cleveland officials this week wasn't exactly shocking, but don't expect him to jump at the job as the team's football "czar" even if the Browns offer it right away. Holmgren is working a couple of angles here, according to a source with knowledge of his intentions. Moreover, those close to him aren't sure whether he has decided if he wants to coach again. If Holmgren waits a couple of weeks, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could give him a call. The two are very tight from their days working on the NFL Competition Committee. Since his family is still in Seattle, don't rule out a return to the Seahawks as the head of football operations (and maybe the football version of Pat Riley trumping Stan Van Gundy).

• For those still wondering what Holmgren's hiring could mean to Browns coach Eric Mangini, don't wonder long. Mangini and Holmgren have no background together and their dueling desires for control will not work. Expect Holmgren to get rid of Mangini. In fact, any effort by Cleveland owner Randy Lerner to force Holmgren to keep Mangini will likely be met with a "no deal" response from Holmgren.

Top five
1. New Orleans Saints (13-0): Need to be much sharper this week against Dallas.
2. Indianapolis Colts (13-0): Defensive performance vs. Denver was great sign.
3. Minnesota Vikings (11-2): Returned to form in a dominant win over Cincy.
4. San Diego Chargers (10-3): Win over Cincy all but locks up the No. 2 seed in AFC.
5. Philadelphia Eagles (9-4): A great December team, but they need to carry it to January.

Bottom five
28. Cleveland Browns (2-11): OK, Browns fans, I was wrong last week, but this team is still bad.
29. Kansas City Chiefs (3-10): Dear Chiefs fans, what do you expect Matt Cassel(notes) to do?
30. Detroit Lions (2-11): Dear Daunte, don't complain and then play poorly.
31. St. Louis Rams (1-12): It's a good thing NFL team values aren't really affected by record.
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-12): This team has hit a wall mentally. Not a good sign.

This and that

• With coaching vacancies expected in Cleveland, Washington and Oakland, there is a big question about what will happen in Carolina. One source thinks coach John Fox and GM Marty Hurney, who each have a year left on their contracts, will keep their jobs. "I think [owner Jerry] Richardson would like to get rid of them, but I'm not sure he wants to pay off the $6 million he owes them."

• Speaking of Oakland, it's the one job in the NFL where agents aren't even trying to get their clients to go. "Nobody with a good coach wants to go there. You don't call [owner] Al [Davis] these days unless you have a first-round pick and you want to get him a 30 percent raise," the agent said.

In a critical game against the Dolphins in Week 14, the Jaguars hardly enjoyed a home-field advantage from their fans.
(US Presswire)

• This is an ominous remark from one Jacksonville Jaguars fan who has both season tickets and a suite through his company: "Our fans just don't show up. I went last Sunday and wanted to leave in the first quarter. There was no excitement at all. It was like watching a game at a local park." Suffice it to say, the crowd was a lot smaller than the reported paid attendance of 60,457.

• The criticism that Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin has received this season seems just a bit odd. Yeah, the Steelers are underachieving in some ways. But it's not like they haven't had some success under Tomlin. Oh yeah, and the fact that safety Troy Polamalu(notes) is hurt hasn't helped a team that depends on generating turnovers. Pittsburgh tied for sixth with 20 interceptions last season, but is second to last this year with eight.

• It's not surprising that New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss(notes) hasn't been playing very hard. Moss is usually one of the first guys on a team to go into cruise control when he senses that a season is going mediocre to bad. "Hey, give [New England coach Bill] Belichick credit for keeping Randy into it last year after they lost [quarterback Tom] Brady," one of Moss's former coaches said. "I thought Randy would have shut it down then, but he played hard and really helped that kid [former backup Matt Cassel]." The coach added that Moss isn't so much disruptive as he simply tunes out to coaches if he thinks the season is lost. "Either way, it's aggravating," the coach said.

• Kudos to former Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy for ripping the NCAA for the lack of some type of policy similar to the NFL's Rooney Rule, where schools would be required to interview at least one minority candidate for a head coaching job. In this day and age, you'd think that the nation's bastions of higher learning would do something to get out in front of this issue. Instead, after the hiring of Charlie Strong at Louisville, only eight of 120 BCS schools have black head coaches. That's an incredibly damning fact and further proof of institutional racism.

• Give Indianapolis receiver Pierre Garcon(notes) a lot of credit for having an excellent season. He has continued to improve all season. However, he's still not causing much fear in opponents. In fact, the Broncos pulled a rare switch Sunday when they flipped cornerback Champ Bailey(notes) to the other side of the field to cover Colts top receiver Reggie Wayne(notes) all game. Normally, Bailey plays the left corner spot. The Broncos put Andre' Goodman(notes) on Garcon, who had two catches for 39 yards and allowed Goodman to break up a potential big gain in the second half. Nice play by Goodman, but Garcon has to do a better job of realizing where Goodman is and going up for the ball to get it at its highest point when Goodman is that close.