Wesley's hit brings more attention to head trauma
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Some will try to excuse it as a matter of poor timing. Or just an unfortunate mistake. However, it's doubtful the NFL will give Panthers safety Dante Wesley(notes) the benefit of the doubt. Not after executives see the video replay of a nightmarish hit that only draws further attention to the troublesome issue of head trauma in professional football.
Brutal? Absolutely. Dirty? It certainly looked that way.
The play took place late in the second quarter of Sunday's 28-21 win over the Buccaneers when Wesley, an excellent special teams player with a fairly clean reputation, lined up a devastating hit on Bucs punt returner Clifton Smith. Smith stood waiting for the punt with his eyes skyward when Wesley arrived and laid a crushing blow. But it wasn't just the fact that Wesley hit an entirely defenseless Smith. The most damaging part of the video was seeing Wesley drive his shoulder and elbow through Smith's head, delivering a concussion that knocked Smith unconscious for nearly a minute. In its entirety, the video of Smith's limp body falling to the ground is fairly nauseating.
Wesley
At best, it was reckless judgment. At worst, it was malicious. And predictably, the hit sparked a clearing of parts from both sidelines as players mixed it up. Meanwhile, Smith laid on the field for several minutes before being helped up and wobbling his way to the locker room. Wesley was ultimately ejected, and now he'll face what should be a significant fine and suspension from the NFL.
He apologized after the game, telling reporters that he wasn't attempting to hurt Smith and that it was simply a case of poor timing. The problem with that explanation: Wesley left his feet before knowing whether the ball was actually arriving. If it was just a matter of timing, then Wesley was guessing on a hit that put another player's health in danger.
It couldn't happen at a worse time for the league, when intense focus and research is being put into the head injuries NFL players sustain and the long-term consequences that are suffered. Brain trauma has been a central point of discussion in the suicides of former Eagles safety Andre Waters and former Steelers offensive lineman Terry Long. And former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson blames past concussion issues for severe bouts of depression and other personal issues he has battled in recent years. And recently, three current NFL players – Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk(notes), Seattle Seahawks linebacker Lofa Tatupu(notes) and Arizona Cardinals receiver Sean Morey(notes) – promised their brains and spinal cords to a Boston University medical program that is studying sports-related brain injuries.
When fans and players complain about the litany of flags and fines over personal fouls and hits to the head, they might want to read more about the head trauma issue. Undoubtedly, this is the NFL's crackdown on the plays that cause concussions and head trauma. It is a dark and troubling issue of which the league is responding. And it's likely that we'll find out it's much more serious than we all realized once medical experts get their hands on more brain tissue of NFL players.
This all makes Wesley's hit even more problematic for the league. Wesley is an eight-year veteran, and precisely the type of player who should know better than to gamble on a play when the man he's hitting is completely defenseless. Such a blatant and poorly chosen gamble (if it was that) is exactly what the league is trying to legislate out of the game. And rightfully so.
Here is a look at some of this week's other winners and losers:
Brett Favre(notes) celebrates the first of two touchdowns passed to TE Visanthe Shiancoe(notes).
(Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
• Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre
Baltimore's fading secondary never had a chance. Favre just keeps slicing up defenses when he's not getting pressured. His accuracy is just frightening right now (a shade below 70 percent for the season). And it will only get better as he turns to tight end Visanthe Shiancoe on a regular basis. And how about the way he's helped resurrect Sidney Rice(notes)? Rice's 409 receiving yards and two touchdowns through six games are a major surprise, and a huge plus for a suddenly diverse passing game.
• Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub(notes)
Every time you start to question whether he can be a top 10 quarterback, he puts up a ridiculous game. He did just that in the road win over the Bengals, dropping 392 passing yards and four touchdowns. The Texans were helped by an injury to Bengals defensive end Antwan Odom(notes), and a lot of Schaub's yardage and scoring came from great plays by wideout Andre Johnson(notes), tight end Owen Daniels(notes) and running back Steve Slaton(notes). But it's no coincidence that when Schaub is consistently healthy and strings together games, this offense hums.
• The Green Bay Packers linebackers
Talk about a game this group needed. The Packers' front seven devoured the Lions during the 26-0 win, particularly the starting linebackers who put up 3½ sacks between rookie Clay Matthews(notes) (2), Aaron Kampman(notes) (1) and Nick Barnett(notes) (½). Forcing turnovers hasn't been a huge issue this season, but finishing off pressure in the backfield has been. And with Chicago and Minnesota cranking up their passing games, the Packers need a pass rush that can consistently get to the quarterback if they are going to stay in the race for the NFC North.
Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew has rushed for 463 yards and eight touchdowns.
(AP Photo/John Raoux)
• Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew(notes)
If only he could play every game against terrible run defenses. He has now butchered Houston and St. Louis to the tune of 325 offensive yards and six touchdowns. He still has to prove he can carry the load consistently against the best in the league, but there is no question about the explosiveness. He should buy something nice for Mike Sims-Walker(notes). That guy will keep secondaries honest for Jones-Drew for years to come.
• The New Orleans Saints’ Super Bowl expectations
After Sunday, the Vikings are the only thing keeping New Orleans from being considered the NFC's best team. I'm not suggesting the Vikings are better – just that they make it an arguable point. New Orleans' defense has developed a nastiness under coordinator Gregg Williams, and the ability of quarterback Drew Brees(notes) to spread the ball around (four touchdowns to four receivers Sunday) gives ulcers to opposing teams. Considering the balance of that offense with the trio of running backs and the move to secure Williams, Sean Payton has to be the early favorite for NFC coach of the year. Even over the Vikings' Brad Childress.
• Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez
This is why he was signed – to be a difference-maker in big games. Not only did Gonzalez score one touchdown, but he made two huge catches on the pivotal fourth-quarter drive that produced the winning touchdown. The 16-yard catch on third-and-6 at the Chicago 37 was a back-breaker. The Falcons knew they had too many offensive options for Gonzalez to put up the ridiculous stats he had the past two years in Kansas City. He is the team's monument to doing things the right way: quality over stat-padding quantity.
• Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Hines Ward(notes)
Not sure if anyone outside of Pittsburgh has noticed, but Ward is putting the foundation in place for a career season. With Sunday's 159 receiving yards and a touchdown, he's now got 599 receiving yards this season. Heath Miller's(notes) play in the red zone is taking away some of Ward's touchdown opportunities, but he's still having a very impressive year. Considering his overall contributions to a game – receiving, blocking and leadership, there aren't many receivers you would pick over him right now if you absolutely needed a guy to help you win one contest.
• The Carolina Panthers offense, circa 2008
Hey, we remember this team, don't we? With a run-to-pass ratio of 48 to 17 against Tampa Bay, Carolina looked a lot like last season's successful team. Granted, it came against a terrible Bucs run defense, but the Panthers really needed to show they could still establish the run in this manner. This was supposed to be an offense tailored through DeAngelo Williams(notes) and Jonathan Stewart(notes), and the ineffectiveness of that pair really put the onus on quarterback Jake Delhomme(notes) early. Delhomme is nothing more than a traffic cop at this stage. Winning and losing from this point on is going to have everything to do with Carolina's ability to replicate Sunday's performance on offense.
• The Kansas City Chiefs
The offensive line qualifies for disaster relief funds at this point, so any win is a positive. But to go into Washington, against a team desperate for a win, is impressive. Indeed, if you look at the last three games, you'll see legitimate progress. They don't play like a team that feels overwhelmed or lost. If anything, they have even looked hungry of late.
• Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett(notes)
His statistics don't reflect it, but if you watch the film, Dockett is having one of the best seasons of his career. He's giving teams fits in the middle of the line, collapsing running lanes and pulling enough attention to free up other defenders to make plays. He's a huge reason that rushing defense is 100-percent legit, holding opponents to a per-carry average of 2.7 yards per carry through five games.
• The Oakland Raiders
No need to blink or rub your eyes. The Raiders beat a quality team Sunday, and they were very impressive doing it. Nothing cheap here. Defensive ends Richard Seymour(notes) and Trevor Scott(notes) were dominant up front, helping the Raiders to sack Donovan McNabb(notes) six times. That pressure kept the Eagles from ever getting into a rhythm and virtually destroyed the accuracy in the passing game. On the other side of the ball, the offense wasn't anything special, but Zach Miller's 86-yard catch and run for a touchdown was an amazing play. The effort of wideout Louis Murphy(notes), who threw not one but two key blocks 40 yards apart to spring the score, was particularly impressive. The Raiders needed something positive to talk about, and they got it for at least a week.
Patriots QB Tom Brady broke an NFL record by passing for five touchdowns in one quarter.
(Stew Milne/US PRESSWIRE)
• New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady(notes)
I've never seen anything like Brady's five touchdown passes against the Titans in the second quarter of Sunday's blowout romp in the snow. It was like standing in practice and watching a quarterback in skeleton drills. What's even more amazing is that it comes one week after Brady struggled at times against Denver. If anything, Sunday should help put to rest the idea that Brady isn't the same player he was before last season's knee injury. This should be an immense shot of confidence for his psyche, and the entire offense as well. New England had yet to show it could still be that dominant unit from 2007 … until this week. Now it just has to do it consistently.
• The Buffalo Bills
Like the Raiders, this was a franchise that needed the win on Sunday, if only to keep it from collapsing down the stretch. Losing quarterback Trent Edwards(notes) to a concussion was a tough price to pay, but the secondary clearly had Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez(notes) confused. The bad snap on the Jets' game-winning field goal try was a lucky break, but sometimes that's what it takes to get a team going in the right direction again. And with Carolina and Houston up next, the Bills have an opportunity to gather themselves going into the bye.
Bengals Defensive end Antwan Odem suffered an Achilles tendon injury during the loss to Houston.
(Scott Boehm/Getty Images)
• The Cincinnati Bengals defense
The injury to Odom is major. And it showed in the way Houston moved the ball Sunday. Schaub looked comfortable most of the day, and that hurt the defensive secondary, which was already banged up. Because of the attention and results, you could argue Odom was the Bengals' most important defensive player, especially in a division with Ben Roethlisberger(notes) and Joe Flacco(notes). Surrendering 472 yards on offense. Oof, just a rough day in every way for the Bengals.
• The Detroit Lions' quarterback position
Forget the shutout loss to Green Bay and the 149 yards of offense. I was stunned to see the body language of rookie quarterback Matt Stafford in the pregame. Head coach Jim Schwartz hasn't revealed much about Stafford's knee injury and seeing Stafford run with a significant limp on Sunday was alarming. On the bright side, he's up and around on the knee, but clearly it's still giving him some significant pain. What at first seemed like a one-game injury that wasn't such a big deal now seems a little more worrisome.
• The St. Louis Rams
Their 16th straight loss on Sunday, and probably one of the most hurtful of the bunch. If they don't beat Detroit on Nov. 1, they may not have another chance to win until playing Tennessee in December. On the bright side, it should be a talented quarterback class in the 2010 NFL draft. Take the positives where you can.
• The Baltimore Ravens
I don't know what is worse: starting 3-0 and then losing three straight, or losing the last three in such close fashion. A few fourth-quarter breaks and this team is 6-0, but that's how it goes. All I could think in the loss to Minnesota: What was most important on the second-to-last play before the missed field goal at the end – getting the additional yardage or centering the ball? I think everyone who saw the game knows the answer. The little things are killers.
• The New York Giants' elite reputation
Look, this is still a good team. However, there's no doubt, Eli Manning(notes) loses his accuracy when pressured consistently, and that secondary is really hurting. And unless the defensive line is getting serious pressure on quarterbacks like Drew Brees, the back end of that defense is going to get exposed until it's fully healthy. That's what the 493 yards of offense surrendered tells me. And let's be real here: going into Sunday's game, the Giants were a good team beating up on bad teams. It's a tough loss to take, but all it really tells us about New York is there is still work to be done. Let's hope we see them square off against the Saints in the playoffs.
• The Cleveland Browns’ roster decisions
I swear, it's almost like coach Eric Mangini is trying to mess up his quarterback situation. Maybe he doesn't think he can win with either Derek Anderson(notes) or Brady Quinn(notes), but juggling the pair and now injecting Josh Cribbs into the situation with two pass attempts Sunday (one of which was intercepted) just seems like adding fuel to the fire. Just pick a guy, stick with him and commit to whatever happens the rest of this season. What's the best upside of Cribbs at quarterback? A poor man's Kordell Stewart? Ask Pittsburgh fans about the years shaved off their lives from that whole fiasco.
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout Antonio Bryant(notes)
Now you understand why he wanted that long-term deal so badly in the offseason. You have to believe he saw this coming. Bryant is basically watching money burn at this point, as he struggles through a mediocre season. It's not all his fault, thanks to atrocious quarterback play and an offense that isn't exactly inventive. The knee issues don't help, either, but it won't matter when he goes to ink his next deal. Millions are being lopped off before our very eyes.
The Redskins are 2-4 under head coach Jim Zorn, despite playing winless teams in each game.
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)
• Washington Redskins coach Jim Zorn
After Sunday's home loss to Kansas City, we can pretty much halt the debate about whether Zorn will be fired. Now we can start talking about whether he'll be fired before next week's game against Philadelphia. I don't think he will, but who knows at this point. If he survives through the bye week, it will be one of this season's little miracles. Maybe the only thing stopping it would be if owner Dan Snyder slipped into a coma. That's possible, if he was actually watching Sunday's loss.
• The Seattle Seahawks offensive line
Maybe it was predictable considering the injuries and lack of depth on the left side of the offensive line, but to lay an offensive egg at home during a 27-3 loss was just humiliating. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck(notes) was hounded all day long – even at times when the offense went to max protections with six and seven men. No way should a team with this much offensive talent be held to three points. Maybe it's time to get Walter Jones(notes) to a faith healer. Seriously.
• The Philadelphia Eagles running game
Are we seriously back to this point, where the offensive balance is all out of whack? You have to wonder after the Eagles' running backs got a grand total of 11 carries in a game that was close and desperately needed something to balance out a passing game that was out of sync much of the day. Brian Westbrook(notes) and LeSean McCoy(notes) never really had a chance to get going consistently, and it hurt in the second half when the offense needed to sustain drives. Those two backs are too good not to commit a larger part of the offense to them. And what's the point of making such a large investment in that line if it can't open holes and dominate tempo?
• The Tennessee Titans
There hasn't been a more embarrassing game than what happened between the Titans and Patriots. Jeff Fisher is not the kind of coach where you can realistically wonder if his players have quit on him, but how can you explain what happened in the 59-0 loss? It's hard to explain without wondering if his players had just cashed it in after the atrocious second quarter. Two things are certain: the secondary is a huge mess, and the quarterback spot is about as bad as any in the NFL. And that includes Cleveland. The bye couldn't have come at a better time for this franchise. There is some serious soul-searching to be done. From top to bottom.
• The New York Jets
If coach Rex Ryan was dismayed after last week's loss to Miami, he should be apoplectic after Sunday's defeat to the Bills. Sanchez, who hasn't really been right since that whole “Sanchize” nickname surfaced, was nothing short of awful. His five interceptions cost the Jets the game, and the loss falls squarely on his shoulders. The defense actually had a solid afternoon, and the running game was at its pounding best with Thomas Jones(notes) going for a franchise-record 210 rushing yards, but something has to be done about Sanchez's turnover bug. He's now got nine in his last three games (eight interceptions and one fumble) and his accuracy has gone into the toilet. You don't want to make rash judgments, but this team is built to win right now, and injuries or not, Sanchez is a big part of what is holding it down.
(FIVE THINGS I LOVED AND FIVE THINGS I LOATHED)
Loved: FOX's feature on the Saints defense. I particularly enjoyed the moment in which linebacker Jonathan Vilma(notes) admitted to trying to steal away a fumble recovery for a touchdown from his own teammate, Remi Ayodele(notes), against the New York Jets. Said a chuckling Vilma: "I did. I'll be honest, I did. Why not? I figured I'd try to strip it from him real quick and act like I recovered it."
Loathed: The fact that Saints coach Sean Payton had to fork over $250,000 of his own money to get the hiring of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams done. It still drives me nuts. Really classy ownership there in New Orleans. Here's hoping Payton gets a bump in his salary to compensate for something that never should have happened.
Green Bay's Cullen Jenkins intercepts a pass as Detroit Lions' Jeff Backus defends.
(Jeffrey Phelps/AP Photo)
Loved: Yet anther interception by a Packers defensive end. We saw an impressive one by Johnny Jolly(notes) on a middle screen in the season opener against the Chicago Bears. Sunday it was Cullen Jenkins(notes) on another screen attempt against the Detroit Lions. For their size, the Packers' defensive ends have shown some remarkably nimble flashes. Clearly, some of the Packers' pieces have fit well in the move to the 3-4 scheme. Obviously, others haven't (Aaron Kampman).
Loathed: Watching Baltimore's defense get carved up in the first quarter against Minnesota. The talent at the cornerback spot isn't nearly what it was in previous seasons, and the pass rush has seemingly lost its fangs. Don't tell me Rex Ryan was just another replaceable coordinator, particularly when his replacement, Greg Mattison, had one year in the NFL before getting promoted to Ryan's old spot.
Loved: The Giants' goal-line stand in the second quarter. The defense dominated the line of scrimmage, thumping the Saints running backs on third and fourth down. It's at least the fourth superb goal line stand we've seen already this season, including those by Detroit (against Washington), Arizona (against Houston) and Washington (against Carolina).
Loathed: Seeing the way Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Antwan Odom leapt and then crumbled while suffering his Achilles injury. It immediately looked bad like so many of the Achilles "pop" situations we've seen in the past. Anytime a player is alone in space and folds up the way Odom did, it's a significant injury.
Loved: The amount of time Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had on his second-quarter touchdown to tight end Heath Miller. The offensive line kept Roethlisberger untouched for almost nine seconds, which was enough time for him to go through his progressions twice. That's an eternity, and another sign the Steelers' line is getting better.
Loathed: Giants quarterback Eli Manning overthrowing a handful of passes. A pair of deep balls to Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon(notes) floated a little high. He looked fine, but surely there will be questions about whether Manning was planting firmly Sunday.
Loved: Watching Saints safety Darren Sharper(notes) play. He had a second-quarter interception return for a touchdown nullified by a roughing the passer flag on Vilma (and it was a good call), but it was still an impressive play. His instincts and playmaking abilities are still amazing. He's playing like a defensive player of the year candidate.
Loathed: Seeing Giants offensive tackle Kareem McKenzie(notes) carted off the field with a first-half injury. The Giants' five offensive linemen and Manning had started 37 straight games together – the most ever since the merger. Have to believe that could end with McKenzie's injury.