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Injury Reports........We're Not the Only "Clueless" Ones

CloakNNNdagger

CloakNNNdagger

Hall of Fame
This is the offseason but we will soon re-enter the "Injury Spin Zone" where things are not what they seem. We, here on the board, are not the only ones miffed and frustrated by the lack of reliable information. Apparently, coaches play games with the system without really worrying about any league consequences in a toothless system. I came across this extensive article from USA TODAY posted the end of 2007.

NFL Injury List Afflicted By Doubts
Coaches and Fans Can't Tell Who's Really Hurt

Most of us will remember repeatedly tearing our hair out over this situation highlighted in this article:

The NFL is investigating a recent situation regarding the Houston Texans and how they listed running back Ahman Green, Aiello says. During the week before their Oct. 28 game against the San Diego Chargers, Green — who had aggravated a knee injury the previous game — was listed as a limited participant in practice Wednesday and Thursday, a full participant Friday and then listed as "probable" for the game. Green wound up not playing. The discrepancy theoretically could have given the Texans an advantage over the Chargers, who, based on the injury reports, had to prepare for the game as if Green would play.

The NFL is examining the details of Green's week of practice and Texans coach Gary Kubiak's role in determining Green's status on the injury report. "We are reviewing the practice tapes and medical reports," Aiello says.
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The many examples presented of different coaches' approaches to "screwing the pooch" have been quite ingenious though equally disingenuous...........oh, and of course, very "entertaining" to follow.

Quoting another source for some older examples of overt abuse (which has not evidently changed much over the years):

The league's system is pretty straightforward - "probable" means there's a 75 percent chance of a player being ready to go on Sunday, "questionable" means 50 percent chance of playing, "doubtful" means 25 percent chance of playing, and "out" means out. Prior to the 2004 season, Commissioner Paul Tagliabue sent a memo to each team outlining tightened requirements on reporting injuries. He stated that teams needed to be more specific in their diagnosis, and issued a warning about the repercussions of falsifying information.

During Week 4, Atlanta's Michael Vick suffered a leg injury versus Minnesota. Falcons coach Jim Mora Jr. then listed Vick as questionable the following Wednesday, prior to Atlanta's Week 5 meeting with New England. However, Vick didn't suit up for the game against the Patriots, drawing the ire of New England coach Bill Belichick.

The belief in the Patriots locker room was that Mora was intentionally trying to deceive them. By forcing the Pats to game plan against the one-of-a-kind Vick, Atlanta believed it gained an edge (they lost, 31-28). Mora - in a moment of either total honesty or complete stupidity - came out and admitted that he cheated the system.

"It's just trying to preserve a competitive advantage," Mora told Atlanta reporters. "If I give them an edge that I don't need to give them, then I think that is counter-productive to what our goal is."

The league, after watching a coach blatantly ignore their rules and guidelines, did nothing.

In a not-so-subtle attempt to mock the NFL, Belichick listed 15 players as probable on the injury report before New England's Week 6 game at Denver. Among the players initially on the list were Richard Seymour and Troy Brown, neither of whom even traveled with the team. Belichick was being a tremendous baby and hypocrite, since he is notorious for manipulating and concealing information on his injury reports.

Another example occurred when Chicago voiced concern after Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel - a former Belichick assistant - failed to report receiver Braylon Edwards as out on Saturday when he was hospitalized with an infection in his arm. Crennel, a first-year coach, claimed that he was unaware that he had to report changes on Saturdays, too. The league was investigating that bold-faced lie, and deciding whether or not to fine the team.
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CloakNNNdagger said:
This is the offseason but we will soon re-enter the "Injury Spin Zone" where things are not what they seem. We, here on the board, are not the only ones miffed and frustrated by the lack of reliable information. Apparently, coaches play games with the system without really worrying about any league consequences in a toothless system. I came across this extensive article from USA TODAY posted the end of 2007.

NFL Injury List Afflicted By Doubts
Coaches and Fans Can't Tell Who's Really Hurt

Most of us will remember repeatedly tearing our hair out over this situation highlighted in this article:



The many examples presented of different coaches' approaches to "screwing the pooch" have been quite ingenious though equally disingenuous...........oh, and of course, very "entertaining" to follow.

Quoting another source for some older examples of overt abuse (which has not evidently changed much over the years):
Click to expand...

It only bugs me when I'm trying to decide who to sit and who to start on my fantasy football team. A couple of years ago I had Brian Westbrook. The Eagles' injury reports on him drove me NUTS!
 
Non issue for me. Injuries are injuries and everyone's got 'em whether they are listed properly or not. Nobody thought Tom Brady was going to play, you know what I mean? Of course he was listed 'out' but getting bent out of shape over 'how hurt' a guy might be when you're preparing for a team is just kind of...cruel.
 
mancunian said:
Yeah, Tom Brady was always on there with a dodgy shoulder
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Yeah, I think he's been on the injury report with that shoulder since the mid-80's.

It's a good thing we were sneaky with the Green injury before that Charger game. Otherwise, they would've hung a 50 burger on us instead of a measly 25 points. :rolleyes:
 
Good thread.

I personally think it's dumb for a team to prepare certain ways for the sake of who is or isn't playing on the opponent's team for that week.

Seems like a lot of wasted time and energy. Shouldn't a team just prepare as if the whole roster, on the opponent's side, is going to play. And be done with it already? LOL.

This is just some people on a coaching staff looking for ways to look smarter than the others (via the doctoring of the doctor's reports), and this is about some teams falling for the ploy and getting caught up in what the injury reports say.

If there's THAT much concern over how a team is listing its players, shouldn't teams distrust the opponent's injury list and just go ahead and prepare for the game as if the best players are going to play? Reminds me of those elaborate home-made contraptions--a bowling ball falls off a phone book, rolls down a track, hits a boot that's swiveling on a rod, and the boot kicks the first dominoe, and the dominoes tumble over and the last dominoe hits the button on the TV remote and it turns on the TV...and the guy is standing there, smiling and so proud of himself. Instead of just using the remote control, the guy fills the entire floor space of his apartment with the contraption!

Only in America!
 
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