Fractured

Posted: December 14th, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Fractured

The weirdest Eagles season in recent memory got even weirder on Thursday.

Gulp.

This sounds really scary. Turns out that it may not be as terrible as it sounds.

Before you think Ross is nuts…a fracture can heal. And this doesn’t require surgery. A disk issue is much trickier to heal.

I didn’t realize this, but Wentz isn’t alone among QBs with this injury. Derek Carr and Tony Romo had this problem and missed little to no time.

I’m not being delusional. Wentz having a fractured vertebrae is serious news. That’s the heart and soul of your franchise and he’s got a back injury. If not treated properly, back injuries can linger and cause all kinds of problems.

This news also brings additional scrutiny on the Eagles medical staff. They were looking into Wentz’s back in October when he first started having problems. They never saw any fractures so he kept on playing. This time around, CT scans did show the break. Was it there the whole time? Did they miss it or did it just take time for the break to happen? These are important questions.

I couldn’t help but think of this scene from Top Secret!, the great 80’s comedy.

Such a good movie.

It feels like that could be Doug Pederson and the medical staff talking about a player.

“Coach, his leg isn’t healing. We are putting him on IR.”

“Okay. Just make sure you let me know his status for this week.”

To be fair, I think the vast majority of these injuries are purely bad luck. And boy have they come in droves this year. If you follow sports long enough, you see this happen every so often. Guys just go down, left and right.

The fact that multiple players have stayed out longer than expected isn’t a good look. Part of the problem there is the organization’s sudden love of ridiculously vague injury reports. I know you want to keep info from other teams, but instead of gaining a strategic advantage, you’re creating credibility issues with fans and the media. Quit with the silly games.

There are some legit questions for the medical staff. Jay Ajayi going back into a game with a torn ACL. Derek Barnett’s shoulder injury that apparently was worse than they thought. And now this. As individual moments, they aren’t huge. But taken as a whole, that’s either the worst luck ever or there is legit fault with identifying some serious injuries.

The Eagles are not a cheap franchise. Jeffrey Lurie tries to give his team every advantage he can. This medical staff is new this year and I’m sure the change was seen as an improvement. Obviously that has to be questioned. The organization must study this issue in the offseason and figure out if anything needs to be done.

Players certainly have to have some doubts about the team’s medical staff.

Always get a second opinion, right? Feels a bit different in this case.

Where the heck is Dr. House when the Eagles need him?

*****

There are some former players ripping the Eagles medical staff.

The problem is that Emmanuel Acho and Earl Wolff played under Chip Kelly and dealt with a different staff.

That doesn’t dismiss their claims, but they do go against different people.

*****

I wonder what exciting news Friday will bring.

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