My biggest concern in the CW is handling Stephen Paea. That said, does anyone else find what OS is doing with his knee a bit unethical? According to media reports, he has had two cortisone shots in two weeks, and it sounds like he will get a third before the Civil War. Is Mike Riley risking Paea's NFL future by pumping his injured knee full of cortisone? Is Paea actually making his knee worse while it feels better on the the cortisone? I also heard Riley is considering playing Brennon Olander, torn pectoral and all. Is Riley in panic mode so far that he is risking the health of his NFL talent?
Good questions... Really, I would think MR has consulted with medical/training staff and the player too to arrive at a decision. From what I know about MR, he's pro-player. Paea is a beast and Oregon won't have any problems running by and around him! Go Ducks!
I hope not. I fully understand the emotions surrounding this game, and I'm sure the kids want to play, but sometimes the coach has to look out for their best interests.
I dunno. Sometimes you have to protect players from themselves. If he has structural damage, then he could make the injury worse.
They don't think about that at that age. You know how football is.... tough it out. Be a man. Walk it off..... all that macho bullshit.
He's a potential 1st rounder. It'd be a shame if the injury worsened and caused him to get surgery. It would cost him millions.
That's what I am getting at by asking this. Cortisone shots 3 weeks in a row for a first-round NFL guy playing on a 5-6 team? Not only can he fuck up his knee more, but the risk of long-term liver damage with that much cortisone in that short of a period isn't something to scoff at. I get what Nate is saying about players wanting to play; at that point, it is up to a coach or a doctor to make the decision for them. Pumping a player full of a steroid (yes, cortisone is a steroid, it's just not anabolic) to get him on the field just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I hope I'm wrong and Paea gets the first-round money he deserves, but man, part of me wonders what's going on in Corvallis. Olander practiced yesterday with a torn pectoral, and Halahuni is "day-to-day" after getting concussed last Saturday. I understand that "last Civil War" mentality, but if it means risking long-term injury or health problems, I just wonder if the players' best interests are being taken into account.
Some interesting info on the use of cortisone to treat an acute injury. Keep in mind that it has been reported that Paea has received a shot before the last two games, and says he'll get another this week. http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/drugs_doping/a/aa102700a.htm
Like I said, these guys are young and they don't understand the gravity of their decisions in the long term. It's obvious that the coaches and training staff are willing to mortgage his future to win an unimportant game though.
Get the shots and get out their and kick some ass. It's his last Civil War, he aint gonna miss it! Ducks can double team him because the rest of our defense sucks ass.
