T.J.'s Tinted Visor

Mike Tomlin didn't know until today that T.J. Watt changed to a tinted visor

The NFL is still ducking questions about T.J. Watt seeming to play through a concussion Thursday night. Watt switched to a tinted visor after taking a knee to the face early in the Steelers' loss to the Patriots, which would indicate he was oversensitive to light. That is a symptom of a concussion, which should have put him in the concussion protocol immediately. Instead, Watt played the entire game, reported migraines immediately after it ended, and still did not enter the concussion protocol until Friday. Mike Tomlin is hiding behind ignorance on this one, claiming he didn't even know about the change in visor until Monday morning. Tomlin, the Steelers, and the NFL as a whole are still taking the approach of sticking their heads in the sand regarding the issue of brain injuries in football and it's going to get someone killed.

Don't get me wrong. I hope Watt and Highsmith are healthy enough to play Saturday, but the Steelers should know better. They have seen the long-term effect of brain injuries on former players like Mike Webster, Terry Long, and Justin Strzezlczyk. They went through the trauma of Ryan Shazier's injury. Playing with concussion is extremely dangerous and can't be allowed to happen.

I don't buy for a second that Mike Tomlin didn't know about the the possible concussion. There is no way in hell he didn't know about the change in the visor until Monday. Coaches are control freaks, even relatively loose ones like Tomlin.

 

Tomlin has bent the truth before.

Well Golly gee coach I guess you didn't know then

 

It supposed to be out of the players or HC hands at some point, but we know how that goes. Even with the investigation last year when Tua went down and still played, nothing will change until someone gets instantly and long term injured, or they have to pay out huge money. yes steps have been taken, but there should be no discussion, if he goes to the tent he is out until he is cleared at a responsible health care facility.

 

Particulalry for that injury. Replays clearly showed a knee to the jaw area. Hey TJ you have a glass jaw, come one man. LOL. I'm just kidding but changing a visor for really no reason other than sensitivity to light should have been a huge red flag. Even the players todays who have seen enough CTE **** to know I gotta take a knee if you will and drop out of this game. No way he should have been allowed back in the game when he requested a dark visor.

 

The league already had to agree to a huge settlement with former players. Of course, they screwed them on the initial deal, then made it damn near impossible to collect. The league won't handle this right unless they are somehow forced to do so. They do not care about player safety. They wouldn't have pushed to a 17-game regular season if they did. There would be real teeth in their concussion protocols if they did. As it is, if I remember correctly, teams aren't even fined for violating the rules until the third offense, and even then, it is a slap on the wrist.

Part of the reason is the league doesn't want to acknowledge that there is a problem. They don't want to talk about the dangers of playing the game. Part is that they really don't give a damn about the players as human beings. They don't care or don't want to think about the long-term costs of playing football. They also don't want to do more because it would mean teams holding each other accountable. Unless a team or owner is cheating or stealing money from the other owners, the owners have no stomach for holding each other accountable.

That leaves it up to the teams to do the right thing, and they have every motivation to let players stay on the field. The league doesn't care. The players want to play. The fans want the players to play. The coaches want their best players out there to help them win. Everybody gets what they want, but the player's long-term health is put in jeopardy. Even their lives are at risk.

Players are no better. There is a long history of looking down on teammates who admit to concussion symptoms. The one time I had a problem with Hines Ward was when he criticized Roethlisberger for admitting to headaches, which caused him to miss a game against the Ravens. Ward said he had hidden concussion symptoms many times. He threw his teammate under the bus and offered a terrible role model for young players in that moment. I was very disappointed in him.

 

Exactly. He wasn't hit in the eye, so what other reason could there be than a concussion causing light sensitivity?

 

Could it be as simple as his visor got damaged during the hit and as long as they were changing it he said hey the lights are a little brighter than I anticipated so put the tinted one on?
He’s wore it in the past. Also don’t you have to have a prescription or permission from the league to wear a tinted visor?

 

I don't know about the requirements to wear a tinted visor. If it was as simple as you suggest, why wouldn't they have said that when Tomlin was asked about it Tuesday? If they had an valid explanation like that, they would have shared it.

 

some 70's steeler games have been popping up on my YT feed. Seeing the casualness of how they announced and treated concussions and other injuries is very telling. One game was out of reach and Brad threw a TD to Jim Smith, his first and was a 2nd year player, so it was special. Brad was lying on the turf in tremendous pain, on review a LB drove into his knees with helmet. No flag, and it was certainly a late hit. Another was when I think Swann was clearly out of it, they even said concussion, smelling salts and back in. So yes the game has changed a bit, and for these very reasons, and despite players saying they know and accept the risks, there has to be protocol to protect the player from himself, coaches and yes owners. If they do not do this themselves, the evolution of medicine will catch up, and there just might not be a game we even recognize.

 

Even if you argue that players know the risks, it is important to remember that a person who has suffered a concussion is operating at a diminished mental capacity. They are incapable of deciding whether they can continue or not.

 

Even in the '80s and '90s, most people had no clue about concussions. They had no idea how dangerous they are, especially second impact syndrome. According to the National Institute of Health, "Second impact syndrome (SIS), also known as repetitive head injury syndrome, describes a condition in which individual experiences a second head injury before complete recovery from an initial head injury." The chances of a player suffering permanent brain injury or death rise dramatically in those instances.

 

in some ways its asking a person who has been drinking if they are OK to drive. For me I won;t even sniff a beer and drive, lol, but that person is in no way able to make that determination...they often do and the result is not pretty. Just hearing guys in their 40's stating how they are even now affected should be enough to take this more seriously.

 

Not sure but I read on this board that the Players wanted the 17 game schedule??????? You are right in what you're saying. IMO the NFL is in trouble. Today's parents see what goes on. The smart ones will steer their kids to less violent sports. I heard one guy say that 20 years from now Soccer will be #3 sport in our country. I can see this happening. I know you can get hurt in any sport but the size and speed of the players coming into the NFL is dangerous.

 

I don’t think it’s that big of a deal really. Seems like someone is looking for something that’s not there. I mean Tomlin supposed to know that someone changed to a tinted visor while he’s trying to manage 60+ people during a game?

 

After Ohtani's contract, they'll be steering them towards baseball!

 

He knew about the visor as soon as he went to it IMO and should be fired for putting his own career above the career of TJ. Tomin is a sad sack IMO. He and DJ should carpool TF out of town.

 

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profo...l-changes-visor-rule-after-oakley-sponsorship
this sheds, a little light on the rule, although it’s from a few years ago. Looks like you still need to have a medical exemption to wear the dark visor, which to me would suggest that TJ must have that medical clearance.

 

so Tomlin is supposed to be keeping track of what visor players are wearing now? TJ has worn the dark visor before.
Apparently he was checked out in the blue tent by the medical staff and cleared. So why does Tomlin need to be worried about it then?

 

I'm no Tomlin fan to say the least, but you can't put that one on him. The doctor cleared him (as reported anyway), so you have to go with your best player if he gets the green light

 

The Coach has no say on if the player is cleared to play or not.

 

The coach can hear or see that he's using a visor and say no way. Either he knew and he's a POS or he didn't know and he's an idiot. Almost every other coach is very hands on when a player gets hurt.

 

What difference does it make what visor he’s wearing?

 

Soccer is recognized by many countries as a peaceful sport the entire family can enjoy.

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TJ is going full Silverback now!