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Posted on Sun, Sep. 25, 2005
Phil Sheridan | McNabb takes his shots, but no needle
Very big deal here. The Eagles with an injured Mcnabb are just not the same.
By Phil Sheridan
Inquirer Sports Columnist
Donovan McNabb embraced the pain. Eagles fans are going to have to do the same.
This is how it's going to be, for now and maybe for the rest of this season. McNabb is going to play through the mysterious injury that limits his mobility and affects his passing, and the injury probably is going to linger as long as he plays.
It's a groin injury. Or an abdominal strain. Or a sports hernia. Or little gremlins in the quarterback's tummy.
It's fitting that McNabb may have a sports hernia. The online definitions refer to it as "vague." In that spirit, the Eagles were suitably vague about McNabb's injury.
McNabb wasn't even on coach Andy Reid's standard news conference-opening injury report.
"He was a little tight in the pelvis area," Reid said Sunday afternoon, providing a straight line that can't be fully exploited in a family newspaper.
But is it a sports hernia?
"There's a strain there in the abdominal area," Reid said. "That's what it is right now."
"I've heard a lot of things," McNabb offered. He confirmed that he was getting outside medical advice as well as consulting with the Eagles' staff.
In terms that are neither too technical nor too icky, a sports hernia is a tear in the abdominal wall that is caused by sudden movements or twisting motions common in sports. It affects the same area as a normal, couch potato-type of hernia, but may not show up on standard tests.
OK, one icky point that should be made so we can understand the gravity of what McNabb may be facing. According to WebMD.com, "abdominal contents" (read: guts) can poke through the tear in the abdominal wall.
Shudder.
Now maybe you can understand why McNabb looked older than Brett Favre trying to move around and throw yesterday. It hurt. A lot.
"I was rushing things," McNabb said. "I was trying to get the ball out quicker, using all upper body. I wasn't using my legs at all... . The ball was in my hands, but I couldn't get it to where I wanted it to go."
McNabb took a couple of hits that left him in obvious pain. When he tried to run, the field suddenly was all uphill. Koy Detmer warmed up at one point, and Reid acknowledged that he came close to making the switch.
He didn't, which brings us to the code that governs Reid and his players. If McNabb can play, he plays. Period.
"You have coaches trusting players and players trusting coaches," Detmer said. "Donovan's one of the toughest competitors I've ever been around, maybe the toughest."
McNabb has played on a broken ankle. He played through torn rib cartilage in the NFC championship loss to Carolina until it was physically impossible. He played through that nagging thumb injury a couple of years ago.
"You've got to communicate with him," Reid said. "He's pretty straightforward. Certain guys you can talk to about those things and they will tell you... if they can go or not."
This is all great rah-rah, macho stuff. Football is a tough sport and it is doubtless inspiring to other players when they see a QB playing hurt. It rallies his offensive linemen and cranks his defensive teammates' intensity up a notch.
But there is another issue here. If taking a few weeks off to rest would allow McNabb to heal and be more effective later in the year, including the postseason, then that's just the smart move. Making this thing worse week after week until he's severely hampered or needs surgery? That's not so smart.
"Time should help," Reid said, "but there's not a lot of time."
"It's hard to weigh it," McNabb said. "If it's a possibility [to play without making it worse], then I'll be out there on the field. If I can damage it worse, you would have to think about your decision."
And there it is. He wouldn't sit. He'd merely have to think about it.
"I just love the game," McNabb said. "I love being out there with those guys."
So he went out in the second half determined to run and to throw with his full motion, no matter how much it hurt.
Second half: McNabb completed 19 of 28 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns. And he ran the drive that ended with David Akers' dramatic winning field goal.
And no, he didn't get a shot to numb the pain. He embraced the pain.
"I don't personally believe in shots," McNabb said. "If I have to chew on nails, I think my teeth are strong enough where I can chew on some nails."
There's no doubting McNabb has a lot of guts. You just hope they stay where they belong, behind that abdominal wall.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post a question or comment for Phil Sheridan at http://go.philly.com/asksheridan. Or by email: psheridan@phillynews.com.
Phil Sheridan | McNabb takes his shots, but no needle
Very big deal here. The Eagles with an injured Mcnabb are just not the same.
By Phil Sheridan
Inquirer Sports Columnist
Donovan McNabb embraced the pain. Eagles fans are going to have to do the same.
This is how it's going to be, for now and maybe for the rest of this season. McNabb is going to play through the mysterious injury that limits his mobility and affects his passing, and the injury probably is going to linger as long as he plays.
It's a groin injury. Or an abdominal strain. Or a sports hernia. Or little gremlins in the quarterback's tummy.
It's fitting that McNabb may have a sports hernia. The online definitions refer to it as "vague." In that spirit, the Eagles were suitably vague about McNabb's injury.
McNabb wasn't even on coach Andy Reid's standard news conference-opening injury report.
"He was a little tight in the pelvis area," Reid said Sunday afternoon, providing a straight line that can't be fully exploited in a family newspaper.
But is it a sports hernia?
"There's a strain there in the abdominal area," Reid said. "That's what it is right now."
"I've heard a lot of things," McNabb offered. He confirmed that he was getting outside medical advice as well as consulting with the Eagles' staff.
In terms that are neither too technical nor too icky, a sports hernia is a tear in the abdominal wall that is caused by sudden movements or twisting motions common in sports. It affects the same area as a normal, couch potato-type of hernia, but may not show up on standard tests.
OK, one icky point that should be made so we can understand the gravity of what McNabb may be facing. According to WebMD.com, "abdominal contents" (read: guts) can poke through the tear in the abdominal wall.
Shudder.
Now maybe you can understand why McNabb looked older than Brett Favre trying to move around and throw yesterday. It hurt. A lot.
"I was rushing things," McNabb said. "I was trying to get the ball out quicker, using all upper body. I wasn't using my legs at all... . The ball was in my hands, but I couldn't get it to where I wanted it to go."
McNabb took a couple of hits that left him in obvious pain. When he tried to run, the field suddenly was all uphill. Koy Detmer warmed up at one point, and Reid acknowledged that he came close to making the switch.
He didn't, which brings us to the code that governs Reid and his players. If McNabb can play, he plays. Period.
"You have coaches trusting players and players trusting coaches," Detmer said. "Donovan's one of the toughest competitors I've ever been around, maybe the toughest."
McNabb has played on a broken ankle. He played through torn rib cartilage in the NFC championship loss to Carolina until it was physically impossible. He played through that nagging thumb injury a couple of years ago.
"You've got to communicate with him," Reid said. "He's pretty straightforward. Certain guys you can talk to about those things and they will tell you... if they can go or not."
This is all great rah-rah, macho stuff. Football is a tough sport and it is doubtless inspiring to other players when they see a QB playing hurt. It rallies his offensive linemen and cranks his defensive teammates' intensity up a notch.
But there is another issue here. If taking a few weeks off to rest would allow McNabb to heal and be more effective later in the year, including the postseason, then that's just the smart move. Making this thing worse week after week until he's severely hampered or needs surgery? That's not so smart.
"Time should help," Reid said, "but there's not a lot of time."
"It's hard to weigh it," McNabb said. "If it's a possibility [to play without making it worse], then I'll be out there on the field. If I can damage it worse, you would have to think about your decision."
And there it is. He wouldn't sit. He'd merely have to think about it.
"I just love the game," McNabb said. "I love being out there with those guys."
So he went out in the second half determined to run and to throw with his full motion, no matter how much it hurt.
Second half: McNabb completed 19 of 28 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns. And he ran the drive that ended with David Akers' dramatic winning field goal.
And no, he didn't get a shot to numb the pain. He embraced the pain.
"I don't personally believe in shots," McNabb said. "If I have to chew on nails, I think my teeth are strong enough where I can chew on some nails."
There's no doubting McNabb has a lot of guts. You just hope they stay where they belong, behind that abdominal wall.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post a question or comment for Phil Sheridan at http://go.philly.com/asksheridan. Or by email: psheridan@phillynews.com.
