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Giants Targeted Player with History of Concussions

Lanky Livingston

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This is terrible, and I'm not sure why the media isn't covering it. Well, I know why ESPN isn't covering it, because they suck. But why isn't anyone else?
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Why The Giants Targeted A Player Prone To Concussions
The day after a conference championship game, there is an avalanche of coverage, usually sticking to the main storylines. But other than this New York Magazine story, it's odd that no one had made much of a fuss over two Giants saying they specifically targeted Kyle Williams because he had a history of concussions. And maybe, just maybe, that ruthless game plan played a part in Williams's two backbreaking fumbles.

Jacquian Williams, who forced the ball loose on the overtime fumble, told assembled media that "we knew he had four concussions, so that was our biggest thing, was to take him out of the game."

Devin Thomas, who recovered both fumbles, told the Star-Ledger "he's had a lot of concussions. We were just like, 'We gotta put a hit on that guy.' [Tyler] Sash did a great job hitting him early and he looked kind of dazed when he got up. I feel like that made a difference and he coughed it up."

We can debate all day how much of a role first-half hits played in second-half gaffes. As a return man, if you're not dazed at the end of a game featuring 12 Giants punts and 4 kickoffs, you've been doing something wrong. But it's hard to get away from the implication that in a league obsessed with concussions, concussions were being exploited for field position.

There are two ways to read the Giants' words, and they're not mutually exclusive. One is that to the Giants, Williams's concussion history served as prima facie evidence that he's soft, or fragile (and this tells you more about how pro athletes view concussions than anything else), and could be intimidated or rattled with a clean, solid hit. The second is that there was a concerted effort to hit a player where it hurts: in the brain function. Not only might Williams have shied away from a helmet-smashing tackle, but he might've been knocked out of the game altogether.

NY Mag wonders if the fact that no beat writers are talking about it means that it's a commonplace tactic. I don't know if anyone would admit it in so many words, but it would be dumb to think otherwise. If a strategy is effective and within the rules and you don't utilize it, you're probably not the most successful football team. And it's naive to pretend that players have some sort of ethical obligation not to target the soft spongy neural tissue of others. They've already shown they play with no regard for their own long-term health, so to expect them to look out for each other is asking too much.

Click the link for the rest.
 
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kr24G8jQpM[/media]
 
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kr24G8jQpM[/media]

I see your "Sweep the Leg" and raise you "Sweep the Leg:"

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFlQNtL8F9s[/media]
 
Brutal if true. The NFL is going to have a serious problem on their hands soon.
 
I would expect our team to exploit a weakness on the opposing team too.

I blame the 9ers for putting him out there. It's not like the genius did not have enough time to coach up another skill position player with good hands to field punts and just fair catch.
 
I think every team targets weaknesses on the other team and while I don't condone trying to give an opposing player a concussion, I expect my team to be aware of the other teams vulnerable spots and work to exploit those.
 
I think every team targets weaknesses on the other team and while I don't condone trying to give an opposing player a concussion, I expect my team to be aware of the other teams vulnerable spots and work to exploit those.

So you'd be okay with Danny Smith instructing his players to try and make an oft-concussed player woozy? I don't think that would sit well with me, to be honest. Then again, that opens the discussion about whether or not he should even be out there in the first place, but that's another thread.
 
So you'd be okay with Danny Smith instructing his players to try and make an oft-concussed player woozy? I don't think that would sit well with me, to be honest. Then again, that opens the discussion about whether or not he should even be out there in the first place, but that's another thread.

I did say that I don't condone trying to give an opposing player a concussion.

Frankly, I think it is the goal of most defensive and special teams players to make someone woozy on nearly every play. How is this news?
 
Jacquian Williams said:
that was our biggest thing, was to take him out of the game.

I could never support that. Hit the guy. Hit him as violently as you can. But if you're going to admit to some bull**** like that, you'll get NO respect from me.
 
If the NFL is really serious about reducing the instances of concussion to players, there is only one thing to do, and that is to take away the weapon of choice - the helmets.

Without a helmet, this should sort out the players from the thugs!

Without a helmet, concussions will still happen, but they won't be caused by a deliberate act.
 
This morning on Mike and Mike a Giants fan attempted to blast Mike Golic for his POV by saying the giants would never target injured players and was smacked down when Golic brought up the comments posted by the OP.
 

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