Opinion: Forcier should sit this week out

Agreed. The Gladwell article is an eye opener. The mental conditions these football players sustain due to football are just abhorrent. That's the rub - we love football, but we don't have to live with the consequences. I fear for what Troy Aikman and Steve Young will have to deal with mentally when they are in their 50s and 60s.

On to Tate, there is no reason he should play this weekend. He should be allowed 13 days to heal his body (so, too, should Minor and Brown). Michigan, with the talent on the field, should be able to defeat Delaware State with Jack Kennedy handing the ball off 80 times on Saturday.

dude's brains are more important than any football game.

I think the team physicians and trainers know a lot more about the medical issues than we do, so I wouldn't presume to advise them on whether Forcier should play vs. Delaware State.

Regardless of whether he plays, I do believe we're going to see quite a bit of Denard Robinson.

I agree. I don't think that there is a reason good enough to risk Tate suffering further injury in this contest. If we can't beat Del. State with Denard than we have serious issues. Give Tate time to heal mentally and physically. If he can go into the penn state game healthy and fresh I think we have a good chance at an upset. Also, this will get Denard some much needed experience that would go along way if Tate goes down for an extended period. Denard has all the tools, he just needs game time experience so he can learn how to manage the game and the pressure and he won't get that in practice or in the 4 or 5 snaps he takes in the games. I hope he starts and goes the distance....and looks good doing it.

Just watched the 60 Minutes on concussions on CBS...
Tate should sit vs. DelSt (a 1-3 FCS team and hardly the horrible risk that AppSt was), even the Messiah couldn't read a week after he got his concussion. I'd much rather have fully rested Tate, CBrown, and Molk back for PSU. IMO, we should put Denard in there and have him either run that last TD scoring drive offense or have him throw to get him comfortable and not throwing ridiculous interceptions...

if we were playing Penn State this week and not next? Fortunately we don't have to answer that question.

Basically the same thing without OMG EYEBLACK messages.

http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2009/09/27/a-brief-note-on-tim-t...

I agree.

But if they're going to put him in, I hope they put him in a sort of max-protect and let him work on his reads without getting beat up. Tell him if the pressure starts to come just chuck it.

While I never want anyone to get hurt, I think we have a unique opportunity this week which we should take advantage of. Normally, a coach handles young QBs very carefully, as that position seems more sensitive to injured egos than the others. That makes it hard to get your backup QB serious practice or laying time, as it can leave your starter looking over his shoulder. (Thankfully, Tate and Denard seem to be handling this situation fine, so I am speaking in generalities.)

But, now Coach has an excuse to keep Forcier out for a whole week, giving Denard every 1st-team snap in practice and the whole game. And it's a game against a team, as said above, we should be able to beat with 80 Kennedy-to-Shaw handoffs, if necessary. So here's a chance to really prepare Denard, give him some great practice and game-time work, all without much effect upon Forcier's ego (if that's even an issue).

So, I'd prefer to see Tate sit for the week. If I see him for more than a quarter on Saturday, I'll be bummed.

Even if Tate is cleared to play and starts, I doubt you see him play much beyond the first quarter and do much more than handoff or play action pass. If he ad libs and scrambles, I'll bet he gets yanked immediately. Hopefully, by the start of the 2nd quarter, we have a couple TD lead and Denard can come in for some quality reps.

and youth football. The reason why i say that is youth football you have to have a doctors ok to play again. The youth team that i coach for just had a kid come back from a very nasty concussion after 2 weeks after being cleared. i think the coaches know more than any of us do along with their doctors, so lets let them decided.

I doubt the concussion is that serious, more of a bell rung type of thing. That being said, I agree that if there is any risk to his health, then he should not play.

Whether he is "injured" or not I wouldn't want him to play more than a half of the game. Even the half that he is in I'd like him to rotate series with Denard.

We should be able to win this game handily with or without Tate.

I'd give him headphones and a clipboard and let him watch a full game from the sidelines this week; something he hasn't done. D Rob and Sheridan are prepared to run the offense this week.

Would my answer be different if the opponent were Penn St? I think not; seems like I went through a similar mental exercise two years ago when Henne was injured against Oregon. Mallet started against ND and PSU and won both. It seems sometimes that adversity brings out the best in a team; knowing that the leader will be sidelined causes increased focus during practice and in the game.

It might have been here, or it could have been one of the papers down here, but I do remember reading or hearing an opinion that Urban Meyer blew it on Saturday night by playing Tim Tebow. Why? Because he could have sat in the living room of every recruit for the rest of his caoching career and told his parents that thet well-being of not only Tim Tebow, but any player, including their son, is more important than winning a football game. And he obviously would have had proof that he had "put his money where his mouth was."

RR has the same opportunity this week. And there is no way Denard Robinson loses to Delaware State. As I posted in other threads, and many have posted in this thread, I would rest him because of the shoulder and concussion. Play it safe on the concussion and let the shoulder get a little bit better for the rest of the season.

Is pretty damn disturbing. I wonder if I'll feel obligated to give up watching football someday. That would really, really suck.

(A side note: as someone who's had 3 concussions: thanks for making we worry about tau and dementia, Malcolm.)

This is not a bad idea. Let Tate practice in the Red non-contact jersey so he gets his reps to stay sharp...but put Robinson in there to start and have Nick Sheridan back him up.

Dont get too fancy, run the ball, win the game and then prep for Penn State.

Tate should sit this one out. He needs to be as close
to %100 for PSU as possible. He needs to rehab and work
the shoulder, I had an AC joint injury and it is not
only painful, the shoulder fatigues easily. He should get
the inflammation out. Getting banged around won't help.

There really is no such thing as a minor concussion. It's a serious injury. Honestly, you could make a case that he should be out for a few weeks, but at the least, he should be given a 7-10 days off.

Honestly, I don't really understand what this argument is about.

No matter who we're playing:

- If he isn't medically cleared to play, obviously he shouldn't.

- If he is medically cleared to play, why not play him? If a doctor thinks he's able to play and not be at increased medical risk, why wouldn't he? If he shouldn't be playing, for medical reasons, it's incumbent upon the doctor to say so... we as fans aren't in any sort of position to second guess the doctor, who has specialized knowledge most of us lack, and familiarity w/ Tate's case that all of us lack.... To say that he should be held out even if medically cleared, to make a statement to HS players is honestly silly. Doing what is right when it needs to be done is what makes a statement. Doing something that doesn't need to be done just to make a statement ends up ringing hollow.

From a non-medical standpoint, and a strictly football standpoint, I think Denard should start and Tate and Denard should split the reps about 50-50, plus or minus 5-10%. That's a good way to show some confidence in Denard, give Tate some rest, but also not put too much pressure on Denard.

E-PINION

Basically did sit it out!