More inconsistencies in McMullen's TJ article, from bostonsportsmedia.com

[WestPat]

Belichick doesnt let the media bother him. He could care less about these Globe morons(with a few exceptions in the bunch of idiots).

well..it time to change that, because some of the mud is starting to stick, BB should start responding, and not to the Globe or ESPN hacks, but to more respectable journalist.
His image is part of the Patriot's image, and he and the organization should start defending it.

 

[vyrago]

Belichick doesnt let the media bother him. He could care less about these Globe morons(with a few exceptions in the bunch of idiots).

He may not let the Globe writers bother him, but they certainly can make his life miserable by promulgating unproven allegations.

Our good friend Borges in his online chat yesterday stated in response to a question about Belichick's responsibility for TJ's situation, " If Ted's story is true, and it is clear to me that it is, he bears a lot of responsibility."

He then goes on to absolve Johnson and the trainers of any responsibility--it is all big, bad, Bill.

Later in the chat someone asked him about his appearance on Felger's show where both he and Felger seemed to be suggesting that the Patriots were negligent for not signing Johnson after Seau went down. He replied, "That was Mike...I never felt that way because I was aware he had problems, as was the team. Frankly, I thought it was the ravings of a guy out of touch with his reality... ."

Well which is it Ronnie, is TJ a clear-sighted chronicler of his abuse at team hands or a raving madman. I guess his opinion varies depending on whether he can slime Belichick or not.

 

[LloydBraun]

I feel for Johnson, his life seems to be falling apart in a hurry. I also feel that concussions in sports are a big problem, esp. football and hockey.

BUT, unfortunately, I think the media (NY Times and The Globe), are pushing this to slamm Belichick and the organization.

The media can always say, " this is an issue that needs to be addressed." But, deep down, I believe this is as much a shot at the team and BB as anything.

Over the last few years, I have started reading the Herald first, then I read the Globe for Reiss. I only check anything else on the Globe if it is a big story, such as the Helton talks.

I was a fan of Ted Johnson's, but this guy has gone downhill. The league has to create some sort of system to help these guys adapt to life without football. It must be tough to lose that adrenaline rush, lose that controlled violence and being part of a team "fighting" for a cause.

When you leave those things behind and then take a job once a week as an analysts or whatever, it must be tough. That causes some players to fill that void with alcohol and drugs. It can also lead to depressed feelings, especially when there is drugs/alcohol involved.

We need to consider the source here. A man, down on his luck, depressed, using drugs, talking to a media member with an agenda.

Again, I feel for Ted and pray for his recovery, but come on. The Globe and NY Times needs to be held accountable also.

If I were an athlete in Boston, I would enjoy mind-@#$%ing Mac Mullen, Shaughnessy and Borges during interviews. I think Belichick likes it as well.

 

[PATSNUTme]

I love TJ but anything he says now should be taken within the context of his condition. He is not a well man. I hope that he is able to get proprer treatment and the right medication so he can live his life normally. He is still a young man with many years ahead of him.

If he should get the right treatment and medication, I'll be interested to see what he has to say then. Right now the media should be ashamed of themselves (again) for taking what TJ is saying now and treating it like the gospel.

 

[belichickaholic]

He may not let the Globe writers bother him, but they certainly can make his life miserable by promulgating unproven allegations.

Our good friend Borges in his online chat yesterday stated in response to a question about Belichick's responsibility for TJ's situation, " If Ted's story is true, and it is clear to me that it is, he bears a lot of responsibility."

He then goes on to absolve Johnson and the trainers of any responsibility--it is all big, bad, Bill.

Later in the chat someone asked him about his appearance on Felger's show where both he and Felger seemed to be suggesting that the Patriots were negligent for not signing Johnson after Seau went down. He replied, "That was Mike...I never felt that way because I was aware he had problems, as was the team. Frankly, I thought it was the ravings of a guy out of touch with his reality... ."

Well which is it Ronnie, is TJ a clear-sighted chronicler of his abuse at team hands or a raving madman. I guess his opinion varies depending on whether he can slime Belichick or not.

Great Post!! And you know what gets me? Is that Borges really couldn't give two sh*ts about Ted Johnson. It's all about bashing Bill and turning the players against him. Which is worrysome to me because according to Borges, he is great friends with Seymour and has his ear.

Borges is such a slime, I hope Seymour is smart enough to see through his act. And I wish Belichick would sue the Globe for defamation of character.

 

[PonyExpress]

Here is another issue not addressed in McMullen's article: "Post-concussion syndrome" itself.

"Many researchers doubt the existence of PCS and attribute symptoms to psychological or social factors such as patients' expectations that they will experience these symptoms.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=15171738
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17064443

Malingering may be suspected, especially in cases involving litigation or other potential gain for the patient.
http://psy.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/46/3/195

Also, symptoms may be psychogenic, that is, they may be a result of the patient's psychological or emotional state, rather than a physiological phenomenon.
http://medicina.kmu.lt/0506/0506-01e.pdf

It is widely believed that physiological factors are responsible for early symptoms that occur after mild head trauma, whereas symptoms that occur later are due to psychological factors.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17064443

PCS is more prevalent in patients who had psychiatric symptoms, such as depression or anxiety, before the injury.http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tbi/detail_tbi.htm

Another reason that PCS is a controversial diagnosis is that its symptoms may manifest spontaneously in the general population; thus the syndrome may be diagnosed in a patient who is actually healthy. Symptoms that can be indicative of post-concussion syndrome occur spontaneously in the general population of young, healthy adults at a fairly high rate.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=16765018

In addition, symptoms of PCS may actually be caused by other conditions."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-concussion_syndrome#_note-wang

Something about the above information could and should have been alluded to in McMullen's article. It was not, because it would have muddied the waters, clouding the morality tale she and TJ were trying to foist on the public.

 

[unoriginal]

Just because it might be related to factors above and beyond simple blunt trauma does not mean that PCS is not a "syndrome." Consider shell shock, which is both caused by concussive trauma and by psychological distress.

 

[PonyExpress]

Just because it might be related to factors above and beyond simple blunt trauma does not mean that PCS is not a "syndrome." Consider shell shock, which is both caused by concussive trauma and by psychological distress.

The point is, the diagnosis itself is highly controversial, which was never alluded to in the article.

 

[unoriginal]

Basically what it comes down to is that correlation does not equal causation, but I'm not going to blame McMullen just because she sees PCS as the whole diagnosis instead of just part of it. After all, she's not writing a medical article, she's writing a hatchet job.

 

[PatsMyBoyz!]

The point is, the diagnosis itself is highly controversial, which was never alluded to in the article.

Very interesting and great research! I hope pieces such as those come to the forefront, rebutting these allegations made by the scriptors of Patriotgate.

 

[PatsMyBoyz!]

Very interesting and great research! I hope pieces such as those come to the forefront, rebutting these allegations made by the scriptors of Patriotgate.

That said,none of this discounts the very real effects a career in the NFL can eventually have,especially on DL's.
BB/TJ/NYGlobe aside,my real hope is that the NFL's medical team sets some concrete parameters for known or suspected concussions i.e. length of time out,standardizing some sort of neurological or brain function test which players would be required to take periodically.
Football is a violent sport,the NFL states as much. Given that fact,the onus falls on that organization to provide some way of accurately assessing injuries other than broken bones and to cease turning a blind eye to steriod use and amphetime use.
I'm reminded of that recent article cited here on the use of amphetamines. It was heartbreaking. And in light of this? Downright chilling.
** This is the article/thread:http://www.patsfans.com/new-england-patriots/messageboard/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=321809

 

[unoriginal]

Interestingly enough it seems the Patriots have taken steps to reduce the incidences of concussion:
http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com/pressrelease.cfm?PRID=3537
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2314899

 

[DarrylS]

Smerlas and DeOssie were on EEI yesterday and talking about this stuff, essentially they walked the tightrope as they are explayers, but explained that the Trainer & Dr. make the decisions on injuries.. it is out of the coaches hands.. to blame Belichick begs the issue. IMO, really liked Johnson, but he has some major issues.. I am willing to bet the depression has been there for a while, and the concussions made them worse.. he seems to be making a series of bad choices, maybe it is the addictions speaking or maybe it is the depression. My question, is what is he responsible for??

 

[PatsMyBoyz!]

Smerlas and DeOssie were on EEI yesterday and talking about this stuff, essentially they walked the tightrope as they are explayers, but explained that the Trainer & Dr. make the decisions on injuries.. it is out of the coaches hands.. to blame Belichick begs the issue. IMO, really liked Johnson, but he has some major issues.. I am willing to bet the depression has been there for a while, and the concussions made them worse.. he seems to be making a series of bad choices, maybe it is the addictions speaking or maybe it is the depression. My question, is what is he responsible for??

That's a good question. From the sounds of it he didn't always tell anyone when he didn't feel right and he got upset when not allowed to play. I don't know what parameters the MD's/Trainers used to assess a player during that time period but no doubt the player's own input was a bigger percentage of those parameters than it is even today.TJ played for years prior to retiring-technology and diagnostics have come a long way even since 02 so who knows.
I really feel badly for him though-what a mess he is. Again though,it's hard to know what came first,the chicken or the egg.