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Friday, September 23, 2016Culture

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... Garoppolo staggered from the battlefield looking bewildered and badly in need of a fistful of Advil. But if early reports hold up -- indicating a sprained shoulder but no breaks or fractures -- he should regard himself one very lucky fellow.

Clark
Booth

Wonderful stuff, Sports; you just never know when the boom might be lowered. Literally, you might say, in the National Football League.

Here were the good citizens of Patriots Nation comfortably settling in the armchairs of New England and calculating how they might contend with the gathering boredom of an NFL regular season already -- in less than two full games -- safely resolved as their Patriots were effortlessly rendering pathetic the one team in their division possibly capable of challenging the divine right to an automatic playoff berth they've so richly enjoyed this entire millennium.

Whereupon an impertinent Dolphins' linebacker improbably named Kiko Alonso found himself one on one with a stumbling and fairly defenseless Jimmy Garoppolo enabling him to essentially pile-drive the dashing young understudy quarterback into Foxborough's unforgiving turf before unceremoniously punctuating the point by landing full force on top of him. It was a total wipe-out.

Was it sporting? Honorable or reckless; dirty or fair? Deserving of a penalty or not, for whatever that's worth? Don't be ridiculous, old Sport. It was football as we have come to know and love it in the NFL where we worship unconditionally. It was the sort of incident that lights up highlight packages on ESPN which you routinely ooh and ah over when the sucker getting maimed is not one of your very own dear quarterbacks. They survived the Dolphins, if but barely. But the road to another easy division romp no longer looks quite the giddy cakewalk.

Having been fully baptized in the merciless realities of his profession in only his second trial by NFL fire, Garoppolo staggered from the battlefield looking bewildered and badly in need of a fistful of Advil. But if early reports hold up -- indicating a sprained shoulder but no breaks or fractures -- he should regard himself one very lucky fellow.

It's said he'll miss the Houston game, probably a blessing given it will spare him the demonic attentions of Texan terror AJ Watt. But it's expected he'll then return to deal with Rex Ryan's sorrowful Buffalo Bills in the final clash leading to the glorious return of Sir Galahad Himself, Tom Brady, from his banishment to the beach for "Deflategate" atonement mandated by good buddy Roger Goodell. It should be noted, one supposes, that while all this is clearly indicated early on, the Pats under Bill Belichick's shall we say idiosyncratic leadership delight in being misleading in these injury matters. So, we'll see.

Stunning as it may have been to Patriots' devotees, the Garoppolo moment was fairly routine fare in week two of the NFL's grueling regular season grind. In this brutal game of runaway triage, warriors fall like random and scattered bowling pins every week. This week, however, was notably remarkable. A partial roll-call tends to affirm Garoppolo was lucky.

In San Diego, Danny Woodhead, a distinguished ex-Pat, carried off with a wrecked knee. Two years ago, Woodhead missed all but two games with a broken ankle.

In Cleveland, Browns center Cameron Erving rushed to a hospital by ambulance; rolled out on a stretcher with his head immobilized. Seems he was suddenly felled by chest and rib cage cramps, which his fellow-linemen described as "scary."

At New Jersey's Meadowlands, Saints cornerback PJ Williams is hospitalized after enduring two heavy head-hits on the same play. A major concussion is feared. Williams was replacing veteran D-back Delvin Breaux who suffered a broken fibula in the Saints opener. In his NFL debut Williams lasted only a couple snaps; hamstring woes sidelining him his entire rookie season.

Also kayoed by the dreaded hamstrings were Carolina R-back Jonathan Stewart and Colts wide out Donte Moncrief. In Foxborough, Dolphins all-star running back Arian Foster goes down with a groin pull. In Detroit, Lions D-lineman Ezekial Ansal wrecks his ankle.

Worth further noting are other lingering cases. Rob Gronkowski, all universe tight end of the Foxboroughs, remains hors de combat although it's reasonable to question whether his much publicized off-season cruise ship capers on boozy voyages to nowhere might be a factor in his, shall we say, "conditioning." In Cleveland, it's said Robert Griffin III, kayoed in the opener, may now miss six more weeks. Then there's Dallas QB Tony Romo who broke a bone in his back in a dumb exhibition game.

Injuries are a burning NFL issue this season; right alongside in terms of controversy the Commissioner and his unlimited powers which the players association seems at last determined to challenge even if it incurs a major labor dispute.

It's the injuries, however, that really worry the NFL moguls. Which is why they rather grandly announced at season's starting the pledging of another $100 million to the research campaign to find answers to the head injury contretemps.

Understand please that they do not do this out of the goodness of their collective hearts. The issue scares them witless. Legal cases claiming humongous damages pile high in the courts and the trend of decisions coming down does not favor the moguls. The fund ruled over by a federal court from which compensation will be awarded the deserving swells by the hour.

It's big-money we're talking about. Maybe billions! The owners are truly scared. It is about time!

- Clark Booth is a renowned Boston sports writer and broadcast journalist. He spent much of his long career at Boston’s WCVB-TV Chanel 5 as a correspondent specializing in sports, religion, politics and international affairs.