Regarding Leinart he was motionless on the field after a hit in the first quarter of the ASU game. Like Tebow, it is possible that Leinart didn’t lose consciousness. Unlike Tebow, this was not his first concussion. USC put him back in after 1 play. He took some hard hits over the next few series and even the commentators noted that he wasn’t himself. Leinart later said: “I don’t know if I was all there the whole game, but I just battled.”

As for Leinart, had I known he had a concussion at the time, I would’ve recommended he sit. As I recall, the concussions weren’t revealed until later. Besides, he did not suffer the high-profile hit that Tebow suffered along with the subsequent vomiting and post-game hospital stay. So there was a difference.

Finally, if you think this blog is one that treats USC with kid gloves, you clearly haven’t been reading very long.

It is pretty well documented that a Meyer-coached team will not rush players back into action before they are ready. Just last season, Percy Harvin sustained a high-ankle sprain and despite all efforts to get him back on the field, it was determined the day of the SEC Championship Game that he wasn’t quite ready, so he sat against Alabama.

In the BCS title game, it was rumored that Cornelious Ingram was possibly ready to play after returning (obviously too quickly) from a torn ACL. He didn’t dress for the BCSCG.

If Tebow is ready, he’ll play. If not, he’ll sit. Florida’s defense is strong enough to give the team a solid chance to win even without Tebow playing.

Doctors have told Meyer when Tebow’s healed, he’s healed. Sitting him out additional weeks after he’s healed doesn’t decrease the chance of further injury. Anyone who hasn’t treated Tebow the past 2 weeks knows zilch about his condition. That includes all of us, regardless of how much research we’ve completed on the topic and how many friends we have who went to medical school.

We all have the right to make predictions and state our own personal opinions, but there is no need to try to convince others when we are all just guessing.

I’m looking forward to Saturday.

Scot Brantley was an All-American linebacker for the Gators who suffered a concussion. One of the keys was that this was not his first (like Matt Leinart’s multiple concussions at USC). The doctors charged with Brantley’s care at Florida advised him never to play again. If your buddy had been arm-chair doctoring, he would have just blurted out four weeks and Scot Brantley might be dead.

Where were your articles demanding that Leinart sit in 2005? He missed a whopping 2 days of practice after his last concussion at USC. I guess you were more worried about winning than dementia when the concussions were happening to your quarterback. Apparently “it works both ways” for everybody but you and USC.

I am not a Gator fan.

I have, however, directly talked to players who have played for Urban Meyer. He is respected and liked, not needing pretentious, cheesy, and narcissistic features upon 60 Minutes or self-produced Youtube videos to let people know what he is about. And he’s smart. In sum, he’s completely different than Pete Carrol and the program run at Southern Cal. I know that you and other Trojan fans are having trouble dealing with your program’s underachievement (where art thou, Norm Chow?) but there’s no need to attack someone who does it right & better.

Am I so naive as to think an elite performer won’t push themselves to and beyond what’s safe? No. To paraphrase, T.S. Elliot, only by going too far can one find out how far one can go. Do I think coaches or even team physicians may push not-quite-ready-to-play athletes to go? Sure. But to assume it’s taking place at Florida is presumptuous at best, slanderous at worst. Given your motivations, I’m thinking it tilts towards the latter.

As for being irresponsible to opine without the facts, come on now.

The man had a bad concussion. If I had said “He definitely should play anyway”, then that might be irresponsible. To say he should play it safe is hardly irresponsible, even if you don’t agree that the risk is all that great.

You said the reason voters in the south would leave Bradford off their ballots was [in an effort] to throw the Heisman to Tebow. My meaning is identical with or without the phrase “in an effort.” I never said Tebow actually won, I pointed out that you targeted voters in the south and wrongly assumed the worst about their motivations. You never made a similar comment about the two regions that most snubbed one of the three major candidates.

Regarding Tebow… I think the decision should be left to the doctors who are monitoring his condition. They had a plan in place before the season started for clearing him to play in the event of a concussion. I’m not advocating that Tebow play or even predicting that he will… I’m telling you it’s irresponsible to opine about this without all the facts. Had your surgeon friend made a similar off-the-cuff 4 week recommendation about Scot Brantley he could very well be dead right now.

Urban Meyer would never risk Tebow’s or any player’s health and future life by playing said player(s) before properly healed. Meyer’s program isn’t akin to the one being run in South Central Los Angeles or the 32 NFL franchises, i.e., Meyer actually does care about his players’ well-being more than the fame or lucrative contracts derived from winning. Lets face it: Meyer will still be beloved and have job security regardless of how this season plays out (underachieving in terms of personal awards and honors and team goals may be frustrating but the Gators have done pretty damn good the last few years under Meyer’s lead); so, choosing to play or sit Tebow isn’t based on winning or losing.

But to a Southern Cal fan, a Florida loss, of course, would help the Trojans have a better shot at making it into the national title game. To them, from their viewpoint, IT IS ALL ABOUT THE WINNING OR LOSING. And I’m sure there’s a lot of worry, angst about Meyer clearly proving, with another national title (2 : 1.5 is good but 3 : 1.5 is better) that he’s the best (as if he hasn’t already, being successful and never fired from any head coaching job he has ever held), knocking Pete Carrol from the throne. What better way to relieve those pent-up feelings than to take potshots at Meyer’s integrity, behind the feigned concern about Tebow’s health? You aren’t still on the USC payroll, are you, HP? Just kidding…sort of.

My BFF won a Nobel Prize for treating occipital lobe concussions in football players named Tim and he said…

Really?

Here’s the latest:

“Tebow didn’t receive partial clearance to return to the field until he met with a team of athletic trainers and doctors, including a concussion expert from the University of Pittsburgh, during a pre-practice evaluation Tuesday.”

Would they fly down an expert from Pittsburgh just for show? I think they are being careful about this. He’s been tested everyday. Also, it’s not like Bud Kilmer is running the show in Gainesville. Everyone knows Urban and Tebow are close. At least in this case, I think Urban will be able to put Tebow’s interest above his own.