As the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, Marvin Lewis is responsible for making sure his players are mentally fit on gameday. He is not responsible, however, for determining if they’re physically fit.
Lewis crossed that delicate line in a recent press conference when speaking about star linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who suffered a concussion against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2.
“I coached defenses and linebackers for a long time, and concussions didn’t linger,” Lewis said. “Now we have found that because of the media and things, they seem to linger longer. There’s a lot of attention paid to it. I don’t know why they linger longer. I don’t remember them lingering like they do now.”
Grey Ruegamer, a former offensive lineman who played 10 years in the NFL, takes strong exception to Lewis’ comments, noting that it’s out of line for the head coach to question team doctors when he has no experience in the field.
“I realize the frustration of a coach in regards to injuries, but just because you’ve sat in on the injury report update doesn’t mean you know how to fix them,” Ruegamer wrote on FootballByFootball.com. “Get back to the game plan and let people do their jobs.”
Ruegamer also offered his own experiences and opinions on head injuries from a decade spent battling in the trenches.
Click here to read more about why Lewis was wrong >>
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