Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart is “puzzled” by the frequency of his visits to the blue medical tent. As to Saturday’s requirement that he be checked out after being sacked by Vikings safety Jay Ward, Dart shouldn’t have been.
“This was a standard medical timeout,” chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told PFT on Monday via email.
At each game, the NFL deploys a team of three unaffiliated neurotrauma consultants (UNCs), with one on the home team sideline and one on the away team sideline. The third UNC is in the booth, with two independent certified athletic trainers (CATs) who are also not affiliated with any NFL team.
The booth UNC and the CATs have access to video replay. They also communicate with sideline personnel.
The UNC and the CATs in the booth have the ability to stop the game for a medical timeout if they determine a player should receive medical care, if sideline staff are not attending to him. In making these decisions, the UNC and the CATs look for impact and injury behavior that was observed.
In Dart’s case, multiple elements likely contributed to the decision. Watch the play. First, Ward had a free run at Dart. Second, there was a whiplash effect to Dart’s head when he was hit. Third, Dart’s head struck the artificial surface at MetLife Stadium. Fourth, Dart didn’t immediately move after hitting the ground.
Moments like that, where several individually relevant factors line up so cleanly, are rare. Throw in the fact that it was a preseason game — and the last play of a quarter — and there was no downside in checking him out.
The message for all quarterbacks is simple, even if it’s at times easier said than done. Avoid taking big hits like that. Fall in a way that doesn’t result in the helmet striking the turf. And move quickly (if possible) to get up after the play ends.
There’s no formula for triggering a medical review. While some of the pieces are objective, the decision to send a player to the medical tent is always a subjective one.
Will mistakes be made? Yes. A mistake wasn’t made in this case.
And while it’s important to not keep healthy players (especially quarterbacks) out of action when they’re not concussed, it’s more important to protect the players — especially since most players are not wired in those moments to protect themselves. They want to play, and multiple players over the years have resisted the process of being evaluated.
