Eli Manning Injury Again Exposes The Problem With Preseason

Added on Aug 18, 2010 by Scott in

NFL

By now, you’ve probably seen the head gash Eli Manning suffered during the Monday night preseason game against the Jets that opened the new Meadowlands Stadium. If you haven’t, here it is:

As bad as it looks, it could’ve been much worse for Manning. The high-low combo hit sans helmet reminded me of the vicious shot Tim Tebow took last season at Florida, which resulted in a concussion. Eli was lucky not to sustain a concussion, but it did take a dozen stitches to close the wound on his forehead.

The Giants and their fans can breathe a sigh of relief with the knowledge that their franchise quarterback will be okay. But what if it was a concussion, or something worse, like a neck or spine injury? Big Blue’s 2010 season could have been over before it started. Manning’s career could have been in jeopardy. And for what? A meaningless exhibition game that didn’t need to be played.

It’s one thing if a player gets hurt in practice or a regular season game, but it’s another thing entirely when it occurs in a game that serves no other purpose than to fill the owners’ pockets. Yeah, yeah, I know. This is an old argument that’s been beaten to death for years. That being said, ignoring the problem won’t make it go away.

Every summer a handful of name players are sidelined participating in what amounts to fake football. The shame of it is, this is a preventable problem. Most professionals will admit they don’t even need preseason games to prepare for the impending season. Coaches can identify who should or shouldn’t make the team from training camp practice sessions and drills.

College football doesn’t have a preseason. They utilize a series of controlled intersquad scrimmages instead. If money wasn’t an issue, the NFL could easily rid away with all exhibition contests. The players wouldn’t care and neither would the fans. However, owners and networks would care, and since they rule sports for pay, what they say goes.

So, we’re stuck watching ridiculous theater that’s supposed to pass for real football and crossing our fingers an elite player doesn’t go down with a catastrophic injury. Thanks, NFL. Thanks a lot.