Comments on: bucs simms in critical condition

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 03:39:32 +0000

So….does it seem like Gruden will cut him? Heard a comment today that without a spleen they may be nervous that he will be prone to illness that could cause him to miss other games. This may mean no team will want to take the chance on him. I have no idea if this is true. Locker rooms are dirty places I guess and full of germs and the spleen helps the immune system right?

By: tommy

tommy — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 21:27:35 +0000

Hey Joe,

Are you saying that if Simms had not gone back in, he wouldn’t need surgery?

I never said or meant a ruptured spleen is “no big deal.” There’s a big difference between pain and damage. I was only pointing out that to quit playing wouldn’t “unrupture” the spleen and continuing to play would not cause further damage.

Dude is tough as nails for playing through all that.

By: tim

tim — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 17:35:42 +0000

I don’t think Tommy was saying a ruptured spleen is no big deal, just that it’s not going to cause further injury to, say, your brain. Which it might, if you waited long enough, as you’d have bacteria all over the place.

But in the context of a football game, all you’re going to do is make for a bigger mess for the surgeons later, and cause yourself all sorts of internal pain. Compared to, say, a perforated colon, or something, it’s “not a big deal.”

By: Joe Davis

Joe Davis — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 14:30:04 +0000

I hope the wife asks hard questions. Also how much pain medication was in that IV which would help mask how hurt he really was. Sims obviously believed that it was on him to show that he “cared”– that’s why he did that td play in the first place. Does tommy mean “ruptured spleen” NO big deal??? Shame on you. Major surgury is a big deal for anyone.

By: matt

matt — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 14:21:22 +0000

Was at the game. I don’t think the Bucs medical staff can be blamed. Everyone around us was surprised he came back out of the locker room so quickly (missed two plays I think) and it seemed to just be dehydration/shaken up. Especially watching him trot back out from the locker room he looked okay (when instead he was clearly holding in the pain well; the Times or Trib have reports of playes saying he was stuttering calling plays in huddle and told them he was having trouble breathing). Toughness he doesn’t lack.

By: tommy

tommy — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 12:56:41 +0000

Sore ribs, a lack of oxygen, and dehydration are all typical signs of a football player during a game. Even for medical personnel, I would imagine that would make diagnosis difficult. Add to that, Simms insistence to continue playing (I would guess), and any oversight by a trainer is understandable.

Also – does playing with a ruptured spleen really cause further damage? Or just increase the pain (not damage)already caused?

By the way, wifey asked the same question as Bull Hooper…

By: Bull Hooper

Bull Hooper — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 06:38:08 +0000

here’s what interests me: during the late 3rd/early 4th quarter,, Simms went to the locker room. What happened? What was decided in the locker room? What tests were performed? Were mistakes made? If I understand the situation correctly, Simms was probably already injured by that time, and the medical staff put him at extreme risk by clearing him to go back out.

By: John

John — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 03:52:16 +0000

Sorry to come down hard, Merideth, but anyone who blames the Quarterback alone for the Bucs being 0-3 doesn’t know football.

…which tends to be the vast majority of Buc fans who have a fetish for getting on the QB when the TEAM sucks.

By: Meredith

Meredith — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 03:17:50 +0000

Hard to be mad at the guy since he’s had his innards rearranged…but still, 0-3?

By: gaypinellas

gaypinellas — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 02:47:42 +0000

he’s having his spleen removed. I volunteer to nurse him back to health…. damn he’s hot.