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Bradford was wearing what Sugarman said was an “unloader brace” on his left knee that “unloads the part of the knee joint that has the stress, that’s why he wears the knee brace.”
Does this really sound like someone who was ready to play? He needed to wear a brace to reduce the weight load in his knee joint. He had a noticeable limp which may be from his injury, or could have been caused by the restricted movement of the knee brace itself to protect the joint. Either way, just another headscratching move by this staff who thought an immobile QB when healthy could be effective with his injury and a restrictive brace.
IMO Zimmer looked at the schedule and decided Monday was a "win at any cost" game. He thought about facing the Packers after losing to the Lions and Bears, his team embarassed on MNF, and likely losing to GB and then probably Baltimore, too. He would have been 2-5 on a 4-game losing streak and 0-3 in the division...and heading to London with a slumping team. Get surprised by the Browns (London games are unpredictable) and he might have been fired on the plane home.
So he identified Chicago as the "most winnable" game and told Sam he better get back on the field ASAP. Or maybe Sam was asking to play, maybe had been for the past two weeks despite being hampered, and Zimmer gave in. Unless you believe that Sam looked just fine in practice but spontaneously regressed at game time, it doesn't seem like Zimmer acted like a head coach thinking of the best LONG-TERM interests of the franchise.
and if he didn't play, what would the storyline here? Zimmer was too scared, didn't care about monday night, only wants to beat the packers.
People will see whatever they are looking for. Bradford was healthy enough to start, so he did. He was rusty and sailed some passes and then got hurt again on a sack.
But the Zimmer bashing gets rather old IMO.
We won in chicago, we have GB at home. We are 3-2 with a chance to take the division lead.
Quote: @Jor-El said:
IMO Zimmer looked at the schedule and decided Monday was a "win at any cost" game. He thought about facing the Packers after losing to the Lions and Bears, his team embarassed on MNF, and likely losing to GB and then probably Baltimore, too. He would have been 2-5 on a 4-game losing streak and 0-3 in the division...and heading to London with a slumping team. Get surprised by the Browns (London games are unpredictable) and he might have been fired on the plane home.
So he identified Chicago as the "most winnable" game and told Sam he better get back on the field ASAP. Or maybe Sam was asking to play, maybe had been for the past two weeks despite being hampered, and Zimmer gave in. Unless you believe that Sam looked just fine in practice but spontaneously regressed at game time, it doesn't seem like Zimmer acted like a head coach thinking of the best LONG-TERM interests of the franchise.
Geez that's a negative take. Assuming losses to the Bears, Packers and Ravens, even losing to the Browns? Zimmer getting fired on the way back from London?
Every single sentence in your post is just pure speculation. I'm not understanding all of the criticism of Zimmer lately. Like Bradford stated throughout the week, he felt much better, thought he could give it a go, so the team gave him a shot until it was obvious that he wasn't effective and pulled him out of the game. I don't think it has to go any deeper than that.
Souhan and Yotter had an interesting comment in their Scout Podcast this week following the game that Zimmer is losing momentum rapidly with the fan base. Not sure how they can measure that but he seems to be making decisions that might indicate he has been put on notice that a repeat of last year will not be tolerated and that he and his staff are on a short leash. It would also support the Teddy situation that they plan to activate him rather than keep him on IR and toll his contract. If he is in a win now at all costs situation and his job depends on it, he isn't going to care about the long term interests of the franchise if he can survive another year. As many people have said, he won't get another Head Coaching job after this one.
souhan taking a negative take? Hard to believe. And based purely on speculation. Some in the media are probably still pissed that Zimmer didn't invite them to his home in Kentucky. Losing momentum with fan base? Most fans fluctuate based on wins and losses. After NO win, we were going to the superbowl. After Steelers loss, it was Zimmers fault that his QB got hurt and Spielman's fault for everything. After Bucs win, all was right with the world, Keenum was suddenly a pro-bowler. After Detroit loss, he was a bum and we needed Sam back STAT! Sam plays and struggles, now Zim is a fool and selfish.
Sheesh. I love the predictions about Zim's future with the Vikings and elsewhere. As if anyone actually has a clue.
Quote: @TBro said:
Souhan and Yotter had an interesting comment in their Scout Podcast this week following the game that Zimmer is losing momentum rapidly with the fan base. Not sure how they can measure that but he seems to be making decisions that might indicate he has been put on notice that a repeat of last year will not be tolerated and that he and his staff are on a short leash. It would also support the Teddy situation that they plan to activate him rather than keep him on IR and toll his contract. If he is in a win now at all costs situation and his job depends on it, he isn't going to care about the long term interests of the franchise if he can survive another year. As many people have said, he won't get another Head Coaching job after this one.
So after a tough division win on the road, down 2 or 3 (Diggs) of the offense's biggest playmakers, and the Scout Podcast talks about Zimmer losing support among the fans? Sounds about right for the MN sports media.
And again, this is all negatively slanted speculation. We knee-jerk and fire Zimmer, and we become that much closer to the Browns IMO. Like greediron mentioned above, we are 3-2 and playing for the division lead this weekend FFS.
Quote: @greediron said:
and if he didn't play, what would the storyline here? Zimmer was too scared, didn't care about monday night, only wants to beat the packers.
People will see whatever they are looking for. Bradford was healthy enough to start, so he did. He was rusty and sailed some passes and then got hurt again on a sack.
But the Zimmer bashing gets rather old IMO.
We won in chicago, we have GB at home. We are 3-2 with a chance to take the division lead.
Aren't you seeing whatever you are looking for? If you think Bradford was "healthy enough to start", I guess we will have to agree to disagree. He wasn't following through on his passes and that was from the opening snap not because Zimmer said he got injured on a tackle. He either couldn't or didn't feel comfortable putting weight on that left knee which screwed up his mechanics and forced the errant throws. The unloader knee brace he had to wear only reinforces that his knee was still a problem and that he was not "healthy enough". I do agree with your last sentence and hopefully Keenum can get it done on Sunday.
At this point it's gotta be in SB's head that he's too fragile to ever feel comfortable out there. I think the days of him being relaxed and in the groove, like week one, are over, he's got an irreparable knee injury to the brain.
Quote: @TBro said:
@ greediron said:
and if he didn't play, what would the storyline here? Zimmer was too scared, didn't care about monday night, only wants to beat the packers.
People will see whatever they are looking for. Bradford was healthy enough to start, so he did. He was rusty and sailed some passes and then got hurt again on a sack.
But the Zimmer bashing gets rather old IMO.
We won in chicago, we have GB at home. We are 3-2 with a chance to take the division lead.
Aren't you seeing whatever you are looking for? If you think Bradford was "healthy enough to start", I guess we will have to agree to disagree. He wasn't following through on his passes and that was from the opening snap not because Zimmer said he got injured on a tackle. He either couldn't or didn't feel comfortable putting weight on that left knee which screwed up his mechanics and forced the errant throws. The unloader knee brace he had to wear only reinforces that his knee was still a problem and that he was not "healthy enough". I do agree with your last sentence and hopefully Keenum can get it done on Sunday.
Most coaches talk about being hurt vs being injured. You can play hurt. But being injured means you can't protect yourself. I think Sam was hurt, but not injured. Obviously he was struggling from the get go, but possibly could have worked through that and if he did, we would have done well. Once he took the hit, either the pain became to much or mentally he was afraid or both.
But in no way do I fault Zim for letting a player play. The grand conspiracies that Zim is thinking short term are silly. Of course he is thinking short term. It is week to week in the NFL. You go with who you have. Next season probably doesn't enter their mind during the season.
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