Former Crimson Tide QBs Squarely in Middle of Concussion Mess: Bama in the NFL Week 6

Although Tua Tagovailoa was the one who got hurt there's growing concern about Jalen Hurts running the ball. Should Mac Jones be worried? And Cam Robinson's stock is rising.

SI Editorial | Oct 12, 2022

Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Alabama Crimson Tide

Even though Tua Tagovailoa returned practice with the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday, he's already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Yet he isn't the only former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback making headlines regarding the league's new concussion policy.

In Philadelphia, Jalen Hurts the Eagles off to a 5-0 start. They're only team that hasn't taken a loss yet, and a lot of it has to do with their starting quarterback.

Hurts hasn't been inured, but he does run with the ball a lot, which can make him more vulnerable to a head shot. He's on pace for more than 200 carries after having 139 of them in 14 games last season.

But due to the NFL's new concussion policy all it would take for Hurts to be sidelined is just a wobble when getting up, a step in the wrong direction or even a slow walk back to the huddle.

That's what happened to Tagovailoa's replacement one play into last week's game against the Jets, as the league now has a spotter monitoring every play.

After taking a shot to the ribs, Teddy Bridgewater was placed into the concussion protocol despite exhibiting no signs of a concussion. He can't even practice with the team until Thursday.

While the merits of the league's new protocol will continue to be debated, every team knows that a game could easily turn on such a ruling.

When asked by Eagles Today if there was any concern about Hurts possibly getting flagged for a concussion, especially with all the running he does, offensive coordinator Shane Steichen said he’d rather not comment.

“I know the NFL, that's their protocol right now,” he said. “I'll leave it at that.”

As for the Dolphins, rookie Skylar Thompson, a seventh-round pick, played all but that one snap against the Jets, and went 19-for-33 for 166 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

Per All Dolphins, head coach Mike McDaniel said on Monday that Bridgewater had no concussion symptoms either the day of the game or the day after. He didn't seem as certain regarding Tagovailoa's status.

"Right now. I'm not even really thinking about his timeline," McDaniel said. "As I said before, we're just trying to get him as healthy as possible. We're pretty much in a 12-to-24-hour reoccurring evaluation process, and he's doing well. He's here today but he's not ready to take the step to do some football stuff yet. So that will be 'talk to me in every 12 to 24 hours.' "

The Other Tide QB, Mac Jones

Even though he's just 24, Mac Jones is considered the franchise quarterback of the New England Patriots, but Bailey Zappe has some wondering if he could soon challenge for the job.

To quote Patriots Country: "The Patriots, obviously, aren't there yet. But the scenario shouldn't be totally dismissed."

In two games, Zappe is completing 75 percent (27 of 36) of his passes with two touchdowns and no glaring gaffes. His only interception was a perfectly thrown pass against Detroit that Nelson Agholor somehow bobbled into an interception.

Jones' quarterback rating of 76.2 was the worst among starters when he went down with a high ankle sprain. Zappe's 104.8 trails only Buffalo Bills' MVP candidate Josh Allen (107.4).

While leading last week's 29-0 victory over the Lions, he was 17-for-21 for 188 yards and one touchdown.

“He does a good job of seeing the game and can come off and identify and articulate what he saw, what happened – and that’s usually right,” Belichick said after the game Sunday. “And that goes all the way back to preseason. He played a lot in preseason. I think those snaps were good for him. He learned a lot; we learned a lot. And I think there’s definitely some benefit to the playing time that he had in preseason in the games that he’s played the last two weeks.”

The coach was asked about a potential quarterback controversy on Monday.

“Yeah, I’m not going to get into a lot of hypotheticals on all the different things that might or might not happen and all that,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick told WEEI Radio. "That’s, to me, a waste of time. I’m not going to sit around here and dream up scenarios and all that. We’ll take things as they come and go from there. Obviously, Mac wasn’t active (against the Lions), so it wasn’t any part of the decision.”

But it's not like we haven't seen something similar before (Tom Brady, Nick Foles, Dak Prescott ... )

Jones led the Patriots to a 10-win season and the playoffs while also making the Pro Bowl as a rookie. However, he's also 2-6 since last December, with 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, including three during the Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens when he was injured on the final play.

He also returned to practice on Wednesday.

Game of the Week

Ravens at the Giants: The Ravens have Jalyn Armour-Davis, Kenyan Drake and Marlon Humphrey, while the Giants boast former Alabama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll at head coach, along with Xavier McKinney and Evan Neal, plus Robert Foster and Landon Collins on the practice squad. Ozzie Newsome's teams is 3-2 and atop the AFC North, while the 4-1 Giants may be the surprise of the league this season.

Matchup of the Week

Could we see Julio Jones against Levi Wallace? Or how about Minkah Fitzpatrick? Injuries are a factor, though with the Buccaneers at Steelers.

Otherwise, you can't go wrong with Trevon Diggs lining up against DeVonta Smith with the Cowboys at Eagles.

How to Watch NFL Week 6

Thursday's Game

Washington at Chicago, Prime Video, 7:15 p.m.

Sunday, October 16

San Francisco at Atlanta, Fox, noon
New England at Cleveland, CBS, noon
New York Jets at Green Bay, Fox, noon
Jacksonville at Indianapolis, CBS, noon
Minnesota at Miami, Fox, noon
Cincinnati at New Orleans, CBS, noon
Baltimore at New York Giants, CBS, noon
Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh, Fox, noon
Carolina at Los Angeles Rams, Fox, 3:05 p.m.
Arizona at Seattle, FOX, 3:05 p.m.
Buffalo at Kansas City, CBS, 3:25 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia, NBC, 7:20 p.m.

Monday's game

Denver at Los Angeles Chargers, ESPN, 7:15 p.m.

Bye week: Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Tennessee

Tide-Bits

• Per Jaguars Report, left tackle Cam Robinson has turned things around. After allowing eight pressures the first three weeks, he allowed zero this past week despite having a tough matchup against the Texans. He was stout in pass-pro all game long and had highlight reel block on a Jamal Agnew screen.

• Patriots running Damien Harris suffered a hamstring injury during the first quarter of the Patriots win over the Lions. He's expected to miss ‘multiple games,’ as first reported by NFL Network.

• When the Jets visit the Packers, linebacker C.J. Mosley will aim to notch his 21st straight game with at least seven tackles. Last week against the Dolphins marked the fourth time this season he's had 10-plus tackles in a game.

• Bengals left tackle Jonah Williams is "day-to-day" according to head coach Zac Taylor. He's dealing with a knee (MCL) injury suffered against the Ravens.

• Marlon Humphrey on the Ravens being ranked last against the pass prior to last week's win against the Bengals: “The numbers don’t lie. So, as much as that sucks to say, it just … To me, it’s unacceptable; I feel like it falls on the weight of my shoulders. So, I really want to get that number down.” The Ravens have three former first-round picks — Humphrey, Marcus Peters, and rookie Kyle Hamilton — in the secondary, but safety Marcus William is out indefinitely with a dislocated wrist.

• The forced fumble by Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II last week was the first of his NFL career. Meanwhile, film analyst Derrick Klassen of Football Outsiders has pegged the 2021 first-round pick as the best cornerback in the NFL this season.

Did You Notice?

• BetOnline has set Nebraska (3/2) as the betting favorite to land former Carolina Panthers heads coach Matt Rhule, followed Auburn (3/1), Wisconsin, Arizona State and Colorado.

• College Coaches Can Learn From Rhule’s Biggest NFL Mistake

• 2023 NFL Draft Prospects Rising After Week 6

• The Giants’ Recent History Is Now History

Bama in the NFL Database

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Published Oct 12, 2022

SI EDITORIAL