Some of you might need forgotten about Jalen Hurts’ “flu game” from earlier this season. There was a bit of controversy with that Week 3 Monday Night Football recreation, as a result of that information was not on the Philadelphia Eagles’ harm report. Instead, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported it at halftime. Sunday introduced us a repeat during which Bijan Robinson was unwell on Sunday and the Atlanta Falcons didn’t make that info public once they put out their inactives checklist.
A significant distinction in these conditions is that Hurts took each single snap throughout the Eagles’ 25-11 victory towards the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Robinson solely performed six snaps in the first half towards the Falcons’ Week 7, 16-13, win towards the Bucs, and his sole carry got here in the fourth quarter. He stated after the recreation that he was coping with a headache, and that it started on Saturday evening.
The first query requested of Falcons head coach Arthur Smith throughout his postgame press convention was about Robinson’s well being. He claimed that they observed that Robinson was feeling off simply prior to the begin of the recreation.
“As we got through warmups and early on, just wasn’t feeling like himself,” Smith stated to the media following the Falcons’ 16-13 win towards theBuccaneers. “So he played, but we weren’t gonna overdo it. Just being cautious…when you have other guys that can go, you know, we’re a team.”
Smith’s rationalization actually won’t fulfill Falcons followers, fantasy soccer gamers with Robinson on their roster, or bettors with actual reside cash staked on Robinson and the Falcons’ efficiency. Those teams haven’t any authority over the Falcons, in contrast to the NFL league workplace, which is nicely conscious of simply how much playing and fantasy sports activities means to the league’s recognition. PFT’s Mike Florio was knowledgeable following the Eagles’ Week 2 win, that “unless players missed practice or would be limited in any way,” they don’t have to be included on the harm report.
Technically, Hurts was not restricted in Week 2. He could have been taking part in by discomfort, however nothing that saved him off of the area at any level. The Falcons although, could have some questions to reply.
Robinson went by warmups and spent the complete recreation in full uniform, but he was used sparingly. That appears to be the very definition of restricted. In a world during which playing is now largely authorized, and Jimmy “The Greek” was on NFL broadcasts many years in the past whereas additionally writing sports activities betting columns, groups should all the time be clear about participant availability.
A significant motive why groups are required to make that info is to keep away from even a whisper in the distance about an integrity of the recreation subject. The unfold on Sunday’s recreation was -3.5 Buccaneers. Disclosing that Robinson was unwell would probably have resulted in a rush of late wagers. With that info being withheld from the public, a reliable query is, why?
Robinson and Smith answered why the working again was restricted on Sunday, however not till after the recreation. Robinson stated that he was unwell getting into Raymond James Stadium. There was lots of time for that info to come out with the Falcons’ inactive checklist. All that they had to say was Robinson was not feeling nicely, and that they might determine after warmups how much he would play.
Instead, all of social media was buzzing about Robinson not getting the ball. The league completely wants to examine why his situation was not reported sooner, at minimal for look’s sake.
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