Welker suspended 4 games!!

[Broncos6482]

Well, this explains some of the behavior during the Kentucky Derby....

As for the timing, I'm sure it's just how the process worked out. I doubt there was anything intentional in the NFL's timing of the announcement.

Well, the Broncos are supposedly annoyed that the NFL didn't announce this before the final rosters were due. They could have put Welker on the suspended list which would have allowed them to keep another player (Vickerson, perhaps).

 

[Broncos6482]

3) This might honestly have worked in the Broncos favor. Stay with me on this for a second...All of us have been worried about Welker and his recent concussion. Last year he came back way too fast from his concussion and it lead to a second even worse one that greatly diminished his play on the field. Maybe an extra 5 weeks to heal up his brain is the best thing that could happen for him and for this team. We need his skills for later in the season not the first quarter. Now yes it does stink to have him missing with these first few games being against playoff teams but I do think our WR depth is a lot better this year than last.

I don't think that's necessarily true. After the second concussion, he was out until the playoffs. In the three playoff games, he caught 18 balls for 160 yards and a touchdown. That averages to 6 receptions and 53 yards a game. In the regular season, he averaged 5.6 receptions and 59 yards per game. His touchdowns went way down in the playoffs, but the Broncos scoring overall went way down.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Well, this explains some of the behavior during the Kentucky Derby....

As for the timing, I'm sure it's just how the process worked out. I doubt there was anything intentional in the NFL's timing of the announcement.

I tend to agree on both points.

Didn't realize until I just read about it that the amphetamine labeled "molly" is the same thing as "ecstasy". I don't know much about that drug, but from what I've read, it certainly doesn't seem advisable for a guy who has been concussed as much as Welker has to take that stuff.

And wtf, who takes ecstasy and goes to a horse race? I thought that the people who take that typically attend raves.

 

[cdumler7]

I tend to agree on both points.

Didn't realize until I just read about it that the amphetamine labeled "molly" is the same thing as "ecstasy". I don't know much about that drug, but from what I've read, it certainly doesn't seem advisable for a guy who has been concussed as much as Welker has to take that stuff.

And wtf, who takes ecstasy and goes to a horse race? I thought that the people who take that typically attend raves.

It is known for being at Raves but it is taken just to get that happy high that a person is looking for. For Welker I'm guessing he was just having a fun weekend with friends at the Derby and somebody whipped out some ecstasy to add just a bit more fun to the experience. For concussions it actually probably isn't too bad. The concussions I have had in my life have left me dazed and confused but mostly just having these pounding headaches every once in a while that left me unable to do much. My guess is ecstasy (never taken it myself so don't exactly know) would help with any kind of pain that he would be having for the little bit of time.

Also his diminished play was more geared towards after he tried to come back from his first one. After that one he had 31, 38, and 61 yards in the 3 games that he played before suffering the 2nd one. Thankfully the team was smart enough to shut him down for the rest of the season and save him for the playoffs. Even in the playoffs though he was pretty limited only topping 50 yards in 1 of the 3 games. So yes for a guy that was on track for a thousand yards on the season before the concussions I would say having 4 of the next 6 games be for less than 50 yards where 7 of the first 10 games he had 50 yards or more him being somewhat diminished. His best games after being concussed were after he had a bit more time to heal. The closer to the concussion obviously the more he struggled to make an impact. So giving him this extra time to fully heal up makes sense to me even if it was a mild concussion.

 

[MrDoc420]

I've been in Florida almost 20 years now, and I did my share of clubbing and going to raves back in the day.

Thinking back to those days when I partied, I can't possibly imagine taking ecstacy at the Kentucky Derby. Seems beyond ridiculous. The stuff super duper intensifies all your senses, and you don't wanna do shit except hug everybody, dance the night away and then find a girl to go home with. Maybe the stuff is a bit different these days, as we used to refer to them as "beans", but again, that drug just doesn't seem like it'd be so awesome at a place like the derby. Been a long ass time though, so who knows?...

Just all in all a weird thing, and probably the last drug on the board I'd think a guy like Welker would get busted for.

 

[TDs3nOut]

It is known for being at Raves but it is taken just to get that happy high that a person is looking for. For Welker I'm guessing he was just having a fun weekend with friends at the Derby and somebody whipped out some ecstasy to add just a bit more fun to the experience. For concussions it actually probably isn't too bad. The concussions I have had in my life have left me dazed and confused but mostly just having these pounding headaches every once in a while that left me unable to do much. My guess is ecstasy (never taken it myself so don't exactly know) would help with any kind of pain that he would be having for the little bit of time.

Also his diminished play was more geared towards after he tried to come back from his first one. After that one he had 31, 38, and 61 yards in the 3 games that he played before suffering the 2nd one. Thankfully the team was smart enough to shut him down for the rest of the season and save him for the playoffs. Even in the playoffs though he was pretty limited only topping 50 yards in 1 of the 3 games. So yes for a guy that was on track for a thousand yards on the season before the concussions I would say having 4 of the next 6 games be for less than 50 yards where 7 of the first 10 games he had 50 yards or more him being somewhat diminished. His best games after being concussed were after he had a bit more time to heal. The closer to the concussion obviously the more he struggled to make an impact. So giving him this extra time to fully heal up makes sense to me even if it was a mild concussion.

My understanding is that multiple concussions are thought to sometimes promote dementia. I've also read that Ecstasy damages the brain. For someone who has suffered something like 50 concussions, which is reportedly the approximate number that Welker has suffered, taking Ecstasy seems extraordinarily careless.

 

[TDs3nOut]

I've been in Florida almost 20 years now, and I did my share of clubbing and going to raves back in the day.

Thinking back to those days when I partied, I can't possibly imagine taking ecstacy at the Kentucky Derby. Seems beyond ridiculous. The stuff super duper intensifies all your senses, and you don't wanna do shit except hug everybody, dance the night away and then find a girl to go home with. Maybe the stuff is a bit different these days, as we used to refer to them as "beans", but again, that drug just doesn't seem like it'd be so awesome at a place like the derby. Been a long ass time though, so who knows?...

Just all in all a weird thing, and probably the last drug on the board I'd think a guy like Welker would get busted for.

Your description is consistent with what I've heard about the drug. Agreed that this is a very strange and surprising development.

 

[cdumler7]

My understanding is that multiple concussions are thought to sometimes promote dementia. I've also read that Ecstasy damages the brain. For someone who has suffered something like 50 concussions, which is reportedly the approximate number that Welker has suffered, taking Ecstasy seems extraordinarily careless.

My guess is if he has had that many concussions then the pain his body is in is ridiculously terrible. I still years after my concussions have effects of them that leave me down for a day or two. My guess is the ecstasy is one of the few things that can help him forget about that pain. I agree it is not good for him with all the brain damage he has already suffered but hey when you are in that kind of pain anything to take the edge off sounds worth it. Not trying to justify him doing it just saying that could be the thought process behind some of it.

 

[TDs3nOut]

My guess is if he has had that many concussions then the pain his body is in is ridiculously terrible. I still years after my concussions have effects of them that leave me down for a day or two. My guess is the ecstasy is one of the few things that can help him forget about that pain. I agree it is not good for him with all the brain damage he has already suffered but hey when you are in that kind of pain anything to take the edge off sounds worth it. Not trying to justify him doing it just saying that could be the thought process behind some of it.

Definitely seems plausible that the drug could alleviate pain. I really don't know. And I probably shouldn't be too judgmental of Welker. It's not as if everything I do promotes my health!

 

[Malibu]

I look at this situation with 3 thoughts...


1) It just baffles me that these players can continue to find themselves in these kind of situations. I just don't even know what to say about these guys that keep doing this crap.


2) Why did the league wait till just a few days before the season starts to dish out this punishment? Seems like weird timing on their part to all of a sudden come out with this. Especially if they have known since May or whenever it happened. I know there is the appeals part of this all that is behind the scenes but they have had months upon months to get this worked out and all of a sudden a few days before the season starts they just come out with a 4-game suspension.


3) This might honestly have worked in the Broncos favor. Stay with me on this for a second...All of us have been worried about Welker and his recent concussion. Last year he came back way too fast from his concussion and it lead to a second even worse one that greatly diminished his play on the field. Maybe an extra 5 weeks to heal up his brain is the best thing that could happen for him and for this team. We need his skills for later in the season not the first quarter. Now yes it does stink to have him missing with these first few games being against playoff teams but I do think our WR depth is a lot better this year than last.

Welker missing 4 games doesnt help his issues with concussions whatsoever. The only thing that will help is if he retires. Just saying.

 

[iknowftbll]

Welker missing 4 games doesnt help his issues with concussions whatsoever. The only thing that will help is if he retires. Just saying.

The argument is that the time serving a suspension will help him fully recover from the most recent concussion. Nobody is making an argument that the suspension will help with his concussion issues in the long run. The long run argument is that if he fully recovers now he will be an asset to the offense when he returns.

 

[iknowftbll]

BTW, last night my boss's son was downstairs in his basement drafting Welker on his fantasy team while upstairs on TV the news of Welker's suspension was breaking.

 

[cdumler7]

Welker missing 4 games doesnt help his issues with concussions whatsoever. The only thing that will help is if he retires. Just saying.

How in the world does this not help him? His last concussion was what 2-weeks ago? Depending on the severity of the concussion there is so much time needed for it to fully heal or at least minimize risk that he will suffer another because of the first. If you give ample time for the first one to heal the risk for a 2nd goes way down. We saw this last year where he tried to come back too fast and ended up taking a 2nd one partly in my opinion because he rushed back from the 1st. Thankfully the Broncos were smart enough then to shut him down for the season. So the fact that he was trying to play week 1 already when many of us thought he should sit a couple of weeks makes me think that this suspension is the best thing for him health wise for this season. It gives his brain actual time to fully heal while also eliminating the number of hits he would take this season by a quarter of the hits with missing 4-games. I was one saying before this suspension that Welker should be on a pitch count as I think our offense can do fine without him or at least good enough to make the playoffs. When we need him at his best is the playoffs so keeping him from taking as many hits limits the opportunities for him to suffer another concussion.

Think of it this way...Our offense runs somewhere around 1,100-1,200 plays a year. With Welker sitting out 4-games that means something like 300 plays that he is not in on. You are a lot less likely to get hurt in 900 plays than that of 1,200 plays. It is just math.

And what is up with this whole finishing every post with "just saying." Is this your new calling card on here?

 

[cdumler7]

BTW, last night my boss's son was downstairs in his basement drafting Welker on his fantasy team while upstairs on TV the news of Welker's suspension was breaking.

Haha yeah I had a couple of guys text me today pissed that they drafted him this last week. I kind of figure benching him for a few weeks was what I would have done anyway as there are better options for more points at this point.

 

[iknowftbll]

And what is up with this whole finishing every post with "just saying." Is this your new calling card on here?

With you all the way on this one.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Ending each post with the phrase "just saying" does seem redundant, since that is implicit! LOL

 

[Broncosr0k]

And what is up with this whole finishing every post with "just saying." Is this your new calling card on here?

I have already asked. I got no response. I hate that the block poster on this forum works sparingly. I keep getting knee deep in his melancholic posts before I realize who it is.

Losing Welker for 4 games is not going to affect us one way or the other. I think we will still have a great offense and still go 3-1 which is what I had us at before Welker got suspended.

 

[Broncos6482]

My guess is if he has had that many concussions then the pain his body is in is ridiculously terrible. I still years after my concussions have effects of them that leave me down for a day or two. My guess is the ecstasy is one of the few things that can help him forget about that pain. I agree it is not good for him with all the brain damage he has already suffered but hey when you are in that kind of pain anything to take the edge off sounds worth it. Not trying to justify him doing it just saying that could be the thought process behind some of it.

Not all concussions are created equal. I've had a few concussions in my life, and I've got no long term effects. Looking at those pictures of Welker at the Derby, he doesn't look like someone suffering from a lot of pain to me.

What is so difficult and dangerous about concussions is that not everyone has the same reaction to them. For one person, a single concussion is enough to mess them up for life. For others, they can suffer multiple concussions and not have any significant long term effects. None of us knows what kind of effect they are having on Welker.

 

[cdumler7]

Not all concussions are created equal. I've had a few concussions in my life, and I've got no long term effects. Looking at those pictures of Welker at the Derby, he doesn't look like someone suffering from a lot of pain to me.

What is so difficult and dangerous about concussions is that not everyone has the same reaction to them. For one person, a single concussion is enough to mess them up for life. For others, they can suffer multiple concussions and not have any significant long term effects. None of us knows what kind of effect they are having on Welker.

I agree to a point. The vast number of concussions that Welker has had though leads me to believe there has to be some long term effects. I suffered Grade III concussions where you actually lose consciousness. One of them was a Grade IIIa and the other a Grade IIIb so I guess that is why I understand the pain side of things with bad concussions. Now obviously not sure if Welker has suffered any that bad but if say he has had even 20 concussions (sounds like that might be the low end for him) the chances are one of those was on the more serious side if not more which will lead to some lingering affects.

Also at the Derby if he was on Molly then yeah he wouldn't look like he was in pain. He would look just like he did in happy and free. At least from my understanding of the drug.

Like I said I agree to a point but if the numbers that are coming out are even remotely true of the number of concussions I have a hard time believing there are not some kind of ill effects from something like that.

 

[cdumler7]

They are now saying Welker's suspension could be lifted as the NFL owners are voting this week whether what Welker took should be considered performance enhancing or substance abuse. If it is changed then welker would have the suspension lifted.