If Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien had seen the video footage of quarterback Tom Savage trying to bounce back from a blow to the head Sunday afternoon against the San Francisco 49ers, O’Brien said he would not have let Savage back in the game.
Savage appeared to be twitching in a seizure-like reaction after being taken to the ground by Elvis Dumervil in the second quarter of the game. Savage underwent a medical examination on the sideline inside the sideline tent and returned to the game on the next possession for the Texans. His return did not last for too long. T.J. Yates replaced Savage and played out the remainder of the game later in the second quarter.
How the Texans handled Savage’s injury quickly came under fire, with the video of Savage twitching on the ground being the catalyst for a massive critical response to the situation. O’Brien, however, says he did not have the benefit of the video. If he did, he says he unquestionably would not have played Savage again.
O’Brien: “I would have never let that player (Savage) back in the game.” #Texans #NFL pic.twitter.com/HFotC03lAQ
— Brian T. Smith (@ChronBrianSmith) December 11, 2017
“With benefit of seeing the video, obviously from my standpoint — the care for the player — I would have never let that player back into the game and I don’t believe [head trainer] Geoff Kaplan would have let that player back in the game,” O’Brien said in a press conference Monday morning. “I did not see anything.”
That’s fair enough. A head coach has a lot to keep tabs on in the heat of the moment on the sideline, and he has to rely on assistants and other staff members for information on anything he may miss. O’Brien went on to explain the word from the medical staff on the sideline initially cleared Savage to go back in, but returned to O’Brien to say they wanted to test Savage again.
As O’Brien tells it, he was relying on the information from the medical experts, and it is those medical experts who may have some explaining to do as the NFL opens an investigation into the handling of Savage. That investigation is already underway from the NFLPA.
We are initiating a full review of the Tom Savage concussion from yesterday's game.
— George Atallah (@GeorgeAtallah) December 11, 2017
Concussions have been a major issue the NFL as a whole has been battling in recent years, and this episode in Houston will shine a brighter spotlight on the shortcomings of the NFL’s concussion reaction in a game.
