Dr. Nick Riviera is Mike Brown's kind of doctor
Over the last couple of years, there has been a disturbing trend where Bengals go down with seemingly not-that-bad injuries and don't return for extended periods of time. This trend didn't take long to cast a shadow over 2008 now that Antwan Odom has experienced an "ankle sprain". Will he be back in a week or two? Or will he be hobbling around on crutches for the next couple/several months? I think it's clear which one is more likely.
Here is a brief list of the Bengal Medical Staff's resume.
Ahmad Brooks - Hurt his groin early in the 2007 season. Our medical staff said it would not sideline him for long. The same medical staff, apparently headed by Dr. Nick Riviera, could not get him back on the field last year. It might not have been their fault, but who's kidding, it was. Either they misdiagnosed the seriousness of the injury or they took the wrong route in rehabbing him. Probably a strong concentration of both. Also, several other linebackers last year were injured. Dhani Jones only avoided missing time because he dabbles in medicine and kept himself healthy.
Carson Palmer - Made a miraculous comeback from the worst knee injury in the history of knee injuries. Would be a bright spot for the staff except that Palmer wisely chose to go outside the Bengal's organization for the surgery and rehab.
Kenny Irons - Official Dr. Nick Riviera diagnosis: Tore something in one of his legs. Career possibly over after Riviera tried to replace the torn something with heavy duty rubber bands.
Chris Perry - His legs were apparently made in China, so I'm not blaming the medical staff for this one.
David Pollack - Everyone knows spine and neck injuries are the easiest injuries to heal. The staff definitely dropped the ball on this one.
Levi Jones - Staff told him he could play on healing knee only to have him hurt it even worse and sideline him for more time.
Peter Warrick - Came back from injury to help the Bengal's beat the undefeated Chief's in Marvin's first year. Too bad he never played a meaningful snap again after his heroics.
Tab Perry and Ethan Kilmer - Both missed entire seasons due to injuries.
You forgot Willie Anderson, who requested to have knee surgery back in February of '07. Our crack medical staff advised him to work on his knee non-surgically throughout the offseason. This resulted in Willie eventually having no choice but to opt for the surgery in the middle of August. This, of course, lingered long into the regular season causing Willie to miss several games.
And don't give them a free pass on Chris Perry. How many medical staffs take 10 months to rehab a groin (or was his knee? I can't recall) only to realize that it was actually a sports hernia all along, causing Perry to miss even MORE time.
Posted by: Bigg Dugg | July 29, 2008 at 03:34 PM
Don't forget Richie Braham in '06. The guy had, in essence, a career-ending injury, but wasn't put on IR until the 15th or 16th game of the season. Had the medical staff correctly diagnosed what he had, he could have been IR'd sometime much earlier and allow the team to activate someone else to take his spot on the roster.
Posted by: Brian | July 30, 2008 at 08:55 AM
Maybe the medical staff was made in China?
Posted by: Paul Katz | July 30, 2008 at 10:32 AM