Bookies Like Vick More Than Kolb
Updated: Thursday, 16 Sep 2010, 12:15 PM EDT
It looks like Las Vegas bookmakers are bigger fans of Michael Vick than Kevin Kolb, as the betting line has shifted for the Eagles' game with the Lions.
The betting line on the Philadelphia Eagles game against the Detroit Lion has shifted dramatically since news broke that Kolb won't likely play in Sunday.
The Eagles had been 3 to 4 point favorites with Kolb as the tentative starter.
Now, the Eagles are a 6 to 7 point favorites over Detroit, despite being the road team.
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On Wednesday, Eagles head coach Andy Reid said Kolb and linebacker Stewart Bradley couldn't pass NFL-mandated concussion tests.
Reid also said that Bradley appeared to be doing better than Kolb in their recoveries.
Bradley's injury drew a lot of attention nationally because he appeared to be semi-conscious on the field.
But both the NFL and the player's union said the Eagles treated both injuries properly.
Kolb and Bradley briefly returned to action in the Packers game but were benched when they started to show concussion-like symptoms.
Vick played well in the 27-20 loss to Green Bay, and the former All-Pro quarterback will get his first start since 2006 in Detroit.
The Philadelphia Eagles are facing a lot of questions after Kevin Kolb and Stewart Bradley went sent back into the Packers’ game after suffering concussions.
Eagles’ head coach Andy Reid told reporters on Sunday night that team doctors examined Kolb and Bradley immediately after they were hurt in the 27-20 loss to Green Bay.
“All of the questions that they answered with the doctors registered well, but as it went on, they weren’t feeling well, so we took them out,” Reid said.
One particular concern was the condition of Bradley, who stumbled onto the grass at the Linc and appeared to be semi-conscious after he was accidently hit by team mate Ernie Sims in the first half.
“I know our doctors and [Trainer] Rick [burkholder] were on top of it. They thought he tested out okay on the sideline,” Reid said.
Burkholder also has extensive training in dealing with concussions.
But that won’t stop the questions from the media, in the wake of growing attention to the NFL’s history of dealing with head injuries.
A new NFL policy states that players can’t return to a game if they “show any symptoms of Lost consciousness, Confusion or disorientation, Amnesia, Abnormalities in a neurological exam (i.e. dizziness, uneven balance) or Persistent headache or nausea.”
Players also can’t play in a game if they have a concussion and can’t pass a battery of tests after five days.
That would only allow Kolb or Bradley to practice for a day with the team before it heads to Detroit to play the Lions next Sunday.
Fox 29 medical contributor Dr. Mike Cirigliano, who is an Associate Professor of Medicine and practicing internist at the University of Pennsylvania, doesn’t think Kolb and Bradley should have been sent back into the Packers’ game.
“We need to examine the patient. If the mechanism of injury – just like we have instant replay – is such that there is serious harm, serious damage to the brain, they should not play,” Cirigliano said.
Cirigliano believes players should be examined in a locker room, not on the sidelines.
“If they had gone back and got hit again, there would be a lot more questions,” Cirigliano said.
That did not happen, as Bradley and Kolb were pulled at halftime.
The issue of concussions is of growing concern on the NFL as reports indicate some former players may have symptoms resembling ALS.
The players’ union has also made concussions an issue as part of negotiations over a new labor agreement with the league.
In 2009, the NFL expanded its concussion guidelines .
A player who suffers a concussion can'treturn to play day if any of the following six classes of symptoms or signs is identified based on the initial medical evaluation of the player