Official: DMac has Sports Hernia

[Larry]

and is asked to throw 50 times a game with only Josh Parry as his protection behind the OL

Parry is back there only for 6-7 plays a game.  Usually, there's no one save for Westbrook chipping the right end.

[ice grillin you]

Sheldon Brown played a whole season with one

when exactly did this happen

[PhillyGirl]

As The Underdogs, Eagles Tackle Obstacles
September 28, 2005

In an odd kind of way, this is a terrific situation: The Eagles are decided underdogs heading to Kansas City.
Their star quarterback has a sports hernia, which causes extreme pain in every day situations like, well, exiting his fine automobile. Rolling out with 290-pound defensive linemen chasing him and trying to fire out a pass through a maze of defenders is another challenge altogether.

Their All-Pro kicker spends his days in the athletic trainer's room trying to heal a hamstring that is torn in two places, so the Eagles are probably going with a youngster who has never before played in an NFL regular season game.

The defense is likely to be without a starting defensive tackle who leads the team in quarterback sacks. The opponent, Kansas City, is snarling mad after an embarrassing loss on Monday Night Football and has a home crowd, as loud as any in the league, that poses an intimidating presence.

What a perfect place and time to shock the world.

Hey, you would like things to be better. You would like quarterback Donovan McNabb to feel great after the best three-game start in his Eagles career. You would like him to answer questions other than ones about his variety of injuries -- from his chest to his abdominal injury (deemed a sports hernia for clarification's sake) to his shin contusion.

But things are never easy for McNabb, who has thrown four touchdowns playing on a broken ankle (vs. Arizona, 2001), battled his way through a thumb injury early in the 2003 season, been KO'd by a rib cartilage injury in the playoffs later that year and now has these trilogy of injuries to beat.

McNabb is a tough guy. Tough guys play quarterback in the NFL. You take a beating at the position and you get right back in there and play more. You stand in the pocket and you take your shots, so pain is something McNabb has accepted as part of his life.

There are many questions to ask. Let's start here.

1. Why subject McNabb to further injury? Would it be better to just have surgery now?

According to the way head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder explained it, McNabb's risk for further injury is minimal. There is a risk that his tolerance for more pain will be tested, In fact, every movement that stresses the abdominal region -- any time that McNabb opens his hips on the field, away from football, any time -- will cause pain.

McNabb will accept the pain. He will play through the injury. For how long, well, McNabb's goal is to win the Super Bowl and then undergo surgery and heal throughout the off-season.

Surgery at this point would basically end McNabb's season. The recovery time from such an injury -- typically, said Burkholder -- is 8 to 12 weeks.

The Eagles point to the experience of cornerback Sheldon Brown a couple of seasons ago, when he played an entire year with a sports hernia, and punter Dirk Johnson, who has surgery on his sports hernia just before training camp started and is still working his way back to 100 percent, as examples of players who have blocked out and pain and played through the injury.

Wide receiver Terrell Owens had a surgical prodedure on his sports hernia years ago while he was a member of the 49ers and continues to deal with repeated bouts with abdominal pain.

It came down to this for McNabb: Play through the pain or risk ending his season right now with surgery. He chose the former, and accepted the fact that he won't be anywhere near 100 percent for the remainder of 2005.

2. How will the injury affect McNabb?

It depends on how much stress he puts on the region. McNabb and head coach Andy Reid insist that the quarterback will be fine when it comes to moving in and out of the pocket, that the game plan will not change and that McNabb can execute whatever the coach asks.  

Certainly, though, McNabb appeared to be in pain on Sunday against Oakland. He was magnificent from the pocket, though, passing for 365 yards and a pair of touchdowns and engineering a two-minute drive to set up David Akers for the game-winning field goal.

That McNabb's pocket skills are so strong is a huge plus in this story. He can sit back in the pocket and tear a defense apart. He can win games that way.

But the Eagles also like to move him out of the pocket, use him on bootlegs and rolls and scrambles if they are there. We can only wait and see how well he can move -- and determine how the injury affects his mobility and his balance and his thrust when he delivers the football.

3. Does the injury affect the way defenses play McNabb?

Could be. It remains to be seen. When asked about the possibility that the Chiefs could blitz a wounded McNabb on Sunday, he smiled and said his responsiblity would then be to make the defense pay for its aggressive approach.

Will defenses lay back in coverage and dare him to beat them with his arm, taking the chance that McNabb won't be able to run out of the pocket?

It's going to be fascinating to watch, literally, every play. That's how quickly McNabb could tweak his injury. Every hit will leave us holding our breath, for it could aggravate his chest or his sports hernia or his shin contusion.

4. Would it be better to rest McNabb until after the bye?

Not according to what Burkholder said. The only way the injury heals is through surgery, not rest. It will feel better during the down time, but once the injury is stressed, the pain returns.

"All the physicians involved in this have said his pain can get worse, it may get better, but the condition won't," said Burkholder. "It's not like he's going to have a career ending problem to his abdomen or groin and everything that happens is correctable with the surgery. So, to a point yes, the pain may get worse, he may be able to deal with the pain better too as we do more rehab and treatment."
5. What can we expect from McNabb?

We can expect him to play football. He has eight touchdown passes and two interceptions in three games. McNabb is the leader of the team and the offensive starter.

You can have the same high expectations. You can understand that he's playing in extreme pain, but that he is not in any danger of altering his career path. You can understand that he, like everyone on the team, is putting the team in front of his own interests.

The Eagles have the goal of winning the Super Bowl. That has not changed one bit, despite the obvious challenges ahead.

With McNabb hurting, with Akers out and with Walker likely to miss this game, the Eagles are the team most people out there expect to lose.

Me? I think it's a terrific chance to show what kind of team the Eagles have, what kind of confidence the team breeds. The Eagles are going to Kansas City to win a football game, obstacles and all.

[HOWBOUTTHEMCOWBOYS]

You guys can win the east without McNabb. Westbrook might be the most dangerous player on your team.

I can't believe my eyes.   



what is so hard to believe?

[MDS]

im scared of patrick cryaton and terry glenn

[HOWBOUTTHEMCOWBOYS]

im scared of patrick cryaton and terry glenn

You must be kidding.....

[MDS]

no  i dont be jokin son u be scrwed eagles ruke cowbyws drule mwahaha rofl

[ice grillin you]

The Eagles point to the experience of cornerback Sheldon Brown a couple of seasons ago, when he played an entire year with a sports hernia

not saying it didnt happen but is there anywhere outside of the eagles website that says this happened...ive searched and searched and searched and searched and cant find one mention of it anywhere...not even on the eagles website prior to this week

[HOWBOUTTHEMCOWBOYS]

no  i dont be jokin son u be scrwed eagles ruke cowbyws drule mwahaha rofl

Oh,  i get it.  You are a moron.  Just want to throw insults back and forth?

[PhillyPhreak54]

A few thoughts:

1. Why are some people so shocked by this "news"? It was reported on Sunday that he had this injury. Obviously Reid & McNabb wouldn't confirm it, but they both side-stepped the questions and didn't really do a good job of hiding the fact the report was true.

2. I cannot believe my eyes...is the season over? You'd think the dude was effin' shot or something. This season ain't over. Nor is the hope of winning the SB. Nor are they going to fall the hell apart.

Defense
Terrell Owens
Brian Westbrook

They still have those 3 things, chicken littles.

Is Donny Mac going to have to suck up the pain? Yeah.
Is he going to be flawless? No.
Can he still get the job done? Yeah.

Like Jim Fassel said in 2000 "This team is going to the playoffs. You want in? Get in. You want out? Get out."

The OL has to step it up and Rojo Grande has to call more running plays.

[MadMarchHare]

He can't make it worse by playing with it, what is your point?

didnt they say the same thing about akers?

You're kidding right? Akers first of all, injured another part of his leg from overcompensating for the already weakened part. And with a pulled hammy, there is always the possibility of TEARING it by continuing to use it.

Look back at when Duce played almost the entire year with his hernia. He played in every game, ran for over 1000 yards and had 57 receptions for almost 500 yards. He didn't make it worse.

You can make it more PAINFUL by playing with it, but you can't make the INJURY worse.

I find it amusing that you use the Akers situation in your argument, after telling me I was a dumbass for thinking they should've had France on the active roster, in case something went wrong.

A hernia, any hernia, can get worse with time.  No guarantee it will, but playing professional football with one would certainly seem to increase your chances.

My 2 cents:  with this defense, we can win probably 70-80% of the games on the sched with McMahon at the helm.  He should have the surgery now and get healthy.

[WEST is GOD]

A few thoughts:

1. Why are some people so shocked by this "news"? It was reported on Sunday that he had this injury. Obviously Reid & McNabb wouldn't confirm it, but they both side-stepped the questions and didn't really do a good job of hiding the fact the report was true.

2. I cannot believe my eyes...is the season over? You'd think the dude was effin' shot or something. This season ain't over. Nor is the hope of winning the SB. Nor are they going to fall the hell apart.

Defense
Terrell Owens
Brian Westbrook

They still have those 3 things, chicken littles.

Is Donny Mac going to have to suck up the pain? Yeah.
Is he going to be flawless? No.
Can he still get the job done? Yeah.

Like Jim Fassel said in 2000 "This team is going to the playoffs. You want in? Get in. You want out? Get out."

The OL has to step it up and Rojo Grande has to call more running plays.

Well put. People act like Mcnabb is going to turn into Ryan Leaf. He'll still roll out. He'll still be able to scramble when need be. He'll still be accurate. Will he be 100%? Of course not, but few players do stay 100% throughout the season. You are going to get some bumps and bruises. Mcnabb is going to still have a HELL of a season and he is going to put up the best numbers out of any QB in football.

[Sgt PSN]

2. I cannot believe my eyes...is the season over? You'd think the dude was effin' shot or something.

That was McDougle.  Dummy. 

[PhillyPhreak54]

DOUBLE-SPEAK ON DONOVAN INJURY

The more that we read stories regarding Donovan McNabb and his "abdominal strain," the more suspicious we are as to whether McNabb indeed will continue to play with a condition that requires surgery after the season.



Nearly every story we've seen leads off by describing the injury as an "abdominal strain," and then mentions in passing later in the piece that the "strain" is in fact a "sports hernia."



A "sports hernia" is (duh) a hernia that involves a strain in the inguinal area, allowing tissue from inside the abdomen (i.e., the guts)  to bulge through.  It can be resolved by surgery or rest -- and McNabb intends to submit to neither.



We don't see this ending well, folks.  The team, we think, is using the same hard-headed, "big boys don't cry" approach that resulted in David Akers turning his hamstring into stew meat.  McNabb will get worse, not better, and we think he'll eventually be forced to get surgery and miss 4-6 weeks of the season.



Mark our words on this.  McNabb will go under the knife before the turkey goes under the ax.  And when he does, it'll be time to stick a fork in the team's hopes for the 2005 season.

More fuel for the chicken littles...

By the way, in addition to my last post I'd like to say that I would have no problem resting 5 these next two games and that would give him a month until the next game against San Diego.

The Eagles could beat Dallas and Kansas City with Koy Detmer as the helm.

[WEST is GOD]

I'm going to strongly disagree with them. I love how everyone all of a sudden becomes doctors. The doctors nor the team would allow Mcnabb to play if it was anything bad enough to risk further injury. Hernias are no joke. They can be fatal if left untreated according to medical websites. I'm talking about real hernias. So if this thing had the possibility to turn into a real hernia the team would NOT clear him to play football. This team did not let Tra Thomas hit the field until his blood clot was taken care of. If this thing had potential to get a lot worse, Mcnabb wouldn't hit the field either.

As for Akers... his injury was seperate and hasn't been determined yet by doctors whether or not it was related to his original injury. It could've been a coincidence. The difference between the two though is Akers' only use is his legs and it was a leg injury. If Mcnabb broke his arm or his hand then this would be a different story.