The NFL ruled against any disciplinary action towards the St. Louis Rams for failing to follow proper concussion protocols when quarterback Case Keenum was concussed in Week 11. Former NFL offensive lineman and current ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth had a few things to say about the league’s decision — none of them kind, but all relevant — on his Twitter account Sunday morning.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter first reported the news about the decision.
Now, on to Schlereth’s excellent points in response to the decision. He sounded off on the league and Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, who claims to have not seen that Keenum had gotten hurt — a notion Schlereth and others find ridiculous.
NFL must have put Ted Wells in charge of this Rams investigation that way they'll be sure to get the narrative they're looking for.
— Mark Schlereth (@markschlereth) November 29, 2015
1) Fisher said he saw Keenum go down but didn't see him under duress cuz he was in "game management mode" I think your QB's health
— Mark Schlereth (@markschlereth) November 29, 2015
2) is a major part of "game management" just spitballing here maybe that's why you're 6-10 every year!
— Mark Schlereth (@markschlereth) November 29, 2015
To be fair, there are many more reasons why Jeff Fisher’s teams are chronically mediocre, but that’s a story for another day. However, it does seem clear the head coach isn’t telling the entire truth about what happened last weekend.
Foles was warming up on the sideline apparently he was the only one in the Rams organization that saw that Keenum was in trouble.
— Mark Schlereth (@markschlereth) November 29, 2015
You don’t warm up a backup unless you have seen that your starter got banged up. Fisher and the Rams clearly did see that Keenum was struggling to get up off the turf, which is why Foles was preparing to enter the game in the first place.
The NFL deserves plenty of criticism for playing softball on an issue in which only the sternest measures should be utilized. For a league that claims to be doing everything it can to combat concussions, this ruling comes across as extremely irresponsible and tone-deaf, to boot.