Teddy's Status ... and How Tua Affected a Couple of Games
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Teddy Bridgewater made his first start for the Miami Dolphins because of Tua Tagovailoa's concussion. His debut lasted only one play because of Tua's previous injury, which wasn't deemed a concussion but resulted in new concussion rules.
Bridgewater was ruled out of the game based on the new ataxia provision in the concussion rules when a spotter at MetLife Stadium determined he saw some sort of instability from the quarterback after he was hit by New York Jets rookie cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner.
The ataxia provision, which automatically eliminates a player from a game and puts that player in concussion protocol, was added to the concussion rules Saturday when the NFL and NFLPA released their joint statement following the conclusion of the investigation into whether the proper protocols were followed when Tagovailoa was injured late in the second quarter of the Week 3 game against the Buffalo Bills.
The NFL and NFLPA determined that all the proper steps had been followed, but that "the outcome in this case was not what was intended when the Protocol was drafted."
And that's what led to the ataxia provision being added and, as fate would have it, it would be a Dolphins quarterback who would be the first player affected by it.
At the time he left the playing field, the Dolphins announced an elbow injury and that he would be checked for a concussion.
"He doesn't have any symptoms and he passed his evaluation," head coach Mike McDaniel said, "but he'll be now under the new regulations in the concussion protocol, protocol moving forward."
Bridgewater will continue to be evaluated until the five-step return to participation protocol, which involves symptom limited activity, aerobic exercise, football-specific exercise, club-based non-contact training drills, and full football activity/clearance.
Given that he did not have any concussion symptoms, it's reasonable to think that Bridgewater could be in the lineup next Sunday when the Dolphins face the Minnesota Vikings, the team that drafted Bridgewater in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.
THE OTHER TUA CONNECTION
The hit that injured Tagovailoa in the game against Cincinnati didn't produce a roughing-the-passer penalty on Bengals defensive tackle Josh Tupou, who simply spun Tua to the ground to end the play and keep him from escaping.
It absolutely was the right call.
There was a similar tackle Sunday where defensive tackle Grady Jarrett sacked Tom Brady on a third-down play late in the Atlanta-Tampa Bay game, except this one got a flag.
The penalty extended the drive and allowed Tampa Bay to run out the clock in its 21-15 victory.
The call was criticized, and for good reason, because it was brutal.
And this was one of the questions to referee Jerome Boger after the game for a pool report: "That play was similar to the play that injured Miami's quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. Is that something you have made a specific measure to try to watch out for — the takedowns on quarterbacks like that"?
Boger's answer: "Not, not necessarily."
