What's Tomlin waiting for?

Clark has received medical clearance to play.  Why the quotation marks, Bob?  Dr. Tomlin shouldn't make the call in this case.  Clark should.  Real doctors have cleared him to play.

If my doctor tells me I can go to work, I go to work.  I don't call my boss for his opinion.

(You're obviously a tougher guy that Ryan Clark, Meathead.  I seem to recall Roethlisberger having `medical clearance' to play vs. Oakland a couple of years ago. He looked real good, didn't he?  ---  Bob Smizik)

You are absolutely right Bob.  I was thinking the same thing this morning.

My faith in doctors isn't very high, therfore no way I'd play if I'm Ryan.

I am sure (hope) the "hold up" with the decision is gamesmanship.

Tomlin has no obligation to announce anything more on this matter, until he's required to announce who's deactivated Monday Night.  

Distraction?  

Please!

But you do have faith in the medical training and knowledge of football coaches right?

As is true in most cases, Bob nailed this one. I was expecting to hear a confirmation by Tuesday at the latest. I really hope that Clark does not even make the trip to Denver. His health and family should come first.

As for being "cleared" to play -- that just means they cannot detect a reason for him not to play. The complications could arise again without warning. He had moderate difficulty playing in Denver before, then nearly died the second time.

Perhaps he shouldn't be playing football at all.

meathead -

"But you do have faith in the medical training and knowledge of football coaches right?"

----

Nope.  You have to make the decision for yourself in most cases, although I do think Tomlin should and did take the tough decision out of CLarks hands.

and to say he shouldn't be playing or implying he isn't tough is BS.  If you don't think he is "tough" you must not watch him play..........

Your comments are quite honestly ridiculous

Clark alone should make the decision on whether he plays or not.

His football coach should not override Clark's decision.  He has medical clearance to play.

As for the possibility of Clark dying, I have seen him lead with his head once or twice when making a tackle.  That could easily kill him too.

Even though I put my faith into medical science, I have heard enough interviews with Clark this week to know that he is still undecided. There is a lot to be said about his psyche. You know that in the back of his mind he doesn't want to go through that again. Tomlin should have already made the decision for him. He should sit him. It's just one stupid game. Tomlin is not acting like a good leader in this case.

Players with concussions get clearance to play all the time from medical experts; we're now starting to see that the experts aren't always correct (see the congressional hearings on this over the past 2 weeks).  Paraphrasing Walker18, the doctors can tell you if he can play, not if he should play.  I can go to work with the flu, but thats not saying I should go to work with the flu.  

How is this a distraction?   Maybe a better description is fodder for the media to hype up.  MT is the coach and I'm sure that there is a decision that has been made already; one can easily see through these feigned "concerned for his health" columns that the media is just upset that they are not part of the know.

Given the plethora of stories on this topic the past ten days, I for one, feel that it's a foregone conclusion that coach Tomlin has taken the decision out of Clark's hands & will most likey deactivate him Monday evening.  As for the wait, why shouldn't the Steelers wait?  Perhaps the decision is being delayed until the medical staff does further evaluation after Ryan makes the team flight & maybe even gets in a rigorous workout in the high altitude.

I said earlier this week on thia blog that this is a no-brainer, and medical clearance measn very little.  The clearnce was given to him weeks ago and yet he is undecided ... thus, he defiinitely should notbe on the field,and Tomlin should have decided for him last week.  If this is not reason enough ... then the consideration for his family,who suffered great anguish just a couple of years ago after the Denver game, should seal the deal.

I haven't been down on Tomlin like this since the 2 point decision against the Jaguars in the playoff game.

Distraction? Hardly. I'm sure the team is not distracted by this. The media perhaps, but not the team. And I would guess the Broncos aren't paying muich attention to it either.

This post is actually a distraction!

Let's wait to see what happens before you come down on Tomlin.  It's entirely possible (and likely in my view) that Tomlin has already indicated to Clark that he is not letting him play, but he is not going to report it to the media until he is required to.  This would be no different than the Patriots usual practice of being secretive about the injury status of their players.  Granted, the Broncos probably aren't game planning around Clark, but if they dont know whether he is playing or not they may need to prepare differently, if ever so slightly, and that may be all Tomlin wants.  That said, I think it is morally and ethically required for the Steelers to keep Clark out of the game, even if he makes the personal decision to play.  Yes, football players always risk serious injury when they take the field, but this is different - the man has a medical condition that adds a whole new element of risk if he plays at high altitude.  The Steelers owe it to Clark and his family to protect him.  It's only one game.  If they do allow Clark to play, and the medical risk is as has been reported, THEN I will be disappointed in Tomlin and the Steelers.

Why does medical clearance mean very little?

The meaning of "medical clearance", like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, especially when it comes from a doctor who is sometimes conflicted due to his loyalty to the team over the individual well being of the player.  If medical clearance means Clark has little to no risk that his playing at high altitude will cause his sickel cell trait to threaten his life, that's one thing.  If it means he is physically able to play but there is even a moderate chance that he will end up in the hospital again, that's different.  

This is only a distraction to you media folk it seems.

And Tomlin came out earlier in the week and said they would take their time making this decision.  Did I miss something?

(I know no one wants to call this a distraction, but in my understand of the word, as first used by Chuck Noll, it is. Usually, teams know their starting lineup by Friday.   Feel free to have you own definition. -- Bob Smizik)

Meathead, I think the problem with just going with him being medically cleared is the fact that he was physically fine prior to his last trip to Denver, too, and would have been medically cleared to play then. Doctors can usually do a good job of evaluating health in the present; I've not been impressed with their ability to tell the future-I had a neighbor with cancer given a month to live who lasted over ten years, and a friend who went to the hospital and was told he would be fine who was dead before the night was over.

Bob,

Being as it is Friday, I'm sure the Steelers know their starting lineup.  That being said, why is there a need for them to alert the media as to the decision?

(Where did I say anything about them being required to alert the media? --  Bob Smizik)

Given the unknown circumstances sorrounding Ryan's Medical condition, of course he can't take the risk.

The Doctor's speculate that the removal of the Spleen will prevent a reoccurance of the last event.  No guarantees though.

To satisfy Meathead and perhaps Ryan Clarks desire to play, I wonder if the Steelers were considering using Clark on passing downs only.  Say 3rd and longs (or call it 15 to 20 snaps), that could have significantly reduced the risks....

Just a suggestion, Meathead you have been taking a very aggressive stance on this all week, not sure if you are a parent yet or not, but perhaps one day you will be and you'll get some perspective about what's worth doing and not.

He's got a wife and young kids to tend to.

Let it go.

My point is the decision to play should be Clark's not Tomlin's.  Clark has medical clearance to play and if he chooses to play Tomlin should put him on the field.  Tomlin is a football coach, not a doctor.

Meathead, if Tomlin leaves this decision totally up to Clark he will be shirking his responsibilities to the player and the team.  

Tomlin has made the decision and the team knows it.  The decision hasn't been made public for no other reason than to give the Broncos' offense something to prepare for.  

You declare Clark out -- the Broncos don't have to worry about him.  You say nothing -- they do.

It's a distraction -- for the Broncos.  That's it.

(And how do you prepare differently for Tyrone Carter as opposed to Ryan Clark? I'm sure the Broncos are agonizing over who the Steelers start at free safety.

If that's all it took to confuse an opponent, Tomlin would not announce every week who was starting at a certain position.  For example, is it Keyaron Fox or Lawrence Timmons at inside linebacker.  Believe me, if that's all it took to confuse the opposition every team in the league would do something like that.  --- Bob Smizik)

Bob,

I disagree somewhat, granted it's not a huge strategic advantage to not announce the starting free safety, but at the same time I'm certain that there is quite a bit of difference in preparring for a top NFL defense with Clark (a borderline pro-bowl talent IMHO) as opposed to Carter (a backup safety with most if not all NFL teams).

Again, I feel that the bottom line was that the Steelers had no obligation to issue a statement, one way or the other once the injury report was released.  How much of it was a strategic ploy or a team distraction for either team is debatable.

(If it is an advantage, why don't coaches throughout the league utilize it, but having alternating starters?  And if it is an advantage, how did teams prepare for the McFadden/Gay CB rotation last year? Why doesn't Tomlin announce that he's not sure if Hood or Eason is starting at DE?  Fox or Timmons at ILB?

I do not believe team will prepare any differently for the free safety.  If he is a lesser talent, they will be able to exploit him in the normal course of their game plan.

I never said the Steelers had an obliation to announce a starter. I thought it would be the wisest course of action to eliminate all talk -- which can be a distraction -- on the subject.

And if talk is not a distraction, why was Holmes sat down following his run-in with the cops last year? --  Bob Smizik)

"I do not believe team will prepare any differently for the free safety.  If he is a lesser talent, they will be able to exploit him in the normal course of their game plan."

Good point, but not buyin' it...did you happen to watch the Jax @ Pit '07 playoff game in Jan. '08?  If not go back & look at it then tell me that the Jags didn't game plan differently for the abscence of Aaron Smith & Ryan Clark, especially targeting Tyronne Carter, who was the WORST player on the field that evening for either team.  If it had nothing to do with game planning then why did Carter not appear to be anywhere near as overmatched in the regular season contest between the same teams less than a month prior?

I'm sure you'll agree that McFadden & Gay are alot more comparable to each other than Clark & Carter.  As for announcing starters, it's really a moot point, since I don't see any coach reading off his lineup in the week leading up to a game.  That's why teams have depth charts posted & the league has a required injury report.

I never said that "talk" was not a distraction, I said that by not announcing Clark's status earlier, it was not a distraction in my view.