NewYorkDragons80
10-27-2001, 07:12 AM
FORMER NEW YORK DRAGON KEVIN SWAYNE TO START SUNDAY AGAINST PANTHERS!!!
Chrebet to Miss Game
Swayne will replace receiver who's suffering migraines.
By Ken Berger
STAFF WRITER
October 25, 2001
When Wayne Chrebet met with Herman Edwards yesterday, he had a feeling it would not be what he wanted to hear. Still suffering post-concussion symptoms, Chrebet is out for Sunday's game at Carolina.
After taking a blow to the head for the second consecutive game, Chrebet has what the Jets are calling "post-trauma migraines." He also said he's having other classic concussion symptoms: sensitivity to light and loud sounds and irritability. An MRI and CT scan both were negative, but Chrebet reluctantly concurred with the determination by Edwards and team doctor Elliot Pellman, who is chairman of the NFL's concussion committee.
"He really wants to play, but he understands. Two weeks in a row, you don't want to get involved in that," Edwards said. "If you have another one and then he's gone for a month, you just can't do that. Nothing's worth that, a player's safety."
Chrebet, who still appeared glassy-eyed yesterday, was examined Monday after getting hit with a helmet-to-helmet blow from Rams defensive tackle Brian Young in the second quarter. That hit came seven days after Chrebet suffered a concussion on an undetermined play against Miami, causing him to miss two days of practice.
Though he thinks he could have returned in the second half against the Rams and would have been willing to play this week, Chrebet understands that it's a time for caution. He's especially conscious of the long-term risks of concussions after getting married in February with his first child due in December.
"She [his wife] knows that I'm not going to go out there and risk any permanent damage," Chrebet said. "... Your head is one thing you don't mess with. I want to be able to run around with my baby and not get headaches all the time. I think that's the stuff I need to think about right now."
Kevin Swayne will start in Chrebet's place, adding another chapter to Swayne's remarkable football story this year. Swayne is working on his 40th consecutive week of football with no break after playing in the XFL, Arena Football League and the NFL.
"I stopped counting, actually," Swayne said. "I try to count this as a whole, new, fresh season and put that behind me and not think about it." At 26 years old, Swayne admitted he had all but given up his dream of playing in the NFL. Now, he's getting his first NFL start.
"I figured I'm going to play in the Arena League and live a normal life," he said.
If he makes it through the rest of the year, it is believed that he will be the first player to play full seasons in three different pro football leagues in the same year. He caught the first touchdown pass in the brief history of the XFL, then went to the Arena League and set a record with seven touchdown catches in one game for the New York Dragons.
The Dragons' season ended on a Friday, the Jets called the next day and Swayne was in for a tryout on Sunday. He was signed the next day, July 30, and has been toiling non-stop since January.
"It's kind of an odd story," Chrebet said with amazement. "I never heard of somebody going through that many seasons consecutively."
Vinny Testaverde is enamored of Swayne.
"You can't help but be happy for [Swayne], with what he's been through, where he's come from and where he is now," Testaverde said. "It would be great to see him have an outstanding game and win one of those game balls from Chris Berman and those guys."
Swayne made a couple of nice catches in practice yesterday, his first practice as an NFL starter.
"This is a privilege," Swayne said. "It's not something that I feel is owed to me."
"THOSE BASTARDS"
-Norman Schwartzkoff
"May God bless us in this trial, comfort us, strengthen our resolve, and make our justice as terrible and certain as His."
-Senator John McCain
Chrebet to Miss Game
Swayne will replace receiver who's suffering migraines.
By Ken Berger
STAFF WRITER
October 25, 2001
When Wayne Chrebet met with Herman Edwards yesterday, he had a feeling it would not be what he wanted to hear. Still suffering post-concussion symptoms, Chrebet is out for Sunday's game at Carolina.
After taking a blow to the head for the second consecutive game, Chrebet has what the Jets are calling "post-trauma migraines." He also said he's having other classic concussion symptoms: sensitivity to light and loud sounds and irritability. An MRI and CT scan both were negative, but Chrebet reluctantly concurred with the determination by Edwards and team doctor Elliot Pellman, who is chairman of the NFL's concussion committee.
"He really wants to play, but he understands. Two weeks in a row, you don't want to get involved in that," Edwards said. "If you have another one and then he's gone for a month, you just can't do that. Nothing's worth that, a player's safety."
Chrebet, who still appeared glassy-eyed yesterday, was examined Monday after getting hit with a helmet-to-helmet blow from Rams defensive tackle Brian Young in the second quarter. That hit came seven days after Chrebet suffered a concussion on an undetermined play against Miami, causing him to miss two days of practice.
Though he thinks he could have returned in the second half against the Rams and would have been willing to play this week, Chrebet understands that it's a time for caution. He's especially conscious of the long-term risks of concussions after getting married in February with his first child due in December.
"She [his wife] knows that I'm not going to go out there and risk any permanent damage," Chrebet said. "... Your head is one thing you don't mess with. I want to be able to run around with my baby and not get headaches all the time. I think that's the stuff I need to think about right now."
Kevin Swayne will start in Chrebet's place, adding another chapter to Swayne's remarkable football story this year. Swayne is working on his 40th consecutive week of football with no break after playing in the XFL, Arena Football League and the NFL.
"I stopped counting, actually," Swayne said. "I try to count this as a whole, new, fresh season and put that behind me and not think about it." At 26 years old, Swayne admitted he had all but given up his dream of playing in the NFL. Now, he's getting his first NFL start.
"I figured I'm going to play in the Arena League and live a normal life," he said.
If he makes it through the rest of the year, it is believed that he will be the first player to play full seasons in three different pro football leagues in the same year. He caught the first touchdown pass in the brief history of the XFL, then went to the Arena League and set a record with seven touchdown catches in one game for the New York Dragons.
The Dragons' season ended on a Friday, the Jets called the next day and Swayne was in for a tryout on Sunday. He was signed the next day, July 30, and has been toiling non-stop since January.
"It's kind of an odd story," Chrebet said with amazement. "I never heard of somebody going through that many seasons consecutively."
Vinny Testaverde is enamored of Swayne.
"You can't help but be happy for [Swayne], with what he's been through, where he's come from and where he is now," Testaverde said. "It would be great to see him have an outstanding game and win one of those game balls from Chris Berman and those guys."
Swayne made a couple of nice catches in practice yesterday, his first practice as an NFL starter.
"This is a privilege," Swayne said. "It's not something that I feel is owed to me."
"THOSE BASTARDS"
-Norman Schwartzkoff
"May God bless us in this trial, comfort us, strengthen our resolve, and make our justice as terrible and certain as His."
-Senator John McCain