Irving discusses symptoms of concussion

mcnuttz

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By David Moore, Staff Writer

The headaches don't dig in for as long or hit as hard as they once did. The lapses in memory are less frequent along with the inability to string words together.

David Irving spoke with reporters Monday for the first time since suffering a concussion against Washington to end November. It's a conversation the Cowboys defensive lineman wouldn't have been able to conduct two weeks earlier.

"It's hard to put my words in order," Irving said of symptoms he's experienced at times over the previous 32 days. "I'll be talking and I'll know what I want to say but then when it's time to talk, I can't say it. I look like a deer caught in headlights."


He pauses and smiles.

"I couldn't have said that weeks ago," Irving said. "I wouldn't have thought of that.

"But yeah, it's getting better, getting easier."


Irving's concussion came early in the game against Washington on Nov. 30. He knew he wasn't right but wanted "to stay in and get some sacks and whatnot." He didn't tell the coaches, doctors or any of the trainers he was disoriented.

It wasn't until the next day he became truly concerned.

"It wasn't just headaches," said Irving, who missed the final four games of the regular season. "It was confusion, just forgetting things.

"It did scare me at first. You know for a while it didn't seem like it was getting better.

"I've never really had one this bad."

The headaches persist and come on randomly. Some days, Irving wakes up with a headache that goes away in a couple of hours. Other days he'll be fine, but one will hit while he's eating dinner and last for the remainder of the evening.

His memory?

"I'll be looking for my phone and it's like right in my hand and I'm just looking everywhere for it," Irving said. "But that hasn't happened for a couple of weeks now."

Irving will consider wearing a mouthpiece in the future, even though there's conflicting information as to whether or not it helps prevent head trauma. He has spoken to several doctors along the way.

All have said he should be fine.

"I guess some just last this long," Irving said. "They say they either last a day or month, so I just got unlucky this time.

"It's nothing serious. It should be all right."
 

Cowboysrock55

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Yeah, man. I love watching football but my son will not be playing it. Fuck that. Helps that he has my genes at likely would suck anyway. :picard
My girl friend will sometimes be searching for her phone while it's sitting right in her lap. And shit, she never even played day of football.
 

lostxn

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My girl friend will sometimes be searching for her phone while it's sitting right in her lap. And shit, she never even played day of football.
Can she speak? That's the shit that scared me. That is horrible.
 

skidadl

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I love football but if my son decides to skip playing football in college I’ll be happy.

25 yr old son - shoulder problems

22 yr old son - multiple concussions (memory and mood problems), walks with a limp (torn ankle ligaments), many separated shoulders, back injury

19 year old son - minor knee injuries ... out of all of them he’s the healthiest

17 year old son - just had knee surgery for a severely injured PCL and MCL

When they were kids we taught them to use their helmets to knock kids out. That’s just the way it was just 10 years ago.
 

DLK150

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I don't have kids but if I did have one that didn't want to play football I'd be fine with it after everything that's come out over the years. Too many sad/horror stories. If they're dead set on it, I would make sure they knew the potential risks involved. Once they're eighteen and out of the house in college it's their life though.
 

L.T. Fan

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I love football but if my son decides to skip playing football in college I’ll be happy.

25 yr old son - shoulder problems

22 yr old son - multiple concussions (memory and mood problems), walks with a limp (torn ankle ligaments), many separated shoulders, back injury

19 year old son - minor knee injuries ... out of all of them he’s the healthiest

17 year old son - just had knee surgery for a severely injured PCL and MCL

When they were kids we taught them to use their helmets to knock kids out. That’s just the way it was just 10 years ago.
This answers a lot of questions I have wondered about. In my day The tackeling technique was taught as much as a way to protect the tackler by not using the helmet as well as how to execute properly the take down bykeeping the head from making contact at all.

I don’t really know when the ideaology of throwing yourself at the runner with just the shoulder or aiming helmet to helmet started but it is a very dangerous theory for players on both sides of the ball. You see few arm and shoulder tackling these days.
 

mcnuttz

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I've had quite a few concussions, but only one that had symptoms as bad as Irving mentioned.

After a few weeks I could finally collect my thoughts, but I feel like the issues never really go away.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I played football up through the age of 18. I can honestly say the only time I had a bad concussion was from riding a dirt bike. But we were also taught proper tackling techniques in highschool. And I didn't play tackle until then (We only did flag at school prior to freshman year). I have no reservations about having a child play football. Of course I need to have a child first.
 

L.T. Fan

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I played football up through the age of 18. I can honestly say the only time I had a bad concussion was from riding a dirt bike. But we were also taught proper tackling techniques in highschool. And I didn't play tackle until then (We only did flag at school prior to freshman year). I have no reservations about having a child play football. Of course I need to have a child first.
Was the tackling technique you were taught not to get the head into anything rather Keith to th side and wrap up the opponent and lift? If the wrap up was above the waist either take them down or hang on until help arrived.
 

skidadl

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Was the tackling technique you were taught not to get the head into anything rather Keith to th side and wrap up the opponent and lift? If the wrap up was above the waist either take them down or hang on until help arrived.
Safe tackling is very much harped on now at the high school level. Rarely do you see coaches trying to get kids to ear hole guys these days. 10-15 years ago that wasn't the case. I honestly feel bad about how the encouragement to knock players out was celebrated.

Now we teach safe tackling daily. I mean, I never told a kid to knock another kid out but it was probably implied.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Was the tackling technique you were taught not to get the head into anything rather Keith to th side and wrap up the opponent and lift? If the wrap up was above the waist either take them down or hang on until help arrived.
Yeah we were harped on that we needed to keep our heads up, get your head out in front of the guy and wrap up.
 

skidadl

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Was the tackling technique you were taught not to get the head into anything rather Keith to th side and wrap up the opponent and lift? If the wrap up was above the waist either take them down or hang on until help arrived.
Old school football, 30-40 years ago, was facemask to the chest. That's how tackling was taught. Nobody does that anymore. It is head across the bow, wrap and drive. The Seahawk tackling technique is really popular at the moment. That is more like a rugby style where you aim at the opposite hip and roll/drive. What is different about this is that you aim for the free hip instead of across the bow. It is awkward to teach for kids who have been trying to position themselves across the opposite player their whole lives.
 

Cotton

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I came in here to post something, but can't for the life of me remember what it was.
 

midswat

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No one really reads your posts anyways.
 

L.T. Fan

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Old school football, 30-40 years ago, was facemask to the chest. That's how tackling was taught. Nobody does that anymore. It is head across the bow, wrap and drive. The Seahawk tackling technique is really popular at the moment. That is more like a rugby style where you aim at the opposite hip and roll/drive. What is different about this is that you aim for the free hip instead of across the bow. It is awkward to teach for kids who have been trying to position themselves across the opposite player their whole lives.
Real old school didn’t have face masks.
 

Angrymesscan

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This answers a lot of questions I have wondered about. In my day The tackeling technique was taught as much as a way to protect the tackler by not using the helmet as well as how to execute properly the take down bykeeping the head from making contact at all.

I don’t really know when the ideaology of throwing yourself at the runner with just the shoulder or aiming helmet to helmet started but it is a very dangerous theory for players on both sides of the ball. You see few arm and shoulder tackling these days.
That's why I advocate going back to the leather helmets you used, hard helmets are not being used as protection, but rather as a weapon.
 
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