Quick explanation about the "medical" situation concerning Brees

[LSSpam]

There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about what happened in relation to Brees and the Dolphins medical staff. This is relevant now because I suspect the Dolphins still have the same medical staff so you might want to know how royally they screwed up.

Dr. Andrews is the one who performed the surgery on Brees' shoulder. Prior to Free Agency Dr. Andrews, at Brees' request, released a detailed statement about Drew Brees' shoulder to the press and released the specific medical files to all of the teams.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2351620&type=story

Dr. Andrews, in the specific report he released, said he expected Brees to be about 90% to 95% and that it was possible he would not be 100% until the next year. He also said Brees, if he did his rehab correctly would be ready for the NFL season.

The New Orleans Saints, as they would state, "bet" on the person Drew Brees was. They felt he would be a demon about his rehab and that he would be back in time for the season. They also structured the contract to allow an out if he reinjured it.

Now, this is what's important.

What on earth could the Miami Dolphins medical staff have seen or noticed about Brees' shoulder that made them feel he was more of a risk, approximately a 2nd rounder's worth more of a risk, then Culpepper?

It doesn't particularly make sense. The doctor who performed the surgery, Dr. Andrews (who is NFL-reknowned. He does many surgeries for many athletes and therefore has a reputation to protect and would not "go out on a limb") said Brees would be back. Brees said he would be back. The only remote concern was that he may not be 100% when he came back. Which, if he isn't a 100% yet, god help the NFL and the record books. But a 95% Brees is still a heck of a lot better then most NFL QBs.

It should be obvious to everyone that the Miami medical staff screwed up. This isn't 20/20 hindsight. It's an evident screw up. They took their own opinion, from looking at charts and notes, over the opinion of the qualified doctor who performed the surgery in the first place (and whose notes and charts they were looking at to make their own determination). Either they felt Brees wouldn't be deligent in his rehab (which seems ridiculous since they then went out and got Culpepper who was doing HIS rehab in a parking lot) or...well I don't know. I can't even fathom how they missed the boat on this.

Brees is gone and not the concern of the Miami Dolphins. Fine. But the decision making process which chose Culpepper over Brees remains and is still therefore a potential problem.

My personnal opinion? They passed on Brees for reason other then money (which could have been worked out, you can be creative) or the stated medical reasons (which don't make sense unless the Dolphins medical staff is full of idiots).

 

[Funkymonks]

Yes this is a screw up, but what you are saying is still 20/20 hindsight. If you did not know that Brees would be having the season he is having now, can you honestly say that a QB with a bum shoulder is better than a QB with a bum knee. I would take the QB with the bum knee because he can still throw the ball.

Now do i wish that i had Brees now, Yes i do, but when we got Culpepper, I was much happier with the decision. But we've got what we've got and we can't fix it now so stop harping on it.

 

[Desides]

What on earth could the Miami Dolphins medical staff have seen or noticed about Brees' shoulder that made them feel he was more of a risk, approximately a 2nd rounder's worth more of a risk, then Culpepper?

A 360-degree rotator cuff tear to Brees' throwing shoulder requiring at least 12 pins to reattach, as opposed to a triple-ligament injury to an area of Daunte Culpepper's body that is noticably not his throwing shoulder.

You're engaging in hindsight.

 

[LSSpam]

A 360-degree rotator cuff tear to Brees' throwing shoulder requiring at least 12 pins to reattach, as opposed to a triple-ligament injury to an area of Daunte Culpepper's body that is noticably not his throwing shoulder.

You're engaging in hindsight.

Either you are not reading, or not understanding.

The Doctor who performed the surgery said he would be back before the season started.

Period

 

[hooserdaddy]

The media and others try to make it out as the only deciding factor was the injuries, and that's not true. Don't you remember how long they were trying to get Bree's to take a lower deal. The dolphins could not afford what Bree's was being offered by New Orleans. Look at our Cap right now. We are just under and we paid a whole lot less for Culpepper. I looked out the contract numbers between them both before and Culpepper was substantially less immeidiatley and the next 3 years. I don't thing enough people take in consideration that ultimately it was the salary he was demanding that was the deciding factor. Look back when we were negotiating with him and the whole time he had a much more lucrative offer on the table from New Orleans and we were trying to be competitive to that offer. The national media going to make it look like we chose 1 injured guy over the other because we thought one guy would be healed more but they seem to forget that Bree's asking price is and was a whole lot more than Daunte's which his we could barely afford under our cap this year.

If you don't believe me look it up, and also take in consideration that we are so high on the Salary cap that we cant even extend Wes Welker's contract, and instead were going to have to probably pay more if he decides to test the free agent market.

Health was an issue but there is no doubt that salary was a huge hurdle to over come.

That's not the story the national media is going to put out though.

 

[dolphan81]

Yes this is a screw up, but what you are saying is still 20/20 hindsight. If you did not know that Brees would be having the season he is having now, can you honestly say that a QB with a bum shoulder is better than a QB with a bum knee. I would take the QB with the bum knee because he can still throw the ball.

Now do i wish that i had Brees now, Yes i do, but when we got Culpepper, I was much happier with the decision. But we've got what we've got and we can't fix it now so stop harping on it.

:yeahthat:

 

[johngarryvo]

great read...and yes a COLOSSAL blunder by Saban & Co....this wasn't just a screwup, it was sheer arrogance!...the most telling statement of Andrew's medical report wa that Brees was 'scoped' not 'knifed'...BIG DIFFERENCE!!...at last check, Culpepper's been sliced/diced AND scoped, and he's still trying to heal, JUST TO WALK...he may not be right til 008!...there's simly not enough egg on face to go around...and the Miami Dolphins family & fanbase is gonna feel this pain for the next 6-8 years (at least - imo)

 

[LSSpam]

great read...and yes a COLOSSAL blunder by Saban & Co....this wasn't just a screwup, it was sheer arrogance!...the most telling statement of Andrew's medical report wa that Brees was 'scoped' not 'knifed'...BIG DIFFERENCE!!...at last check, Culpepper's been sliced/diced AND scoped, and he's still trying to heal, JUST TO WALK...he may not be right til 008!...there's simly not enough egg on face to go around...and the Miami Dolphins family & fanbase is gonna feel this pain for the next 6-8 years (at least - imo)

Exactly. The medical report released for Brees was more optomistic then that for Culpepper. Unbelievable the sort of spin that is still going on. People keep harping on that it was Brees' shoulder as opposed to knee, and yet Brees was expected to be back before the season (before training camp even) while Culpepper was a question mark.

Either the Dolphins doctors are shockingly incompetent (which I refuse to believe) or the reasons were less about the injury and more about something else.

 

[BigSportShop]

There's some validity to the theory that the Phins medical staff screwed up, but the post about the financial demands by Brees is very relevant also. He was looking for a lot more money than Miami was willing to pay for a rehabbing QB. I suspect if the contract demands were lower, the opinions of the medical staff may have been vetoed.

 

[johngarryvo]

The media and others try to make it out as the only deciding factor was the injuries, and that's not true. Don't you remember how long they were trying to get Bree's to take a lower deal. The dolphins could not afford what Bree's was being offered by New Orleans. Look at our Cap right now. We are just under and we paid a whole lot less for Culpepper. I looked out the contract numbers between them both before and Culpepper was substantially less immeidiatley and the next 3 years.

so they paid $3m less, and got a 'china doll' for a bench ornament...sound like a sound business deal to you?...to me it sounds like buying a house without a roof/walls/or toilets.

 

[HysterikiLL]

For the last freaking time, WE DID NOT "CHOOSE" CULPEPPER OVER BREES!!!!!!!

For crying out loud. Seriously, some of you guys JUST -DON'T - GET -IT. Brees decided he wanted to go to New Orleans. He said after he drove through the city and realized what changes needed to be made, and that he needed to be a part of those changes, HE NEEDED TO BE IN NEW ORLEANS.

So can we please stop with the "Saban was soooo stupid for picking Culpepper over Brees." This is the NFL, not the Super Value Bargain Bins.

 

[cnc66]

Either you are not reading, or not understanding.

The Doctor who performed the surgery said he would be back before the season started.

Period

can you explain the "parking lot rehab" comment...that kind of hurt your credibility with me...

 

[tyson22]

which seems ridiculous since they then went out and got Culpepper who was doing HIS rehab in a parking lot)

brad childress? is that you? a parking lot:confused: :shakeno: his rehab was done at a top notch facility and overseen by the same dr. andrews as brees.
feb. 23rd, 2006...

Eric Sugarman was down there Monday," Childress said. "He watched him work out, got permission to put his hands on him. Suffice it to say, he looked good. For three months [after surgery], he's doing a good job."

march 30th, 2006. same paper 15 days after we got c-pepp

Plenty went wrong in Childress' introduction to Culpepper, including a previously unrevealed anecdote that called into question Culpepper's method for recovering from major surgery on his right knee. Childress sent athletic trainer Eric Sugarman to visit Culpepper last month, and the two met at a HealthSouth clinic near Orlando. According to Childress, the facility was small and its resources were vastly inferior to what the Vikings use at Winter Park.

can we please give this up, hindsight is 20/20. the right decision was made at the time, period.

 

[Wildbill3]

There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about what happened in relation to Brees and the Dolphins medical staff. This is relevant now because I suspect the Dolphins still have the same medical staff so you might want to know how royally they screwed up.

Dr. Andrews is the one who performed the surgery on Brees' shoulder. Prior to Free Agency Dr. Andrews, at Brees' request, released a detailed statement about Drew Brees' shoulder to the press and released the specific medical files to all of the teams.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2351620&type=story

Dr. Andrews, in the specific report he released, said he expected Brees to be about 90% to 95% and that it was possible he would not be 100% until the next year. He also said Brees, if he did his rehab correctly would be ready for the NFL season.

The New Orleans Saints, as they would state, "bet" on the person Drew Brees was. They felt he would be a demon about his rehab and that he would be back in time for the season. They also structured the contract to allow an out if he reinjured it.

Now, this is what's important.

What on earth could the Miami Dolphins medical staff have seen or noticed about Brees' shoulder that made them feel he was more of a risk, approximately a 2nd rounder's worth more of a risk, then Culpepper?

It doesn't particularly make sense. The doctor who performed the surgery, Dr. Andrews (who is NFL-reknowned. He does many surgeries for many athletes and therefore has a reputation to protect and would not "go out on a limb") said Brees would be back. Brees said he would be back. The only remote concern was that he may not be 100% when he came back. Which, if he isn't a 100% yet, god help the NFL and the record books. But a 95% Brees is still a heck of a lot better then most NFL QBs.

It should be obvious to everyone that the Miami medical staff screwed up. This isn't 20/20 hindsight. It's an evident screw up. They took their own opinion, from looking at charts and notes, over the opinion of the qualified doctor who performed the surgery in the first place (and whose notes and charts they were looking at to make their own determination). Either they felt Brees wouldn't be deligent in his rehab (which seems ridiculous since they then went out and got Culpepper who was doing HIS rehab in a parking lot) or...well I don't know. I can't even fathom how they missed the boat on this.

Brees is gone and not the concern of the Miami Dolphins. Fine. But the decision making process which chose Culpepper over Brees remains and is still therefore a potential problem.

My personnal opinion? They passed on Brees for reason other then money (which could have been worked out, you can be creative) or the stated medical reasons (which don't make sense unless the Dolphins medical staff is full of idiots).

Why does everyone focus on this? we lost brees when we signed jamar fletcher instead of brees. :fire:

 

[LSSpam]

can you explain the "parking lot rehab" comment...that kind of hurt your credibility with me...

http://www.startribune.com/510/story/339395.html

Childress said Daunte Culpepper did himself a "disservice" by rehabilitating his right knee in a subpar facility.

After Sugarman examined the knee, Culpepper agreed to attempt some basic movement drills. According to Childress, Culpepper led Sugarman out of a back door ... and into the parking lot of a Wal-Mart.