The Atlanta Falcons will face their toughest test this season while trying to get themselves back into the race for the NFC South.

The Falcons weren’t able to stop Tony Romo, Dallas quarterback, in their Sunday 37-21 loss to the Cowboys. Suddenly they find themselves in danger of falling behind in the division.

Mike Smith, head coach for the Falcons, said he planned to use their extra time this week to consider some potential changes in personnel. This week Atlanta has an extra day for preparing for their very important NFC South game versus the Saints next Monday night in New Orleans.

Their most recent loss left the Falcons (4-2) trailing undefeated New Orleans by two games. Atlanta really can’t afford letting the deficit get bigger.

On Monday Michael Turner, running back, said this is a very big game to have a chance of winning our division. The guys in our locker room know that. We can’t fall behind by three games. It is tough in the NFL to catch up after falling behind by that many games with them having a win over you already. On Monday we need to do whatever we can to pull the win off.

Turner rushed for 50 yards on 18 carries in the game against the Cowboys. In four of Atlanta’s six previous games he had less than 70 yards rushing. His only 100 yard rushing game was in the team’s win over the Carolina Panthers in Week 2, although he did get pulled out of the game early in the Falcon’s win against the 49ers on October 11 after he had rushed for 97 yards and scored three touchdowns.

This season Turner is only averaging 3.4 yards a carry, after averaging 4.5 yards last season when he was the second ranked player in the NFL with a total of 1,699 rushing yards.

Backup player Jason Snelling, who has been getting a lot more playing time due to injuries to Ovie Mughelli, fullback, and Jerious Norwood, running back, had 68 yards rushing on 7 carries versus Dallas.

Mughelli has an injured calf and has missed two games in a row. Norwood missed the game due to a hip injury. Coach Smith stated that there wouldn’t be any updates to the injuries until Thursday, but also said that Snelling might have earned more playing time.

Smith said, yes if he keeps running with the ball like that. He ran very effectively with the ball. He has come in to play fullback as well as tailback for us. Every time Jason has gotten the opportunity he has been very efficient. His play might warrant some more touches.

Romo passed for 311 yards and had no interceptions and three touchdowns in the first game for Atlanta since they lost Brian Williams, cornerback, to a knee injury ending his season.

Atlanta’s defensive line was able to get to Romo.

Jonathan Babineaux, defensive tackle, said we mostly did stop the run. We just weren’t able to get after them on third downs and pressure rushes enough. Those things we need to get better with, especially with Drew Brees this week, who is one of the league’s best quarterbacks as far as passing right now.

Thomas DeCoud, safety, and Stephen Nicholas, linebacker, had Atlanta’s only sacks. John Abraham, defensive end, who last season had a career high 16 1/2 sacks, only has three sacks this season in six games.

Matt Ryan was sacked by the Cowboys four times. It ended the streak for Atlanta of not allowing any sacks in four games in a row.

Smith said that this week there could be some starting jobs on the line.

We are always thinking about changes we feel can help us, Smith said. We will be taking a hard look. We have an extra day which gives our staff a very good opportunity to evaluate personnel. We will make some changes if we feel that they are warranted.

Strong starts have been emphasized by Smith. However Atlanta wasn’t able to maintain any momentum after their long drive to open the game and take a lead of 7-0 over Dallas.

Smith said, we weren’t able to sustain anything after that first quarter. We really struggled in fact after that. We need to have the ability of sustaining that level of play in this league if we want to be successful. I’m the head coach and it’s my responsibility to ensure we do that.

Mike Smith, head coach for the Falcons, hasn’t ever presided over a thrashing like this.

Atlanta, in a defensive clunker of a game, got pummeled by Dallas on Sunday 37-21 at the new stadium for the Cowboys in front of 81,521 extremely happy fans.

Atlanta’s secondary, which was reeling already from losing cornerback Brian Williams last week to a knee injury ending his season, was thoroughly shredded by Tony Romo (21 of 29 on passing for a total of 311 yards), Cowboy’s quarterback, and Miles Austin (6 catches, 171 yards, 2 touchdowns), wide receiver. The rest of Atlanta’s team wasn’t so great either.

Maybe the Falcons were in awe of the Cowboys’ gigantic scoreboard in the new stadium. Or maybe Atlanta was just taking a big step backwards. The loss dropped their record to 4-2 and they now trail undefeated New Orleans in the NFC South by two games.

The 37 points given up by Atlanta were the most points that have ever been yielded under the coaching of Smith. The high previously was 30 points when the Falcons lost to Arizona in the playoffs. Atlanta’s defense wasn’t able to rush the pocket, cover down field, or tackle consistently.

Smith said, defensively we had opportunities for stopping them short of first down on some plays but didn’t do it. Our tackling needs work. It is something we take pride in.

The secondary struggled against Austin, the former free agent (Monmouth College) undrafted player, now in his fourth year and showing the Cowboys he isn’t just a player on special teams.

Smith said, Miles Austin had one big game and against two of our corners. It isn’t just the two corners. Off the spot we need to get to the quarterback.

After their strong opening 16 play drive where they scored a touchdown, the offense for the Falcons went to sleep. The team wasn’t able to mount any sort of serious scoring threat in their following five possessions. Three of those possessions were three and outs and two of them ended in turnovers.

Atlanta’s offensive line, which over the team’s last four games had protected their quarterback Matt Ryan and hadn’t given up a sack, had a lot of problems blocking for both the running game as well as pass protection. Ryan had two interceptions and two fumbles, losing one of the fumbles.

The Cowboys kicked a field goal and then took the lead for good at 10-7 during the first half when Austin had a 59 yard rushing touchdown with 5:50 to play before halftime. Dallas didn’t trail in the game again.

Thomas DeCoud said, the stars just seemed aligned for them.

At the end of the first half, Dallas added a touchdown to permanently swing the momentum their way.

Romo eluded a tackle from Jonathan Babineaux and was able to get free. He then got away from John Abraham, defensive end, and pulled together long enough to find Patrick Crayton who was in the end zone just six seconds before halftime.

DeCoud said, today he was Houdini. He was able to make some great escapes.

To open the second half Atlanta went on a long drive. Michael Turner, running back, capped the 87 yard, 12 play drive with a 2 yard run for the touchdown, making the score 17-14. Dallas however continued to exploit Atlanta’s secondary.

Austin had another big play, including a broken tackle as he scored from 22 yards for the touchdown.

Brent Grimes, cornerback for Atlanta said, when I look back, I took a wrong angle. I did not wrap my tackle up.

Grimes wasn’t Atlanta’s only defensive back having trouble with Austin.

Grimes said he has good size, referring to the 6′3″ 214 pound wide receiver. At the tops of routes he creates separation with his size. I saw that today. A couple of plays he made over the top.

Dallas kicker Nick Folk added a field goal from 46 yards before the game was blown wide open by Crayton on a punt return of 73 yards for a touchdown with just 8:38 minutes left in the game to make the score 34-14.

Smith said, this team recovers punts very well. These are alarms that need to be addressed.

Atlanta added a touchdown on a 30 yard catch by Eric Weems. The Cowboys tacked on another field goal from Folk to compete the scoring.

On Sunday night the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Chicago Bears 21-14, but in the process lost a key defensive player.

Brian Williams, starting cornerback, has a torn ACL and is lost for the rest of the season.

Mike Smith, Falcons head coach, said that the team was placing Williams on injured reserve. He added that it would be hard for the Falcons to find cornerback help via a trade before the deadline on Tuesday.

During the fourth quarter Williams was injured when he fell awkwardly onto his right knee as he was defending against an end zone pass to Greg Olsen, Bears tight end. The pass was incomplete.

Williams did not return to the game and will probably be replaced by Chevis Jackson, second year cornerback.

On the next play, the Bears went after Jackson, Williams’ replacement. Olsen beat Jackson on a two yard pass for a touchdown.

Before the Falcons added added Hill and Williams before the start of the season, cornerback had been one of the team’s major concerns.

Smith said, we will have to be very quick. We have some guys that we think are ready for stepping into the role. It will give Chris Owens, Chevis Jackson and Tye Hill a chance for more playing time. This week when we get into Dallas our 45 man roster will look different.

After he signed with Atlanta on September 6, Williams earned his starting job.

Smith said it would a big loss for them but also an opportunity for a different player on their roster.

Williams played in Jacksonville for three years, including two years while Smith was the defensive coordinator.

Williams has played for eight years in the NFL and signed with the Falcons during the off season. He spent the last three seasons with Jacksonville. Williams has been a starter in 98 out of his 112 career games.

During the first five games for the Falcons the thirty year old Williams had 18 tackles, one interception and three passes defensed.

Williams’ prior experience with Smith did help him earn his starting job with Atlanta quickly. The veteran of eight years started all five games this year and recorded 15 tackles, one interception, one blocked punt, and one fumble recovery which he returned for a total of 53 yards.

Last season he started in all 16 of Jacksonville’s games.

Atlanta’s starting cornerbacks versus the Bears were Williams along with Brent Grimes. During the Falcon’s first four games the other starter with Williams was Chris Houston.

Grimes and Houston are the most probable cornerback duo versus the Cowboys, although the injury to Williams does provide opportunities for Hill and Jackson.

Erik Coleman, safety, said that he didn’t know how it would work out, but that they had lots of talent in their secondary.

On September 1, Hill was obtained from St. Louis. Each week he’s been inactive.

Hill, who in 2006 was the 15th overall pick in the draft, has missed a majority of the last two years due to injury. In his rookie season he started in 10 of the 16 Rams games and had three interceptions, one fumble recovery and four passes defended.

Smith made a comparison of Hill with former Falcon Domonique Foxworth, who Atlanta obtained before the 2008 started and needed a period to adjust before making 10 starts. This off season Foxworth signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

Smith said, Tye didn’t go through our training camp and OTAs. He was added late, similar to the situation we had with Domonique Foxworth last year. There is always a learning curve. Tye’s been working really hard to learn our defensive system. He will get a chance to play this week and compete for the cornerback position.

Smith said there wouldn’t be any updates until Wednesday on William Moore (hamstring) and Jerious Norwood (hip). Neither player returned after leaving the game on Sunday with injuries.

Ovie Mughelli (calf) didn’t play versus the Bears after being listed as questionable. The injury to Norwood leaves the team short handed at the running back position behind the starter Michael Turner.

Last year the Chicago had the chance to win in Atlanta. On Sunday night they could have won.

But instead they lost both games.

The Bears made three critical errors inside the red zone, and Atlanta was able to hold on and get a 21-14 win. The game will be remembered for a series of gritty defensive stands and all the opportunities that the Bears missed.

At Atlanta’s 9 yard line, Jay Cutler got intercepted. On two runs in a row from the one yard line, Matt Forte fumbled. On the second fumble Atlanta recovered the football. On the Bear’s last opportunity, with less than one minute left in the game on fourth down and one at the five yard line, Orlando Pace moved ahead of the snap and the Bears didn’t convert.

Lovie Smith, Chicago’s coach said, we had lots of chances to win the game. You just can’t make those mistakes. When you’ve got the ball into the red zone, you have to get points.

The winning touchdown was scored by Michael Turner on a five yard run with three minutes left in the game. But what really gave the 4-1 Falcons the win and their best first five games in franchise history was their defense that bent but didn’t break and all of the errors from Chicago.

Matt Ryan, Atlanta’s quarterback said, our defense deserves some credit. Ryan threw two passes for touchdowns but had two interceptions as well. The guys really stepped up and were able to make the plays when we really needed it.

It was the second straight year the Falcons and Bears played in a thriller. Last year it appeared that Chicago (3-2) had pull an improbable win out on a touchdown with just 11 seconds to go in the game. However they blew the game when they went for a pooch kick and then gave up a long pass which set Jason Elam up on the last play of the game to kick the winning field goal.

In this game Chicago didn’t get a chance for a comeback. Cutler lead the Bears down field with his 300 yard, season high passing night. A questionable pass interference penalty against Curtis Lofton gave Chicago the first down and the ball at Atlanta’s 14 yard line. Then two Bear penalties made it third down and twenty five. Cutler connected with Earl Bennet with a pass up the middle for a gain of 24 yards.

On fourth down the Bears needed only 3 feet. To set up the play they called a time out. However, Pace took off before the snap, which left Chicago with a fourth down and six. The last pass from Cutler, over the middle to Desmond Clark, bounced off Clark’s arm as he was being defended by Erik Coleman, preserving the Falcon’s lead with just 29 seconds left to play.

Coleman said, I broke and stumbled a bit. Cutler’s pass was a bit high. Then we got off the field. With games like this you just need to stay positive and have trust in your teammates.

It appeared that Greg Olsen was open in the end zone, however Cutler didn’t spot him.

The winning touchdown for Atlanta was set up with a kickoff return of 62 yards by Eric Weems. From there Tony Gonzalez and Ryan took over, connecting on two big pass plays. Turner then finished the drive off from the five yard line. He cut to his right and then lightly bumped into his teammate Verron Haynes before scoring.

Turner, who last season was the NFL’s second leading rusher, completed the game with only 30 yards in 13 carries. After scoring, to help shake the frustration off, he flung the football up into the air.

Ryan said, the offensive line gave me enough time for getting the ball away. Then Michael Turner did his thing. Our offensive line gave a great push, then Turner paved his own way.

The Bears let too many opportunities slip away. They only scored once out of four possessions when they were inside Atlanta’s 20 yard line. On a bad pass up the middle Cutler was intercepted early by Thomas DeCoud. During the third quarter, with the Bears inside the one yard line with first and goal, Forte blew it.

He tried leaping over the pile but fumbled. Fortunately he was able to recover the ball. Forte, on the next play, went left and encountered Jonathan Babinexu who led with his helmet and sent the football flying once again. Only this time the ball was recovered by Coy Wire, a Falcon, denying the Bears the opportunity to tie the game.

Chicago lost the game despite out gaining Atlanta in total yards 373-253. Cutler went 27 for 43. He connected on a touchdown pass of 23 yards with Johnny Knox to give the Bears a 7-0 lead as well as a two yard pass to Olsen to tie the score with six minutes left. Cutler was also Chicago’s leading rusher with 34 yards. However his two interceptions, which were both picked by DeCoud and were his first two career interceptions, marred Cutler’s performance.

Ryan also threw two touch down passes. One was a short pass over to Roddy White who made it into a touchdown play of 40 yards. The other was a 10 yard touchdown pass to Gonzales, giving Atlanta a halftime lead of 14-7. Ryan also had two interceptions. The second one with ten minutes left in the game was a tipped ball which gave the Bears another chance.

Cutler led Chicago on a 92 yard eight play drive to tie the game. He started things off with a quarterback scramble of 30 yards. He then connected for a 17 yard completion to Devin Hester. Chris Houston then incurred a 23 yard pass interference penalty.

For the fifth time in the 44 year history of the franchise, Atlanta is 4-1. 2004 was the last time it happened when they won an NFC South title under the leadership of Michael Vick. Right now the Falcons are trying to keep up with the red hot 5-0 New Orleans Saints, who still lead the division after beating the formerly undefeated New York Giants 48-27.

Both Chicago and Atlanta go hard hit with injuries. Atlanta lost Jerious Norwood, running back, with a hip flexor and Brian Williams, cornerback, with a right knee injury. Chicago lost Pisa Tinoisamoa, linebacker, with a knee injury. On special teams, Weems had a great night. He average 39 yards on the three kickoff returns. He also returned a punt for twenty yards. DeCoud, had just one interception in 45 games played at Cal. With his two interceptions against Chicago, the second year player has already surpassed his collegiate interceptions in the NFL.

The leader of the San Francisco 49ers knows he lost all his cool during the game.

Mike Singletary got so frustrated with the poor play of his team that he just had to respond to Harvey Dahl, former 49er and offensive lineman, when he responded to Singletary near the sideline of the 49ers while Atlanta was once again driving downfield.

Roddy White had a catch-and-run 90 yard touchdown as well as a 31 yard touchdown catch, Michael Turner had three running scores, and the Atlanta Falcons pummeled the 49ers by a score of 45-10 on Sunday, ending the 49er’s home game winning streak at five games.

Singletary say, I wish I had some more coaching etiquette, but I just don’t. I really love my players. When somebody responds in a certain way against my players, I might end up doing things I shouldn’t. I need to get better at those types of things over time.

Even though he was talking at me, I shouldn’t have said it. It wasn’t anything that bad, but it shouldn’t have happened.

Dahl, referring to the third quarter confrontation said, he is a fiery guy.

Roddy White had a career high eight catches and set the franchise record with 201 yards versus the normally stingy 49ers defense. Six of his catchers came in the game’s first half for a total of 185 yards, as the Falcons (3-1) returned from their bye week very sharp. They ended up with an advantage of 477-279 for total yards. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan went 22 of 32 for a total of 329 yards and two touchdowns. He also had a late score rushing touchdown.

San Francisco (3-2) failed their biggest test so far and suffered their worst defeat since October 1, 2006 when they lost to Kansas City 41-0 under Mike Nolan, former 49ers head coach. Singletary said that the players were not prepared.

Manny Lawson, linebackers, said we lost our cool.

On a gray afternoon in October Candlestick Park got quiet very quickly. At halftime the 49ers were booed as they left the field trailing 35-10. During the fourth quarter fans were leaving in droves.

San Fransisco was unable to respond, despite Singletary calling a timeout mid first quarter where he attempted to pull his team together with a high spirited pep talk. On the next play, White scored a touchdown. White’s big day helped the the Falcons win their first road game of the 2009 season.

On White’s 90 yard touchdown, he somersaulted in the end zone. His flip earned him a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Mike Smith, Falcons coach, joked that he missed the landing. If he hit the landing it wouldn’t have been a 15 yard penalty. I told White if he was going to do that he needs to be like Olga Korbut. He didn’t know who Olga Korbut was. So I said, ok maybe like Mary Lou Retton. I figured that was ‘86. He didn’t know Mary Lou Retton either. Went right over our heads.

White broke the former franchise record of 198 receiving yards set on December 13, 1998 by Terance Mathis versus New Orleans.

White said he felt like he hadn’t been playing well this season. Coach Smith and me had a talk. He say you need to get back to just being yourself. Go out and be old Roddy. Just go out and play. No pressure.

The three turnovers by San Francisco was one more than they had combined during their first four games. After While got his second touchdown of the first half, a fumble by Delanie Walker on the ensuing kickoff was recovered by the Falcons. It appeared as though the fumble may have been caused by the ground, but the 49ers didn’t have any timeouts lets and weren’t able to challenge the call.

Even when it appeared that things were going right, they wound up being wrong for the 49ers.

Dre Bly picked off a Ryan pass at San Francisco’s 10 yard line mid third quarter. However he got caught from behind as it looked like Bly had begun to celebrate during the return. Ryan swiped for the loose ball before center Todd McClure was able to fall on it to recover the ball for the Falcons.

Bly said, Dre will be Dre. When I make plays, which I have a lot, I do express myself.

Niners quarterback Shaun Hill struggled along with San Francisco’s entire offense. Hill’s perfect home starting record of 7-0 evaporated. San Francisco obviously missed Frank Gore, their star running back, who will be out until after the team’s bye due to a sprained ankle injury.

Hill was only able to complete 4 of the first 15 passes he threw and ended up 15 for 38 for a total of 198 yards along with three sacks.

Michael Lewis, strong safety, suffered his third concussion this season. Early third quarter he went down after he led with his helmet while attempting to tackle Turner. Lewis also had two concussions during the preseason.

Notes
Adam Snyder, right tackle for the 49ers sustained a bruised left thigh. Ray McDonald, defensive tackle has a sprained left ankle. Tarrell Brown, cornerback, has a strained right groin and Coffee a bruised left leg. The Atlanta Falcons have won all three of their last meetings against the 49ers.

On Sunday, Jerious Norwood will strap on his new helmet- the advanced one with the most bubble wrap- and return to the NFL human crash test.

Norwood, who is recovering from the second concussion in just twenty two days, is preparing to hurl himself straight into San Francisco’s nasty defense. For Norwood it’s full speed ahead, potential future consequences be damned.

Last week Norwood said, they are things to think about, but I am playing football right now. I will deal with it whenever that time comes. I just leave it in the good Lord’s hands, say my prayer before the game and then whatever happens just happens. This is football. We get hit sometimes.

Right now the discussions about concussions are hot. College football is preoccupied with the cerebellum of Tim Tebow, and there are been two studies recently that have found that NFL players are more at risk for lasting brain damage due to blows to their heads.

Coping with a concussion is not like dealing with other types of injuries. The damage is not visible and some the symptoms can be elusive. There isn’t any treatment available to help speed the healing process up, frustrating athletes who desperately want to return to playing.’

Norwood said, you can’t just treat the brain after a concussion. The only thing you can really do is rest.

The situation is complicated further due to the ethic that is ages old in football of playing hurt does not translate at all well when it is applied to the brain. This type of thinking is actually one of the worst possible scenarios for concussions.

Every player, just like Norwood, who has had to deal with multiple concussions, has to weigh the uncertainties. When will it be safe for me to play again? What are the odds of suffering another concussion? What are the long term consequences?

When Bob Christian, Falcons fullback, wasn’t able to answer the questions to satisfy anyone he knew he needed to say goodbye to the game that he loved dearly. In 2002, while sitting in the ambulance on his way to Piedmont Hospital while trying to collect his wits after he had been knocked unconscious, Christian saw through the the fog the ending of his career.

One of his first thoughts was. That is it. I have done all that I can do. In some ways it was sort of a blessing. It was easier to quit knowing that I had done everything I could do. He retired at 33 years of age.

Christian, in his entry at Wikipedia it states he suffered 45 concussions in his football playing days. Christian does dispute that number but doesn’t know for sure what the total is.

He does provide graphic testimony to what the effects are of plowing into defenders who are bigger and faster for a living.

Christian, in his 11 year career in the NFL was a blocking back who was ferocious. At 5 foot 11 inches and 232 pounds he was a battery ram who played without concern for his personal safety.

In 1999 in a game versus Minnesota he suffered a blow to his head during the first quarter and went black until halftime. Christian said, I don’t really know how I was able to function. I just kept playing. I don’t remember it. It was as if I work up during the middle of the game.

While playing at Northwestern, Christian was knocked into a dream state, as he describes it, playing against Illinois. He said, I just kept playing.

On Christian’s last play of his career he was knocked unconscious for the second time in 2002. The blow was not all that remarkable, a glancing foreman from a linebacker to the side of his head after catching a screen pass. However, the blow knocked him out in an instant. He fell limp with his head bouncing off of the artificial turf in the Georgia Dome.

Today Christian and his brother operate a very busy speed and strength training facility near Chicago. He says that he is a bit forgetful, but is hoping it is just a natural part of aging. He is also more prone to motion sickness than he was before. Other than that, he has not shown more serious symptoms.

As for what the future holds, Christian says that at some point he will probably have some physical problems and might be somewhat of a burden for his wife. I wish for the best.

News coming in isn’t encouraging. The more that science investigates head trauma in association with football, the more scarier it appears.

A recent study commissioned from the NFL from the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan found that retired NFL players were encountering degenerative brain diseases at a rate much higher than that of the general public.

Of over 1,000 players sampled about six percent said that they had a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or some other type of disease that was memory related. The rate is five times higher than the national average. For players ages 30 to 49 the percentage was 1.9, which is 19 times higher than the average.

In early 2009, another study that has been ongoing at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) at Boston University examined six former players brains who had died at 25 to 50 years of age. All six of the players had traumatic encephalopathy symptoms. This brain disease is degenerative and was first associated with punch drunk boxers.

The condition is a particularly bad degenerative type of condition due to the fact that it can lead to dementia, depression or other forms of irrational behavior such as lack of impulse control, according to Dr. Robert Cantu, who is a leading expert on concussions and the CSTE’s co-director. Many of the players brains were studied due to the fact that they had either committed suicide or engaged in high risk behaviors which caused their death.

The brain gets shaken violently inside of the skull in a concussion, said Cantu. If the proper amount of time is allowed for healing, a complete recovery is possible, without a lot of risks of lingering problems.

However, if the brain gets subjected to more trauma before it has recovered, that is when prolonged post concussion syndromes as well as brain damage can be set up. It is very important for the brain and spinal cord to not be treated that same as other parts of the body. It isn’t possibly to participate safely while hurt. You need to recover completely before going back.

Cantu did say that players with multiple concussions didn’t make them more susceptible to them. He contends that certain players are more likely to get concussions more often because of how aggressively they play.

Unfortunately there is no way to tell a running back that he will be safe or remove all of the risk. On Sunday it’s no quilting bee.

Norwood said, playing running back you have to just have to have the ability to take the licks. I will dodge big licks if I can. I try to miss the licks head to head. I do the best that I can. I just have to go out there and play ball. Not think about it.

The place that science leaves off is where personal experience starts. Christian tells Norwood to trust in his heart just as much as he does any new type or helmet designed or medical protocols that are improved.

The official medical guidelines for concussions don’t include prayer, but Christian does agree with Norwood that prayer can help with uncertainties.

Christian said that Jerious need to have peace and if it is time God will tell him like he did me when it was my time. You just have to believe. I am a warrior. I make sacrifices fro the team. This is what I am paid for. The game is rough. What other choices are there but to just meet the football head on?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that concussions comprise approximately one out of every ten sports injuries.

According to a Center for Injury Research and Policy study, last year approximately 130,000 concussions were sustained by athletes in high school. The study also stated that around forty percent of high school athletes suffering from a concussion start playing again too soon. For football players, sixteen percent lost consciousness on the same day of returning to play.

The Journal of Athletic Training in 2007 reported girls were a lot more likely to incur a head trauma in comparable sports than boys. For instance in soccer, girls suffered head traumas at a 68 percent greater rate than boys did.

Some post concussion symptoms include headaches, irritability, dizziness, nausea, depression, poor balance, ears ringing, and drowsiness.