Tanner Morgan injury watch thread

Donate To GopherHole
Hey, if the doctors sign off on it and Morgan is 100%, then fine, he should play.

But, if there is any doubt, I would rather hold him out and make sure he is OK for the rest of the season - AND there are no lingering effects. one of the big problems with head injuries is the cumulative impact. If Morgan plays Saturday and gets 'rung' again, then you're looking at some more serious scenarios.

so, unless Morgan is 100%, I say get Athan and Kramer as prepared as possible and hope for the best.
 


Some Day...Maybe said:
So no one has heard anything about Morgan? Is he practicing?
Click to expand...
Please tell me you are just joking around and aren't seriously wondering if anyone is going to have any sort of injury update on Morgan before the game on Saturday. Because that is when we are likely to find out if he is playing. Same way we had no idea O'Connell was starting for Purdue or DeVito was starting for Illinois for sure until Saturday.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Please tell me you are just joking around and aren't seriously wondering if anyone is going to have any sort of injury update on Morgan before the game on Saturday. Because that is when we are likely to find out if he is playing. Same way we had no idea O'Connell was starting for Purdue or DeVito was starting for Illinois for sure until Saturday.
Click to expand...
There are a lot of people who view this forum, just wondering if anyone has heard anything or seen anything. Sometimes there are students who know the players, or who know people who know the students. Sometimes there are people who know if a player practiced or not.

We probably won’t know, but just fishing for any tidbits.
 

Zero chance PJ plays him. He will not play someone with a concussion whether we want to admit it is a concussion or not, and it's a loss anyway (most likely). It's a win win for PJ, gets some experience for AK and can say 'it's not an excuse but our QB was starting his first game, but that's not an excuse, it on on me". Don't get me wrong, PJ is my guy, that's just how it is going to go.
 


Tommyboy said:
Sounds like the Miami Dolphin scenario all over again. Morgan, would jump off a bridge for Fleck, you do not recover from a cold, let alone a concussion that you were sent to the hospital for in one week.
Click to expand...
Being sent to the hospital means next to nothing in this day. Our high school (small rural town) sends every kid with a concussion there for additional testing from the doctor. Could be as simple as wanting thorough eval prior to flying
 

HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving said:
Zero chance PJ plays him. He will not play someone with a concussion whether we want to admit it is a concussion or not, and it's a loss anyway (most likely). It's a win win for PJ, gets some experience for AK and can say 'it's not an excuse but our QB was starting his first game, but that's not an excuse, it on on me". Don't get me wrong, PJ is my guy, that's just how it is going to go.
Click to expand...

My thoughts are similar to yours. This game is more likely than not a loss so now would be the time, in the interest of caution, to give Tanner more recuperation time and Athan the start. However, I do believe that Tanner likely will play if he is cleared. I suspect that Tanner will want to play in that event and Fleck will oblige him.
 

If Tanner is medically cleared, he will play. And I think there’s a 99% chance that happens.

We don’t even know if he officially had a concussion. Yeah it looked bad, but players get hit in the head every game. Not all of them end up with concussions.
 
Last edited:

cjbfbp said:
My thoughts are similar to yours. This game is more likely than not a loss so now would be the time, in the interest of caution, to give Tanner more recuperation time and Athan the start. However, I do believe that Tanner likely will play if he is cleared. I suspect that Tanner will want to play in that event and Fleck will oblige him.
Click to expand...
Bolded:

these type of "common sense" things that fans always get .... it seems almost always go right over the head of PJ and the staff. That is my observation, on those types of things.

Fans can see it a mile away, and PJ is stubborn as a mule.


I agree with those saying that Tanner will 100% play so long as the medical staff clears him, which I think they will be able to do given that he was able to fly back with the team.

It was a punch from a fist to the side of a helmet. It wasn't like he got speared in the head by a 300lbs lineman.


To my point above: this is like when fans could see from a mile away that ZA was hurt and it was the wrong choice to leave him in there languishing and not able to help the team.

So ... of course, PJ leaves him in there. Until he's half dead.



This is PJ's biggest flaw. He won't change until it's way too late. Robb Smith, Sanford, ZA, and now maybe Morgan we'll see.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
If Tanner is medically cleared, he will play. And I think there’s a 99% chance that happens.

We don’t even know if he officially had a concussion. Yeah it looked bad, but players get hit in the head every game. Not all of them end up with concussions.
Click to expand...
In the moment, I actually thought he (TM) was "faking it" to try to draw a penalty.

Like they do in soccer all the time.


Does the guy from ILL have like a metal fist?? Maybe he's a kung-fu master, who knows.
 

Even a 100% Morgan could not win this game. Why take a chance? Play AK and you have a built in excuse.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Bolded:

these type of "common sense" things that fans always get .... it seems almost always go right over the head of PJ and the staff. That is my observation, on those types of things.

Fans can see it a mile away, and PJ is stubborn as a mule.


I agree with those saying that Tanner will 100% play so long as the medical staff clears him, which I think they will be able to do given that he was able to fly back with the team.

It was a punch from a fist to the side of a helmet. It wasn't like he got speared in the head by a 300lbs lineman.


To my point above: this is like when fans could see from a mile away that ZA was hurt and it was the wrong choice to leave him in there languishing and not able to help the team.

So ... of course, PJ leaves him in there. Until he's half dead.



This is PJ's biggest flaw. He won't change until it's way too late. Robb Smith, Sanford, ZA, and now maybe Morgan we'll see.
Click to expand...
Coaches coach to win games, not to ridiculously think "We probably won't win, so let's play the #2 quarterback". Fleck is trying to win every game on the schedule, he's got how many guys on this team that want to win as many games as possible, all of them?
 





Morgan, if healthy, gives us the best chance to win.

Starting AK is a safe play for a coach since he can hold Morgan out for medical (caring coach) and he can start a built in excuse for his third consecutive defeat.

I’m not saying that’s how PJ thinks, it’s just an option.

I believe he will play the player who gives his team the best chance of winning on Saturday.
 

Some Day...Maybe said:
Coaches coach to win games, not to ridiculously think "We probably won't win, so let's play the #2 quarterback". Fleck is trying to win every game on the schedule, he's got how many guys on this team that want to win as many games as possible, all of them?
Click to expand...
I am actually blown away there are people in this thread saying we should not play Morgan even if he is medically cleared in this one because we aren't going to win anyway. What a joke.

We 100% can win this game if we play well, and there isn't a D1 coach out there worth a damn that would approach a game with the idea that his team has no shot of winning, even if the odds are stacked against them.

If the medical staff says Morgan is good to go I have zero doubt in my mind that he will be out there. Because the reality is that as excited as we are to see Athan, on the road in a place like Happy Valley is not where you want to have a backup QB getting their first start.
 

Otis said:
Morgan, if healthy, gives us the best chance to win.

Starting AK is a safe play for a coach since he can hold Morgan out for medical (caring coach) and he can start a built in excuse for his third consecutive defeat.

I’m not saying that’s how PJ thinks, it’s just an option.

I believe he will play the player who gives his team the best chance of winning on Saturday.
Click to expand...
I feel like some are way overcomplicating this one. If Morgan is medically cleared to play he will play, it really isn't that difficult.

The only way Fleck goes with Kramer or AK is if Morgan is ruled out by the medical staff.

You are not the only one who has floated this idea that he would hold Morgan out in order to have an excuse for losing. There is no way Fleck or any D1 coach worth a damn thinks that way and tries to line up excuses for loses before the game is even played.
 

Some Day...Maybe said:
Coaches coach to win games, not to ridiculously think "We probably won't win, so let's play the #2 quarterback". Fleck is trying to win every game on the schedule, he's got how many guys on this team that want to win as many games as possible, all of them?
Click to expand...
It comes down to: does playing TM actually give this team the best chance to win?

If TM has practiced all week as the starter and is good to go, he probably does.

Would AK be able to perform even better if he had a whole week to physically and mentally prepare himself as the starter? We can speculate but we’ll never know.


But what if TM is held out of practice all week, with AK getting all the reps? Then TM wakes up on Saturday and says “put me in coach!” Of course Fleck will do so. And he’ll keep him in the game, no matter what.

That’s kinda more my point.

Short of another injury, we’re very unlikely to see anyone but TM in the game.

What we don’t know is, how justified is such a position.
 

For the record: I do think we can beat PSU. I’m hoping for that outcome.

I disagree with the idea of playing AK because we’re going to lose anyway.

I was saying that even if AK actually does give us the best chance to win … we’re not going to see that. Because that’s not how Fleck works. We know this.

Just like we knew putting in ZA for Iowa was the wrong choice, but Fleck refused to try something else.
 

as noted, we do not know the nature or severity of the injury.

IF it is a concussion - people respond very differently to concussions, depending on the severity. Some people recover very quickly with few complications. others take much longer to get back to 'normal.'

I put this in the same category as Mo going into the Purdue game. If the doctors clear Morgan to play, he will play. If the doctors don't clear him to play, he won't play.

But we won't know until right before kickoff, if then.

the real tricky part is that it could literally be a game-day decision - meaning that the other QB's and the team will not know who is starting until that decision is made. AK can do all the prep work possible, but there's a big difference in knowing you're the starter all week versus being told 20 minutes before kickoff. when put in that situation, some people rise to the challenge. others crap their pants. (hopefully, Gophers are not wearing the white pants........)
 

Do you really think “the doctors” are like this perfectly autonomous group that are entirely, absolutely impervious to any kind of “persuasion”?

Medical diagnosis is hardly black and white.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Do you really think “the doctors” are like this perfectly autonomous group that are entirely, absolutely impervious to any kind of “persuasion”?

Medical diagnosis is hardly black and white.
Click to expand...
While a medical diagnosis is hardly black and white. I do believe that at least UM will play the liability angle and not play anyone the doctors say isn't ready. They will not try to persuade them.
 

imagine this scenario:

the doctors tell Fleck that they don't think Morgan should play.
Fleck plays Morgan anyway.
someone finds out and tells the Strib.
Giant Headlines in Paper - Fleck plays QB against Doctor's advice!!!!!!!

in today's climate, with all of the attention given to concussions after the Tua debacle, I suspect there would be members of the Board of Regents calling for Fleck to be fired on the spot.
 

Gophers_4life said:
It comes down to: does playing TM actually give this team the best chance to win?

If TM has practiced all week as the starter and is good to go, he probably does.

Would AK be able to perform even better if he had a whole week to physically and mentally prepare himself as the starter? We can speculate but we’ll never know.


But what if TM is held out of practice all week, with AK getting all the reps? Then TM wakes up on Saturday and says “put me in coach!” Of course Fleck will do so. And he’ll keep him in the game, no matter what.

That’s kinda more my point.

Short of another injury, we’re very unlikely to see anyone but TM in the game.

What we don’t know is, how justified is such a position.
Click to expand...
I'm very confident Fleck would not play Morgan in that scenario. If Morgan isn't practicing at all this week then he wouldn't be playing regardless of how he feels on Saturday.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
imagine this scenario:

the doctors tell Fleck that they don't think Morgan should play.
Fleck plays Morgan anyway.
someone finds out and tells the Strib.
Giant Headlines in Paper - Fleck plays QB against Doctor's advice!!!!!!!

in today's climate, with all of the attention given to concussions after the Tua debacle, I suspect there would be members of the Board of Regents calling for Fleck to be fired on the spot.
Click to expand...
+1000. If the Doctors don't clear Morgan he isn't playing. It really is that simple.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
the doctors tell Fleck that they don't think Morgan should play.
Fleck plays Morgan anyway.
Click to expand...
That's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about:

Doc: "well, Tanner scored 78 on the [insert name of Concussion protocol readiness test]. Anything over 75 is technically cleared to play, but he is border line. Another week I think he gets up into the mid 80's. But it's your call coach. If you want me to sign off on clearing him, I'll sign it"

Fleck: "Do it"
 

GophersInIowa said:
I'm very confident Fleck would not play Morgan in that scenario. If Morgan isn't practicing at all this week then he wouldn't be playing regardless of how he feels on Saturday.
Click to expand...
I disagree with you here.

Read Fleck's (and later KC's) comments on how an older player doesn't need as much time to prepare.

True, I took it to the extreme. But pare it back a bit:

- Tanner doesn't practice until today. So he has a non-contact practice today when they're probably in helmets and shells at most, travels tomorrow and a walk-through, another walk-through Sat
- vs AK could've had the whole week to prepare like the #1.


We can't know which would've been better. The universe doesn't let us look at other timelines. We just have to guess and speculate.
 

Gophers_4life said:
I disagree with you here.

Read Fleck's (and later KC's) comments on how an older player doesn't need as much time to prepare.

True, I took it to the extreme. But pare it back a bit:

- Tanner doesn't practice until today. So he has a non-contact practice today when they're probably in helmets and shells at most, travels tomorrow and a walk-through, another walk-through Sat
- vs AK could've had the whole week to prepare like the #1.


We can't know which would've been better. The universe doesn't let us look at other timelines. We just have to guess and speculate.
Click to expand...
Right but in your example he would have no time to prepare.

If he can't practice at all because of a head injury, I just don't see him playing. And I hope I'm right.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom