|
Life in the NFL
Travis LaBoy
|
Blurry memories of a tough loss
I HAVE TO apologize in advance to my loyal readers. I have to give you a second-hand recap of this past Sunday's game against the Ravens after suffering a concussion early in the first quarter of the 27-26 loss to Baltimore.
I don't know how it happened, but after reviewing the game tapes, I think the concussion stemmed from a blow I took to the head during the first or second defensive series. At first, I didn't realize what had happened, and I continued playing. But as the game went on, the effects started to sink in. I don't think it helped that I played through the end of the second quarter of the game, because by the time I came out of the game, I had no idea where I was or what I was even doing.
Right after I suffered the blow, things started getting really rough for me. I first started to forget the game plan. The simple plays and blitzes that we had installed specifically for the Ravens offense, I could not remember.
I had to ask my fellow defensive linemen what my assignments were. As I continued playing, I started to get real dizzy and started losing my balance. At that point, I knew that something was wrong and I headed to the sidelines. The doctors examined me as soon as I got to the sidelines, but everything after that is a complete blur.
It was hard for me looking back at the game and knowing that, while I may have not made the difference, I couldn't help my team in a tough game. Actually, I do remember asking a teammate to remember what the doctors were asking me to remember so I could repeat it to them when they came back to examine me. I wanted to go back in the game, but as my doctors and teammates reminded me, I had no idea what was going on.
IT WAS ANOTHER tough loss for our team. Like I mentioned last week, the Baltimore Ravens are one of the toughest teams in the NFL. They are very talented in every aspect of the game. Nevertheless, they were a team that we could have beat.
We were up early, as our offense was flying in this game, moving the ball up and down the field. Our defense wasn't able to stop their offense, but we did a great job containing them. We were able to get pressure on (Baltimore quarterback) Steve (McNair) and played the run tough. Yet at the end it was another game we could not put away.
After watching the game, it just seems that the ball was not bouncing our way. With all the ups and downs of the game we had a chance late to win with a field goal. Unfortunately, Baltimore made a great play and blocked our field-goal attempt, which sealed the victory for them.
This week we play Donavan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles. Even though we are not familiar with the Eagles, having not played them much, they are a very tough and talented team. Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid always does a great job preparing his teams for game day and it will be a great challenge for us to pull out a win in Philly.
While I am still recovering from my concussion, I hope to play this weekend and help my team pull out a win. And with the way we are playing, teams better not look past us. We may only have two victories, but we are not playing like a 2-7 team.
Former UH lineman Travis LaBoy is chronicling his season with the Tennessee Titans for the Star-Bulletin