“You’re Never Going To Know Until You Get Hit Below The Waist”
August 28th, 2022
Talks low blows.
Joe was hoping to get Todd Bowles the eight-year NFL defensive back talking a bit this afternoon, and a little of that guy came to the surface.
It’s 14 days from opening night in Dallas and Pro Bowl receiver Chris Godwin has yet to be cleared for contact by team doctors. That could happen any day or it could be another six weeks.
Joe asked Bowles today how his experience as a player and a head coach might factor in to Godwin being put on the field if team doctors give his knee the green light. Would Bowles be more conservative than the medical staff?
How does the head coach feel about throwing Godwin into the fire?
The head coach believes the proverbial needle doesn’t move until Godwin gets his knee blasted, no matter the week.
“We never want to put him out early before it’s time, but at the same time if he’s healthy and he’s 100 percent and [the medical staff] give me full green light, you gotta go,” Bowles said of playing Godwin. “I think with an injury like that you’re never going to know until you get hit below the waist.
“You know, you can get hit and knocked around in practice, but that’s all upper body. For anybody that comes back from any one of those types of injuries, until you get hit below the waist in the knee or in the leg, and you bounce up and know you’re ok, you won’t know if you’re going to be ok. Whether it’s Week 1 or Week 10, it’s going to feel the same until you get tackled. So we’ll wait and see when clearance is 100 percent. And when that’s 100 percent, you know, he still has to take the hit. He understands that. We understand that. That’s just the way football’s been played. So, you know, hopefully he’s ok if and when he takes that kind of hit and we can move on from there. And he knows he’s ok, we’ll move on.”
Joe found it interesting that Bowles referenced “100 percent” clearance multiple times. Is there such a thing as 85 percent clearance?
Regardless, the Bucs have enough juice today to beat the Cowboys and their cauldron of opening opponents: Cowboys, Saints, Packers and Chiefs. Godwin’s a great piece, but his health is more important later in the season.
August 28th, 2022 at 1:00 pm
I wish it wasn’t 2022 so I could make the obvious “that’s what she said” joke to your article headline here 😂🤷♂️ Oh well….people ruin most things anyways, so par for the course
Thank goodness as Bucs fans we already know what Football “Lost Decades” are and feel like 😂 so whether it’s Bucs football or just Life’s current “Lost Decades” as we know it in 2022….we Bucs faithful are well prepared!
August 28th, 2022 at 1:06 pm
Of course they will say he’s 100% whenever he plays
Word games
August 28th, 2022 at 1:18 pm
Actually Joe.. there is 85% etc. clearance.
Players are ‘cleared’ to participate in specific drills and with limitations but not 100% participation.
August 28th, 2022 at 1:40 pm
Godwin will play vs Dallas, special situations, probably on a limited count or see how he looks and feels after each series/play.
August 28th, 2022 at 2:05 pm
Joe, the repeating of 100% is strange to me. Godwin won’t be 100% until next year. That’s just the fact of it. Being medically cleared for contact, and being 100% are two different things. The man had surgery 236 days ago. The sooner he returns, the chances for a hamstring, quad, or God forbid a patella fracture go up exponentially. Will he be healthy enough to play in October? Sure probably. But, there’s no need to rush things. I still think he should’ve started on pup, and should start on IR. They’ll be just fine without him. Just worried about the kids future. Absolutely love the player.
August 28th, 2022 at 2:48 pm
I think we should keep him rehabbing until Julio pulls a hammy.
August 28th, 2022 at 2:50 pm
100% clearance means normal chance of injury.
August 28th, 2022 at 3:22 pm
60% of the time it works every time…
August 28th, 2022 at 6:39 pm
this narrative clearly has godwin going to ir…
he’s bracing the fanbase…
no pun intended
August 28th, 2022 at 8:57 pm
Does anybody else see the comparison to 2013 and 2014 Gronk when Gronk played no snaps and then had 2 TDs in the opening game?
August 29th, 2022 at 7:17 am
Godwin’s leg is only going to get stronger with time. What you don’t want is any setbacks. So far so good. It’s more important to have him fully healthy the second half of the year than the first. 👍🙏 Chris, we need you. GOBUCS!