About mid season last year I decided I needed to follow the Broncos. I’m still calling them “The Donks” until the next time they get into the playoffs though.
So as I watch them in preseason, and different players fall to various sprains and strains, I’m becoming annoyed with the injury descriptions coming back as, “Lower Extremity” or “Upper Extremity.” I mean, we all saw Chris Simms hobble off the field, clearly he was a lame horsie. “And the word from the locker room is, it’s a lower extremity injury.” Really? I thought he had a nose bleed!
The last one though, when Orton is holding up his finger and it’s dripping blood in spite of coming into contact with nothing sharp, was enough for me. “They’re telling us it’s not a compound fracture, just an upper extremity injury.”
Come to find out…well, not technically a fracture. It’s a dislocation, but it still broke the skin. Yeeeccchh! Newsflash coach, when the bone sticks out, it’s a frickin’ compund fracture to those of us watching at home.
But anyways, what is the possible motivation behind the vague injury descriptions when the staff already know what the injury really is? They had to know what was up but nobody released the injury until 2 days later. So Denver’s out of quarterbacks with any professional experience. Big deal. But do the staff really think that the fans have no right to know what going on with their pets?
Because as useful as the information might be to fans, it’s even more useful to opponents. True, it’s the preseason, but if it’s their policy in the regular season it’s likely to be the policy in the preseason as well.
That’s why.
The whole “injury report” is really part of the NFL’s love/hate relationship with gambling. Some teams follow the policy, some don’t, but it really has no teeth and the major (unadmitted) purpose is to help set accurate betting lines.
To answer the OP, the Broncos do this for no other reason than to mimic the Patriots. Belichick has been successful and he lies and hides injuries and his disciples think copying this somehow makes them good coaches too. They’d be better served learning his plays and game management (and having Tom Brady) but copying irrelevant stuff for the media to talk about is easier and lazier.
The injury report is used by gamblers but the NFL doesn’t do it to benefit them, that’s merely a fringe benefit. Injuries are posted to allow teams to prepare their teams for their opponents. Some will claim this naivete but I thing the grand conspiracy theory is pure fiction.
This silly perception that gambling is involved i exactly why the NFL has to allow this prima donna shit. If they crack down the media will accuse them of cowing to gamblers. So now we have to sit and watch Belichick and Cos. preening and smug denials.