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A normal person, looking at Alex Smith's right leg, broke like a dry tree branch at FedEx Field on Sunday, fractured his shin and fibula and let his foot and ankle s & # 39; It could be horrified or even unable to function for several minutes. a show so grotesque against nature.
But for a professional athlete, especially an NFL player who sees and supports things that we can barely imagine in his work, the answer is often very different. It is not the broken bones that register, nor the incredible pain that comes, nor the upcoming operation, nor the months of rehabilitation that may or may not return you to a reasonable facsimile of the player that you were a moment before the injury. Instead, the physical injury evokes deep emotional empathy.
"Alex had a great career, obviously, without a doubt. But when you have such an injury, it is more heartbreaking than physical, "said Redskins coach Jay Gruden on Sunday after losing his respected and universally respected quarterback in the 23-21 loss. in Houston. "It breaks your heart because it's what he likes to do, likes to lead this team, love being with the guys, and now the season is over and he has a long way to go. It's hard to see that happening to any athlete. "
[Alex Smith will miss the rest of the year after breaking his leg against the Texans]
Smith's career, it is logical to assume it, must now be resurrected and not just resumed next year. The rest of us measure our skills and our careers, our dreams and our ambitions, in decades. NFL players measure them in these precious years. The disastrous injury that makes many of us turn away brings them back inward. Their reaction is like a person dying or in danger of death because their sports career, which is at the center of many of them, is in grave danger.
"You say your prayers [for Smith] and get ready for the next play, "said Chase Roullier Center.
Football is different. You can be seriously injured in almost every game. But for those who have practiced all sports, football is simply different. the action is so fast and violent that you simply can not control what will happen to your body at the next moment, in any direction. You must ignore your body to play at all. Vince Lombardi called the mental state to play the game as a "reckless abandon". In other words, play as if you were using someone else's body.
As exhilarating as it may be, the dark side comes in the blink of an eye. Blue cornerback Kareem Jackson hits you first, knocking you down, then perhaps the most violent and feared player in the NFL, 285-pounder JJ Watt, a mammoth at the speed of the sprinter, plunges you a moment later – his body against your head, dragging and twisting you as everyone falls into a random entanglement. When all is over, everyone looks around and most of them stand up, except one.
"We are all defeated for Alex," said Watt, who came in the middle with all of Houston's defense to join the Redskins while Smith was sitting on a cart, his leg sinking into an immobilizer inflatable, to rub his head, to tap his back his fingers or murmur a word. "You know the risks, but you never want to see someone injured, especially for the year. I feel really bad for him. That sucks. This is the worst part of the game. "
Texan quarterback Deshaun Watson was among the midfielders. "You never know when this game is going to happen," Watson said. "It's a fraternity. We fight there, but in the end we all support each other. . . . I just wanted to pay tribute to him.
Roullier did not look at the leg of his quarterback. "I just saw him start to climb, then fall back straight," said Roullier. "When we get there in the [game] film, we will quickly pass – watch it hurts. Horrible to see. Exceed this speed. "
Millions of spectators have seen similar pieces that barely flip, including two vis-à-vis other Redskins quarterbacks – Joe Theismann 33 years ago today and Robert Griffin III in the playoffs there is six years old. Theismann never again played after an injury that broke the same two bones as Smith. Griffin has so torn his knee that his leg has collapsed under him. He's not the same player since.
[Exactly 33 years since his own gruesome injury, Joe Theismann ‘just so upset’ for Alex Smith]
As expected, and as it should, the Redskins have all predicted an almost inevitable return of Smith, even if they have no idea what it is, nor can they use Smith's track record, who were recovering injuries that put their careers at risk, to serve as a predictor. They are linked by the athlete's approach to the injury – measured in terms of time, effort and pain to rehabilitate. Never recover, like Theismann? This is not on the menu, even for a financially protected player, such as Smith, who wisely negotiated a contract extension with the Redskins as a condition of his exchange with Kansas City last season, which guarantees him $ 71 million. he never plays again. His salary and cap would last if he never came back.
"In my heart, compassion is there," said Vernon Davis, who has a close relationship with Smith, goes back to the days when they were playing in San Francisco. "I played with him so long, he's like a brother. To see it sink into suffering is: "Why not me?" Maybe I should suffer and let him continue to do his job, help the team win. "
For most of us, saying "my leg for her" sounds incomprehensible. Do not neglect it. The higher the risk, the more the bonds are tightened.
"I know how much work he has put on," said Davis. "Starting in San Francisco and going to Kansas City, he is the toughest person I've ever met."
The damage done to Washington by this injury will probably go from "big" to "huge". Smith was supposed to be the starter of the Redskins for at least several years, and the man who would forget about the departure of Redskins Kirk Cousins for Minnesota. Now, Smith's future, especially that mobility and removals are essential for him, is clouded.
Colt McCoy, 32, has a solid reputation as a backup player. He knows Gruden's offense well and has 27-23 assists for interceptions during his career. But "good backup" is a relative term. McCoy is an impetuous guy, capable of big games and hot games, but over time, he is more likely to override the moments of big mistakes and the limits of talent. McCoy has not started a match in six of the last seven seasons. His career record as a starter is 7-18.
And everyone loves him. "I strongly believe in Colt McCoy's talent. . . . It's a chance for a life for him. I know he would like it in different circumstances, "said Gruden.
It is conceivable that in the short term, McCoy is a viable substitute for Smith simply because the starter has been so ordinary this season, largely because the Redskins have ordinary players, plus three injured linemen.
"Colt is the most powerful competitor I have ever seen," Roullier said. "Even when he's leading the scouting team, it's like a Super Bowl every day for him."
Washington, the team and the city, will try to gather around McCoy because he has had the chance to succeed. The sports really have stories of Cinder-Fella and the Redskins, still respectable 6-4, could make the series by just finding the way to beat records 9-7 with manageable games like those against the Giants and the Jaguars.
These thoughts are for the future. It's a day that will be remembered as the third quarter of the Redskins and Texans gather around one of the most respected NFL players, who has performed exceptionally well and led the league. quarter-final last season. They surrounded him in a forced silence of dangerous men who perfected their ability to do dangerous things but who, at that time, felt all "eviscerated" or "heartbroken" from all over the world. a member of their fraternity who could not take off.
Although he could not bear, Alex Smith defended them all.
For more information by Thomas Boswell, visit washingtonpost.com/boswell.
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