Post-concussion symptoms plaguing Warner
November 30, 2009
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP)—Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner(notes) said he plans to see anopthamologist about lingering post-concussion symptoms that kept him out ofSunday’s last-second 20-17 loss at Tennessee.
Warner said Monday he’s having hard-to-describe issues with his eyes, acondition he had hoped would subside last week but never did. He said theCardinals medical staff told him before Sunday’s game he shouldn’t play and heagreed.
The decision ended Warner’s string of 41 consecutive starts.
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He sustained the concussion in the second quarter of Arizona’s 21-13 victoryat St. Louis and didn’t play in the second half of that game.
Warner took all the first-string reps in practice last week but acknowledgedthat the eye issue persisted.
“I just think I hoped that it would get better and better throughout theweek, as we all did and were optimistic that it would be good enough to play,”he said.
Warner tried to describe the symptom.
“It’s not a visual issue where I’m foggy, where I can’t see or I can’tfocus on something,” he said, “but there’s a fogginess that’s kind of in andbehind my eyes, or on top of my eyes. It’s something that’s just not right. It’sjust not normal.”
He said he has unusual sensitivity to light, especially fluorescent light.
“Everything I look at there’s kind of a shadow that kind of follows itthat’s different than normal,” he said. “But this other feeling that I’vetried to explain and nobody can really grasp what it is, I don’t know if it’snecessarily related to that light sensitivity.”
Warner said he plans to start on Sunday night when the Cardinals (7-4) hostBrett Favre(notes) and the Minnesota Vikings (10-1).
“But again you’ve got to take it one day at a time,” he said.
Warner said he was seeing the eye doctor “to see if we can come to anyresolution if there’s something related with the eyes or something there thatwe’re not aware of.”
Warner, who passed all the necessary neurological tests, said he was honestwith the training staff and coach Ken Whisenhunt throughout the week as heexperienced neck tightness as well as the eye problem.
“Then we got together again on Sunday morning and although the necktightness was better, I was still having the issue with my eyes,” he said.“That’s when they said we don’t feel comfortable with you playing, and Icouldn’t argue with them because I knew I wasn’t right.”
Warner’s absence gave Matt Leinart(notes) his first start in more than two years.The former Heisman Trophy winner completed 21 of 31 passes for 220 yards with nointerceptions. In the second half, he was 13 of 16 for 137 yards.
“I thought he did a great job,” Warner said. “I thought he made some keythrows in some critical situations. He did everything he needed to do to put usahead with two minutes to go in the game.”
Leinart directed a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that put Arizona ahead17-13 with 12:27 to play.
“Kurt had texted me something before the game, `read and react,’ and that’swhen you play your best, when you don’t think about it, you don’t think twice,”Leinart said. “And that’s what I did in the game, I read it and just played,and let my ability take over.”
Leinart said he had about three hours to prepare once he knew he wasstarting.
“I’m hoping I probably get more reps this week just in certain situations,just so they have me more prepared,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going tohappen. Once again I’m going to assume Kurt’s playing, but I’m going to preparelike I’m starting.”
Whisenhunt defended the decision to give Warner his normal practice work asthe starter last week, despite the chance that Leinart might get the job.
“Kurt wanted his reps. He was doing well,” the coach said. “We felt likehe was getting better every day. That’s why we were preparing Kurt to play.”