[JoeRedskin]

Originally Posted by NC_Skins

I was not one of them. I also didn't blame Leslie Frazier for their loss Saturday when he pulled Ponder prior to the game. Injuries happen. There is absolutely no shame in pulling a player due to it. Now, if the guy is playing effectively while hurt, that's one thing. If he's not, it's entirely a different matter.

I have to say that guys like Mark Schlereth piss me off when it comes to players playing with injuries. He was one of those clowns ripping Jay Cutler, and one of those guys saying play RGIII. That's easy for him to say, he has no investment in it. He doesn't have to worry about the next season. I doubt he played with very serious injuries, or any that caused him to be about 40% effective. I guess Mark thinks they should go out there after suffering concussions as well. Hey, that's what a tough guy like Mark would do!

The days of machismo should be over. Sure you play with pain, sure you might even play injured, but there are times where it's simply smarter (for the long and short run) to sit out.

Schlereth knows a thing or two about injuries. Even before I googled it, I know that Schlereth had a ton of surgeries. I thought it was 12 or 13. I was close - if you only look at his left knee:

Before ending his playing career Schlereth endured 29 surgeries. Twenty of those surgeries were performed on his knees (15 left, 5 right). After the 13th procedure on his left knee on July 24, 2000, Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan stated, "He has a great pain threshold. I think the doctors said that it was the worst knee that they've ever seen." Schlereth would have two more procedures on his left knee during the 2000 season, his last in the NFL. His injuries are documented on Athlete 360, the new sports medicine television show hosted by Schlereth's former Redskins teammate, Dr. Mark Adickes.

Mark Schlereth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia