A story that perhaps slipped through the cracks in the last couple of days, it appears that the concussion suffered by Jay Cutler in the first half of the game against the Giants two weeks ago wasn't his first, despite him claiming it was. Here's a link to Cutler's claim. (pops)
But, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, this was not Cutler's first concussion. Biggs pulled some infomation from the way-back machine, and said this:
Cutler denied having previous concussions, but a Nov. 13, 2004, story in the Tennessean said he suffered three concussions playing at Vanderbilt. He suffered another in the Broncos' 2006 season finale at San Francisco, making the hit against the Giants — and he's not positive it came on the final sack by nickel cornerback Aaron Ross that knocked his head into the turf — Cutler's fifth known concussion.
I'm no doctor, but I know that a fifth concussion is potentially a lot more significant than a first. Here's hoping even more that MIke Tice and Mike Martz can get the offensive line shored up.
Update: Here's a link to an article about the rash of injuires in Week 17 of 2006. Of note:
And Denver's Jay Cutler was knocked out of the Broncos' game with San Francisco after being hit in the head. He returned later and led his team on a game-tying touchdown drive but the 49ers won 26-23 in overtime, knocking the Broncos from the playoffs.
Update #2: And here's a link to an ESPN recap of the Georgia-Vanderbilt game on October 18th, 2003, which mentions Cutler being out a series due to concussion:
Vanderbilt drove to the Georgia 23 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but backup quarterback Stephen Bright, with starter Jay Cutler out for a series with a concussion, missed receiver Brandon Smith with a pass on fourth-and-3.
(Helmet-tip to lopey in the FanShot section)