Scott Zolak Flips Out About Julian Edelman Concussion Speculation
Tuesday marked the inaugural airing of The Zolak and Bertrand Show, and it was clear that Scott Zolak had saved some pent-up frustration for the airwaves.
The issue at hand was Julian Edelman. The receiver famously received a shot from Kam Chancellor on the Patriots' penultimate drive of Super Bowl XLIX. Many viewers speculated that Edelman suffered a concussion on the play, and that thought developed into a borderline conspiracy after Edelman refused to answer a question about it in an interview for The New York Times.
The line of questioning went like this:
Q: Did you get a concussion on that play?
A: Due to our team policy, I can't discuss that.
Q: You stumbled after that play, but you stayed in the game. Does that mean you were not injured?
A. Next question.
Q: Were you tested for a concussion?
A: I went through all the protocols.
Despite the ambiguity of Edelman's answer, some people took these comments to mean that Edelman definitely did suffer a concussion yet remained in the game. In fact, Dan Shaughnessy went so far as to call it a "disturbing" situation.
"His answer sounded like, 'Yes, I had a concussion, I got a concussion, but I stayed out there.' That's what it sounded like to me," Shaughnessy said on CSNNE. "That feels like a really bad message in the climate we're talking about with youth sports, getting people to address this and get off the field, get off the ice, whatever, don't be a hero. And did they win the Super Bowl because a guy was a hero and stayed out there? That hit's unbelievable. Did the Patriots follow the correct protocol? And who signs off on these guys going back on the field? Nobody wants to hear it. This is like, everybody loves to eat hot dogs, but nobody wants to know how they're made. And this is the NFL, I understand that. They won the Super Bowl -- great. But I thought that was disturbing."
Zolak, who does not believe Edelman's cognitive abilities were impaired during the Super Bowl, could not take it. He screamed "Oh my God, it's football!" when Trenni Kusnierek and Shaughnessy discussed the brutality of the hit, and once the clip was over, Zo let it rip. Here's what he said:
Disturbing?! Go to spring training! Go sit there and watch long toss! How about that? Go sit there and talk about the old style game with Steve Buckley!
You want to know what the message is? The message is "Drop your nuts, kids."
The message is "Get back in the game, because it is the biggest stage." The message is "Don't do what Doug Baldwin did." The message is "Go catch the freaking game-winner and then go to Disneyland and then go to Vegas and then go to Fallon and then go to Kelly and Michael. Who's the dude with the gap tooth? Michael Strahan, right? How about do that? And then go and hang out with Jay-Z, go to Roc-A-Wear, how about that for your message? How about "Go be a hero" instead of the pussification of our damn society?
"Ooh, I cringe!"
Oh my God, it's football. You're playing the freaking Legion of Boom. That is Kam Chancellor.
You know what makes me sick? I had to sit here after that awful Denver appearance in the Super Bowl last year, and you [Bertrand] weren't even on the show. Because what did the afternoon show want? They want Kam Chancellor, right? "We need more hard-hitting safeties like that," right? Now all of a sudden, Kam Chancellor last year was the be-all. He was the guy. "That's how you play safety. That's what the Patriots need." Right? You sat there and had to take it. Didn't ya?
Kam Chancellor. You guys wanted Kam Chancellor. Well you got him. Now all of a sudden it's, "Ooh, we're cringing! Ooh, it's disturbing! What's the message?"
Here's the message: You won the damn thing. That's four in [14] years.
God, that pisses me off. ... I've been waiting for this. That's what happens on slow days.
...
Did you see him need help? Remember the sweep that Danny Amendola ran last year, and he got knocked out on the left sideline and both arms are down flapping and we don't know where the ball is and he gets picked up and people have to show him to the sideline? Now that guy, you take him and get him out. Obviously, he got knocked out.
But there are dings that happen every single freaking play of the football game, and guys get their bell rung. And that's what happened with Edelman.
To think he got knocked into next week -- I mean, he knew the damn dig route, the in and the return was coming back, and Brady airmailed one off him two drives prior. Edelman could not function in that situation if he had a concussion.
Listen to Zolak's rant below:
Tune in to Zolak & Bertrand weekdays 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on 98.5 The Sports Hub!
