“I’m okay, I’m okay,” John Lynch insisted as he sat on the bench during the fourth quarter Monday night, a small armada of medical personnel standing within two feet of his face after he absorbed a helmet-rattling shot from Baltimore’s Keydrick Vincent.
He was okay, as it turned out. A Tuesday MRI revealed no damage to his neck, and he practiced Wednesday. He did land on the injury report, but is listed as “probable.”
But on Monday night, he was a little out of sorts. Not because of the hit — which brought a gasp to everyone in the stadium and among Broncos fans in the television audience who were aware of the neck problems that hindered Lynch in his final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and helped lead to their decision to release him in March 2004.
No, something was missing as he sat on the bench.
“I was looking for my helmet,” Lynch said. “They were hiding it from me.”
The game would conclude with Sam Brandon handling Lynch’s free-safety duties, and Tuesday would dawn with some medical tests — not because of any lingering worry, but just to be certain.
“It was a precautionary measure,” Lynch said. “Greek (Head Athletic Trainer Steve Antonopulos) and the doctors wanted me to take an MRI, and I did, and it looked exactly like the one that I came here with a couple of years ago.”
The same MRI that showed no lingering problems after Lynch’s troublesome 2003. The same MRI that showed Lynch’s neck was healed enough for him to continue his career, and return to the Pro Bowl stratosphere he reached with the Bucs.
“I’m feeling good,” Lynch said, “and I feel blessed to feel like that.”
So good, in fact, that as Lynch jumped off the damp grass and jogged off the field Monday, he wasn’t thinking about the stinger or any residual effects, but on those who watched the play and its aftermath unfold.
“It’s kind of funny (regarding) my thoughts on the ground,” Lynch said. “No. 1, your kids are at the game and you never want to let your kids see you on the ground like that so I’m trying to get up and the doctors are telling me, ‘Just take your time,’ and No. 2, my dad, as a kid, he was always my Pop Warner coach and he told me if I ever stayed on the ground that I’d hurt worse when we got home.
“So here I am, 35 years old, worrying about my dad, but I knew I was all right pretty soon.”
Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Defense, Injury report, John Lynch, Safeties
Lynch is a tough guy and at 35, still making sure receivers are paying the price when they get near him.
Lynch is one of the best players Denver has. I plan on seeing him play next week when I’m in Denver to see them beat the Raiders. Go John. Is there something about the name John in Denver? Think about it.
Glad to hear you’re OK John, you are my favorite player on the team and were when you were in Tampa. Good luck the rest of the way and beat those RAIDERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lynch is still great at stopping the run and delivering big hits but he is slowing down and starting to be a liability in pass coverage. We should be thinking about srafting his replacement soon, if the coaches don’t feel that we already have someone on the team who can step in and do the job. I would love to see Lynch hang on for a few more years and stilll be able to make all the plays but I just don’t think he will be able to much longer.
Lynch is a bad dude! Hope he gets another ring in the big D……This can happen this year if we get our offense going….
i have always been a broncos fan…my number one team in the world is the broncos,my next favorite team is any team playing the raiders,so with that said you can see who i am always pulling for…good luck john lynch and way to stay tough and go broncos,lets stick it to the raiders…AGAIN…LOL
Glad to hear all is well.
Glad to hear Lynch is all good. Sure, he has slowed down in coverage, but what he has lost in physical speed, he has gained two-fold in football acumen, and his uncanny knack to be in the right position all the time makes him a better player now than 10 years ago.
TSG
http://www.milehighreport.com
Thank you for setting people straight sportsguru. Sure Johns not going to be as fast as he was when he was playing at Tampa with that amazing defense, but that is not what Larry Coyer and the broncos crew have him on the field for. It is his incredible amount of knowledge for the game and his great veteran leadership that the coaches love about John. Not to mention that he still makes great tackles and is always in the right place at the right time.
I’m extremely happy he is okay, go get them Raiders, but more importantly beat those Colts. Man I don’t like the colts!
Glad to hear all is well with John – Our “D” is so stout this year!!! GO BRONCOS!!!!!!
John Lynch, a name of greatness. That man has done everything that alomost NO other NFL player can. He can take hits deliver hits and still keep a great attitude as well as being a great family man. He’s fierce and funny at the same time lol. go kick some raider ass!
ive read that lynch is getting old and should be replaced pretty soon. i respectively say to hell with that. have you been watching this years game because so far lynch has always been there when our conerbacks have been beat. we didn’t get lynch for speed other wise we would have gotten two baileys. Safety’s arent supposed to be as fast as cornerbacks they are our last defense. just because lynch isn’t as fast as in his prime he still is a presence to be dealt with in the future. Take what you can give nothing back. ONWARD ORANGE CRUSH!