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Cleveland Browns: What Bill Belichick did for Tom Brady that he didn’t for Bernie Kosar

By Elliot Kennel

28 Oct 1990: Quarterback Bernie Kosar of the Cleveland Browns (left) attempts to avoid the tackle of San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Dennis Brown during a game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. The 49ers won the game, 20-17. Mandat
28 Oct 1990: Quarterback Bernie Kosar of the Cleveland Browns (left) attempts to avoid the tackle of San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Dennis Brown during a game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California. The 49ers won the game, 20-17. Mandat /
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Cleveland Browns Brady vs. Kosar
Cleveland Browns Brady vs. Kosar. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

Don’t fall on your elbow!

Look, in the interest of full disclosure, this fan is precisely that  — a fan, not an athlete, and not a coach. So if there is some coach out there who wants to say that it is a great idea to fall on your elbow, I will yield to that coach’s superior knowledge and experience. But above is a picture of what we’re talking about, from the NFL Divisional Playoff game at Lambeau this past January 16, 2021, in which Kenny Clark was able to sack Jared Goff of the Rams and more or less force him to land on his left elbow.

This is the type of play that rarely if ever seems to happen to Tom Brady, for whatever reason.

This particular play may not have been Goff’s fault, as Clark had him by the arm and so Goff may not have been able to get that elbow tucked in as he should have. But it does illustrate the risk of what can happen.

Fortunately, Goff didn’t seem to be seriously hurt on this play. But in the replays, Goff seems to be getting up in significant pain. Of course, there could be any number of reasons why it would be painful to have four three hundred pound bundles of muscle and violence land on a person like that, but if all that force is exerted on the shoulder, that might cause a shoulder dislocation or some other serious injury. That’s the point.

This is just one example of a play that involves the quarterback falling during a sack. How the quarterback falls can make a major difference in the shape he is in when he gets back up — if he gets back up at all.

Quarterbacks can be taught to avoid having their bodies being overstressed beyond their physical limits, while others are willing to meet the impact head-on, come what may.

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