Officials on concussion watch
“Our game officials will receive concussion awareness training and will remain alert to possible concussions during games,” league spokesman Greg Aiello said. “If an official believes a player may have suffered a concussion, he should take appropriate steps to alert the team and get medical attention for the player.”
Dielman was concussed with approximately 12 minutes remaining in the Oct. 23 game, after which he struggled to maintain balance. He finished the game despite the head injury and was not assessed until after the loss to New York.
The Chargers did not mention any injuries following the game and only announced Dielman’s injury shortly before the team boarded a plane for San Diego.
Dielman suffered a grand mal seizure near the end of the charter flight, although he was cleared of all long-term complications surrounding the concussion and seizure. The Chargers came under scrutiny for how they handled Dielman’s injury, but coach Norv Turner said at the time he believed the team dealt with the situation as best it could.
Dielman never came out of the game despite intermittent signs of struggle. He sat out Monday night’s loss at Kansas City.
Noteworthy
* Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb sat out practice with a turf toe injury and said his ability to play against St. Louis on Sunday will be determined by how much his condition improves on a daily basis. If he can’t go, the team would turn to second-year pro John Skelton.
* The Buffalo Bills announced that a scoring change has given the team a 10th sack in the 23-0 win over the Redskins on Sunday. That’s the second most in Bills history – behind an 11-sack performance at Denver on Dec. 13, 1964. For the Redskins, it’s the most they’ve ever allowed. The nine sacks had tied a franchise mark that last occurred in 1978.
* St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford is hopeful of playing this weekend despite being limited in practice. Bradford is out of a walking boot and wearing a less cumbersome brace to protect a high left ankle sprain that’s sidelined him for two games.
A.J. Feeley has started the past two games, his first two starts since 2007 including the Rams’ first victory of the season last week in an upset over the Saints.
* The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed receiver Mike Sims-Walker on injured reserve and were awarded receiver Brian Robiskie off waivers from Cleveland.
* Tommy Watkins, a running back for the Detroit Lions in the 1960s who also excelled at returning kicks, has died. He was 74. The Lions say Watkins died Saturday after an extended illness.
Born Oct. 23, 1937, in West Memphis, Ark., Watkins played for the Lions from 1962-67. He averaged 34.4 yards on 17 kickoff returns in 1965, and his 90-yard punt return for a TD in 1963 stood as a franchise record for 37 years.
* Bubba Smith, the former NFL player-turned-actor, died of acute drug intoxication and other conditions, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said. A caretaker at the 66-year-old Smith’s home in Baldwin Hills found his body on Aug. 3.
Autopsy results showed the 6-7 Smith had high levels of the weight-loss drug phentermine in his system, coroner’s spokesman Ed Winter said in a news release. Smith also had heart disease, an enlarged heart and up to 75 percent blockage of some blood vessels.