Concussion

Chuck Pagano beat the traffic and a blizzard into work Wednesday morning - all in an effort to beat the Texans. After spending the last three months fighting leukemia, the inspirational Colts coach arrived early at the team complex. He met briefly with his players to give them a succinct message about this week's game plan, then stepped onto the practice field for the first time since Sept. 26. While Pagano wanted to take a business-as-usual approach into his first regular workday, it certainly wasn't easy amid all the outside stuff.

Another story in an occasional series on concussions. The CBS broadcasters for that Giants-Eagles game on Oct. 13, 1974, were intrigued by Norm Bulaich's unusual headgear. And once they caught sight of it, many in the Veterans Stadium crowd of 64,801 snickered into their Schmidt's. A thick piece of foam rubber protruded like an ugly goiter from the rear of the Eagles fullback's green helmet. "It looked weird," Bulaich recalled Thursday. Actually, that rudimentary device was a peek into the NFL's future.

Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox sustained a concussion in the Birds' 27-20 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday, making the rookie first-round pick the fourth Eagles starter to suffer the injury this season. Quarterback Michael Vick, running back LeSean McCoy, and tight end Brent Celek have all missed games this season with concussions. There was no word on Cox's status for Sunday's game at the New York Giants, and the Eagles put their players through a rigorous five-step concussion-recovery process.

For who? For what? Asked why he would play in Sunday's otherwise meaningless game after missing four games with a concussion, LeSean McCoy answered his own question with what he surely thought was a rhetorical one. "Why would I want to play?" he said. "Why wouldn't I want to play?" Many Eagles fans, of course, would answer this way: So you don't get hurt again or suffer a potential career-ending injury. But McCoy will start when the Eagles host the Washington Redskins, coach Andy Reid said Wednesday.

Michael Vick, according to head coach Andy Reid, will finish his career as an Eagles quarterback right where he started, low on the depth chart and with little expectation of moving up. It is not official that Vick's tenure is over, but common sense and financial expediency - one of which is a specialty of the organization - indicate he will not be back for whatever fresh excitement the 2013 season might hold. Vick, who suffered a concussion Nov. 11, has been cleared to play, but Reid said Nick Foles will remain the starting quarterback for the last two games.

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who skipped an overseas trip last week because of a stomach virus, sustained a concussion after fainting, the State Department said Saturday. Clinton, 65, who is expected to leave her job soon, was recovering at home after the incident and is being monitored by doctors, according to a statement by aide Philippe Reines. No further details were immediately available. President Obama telephoned his top diplomat Saturday to wish her well, a White House official said.

If LeSean McCoy is concussion-free and cleared to play, I absolutely want to see him in the remaining games of this lost season. There's more to be gained by seeing how the Eagles' starting running back performs with potential quarterback of the future Nick Foles than by being overly cautious and sitting him for the rest of the season. McCoy is a football player and, if they are healthy, football players play. That shouldn't change depending on whether the team's record is 4-9 or 9-4. I understand the argument that it is not worth risking further injury to a vital part of your future in meaningless games during the closing parts of a losing season.

Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy both passed their baseline ImPACT tests, a major step in their recoveries from concussions, the Eagles said. Neither practiced with the team on Monday, but there is a chance they could practice on Tuesday. Neither will play in Thursday's game against Cincinnati - an independent neurologist must clear them first - but passing ImPACT was a major step in their recoveries. Vick, who has missed four games, experienced tracking problems with his eyes during his recovery.

TAMPA, Fla. - Brent Celek sustained a concussion on the first play from scrimmage in Sunday's 23-21 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Celek was helped off the field after a 1-yard catch and taken to the locker room for examination. He is the third key starter on the Eagles offense to suffer a concussion this season. Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy continue to sit with lingering concussions. There was no word after the game on the severity of Celek's concussion. "For him to go out, I'll tell you it was a pretty good [hit]