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Murphy OK' After Head, Neck Injuries; Wide Receiver Gets Treatmentin Charlotte Hospital

Posted on: Thursday, 6 October 2005, 18:00 CDT

By RICK BRAUN

Charlotte, N.C. The quiet pall cast over Bank of America Stadium was as eerie as it was frightening.

Seconds before, Green Bay Packer wide receiver Terrence Murphy went down while returning a kickoff and it became apparent quite quickly that this could be a serious injury.

Met with a violent, helmet-to-helmet collision from Carolina's Thomas Davis, Murphy's head and neck snapped to the left and he crumpled to the turf. His upper body was flat on his back, but his lower body was tipped off onto his left hip.

The Packer training staff was on the scene quickly, and when it only took a few seconds for Panther trainers to run over from the Carolina sideline, it was obvious that word had spread on the field.

Murphy suffered head and neck injuries and was removed from the field by stretcher after about a 10-minute delay.

"Very scary. It reminded me of the (Robert) Ferguson (injury last year), the Chad Clifton (in 2002), those things go through your head," said Packer coach Mike Sherman. "It was very scary, but it looks like he's going to be OK."

Murphy was taken to the X-ray room at Bank of America Stadium then transported to Carolina Medical Center for further observation.

He was reported to be conscious and having movement in his limbs, but with numbness, tingling and weakness.

"Later at the hospital he had some movement in all of his extremities, so that's encouraging," Sherman said.

Murphy remained in the hospital Monday night and did not travel back to Green Bay with the team.

Players in the locker room afterward were encouraged by reports that he had movement in his limbs.

"On the field he said he couldn't move his arms and he couldn't feel his feet for a minute," said receiver and punt returner Antonio Chatman.

While Murphy was down, Packers players knelt nearby or and came up to Murphy with words of encouragement. Most notable was rookie quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who was Murphy's dormitory roommate at St. Norbert College during training camp. Rodgers was first kneeling nearby with quarterback Brett Favre then briefly spoke with Murphy while trainers and doctors tended to him.

"You see him go down and I turned my head and then I looked back and saw all the trainers running out there and I saw (trainer) Pepper (Burruss) give him the flat line, which to me indicates that he was out, which is pretty scary," Rodgers said. "Then walking over to him as he regained consciousness, we just started praying for him.

"You hate to see a guy go down like that, especially a guy like Murph, who's a good friend of mine. We went through a lot together in camp and always had each other's back, and I'm just praying that he comes back as soon as possible."

All in all, it was a scary scene for the Packers.

"I just tried to talk to him and let him know I was there," Rodgers said. "I just told him, Hey, man, I'll see you back in Green Bay. There's better days ahead.' Now we're just praying for him and hoping that everything is going to be OK."

Rodgers said Murphy was not able to speak back to him as he was being attended to.

"Doc McKenzie was having him move his feet and stuff and he was able to tighten up his ankles and move his feet and stuff," Rodgers said. "He's doing OK. I'm just hoping that there's no serious damage. He was moving his arms and his legs."

Murphy remained in the hospital and did not fly back with the Packers. Sherman said Murphy might also have to stay another night in the hospital before he's allowed to return to Green Bay.

The injury cast a pall over the Packer sideline that was understandable.

"You hate to see that with anybody," said wide receiver Robert Ferguson, who suffered head and neck injuries of his own last season when he was clothes-lined by Jacksonville safety Donovin Darius. "We obviously have been through that before and you just don't want to see that.

"I was talking to him. I think he was out a little bit and then he came back. He had his movement. Hopefully he'll be all right."

Murphy was hurt on a kickoff just after the Panthers had turned an interception and personal foul penalty into a two-play, 32-yard touchdown drive for a 23-7 lead.

The Packers trailed, 26-7, 10 minutes into the third quarter before outscoring the Panthers, 22-6, the rest of the way with a flurry in the final 20 minutes.

That they fell short left them deeply disappointed, but Murphy's injury provided a little bit of perspective.

"That's when reality comes in and you have to tell yourself, This is our job, but it's just a game,' " said veteran safety Earl Little. "This kid, it could have been worse than what it is. But with a blessing from God he's going to be fine. It let's you know that it's hard out there and it's a tough sport.

"You can't go out there playing scared, but at the same time it's just a game. I'm not going to say it took the fight out of us because we obviously showed as a team that we almost pulled the game out and came back. It's very depressing, but at the same time we have a job to do. The only thing we can do is keep him in our prayers."

Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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