All I can do is laugh at this exchange, which started with Howard Eskin ripping Emmanuel Acho after the ex-Bird criticized the Eagles’ medical staff on Thursday:

Fletcher Cox sliding in now, after the jump:

On a more serious note, I feel like people got hung up on Acho’s rant because of the changes in the Eagles medical staff. That’s not ultimately relevant.

His takeaway point was that doctors are on the TEAM payroll, so even though players are allowed second and third opinions via the CBA, they don’t always FEEL like they are getting a fair shake on the first go. The teams control smaller injuries in a way that players might not always agree with. Sore quad? Get your ass in there!

Coaches and general managers want the doctors to clear their players so that they’re back on the ice or back on the field, when those players might not feel like they’re 100% healthy. Stunningly, team docs are more inclined to do what the team wants them to do. The player is often left on the outside, looking in.

Earl Wolff does a good job of summing this up:

https://twitter.com/Ewolff28/status/1073386324818886658

And Wolff also retweeted this from 12 year veteran Will Blackmon:

Yep.