Off Topic » Jordan Leggett remembers the sudden buzz on the sideline

FLORHAM PARK Will Harris Jersey , N.J. (AP) —and in the stands as cellphones lit up with texts delivering the scary news.A young player from a rival high school football squad in Florida had been seriously injured during a game and he might not make it.“Everybody on the team where I was from was like, ‘Oh, man, he must’ve just got like a big hit,'” the New York Jets tight end recalled. “We heard later that he passed away, so it was kind of a big deal.”Taylor Haugen was only 15 on Aug. 30, 2008, when he went out across the middle of the field for a pass, reached up and grabbed the football — and was immediately slammed into by two defenders, one to the front of his body and the other to his back. The impact to Haugen’s abdominal area ruptured his liver and the Niceville High School wide receiver was rushed to the hospital, where he died a few hours later.“The surgeons who worked on my child all night said it looked like a car crash,” Kathy Haugen said in a telephone interview.Leggett, who was a wide receiver for nearby Navarre High School in the Florida Panhandle, had never met Haugen, but was shaken by his stunning death. Ten years later, Leggett is honoring his memory with his “Touchdowns For Taylor” campaign, working with Haugen’s parents and the Taylor Haugen Foundation to raise awareness about abdominal injuries in youth football and trying to educate parents, players and coaches about how to better prevent them.Shortly after Leggett was drafted by New York in the fifth round out of Clemson last year, his agents asked if he was interested in supporting any charities. Leggett talked to someone from back home, and they mentioned the Taylor Haugen Foundation.“It just brought back all those memories from back in high school because I was there (in Florida) when it happened http://www.detroitlionsteamonline.com/austin-bryant-jersey ,” Leggett said. “So, it was just something I wanted to be a part of.”The 23-year-old Leggett started the “Touchdowns For Taylor” charity campaign last season through the sports fundraising platform Pledge It, with donors contributing money for every touchdown catch by the Jets this season.“We’ve never been Jets fans in our entire lives,” Brian Haugen said with a big laugh, “but we find ourselves rooting for the Jets to score touchdowns.”New York has 11 TD catches so far, with Leggett contributing to the total with the first of his NFL career in Week 4 at Jacksonville.“Last year, I didn’t get to play at all and my soon-to-be mother-in-law actually thought it would be cool to donate as much as my jersey number, so with 86, she’ll donate $86 per touchdown,” said a smiling Leggett, who missed last season with a knee injury. “We had a lot of touchdowns last year and she thought it was specifically just for my touchdowns, so it was kind of funny because she was the biggest donor.”Leggett and Haugen’s parents met for the first time in July in Florida, where they were able to chat about life in the NFL, high school rivalries, chilly Northeast weather — and, most of all, Taylor, and their combined mission.“He’s just a great kid,” Kathy Haugen said of Leggett. “He’s a wonderful person and we’re really honored that he wanted to do something to give back to his community and chose the foundation and our son’s legacy to do it.”Added Brian Haugen: “He’s a sweet soul.”They are all fiercely driven by the same goal: spreading the word that abdominal injuries are potentially life-threatening to anyone playing football. And there are ways of offering better protection.“If you think about football, and I think this is the story that people don’t get is with the chop-block rules and helmet-to-helmet contact Max Scharping Jersey , where are they going to hit?” Brian Haugen said. “The torso is now the target.”The Haugens have spent the last 10 years doing all they can to educate by speaking at conferences and workshops around the country and collaborating with medical experts and others in the college and NFL communities to learn more.“The problem that needs to be fixed is, how do we avoid abdominal injuries, or at least try to better protect against them?” Brian Haugen said. “People say, ‘Wow, that never happens.’ No, dude, you don’t get it. Kathy gets phone calls almost daily from parents across the country who see this thing that ‘never happens.’“It happens all the time.”One of the most frustrating aspects for the Haugens is that statistics on abdominal injuries and deaths from football-related hits at the high school level are largely incomplete or inaccurate. It’s also a big reason the Haugens started the foundation bearing the name of their only child. They are pushing for consistent injury tracking and lobbying for better protection standards at the youth sports level.“Logic would say that if you’re going to protect the organ on top of your shoulders,” Kathy Haugen said, “you would protect the organs within the middle of your body.”The Haugens support a product called the EvoShield shirt, which provides padded protection to the abdominal region and is worn by players at every level of the sport, including the NFL. They also started the Youth Equipment for Sports Safety (YESS) program to educate athletes and provide them with equipment to protect against abdominal injuries.They have also developed a six-part “Pledge To Protect,” which includes a goal of making sure that by 2028 everyone playing youth football throughout the United States is wearing abdominal protection equipment as an essential part of their sports gear.“It’s being aware that this is an injury that takes place, that there are steps as a parent you can take to make sure that your child is better protected,” Kathy Haugen said. “Ask questions and ask your coaches — be engaged. You are your child’s best advocate when it comes to safety.”The Haugens say they still wouldn’t have prevented their son from playing the game he loved. But they stress they are educated now about the type of injuries that Taylor suffered — and they would know now how to better keep him safe.And they, along with Leggett and their many supporters, want other families to learn how to protect their kids — and never experience the loss they did.“I think it’s always a terrible situation when parents have to bury their children,” Leggett said. “But they took the terrible thing that happened to their son and they’re trying to make it better for other families who have kids who are playing the sport of football, and they’re trying to make it better for everybody else.“I mean, they’re extremely strong for what they do and it’s good to see.” GREEN BAY, Wis. �? Time for Joe Philbin to assume an important new responsibility with the Green Bay Packers Brian Burns Jersey , and it’s not just the duties that come with taking over as interim head coach.It’s been a while since Philbin has called plays.“Trying to think. Might have been about 20 years, maybe,” Philbin said.More Packers coverage from FOX Sports WisconsinBucks�? Wes Matthews loves Wisconsin, is a Vikings fanPreview: Packers look to slow Vikings’ revitalized run gameTop Tweets: Yelich thanks fans for support after season-ending injuryAmos sparks rebuilt Packers defense in debutPackers to be tested again by familiar foe in Zimmer, VikingsNow he takes over the job on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons following the Packers’ firing of Mike McCarthy, who also called the plays.The previous time Philbin had that task?“I think it was at Northeastern if I’m not mistaken,” said Philbin, who was offensive coordinator of the Northeastern Huskies in 1995-96.He does have a wealth of experience. A 16-year NFL coaching veteran, Philbin’s college coaching resume goes back to Tulane in 1984. He’s in his second stint as offensive coordinator in Green Bay, having held the job when the Packers won the Super Bowl in the 2010 season, and when the offense set franchise records the next season.Philbin was head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2012-15. He spent two seasons on the Colts’ staff before returning to Green Bay this year. He has been heavily involved in planning, installation and putting together play scripts. He met regularly with McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers.This week, though, will be a little different.“Sometimes, because I wasn’t calling the plays, I could kind of peek ahead a little bit so we could move forward a little bit,” Philbin said. “I think that will be the biggest difference. I’m not going to be looking at our next opponent until the game is over.”“And then obviously just sequencing the calls the right way and hopefully they work when we call ’em,” he added.7<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:Upon Further Review: Packers vs. CardinalsAP | Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved.McCarthy was fired after a 20-17 loss on Sunday at home to the lowly Arizona Cardinals. His specialty was offense, but the once-prolific production had slacked off. Empty third downs and a lack of potent plays have been season-long issues. Rodgers’ completion percentage is his lowest in three seasons, though he has still thrown just one interception this year. Drops by receivers especially plagued the Packers on Sunday.“I just think you really need to be better in situational offense if you want to win games http://www.pantherscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-greg-little-jersey , so we’re going to pay a little more attention, even more attention, to that the next couple weeks,” Rodgers said, “because we’ve got to fix that if we want to win games.”The change does present a unique wrinkle to how Falcons coach Dan Quinn prepares his defense. He can get his team ready for the unique skillsets of Rodgers and top receiver Davante Adams. But he can’t study Philbin’s tendencies when it comes to calling plays.“The analogy I told the team today,” Quinn said, “if we all had the same playbook, we wouldn’t all call plays in the same way or the same style even though it’s all part of it.”It helps to have a quarterback of Rodgers’ caliber to have input on concepts and schemes, Quinn said. But there isn’t a lot of background into figuring out Philbin’s tendencies in clutch situations, such as on third down. Quinn calls those “Got to have it moments.”“Those, hey, you better be ready to call your best stuff because those aren’t scripted. Those are off the cuff,” he said.An intangible is the familiarity between Rodgers and Philbin, who was on staff for the quarterback’s rookie season in 2005. They’ve worked together during highly productive seasons. They apparently share a similar sense of humor.“A lot of dry humor. Joe is, every time he talks he reminds us about how simple this game is,” Rodgers said. “It comes down to the little things and he’s always reminding us and harping on those things.”NOTES: RG Byron Bell (knee) and RT Bryan Bulaga (knee/illness), who both left in the second quarter against Arizona, missed practice. … CB Bashaud Breeland (groin) and S Kentrell Brice (ankle/concussion) were limited. … Little-used RB Tra Carson (rib) and starting CB Kevin King (hamstring) were placed on injured reserve. King’s rookie season last year ended on the injury list because of a shoulder issue. … The team claimed DL Fadol Brown from the Raiders and rookie CB Natrell Jamerson from the Texans. Originally a fifth-round draft pick by New Orleans, Jamerson played in college at Wisconsin.