Brandon Weeden fighting through thumb injury

Brandon Weeden insists he can still throw the ball well despite his thumb injury, and that the injury isn't to blame for his two fumbles while standing in the pocket against Troy.
By Brandon Chatmon, Staff Writer, Modified: September 13, 2010 at 9:20 pm •  Published: September 13, 2010

STILLWATER — Brandon Weeden doesn't expect the pain to go away anytime soon.

The Oklahoma State quarterback is dealing with an injury he called "a sprain" in his right thumb, which he suffered during the Cowboys 65-17 win Sept. 4 over Washington State.

"It's just a little sore, that's all, just a little sore," Weeden said on Monday. "It's just a sprain, just jammed it."

Weeden said the injury didn't really affect him throwing the football in OSU's 41-38 win Saturday over Troy.

"I've been throwing the ball fairly well," Weeden said. "Obviously, there is discomfort there, (but) it didn't affect my throwing."

The junior finished 29 of 39 pass attempts for a career-high 348 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also fumbled three times (two lost).

The jammed thumb, which he had taped Saturday, has changed Weeden's grip on the ball. He insisted it didn't play a role in his two fumbles while standing in the pocket.

"They made good plays, they hit me pretty hard," Weeden said. "The grip isn't the same; it's not normal. But, no, I think you have to give those guys credit. They came with the blitz, and I didn't see the blitz when I should have."

Weeden didn't directly say it, but the jammed thumb likely did play a role in the botched victory formation fumble with less than a minute remaining.

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Snap judgment

The shotgun snap has become a staple of offense in the current era of high-scoring, spread offenses. At all levels, from pee wee football to the NFL, the shotgun snap has become more common than snap from center snap.

"It's just become a way of life now," Cowboys coach Mike Gundy said. "Dallas first started it and the last six or eight years it's become second-hand for people. We did it (we I played) but only on third downs."

This year's version of the Cowboys rarely use the center snap and intentionally game-planned to limit center snap situations against Troy with quarterback Brandon Weeden's ailing thumb.

"We knew going in it was going to be an issue because of the thumb," Weeden said. "We didn't have a lot of stuff under center."

It went from a minor issue to a huge issue when the Cowboys fumbled in the victory formation, only the third time Weeden was under center on Saturday. Weeden handled the two previous center snaps without any issues other than increased pain.

"No excuses," Weeden said. "Thumb, no thumb, I have to make that play."

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