Excellent Article - Does Football Have a Future? (1 Viewer)

[roarlions]

Well written and very interesting article.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/01...currentPage=all

 

[JH56]

Football is a dangerous sport. That being said -as a player in HS and small college, and a a youth coach now I am familiar with the fitting process of a helmet-and a mouth piece. Neither of which many of these NFL players have or do correctly. Helmets do not simply slide off with one hand on the mask-or they shouldn't.

I certainly want these guys to play for my team as much as possible and then live normal lives. I can't feel too bad or think we need to change the game other than going back to the days when the refs lined up all of us 80 lbers on the 40's and checked that we had our helmets fitted correctly, we had a mouthpiece, and all of our pads were actually in.

 

[shader]

Football is a dangerous sport. That being said -as a player in HS and small college, and a a youth coach now I am familiar with the fitting process of a helmet-and a mouth piece. Neither of which many of these NFL players have or do correctly. Helmets do not simply slide off with one hand on the mask-or they shouldn't. I certainly want these guys to play for my team as much as possible and then live normal lives. I can't feel too bad or think we need to change the game other than going back to the days when the refs lined up all of us 80 lbers on the 40's and checked that we had our helmets fitted correctly, we had a mouthpiece, and all of our pads were actually in.

If what you are saying is true, that NFL players don't have helmets that are fitted correctly..........than that would need to be something the league mandates and in my opinion would be an easy fix. The league should in this scenario, custom make helmets for each player. I can't imagine the cost would be that significant.Measurements of the head, and give each player 4-5 custom fitted helmets.

 

[omahabrad]

might have to go to something like this

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2...ckproof-helmets

 

[Truman]

When Michael Oriard played for the Chiefs, in the early nineteen-seventies, he weighed two hundred and forty pounds; his counterpart on today’s Chiefs roster weighs about three hundred and ten, and is probably no slower. Players didn’t obsessively lift weights in Oriard’s day.

From all these developments, we got smash-mouth football and, later, the spectacularly combustive open-field collisions that seem to leave players in a state of epileptic seizure nearly every weekend now

 

[zed2283]

I often have the exact same thought, that the helmets are not fitted properly. They shouldn't just slide off with one hand, and how often do we see a particular player's helmet come off several times in one game, with seemingly innocuous contact?

 

[Bri]

Riddell did some fantastic research before developing their last helmet. NFL put that info out there. I'm sure many have seen it. From dummy testing it, to getting doc recommendations, to discussing physics with top professors....they sooo did their homework.

On Saturday's I often watch these war movies where (yes I realize it's "hollywood") some guy twists a neck and kills a guy in like a second. On Sunday, I don't pretend these guys suddenly have a spear on their head. Heck I sleep "funny" and my neck is all sore for a day. If I make a dopey move and crack my head somewhere and get a headache, I don't watch the NFL and think they have heads made of steel. You go up an aisle in Walmart and there's 50 different kinds of headache medicine. Ramble ramble ramble....what about the human body makes people think that the NFL players can smash their heads into each other and not feel some pain?

I don't know what more the NFL can do. The helmet stuff is fantastic (though like previous poster said they gotta be worn correctly) the rules are changed to help the players. Unless Goodell is going to create a super neck or head made of steel, what more can they do?

In the late 90s, someone (I think it was Randy Setteberg but I'm not sure) wrote an awesome article about going back to leather helmets. I would like to watch a single game wear they played with leather helmets and smaller shoulder pads. I think there is definitely a false feeling that they have armor on and not protection when they put the pads on.

The smaller shoulder pads are a necessity or it'd just look like a flower bulb sticking out of the ground and their heads would surely be at risk like a target.

I do think if they had minimal protection (leather helmet) they would actually tackle instead of spear and it just might be one of those times where we realize progress wasn't really made.

The armor and not protection seems to be the root of the problem and I can't think of how one would change that mentality other than to take it away.

 

[omahabrad]

Riddell did some fantastic research before developing their last helmet. NFL put that info out there. I'm sure many have seen it. From dummy testing it, to getting doc recommendations, to discussing physics with top professors....they sooo did their homework.On Saturday's I often watch these war movies where (yes I realize it's "hollywood") some guy twists a neck and kills a guy in like a second. On Sunday, I don't pretend these guys suddenly have a spear on their head. Heck I sleep "funny" and my neck is all sore for a day. If I make a dopey move and crack my head somewhere and get a headache, I don't watch the NFL and think they have heads made of steel. You go up an aisle in Walmart and there's 50 different kinds of headache medicine. Ramble ramble ramble....what about the human body makes people think that the NFL players can smash their heads into each other and not feel some pain? I don't know what more the NFL can do. The helmet stuff is fantastic (though like previous poster said they gotta be worn correctly) the rules are changed to help the players. Unless Goodell is going to create a super neck or head made of steel, what more can they do?In the late 90s, someone (I think it was Randy Setteberg but I'm not sure) wrote an awesome article about going back to leather helmets. I would like to watch a single game wear they played with leather helmets and smaller shoulder pads. I think there is definitely a false feeling that they have armor on and not protection when they put the pads on. The smaller shoulder pads are a necessity or it'd just look like a flower bulb sticking out of the ground and their heads would surely be at risk like a target. I do think if they had minimal protection (leather helmet) they would actually tackle instead of spear and it just might be one of those times where we realize progress wasn't really made. The armor and not protection seems to be the root of the problem and I can't think of how one would change that mentality other than to take it away.

I totally agree with the leather helmets and shoulder pads.The NFL is also looking into drugs that might help. I think one was a drug that changed the viscosity of the brain fluid that wouldn't let the brain move around as easily.

 

[karmarooster]

Football is a dangerous sport. That being said -as a player in HS and small college, and a a youth coach now I am familiar with the fitting process of a helmet-and a mouth piece. Neither of which many of these NFL players have or do correctly. Helmets do not simply slide off with one hand on the mask-or they shouldn't.

I certainly want these guys to play for my team as much as possible and then live normal lives. I can't feel too bad or think we need to change the game other than going back to the days when the refs lined up all of us 80 lbers on the 40's and checked that we had our helmets fitted correctly, we had a mouthpiece, and all of our pads were actually in.

If what you are saying is true, that NFL players don't have helmets that are fitted correctly..........than that would need to be something the league mandates and in my opinion would be an easy fix. The league should in this scenario, custom make helmets for each player. I can't imagine the cost would be that significant.

Measurements of the head, and give each player 4-5 custom fitted helmets.

There's a lot of weird stuff going on in the NFL right now regarding helmets. TMQ column on ESPN often points out the veil of secrecy for most of the concussion related stuff; I don't have the links but for example:

[*]he suspects that many players wear helmets too loose because it's more comfortable. the reason you often see helmets pop off easily from a stiff arm and the like because of this.

[*]many players do not wear or do not wear properly a mouthguard. most wear that little flimsy one and they stick it on their helmet between every play instead of the bigger one that attaches to the face mask

[*]similarly, many WRs and DBs elect not to wear standard padding, especially in the legs and arms (Steve Smith NYG).

[*]there are a variety of helmet designs that players can wear - the NFL does not mandate players wear helmets designed for concussion protection. Some players wear the classic-style helmet because it looks better.

[*]But what's really weird about this is the fact that the NFL kept it hush-hush for Aaron Rodgers, his second concussion and helmet change. the NFL and packers would not confirm the current or previous brand of helmet.

there is a tension between the amount the NFL can mandate for safety equipment and what the players will do. I'm sure then the NFLPA negotiates (if they ever do), they will bargain for certain rules that protect the players. but i also suspect they will bargain for certain player rights to decide exactly what sort safety equipment they wear and how it's worn.

really, that' unusual because the NFL can mandate so strictly everything related to uniforms.... they will fine you if your white socks are 6 inches too low.

 

[JH56]

Agree with most of the above posters. Take a look at a bunch of WR's in any given week-their chinstraps are an inch off their chin. Marin Barber and Larry Fitz with that wad of hair in a rubber band at the back of their head-that makes its physically impossible for their helmet to fit correctly. All the research in the world can't fix that.

I also agree that for a league so uptight as to fine a guy for having a shirttail hanging out but let every DB play in basically spandex is laughable. Stop fining for head to head if they can't get moneymakers to wear the equipment correctly-totally hypocritical.

I am just so angered by them having committee after committee to change the game that I and everybody here loves when there is a 800lb gorilla in the room that everyone seems to ignore.

 

[Da Guru]

It is basic physics.

When a 215-250 lb player who can cover 40 yards in 4.5 collides with another player of the same size and speed something is going to give. Concussion, joints, tendons and bones are usually the first casualty.

 

[Reepicheep]

I think if anything more and more parents of talented athletes will push their kids towards baseball or basketball since you can still make money, with a much lower risk of brain damage (among other long-term injuries).

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

If the NFL truely cared about players long term health. They would disband the league

 

[Ministry of Pain]

If the NFL truely cared about players long term health. They would disband the league

 

[karmarooster]

It is basic physics.When a 215-250 lb player who can cover 40 yards in 4.5 collides with another player of the same size and speed something is going to give. Concussion, joints, tendons and bones are usually the first casualty.

injuries are inherent, but this completely ignores the fact tat safety equipment has an impact, and ignores the fact that increased research and development plus increased league transparency could reduce injuries.

If the NFL truely cared about players long term health. They would disband the league

i also think this is probably true. that's what it's pretty despicable that NFL veterans with severe heath problems don't get better benefits.

 

[Da Guru]

It is basic physics.When a 215-250 lb player who can cover 40 yards in 4.5 collides with another player of the same size and speed something is going to give. Concussion, joints, tendons and bones are usually the first casualty.

injuries are inherent, but this completely ignores the fact tat safety equipment has an impact, and ignores the fact that increased research and development plus increased league transparency could reduce injuries.

If the NFL truely cared about players long term health. They would disband the league

i also think this is probably true. that's what it's pretty despicable that NFL veterans with severe heath problems don't get better benefits.

Wher I grew up there were many cement/bricklayers who were fathers of my friends. Those guys are older now and everyone of them can hardly walk, bad backs, hips,knees,shoulders from busting concrete and carrying bricks for their career. Their bodies are battered.NFL players know the risk/reward of the career choice. The reward is fame and fortune..the risk is your body. Plus they make a heck of alot more than concrete workers.

 

[nlgb1]

article is way too long. im sure its a real dandy though

 

[TheWheel]

The league can cut down on concussions in a few ways:

Mandatory full padding, force players to use the safest equipment.

Insure proper tackling. You are only going to get concussed from your head hitting the ground--not happening with better protection.

Suspensions. Make the penalty equal. If you get concussed from an illegal hit, the one delivering the hit cannot play while the other is out. Take away game checks as well.

 

[Doug B]

Ensure proper tackling. You are only going to get concussed from your head hitting the ground--not happening with better protection.

One thing I've wondered about, but can't think of a way to make it work: could there be a way to make arm-tackling mandatory?Something else -- could leaving the feet to make a tackle (except when diving at a breakaway from behind) be made a severe penalty? Something like 15 yds for first offense, ejection from the game for the second?

 

[TheWheel]

I don't see a problem with leading with the head as long as you are hitting them in the chest. The problem is when the ballcarrier lowers his head as well.

 

[Truman]

Ensure proper tackling. You are only going to get concussed from your head hitting the ground--not happening with better protection.

One thing I've wondered about, but can't think of a way to make it work: could there be a way to make arm-tackling mandatory?

This is the rule for rugby, which doesn't seem to have the same rate of concussions as football. Penalty offence for not using the arms.

 

[CalBear]

I don't see a problem with leading with the head as long as you are hitting them in the chest. The problem is when the ballcarrier lowers his head as well.

Defensive players get more head and spine injuries than offensive players, specifically because they lead with their heads.

 

[mdlane]

I think the media and certain players' reactions to the Cutler MCL story really undercut the moral authority this concussion issue had. Now all everyone is talking about is how football players should tough it out and risk major injury to win a game.

 

[TheWheel]

Well then they should consider it.

As for the Cutler MCL thing, the issue has been an on going one. It's an extension of whether a player should lie about how they feel and players acting like they aren't concussed.

 

[Novice2]

When Michael Oriard played for the Chiefs, in the early nineteen-seventies, he weighed two hundred and forty pounds; his counterpart on today’s Chiefs roster weighs about three hundred and ten, and is probably no slower. Players didn’t obsessively lift weights in Oriard’s day.

From all these developments, we got smash-mouth football and, later, the spectacularly combustive open-field collisions that seem to leave players in a state of epileptic seizure nearly every weekend now

 

[Doug B]

Now all everyone is talking about is how football players should tough it out and risk major injury to win a game.

It will die slowly, but I predict the "tough guy" mindset won't be in the game in 50 years. On top of the moral issues, there's an economic driver in favor of bending over backwards to keep players as healthy as possible: the healthcare costs for retired players.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

Football is a dangerous sport. That being said -as a player in HS and small college, and a a youth coach now I am familiar with the fitting process of a helmet-and a mouth piece. Neither of which many of these NFL players have or do correctly. Helmets do not simply slide off with one hand on the mask-or they shouldn't.

I certainly want these guys to play for my team as much as possible and then live normal lives. I can't feel too bad or think we need to change the game other than going back to the days when the refs lined up all of us 80 lbers on the 40's and checked that we had our helmets fitted correctly, we had a mouthpiece, and all of our pads were actually in.

If what you are saying is true, that NFL players don't have helmets that are fitted correctly..........than that would need to be something the league mandates and in my opinion would be an easy fix. The league should in this scenario, custom make helmets for each player. I can't imagine the cost would be that significant.

Measurements of the head, and give each player 4-5 custom fitted helmets.

There's a lot of weird stuff going on in the NFL right now regarding helmets. TMQ column on ESPN often points out the veil of secrecy for most of the concussion related stuff; I don't have the links but for example:

[*]he suspects that many players wear helmets too loose because it's more comfortable. the reason you often see helmets pop off easily from a stiff arm and the like because of this.

[*]many players do not wear or do not wear properly a mouthguard. most wear that little flimsy one and they stick it on their helmet between every play instead of the bigger one that attaches to the face mask

[*]similarly, many WRs and DBs elect not to wear standard padding, especially in the legs and arms (Steve Smith NYG).

[*]there are a variety of helmet designs that players can wear - the NFL does not mandate players wear helmets designed for concussion protection. Some players wear the classic-style helmet because it looks better.

[*]But what's really weird about this is the fact that the NFL kept it hush-hush for Aaron Rodgers, his second concussion and helmet change. the NFL and packers would not confirm the current or previous brand of helmet.

there is a tension between the amount the NFL can mandate for safety equipment and what the players will do. I'm sure then the NFLPA negotiates (if they ever do), they will bargain for certain rules that protect the players. but i also suspect they will bargain for certain player rights to decide exactly what sort safety equipment they wear and how it's worn.

really, that' unusual because the NFL can mandate so strictly everything related to uniforms.... they will fine you if your white socks are 6 inches too low.

The worst thing the NFL has done is create an "official helmet" corporate sponsor - Riddell.Players can wear non-Riddell helmets (and many do, like DeSean Jackson and likely Aaron Rodgers) but they MUST REMOVE COMPANY IDENTIFICATION. It's like the Nike / Reebok / USA Basketball team issue.

There's no official shoulder pads or mouthpiece of the NFL - but there is for helmets.

There's many companies working on better and safer helmetts (like Schutt, for one).

That's the biggest issue and why you'll never hear of a player say anything official about Riddell's helmet quality.

Follow the money.

 

[cr8f]

If players stopped trying for the big hit sure it has a future.

 

[Sarnoff]

Almost no NFL players even wear cups. Getting them to use the proper helmet is going to be next to impossible.

 

[karmarooster]

Bump for TMQ today re: helmets and concussions.

All across the United States, football players and their parents -- there are 500 high school football players for each NFL player -- are worried about concussions, which a report released last week shows are rising in incidence.

Aaron Rodgers of the Packers, who will start at quarterback in the upcoming Super Bowl, just switched to a helmet he thinks offers superior protection. Rodgers says the helmet prevented a concussion when he took a brutal blow to the head from Julius Peppers of the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship Game.

So a Super Bowl quarterback has found a helmet that might reduce the concussion plague, protecting huge numbers of football players at the college, high school and youth levels. Good news?

Here's the catch -- Rodgers won't tell you what kind of helmet he switched to. Neither will the Green Bay Packers. A Super Bowl quarterback and his team have information that might increase neurological safety -- and won't share it.

During the regular season, Rodgers suffered two concussions. When he returned to the field late in the year, Rodgers said he had switched to a helmet that reduces concussion risk. But he wouldn't be specific, leaving college and high school coaches and players in the dark. A month ago, Tuesday Morning Quarterback asked the Packers to reveal the type of helmet on Rodgers' head, and a Packers spokesman said the team would not.

After the NFC title game, Rodgers told Peter King of NBC he thought his new helmet prevented the vicious hit by Peppers -- whom the league fined $10,000 for unnecessary roughness -- from causing another concussion. "As much as the new helmet feels uncomfortable and I'm still getting used to it, I'm really happy I was wearing it on that hit,'' Rodgers said to King. But King's report did not include the critical item of information that all other football players, and the parents of young players, need -- namely, what kind of helmet.

So I asked the Packers again. Jeff Blumb, the team's director of public relations, told me, "I did check again on your behalf, and that's still not information we're comfortable sharing outside of our building."

Each year 1.1 million boys, and a few girls, play middle school and high school football.

All risk permanent neurological harm, while few will receive a college sports scholarship and hardly any will earn a dime in the NFL. Many high school football players -- probably the majority, there are no definitive statistics -- take the field in outdated-design "shell" helmets without any concussion-resistant engineering. They do so partly because new-generation helmets cost about $200 each, and many high schools have budget problems.

But the main reason large numbers of high school players wear obsolescent helmets is that below the level of the pros and big colleges, coaches, parents and athletic directors have no idea which helmets are best. They look to the top of the sport, the NFL, for guidance -- and receive none. Now a Super Bowl team, the Green Bay Packers, believes its quarterback is safer in a particular helmet type, and won't reveal the information that might reduce brain injury risk throughout the sport.

Like any athletic enterprise, the Packers have reason to keep game plans, training techniques and other such specifics private. But safety information should never be proprietary. Any information that improves sports safety should be declared openly, to all.

NFL teams may be squeamish about revealing which helmets players wear because they think such an action makes them liable for any harm someone might sustain after donning a helmet of that type. As TMQ detailed here in November, this view is likely to be incorrect, in legal terms. But if Green Bay is being held back by a mistaken belief about liability, the NFL needs to step in, and say, clearly, what helmet type and model is worn by Rodgers. Safety information must never be withheld from the public. Withholding safety information is irresponsible. If a Super Bowl quarterback has found a helmet type that he believes reduces concussion risk, the team and the league have an ethical obligation to share the details.

Riddell is the NFL's helmet provider; players are free to wear other helmets, so long as they obscure the brand. This is why the white stripe on the back of an NFL helmet may say a team's name; that means the player is not wearing a Riddell, and has covered the Riddell logo. But just knowing a helmet brand isn't enough -- the model must be known, too. Riddell and Schutt, the leading manufacturers of football helmets, sell helmets engineered to reduce concussion risk and helmets that lack such engineering. The public needs to know both the brand and the model of whatever is on the head of Aaron Rodgers.

Riddell's advanced Revo Speed model (which my older son wore when playing college football) and the Schutt DNA (which I bought my young son when he played JV) are designed to reduce concussion risk, and data show this works. Is Rodgers wearing a Riddell Revo Speed or a Schutt DNA? The Schutt Ion helmet also has advanced engineering -- is Rodgers wearing an Ion? Is he wearing a Xenith X1, a new helmet brand designed around concussion prevention? Is he wearing the new Rawlings Quantum, which goes on the market soon, and was designed to reduce concussion risks? The public needs to know.

None of these helmets assures against concussions. The best case is that an advanced helmet reduces the wearer's risk by lowering concussion incidence. Even in the best new helmets, concussions can occur and can be severe. Getting improved helmets onto every football player's head will be no panacea -- other reforms are needed to make the game less dangerous. But getting a concussion-resistant helmet onto every player's head is an important first step.

Though the NFL has been encouraging players to switch to any of the advanced helmets mentioned above, the NFL does not mandate their use. This is a short-sighted policy TMQ has been objecting to since the Riddell Revolution, the first-generation helmet engineered to reduce concussion risk, went on sale eight years ago.

Regardless, a starting quarterback in Sunday's Super Bowl has found a helmet brand and model that he believes offers superior protection against concussions. Yet he won't say what the helmet is, and the Green Bay Packers won't say either. Rodgers and the Packers should be widely criticized for this. Why won't they tell the country's million high school football players, and the players' parents, what the NFL knows about safety?

It's all about the $$$. --> i don't think it's about proprietary information, but rather stems from the fact that the NFL has an officially sponsored helmet that apparently isn't the best at preventing concussions. of course, the NFL didn't make that Riddell model the official NFL helmet because it is the best, but probably because Riddell offered the most money to make it so. (see above post from Jeff Pasquino). http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=60...imagesPrint=off