These concussions are awesome. (1 Viewer)

[Sinn Fein]

I think the current NFL uses the term "concussion" loosely. The reason being is all the lawsuits and media attention these blows to the head are getting. So in an effort to save their ###, team doctors are calling any wooziness a concussion and holding the player out. Some of these guys are coming back after resting for the week before the next game. If it were a real concussion, I think it would take more than a few days rest to truely recover. In all reality, a player takes a hard hit to the head, gets woozy and goes to the sideline, and as a precautionary measure, they are holding the player out of the game to prevent the possibility of a full blown concussion.

As fantasy footballers it does suck for us. But the state of the league really gives teams no other choice but to be overly cautious.

If someone can design a helmet that can drastically reduce head trauma, they would find themselves excessively rich.

A concussion is a fairly loose standard - but pretty much any meaningful blow to the head will cause a concussion. What remains harder to understand are the effects of the concussion. For years, most people really just focused on the short-term issues - can you get back out there and play? More research has shown that even "slight" concussions can have longer-lasting effects, and the brain may be more susceptible to serious injury if concussed multiple times in short-order.If a player is "woozy" from a blow to the head, it is almost certain that the player suffered a concussion. The medically prudent course of action is to avoid situations where you might absorb another blow to the head.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

NFL is for sissies anymore, if not for fantasy football, it would be so lame at times.

yup. gambling and fantasy football makes the NFL bulletproof

 

[wiscstlatlmia]

I think what this shows is not that players are soft now, but how extremely dangerous the game is to begin with. It's really sad to hear all the stories from the guys who played in the 70s, 80s and even the 90s... a lot of them have severe brain injuries and have a hard time even doing normal things.

When you hear someone say " I'm not sure, but the way things are going, I'm not gonna be worth much in a few years" .. it really puts things in perspective. They certainly are getting paid a lot of money, and that's all well and good, but that money doesn't help you when you wake up in severe pain in multiple areas everyday for the rest of your life.

Ephraim Salaam does a great weekly podcast talking about all the crazy stuff players do on a weekly basis just to be able to play. Its some really scary stuff that simply hasn't been voiced strongly before.

We as fans really like to think before this concussion thing everything was perfect, but the game is anything but.

If I were to guess, a lot of parents in the next 10 to 20 years will be pulling their kids out of football and having them play other sports. The talent pool is going to soften, I'm almost sure of it.

 

[flapgreen]

Edwards is so full of crap.

 

[rockaction]

I think the current NFL uses the term "concussion" loosely. The reason being is all the lawsuits and media attention these blows to the head are getting. So in an effort to save their ###, team doctors are calling any wooziness a concussion and holding the player out. Some of these guys are coming back after resting for the week before the next game. If it were a real concussion, I think it would take more than a few days rest to truely recover. In all reality, a player takes a hard hit to the head, gets woozy and goes to the sideline, and as a precautionary measure, they are holding the player out of the game to prevent the possibility of a full blown concussion.

As fantasy footballers it does suck for us. But the state of the league really gives teams no other choice but to be overly cautious.

If someone can design a helmet that can drastically reduce head trauma, they would find themselves excessively rich.

I'm thinking that they're getting there, and that we'll hear less and less about dementia and later-life effects from head trauma from the current crop of NFL players.

 

[roadkill1292]

Edwards is so full of crap.

I missed your reference point.

 

[Statcruncher]

I think the current NFL uses the term "concussion" loosely. The reason being is all the lawsuits and media attention these blows to the head are getting. So in an effort to save their ###, team doctors are calling any wooziness a concussion and holding the player out. Some of these guys are coming back after resting for the week before the next game. If it were a real concussion, I think it would take more than a few days rest to truely recover. In all reality, a player takes a hard hit to the head, gets woozy and goes to the sideline, and as a precautionary measure, they are holding the player out of the game to prevent the possibility of a full blown concussion.

As fantasy footballers it does suck for us. But the state of the league really gives teams no other choice but to be overly cautious.

If someone can design a helmet that can drastically reduce head trauma, they would find themselves excessively rich.

I'm thinking that they're getting there, and that we'll hear less and less about dementia and later-life effects from head trauma from the current crop of NFL players.

There is no helmet that can cushion the brain from sudden impact or direction changes. I think concussion talk will only increase exponentially.

 

[flapgreen]

Edwards is so full of crap.

I missed your reference point.

Was on Mike and Mike this morning.

 

[rockaction]

I think the current NFL uses the term "concussion" loosely. The reason being is all the lawsuits and media attention these blows to the head are getting. So in an effort to save their ###, team doctors are calling any wooziness a concussion and holding the player out. Some of these guys are coming back after resting for the week before the next game. If it were a real concussion, I think it would take more than a few days rest to truely recover. In all reality, a player takes a hard hit to the head, gets woozy and goes to the sideline, and as a precautionary measure, they are holding the player out of the game to prevent the possibility of a full blown concussion.

As fantasy footballers it does suck for us. But the state of the league really gives teams no other choice but to be overly cautious.

If someone can design a helmet that can drastically reduce head trauma, they would find themselves excessively rich.

I'm thinking that they're getting there, and that we'll hear less and less about dementia and later-life effects from head trauma from the current crop of NFL players.

There is no helmet that can cushion the brain from sudden impact or direction changes. I think concussion talk will only increase exponentially.

Interesting take. I'd imagine the new designs would help cushion the impact and reduce head trauma, but I'm not a doctor, nor an expert. Either way, it's clearly becoming the biggest concern in football. And helmet-to-helmet in any situation should be a no go. I've seen much better and cleaner tackling this year than I can remember in any year past.

 

[Statcruncher]

A concussion occurs when the brain bounces off the inside of the skull. The only way to prevent that is to keep the head from having sudden changes of direction. Yes, head shots are the biggest culprit, but concussions can occur without any head contact at all. As long as there is contact in the game there will always be concussions.

 

[rockaction]

Interesting take. I'd imagine the new designs would help cushion the impact and reduce head trauma, but I'm not a doctor, nor an expert. Either way, it's clearly becoming the biggest concern in football. And helmet-to-helmet in any situation should be a no go. I've seen much better and cleaner tackling this year than I can remember in any year past.

A lot of the research into greater protection to the head from trauma comes from, interestingly enough, the construction industry. The basic construction hard hat is almost completely useless in many instances. That being said, one of the reasons people wear them is for liability reasons. The general problem with any headgear is weight, field of vision and, to some degree, comfort. You can make a much stronger helmet, but it will be appreciably heavier and limit the field of vision and be cumbersome enough where no one wants to wear it. Innovation into gear for head safety in the NFL is only going to go so far. There are going to be natural trade offs to consider weight, comfort, ventilation and durability. Then it poses a secondary problem, a bigger heavier helmet will now only weaponize a defender going helmet to helmet. You didn't just make a bigger "safe" you also made a bigger battering ram. And limiting the field of vision is only going to create more situations where the offensive player can be blindsided and be in more situations where they cannot effectively defend themselves. An appreciably heavier helmet and a more robust design will also increase wear on the neck. Trying putting on one of those medieval suit of armor knight helmets for an hour, see how your neck feels after a full day of wearing that. The only way to stop concussions is to stop playing. No one wants to stop playing. The owners want the money and the player want the money. Again, the concussion issue has very little to do with actual player safety. It's simply a bargaining leverage point for the last labor war and a sticking point to drive the next one.

I'd known about the heavier weaponry aspect about it, but thanks for all the other info. from you and everyone else. Good stuff to know.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

@HubbuchNYP: Problem is getting worse, not better. MT @NFLConcussions: We saw at least 240 @nfl concussions this season, up from 205 last season.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

@HubbuchNYP: 240 concussions over a full NFL season (including training camp) works out to 9.2 concussions per week. Yikes.

 

[mad sweeney]

@HubbuchNYP: Problem is getting worse, not better. MT @NFLConcussions: We saw at least 240 @nfl concussions this season, up from 205 last season.

That's a consequence of more mandatory reporting of concussions. I doubt the actual number of concussions changed this year, it's just that more were reported due to new rules. Still, it's troubling.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

@HubbuchNYP: Problem is getting worse, not better. MT @NFLConcussions: We saw at least 240 @nfl concussions this season, up from 205 last season.

That's a consequence of more mandatory reporting of concussions. I doubt the actual number of concussions changed this year, it's just that more were reported due to new rules. Still, it's troubling.

I agree. That # would have been even worse had they not instituted the new kick-off rule as well

 

[teamramrod]

These three games were nearly unwatchable, terrible.

On Monday night two of the best defenses in the league face off, the Bears vs. the 49'ers. It might be Kaepernick vs. Campbell.

this is funny in retrospect....peace

 

[dwarfboy]

lol - we might as well be in ancient Rome, #####ing about when they stopped sending the lions out.I saw this quote on gladiatorguys.com:

Man these gladiators sure are ####### these days. I remember when they had to fight off lions in the end. Now, they changed the rules so much to "protect" the gladiators. Might as well dress them in togas now.

They've just about taken care of the last vestiges of roman gladiator combat by no longer allowing matadors to torture the bulls. Only took 1500+ years.