Beef Jerky Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 The larger question is: Is the NFL in trouble? will parents push kids to safer sports? Will young adults choose different sports? Will young NFL players take the money and run, rather than risk it. OVERALL, will QB become just another on the list of positions where there's not enuf guys to fill? NFL will never be in trouble. If you didn't notice but thousands of players waiting to play the game. There are a whole range of things that could be done - not to eradicate the problem but to hopefully reduce it. Looking again at helmets as suggested by negativo is one. Adopting better tackling technique is another - I think Pete Carroll talked about looking at rugby's tackling techniques and trying to learn best practice. Possible rule changes - I'm thinking particularly about men on / off the line of scrimmage (probably needs some research into whether having more on the line increase or decreases the likelihood of concussions. It does feel like a watershed moment for the NFL though. A talented young guy walking away at the end of his rookie year because of concussion concerns. This problem now overshadows all the other matters that Goodell and the League office have in their in-tray. Doesn't overshadow anything... The guy decided to retire.
Wayne Cubed Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) I honestly think this will be forgotten about in weeks, if not days. The vast majority of NFL players and soon to be NFL players will continue to play the game because they love the game and are extremely competitive. It's an odd situation, how come going to the NFL made him change his mind, why didn't it happen in college? Is it his pay that effected his decision, didn't think it was worth it, risk vs. reward? Edited March 17, 2015 by Wayne Cubed
Beef Jerky Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I honestly think this will be forgotten about in weeks, if not days. The vast majority of NFL players and soon to be NFL players will continue to play the game because they like it and are extremely competitive. It's a odd situation, how come going to the NFL made him change his mind, why didn't it happen in college? Is it his pay that effected his decision, didn't think it was worth it, risk vs. reward? Yea this has happened before but no one remembers b.c it is always a bunch of no name players. Next MAN up.
BillsBytheBay Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) Concussion's are weird. My little bro got a concussion in a very gentle head bump. I've fractured my skull twice, and bounced my head off of concrete, fists, falling and so forth. I've never had one. It really seems like some people are more likely to get them. Imo Edited March 17, 2015 by JaxBills
NoSaint Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Man, the Niners are having a dumpster fire of an offseason. On another note, the poster who pointed out the low rookie wage scale has a great point. I hadn't thought about that. There is definitely less incentive than there used to be to take the risk. Outside the top handful of guys.... did it really change for someone like Borland?
YoloinOhio Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Interesting angle @ProFootballTalk: Chris Borland situation creates new challenge for scouts: Spotting guys who may retire early, if it's even possible http://t.co/UYSHXzwaql
dave mcbride Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) I honestly think this will be forgotten about in weeks, if not days. The vast majority of NFL players and soon to be NFL players will continue to play the game because they love the game and are extremely competitive. It's an odd situation, how come going to the NFL made him change his mind, why didn't it happen in college? Is it his pay that effected his decision, didn't think it was worth it, risk vs. reward? My question for you is, do you think college educated parents (especialy white ones) outside of the south are letting their kids play tackle football anymore? I don't see them doing it. That said, I don't think it'll affect the talent pool much. Maybe you won't see the next tom brady (middle class kid from the affluent bay area suburbs). That kid will be more likely to focus on baseball or whatever else he's good at (brady was drafted in the 18th round of the mlb draft coming out of high school). The south is a different story -- the idea that there is a "war on football" is strong there, and identifying with football is virtually a political statement. Interesting angle @ProFootballTalk: Chris Borland situation creates new challenge for scouts: Spotting guys who may retire early, if it's even possible http://t.co/UYSHXzwaql Pretty simple test - see who the suburban guys with college educated parents are. Edited March 17, 2015 by dave mcbride
Beef Jerky Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Interesting angle @ProFootballTalk: Chris Borland situation creates new challenge for scouts: Spotting guys who may retire early, if it's even possible http://t.co/UYSHXzwaql These guys really do hurt teams when they can't make this decision before the NFL.
BillsBytheBay Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) Interesting angle @ProFootballTalk: Chris Borland situation creates new challenge for scouts: Spotting guys who may retire early, if it's even possible http://t.co/UYSHXzwaql when scouts talk about "a real love or passion for the game," that's my assumed point. Edited March 17, 2015 by JaxBills
North Buffalo Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) Goodell's failure to acknowledge CTE in any meaningful way is what really needs to be discussed. No NFL dedicated testing, awareness campaigns, research or funding for afflicted ex-players. Plenty of time and money for breast cancer awareness and abused women, but not one penny of marketing promotions dedicated to the disease that directly afflicts the players as a result of the game itself. The hypocrisy disgusts me. It would be like the military pretending PTSD didn't exist while promoting awareness of fibromyalgia. Goodell needs to get real with this disease, and start supporting the wounded warriors of the NFL whose lives are at real risk within a few years of retirement. THAT should be the fallout of this story. Wait the military I guess acknowledges PTSD but barely does anything about it and is a long way from effectively diagnosing it and responding to it or any other mental health disease...in an effective consistent manner. Its a rough sport, concussions are part of it, they are still learning more about the brain and while both organizations have their faults, the issue is being addressed with the current knowledge available with the fact that the game is played the way it is. Should more be done, yup. Is there a lot of effort being put in right now to better understand and treat the issue yes, but their is a lot of inconsistencies and disorganization across the board. 10 years from now this effort will look even more pathetic as we learn more, but I don't think you can compare something in its infancy of medical research and treatment to efforts that have had years of progress made. If anything, I blame the military who has been aware of these issues for years and apparently made little progress in treating. That being said the brain is truly a complicated thing and the medical industry has a long way to go figuring out how to fix trauma or miswired circuitry. Dealing with my son's neuro issues has given me a ton of insight and plenty of frustration over how little is known about treating brain injuries. Edited March 17, 2015 by North Buffalo
YoloinOhio Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) when scouts talk about "a real love or passion for the game," that's my assumed point.that includes some other things too like the time where the Colts drafted Quinn Pitcock from OSU fairly high, and later learned he was so addicted to video games he quit professional football because he couldn't make himself stop playing up go to practice. I am not sure if he ever repaid his SB. Edited March 17, 2015 by YoloinOhio
Wayne Cubed Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 My question for you is, do you think college educated parents (especialy white ones) outside of the south are letting their kids play tackle football anymore? I don't see them doing it. That said, I don't think it'll affect the talent pool much. Maybe you won't see the next tom brady (middle class kid from the affluent bay area suburbs). That kid will be more likely to focus on baseball or whatever else he's good at (brady was drafted in the 18th round of the mlb draft coming out of high school). The south is a different story -- the idea that there is a "war on football" is strong there, and identifying with football is virtually a political statement. Pretty simple test - see who the suburban guys with college educated parents are. What kind of college educated parents? Former NFL players, who have kids, are college educated. A lot them don't have a problem with them playing tackle football as kids. I get what you you are saying though and I agree middle class, white, families might decide not to have their kid play football. But as you say, I don't think it'll effect the talent pool. For your example, you may not get a Tom Brady or Drew Brees(both sons of well off parents) but you very well could still get a Peyton Manning or Phillip Rivers or Andrew Luck (all sons of families in the football community.
North Buffalo Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 What kind of college educated parents? Former NFL players, who have kids, are college educated. A lot them don't have a problem with them playing tackle football as kids. I get what you you are saying though and I agree middle class, white, families might decide not to have their kid play football. But as you say, I don't think it'll effect the talent pool. For your example, you may not get a Tom Brady or Drew Brees(both sons of well off parents) but you very well could still get a Peyton Manning or Phillip Rivers or Andrew Luck (all sons of families in the football community. Interesting argument, but those same kids are playing hockey, lax and soccer in droves. All high concussion sports with Soccer considered the worst, high above those of football. The only difference I see is if a kid gets a concussion up North, they have to stay out of the sport for a long time under Drs supervision afterwards, especially after having a second one. Many of those kids move on to another less violent sport.
plenzmd1 Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 My question for you is, do you think college educated parents (especialy white ones) outside of the south are letting their kids play tackle football anymore? I don't see them doing it. That said, I don't think it'll affect the talent pool much. Maybe you won't see the next tom brady (middle class kid from the affluent bay area suburbs). That kid will be more likely to focus on baseball or whatever else he's good at (brady was drafted in the 18th round of the mlb draft coming out of high school). The south is a different story -- the idea that there is a "war on football" is strong there, and identifying with football is virtually a political statement.Pretty simple test - see who the suburban guys with college educated parents are. Couple of points here. 1) kids will still play football. My kids go to a private, not cheap, school here in Richmond. ( where Russell Wilson went to high school) . Football team still needs to cut kids, even in a school with less than 250 boys in high schools. Difference is very few of the kids are plating tackle till they hit 13. Most the parents I talk to say research has lead them to the thought tackle at a young young age is where the high risk lies. As an aside, my kid plays lacrosse and not football, he had a pretty good concussion last spring, I have had no thoughts of telling him not to play this year. 2) to your second point on how to scout, Coach K does this to a point now. Some paint him as racist as to who he recruits, but he is not racist as classist. He looks for kids he thinks will stay in school and not leave early..the profile you point out. Why he recruited Chris Webber but not. Jalen Rose. Rose had better grades in school, similar grades in terms of basketball. But cause Webber was upper middle class with two parents at home, Coach K thought he would stay all 4 years vs Rose one and done. The only difference I see is if a kid gets a concussion up North, they have to stay out of the sport for a long time under Drs . Don't know what you guys think of the South...it is not 1960 down here. Same protocols everywhere...my kid could not go to school for a week, then had to be symptom free for two weeks before he could practice again. Baseline tests done on all kids down here in all leagues, not just the ones run by the private schools.
YoloinOhio Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 @AdamSchefter: Chris Borland was scheduled to make $530K this year, plus $10K workout bonus. Not many jobs pay 24-year-olds $540K for 6 months of work.
Beef Jerky Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 (edited) @AdamSchefter: Chris Borland was scheduled to make $530K this year, plus $10K workout bonus. Not many jobs pay 24-year-olds $540K for 6 months of work. It almost angers me knows he took a job from someone that actually wanted it. Make your decisions before you leave college, don't ruin another guys chances of being picked in at spot then just abruptly leave. Edited March 17, 2015 by Beef Jerky
negativo Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Interesting argument, but those same kids are playing hockey, lax and soccer in droves. All high concussion sports with Soccer considered the worst, high above those of football. The only difference I see is if a kid gets a concussion up North, they have to stay out of the sport for a long time under Drs supervision afterwards, especially after having a second one. Many of those kids move on to another less violent sport. False. Football by far has the most, accounting for 47% of all reported high school concussions - more than triple the rate of boys soccer. http://www.headcasecompany.com/concussion_info/stats_on_concussions_sports
ddaryl Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 It almost angers me knows he took a job from someone that actually wanted it. Make your decisions before you leave college, don't ruin another guys chances of being picked in at spot then just abruptly leave. really this is what aggravates you ?
peterpan Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 I have had a number of concussions and they do mess you up. But if I had the chance to make that kind of money, and I was that worried about getting another hit to the noggin, I would just make sure I was a backup, not a starter. come to camp over weight, dont study or prep as hard, be relegated to 2nd team and then no more hits to the head AND you get to take home half a mil a season for the next 3 years.
Mr. WEO Posted March 17, 2015 Posted March 17, 2015 Goodell's failure to acknowledge CTE in any meaningful way is what really needs to be discussed. No NFL dedicated testing, awareness campaigns, research or funding for afflicted ex-players. Plenty of time and money for breast cancer awareness and abused women, but not one penny of marketing promotions dedicated to the disease that directly afflicts the players as a result of the game itself. The hypocrisy disgusts me. It would be like the military pretending PTSD didn't exist while promoting awareness of fibromyalgia. Goodell needs to get real with this disease, and start supporting the wounded warriors of the NFL whose lives are at real risk within a few years of retirement. THAT should be the fallout of this story. All wrong. The NFL reachd a sttlement withthe players to treat going forward for brain injury which will cost them at least a billion dollars. They have revised the on field protocol for concussion evaluation and return to play protocol. How can you not know this at this point? Anyway, all experts agree that it is the sum of hundreds of sub-concussive blows has the cumulative affecgt on the brain. It's likely that all of this in game and post game protocol is ultimately meaningless, but what else is the league supposed to do at this point? Isn't this kid's early retirement proof that they are reaching player with these "awareness" efforts? Weird post....
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