YoloinOhio Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) About time.. @RapSheet: Interesting: NFL will share concussion data with helmet companies to eventually create a position-specific helmet to minimize concussions Edited October 7, 2015 by YoloinOhio
CodeMonkey Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) They can do some things to minimize the impact a little. But when players are running that fast and their head stops abruptly from hitting something, the brain is going to hit the inside of the skull. Edited October 7, 2015 by CodeMonkey
Dorkington Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 Changing tackling technique would be the best way to go, but all these guys now want the big hit highlight.
eSJayDee Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 I'm not advocating going back to the days of leather helmets, but weren't those Gazoo helmets that Kelso I think it was & an OT for the 9ers somewhat effective? How about making a helmet consisting of primarily/exclusively like ~3" of foam rubber? Helmet to helmet, you've got maybe 5" worth of deceleration available. Even a hard, largely immovable object like the turf, you'd have ~2" of deceleration. Much better than having your brain smash into your skull.
1B4IDie Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 Getting rid of helmets will actually be the biggest help. People aren't going to slam their head into someone else if it wasn't encased in crash test proof equipment. The Helmet itself is the biggest CAUSE of concussions.
Big Gun Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 They can do some things to minimize the impact a little. But when players are running that fast and their head stops abruptly from hitting something, the brain is going to hit the inside of the skull. Yup, can't stop concussions from ever happening in the NFL.
CodeMonkey Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Getting rid of helmets will actually be the biggest help. People aren't going to slam their head into someone else if it wasn't encased in crash test proof equipment. The Helmet itself is the biggest CAUSE of concussions. This is completely true. But that would cause an epic change in the game. Not sure the NFL will ever consider that. Removal of most of the padding would also help, but again, greatly change the game. Tackle football is by definition an extremely violent game. In my opinion, removal of the helmet and pads turns tackle football into a slower, less interesting, variant of rugby. Edited October 7, 2015 by CodeMonkey
iinii Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 Changing tackling technique would be the best way to go, but all these guys now want the big hit highlight. Ronnie Lott didn't?
Formerly Allan in MD Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 They arrive with the imposition of a speed limit.
Fadingpain Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 Good luck with that. My thoughts exactly. They can do some things to minimize the impact a little. But when players are running that fast and their head stops abruptly from hitting something, the brain is going to hit the inside of the skull. Yep! Getting rid of helmets will actually be the biggest help. People aren't going to slam their head into someone else if it wasn't encased in crash test proof equipment. The Helmet itself is the biggest CAUSE of concussions. I agree with this; the flip side, though, is that there are unintended accidental head collisions that do not emanate from player contact or intentional player contact....and wearing a helmet for those situations is a lot safer than not having one at all. Consider a WR diving to catch a ball with outstretched arms and then slamming his head on the field; a player taking an errant knee or kick to the head in a pile up; a player being hit by his own teammate totally unintentionally....a helmet protects in all these situations and they have nothing to do with an opposing player diving around recklessly b/c he knows his head is protected via a helmet. It's a Catch 22. No good solution here.
KD in CA Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 I'm not advocating going back to the days of leather helmets Why not? No helmet is going to stop concussions. Making it so guys don't lead with your head will.
Canadian Bills Fan Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 I dont know about anyone else but this was the first thing to pop in my mind when I read this thrwad title.. CBF
Mark80 Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 I'd be curious to see concussion numbers in rugby. It has be thrown out there that they are lower because guys are more cautious with no helmets and when they do hit their heads they are going into the person, not an armored shell of that person via all the equipment NFL players wear. I've never really looked at it in depth, but the reasoning of that argument makes a lot of sense to me.
LeGOATski Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 I dont know about anyone else but this was the first thing to pop in my mind when I read this thrwad title.. CBF And here's the modern version that Welker switched to:
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 You can have the best helmet in tbe world but even in a violent shoulder to shoulder impact your brain is still going to bounce off the inside of your skull.
IronyAbounds Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 It is clearly the case that helmets with padding on the outside would do more to reduce concussions (and other injuries resulting from a very hard substance striking either body tissue or other vary hard substances) than anything that is done inside a hard shell helmet. However, shiny helmets with vibrant logos are much more desirable from a visual and audio standpoint and the NFL will never do anything to detract from the production value of an NFL game. Having drooling brain-impaired former players in their 50's and 60's is not enough to justify ruining the experience of watching the NFL. If there were enough outcry from fans things might change, but fans basically don't give a crap about the players once they no longer play.
reddogblitz Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 Some of it has to with people being unique though. Because you have some players who played long careers with concussions not showing effects while others kill themselves in their 40s with scrambled brains. Roger Staubach being the former and Junior Seau being the latter. Roger retired due to getting several concussions and then decided to hang it up.
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 Getting rid of helmets will actually be the biggest help. People aren't going to slam their head into someone else if it wasn't encased in crash test proof equipment. The Helmet itself is the biggest CAUSE of concussions. Ahh the irony
Mikie2times Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 NFL markets it's entire brand for decades on concussion collisions. Now they want to try and make the game safer with a new helmet? As many have pointed out, the helmet is what makes it unsafe. You don't see Rugby players propelling themselves into each other at the speed of cars.The brain will hit the inside of your skull no matter what happens at the type of impact we see in the NFL.
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