CTE Diagnosed in 99% of former NFL players

[Husky25]

The NFL needs a "targeting" rule as well. Helmet-to-helmet hits need to met with ejection and suspension just like the NCAA and lower levels. Donate the players' game salary to CTE treatment/awareness/research/whathaveyou.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

A fair number of players don't start playing football until high school. There are weight limits in youth football, which contributes to less forceful impacts and coaching methods surrounding tackling and hitting have also evolved.

All youth football programs should adopt the old Mark Kelso Pro-Cap shell, but back when the NFL was still head deep in the concussion denial game, they and Riddell killed what would otherwise be logical additional protection.

In June 1996, the NFL sent its players a memo warning that the “standard helmet manufacturer's warranty may be negated or modified by the use of the ProCap.” It also said players risked “catastrophic neck injuries, including possible death,” by wearing the device. Straus told Helyar that Riddell salesmen provided copies of the memo to youth sports equipment dealers and colleges that used the ProCaps — essentially marking the beginning of the end for the device made famous by an undersized safety for the Buffalo Bills.

On the other hand, I have a hard time believing that a preadolescent's head and neck is developed enough to hold the weight of a helmet. I remember having a stiff neck for the better part of a week when I first wore a helmet each season in high school.

I am not sure the NFL was wrong. The pro cap reduces concussions but does at least theoretically increase the risk of neck injuries.

There are no easy answers.

 

[Husky25]

I am not sure the NFL was wrong. The pro cap reduces concussions but does at least theoretically increase the risk of neck injuries.

There are no easy answers.

Considering the evolution in teaching how to tackle as well as Targeting penalties at lower levels of football, how would the Pro-Cap on it's own increase the number of neck injuries anymore than the typical helmet? Are there test results? IIRC, it was essentially a piece of virtually no-weight Styro-foam on the outside of the helmet. Not everyone can afford a SpeedFlex and there is little data for those as well.

If and when my son wants to play football, I am far less concerned about any single concussion he may suffer, than I am of the multitude of sub-concussive events that would go unreported. a ProCap would conceivably put a significant dent in those.

If there were an easy answer,It'd already be done. I don't think any one single policy change will solve the concussion problem in sports, but every little bit counts and as long as that little bit does not materially change the game, it should be considered. Just like other worldly issues, the shell would probably not not solve the issue 100%, but that does not mean it should be completely dismissed out of hand. That is what the NFL did in 1996.

 

[Stinger92860]

If the NFL wants to do something about this, they need to punish the hits like Malcolm Jenkings had on Brandon Cooks last night. He went up with the crown/forehead and hit Cooks in the head. It was done intentionally to injure. Football is a violent game, but there are ways to to make it somewhat safer. Removing plays like that from the game is the first step.

I did not see it like that. I think that when cook took the left turn he caught everyone off guard. The defender was expecting to run him down from behind. That said, it was still a hit to the head.

 

[dayooper]

I did not see it like that. I think that when cook took the left turn he caught everyone off guard. The defender was expecting to run him down from behind. That said, it was still a hit to the head.

He launched with his head down toward his head. Anytime you do that, it’s an intent to injure. NFL secondary coaches have been coaching that for a decade, knowing full well what the probable outcomes are. Look at how Jenkins acted after. No regard for Cooks in any way.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

He launched with his head down toward his head. Anytime you do that, it’s an intent to injure. NFL secondary coaches have been coaching that for a decade, knowing full well what the probable outcomes are. Look at how Jenkins acted after. No regard for Cooks in any way.

You saw a different play than I did. I saw a guy drop a nice hit with a shoulder tackle. How was he supposed to know Cooks would lower his level?

 

[dayooper]

You saw a different play than I did. I saw a guy drop a nice hit with a shoulder tackle. How was he supposed to know Cooks would lower his level?

He launched up. Any time you launch up, there is only one thing you are doing and that’s going for the head.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

He launched up. Any time you launch up, there is only one thing you are doing and that’s going for the head.

I don't see it

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Ex-NFL LB turns down Montana Football Hall of Fame nod because of concussions

 

[dayooper]

NFL changes tackling rule to include leading with the crown of the head.

Verified account @NFLprguy 18h18 hours ago




Playing Rule Article 8: It is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent. The player may be disqualified. Applies to any player anywhere on the field. The player may be disqualified.


Me: Long overdue, IMO.

Link

 

[Husky25]

NFL changes tackling rule to include leading with the crown of the head.

Verified account @NFLprguy 18h18 hours ago




Playing Rule Article 8: It is a foul if a player lowers his head to initiate and make contact with his helmet against an opponent. The player may be disqualified. Applies to any player anywhere on the field. The player may be disqualified.


Me: Long overdue, IMO.

Link

This is going to change the running game between the tackles. Running backs routinely initiate contact with their helmet.

 

[dayooper]

This is going to change the running game between the tackles. Running backs routinely initiate contact with their helmet.

It should. I know people are/will be up in arms, but these changes are needed.

 

[Husky25]

It should. I know people are/will be up in arms, but these changes are needed.

Yup. Goodbye (and a never to return) to the old Bo-Schembechler-3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-mud offense.

 

[dayooper]

Yup. Goodbye (and a never to return) to the old Bo-Schembechler-3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-mud offense.

I'm OK with that. Even the Harbaugh "power pro" offense really doesn't have many lower your shoulder and plow through the line plays (at least when the line can block, unlike last years abomination of an offense). Sure you have the short yardage plays, but most plays are based off of angles and matchups. Even in high school, the majority of schools run either a form of the spread or veer where they force open spaces in the field and attack it.

 

[Husky25]

 

[Husky25]

Wow.

 

[traitor71]

Wow.

He's not completely wrong. At some point there needs to be an acknowledgement that when you decide to play football, you're putting your body at risk. Technology and rule changes are going to help out tremendously as we move forward, but at the end of the day this is still a sport where collisions are the norm and nothing is going to be able to remove that from the game. Now this guy could also just be ranting about flags in general, which is definitely a problem as the NFL is over officiated and it wrecks the flow of the game. That is a separate issue in my opinion though, and one that could be fixed far easier than concussion prevention/treatment.

 

[dayooper]

He's not completely wrong. At some point there needs to be an acknowledgement that when you decide to play football, you're putting your body at risk. Technology and rule changes are going to help out tremendously as we move forward, but at the end of the day this is still a sport where collisions are the norm and nothing is going to be able to remove that from the game. Now this guy could also just be ranting about flags in general, which is definitely a problem as the NFL is over officiated and it wrecks the flow of the game. That is a separate issue in my opinion though, and one that could be fixed far easier than concussion prevention/treatment.

The main issue is using the head/helmet as a weapon. It should be called but hasn’t. Yes, there are other issues regarding concussions, but using the head as a weapon is the big one.

 

[Stinger92860]

He's not completely wrong. At some point there needs to be an acknowledgement that when you decide to play football, you're putting your body at risk. Technology and rule changes are going to help out tremendously as we move forward, but at the end of the day this is still a sport where collisions are the norm and nothing is going to be able to remove that from the game. Now this guy could also just be ranting about flags in general, which is definitely a problem as the NFL is over officiated and it wrecks the flow of the game. That is a separate issue in my opinion though, and one that could be fixed far easier than concussion prevention/treatment.

The answer to this position is to have every player sign a waiver before they step on the field. No lawsuits, no post career payments. I wonder how many will sign at the NFL and college levels.

 

[CL82]

This Brett Favre article isn't new info but it does put the scope of issue into focus.

 

[huskypantz]

He's not completely wrong. At some point there needs to be an acknowledgement that when you decide to play football, you're putting your body at risk. Technology and rule changes are going to help out tremendously as we move forward, but at the end of the day this is still a sport where collisions are the norm and nothing is going to be able to remove that from the game. Now this guy could also just be ranting about flags in general, which is definitely a problem as the NFL is over officiated and it wrecks the flow of the game. That is a separate issue in my opinion though, and one that could be fixed far easier than concussion prevention/treatment.

Today it's full disclosure. The past was bad. We didn't know what the potential repercussions could be. Coaches were willing to look the other way. Rub some dirt on it and get back in there.

 

[Adios]

In spite of all the drama that's been surrounding the NFL...

2017-18 TV Series Ratings Rankings: NFL Football, ‘Big Bang’ Top Charts

"CBS’ The Big Bang Theory will finish the 2017-2018 TV season as the country’s most watched series with an average of 18.634 million viewers. NBC’s NFL Sunday Night Football is the season’s highest-rated series in the key 18-49 demographic, with a 6.2 rating; it also takes the No. 2 spot in overall audience (18.285M)."