[GP1]

Article

I know this isn't about the Zips, but it is about football and I worry about what the future may hold for some of our fellow Zips in terms of long term health problems.

[johnnyzip84]

Article

I know this isn't about the Zips, but it is about football and I worry about what the future may hold for some of our fellow Zips in terms of long term health problems.

That’s a very interesting article, GP1. Thanks for posting.

I’ve thought about this quite a bit lately. The issue of player safety will continue to become more visible. Various TV shows have taken up the topic. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit there’s a small part of me that feels a little uneasy from an ethical standpoint considering I spend so much time and effort supporting a sport that leaves many damaged beyond repair.

Here are a few thoughts as I read this:

1. His main notion is that football at the ground level could be destroyed by medical insurers backing out to protect their bottom lines. Maybe this is farfetched, but I wonder if youth/HS/college football could still survive in this scenario by simply requiring medical waivers to be signed by all players absolving the league/team/school financial liability due to injury. Is the love of football so ingrained in the American psyche that players and their families would be willing to sign such a waiver?

2. He discusses the immense economic blow it would have on the “small town” college football centers, like Clemson etc. Who’s to say, in this “post-football world”, that another sport or form of entertainment might not take the place of these local economic engines? And for those thinking about soccer (and I am a big fan), this sport has its own issues with regard to concussions and injuries in general. I don’t know what that replacement activity would be. But without football, all of a sudden the sports and entertainment landscape becomes wide open and totally unpredictable.

3. He points to the use of HGH as one of the culprits in the rise of injuries and that’s hard to dismiss. But I think equipment design and manufacture are at least as responsible. I’m convinced there can be more safety designed into equipment, especially if energy absorption characteristics are given higher priority. This will likely result in more expensive equipment, but I think most would agree at this point that this is a worthwhile tradeoff.

This is definitely something to monitor from now on.

[xu9697]

The late Joe Paterno thought football should return to leather helmets. He just might have had a point.

[GP1]

3. He points to the use of HGH as one of the culprits in the rise of injuries and that’s hard to dismiss. But I think equipment design and manufacture are at least as responsible. I’m convinced there can be more safety designed into equipment, especially if energy absorption characteristics are given higher priority. This will likely result in more expensive equipment, but I think most would agree at this point that this is a worthwhile tradeoff.

Concussions happen when the brain bashes against the skull. We are not made for sudden stops. They can design all the energy absorbing equipment, nothing can stop the brain from bashing against the skull when a hit is made.

It all goes back to hgh. Force = Mass x Acceleration. The players today are too big from taking hgh and the human body cannot take the force. Look at James Harrison. When he came back from injury, his face was so red, he could have guided Santa at Christmas. The red was from all the hgh he takes. He is only one example of many in the NFL. My brother overheard the Falcons strenght and conditioning coach yelling at some linemen one day, "I don't know what you are taking, but you had better get off of it before your head explodes." Everyone knows it is going on and nobody wants to do anything about it. Back to force.... Specifically, the head can't take the force. Some may laugh when I say this, but the NFL needs to go through a five year period where they bring down the maximum weight of the players through weight limits like they do in little league. Make the NFL a sport again instead of a freakshow.

I hate to say this because it may come true, but I don't think it is unreasonable to believe that an NFL player, or even a high level college football player, could get killed on the field of play in the next five years. If not killed, one of the linemen die from a heart attack during a game. If that happens, parents will really think twice about letting their kids play.

[GP1]

The late Joe Paterno thought football should return to leather helmets. He just might have had a point.

He had a point alright... A stupid point.

[Hilltopper]

Several kids on my sons 7th grade team suffered concussions last season. I saw a story on the news the other night about a company that is developing a device that would alert the coach if a player took a hit that could cause a concussion. It was a small device that attached to the helmet and a red flashing light would go off if the hit was severe. That would alert the coach who could have the player examined before being allowed back into the game.

[GP1]

Several kids on my sons 7th grade team suffered concussions last season.

Maybe we are letting kids play football at too young of an age and they can't grasp the fundamentals of the game to the point where they can play it in a safe manner. There are a lot of bad jr high coaches who can't teach the proper way to play the game as well.

[Blue & Gold]

Here's a counter-inuitive thought. Could the advanced padding/helmets that players now wear actually be the cause of the problem?

I'll explain my thought. When players wore less sophisticated padding (ala, JoePa's leather helmets, whatever) I highly doubt players were engaging in the collisions they are nowadays. They just couldn't. They'd kill themselves and they probably knew it. At the very least they were probably hitting more with their shoulders than with the crowns of their heads.

Take rugby as the prime example. Everyone thinks rugby players must be so outrageously tough because they don't wear any padding. But what people don't realize is that there actually aren't that many severe injuries in rugby precisely because the players don't engage in collisions like they do in American football. They just can't - they'd kill themselves. Today's football players, contrarily, feel invincible with the advanced helmets that they wear. But, invincible they are not.

[johnnyzip84]

Concussions happen when the brain bashes against the skull. We are not made for sudden stops. They can design all the energy absorbing equipment, nothing can stop the brain from bashing against the skull when a hit is made.

That’s the whole point of energy absorbing devices. They make the stop “less sudden” by reducing the decelerations. I’ll agree the increased size of the players (their increased speed can’t be ignored either, since potential energy is related to speed squared…..although of course speeds haven’t increased nearly as much as size) inherently increases the magnitude of these decelerations.

Speaking more on the effect speed has on the decelerations felt by the brain, this is exactly why some coaches propose doing away with kickoffs.

[GP1]

I'll explain my thought. When players wore less sophisticated padding (ala, JoePa's leather helmets, whatever) I highly doubt players were engaging in the collisions they are nowadays. They just couldn't. They'd kill themselves and they probably knew it. At the very least they were probably hitting more with their shoulders than with the crowns of their heads.

How come old photos of the NFL show guys aged well beyond their years and their faces are crooked?

The rugby analogy is good because I think it is a great sport; however, rugby players pitch the ball a lot and head on hits are rare. They don't pass the ball downfield so there isn't anyone to get hit going over the middle.

[GP1]

(their increased speed can’t be ignored either, since potential energy is related to speed squared…..although of course speeds haven’t increased nearly as much as size)

Like I've been saying on this board for years now. Regardless of what our wives and girlfriends tell us, size matters.

[johnnyzip84]

Like I've been saying on this board for years now. Regardless of what our wives and girlfriends tell us, size matters.

I think I get an assist for this

[Hilltopper]

Maybe we are letting kids play football at too young of an age and they can't grasp the fundamentals of the game to the point where they can play it in a safe manner. There are a lot of bad jr high coaches who can't teach the proper way to play the game as well.

If anything, it's the opposite of bad coaching. A lack of fundamentals was not what caused the concussions. Back in the day, when you and I were that age, the coaches would have just told the kid to suck it up and get back into the game. Our coaching staff was trained to recognize the symptoms and took the actions to make sure the kids got proper treatment. And just so you know, the bigger, faster, size matters thing applies in the 7th grade too.

[GP1]

And just so you know, the bigger, faster, size matters thing applies in the 7th grade too.

Don't you think that is a little young for kids to be having sex?

[Class of 82]

Here's a counter-inuitive thought. Could the advanced padding/helmets that players now wear actually be the cause of the problem?

I'll explain my thought. When players wore less sophisticated padding (ala, JoePa's leather helmets, whatever) I highly doubt players were engaging in the collisions they are nowadays. They just couldn't. They'd kill themselves and they probably knew it. At the very least they were probably hitting more with their shoulders than with the crowns of their heads.

Concussions really aren't an equipment issue, imo.

I believe what we're witnessing now is simply the culmination of players at every level being bigger, stronger and faster than ever before, meaning the kinetic forces at play in the game have multiplied several times over. At the same time, the sensitivity of the human brain has remained constant. So in other words, while being bigger, faster and stronger offers no enhanced protection from concussions, it virtually guarantees that concussions will happen more and more frequently.