I AM AFRAID!!!!

[jayparr]

that after Mills puts a few would be tacklers in the hospital it won't belong before touch football!!!!

 

[GTech63]

It would be flag ball first.

 

[Cam]

I know you're joking, but it's an interesting topic about the future of football. We need a significant change in helmet technology to make concussions practically impossible, otherwise we will more towards a flag football format. Then it's getting guys to wear better equipment even if it impacts their performance. Will need top players to endorse it. Reminds me of Jacques Plante in hockey. Top goalie who broke his nose in 1959 from a slap shot and popularized wearing a mask after coming back out later in the game wearing one. Didn't take long for it to catch on.

I've seen those big cushy helmets from practices. I don't know how much of an impact they have, but they may become standard as more information about CTE becomes available. A lot of parents already don't want to risk their children with football anymore.

 

[jayparr]

I know you're joking, but it's an interesting topic about the future of football. We need a significant change in helmet technology to make concussions practically impossible, otherwise we will more towards a flag football format. Then it's getting guys to wear better equipment even if it impacts their performance. Will need top players to endorse it. Reminds me of Jacques Plante in hockey. Top goalie who broke his nose in 1959 from a slap shot and popularized wearing a mask after coming back out later in the game wearing one. Didn't take long for it to catch on.

I've seen those big cushy helmets from practices. I don't know how much of an impact they have, but they may become standard as more information about CTE becomes available. A lot of parents already don't want to risk their children with football anymore.

Cam; thanks for the reply. There is some great new helmets being developed right now. Sorry that's all I know. But it is fact!

 

[Milwaukee]

CTE is extremely over exaggerated. It's the world we now live in.

 

[Cam]

CTE is extremely over exaggerated. It's the world we now live in.

Can you explain what you mean by this? What's over exaggerated? Symptoms or prevalence or other?

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Can you explain what you mean by this? What's over exaggerated? Symptoms or prevalence or other?

He means it's fake news.

 

[takethepoints]

I think this could be a matter of unintentional consequences.
What if the helmets become better? I'm reminded of the Exon Valdez disaster. After that, they put radar on all the big ships – not just oil tankers – to detect other ships and bring down the number of collisions. Result = more collisions. The systems failed all the time and the people on watch quit, you know, watching because they thought the radar would warn them in time.
So we get better helmets. And the refs – because, you know, the helmets will protect the kids from concussions – begin to be less watchful about spearing and head leading tackles. And more kids get concussions. Because there is no more likelihood that we'll be able to design a helmet that stops concussions then there was that we could design a fool-proof radar collision system. Also, if past experience is any judge, the helmets will be heavier and the temptation to use them as weapons – "We can't hurt anybody!" – will be impossible to resist.
I'm for better helmets. But unless we tell people that they can't let up on how players use them, I'm betting that it will lead to just as much trouble as we have today.

 

[bke1984]

We need a significant change in helmet technology to make concussions practically impossible, otherwise we will more towards a flag football format.

The quality of the helmet doesn't matter all that much. Concussions and CTE occur because the brain slams against the interior wall of the scull. The only way to prevent them is to stop head collisions altogether. The helmet itself gives a false sense of security, so everyone leads with it so often. Even if you pad the hell out of it, the head suddenly stopping is going to cause a problem.

As messed up as it sounds, the CTE problem might be a lot less widespread if they went back to leather with no face masks....but there'd be a whole lot of other bad injuries. Bottom line is that football is dangerous. There's not really a way to sugar coat it and make it a safe game short of removing contact altogether. When they change equipment or rules to prevent one kind of injury they just create another. For example, there was a significant rise in the number of season ending knee injuries in the NFL in the seasons following the increased penalties for blows to the head.

To pose a question to the former players on this board. Knowing what the public knows now about CTE and concussions, would you still have played football?

 

[Philhutch80]

CTE is extremely over exaggerated. It's the world we now live in.

@Milwaukee, That is pure ignorance right there. My father passed away as a result of early on set dimensia as a result of CTE (testing was done post mortem which came up positive). He played football as his sport and the doctors said it was a direct result of this.
I will say CTE does occur in many other sports such as auto racing and is now even showing up in soccer players but it is nowhere as prevalent as in American Football. Until you watch someone degrade in front of your eyes for five years as a result of these things I would say you have NOTHING to base your opinion off of and should probably remember that children should be seen and not heard. Yes there is emotion there but at the same time I had time to study up on how these things tie in together and also have been priveledged to work with Dr. Omalu via my coach.

The quality of the helmet doesn't matter all that much. Concussions and CTE occur because the brain slams against the interior wall of the scull. The only way to prevent them is to stop head collisions altogether. The helmet itself gives a false sense of security, so everyone leads with it so often. Even if you pad the hell out of it, the head suddenly stopping is going to cause a problem.

Mythbusters would often use g-force discs to represent lethal/fatal actions to the human body. Remember how it's not the fall that kills you but the sudden stop? Same principles apply with football. Dig your post and I will be interested to see if the former players respond. Cannot thank them enough for doing what they do!

 

[ilovetheoption]

The quality of the helmet doesn't matter all that much. Concussions and CTE occur because the brain slams against the interior wall of the scull. The only way to prevent them is to stop head collisions altogether. The helmet itself gives a false sense of security, so everyone leads with it so often. Even if you pad the hell out of it, the head suddenly stopping is going to cause a problem.

As messed up as it sounds, the CTE problem might be a lot less widespread if they went back to leather with no face masks....but there'd be a whole lot of other bad injuries. Bottom line is that football is dangerous. There's not really a way to sugar coat it and make it a safe game short of removing contact altogether. When they change equipment or rules to prevent one kind of injury they just create another. For example, there was a significant rise in the number of season ending knee injuries in the NFL in the seasons following the increased penalties for blows to the head.

To pose a question to the former players on this board. Knowing what the public knows now about CTE and concussions, would you still have played football?

I played from 6 through 18. My brother pkayed in college. I LOVE football. Id never let my son play, though. Just not worth it, for me.

 

[flea77]

The quality of the helmet doesn't matter all that much. Concussions and CTE occur because the brain slams against the interior wall of the scull. The only way to prevent them is to stop head collisions altogether. The helmet itself gives a false sense of security, so everyone leads with it so often. Even if you pad the hell out of it, the head suddenly stopping is going to cause a problem.

As messed up as it sounds, the CTE problem might be a lot less widespread if they went back to leather with no face masks....but there'd be a whole lot of other bad injuries. Bottom line is that football is dangerous. There's not really a way to sugar coat it and make it a safe game short of removing contact altogether. When they change equipment or rules to prevent one kind of injury they just create another. For example, there was a significant rise in the number of season ending knee injuries in the NFL in the seasons following the increased penalties for blows to the head.

To pose a question to the former players on this board. Knowing what the public knows now about CTE and concussions, would you still have played football?

Yes. Life has risk and rewards. Most of the people on this forum drive cars, some if not most text while driving... Thats much more dangerous than playing any contact sport.

 

[Milwaukee]

@Milwaukee, That is pure ignorance right there. My father passed away as a result of early on set dimensia as a result of CTE (testing was done post mortem which came up positive). He played football as his sport and the doctors said it was a direct result of this.
I will say CTE does occur in many other sports such as auto racing and is now even showing up in soccer players but it is nowhere as prevalent as in American Football. Until you watch someone degrade in front of your eyes for five years as a result of these things I would say you have NOTHING to base your opinion off of and should probably remember that children should be seen and not heard. Yes there is emotion there but at the same time I had time to study up on how these things tie in together and also have been priveledged to work with Dr. Omalu via my coach.



Mythbusters would often use g-force discs to represent lethal/fatal actions to the human body. Remember how it's not the fall that kills you but the sudden stop? Same principles apply with football. Dig your post and I will be interested to see if the former players respond. Cannot thank them enough for doing what they do!

I'm sorry for your loss, Phil. Losing a father is something I cannot speak on.

 

[vamosjackets]

The quality of the helmet doesn't matter all that much. Concussions and CTE occur because the brain slams against the interior wall of the scull. The only way to prevent them is to stop head collisions altogether. The helmet itself gives a false sense of security, so everyone leads with it so often. Even if you pad the hell out of it, the head suddenly stopping is going to cause a problem.

As messed up as it sounds, the CTE problem might be a lot less widespread if they went back to leather with no face masks....but there'd be a whole lot of other bad injuries. Bottom line is that football is dangerous. There's not really a way to sugar coat it and make it a safe game short of removing contact altogether. When they change equipment or rules to prevent one kind of injury they just create another. For example, there was a significant rise in the number of season ending knee injuries in the NFL in the seasons following the increased penalties for blows to the head.

To pose a question to the former players on this board. Knowing what the public knows now about CTE and concussions, would you still have played football?

That's a really good question. I got 4 concussions my junior year of high school. Never got one before nor since (that I remember ) Two were in football, one was in wrestling, and one was in baseball. None were on particularly bad hits - that is to say, I know I've hit and been hit harder than on those peculiar incidents. I know that's just anecdotal and not proof of anything. But, at this point, I think I would allow them to play football if they want to, and tend to agree with @flea77 's sentiment about the risk of life. I think a lot of life is gained by playing football (or any other physically demanding activity), stuff that can help you live better and safer when dealing with other dangerous situations that may be encountered in life. I'm not rock-solid on my stance though.

 

[Coloradojacket]

So my take on why so many more concussions. Yes, we are making sure players are not going back in after they "Get their Bell Rung" but I contend it is because of two things.
1. Less fundamental football being taught. If you tackle correctly instead of leading with your head you won't get concussed.
2. Less running and more passing. For those of us that played back when the wishbone and the veer were the offenses, it was hard to build up enough steam to hit super hard on running plays. You had to play disciplined. With all this passing QBs are exposed, WRs are in the open and DBs want the big hit.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

So my take on why so many more concussions. Yes, we are making sure players are not going back in after they "Get their Bell Rung" but I contend it is because of two things.
1. Less fundamental football being taught. If you tackle correctly instead of leading with your head you won't get concussed.
2. Less running and more passing. For those of us that played back when the wishbone and the veer were the offenses, it was hard to build up enough steam to hit super hard on running plays. You had to play disciplined. With all this passing QBs are exposed, WRs are in the open and DBs want the big hit.

You're very last point is the BINGO.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

He means it's fake news.

It is fake news to say that CTE is fake news.

 

[takethepoints]

The quality of the helmet doesn't matter all that much. Concussions and CTE occur because the brain slams against the interior wall of the scull. The only way to prevent them is to stop head collisions altogether. The helmet itself gives a false sense of security, so everyone leads with it so often. Even if you pad the hell out of it, the head suddenly stopping is going to cause a problem.

As messed up as it sounds, the CTE problem might be a lot less widespread if they went back to leather with no face masks....but there'd be a whole lot of other bad injuries. Bottom line is that football is dangerous. There's not really a way to sugar coat it and make it a safe game short of removing contact altogether. When they change equipment or rules to prevent one kind of injury they just create another. For example, there was a significant rise in the number of season ending knee injuries in the NFL in the seasons following the increased penalties for blows to the head.

To pose a question to the former players on this board. Knowing what the public knows now about CTE and concussions, would you still have played football?

I played from about 10 to 20. I had to quit because of recurrent knee injuries.
In my day, the normal blocking and tackling technique was spearing. I wore a horse collar to protect me from neck injuries from my senior year in high school to my year of college ball. In general, there was absolutely no emphasis or concern about head injuries at all. I also had only one teammate who was held out for a concussion in my whole time playing.
I think the reason for this was simple physics. The largest people on both my high school and college teams were exactly the same size: 6'3", 220. The typical OL when I was in high school was about my size: 5'9", 190. The backs were even smaller. (I remember playing against Kim King when I was a junior and thinking he was way too big to be a QB. He was bigger then almost every lineman on my team and almost impossible to bring down.) Today, of course, HBs are often 6'3", 220 and the OLs/DLs are immense, even in high school. They are also faster and in much better shape. Result: the collisions are much more dangerous and head (and other) injuries are a lot more frequent.
My son went out for high school football, but decided to go for wrestling instead. I was willing to have him play, but I'm not sure I'd say the same today. The danger is greater and we know a lot more about the long term effects. Oth, as was pointed out above, driving is a lot more dangerous then football and, in this state, we let (God help us all) 16 year olds do it.
I love watching football. I know the young men who play the game love it too. It's part of our national culture and a not unimportant one. For all that, I'm behind efforts to make the game safer. If it calls for softer play, particularly on the lines, I say let's do it. There's no reason to ignore preventable injuries.

 

[Coloradojacket]

The quality of the helmet doesn't matter all that much. Concussions and CTE occur because the brain slams against the interior wall of the scull. The only way to prevent them is to stop head collisions altogether. The helmet itself gives a false sense of security, so everyone leads with it so often. Even if you pad the hell out of it, the head suddenly stopping is going to cause a problem.

As messed up as it sounds, the CTE problem might be a lot less widespread if they went back to leather with no face masks....but there'd be a whole lot of other bad injuries. Bottom line is that football is dangerous. There's not really a way to sugar coat it and make it a safe game short of removing contact altogether. When they change equipment or rules to prevent one kind of injury they just create another. For example, there was a significant rise in the number of season ending knee injuries in the NFL in the seasons following the increased penalties for blows to the head.

To pose a question to the former players on this board. Knowing what the public knows now about CTE and concussions, would you still have played football?

I played football from the 5th grade through the 12th. Wishbone, Veer, I formations. I never got a concussion and some of my helmets I wore were not that padded. We were taught fundamentals and came out of a lot of 4 point stances. I played D and O line. When I turned 25 I started playing rugby and played for 10 years. Broken fingers but saw very few concussions. I always told people it hurts as much to tackle someone as it was to be tackled. Again fundamentals. Would I play football again, yep. Does my son play, yep. Do I think one day football will not be the same, yep, as long as women make decisions about their sons playing football.

Excerpt from my first Book Jon Smith. Available on Amazon........


“But why would they make a sport like this illegal dad” asked Chris.


“Probably because we men liked to play it too much” said Riley.


Jon then began to explain the on goings that had made many sports illegal.


“It actually started long before the actual laws were passed. At the turn of the century many parents started to look on football as being too violent for their kids. Football, as they said was to rough with too many injuries. As such they adopted other sports that they thought were less tough like soccer. Football fields began to be replaced by soccer fields and so it went. Then in the second decade even soccer was too rough so they changed the rules to forbid any contact and of course they quit keeping score so as not to deflate losers.”

 

[Skeptic]

CTE is extremely over exaggerated. It's the world we now live in.

Either extremely, or just exaggerated: You know this how? Given the infancy of research into CTE that is an impossible "fact" to know.