I AM AFRAID!!!!

[bke1984]

I played from about age 8 to 16. I ended up quitting because everyone else got bigger and I didn't. I definitely got my bell rung (mostly in high school), but I never had a concussion (at least that I was aware of). We used to do stupid things like slam our heads together with our helmets on...and I remember getting light headed after several of these events. Hopefully this is discouraged these days...

So my take with my limited football experience...yes, I would play again, especially now that awareness of brain injuries has increased.

That being said, I know the question I posed is tough to answer unless you've actually been affected by CTE (either directly or indirectly). Obviously if you're not affected, why wouldn't you play again if you enjoyed it?

The crazy thing is how many former pro players (even those affected by CTE) say they would play football again. I watched a documentary on the '85 Bears a couple weeks back and every guy they interviewed said they would play again...including a couple of them that have CTE or other brain/spine injuries (Jim McMahon was a notable one). Now to be fair, a couple of guys from that team committed suicide...so it's probably safe to assume they regretted the decision to play.

Overall I think football is going to change...a lot. Right or wrong, perception is reality...more and more parents are scared to let their kids play football. My brother and sister in-law are prime examples, and he played D1 football.

It's sad for sure...

 

[bke1984]

You're very last point is the BINGO.

So do we outlaw the forward pass?

 

[Milwaukee]

Millions upon millions of players live happily ever after long after their days on the gridiron, and only recently have the scientists started to attack with the CTE narrative. Wake up.

I even saw a recent study that said "all former football players tested in this study showed signs of CTE". Well no kidding, but what about the millions you actively chose not to test because those results would slant your "findings"?

Is there a button to like my own post?

 

[dressedcheeseside]

So do we outlaw the forward pass?

No, you outlaw head hunting, which already is, but maybe could be taken a bit further. Maybe you make the DB's have to play the ball and not try to separate the receiver from the ball with vicious hits.

Football is a both skillful and brutal. But when the brutality of the sport is celebrated more so than the skill, something is wrong. A while back, ESPN had a Monday night segment called "Jacked Up." It featured the week's most bone crushing hits, it was a fan favorite. This is what I mean by celebrating, even capitalizing, on the games brutality. You'd never see a show called "Wrap Up" featuring the weeks best form tackles, would you?

It's not all ESPN's fault, it's what most fans crave, so they feed it to 'em. Now, it's all what kids on D want to do and/or be know for. Imo, the game won't be tarnished a bit to make efforts to protect players from excessive contact, especially when bodies are turned into missiles for the purpose of creating the biggest possible impact on a human target, many of them unsuspecting. Weirdly, some of the most vicious hits I've seen in the game have come on special teams: blockers getting a free shot on the blindside of would be tackler when the ball carrier reverses field.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Millions upon millions of players live happily ever after long after their days on the gridiron, and only recently have the scientists started to attack with the CTE narrative. Wake up.

I even saw a recent study that said "all former football players tested in this study showed signs of CTE". Well no kidding, but what about the millions you actively chose not to test because those results would slant your "findings"?

So you're pulling the "fake science" card too?

 

[Philhutch80]

So you're pulling the "fake science" card too?

I feel like with coaches like Dan Quinn and others having rugby players coming in to teach a different tackling style that concussions can and will be reduced. Did I play football? Yes, two years in high school and definitely got my bell rung. Ironically the only concussions I have gotten have been from snowboarding. Would I play again even seeing how CTE affected me? Yup. That is why I put all my energy and support into supporting the finest college football team in the land in GT!!! I dig the discussion including what @Milwaukee is bringing to the table. Good clean point-counter point discussions filled with personal opinions.
Question, I could have sworn CPJ brought in some rugby coaches to teach tackling to the program within the past couple of years. If I am wrong I am wrong, but I could have sworn reading some small media piece about it in the past. Anyone remember this?

 

[Coloradojacket]

I feel like with coaches like Dan Quinn and others having rugby players coming in to teach a different tackling style that concussions can and will be reduced. Did I play football? Yes, two years in high school and definitely got my bell rung. Ironically the only concussions I have gotten have been from snowboarding. Would I play again even seeing how CTE affected me? Yup. That is why I put all my energy and support into supporting the finest college football team in the land in GT!!! I dig the discussion including what @Milwaukee is bringing to the table. Good clean point-counter point discussions filled with personal opinions.
Question, I could have sworn CPJ brought in some rugby coaches to teach tackling to the program within the past couple of years. If I am wrong I am wrong, but I could have sworn reading some small media piece about it in the past. Anyone remember this?

Rugby is great and teaches good form tackling. Only one problem, in rugby the goal is to either bring the man down or turn him to take the ball, if you give up 5 yards in the process it does not matter. It only counts when you have to stop them at the Try line. The ultimate bend don't break defense.

 

[Deleted member 2897]

Millions upon millions of players live happily ever after long after their days on the gridiron, and only recently have the scientists started to attack with the CTE narrative. Wake up.

I even saw a recent study that said "all former football players tested in this study showed signs of CTE". Well no kidding, but what about the millions you actively chose not to test because those results would slant your "findings"?

Is there a button to like my own post?

So, if you're talking about "millions upon millions", you're talking about people who never played in the NFL, and never were able to make the college team, or even the high school team. So yes, if you test kids who only played a few years when they were 6-12 years old and that's it, correct, you're probably going to find a bunch of clean brains. Personally, I would argue you are probably a tad more likely to get a head injury playing against 275 pound folks than you will be against 75 pound folks.

 

[forensicbuzz]

No, you outlaw head hunting, which already is, but maybe could be taken a bit further. Maybe you make the DB's have to play the ball and not try to separate the receiver from the ball with vicious hits.

Football is a both skillful and brutal. But when the brutality of the sport is celebrated more so than the skill, something is wrong. A while back, ESPN had a Monday night segment called "Jacked Up." It featured the week's most bone crushing hits, it was a fan favorite. This is what I mean by celebrating, even capitalizing, on the games brutality. You'd never see a show called "Wrap Up" featuring the weeks best form tackles, would you?

It's not all ESPN's fault, it's what most fans crave, so they feed it to 'em. Now, it's all what kids on D want to do and/or be know for. Imo, the game won't be tarnished a bit to make efforts to protect players from excessive contact, especially when bodies are turned into missiles for the purpose of creating the biggest possible impact on a human target, many of them unsuspecting. Weirdly, some of the most vicious hits I've seen in the game have come on special teams: blockers getting a free shot on the blindside of would be tackler when the ball carrier reverses field.

Form tackling will get you ejected from the game, just ask Adam Gotsis.

 

[Milwaukee]

So, if you're talking about "millions upon millions", you're talking about people who never played in the NFL, and never were able to make the college team, or even the high school team. So yes, if you test kids who only played a few years when they were 6-12 years old and that's it, correct, you're probably going to find a bunch of clean brains. Personally, I would argue you are probably a tad more likely to get a head injury playing against 275 pound folks than you will be against 75 pound folks.

You don't have to trust me, just listen to what I'm telling you.

 

[bke1984]

So, if you're talking about "millions upon millions", you're talking about people who never played in the NFL, and never were able to make the college team, or even the high school team. So yes, if you test kids who only played a few years when they were 6-12 years old and that's it, correct, you're probably going to find a bunch of clean brains. Personally, I would argue you are probably a tad more likely to get a head injury playing against 275 pound folks than you will be against 75 pound folks.

Yeah, but to be fair to @Milwaukee, there are studies saying that 70% of people who have ever played football (even at the youth level) have CTE. I don't think the studies they have put together have near the statistical significance to back these claims up. It's kind of like Fox News and CNN saying "80% of Americans believe X" when they polled 1,100 people in New York City. If you only examine the brains of players that committed suicide or had behavioral issues, you're going to find what you're looking for. To make the claim that 70% of kids that played Pop Warner football have CTE, you'd have to examine millions of brains from deceased individuals that both played youth football and did not.

 

[bke1984]

No, you outlaw head hunting, which already is, but maybe could be taken a bit further. Maybe you make the DB's have to play the ball and not try to separate the receiver from the ball with vicious hits.

You mean allow the defensive backs to play the way they were allowed to 25 years ago? That's a noble concept

They're so handcuffed these days that in a lot of cases the only thing you can really do is jar the ball loose after it's already been caught. I laugh every time I see the ball hit a defensive back square in the middle of his back while a receiver is leaping up in the air and PI gets called because he didn't turn his head. I guess under thrown balls are the DB's fault now.

 

[Skeptic]

I played from about age 8 to 16. I ended up quitting because everyone else got bigger and I didn't. I definitely got my bell rung (mostly in high school), but I never had a concussion (at least that I was aware of). We used to do stupid things like slam our heads together with our helmets on...and I remember getting light headed after several of these events. Hopefully this is discouraged these days...

So my take with my limited football experience...yes, I would play again, especially now that awareness of brain injuries has increased.

That being said, I know the question I posed is tough to answer unless you've actually been affected by CTE (either directly or indirectly). Obviously if you're not affected, why wouldn't you play again if you enjoyed it?

The crazy thing is how many former pro players (even those affected by CTE) say they would play football again. I watched a documentary on the '85 Bears a couple weeks back and every guy they interviewed said they would play again...including a couple of them that have CTE or other brain/spine injuries (Jim McMahon was a notable one). Now to be fair, a couple of guys from that team committed suicide...so it's probably safe to assume they regretted the decision to play.

Overall I think football is going to change...a lot. Right or wrong, perception is reality...more and more parents are scared to let their kids play football. My brother and sister in-law are prime examples, and he played D1 football.

It's sad for sure...

It's never going to happen to us. The phenomenon is not unique to football. It is not unlike that of voters who might say they want social programs limited or eliminated, though they themselves benefit from them. It's not that they want to give up their bennies, it is they think they can create a rainstorm without getting wet. Some former players who think they would play even if they surrendered 10 or 15 years of their life seem to think that is the worst that can happen to them. There are things worse than death. I played, enjoyed it, and with trepidation would play again. I did not allow my sons to play until high school. They will not allow their sons to play at all. But it is a conversation worth having, and those who dismiss critics as weenies are not adding anything to the narrative. (This thread, by the way, is another evergreen. It will stay with us.)

 

[danny daniel]

If the discussion is limited to concussions the solution at this time is not obvious. But if the discussion is about overall injuries the solution is weight limitation . The big difference in size among the players has a lot to do with injury. I do not want to see weight limits, but I really do not want to see continual rule changes that have such a detrimental affect on the game. I could live with a gradual lowering of the weight limits while we continue to seriously look for solutions to the concussion issue. I am not in favor of radical rule changes affecting how the game is played and how difficult and unfair the officiating becomes.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

If the discussion is limited to concussions the solution at this time is not obvious. But if the discussion is about overall injuries the solution is weight limitation . The big difference in size among the players has a lot to do with injury. I do not want to see weight limits, but I really do not want to see continual rule changes that have such a detrimental affect on the game. I could live with a gradual lowering of the weight limits while we continue to seriously look for solutions to the concussion issue. I am not in favor of radical rule changes affecting how the game is played and how difficult and unfair the officiating becomes.

I highly doubt there is a meaningful way of making the game safer w/o a major change. Football has morphed into a contest of maximizing forces, forces that are primarily directed into human collisions. Rules changes can be effective in reversing this trend. Weight limits are a great idea. A specific weight limit per position would go a long way in lessening the forces in collisions (F=ma). It would also have the added benefit of leveling the playing field and putting the emphasis back on skill and strategy. Yes, there are drawbacks and downsides, but you'd have to consider the net result.

NASCAR imposed speed limits in the interest of safety. They have shown that limits on the central aspect of success in a sport can be done w/o destroying the sport itself.

 

[Milwaukee]

I think imposing weight limits by position would create dangerous results with players cutting and trying to make weight like wrestlers and fighters. It would be too tempting for players not to abuse it in some way. Interesting idea though. If the goal is to reduce the big hits then I think they're doing a good job, even though I may not like the new style of play. I'm a big fan of cats like Steve Atwater, Ronnie Lott, Scott Case, Sean Taylor. I love the headhunting/intimidating style of football, that's what attracted me to the sport at a young age. I'm probably in the minority on this one and that's okay.

 

[danny daniel]

I highly doubt there is a meaningful way of making the game safer w/o a major change. Football has morphed into a contest of maximizing forces, forces that are primarily directed into human collisions. Rules changes can be effective in reversing this trend. Weight limits are a great idea. A specific weight limit per position would go a long way in lessening the forces in collisions (F=ma). It would also have the added benefit of leveling the playing field and putting the emphasis back on skill and strategy. Yes, there are drawbacks and downsides, but you'd have to consider the net result.

NASCAR imposed speed limits in the interest of safety. They have shown that limits on the central aspect of success in a sport can be done w/o destroying the sport itself.

I definitely agree with the "leveling the playing field and putting emphasis back on skill and strategy". I believe it could make a better game. Imagine Alabama for instance with 250 lb DTs like everybody else!

 

[dressedcheeseside]

I think imposing weight limits by position would create dangerous results with players cutting and trying to make weight like wrestlers and fighters. It would be too tempting for players not to abuse it in some way. Interesting idea though. If the goal is to reduce the big hits then I think they're doing a good job, even though I may not like the new style of play. I'm a big fan of cats like Steve Atwater, Ronnie Lott, Scott Case, Sean Taylor. I love the headhunting/intimidating style of football, that's what attracted me to the sport at a young age. I'm probably in the minority on this one and that's okay.

Ronnie Lott on CTE:

"We were able to discover this disease, now we have to combat it. To me, that's the next step and the next evolution of football. Hopefully in Super Bowl 60, we're talking about the things that people are doing [to combat the symptoms of CTE] and hopefully at that point it will allow us to be even better athletes and better human beings."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2613727-ronnie-lott-comments-on-possibility-he-has-cte

 

[vamosjackets]

I don't think weight limits are going to be effective at preventing concussions. I would think linemen get less concussions than people who are hitting in open spaces. And, if a lineman does get a concussion, I doubt his weight or the weight of his opponent would be the primary cause. A concussion is usually comes from an awkward kind of hit. Like your head hitting the ground or hitting an opponent's knee or something. The 4 concussions I've had had nothing to do with the weight of me or my opponent (or the differential thereof). I could be wrong.

Ronnie Lott would be another piece of evidence of this, actually. He certainly wouldn't be categorized as among the biggest players, but he could hit so hard because of his strength and speed relative to his size.

 

[Milwaukee]

Ronnie Lott on CTE:

"We were able to discover this disease, now we have to combat it. To me, that's the next step and the next evolution of football. Hopefully in Super Bowl 60, we're talking about the things that people are doing [to combat the symptoms of CTE] and hopefully at that point it will allow us to be even better athletes and better human beings."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2613727-ronnie-lott-comments-on-possibility-he-has-cte

I think that's a pretty common outlook/narrative in the last couple of years.