Padded Cover on Clemson Helmet??

GTech63

Helluva Engineer
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This looks like a padded cover on the helmet. Anyone seen something like this before. Guessing it is to try and reduce injuries caused by helmets to the knee and head.





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YoungSting

Jolly Good Fellow
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297
I freaking hated using that thing. It makes you look ridiculous, it can fall off pretty easily, and it just makes your helmet feel like it is heavier (even though the thing might way a few ounces)
 

aday428

Georgia Tech Fan
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21
Actually, guardian caps were recently created by a GT alum. They are pretty widely used nowadays.
 

flea77

Ramblin' Wreck
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They seem to help w other types of impact injuries . Players don't like wearing them at first . Its takes a few days to get used to them . Kinda like having to wear the knee braces .
 

33jacket

Helluva Engineer
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Georgia
been around since the 80s and early 90s. A famous 49ers OL used to wear one during the games due to concussions....the amazing thing, is; with all this concussion focus is this is not more common.

I am trying to find his name...wow..i just looked at the 1990 49ers OL roster...3 of 5 starters from state of georgia...amazing.

ok, confirmed...Steve Wallace wore this...OT he was a LT and a damn good one...
 

Skeptic

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The popular misconception is that concussions are always due to violent hits to the head. In fact many very serious concussions happen when the head snaps forward and stops abruptly from a violent tackle directly to the chest: the skull stops but the brain smashes against it. Not all of them, certainly, not even most, but an overlooked cause since the attention is always on the head.
 

33jacket

Helluva Engineer
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Georgia
The popular misconception is that concussions are always due to violent hits to the head. In fact many very serious concussions happen when the head snaps forward and stops abruptly from a violent tackle directly to the chest: the skull stops but the brain smashes against it. Not all of them, certainly, not even most, but an overlooked cause since the attention is always on the head.

totally...protecting the skull is not preventing concussions. softening the force of impact would help...ie absorption and the transfer of energy reduces the resultant force on the brain....etc...
 

GTJason

Helluva Engineer
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The reality here is we are trying whatever we can to prevent concussions. We have no idea whether they will work or not. They use these padded helmets in soccer (way more concussion issues than football surprisingly) and they seem to not do much of anything. Often the cause of a concussion is the sloshing of the brain. The pressure wave is sinusoidal so it's not the initial impact, but the reverberation inside the skull which no helmet will completely eliminate. Think of a kid with sticky hands, one shake of the hands and everything stays put. Multiple violent shakes and everything flies everywhere. The "sticky stuff" is the connection between your brain and skull in this analogy...
 

Skeptic

Helluva Engineer
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6,372
I don't care how ridiculous it looks as long as it gives Jaleylend Ratliffe a better chance to get on the field.
Not going to reopen that debate, but he won't get on the field wearing that. Maybe there is a lawyer on the board who can explain how it would look in court, trying to explain why it should have been safe for him to play ... but gave him a padded helmet just in case. My experience says the jury would be out 15 minutes max.
 

deeeznutz

Helluva Engineer
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The reality here is we are trying whatever we can to prevent concussions. We have no idea whether they will work or not. They use these padded helmets in soccer (way more concussion issues than football surprisingly) and they seem to not do much of anything. Often the cause of a concussion is the sloshing of the brain. The pressure wave is sinusoidal so it's not the initial impact, but the reverberation inside the skull which no helmet will completely eliminate. Think of a kid with sticky hands, one shake of the hands and everything stays put. Multiple violent shakes and everything flies everywhere. The "sticky stuff" is the connection between your brain and skull in this analogy...
It's not really that surprising that soccer players have a lot of concussion issues. They go up and head the ball many times a game, and a lot of those are contested headers where two guys are basically swinging their skulls at each other. For a game that's normally low impact, you have a lot of injuries at the extreme ends of the body (lower legs and heads).
 
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