The helmet that will save football. Or not?

[GTRambler]

Interesting report.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/sports/this-helmet-will-save-football-actually-probably-not.html

 

[33jacket]

here is the helmet that can save football; take away the facemask and hard shells and I gaurantee you remove many many brain injuries, sure there will still be some and more broken noses. But not as many.

otherwise forget it. The impacts that happen are due to secondary forces and no helmet that is hard at those speeds will stop a brain from banging around...

 

[kg01]

here is the helmet that can save football; take away the facemask and hard shells and I gaurantee you remove many many brain injuries, sure there will still be some and more broken noses. But not as many.

otherwise forget it. The impacts that happen are due to secondary forces and no helmet that is hard at those speeds will stop a brain from banging around...

I think you're absolutely right. The only problem is we'll probably see at least one or two dudes die in the first few years using these as folks adjust to how they need to play.

 

[33jacket]

I think you're absolutely right. The only problem is we'll probably see at least one or two dudes die in the first few years using these as folks adjust to how they need to play.

as long as shoulder pads go soft too, i think it should be ok. Who knows

 

[bobongo]

"My fear is that a better helmet will give false assurance". The extreme version of that thinking is to have no helmet at all. Just sayin'...

 

[biggtfan]

I think you're absolutely right. The only problem is we'll probably see at least one or two dudes die in the first few years using these as folks adjust to how they need to play.

When I played sandlot football as a kid, we had no equipment at all. I NEVER tackled with my head and I was never tackled by someone that put their head into me. We only used our shoulders, arms and hands, and protected our necks, noses, and heads.

I think a helmet that offered LESS protection would reduce injuries. This is ripe for analysis and hard data to support any such change, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest it's worth considering.

 

[kg01]

When I played sandlot football as a kid, we had no equipment at all. I NEVER tackled with my head and I was never tackled by someone that put their head into me. We only used our shoulders, arms and hands, and protected our necks, noses, and heads.

I think a helmet that offered LESS protection would reduce injuries. This is ripe for analysis and hard data to support any such change, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest it's worth considering.

Yep, I agree with all this. And, trust me, all of us played sandlot football without protection and figured out how to not kill ourselves.

Bottom line is it certainly should be considered. I just think there will be an adjustment period during which some dummy will pay the ultimate price.

Do you dispute the notion that there's at least one dumbarse in the NFL that'd put himself at risk?

 

[smokey_wasp]

here is the helmet that can save football; take away the facemask and hard shells and I gaurantee you remove many many brain injuries, sure there will still be some and more broken noses. But not as many.

otherwise forget it. The impacts that happen are due to secondary forces and no helmet that is hard at those speeds will stop a brain from banging around...

Same as with boxing. Getting rid of gloves would make it safer. More flesh wounds, less brain injuries.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

here is the helmet that can save football; take away the facemask and hard shells and I gaurantee you remove many many brain injuries, sure there will still be some and more broken noses. But not as many.

otherwise forget it. The impacts that happen are due to secondary forces and no helmet that is hard at those speeds will stop a brain from banging around...

It’s what a friend and I were taking about the other day. Leather helmets and no face mask. Leading with the head would vanish over night.

 

[gtpi]

https://completeconcussions.com/2018/12/05/concussion-rates-what-sport-most-concussions/

hmmmmm.

 

[biggtfan]

https://completeconcussions.com/2018/12/05/concussion-rates-what-sport-most-concussions/

hmmmmm.

Well, if rugby is #1 and football is #2, then is the solution is to stop letting men crash into each other?

 

[bobongo]

https://completeconcussions.com/2018/12/05/concussion-rates-what-sport-most-concussions/

hmmmmm.

The number one concussion sport is rugby, which = football without helmets.

 

[bobongo]

When I played sandlot football as a kid, we had no equipment at all. I NEVER tackled with my head and I was never tackled by someone that put their head into me. We only used our shoulders, arms and hands, and protected our necks, noses, and heads.

I think a helmet that offered LESS protection would reduce injuries. This is ripe for analysis and hard data to support any such change, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest it's worth considering.

Problem is that very many of these head jars are caused by hitting the ground. I guess if they made the ground soft enough...

Also, I assume you guys were friends and tried to take some care not to hurt each other.

 

[33jacket]

The number one concussion sport is rugby, which = football without helmets.

They have zero helmets. A soft helmet would improve that. So its the middle ground.

btw. Not sure I believe it about rugby. But whatever

 

[MidtownJacket]

They have zero helmets. A soft helmet would improve that. So its the middle ground.

btw. Not sure I believe it about rugby. But whatever

Anecdotal as it is I played rugby union for a few years in two states and don’t know that I have ever seen a guy concussed from a game.

I played with some elite dudes too, that had some international caps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[biggtfan]

Problem is that very many of these head jars are caused by hitting the ground. I guess if they made the ground soft enough...

Also, I assume you guys were friends and tried to take some care not to hurt each other.

True. None of us had millio -dollar contracts at stake and we new there were no scouts for NCAA teams watching, so we played without maximum intensity. NFL/NCAA player intensity changes everything. Maybe soft helmets, soft ground, no S&C programs, and nothing to play for are what's needed (tongue-in-cheek). The bottom line is we need players to be safe and we need an entertaining game. Equipment makers and researchers should be hard at work on this!

 

[bke1984]

Hmm. I guess you just have to know the risks and decide whether to play or not...

 

[Adadu]

here is the helmet that can save football; take away the facemask and hard shells and I gaurantee you remove many many brain injuries, sure there will still be some and more broken noses. But not as many.

otherwise forget it. The impacts that happen are due to secondary forces and no helmet that is hard at those speeds will stop a brain from banging around...

Sure, then wait until someone ACTUALLY dies on the field with how big fast and strong players are now.

 

[bke1984]

Sure, then wait until someone ACTUALLY dies on the field with how big fast and strong players are now.

Have you been watching the ESPN 150 stuff? This actually happened in the early days of football. Crazy thing is the parents of the kids WERE PROUD! They viewed football as a way to make men out of their boys, and death was a risk they were willing to take. Kind of crazy.

I’ve jokingly said to get rid of helmets for a while now, but it actually would be kind of crazy.

Honestly it just is what it is man. It’s a dangerous game and that’s why everyone loves it! Choose to play or choose not to play, but stop trying to make it something it isn’t.

 

[bke1984]

Seems like what is needed is a helmet that does just the minimum to keep you from dying while instilling enough fear to keep you from using your head as a weapon.