This week's Peter King MMQB

[Nikolai]

Let's just get rid of the protective gear altogether, then. We could boil it down to the hardest of the hardcore.

I'd argue that the game might actually be safer if the league sanctioned at least a significant downgrade in the "protective quality" of the gear the players wear. It's no surprise that the hits are more vicious now that the pads are a little smaller and more effective at protection, giving some guys a feeling that they'll be safe as they launch themselves into some hapless receiver or some such.

It's going on in hockey, too. As the gear has gotten smaller, more effective, while the players are bigger and faster, the result has been more concussions. I'm not sure there is much any helmet can do to offset the g forces we're talking about here.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Probably deserves its own thread but i cant start one:

Light's decade-long battle with Crohn's - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

Matt Light battled Crohn's disease for his entire pro career including the Patriots giving him a 6year contract 30 days after coming close to dieing and dropping nearly 50lbs to 260lbs...insane stuff

Hazy:

Thanks for bringing this up. I made a new thread for you (and quoted this post).

 

[PatsFanSince74]

There's really nothing to disagree about. What I said is pretty basic. They've clearly done what I pointed to.

That's a matter of interpretation. But, I really don't want to debate that and will, to save a long back-and-forth, concede whatever point it is you might be trying to make there because I think it's a red herring anyway.

My point is broader: what is happening in the area of our understanding of head trauma represents a sea change, much like the change in public awareness on the dangers of smoking in the 1970's and 1980's.

I don't know how we'll view different hits in the future; what might be considered legit or harmless by many today, including maybe even by you and me, will, without a doubt, in many cases be viewed differently in a few years, much as second hand smoke is now viewed differently than it was 30 years ago.

I know that Goodell isn't taking these steps out of altruism; he's being sued and lawsuits have a way of focusing the attention. But I think, whatever his motive, he is doing the right thing and that it will be his legacy as Commissioner.

Plus, anything that Bernard Pollard thinks is a bad idea, has to have merit! :singing:

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I'd argue that the game might actually be safer if the league sanctioned at least a significant downgrade in the "protective quality" of the gear the players wear. It's no surprise that the hits are more vicious now that the pads are a little smaller and more effective at protection, giving some guys a feeling that they'll be safe as they launch themselves into some hapless receiver or some such.

It's going on in hockey, too. As the gear has gotten smaller, more effective, while the players are bigger and faster, the result has been more concussions. I'm not sure there is much any helmet can do to offset the g forces we're talking about here.

I think this is a very complex issue and that every thoughtful view warrants attention, so I'm not going to dismiss that out of hand.

Somewhere between Club Rugby with full contact, no helmets and few pads and "Full Body Armor" lies the right balance and I'll be the first to admit that it probably hasn't been reached yet.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I think this is a very complex issue and that every thoughtful view warrants attention, so I'm not going to dismiss that out of hand.

Somewhere between Club Rugby with full contact, no helmets and few pads and "Full Body Armor" lies the right balance and I'll be the first to admit that it probably hasn't been reached yet.

Maybe that's why BB drafted Nate Ebner?

 

[Why?PJ]

the fastest fix would be to take away the hard helmets. In this day of space age materials surely there is something that is much more protective and does not need the full on plastic topping that players are using as weapons.

And I agree, the second step is banning all nutritional supplements. The "bigger, faster, stronger," mantra of training has come full circle and now detracts from the game.

And I would also cast an eye to figuring out how to limit weight room activity. Of course eliminating all performance enhancers and supplements would help that quite a bit.
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The other part of the article irked me too. Why the heck are the Vikings whining to the state about a stadium? Build your own damn stadium. I swear some of these NFL owners are dumb as a box of rocks. They need to give financial advice to these nfl owners even more than the players seem to need it.

 

[TyronePoole]

I'm not too hard on those who complain about the new rules. It takes a while for this kind of change to take root. It wasn't all that long ago that people would defend the tobacco companies' claims that nicotine isn't addictive and that smoking tobacco doesn't cause cancer.

We're going through a period of awakening and adjustment now. People who have grown up with the idea that "getting your bell rung" is like a minor muscle strain need time to process what we're now just starting to understand.

Put it this way. If I were a personal friend of Tom Brady, I'd probably ask him why he was thinking of playing past the end of this contract when he has an amazing life ahead of him full of wealth and multiple personal and professional paths that he might take, not to mention with a beautiful, accomplished woman by his side. We really don't know the impact of the hits he's taken, week after week, season after season, since he was in High School.

And, BTW, most of those making the "flag football" comments have never played any more than Two Hand Touch themselves.

+1 to everything in this post, well said.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

+1 to everything in this post, well said.

Thanks. I think the calmer we can all be in discussing this, the better.

I admit I get annoyed at the vehemence of the "flag football" critics, but I think I have to swallow that a bit and allow that these are folks who grew up with one way of looking at things, much as people smoked cigarettes because they really believed the tobacco companies' claims that nicotine was not addictive and tobacco not harmful. But, I have to admit, as much as I despise him, I'm more likely to listen to Bernard Pollard on this topic than I am to a Poster who's never laced 'em up and stepped between the lines in a full contact football game at any level, let along big time College or Professional.

Change like this takes a long time to alter the context of discourse. Head Trauma is not limited to concussion. I think that everything has to be on the table.

I think we have to be open to every kind of discussion, ranging from those who would argue that going back to leather helmets and limited padding and "letting them play the game the way it's meant to be played" is the way to go to those who would ban every hit on the Quarterback when he is in the pocket. Personally, I think each of those views is wrong, but I'm willing to listen to what their proponents think.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Fair enough- I think that the more we learn, the more valid questions like that become. I also can't help but wonder what kind of impact this is going to have on hockey, boxing, MMA, etc. Football is the one that everyone's talking about, since it's the big moneymaker, but there are a lot of sports that are just as brutal as football, many even moreso.

Of course ther are worse sports for head injuries. Furthermore we know what happens to many prize fighters, where the object of the exercise is to create a concussion, as that is the very definition of a "Knockout", not as in football an occasional byproduct of a play.

The comedy skit of a Punch drunk fighter seeing pink elephants is almost a total cliche`. One of humorist Red Skelton's favorite characters was "Califlower McPug" the ex boxer.