Get rid of football helmets (link)

[WhoaDirty]

You could go without helmets and shoulder pads for sure in football, but you would have to change a bunch of rules. Enough so that the game would be so different that you may as well just call it rugby instead. The forward pass changes the game a huge amount, and I don't think that the helmetless game is feasible.

What will cause less head injuries are the rule changes they have been making in the past couple years. A lot of people complain that the game is becoming more and more like flag football, but I am 100% behind any rule which stops one player from hitting another player in the head. If you can get rid of the plays like the Hines Ward block on Rivers last year, you can cut down on head injuries a ton.

Another thing that would cut down on injuries is players actually wearing their helmets fitted properly. Just like a bike helmet, a football helmet is not going to protect you if you don't wear it right. Helmets should be difficult to get off your head, yet it seems like in every second play someone's bucket is flying off.

 

[waspie (UK)]

If you don't wear a helmet, you quickly learn where not to put your head - though most rugby players learn how to tackle safely in High School. Which is not to say that rugby doesn't have a major problem with injuries (predominantly neck injuries), both at the tackle and in the scrum (the equivalent of scrimmage). As an old school front row forward (ie tackle), I almost find set piece play unwatchable now. Referees blow plays dead way too quickly, before they really have time to develop.
I love both games, but they're very different. I can't imagine football without helmets.