If they DO ban kickoffs...

[DaBruinz]

I've yet to see any actual information that more injuries occur on Kick-offs than on any other play in the league.. All it's been is heresay..

 

[Joey007]

This is what happens when a sport gets unbelievably popular. You get the pink hatters who come in and start demanding **** be changed. Get rid of this. Get rid of that. It's unsafe. blah blah blah.

Nothing in life can be enjoyed anymore. It’s all about “but X and Y could happen if you play the sport!”

Never mind completely throwing out the joy it gives to so many people who watch and play football. Never mind what it can do to bring together communities. Never mind all of that, because God forbid some things in life involve risks.

That’s what sucks about today’s society. Everyone is so afraid of dying, that they forget to enjoy living. Some people in this thread are prime examples of that.

The risks involved should not be ignored, and we need to continue to be cautious, but at some point people need to cool off on the bleeding heart crap. You don’t have to feel guilty for enjoying this sport. JFC.

 

[jah]

Anyone else see that Chart Party episode about how the kickoff should be abolished? I was against it until I actually watched. I'm at work on my phone and too lazy to link, but I think the main thesis was that it doesn't really affect the outcome of the game and it's one of the least entertaining plays because of how few outcomes there historically have been (if you're lucky, maybe you get to see a guy sprint down the sideline in identical fashion to every other kickoff return TD you've ever watched).

 

[mgteich]

The game would be fine without kickoffs, and extra points for that matter. The game would certainly be speeded up.

 

[Observer]

They need to stop trying to change the game and work on better equipment to protect players. Come on a multi billion dollar company can certainly do it.

They could certainly put the players in one of those inflated ball things, but then you probably wouldn't like it much.

 

[Joey007]

Anyone else see that Chart Party episode about how the kickoff should be abolished? I was against it until I actually watched. I'm at work on my phone and too lazy to link, but I think the main thesis was that it doesn't really affect the outcome of the game and it's one of the least entertaining plays because of how few outcomes there historically have been (if you're lucky, maybe you get to see a guy sprint down the sideline in identical fashion to every other kickoff return TD you've ever watched).

Was it by Jon Bois? His videos are excellent.

 

[XLIX]

The purpose of a helmet is to protect the skull, and they certainly work to that end. I can't ever think of an example where a player had a cracked skull or other sort of fracture. (Well, I've heard of jaw injuries, but I mean the top of the skull itself)

Problem is the squishy stuff inside the skull gets damaged as a result. Sometimes I think that softer helmets might be the way to go, although I am not exactly qualified to speak to that end.

 

[jah]

Was it by Jon Bois? His videos are excellent.

Yeah. This one might be my favorite of his.

 

[jah]

The purpose of a helmet is to protect the skull, and they certainly work to that end. I can't ever think of an example where a player had a cracked skull or other sort of fracture. (Well, I've heard of jaw injuries, but I mean the top of the skull itself)

Problem is the squishy stuff inside the skull gets damaged as a result. Sometimes I think that softer helmets might be the way to go, although I am not exactly qualified to speak to that end.

Makes me think about how Toyota and Honda makes safe cars that are safe because the material is so flimsy and will absorb the impact and break so the person inside doesn't need to. When I rear ended a BMW in a Corolla and saw the styrofoam everywhere while I was unscathed, it made me realize that it could have been much worse.

 

[maineman209]

The purpose of a helmet is to protect the skull, and they certainly work to that end. I can't ever think of an example where a player had a cracked skull or other sort of fracture. (Well, I've heard of jaw injuries, but I mean the top of the skull itself)

Problem is the squishy stuff inside the skull gets damaged as a result. Sometimes I think that softer helmets might be the way to go, although I am not exactly qualified to speak to that end.

As I understand it, the proximate cause of a concussion is when that squishy stuff get slammed against the inside of the skull when a skull-in-motion - protected by a helmet or not - comes to a sudden stop. Think of the squishy passengers inside the hard shell of a car in a head-on collision.

So, over the years, car manufacturers have changed car body and frame design to absorb the force of impact and redistribute it by deforming. But that still doesn't help the squishy stuff that's bouncing around inside the passenger compartment. Only restraints, softer interior surfaces and airbags - inside the passenger compartment (skull) - can help there. They can't really do that for brains inside skulls.

However, some people (contact sport athletes or not) seem to be more prone to concussions than others. Could it be that some people have more "padding" inside their skulls than others? If so, might there not also be some set of genetic markers for that?

 

[XLIX]

Makes me think about how Toyota and Honda makes safe cars that are safe because the material is so flimsy and will absorb the impact and break so the person inside doesn't need to. When I rear ended a BMW in a Corolla and saw the styrofoam everywhere while I was unscathed, it made me realize that it could have been much worse.

Agreed. "Crumple-zones" are a safety feature. There has got to be a way to make some sort of equivalency in helmets.

 

[Joey007]

Yeah. This one might be my favorite of his.

“Why did I choose this for a living?” Is my personal favorite.

 

[Joey007]

Yeah. This one might be my favorite of his.

Also his video on Scoregami is pretty interesting. I literally think about the scores after every game now.

 

[jah]

Also his video on Scoregami is pretty interesting. I literally think about the scores after every game now.

That's the other candidate for my favorite. I was into Scoregami before it had a name and was talked about by people on the internet. One of my favorite aspects of football is the mathematical complexity added by the scoring system.

 

[Tunescribe]

I could care less about kickoffs

Really? Then how much do you care? (Sorry, this malaprop drives me koo-koo.)

I think the kicking game still has potential for plenty of excitement, especially when the Patriots kick to the 5-yard-line when they want to pin people deep. The NFL just needs to let football be football. They can't keep tweaking it into being "safe" without robbing the game of its essence.

 

[fnordcircle]

I like that the idea persists that we can make a violent sport non-violent.

I hate when people make this **** black and white to try to paint the other side as absurd.

If doing what we can to mitigate this awful CTE **** is some sort of ****ification of America then sign me up. We can still have tackling but maybe people running full-speed at each other can be avoided without everyone turning into gay communists.

 

[Kontradiction]

I hate when people make this **** black and white to try to paint the other side as absurd.

If doing what we can to mitigate this awful CTE **** is some sort of ****ification of America then sign me up. We can still have tackling but maybe people running full-speed at each other can be avoided without everyone turning into gay communists.

It is black and white. Football, at its core, is a violent sport. One of the most violent sports in the world. Changing the rules, the way that Goodell’s office is doing, is simply lipstick on a pig. For one, concussions and CTE will never be eliminated. For another, they’re simply doing it to limit liability in future lawsuits. As Amendola said, the guys that play know what they’re signing up for. The fans that watch it know they’re doing so while watching guys destroy their bodies and minds. Nobody is forcing them to play and nobody is forcing you to watch.

In the end, brain dead rules like these serve no purpose outside of destroying the sport. What’s your solution for line play? Those positions absorb head blows on pretty much every down. Do we curtail blocking now? Is my five second rule suggestion a good one for that? How far are we willing to go in order to make an inherently violent sport not violent?

 

[fnordcircle]

It is black and white. Football, at its core, is a violent sport. One of the most violent sports in the world. Changing the rules, the way that Goodell’s office is doing, is simply lipstick on a pig. For one, concussions and CTE will never be eliminated. For another, they’re simply doing it to limit liability in future lawsuits. As Amendola said, the guys that play know what they’re signing up for. The fans that watch it know they’re doing so while watching guys destroy their bodies and minds. Nobody is forcing them to play and nobody is forcing you to watch.

In the end, brain dead rules like these serve no purpose outside of destroying the sport. What’s your solution for line play? Those positions absorb head blows on pretty much every down. Do we curtail blocking now? Is my five second rule suggestion a good one for that? How far are we willing to go in order to make an inherently violent sport not violent?

This would be a great argument if I was saying we should make it not violent. I didn't.

I've been watching the NFL as long as you and I honestly don't think that getting rid of 10 plays a game (kick offs) will be the death knell and the upside is that it reduces one of the phases where some of the worst stuff can happen. I'm inclined to think you're getting overly emotional about a part of the game that only real nerds care about if you think no more KOs would have a significant impact on the viewing experience.

As far as how far I'd be willing to see it go? I dunno, I'd still watch if it was flag football, but I do like the tackling part. I know rugby has less concussions but more spinal injuries so I'm not sure what could be done to decrease the debilitating brain injuries but I'll feel better whatever is done that reduces situations where we've seen the rapid decline of the players I loved rooting for.

Emotional appeals to the past don't work for me when 10 years later we're hearing about the husk of a person left behind by football.

 

[Gator Mike]

Kickoffs kinda suck.

 

[mgteich]

IMHO, this is a relatively straightforward issue. If concussions aren't greatly reduced, and continued efforts made to make the sport safer, then high schools and colleges will start dropping football. Parents will stop allowing their kids to play Pop Warner. The situation really is that simple.

And, yes the NFL has needed even more to convince them to do anything. It has taken lawsuits.