Mike Pereira: If the new rules don’t reduce concussions, the kickoff is gone

[The Brandon Five]

Kids are playing football, but there's a lot of hand wringing about the concussion issue. Mumma doesn't want Little Baby Joey playing football to begin with, and now she's got the concussion issue in her corner to back her up. Makes it hard to grow the sport. Almost impossible.

Youth football participation declines as worries mount about concussions, CTE

Youth and High School Football Participation is Down Dramatically -- But So Are Other Sports

 

[Joey007]

Not sure Belichick agrees with you about importance, @Joey007

He only emphasizes the importance due to the fact that it still remains a part of the game.

Not to mention that Kick returns are not the same as punt returns. So special teams is still needed even without KR’s.

 

[Joey007]

Kids are playing football, but there's a lot of hand wringing about the concussion issue. Mumma doesn't want Little Baby Joey playing football to begin with, and now she's got the concussion issue in her corner to back her up. Makes it hard to grow the sport. Almost impossible.



Don't put your head in the sand, brother. The sport is under attack. I had a whole paragraph written about young men and agressions and testosterone, but I deleted it. I will say that I think young men NEED this sport. We need to do whatever we can to keep it alive and thriving.

Obviously it’s under attack. But boxing has been for years and yet it’s still around.

Not denying that it could lose popularity, just that it’s going to literally vanish before our very eyes.

 

[maust]

For those who think that kickoffs are actually a statistically relevant part of the game, I recommend this video.

It's not about statistical relevance it's about injury rates. And by injury rates we mean player safety. And by player safety we mean concussion concerns. And by concussion concerns we mean due diligence to prevent them. And by due diligence we mean mitigation in lawsuits.

So the kickoff is gone then. The concussion numbers aren't going to go down in an inherently violent sport.

I'd hate to see the kickoff gone, especially losing the comeback potential of an onside kick. I hadn't previously seen what I felt was a convincing argument for targeting the kickoff but according to the story linked below league stats indicate kickoffs are 5 times more likely to result in a concussion injury than the average play. With about 11 kickoffs in a 130 play game that represents a significant number in terms of risk reduction. We don't have to like changes in the game brought about by the concussion concerns but it's flat out wrong to dismiss those changes as potentially impactful in reducing them.

Could the NFL ban kickoffs? Concussion concerns have idea moving closer to reality.

 

[maust]

He's not always right.

Oh man, now you've gone and done it. Triggering in 5, 4, 3...

 

[TB_Helmet]

Obviously it’s under attack. But boxing has been for years and yet it’s still around.

Not denying that it could lose popularity, just that it’s going to literally vanish before our very eyes.

I think if someone says that football will be 'dead', 'gone', or the like, you can infer that they generally mean 'vastly reduced in popularity' similar to, like you say, boxing. Nobody actually thinks it will never be played again due to concussions; they are using those terms as a figure of speech.

 

[Kontradiction]

It's not about statistical relevance it's about injury rates. And by injury rates we mean player safety. And by player safety we mean concussion concerns. And by concussion concerns we mean due diligence to prevent them. And by due diligence we mean mitigation in lawsuits.




I'd hate to see the kickoff gone, especially losing the comeback potential of an onside kick. I hadn't previously seen what I felt was a convincing argument for targeting the kickoff but according to the story linked below league stats indicate kickoffs are 5 times more likely to result in a concussion injury than the average play. With about 11 kickoffs in a 130 play game that represents a significant number in terms of risk reduction. We don't have to like changes in the game brought about by the concussion concerns but it's flat out wrong to dismiss those changes as potentially impactful in reducing them.

Could the NFL ban kickoffs? Concussion concerns have idea moving closer to reality.

This is the same league that didn’t know what the Ideal Gas Law is. You’ll forgive me if I’m skeptical of their studies on kickoffs.

 

[Bruins29]

They will ban kickoffs when the Patriots are the league leaders in it. Given we have the 2nd best KO guy of all time and they just changed the rules to favor the returner, I think its probably safe to say this will be the last year.

 

[Joey007]

It's not about statistical relevance it's about injury rates. And by injury rates we mean player safety. And by player safety we mean concussion concerns. And by concussion concerns we mean due diligence to prevent them. And by due diligence we mean mitigation in lawsuits.




I'd hate to see the kickoff gone, especially losing the comeback potential of an onside kick. I hadn't previously seen what I felt was a convincing argument for targeting the kickoff but according to the story linked below league stats indicate kickoffs are 5 times more likely to result in a concussion injury than the average play. With about 11 kickoffs in a 130 play game that represents a significant number in terms of risk reduction. We don't have to like changes in the game brought about by the concussion concerns but it's flat out wrong to dismiss those changes as potentially impactful in reducing them.

Could the NFL ban kickoffs? Concussion concerns have idea moving closer to reality.

I think a replacement for the onside kick could be easily found, so that the end of games remain exciting.

The video I shared mentioned that Greg Schiano had an interesting proposal for a replacement where teams would get the ball at 4th and 15 after scoring, and would basically have the option of punting or going for it.

 

[Ring 6]

For those who think that kickoffs are actually a statistically relevant part of the game, I recommend this video.

What do you mean by STATISTICALLY relevant?
Kickoffs are game changing. Recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff after scoring ot returning a kickoff for a touchdown can entirely change a game.

 

[Joey007]

What do you mean by STATISTICALLY relevant?
Kickoffs are game changing. Recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff after scoring ot returning a kickoff for a touchdown can entirely change a game.

But do they happen often? And as a collective whole, do they statistically actually make as much of a difference to the general outcomes of games as you may think? You can maybe name me 2-3 KR’s per year out of hundreds that resulted in big plays for us.

The odds of those events occurring are pretty low in regards to each kickoff. 99% of KR’s are pretty boring plays, and result around the 20-30 yard line.

If you haven’t watched the video, I’d recommend that you would and tell me what disagreements you have with what he is saying.

 

[Joey007]

What do you mean by STATISTICALLY relevant?
Kickoffs are game changing. Recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff after scoring ot returning a kickoff for a touchdown can entirely change a game.

Honestly I’m more for keeping the kickoff than against it if we can somehow find a way to reduce concussions. My point is that they generally don’t have a great effect on the outcomes of a large majority of games. So I think it’s a part of the game that can go away if it has to.

 

[ausbacker]

The NFL is making it incredibly easy to lose all interest in the game.

 

[varjao]

The NFL is making it incredibly easy to lose all interest in the game.

I gotta tell you this is the first offseason in years I'm barely following. I won't watch any preseason games and won't subscribe to the Gamepass again this year. Not related to the concussions or rules though, my interest has been lost for other reasons, mainly personal, more important things to worry about but it's important to notice that this is also a cummulative effect of the mess that the NFL has turned into under Goodell.

 

[Boogs]

There's probably a lot of concussions on non-kickoff plays.

 

[BTTA]

The video I shared mentioned that Greg Schiano had an interesting proposal for a replacement where teams would get the ball at 4th and 15 after scoring, and would basically have the option of punting or going for it.

There's really no decision to be made with the ball at the 4th and 15.

 

[Joey007]

There's really no decision to be made with the ball at the 4th and 15.

Exactly. Except when the team absolutely needs it at the end of the game.

 

[catent]

There's probably a lot of concussions on non-kickoff plays.

Probably? Of course there are, it's an inherently violent sport. But that's not the point -- the point is (if you believe the statistics provided by the NFL) that kickoffs are significantly more dangerous (in terms of likelihood of suffering a concussion) relative to other, non-kickoff plays.

 

[BTTA]

Exactly. Except when the team absolutely needs it at the end of the game.

So, now that we are in agreement, can you explain to me what "at the 4th and 15" means?

 

[Joey007]

So, now that we are in agreement, can you explain to me what "at the 4th and 15" means?

You score and kick the extra point. Now the offense has the ball again at 4th and 15 (no “the”) in their own territory. Other than in late game situations, they will always opt to punt the ball back away.

Not sure why you keep throwing “the” in there.