Quote:There was a study about this that came up earlier in the year by a college i can't remember which, but they said that all of the small hits over and over are actually more harmful and lead to more concussions than suffering one big hit on occasion. 

 

So we should be seeing more older players get concussed and the most concussions in December. Austin Collie and Cecil Shorts probably would not believe that study's conclusion is accurate, but it certainly is true for Brett Favre, who was only diagnosed with a concussion during the last month of his career, but suffers memory loss now.

 

Quote:Just because lineman don't touch the ball doesn't mean they are not getting hit.  What do you think they are doing along the line of scrimmage, playing patty cake?

 

No offense to you but you have no idea what you are talking about.  Think about what causes concussions most of the time, a jarring of the brain inside the skull causing injury to the brain itself.  Now think back to high school physics and tell me if it's easier to create a bigger impact with more speed or less.  More space equals more velocity, greater acceleration and larger impact which also equates to a greater frequency of concussions.  Sure there will be examples that lie outside of the norm, but for the most part this is the root of the problem.

 

Improper tackling and the training of players to tackle with better form will help with neck and spine injuries, especially at the lower levels like Pop Warner and high school. There is no amount of training that you can give to a professional athlete that will lessen the amount of concussions on the field of play given the current game in the NFL. I'm pretty sure the NFL knows this too but is dragging their feet in instituting changes that will actually create a safer game solely out of greed.  Higher scoring games, more violent hits and spectacular plays means more money for the NFL.

 

I never said they aren't getting hit. I said they are not getting tackled, so their heads stay off the ground. I also was not denying more space creates more velocity. Space only partially explains the difference. Have you ever noticed offensive linemen never get flagged for bumping heads with the defense? That is because they don't.

 

Between Pop Warner and high school, there is middle school. Those kids also need to learn proper tackling methods. The NFL's Heads Up campaign for youth football is  teaching kids proper tackling form and how to avoid a hit to the head so they grow up doing it right and don't have to relearn everything when they are big men. What the NFL is doing can't be called "dragging their feet" because every year they create new rules to make the game safer.

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