ajalves wrote:trendon wrote:ajalves wrote:nick wrote:unwritten rules are stupid as fuck though.
So is looking at current sports like its the 70's or 80's
Gee...I cant imagine why NFL is going the "safe" route. Maybe its because they just got sued for a billion dollars..... But guys dont like it, so its 'pussy' or whatever.
Sure some of its ridiculous....comes with the territory
But they are lying to our faces.
well they might call it player safety, even though its avoiding lawsuits
whatever, can you blame them?
Yes and no. Let me explain as quickly as I can. First, let me address something: everything I type here is my take on the situation that I got from reading multiple opinions and reputable sources over the years. This info is as free for you to find as it was for me. The only thing that counts as my opinion is how I have collated the data. I am not a neurosurgeon so it would have been nearly impossible for me to even dream up some of this stuff; shit, I still can't pronounce what CTE stands for. So, understand this is cited somewhere. And, that said:
- We know that CTE and PCS come from repeated concussions.
- We know that what we used to view as a concussion is only the tip of the iceberg. In layman's terms, any time you saw "stars" even on a light head tap, that was a concussion. You don't need to be wobbly or KO'ed. A stage 1 (I believe it is called) is as simply as a momentary shock. I have read that normal people have sustained a dozen concussions in their lifetime and professional athletes could arguably have had hundreds.
- We know that it is a huge problems since concussions are not additive, but multiplicative, especially when happening in succession.
- In fact, we know that three little concussions over a short time span is worse than one concussion where symptoms such as posturing (think Jahvid Best at Cal) occurs.
I don't think anyone can argue those facts. Again, I didn't make them up; it is what I've read. Now, for my contention and this is where you can argue back and forth if you'd like.
Trendon believes:
the PHYSICAL concussion issue is all but done, or to be more precise normalized. The problem with the older players wasn't the hitting, but the substandard helmets and abysmal field conditions. This final piece of my outrageously anecdotal theory came from watching a show on ESPN or HBO (I forget) where some running back was laughing in an interview about how he would have headaches and shoulder problems after playing one game at Veteran's Stadium. He would say (not verbatim), "Man, my head bounced off the ground TWICE on one hit." And they laughed and laughed. Now, because it was a show about the NFC East rivalries, nobody asked, "Well, wait a second!"
Which brings me to my next point: who are the ones we keep hearing about killing themselves or having issues with dementia? Running backs, linebackers, and safeties. What do they have in common? They are always in the middle of the field and they are often having their head slam into the ground. They don't take MORE shots to the head than offensive and defensive linemen (shit, they probably each get twenty a game) but it is very rare that they are falling headfirst into the ground. They also almost never hit the two worst parts (the temple and the rear of the skull). That is why they can handle more alleged "headshots" than the core three mentioned above. So, to enbold this point for Shel:
the problem with concussions WAS the shitty helmets and the head hitting the ground, not another human.
Now, you may say, "But what about the receivers?" and that brings up a good point. Why is Austin Collie such a big deal with his concussion issues? Because he is rare. Even back in the day when smelling salts were the big medical treatment for getting your bell rung, it was extremely obvious when a receiver was concussed. He was usually asleep for a few seconds and probably posturing. He received the immediate medical care and attention he needed even in an era where you were a fag if you didn't go back in. Moreover, those big hits are so few and far in-between that even the worst concussions sustained by receivers were able to "heal" (you don't completely heal a bruise on your brain). And, again, how often is a receiver tackled/pancaked in a game on average? Five? He probably only hit his head on the turf once every two games. Certainly not enough to contribute to long-term damage. Then there is also the lesser but still important point where a wideout generally can't generate enough force on his own to greatly contribute to the collision and, also, since hits on wide receivers are rarely direct (unlike RB/LB/DB collisions) there's a lot of energy that is (don't know the right word to use here) "deflected". This is not the case with the fucking ground which, for one, doesn't give, and two, is likely to provide your brain with 100% of its stored potential energy upon contact.
If you read all of that, I'd be honored, lol.
