NFL player quits over concussion fears

callen

We have humans going into ring and beating each other to pulp till one "Gives Up". Women welcomed. Hell we pay more $$$$ to see this. We go to bars and cheer with other humans as one bashes his knee into another's face. YEAHHHHH! Get him. Break his nose.

We love killing the Evildoers

We love executing our criminals

We love us some blood and violence.

God bless The United States of America.

Indifference71

callen said:

We have humans going into ring and beating each other to pulp till one "Gives Up". Women welcomed. Hell we pay more $$$$ to see this. We go to bars and cheer with other humans as one bashes his knee into another's face. YEAHHHHH! Get him. Break his nose.

We love killing the Evildoers

We love executing our criminals

We love us some blood and violence.

God bless The United States of America.

So what's your point here?

callen

Football will survive. We love us some violence.

And the wonderful hypocrisy we have in this country pointing out how other cultures are so bad.

God bless.

jeffbr

Getting hit repeatedly by 300lb dudes is going to hurt. These guys have short careers, but they make exceptional money, so they're receiving hazard pay, and are willingly participating. The NFL has continued to make rule changes to improve player safety, often at the expense of entertainment. Athletes are now donating their brains to science after they die to study affects of head injury, and technology continues to evolve regarding safety gear, including sensors being put into helmets to monitor impacts. Regarding the original post, it sounds like it was a wise move for Borland to bow out, and I know I was sorry to see Sydney Rice say goodbye as well. But I don't see football going anywhere. Of course it will look different in 20 years. It currently looks quite different from 20 years ago. And 20 years from now there will still be discussions about improving player safety, and we'll hopefully understand a lot more about the brain and about concussions.

lolobugg

As long as there are poor kids looking for a way out of their situation, the NFL will always thrive. It might look different. the talent level might slip but it will still be around.

Last-12-Exit

At this point, the NFL is as powerful as any lobby in Washington. Nothing will change. Sure, less parents will let their kids play football, but there will still be an NFL in 20 years and it won't look much different than today's game. Maybe it will be two hand touch for the QB.

Jason P

Not sure why he would give up a few years of paychecks after playing the game for free for the most his life.

Jason P

Fans of the NFL don't watch it for the violence. That is an absurd notion.

Last-12-Exit

Jason P said:

Fans of the NFL don't watch it for the violence. That is an absurd notion.

Couldn't agree more.

callen

Hahahahahahahah

Two opposing teams doing battle. Uniforms cheerleaders. Freakin greek coliseum with lions tigers. We haven't progressed much HA

Add our military fly byes. Woo hoo!!!!

Jason P

Boxing would be the most popular sport instead of a niche sport if your theory held true. Try again.

No one goes to a game hoping to see someone get hurt. You're apparently not a fan of the sport.

gimmesometruth27

i am more concerned about the secondary and the receivers getting clocked coming across the middle, and the kickoff return. studies routinely show that these 2 situations yield the most severe concussive blows.

jeffbr

gimmesometruth27 said:

i am more concerned about the secondary and the receivers getting clocked coming across the middle, and the kickoff return. studies routinely show that these 2 situations yield the most severe concussive blows.

Yeah, the NFL has been addressing the kickoff return issue pretty effectively. Here's an interesting article. Impact of the NFL's Kickoff Rule Change

Prior to the 2011 change when teams kicked from the 30 instead of the 35 yard line like they do now, 85% of kickoffs were returned. Now it is around 50%. And touchbacks went from 11% to 45%. This decrease in kickoff returns will definitely minimize some of the more vicious hits. The interesting thing I saw in the article was that it did not negatively impact viewership, scoring, etc... While I loved watching kicks returned for touchdowns, this has likely had a positive impact on player safety.

PJ_Soul

callen said:

Football will survive. We love us some violence.

And the wonderful hypocrisy we have in this country pointing out how other cultures are so bad.

God bless.

I have never thought of football as violent at all. It's just tackling. Violence, to me, must involve the intent to HURT someone. Not just the intent to stop someone.
MMA on the other hand... that shit disgusts me... almost as much as MMA fans do.

gimmesometruth27

PJ_Soul said:

callen said:

Football will survive. We love us some violence.

And the wonderful hypocrisy we have in this country pointing out how other cultures are so bad.

God bless.

I have never thought of football as violent at all. It's just tackling. Violence, to me, must involve the intent to HURT someone. Not just the intent to stop someone.
MMA on the other hand... that shit disgusts me... almost as much as MMA fans do.

sometimes there is the intent to injure. not so much in youth football, but when you get to bigtime college and professional football, that is part of the defensive mentality.

there was a scandal a few years ago where a coach was paying players thousands of dollars to knock players out of the game. this team was caught placing bounties on people.

from a medical perspective, violence is characterized by velocity of the impact, because the higher the velocity of the impact, the more force is exerted on the neck and brain inside the skull.

believe it or not, there is less "intent" to actually hurt someone in mma than there is in other sports. in mma, the goal is to make the other guy give up by putting him in a submission hold. the hold is released when the guy submits. in mma, hardly anybody wants to make it to where a guy can't make a living. the ones that want to do that are the douchebags.

PJ_Soul

There is an exception to every rule.... but the point of football is not to hurt. If some coach goes off the rails, that doesn't really impact that theory.
Sorry Gimme, but I've seen MMA. TO say that the point of that sport is not to inflict injury is ludicrous. Whether or not it's permanent injury is neither here nor there... but I'm sure there are just as many punch-drunk ex-MMA athletes as there are punch-drunk boxers, aka permanently brain damaged. And that's not just from a bad tackle/fall. That's from their opponents punching, kicking, and elbowing the shit out of their heads. That's violence. Violence that begets violence, too... The only times I've seen fights break out in bars is on MMA nights (which I occasionally end up at accidentally just because I wanted to go to the pub! It's the worst!).
Tackling someone to stop him from getting over the line isn't. IMO.

gimmesometruth27

PJ_Soul said:

There is an exception to every rule.... but the point of football is not to hurt. If some coach goes off the rails, that doesn't really impact that theory.
Sorry Gimme, but I've seen MMA. TO say that the point of that sport is not to inflict injury is ludicrous. Whether or not it's permanent injury is neither here nor there... but I'm sure there are just as many punch-drunk ex-MMA athletes as there are punch-drunk boxers, aka permanently brain damaged. And that's not just from a bad tackle/fall. That's from their opponents punching, kicking, and elbowing the shit out of their heads. That's violence. Violence that begets violence, too... The only times I've seen fights break out in bars is on MMA nights (which I occasionally end up at accidentally just because I wanted to go to the pub! It's the worst!).
Tackling someone to stop him from getting over the line isn't. IMO.

it is not just "tackling" someone. have you seen the velocity that these 300 lb men have when they collide into each other? it is not simply grabbing someone by the foot and pulling them down, it is putting your facemask in a guys chest at full speed. I am an athletic trainer that has worked college football for several years. i guarantee you it is more violent than people think it is.

i worked with college wrestlers up until 2007, did some mma fighting from 2008 to 2010, and have been in the corner for amateur fighters. i have rehabbed fighters, i have worked with fighters in our physician office. the goal is to end the fight. when mma started it was more jiu jitsu based, which is wrestling, grappling, and submissions. now, ufc has evolved to where it is more based on standup and striking. similar to kickboxing. several years ago, the risk of traumatic brain injury was much less than boxing, because the fighters were not eating 300 punches in a fight like boxers do. it was more grappling and submissions than trying to knock someones block off. sure, in submission fighting fractures happen, concussions happen. but rarely is there a single career ending injury like there is in other sports. in just a few years though, the sport has evolved to where there is higher likelihood of sustaining a concussion than there used to be.

i have seen fights at mma pay per views too. this is what happens when you mix fighting, alcohol, and a bunch of beer muscle who know just enough about fighting to be dangerous. they make everybody look like dumbasses.

PJ_Soul

I do watch NFL and CFL. I know exactly what is involved in tackling. My point is the intent behind the tackles. It's to stop them. Not specifically to hurt them. It's that difference that draws the line between non-violence and violence. All a matter of perspective I suppose....

gimmesometruth27

PJ_Soul said:

I do watch NFL and CFL. I know exactly what is involved in tackling. My point is the intent behind the tackles. It's to stop them. Not specifically to hurt them. It's that difference that draws the line between non-violence and violence. All a matter of perspective I suppose....

i suppose.

i am speaking as someone who has spineboarded unconscious football players and packed them into ambulances. to me, the mechanism of injury is violent.

PJ_Soul

gimmesometruth27 said:

PJ_Soul said:

I do watch NFL and CFL. I know exactly what is involved in tackling. My point is the intent behind the tackles. It's to stop them. Not specifically to hurt them. It's that difference that draws the line between non-violence and violence. All a matter of perspective I suppose....

i suppose.

i am speaking as someone who has spineboarded unconscious football players and packed them into ambulances. to me, the mechanism of injury is violent.

It's dangerous. But not violent. IMO.