In reply to: Maybe they should consider equipment changes, as well. posted by Bacchus
Players today use their head as a weapon and in general take a lot of contact to the head because they have no fear of crushing their face in the process. Remove the face mask and players would change almost immediately to something whereby they had to have their head up at all times -- or face (literally) the consequences.
I know he's persona non grata here, but Fritz Crisler suggested that so long ago that the article also mentioned how big offensive tackles were getting, saying they don't even get recruited if they don't weigh at least 230.
"I am one who is concerned about the equipment we're using today. I have the feeling that it is contributing to injuries. The equipment was supposed to protect the wearer from injury, and now I'm wondering if it isn't causing injuries.
"I would like to see a rule on the subject of equipment—the face mask, the headgear, this unyielding armor we're putting these kids into. I've declared myself. I am convinced that we ought to take off the face mask and review the helmet. You see, you get the depth of this unyielding plastic in the back of the neck and you get this face mask out front. A blow of some sort underneath the mask can cause a whiplash in the back of the neck, in the area of the cervical vertebrae. A blow of this kind could be fatal. It has been fatal. There is also the danger that, with grasping the mask itself, you will get a sharp head rotation and a disabling injury.
"There is another serious point to be made in this same connection. The face mask and headgear are changing the mechanics of football, and blocking in particular. Now they're blocking with the head. The shoulder blocks and side body blocks are gradually disappearing. This use of the headgear as a weapon is called spearing. They have spearing drills. Some call it goring. Now, if you took the face mask off, it isn't likely that they would be able to do that sort of thing."
The 1964 Rules Committee meeting voted to make it a personal foul for a player to ram an opponent in the head, face or neck with his helmet or neck. Nothing was said about changing the helmet or removing the mask, as Crisler so strongly recommends. Was anything being done about that problem?
"There are a number of studies going on," said Crisler. "Here at Michigan, Bennie Oosterbaan [Michigan's famous All-America end and former coach] and I have been assisting Dr. Richard Schneider, a great neurosurgeon, by getting films together for his study of football fatalities. There is conclusive evidence that with today's helmet and face mask you get that whiplash I mentioned."
Without the face mask, wouldn't there be some teeth knocked out, some noses broken?
Crisler looked around the walls, his eyes lingering a moment on one of the portraits of Stagg.
"I would rather have that," he said quietly, "than to see a boy on a slab in the morgue."
But I have just spent two years watching NRL, AFL and Super Rugby all season long, and the number of head injury assessments per game seems higher than what is reported in the NFL.
The linked academic study documents the following:
"In one study of three National Rugby League (NRL) clubs, a concussion incidence rate of 14.8 concussions per 1000 player match hours was reported [13], while a rate of 28.3 concussion per 1000 player match hours were reported from one NRL club over a 15-year (1998–2012) period"
Edit to include: NRL has 13 players from each side on the field for 80 minutes, so one game would equal 35 player match hours, so 1,000 match hours is about 28 games. The stats above indicate a rugby concussion rate of about 0.5 to 1.0 concussions per game. This current rugby season, my guess is that players are taken off the field to be assessed for concussions at a rate of about 3 per game.
I am sure rugby has injuries as well.
Rugby has rules against both high tackles and downfield blocking. Violators are sent to what the Brits call the "sin bin" for one or two minutes, which discourages some of the more violent play we see. On the other hand, one version of rugby (Union I believe) seems an interminable slog with one teams possessing the ball forever.
I always had a fear of neck injuries for my players and my son with regards to football. Head up was the mantra, I just didn’t want that on my watch or to happen to any players or my son.
He switched to rugby and played at a high level in high school and now plays in college...I’ve never worried about him having a neck injury...ever. A broken nose worry? Yes. Maybe some wear and tear on shoulders...yes. But no serious neck injury at all
This may sound funny, but I advocate taking off the face mask as I think that protection makes Safeties and LB’s turn into guided missiles trying to lay on kill shots to WR’s and RB’s
rugby, as a contact sport, had more bruises, the occasional black eye, nose bleeds, etc.
football, as a collision sport, seems to have more joint injuries (knees, shoulders, etc.), and these days, more concussions causing missed games.