NFL rule changes help address concussions

[Wolf]

MIAMI — Matt Schaub, the MVP of this past Sunday's Pro Bowl, has fallen victim to the head-rattling injury.

It was November 2007 when the Houston Texans quarterback took a helmet-to-helmet hit from San Diego cornerback Drayton Florence, and the immediate symptoms were those many of his colleagues have felt before.

"I got hit up under my chin," Schaub said. "I was kind of out of it for a minute, but then I was able to get up and get off the field under my own power. Once I got out over the sidelines, everything was blurry, couldn't really hear much, and I was just out of it."

That concussion was easy to diagnose, and it sidelined Schaub for a week. It's a common turnaround for NFL players who sustain the potentially devastating brain injury, and Schaub wasn't about to sit out any longer than usual.

"It kind of freaked me out a little bit because I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I knew that it wasn't going to be anything serious," he said.

With cases such as Schaub's occurring on a near weekly basis, the NFL and its Players Association have spent the past season doing more to educate the league on all aspects of concussions — including diagnosis, recovery and long-term effects.

http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news...cowboys-texans

[infantrycak]

From profootballtalk

During a conference call with reporters in advance of next week's league meetings in Dallas, Falcons president Rich McKay said that one of the safety-related rules to be proposed by the Competition Committee will, if adopted, call for the play to be ended if the ball carrier loses his helmet.

[HOU-TEX]

More safety rules approved.

Among the rules proposals approved, no longer can a defenseless player be hit in the head or neck area by an opponent who launches himself and uses his helmet, shoulder or forearm to make contact.

NFL rules also now will echo those in college for when a player running with the ball loses his helmet. The whistle will blow immediately and the ball will be placed at the "progress spot" where the helmet came off.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5024325

[Dutchrudder]

Among the rules proposals approved, no longer can a defenseless player be hit in the head or neck area by an opponent who launches himself and uses his helmet, shoulder or forearm to make contact.

The wording of this rule is silly because it doesn't prevent it from happening, it just penalizes it. If you really want to stop people from getting creamed over the middle, start handing out ejections and/or 1 game suspensions without pay for doing crap like this. Sure it's fun to watch big hits, but I hate seeing helmet-to-helmet cheapshots on any players.

[Jottoz]

So If I am a defender I am now going to start trying to rip helments off to stop forward progress? How is this in any way safer? Replay the Down?

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by Jottoz

So If I am a defender I am now going to start trying to rip helments off to stop forward progress? How is this in any way safer? Replay the Down?

How are you going to rip a helmet off without committing a face mask? - grabbing the edge of the helmet anywhere is a face mask penalty.

[Wolf]

hey maybe it will help Slaton with his fumbling issues esp if he loses his helmet at least twice a game

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by Wolf

hey maybe it will help Slaton with his fumbling issues esp if he loses his helmet at least twice a game

That is going to be interesting if some RB has his helmet pop off a split second before losing the ball and the fumble is nullified.

[jaayteetx]

Why don't they just take off all the pads and have a flag football league?

[Thorn]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

That is going to be interesting if some RB has his helmet pop off a split second before losing the ball and the fumble is nullified.

Interesting. And you KNOW thats going to happen.

[eriadoc]

Originally Posted by Wolf

hey maybe it will help Slaton with his fumbling issues esp if he loses his helmet at least twice a game

I was just going to bring that up. I think Slaton leads the league in losing his helmet.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by eriadoc

I was just going to bring that up. I think Slaton leads the league in losing his helmet.

You're going to see a lot fewer lost helmets this year. Teams haven't been getting on their players for this trend to wear bigger helmets with looser straps but now they have a vested interest in putting their foot down.

[TimeKiller]

Funny how the article is about concussions, stating they occur on a near weekly basis and about Schaub's concussion.

Schaub's concussion happened because Drayton Florence is a poor sportsman/human being. This is a game of physical violence matching up guys who spend hours upon hours making their bodies into big, fast, angry missiles. Was it really necessary to take time out to run across the field, pop the QB when he wasn't looking/wasn't trying to make a play/wasn't even close to the play/so on......????

Drayton Florence got a slap on the wrist of a penalty. He should've been ejected for at least the rest of the Texans/Chargers game. Or play eye for an eye, now it's Schaub's turn to inflict a concussion upon Florence.

[False Start]

Originally Posted by TimeKiller

Funny how the article is about concussions, stating they occur on a near weekly basis and about Schaub's concussion.

Schaub's concussion happened because Drayton Florence is a poor sportsman/human being. This is a game of physical violence matching up guys who spend hours upon hours making their bodies into big, fast, angry missiles. Was it really necessary to take time out to run across the field, pop the QB when he wasn't looking/wasn't trying to make a play/wasn't even close to the play/so on......????

Drayton Florence got a slap on the wrist of a penalty. He should've been ejected for at least the rest of the Texans/Chargers game. Or play eye for an eye, now it's Schaub's turn to inflict a concussion upon Florence.

Right on! I will forever hold a hateful grudge towards Drayton Florence for that bull**** he pulled on Schaub.