NFL rule changes help address concussions

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Jottoz said:

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?

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Wolf said:

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

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infantrycak said:

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.

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Wolf said:

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

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eriadoc said:

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

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TimeKiller said:

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.

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