The Sporting News
August 23, 2012
The danger of head trauma is changing the NFL, its policies and the way players view their profession.
Fans feel it, too. They hear about the severe health problems of many retired players. They are shaken when a former player commits suicide. They read about the mounting lawsuits filed by former players against the NFL.
The shift toward a more safety-conscious NFL is undeniable. As the 2012 season kicks off, here are some key issues regarding player safety, head trauma and where the league is headed.
Rule changes will be implemented to protect players, but not without careful consideration
Almost every rule change, like moving kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35 in 2011, is initially met with criticism from fans, players and coaches. The NFL has no desire to make its game less appealing. However, facing lawsuits and intense public scrutiny, the league has no choice but to be proactive regarding safety. Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL’s competition committee, insists the league has always made player safety a priority. But the focus on the issue has never been more intense.
“When we consider a rule change, we have to consider safety first,” McKay says. “The fans will adjust. The players and coaches will adjust. We’ve always felt that way, but whatever the NFL mandates regarding player safety is bound to draw significant attention now because of the popularity of the league, and because of the other issues that we’re all well aware of.
“It’s a contact sport and it’s a physical game. If we have to do something from a safety perspective, we’re going to do it, and we’re not going to worry about the blowback from the public, former players, or current players that always come out when we make a change.”
The game’s most dangerous kickoff returners, like Devin Hester and Joshua Cribbs, were upset when the kickoff rule significantly increased touchbacks and decreased their opportunity to make game-changing plays. But some of the game’s most violent collisions occur during kickoff returns, with players running full speed. According to a study authorized by the NFL Players Association, the number of concussions on kickoffs decreased 43 percent from 2010 to 2011. McKay wants the competition committee to monitor the impact of the new kickoff rule for several more seasons before considering more potential changes.
“When we moved the kickoff from the 30 to the 35, we thought it would give us a guaranteed result,” McKay says. “The results were very positive in the way it affected play. We want to let that rule change play out a bit. We’ve learned that these rule changes need two or three years before you learn what the effect really is.
“Would we ever eliminate kickoffs? I don’t know what the future holds. Kickoffs are part of the game’s tradition, and we’re very hesitant to change tradition unless we need to. But if we need to, we will.”
Changes to make the game safer will favor the offense
Many players, particularly on defense, are not thrilled about how the NFL’s rules are trending. A prime example would be Steelers linebacker James Harrison. One of the game’s most intimidating hitters, Harrison has felt unfairly fined by the NFL, knowing the league has been under increased pressure to make the game safer.
Harrison understands looking for ways to protect defenseless players and closely monitoring helmet-to-helmet contact. However, Harrison also believes he, and other players, have been fined in error, or sometimes excessively.
“Believe it or not, some of the changes being made are good,” Harrison says. “But I believe they are trying to make a rule for every incident, and you can’t do that. There are things that happen on a football field that you can’t control. It’s the assumption of risk. Everything you do has risk. If you want to be a cop, it has risks. If you want to be doctor, it has risks. If you’re not willing to accept that risk, you need to change your profession.”
Coaches are harping more on tackling techniques, trying to get their players to avoid penalties and fines. It’s not always easy, and you will see more complaints from players and coaches this season about hits that lead to punishment from the league. It’s part of the new NFL.
“Some of the fines you see are unfortunate,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh says. “Sometimes it’s physically impossible, when you’re already committed and a receiver drops his head into the strike zone, to avoid hitting his helmet. I mean, that’s not fair to fine a guy when that happens. I’ve told the league that. But they still fine a guy on that, kind of a zero tolerance thing on the defensive players. You’ve got to draw the line somewhere.”
Defensive players miss playing with the freedom they used to enjoy. Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said it’s frustrating having to be so careful about where he hits quarterbacks, only to watch Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers light up the scoreboard.
“This league is so driven by wanting to see offenses succeed,” Tuck says. “You’ve got a three-by-six-inch space where we can hit quarterbacks. The rules in the secondary don’t allow defensive backs to make contact. Everything is set up for the offense. That’s why you have to have a pass rush, to at least throw off the quarterback’s timing, or you can’t stop anybody.”
The numbers support Tuck’s claim. NFL teams set a record in 2011 for net passing yards per game (229.7). The 44.36 total points per game was the highest since 1965. Teams attempted 34 passes per game and completed 20 passes per game. Both totals were the second highest in history.
Ten quarterbacks threw for more than 4,000 yards last season. Three threw for more than 5,000—Brees, Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford. Those numbers could grow this season. It’s great to be an NFL quarterback. Welcome to the party, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.
Even if fans think the game has softened, they will continue to watch
Longtime Giants fan Stephen Appel was part of a huge crowd visiting training camp in Albany, N.Y., on a Sunday in August. Appel saw the Giants going through a lighter workout regimen than in the past, following the guidelines of the latest collective bargaining agreement, which limits the number of full contact practices.
Appel says he still loved watching football as much as ever, despite believing the NFL has become less physical.
“Having the players being safer is better for everybody,” Appel says. “You don’t want star players taking bad shots and being gone from the game forever. Without the players, what are we going to watch? We’re not watching the coaches.
“We still want big hits. But we want guys to get up. We don’t want players leading with their heads. We don’t want guys getting their knees taken out. If you don’t have the players, what do you have?”
Even if the NFL is becoming less physical, it’s still physical. Ask Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who suffered a preseason spleen injury after taking a powerful hit from Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain. Or ask Nnamdi Asomugha of the Eagles, who was laid out on the ground for five minutes after colliding with teammate Nate Allen during a recent practice.
The Browns' handling of Colt McCoy's concussion last season forced the NFL to take a long look in the mirror at how it deals with hits to the head. (AP Photo)
The notion of a soft NFL is nonsense to Harbaugh, who stands on the sidelines watching the Steelers and Ravens twice a season, hitting each other until it hurts.
“Anybody who thinks this game is soft should put a helmet on and go out and there and play,” Harbaugh says. “It’s every bit as physical. But they’re trying to take the head out of the game as much as they can, which is wise. How can you justify not doing that, with what we’re learning about medicine? There’s no argument you can make against that.”
Especially with the NFL’s popularity continuing to grow.
Players will think more about the game’s effect on their long-term health
Harrison has accepted the risk of playing in the NFL. Any opposing player that ventures into Harrison’s territory would be wise to accept that risk. However, because of concern about head trauma, Harrison would not be crushed if his children never pursue an NFL career. In fact, he would be relieved.
“If my kids want to play football, I’ll let them play, but I’m going to make sure they have the best protection available,” Harrison says. “But I would hope that they didn’t want to play. Because all the research out there shows this is dangerous. The CTE—the traumatic brain injury that’s related to football. It’s real. For years, they denied or didn’t want to recognize the fact that it was an issue. Now they’ve got the scientific proof it’s an issue, and they’re coming down hard on it. I don’t know if it’s to protect us, or to protect the NFL, considering they’ve got so many lawsuits against them. But guys are thinking more about the risks now. They realize there’s a strong possibility that you could have (health) issues later on in life.”
The danger of head trauma is on the minds of players and fans like never before. The suicide of former Chargers great Junior Seau rocked many current and former players to the core. While it has not been definitively proven that head trauma from football played a role in Seau’s despair (some of his brain tissue was released to the National Institutes of Health for study), his suicide forced players to reflect on their lives after football, and how they will cope.
“Junior’s death really hit me,’’ Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata says. “I’m Polynesian, and he was such an idol to all of us in our community. I’ve got to believe some of it has to do with head trauma.
“I want to be able to walk away from this game and be able to raise my kids. I want to be able to see them go through high school, go through college, help them out with whatever they need. That story made me think. Should I retire when I want to retire, or should I just get out sooner?”
More players are asking themselves similar questions.
We will not see an 18-game season—at least not soon
During the 2011 NFL labor dispute, the players drew the line on a proposed 18-game regular season. Adding two regular season games would be an extremely tough sell for a league talking about player safety, in light of what has been learned about head trauma.
“I’m totally against an 18-game season,” Harbaugh says. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
However, if the league reduces the preseason from four games to two, but keeps the regular season at 16 games, what about the two weeks of lost revenue? Would that revenue loss, and possible reduction in the salary cap, be enough to convince players to lengthen the regular season? Stay tuned.
NFL equipment will look much different 10 years from now
Players are all for wearing equipment that gives them added protecting them from potential trauma. Harrison started using a different helmet after fracturing an orbital bone last season.
While helmet design continues to evolve, Dr. Julian Bailes, chairman of neurosurgery at NorthShore University in Chicago, is working on a protective collar that players would wear to reduce the risk of concussions.
“The helmet, although it does a really good job of preventing major brain injuries like hemorrhage, bleeding, or skull fracture, it doesn’t prevent concussions in many cases,” Bailes says. “The brain is freely floating inside the skull. When the cranium suddenly stops, it doesn’t matter of it’s got a helmet on with padding six inches thick. The brain is going to shift inside the skull and move.
"When you put the collar on, it feels a little bit tight, sort of like a necktie would. But those beads compress the jugular vein, where the majority of the blood drains down from your brain back to your heart. If you block those veins partially, it appears to reduce the ability of the brain to move around or slosh. When we did the experiments, it led to an 83 percent reduction in concussion injury. Is it totally proven? No, but we’re continuing to make progress.”
Independent neurologists, mandatory waiting periods could be coming
Last season, the Browns failed to test Colt McCoy on the sideline for a concussion after a hit from Harrison. Another troubling event last season occurred when Chargers guard Kris Dielman was dazed during a game against the Jets but kept playing, despite clearly wobbling on several occasions. He was diagnosed with a concussion after the game, and suffered a seizure on the flight home. Dielman has since been forced to retire.
Shortly after the hit on McCoy, the league assigned independent athletic trainers to each sideline to monitor suspected concussion-related injuries. It’s not unreasonable to think that independent neurologists could eventually work the sidelines of NFL games.
As it stands, players that are diagnosed with a concussion must pass baseline testing before being allowed to return. But could the league eventually force players diagnosed with concussions to sit out at least one game?
“I leave that type of decision to the advice medical people,” McKay says. “As long as I’ve been in the league, when it comes to medical decisions, I turn to the doctor and say, ‘What do you think?’ ”
With Week 1 approaching, fans are thinking about the start of another NFL season. So are players. However, with the NFL trending toward bigger, stronger, and faster, and players hearing more about the dangers of head trauma, players also are thinking more about protecting themselves between the lines. And protecting what’s between their ears.
“As players, we’re all competitors,” Ngata says. “But we can’t allow ourselves to hurt ourselves. The more we learn about concussions, the more we can protect ourselves. Now if I have blurry vision, or a little headache, I’m going to think about it more, and think about what’s best for me. It’s no longer, ‘Just man up and go out there.’
"It’s the same when you see a teammate going through something. A few years ago, maybe you’re saying, ‘He can stay in the game, he’ll tough it out.’ Not now. It’s time to look at the bigger picture. Our health is not a game.”
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