Helmet Safety Research Paper

Every part of the game of football means very much to me, which is why I have a passion for the game and why I researched this topic. Helmets are one of the most important pieces of safety gear a football player can have. In October 2010, a new rule was signed off to be placed in the National Football League (NFL) rule book for the safety of NFL players. The helmet-to-helmet hit rule is as follow: using any part of the helmet to butt, spear, or ram any part of the opponent’s helmet (Azpiri). A helmet-to-helmet hit is illegal in the NFL now. The punishment for a helmet-to-helmet hit for a NFL player is being fine with a gradual increase the next times they do it and/or suspension depending on the

The NFL has established a strong set of rules through the years focused on player safety, designed to promote fair competition while attempting to minimize risk of harm to the player. While many of these rules have focused on reducing contact to the

I think a bigger change that we could make is having players learn to tackle at practice without helmets on. There was a study done by the University of New Hampshire football team and The National Athletic Trainers Research and Education Foundation where they tested the impact of players practicing with helmets and some without. The goal of this study was to see if helmetless practice would teach players to not tackle using their heads which currently is a main reason why players get concussions. They had the control group practice with helmets on, while the intervention group did not wear shoulder pads or helmets. They completed a five minute drill and the purpose of not wear pads or helmets was supposed to teach the players to learn to tackle without using their heads in a way that they could be injured. They found substantial evidence that this helped prevent head injuries, it resulted in a 28% reduction in head injuries over the course of the football season for

In which a case like this happens, you’ll most likely see the tackler injured or the opposing player being tackled hurt. The most penalized players don’t truly understand the proper ways of tackling and more often then not these are athletes who lead with the crown of their helmet. Tackling in this instance is referred to as spearing. Spearing, for example is essentially using the helmet as a weapon against a player (at2727, 2010).

People don’t want games to see people being wrapped up and slowly brought to the ground. This is because ordinary is boring, and boring doesn’t sell tickets. They want to see the running back get hit and fly back a good 5 feet. Well the NFL is stuck in a predicament that few could think their way out of. That is until Pete Carroll, the coach of the Seattle Seahawks, took it upon himself to help save his players. According to ESPN, Carroll, along with assistant head coach and defensive coach Rocky Seto helped develop this new form of tackling in the NFL. And the surprising part of this new style of tackling is the fact that it works exceptionally well. As explained, “The Seahawks have led the NFL in scoring defense in each of the past four seasons, and sound tackling has been a huge part of their success” (Kapadia). This quote is very important to understand because not only is this new style of tackling much safer than the tradition ‘facemask to chest’ method, it is also being run at a very efficient level. The key to this style of tackling is leading with the shoulder rather than the head. If this is done correctly, football can be just as hard hitting and fun to watch without the increased risk of a

Most players have learned to inflict pain to the other person they are tackling or trying to get the ball. NFL have made new rule changes because of players leading with the head and also trying to hit the players head. When a player is targeted it means that a player aimed at an opponent for purposes of attacking with an apparent intent that goes beyond making a legal tackle or a legal block or playing the ball (Redding). The player who made the tackle will be ejected from the game. These types of hits are causing the concussions and also not knowing how to properly

There has been extraordinary improvements of helmets from the old leather to the modernized-plastic football helmets along with the face mask and energy- absorbent padding. In addition, the concern over preventing concussions, have led to helmet changes, impact testing methods and reconstruction of injuries during play helping to provide insight on concussions(4). Helmets have been successful in decreasing the risk of traumatic brain injuries, but there is much concern over concussion; therefore, scholars argue the importance of technology development to address concussion(5). As the author(s), David Viano and David Halstead discusses, there is room needed for understanding the types of collisions associated in youths and the impact condition addressing collisions. There are many variables to consider addressing concussion and where they occur.

like touch him and the play is dead. The NFL does not allow helmet to helmet contact

Targeting is the main rule that was created to prevent concussions. Targeting is defined as “No player shall target and initiate contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, fist, elbow or shoulder.” (“Targeting”, 2013). This rule is controversial because it is hard to tell what a defenseless player is as well as where the hit occurred. This rule changed the game by requiring the players to make smarter and safer hits.

Safety and equipment have come a long way in football in order to prevent brain injuries. A very important piece of equipment used to prevent brain trauma is the helmet. The helmet has evolved a lot over the years, even more in the past decade. The Helmets main purpose use to be just to stop skull fractures, then they added the facemask to prevent facial injuries. Concussions are more of a recent concern (Hand 1). Overconfidence in the helmets' protective power prompts many NFL athletes to deliver and accept hits that would have killed players of previous generations. Now the helmet is being revolutionized. Helmets aren't only being created to stop skull and face fractures but they are being created to help prevent brain damage such as concussions now. Helmets have gone through testing to see how to design a better preventative helmet. These newer helmets are being designed to reduce the amount of force that is being applied to the head by a hit that is received (Vandantam 2). Virginia Tech football has been monitoring helmet collisions since 2003, courtesy of Dr. Gunnar Brolinson. Dr. Gunnar Brolinson has outfitted the teams helmets with six sensors and a small antenna that records and transmits data to a computer on the sideline. This information collected is crucial because it will help find better ways to design a helmet that will prevent concussions(Goldman 1). Equipment isn't the only important part of football that can help prevent concussions.

Something as simple as a specially designed helmet can prevent a concussion from occurring. “ While helmets have been used since the early 1900s in the NFL, they were not mandatory until 1943. Since then, the materials, designs, and safety standards have undergone revision, and more recent modifications have focused on improving the design to further protect the athlete specifically from concussive impacts”(Navarro, 2011). The helmets used in the past to protect athletes were not designed purely in mind of protecting athletes from concussions; helmets and equipment are now being revised and redesigned in the focus of protecting athletes from concussions whenever any sort of contact happens to the athletes cranium. “Biomechanical studies have shown that newer football helmets may reduce the impact forces associated with a sport-related concussion” (Navarro, par 2). Along with the creation of new equipment new rules should be adopted which require athletes to wear proper and up to date equipment, such as helmets and mouthguards which protect the athletes head during any circumstance of possible injury; whether during a practice or

When it comes to selecting the most feasible alternative to this issue the NFL has decided to fine and suspend players who purposely deliver helmet to helmet contact. They have also spent money on more advance helmets that help prevent head injuries. The NFL has also created a hotline in which players can call to report abuse. Some players have been forced by coaches to participate in practices days after receiving a concussion. The NFL could also conduct further research by hiring independent labs to study the effects of concussions. Some current players have also decided to donate their brains after they die in order to

Additionally, this new rule will require the defensive players to be more cautious with their hits to ensure they do not get called for targeting an offensive player, which could lead to the defensive player’s ejection from the game. The player ejection is new for this fall and is in addition to a fifteen yard penalty imposed for targeting (Johnson). The NCAA committee is serious about addressing unsafe play and considers the ejection penalty a severe punishment for such behavior (Staples). Greg Bishop, from The New York Times, in his article about the targeting rule, discusses that the defensive players now have a limited contact area, and many coaches are holding training sessions to practice the limited contact area with the defensive players. Andy Bitter, from the Roanoke Times, in his article that addresses the new rule, discusses that the defensive players usually do not purposely go for the area above the shoulders, but now with such severe penalties to consider, coaches want to emphasize and practice making legal hits. Losing star players due to ejection could have serious implications to the future of a football team, especially during playoffs, so the defensive players must have an understanding of what is considered a legal hit (Bishop). This part of the rule will help make the game safer by making the defending player accountable for their actions, and will help to reduce the number of intentional targeting

Playing football is not like playing other sports. Athletes in all kinds of sports risk injuring themselves, but in football, a lot of the risk comes from other athletes. While there are many ways to be injured playing football, one of the worst is head-to-head targeting. This has been a problem in football since the beginning of the game, especially, when equipment was not very protective. Over the past eight years, the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) has implemented rules and penalties specifically designed to protect players and to hopefully reduce the number of bad head injuries (Marshall). The NCAA is doing the right thing by protecting players from severe injury by calling and enforcing targeting penalties.

Football is a contact sport that many people love. It is aggressive and dangerous. That’s why the NFL have made new rules to help protect the football players. Targeting is where you purposefully hit an opponent with the crown of your helmet. Now in the NFL, you can get ejected from the game if you are called for a targeting foul. The rule of targeting in the NFL was implemented to stop head injuries.