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What's With the Indented Helmets?

Glory Bound

By Glory Bound
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Glory Bound RFA

Glory Bound

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OK…it’s Hump day…a good day for some helmet chat. There seems to be basically two styles of helmets. The most common is your basic rounded shape, but a relatively small percentage of helmets on most nfl teams are indented a little over halfway down. Can anybody explain this to me? Is one style better than the other in preventing concussions? If so, wouldn’t you think all helmets should be one way or the other? Anybody well versed on this topic that can educate me? Is it head shape that dictates this indented style?

And while we’re on the subject, let’s pass out some helmet awards.

 

Eli Manning gets the “alien helmet award” for the best alien-style helmet. His helmet is a hybrid of the two styles…a partial indentation. It’s so big at the top & tapers down, he looks like his head is alien shaped. I hope the mother ship doesn’t beam him up during a crucial playoff game.

 

Ladanian Tomlinson gets the “cool helmet award” with his dark visor. He claims he doesn’t want tacklers to read his eyes, but I say it’s a cool thing. This dude wants to be so cool, he’ll sacrifice a few hundred yards a year to accomplish this. Surely this must hinder his vision somewhat. It’s hard to run in the dark.

 

Sam Bradford gets the “stud helmet award”. This dude was made to wear a helmet. He should wear a helmet when he goes out to eat…maybe just take it off to sleep.

 

Jay Cutler gets the “girly girl award” I used to sell hats. Hundreds of people have asked me, “How am I supposed to wear my hat, up or down?” I always answered the same way…”Girls wear their hats up, while guys wear their hats down.” Cutler loves to pull his helmet up at a 45-degree angle while he walks to the sideline. Whenever I see him do this, I would just love to see a cute boy wearing speedos hand him a dozen pink roses.

 

But during the Bills glory years, Kelso would have to get the ultimate award…the “mega dork award”. I know the poor guy had his gray matter banged around a lot & had to do something major…but man-o-man! If the coach came up to me & said, “buddy, you gotta wear this helmet or retire”, I would hang up my cleats. But then again, I’m a tad vain. He had guts…I’ll give him that!

 

Anybody else wanna dole out some helmet awards?

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Glory Bound RFA

Glory Bound

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Really?

haha...I know, I know...it's a better off season topic...but who looks at helmets in the off season? Can you answer my question eball? I would really like to know why the helmet gurus just don't design the best concussion resistant helmets & make them mandatory. The fact that there's several styles suggests to me that they're still tinkering.

Edited by Enuf-is-Enuf
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Glory Bound RFA

Glory Bound

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Pics?

 

I mean i know what you're talking about, but still...pics?

Sorry d2d..no pics. But picture TE (indented style)...then Fitzy...(more common rounded style). These are the two most common styles. Then there's the hybrid of the two (rare) - Eli Manning. Not gonna even get into face masks...many, many variations of those.

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dollars 2 donuts All Pro

dollars 2 donuts

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Sorry d2d..no pics. But picture TE (indented style)...then Fitzy...(more common rounded style). These are the two most common styles. Then there's the hybrid of the two (rare) - Eli Manning. Not gonna even get into face masks...many, many variations of those.

 

 

Anything they do, EiE, to cut down on concussions, I'm for it...which is probably the main reason for some of the redesigns we've seen the last few years.

 

Hell, I think almost everyone should be wearing Kelso's Kazzoo helmet from the 90s.

 

BTW, someone explain to me why some guys in this league who have chronic concussions AREN'T wearing the Kazoo helmet?

 

Never, ever made sense to me..."Oh, his career is in jeopardy b/c of all his concussions" :cry: Um, then why the hell won't he put on the Kazoo helmet to protect himself?!

Edited by dollars 2 donuts
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Glory Bound RFA

Glory Bound

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Anything they do, EiE, to cut down on concussions, I'm for it...which is probably the main reason for some of the redesigns we've seen the last few years.

 

Hell, I think almost everyone should be wearing Kelso's Kazzoo helmet from the 90s.

 

BTW, someone explain to me why some guys in this league who have chronic concussions AREN'T wearing the Kazoo helmet?

 

Never, ever made sense to me..."Oh, his career is in jeopardy b/c of all his concussions" :cry: Um, then why the hell won't he put on the Kazoo helmet to protect himself?!

I would venture to say, in lieu of all the concussion talk of late, that Goodell has a program underway. There's probably a bunch of genius's right now in labs working on this very problem. I am hoping anyway. There's got to be a better way to resolve this issue besides doling out ridiculous fines to agressive players. I guess the challenge is to make kazzoo helmets without them looking like kazzoo helmets.

 

The indented helmets are the "Revolution" style that are supposed to help cut down on concussions due to their design.

 

As for your strange attraction to Jay Cutler, I hear he likes daisies.

Thanks for that tidbit, but why then isn't the "revolution" style mandated? And thanks for the daisy tip...roses are so expensive.

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McBeane Veteran

McBeane

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The bottom line is concussions are a part of the game. I'm not saying that we shouldn't make every effort to minimize them as much as possible, but we will never be able eliminate them. The Revolution helmet you are talking about is one of the better helmets for concussions (Trent wore it after his). Concussions are just part of the risk they pay for playing the game.

Edited by SpillerTime21
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Thoner7 Veteran

Thoner7

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There are a lot of new helmet designs out that are supposed to be better on concussions. The Peyton manning Revo style came out 5 years ago – they are supposed to flex when you hit/get hit to absorb some of the impact. They also have air bladders in them that you can adjust for a perfect fit which are also supposed to help. The newer ones, like the one Trent wore this year, same one as Roethisburger/Tebow are wearing are the newest REVO style I think – both by Riddell.

 

Schutt also makes a bunch of new helmets. The one Brando Jacobs wears has a spring loaded facemask to absorb head on hits. I think Eli wears a Schutt too.

 

The NFL has a contract with Riddell to provide helmets but players can wear whatever they want – just like cleats. There really isn’t any proof that the new helmets are better at preventing concussions, but they are a lot more comfortable than the older style ones. The main reason players don’t wear the new ones is the way they look.

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Glory Bound RFA

Glory Bound

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Thanx T7...very informative! I hope there comes a time where the data reveals a certain style helmet is "the one" & the NFL mandates it. I know concussions are part of the game, as ST21 stated, but you would think technology could reduce their frequency & severity. I had one once...a horrible experience.

 

My buddy just found this >>> http://www.riddell.com/#/Concussion_Reduction ... a must see if you're interested in this topic

Edited by Enuf-is-Enuf
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Red Veteran

Red

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The strange helmets, or "alien" as they have been called here are designed to reduce concussions.

 

Studies have demonstrated that the jaw line is susceptible to impact that leads to concussion from what I can recall reading, along with the usual suspect of the head itself.

 

The helmet is designed to provide more security to the 'noggin' while also streaming a bit lower on the sides to cover the mandible better.

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