Dragonborn10 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 P=MV and Conservation of momentum These are the keys to improving player safety. The speed of the game has increased and there is no means to regulate that beyond the current rules - no movement toward the LOS at the snap of the ball. However the NFL could look at the mass of the players. Players have gotten larger over time. You can argue why - earlier training, better training, or PED's. It doesn't matter how. They are just bigger. While I think it would be very difficult to regulate most players size, the OL and DL seem like possible targets. Limiting the OL and DL players to a weight of 280LBS would reduce momentum by 7% or more. Another solution would be to regulate by BMI thus taking into account the height of a player. If both the OL and DL have the same weight restrictions then it is fair and balanced. 280 lbs would still be 3 lbs more than what Fred Smerlas weighed playing NT and 15 lbs more than Bruce Smith's listed playing weight. Was the game safer when guys were smaller? I am not sure. Concussions were part of the game then too. But it might be an idea to investigate. Your thoughts.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 They opt to play, let them go. Fully informed of the risks. Do we regulate speed next? My son's high school OLine averaged 285 lbs. I missed weight on some little league football games, and that sucked! I had to play up 2-3 years in age, and that wasn't fair either. And I'm not a huge guy. These guys decide to play for the big bucks. I hope they are wise about it and the game tweaks some things to make it as safe as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purple haze Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 P=MV and Conservation of momentum These are the keys to improving player safety. The speed of the game has increased and there is no means to regulate that beyond the current rules - no movement toward the LOS at the snap of the ball. However the NFL could look at the mass of the players. Players have gotten larger over time. You can argue why - earlier training, better training, or PED's. It doesn't matter how. They are just bigger. While I think it would be very difficult to regulate most players size, the OL and DL seem like possible targets. Limiting the OL and DL players to a weight of 280LBS would reduce momentum by 7% or more. Another solution would be to regulate by BMI thus taking into account the height of a player. If both the OL and DL have the same weight restrictions then it is fair and balanced. 280 lbs would still be 3 lbs more than what Fred Smerlas weighed playing NT and 15 lbs more than Bruce Smith's listed playing weight. Was the game safer when guys were smaller? I am not sure. Concussions were part of the game then too. But it might be an idea to investigate. Your thoughts.... I totally agree that this should be a consideration. I've said similar. And I don't think this should just stop at lineman, but include every other position as well. No need for 230 pound safety's or 270 LB's like Levon Kirkland. They have weight limits in Pop Warner. Some people are just bigger, but many of these players eat/lift to gain girth. Types of workouts would change and that human growth hormone use, if it is being used, would cease too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacarri and coke Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Maybe we should consider only letting really nice guys that don't want to hurt people play football....small guys with really good intentions league.... pffftt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Linemen can't generate significant velocity so adjusting their weight won't make the impact much safer. Most of them are just pushing each other around. Teams lie about the weight of their heaviest linemen anyway. Ronnie Lott caused more CTE than any other player in NFL history and he was barely 200 lbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonborn10 Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 Linemen can't generate significant velocity so adjusting their weight won't make the impact much safer. Most of them are just pushing each other around. Teams lie about the weight of their heaviest linemen anyway. Ronnie Lott caused more CTE than any other player in NFL history and he was barely 200 lbs. Agree about Lott but the league has already tried to address that with defenseless WR rules and blows to the head. Those rules did not exist for Lott. I think you are wrong about the speed of the DL and the impact weight has. Even if you are correct a weight limit would not diminish the game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo_Stampede Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Older retired players and in bad shape. Its a physical game. The best thing the NFL can do is give players all the medical support they need post career. Possibly develop a program for mandatory annual evaluation of players that have suffered a concussion. Keep track of these players after retirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 P=MV and Conservation of momentum These are the keys to improving player safety. The speed of the game has increased and there is no means to regulate that beyond the current rules - no movement toward the LOS at the snap of the ball. However the NFL could look at the mass of the players. Players have gotten larger over time. You can argue why - earlier training, better training, or PED's. It doesn't matter how. They are just bigger. While I think it would be very difficult to regulate most players size, the OL and DL seem like possible targets. Limiting the OL and DL players to a weight of 280LBS would reduce momentum by 7% or more. Another solution would be to regulate by BMI thus taking into account the height of a player. If both the OL and DL have the same weight restrictions then it is fair and balanced. 280 lbs would still be 3 lbs more than what Fred Smerlas weighed playing NT and 15 lbs more than Bruce Smith's listed playing weight. Was the game safer when guys were smaller? I am not sure. Concussions were part of the game then too. But it might be an idea to investigate. Your thoughts.... Whether it's practical or not I like the out of the box thinking. F=ma is a also key here. a being the rapid deceleration of certain body parts caused by collisions Does it also mean the incidence of latent CTE in retired players will trend up in correlation with size and speed. Are concusion incidences lower at the collegiate level and is it due to smaller and slower on average? Are concussions worse on turf, not due to the turf but the fact players have greater momentum and more force translates through the body on firmer ground?? If they loosened up on illegal contact would that slow the wrs down a little and would that improve something? Seems like there may be a lot of other subtle aspects to investigate aside from thinking the only path is creating a superhelmet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2o Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Maybe we should consider only letting really nice guys that don't want to hurt people play football....small guys with really good intentions league.... pffftt Goodell could finally get rid of James Harrison...... They may be all in on this one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Agree about Lott but the league has already tried to address that with defenseless WR rules and blows to the head. Those rules did not exist for Lott. I think you are wrong about the speed of the DL and the impact weight has. Even if you are correct a weight limit would not diminish the game Lott's greatest hits weren't all head shots and defenseless WRs. Picking an arbitrary weight limit will not result in a measurable increase in player safety. If I am correct, a limit wouldn't be necessary, so why would it be a matter of whether it would diminish the game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireChan Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I watch football to see unnatural genetic lottery picks of nigh unbelievable quickness, size and strength pummel each other. No restrictions on my blood sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4BillsintheBurgh Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Older retired players and in bad shape. Its a physical game. The best thing the NFL can do is give players all the medical support they need post career. Possibly develop a program for mandatory annual evaluation of players that have suffered a concussion. Keep track of these players after retirement. I know the NFL is the common scapegoat here, but really the NFLPA should have been doing this for a long time now. Not to mention they should be fighting for the health of their current players. Goodell should not be seen as the point man for player safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Football is a contact sport. It's played fast, with strength and bulk. This will not change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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