Details On Measures the NFL Is Looking At To Limit Concussions

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Posted on 22nd February 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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No more three point stance? That will be the acid test as to whether the NFL is willing to put player safety first. Eliminate the three point stance and you change the nature of football. Oddly, the running game would likely be the biggest benefactor, which is a complete contrast to the direction the league has been going. It is hard to imagine a traditional defense without line men digging in to stop the run. Will the NFL force such an organic change in the way the game is played for player safety? I doubt it. Frankly, I am not even sure that such change would make a biomechanical difference.

But eliminating the three point stance is one of the rule changes being considered by the NFL and its players are considering rule changes to ward off concussions, according to a detailed account in The Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/19/AR2010021902973.html Some of the other measures being discussed are barring helmet-to-helmet hits on all ball carriers; limiting off-season practice; and exemptions for players recovering from concussions.

The possible changes could be in place by next season, according to The Washington Post. The league is trying to put the kibosh on the number of concussions that players suffer.

Thom Mayer, the medical director for the players’ union, is quoted saying that he envisions a 20 percent to 25 percent drop in the number of practices with collisions between players being permitted.

The possible changes will be part of the agenda when the NFL competition committee and union reps are together in Indianapolis next week.

Some safety measures were already implemented by the NFL following congressional hearings in October, which took testimony on player concussions causing long-term memory-related problems.

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