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.
NFL and Brain Injury
From the NFL and its Players Association:
The words read good on paper. I will start to believe the NFL when I don’t see players going back into the same game that they suffer a concussion. We can’t know the severity of a concussion the same day as the injury because brain injury is a “process not an event”. See http://blog.tbilaw.com
NFLPA ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF
CONCUSSION AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY COMMITTEE
For the past few months, the NFL Players Association, led by Executive Director DeMaurice Smith, President Kevin Mawae, Medical Director Dr. Thom Mayer and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Sean Morey, has been working on compiling support for a special committee to address the issue of head trauma among professional football players. Today, the NFLPA announces the formation of the Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Committee.
The NFLPA Concussion and TBI Committee will address two fundamental, timely and critical issues facing professional football players: first, the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of concussions and TBI in active players; and second, the long-term cumulative effects of isolated or repetitive TBI in NFL players as patients in order to discover how these effects can be reduced and eliminated.
DeMaurice Smith issued a statement saying, “The health, safety and welfare of our players is never just an issue of collective bargaining. While we have already raised this issue in the CBA negotiations and Dr. Mayer participated in the first meeting, this committee and the work we do around the health and safety of our players will extend much further. The creation of this committee was designed to bring both independence and expertise to the ongoing analysis of serious head injuries so we can better protect our players. I am confident that Sean Morey and Dr. Mayer will lead this team to gather more comprehensive data and provide real solutions for our players, both past and present.”
The Concussion and TBI Committee will be co-chaired by Sean Morey and Dr. Mayer. It will also be comprised of other active players, former players, researchers in the field of TBI and physicians with expertise in neurological injuries.
Joanna Comfort
Communications Coordinator, Communications
1133 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
(P) (202) 756-9170
(F) (202) 756-9310
NFLPLAYERS.COM
The words read good on paper. I will start to believe the NFL when I don’t see players going back into the same game that they suffer a concussion. We can’t know the severity of a concussion the same day as the injury because brain injury is a “process not an event”. See http://blog.tbilaw.com
