Except Borland could've gotten exponentially more had he cashed out closer to 30 than 20. SF would have surely picked him over Bowman when it came down to extensions, due to both injury history and age. And even though any position is prey to concussions, LBs don't really make the injury reports for them. Except for Stu Bradley's concussion which sparked the whole debate years back. It's interesting how Gore keeps plugging along, while the 3 that retired were defensive guys. I'd think Harbaugh must have left some life altering advice before he left, but I thought he lost the locker room early into the season.
SEA and DAL may enter race for Greg Hardy Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora Took the temp of a lot of teams on Greg Hardy over the weekend, came away with the sense DAL and SEA could emerge as legit suitors https://twitter.com/JasonLaCanfora/status/577535600309497856 http://sea.247sports.com/Bolt/Report-Seahawks-could-emerge-as-suitors-for-DE-Greg-Hardy-36228153
The only reason linebackers don't make the injury report is because it isn't as obvious on tv when one of them is banged up as it is when a wide receiver gets lit up. Go talk to Ted Johnson about how safe linebackers are from concussions. Or Teddy Bruschi. Or Junior Seau. Oh wait.
The popularity and economy of the NFL makes it "too big to fail". You have to wonder if Borland will end up being a poster child or will be given hush money to pipe down.
How hard would it be to make helmets lined with a layer of rubber or foam on the outside, basically serving like a car bumper to absorb at least a little of the shock in every collision. Aesthetically, it would be weird, but it seems like a simple interim solution to reduce concussions until they find something better.
I heard a brain surgeon on the radio here in Houston that gave a pretty chilling testimony on this. He said something along these lines (paraphrasing): Imagine your head is an egg and your brain is the yolk inside. How much padding do you suppose you would need to wrap the egg shell so that if you shook the egg the yolk wouldn't move? That's the issue with these hits. Padding helps to an extent, but the real problem is that we can't stop the brain from moving inside the head no matter how much padding there is if the collision is violent.
O/U as to when football will be banned in society.... 75 years? Hell, the gladiators eventually stopped doing what they do... and football is the closest modern-day comparison.
4 years in the NFL will probably lower your life expectancy to the point where the pension is pretty ineffectual. Kind of like a pension for tobacco smokers or something.
I think less, honestly. IMO, it's a matter of time before someone is killed on the field or a current player commits suicide. I think the conversation starts to pick up steam at that point.
Sure, but padding the outside of the helmet could greatly reduce the suddenness at impact, which (I think) is the primary cause of concussions and future brain injury. The whole idea of a sport centered around people ramming their armored heads into each other is crazy and there is no way to eliminate all trauma associated with it. That doesn't mean a step like Major suggested couldn't significantly decrease the damage.
Agreed. I think the NFL has peaked (or will very shortly) and once that train starts rolling downhill, it will be tough to slow down.
We'll find out soon enough. Mind you, 4 years in the NFL likely means 8 years of football prior (HS/College).
Well he can't be much worse than McFadden. I don't know if he will make it past training camp. Raiders have Latavius Murray and Roy Helu ahead of him (presumably) so if they have a 3rd back who is good on special teams I don't see Richardson staying on the roster.
I've thought for awhile they should switch to just foam helmets and shoulder pads. I think a big part of the problem is the hard helmet and shoulder pads makes you feel invulnerable and you hit that much harder. Soft helmets and shoulder pads may reduce this mindset and they would certainly be less of a weapon.
