Junior Seau dead?

[The_Douger]

The extra shell on top supposedly prevents the brain rattling hits.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

kid I went to high school with wore a helmet like that.

We all made fun of him, but he didn't get another concussion after that.

Gregg Easterbrook (just found out the other day he's related to Frank Easterbrook who's a very important appeals judge) wrote about these helmets a year ago. His logic is simple -- the hard outer shell of helmets are used as weapons by players and correspondingly they're responsible for many if not most of the head injuries in the league (concussions also come from getting kneed in the head and the head hitting the turf).

In Junior Seau's case, it would have made a big difference. I believe Seau never even had a concussion (or none was reported), but it was the repeated blows from every game that caused the problem.

Steve Wallace, on offensive lineman for the Niners, also wore one of these helmets, I had forgotten about him. Both Wallace and Kelso made the pro bowl, btw.



There's also a type of helmet that's currently worn by some NFL players that cuts down significantly on concussions. Colin Kaepernick wears it, but it's still not nearly as common as other types of helmets you see in the league.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

What does that helmet do to prevent concussions?

It's padded on the outside of the helmet, so it acts as an extra shock absorber.

[old_gregg]

if nothing else, helmets have come a long way in the last ~10 years. the new revolutions and dnas are amazing:

[falafel]

Gregg Easterbrook (just found out the other day he's related to Frank Easterbrook who's a very important appeals judge) wrote about these helmets a year ago. His logic is simple -- the hard outer shell of helmets are used as weapons by players and correspondingly they're responsible for many if not most of the head injuries in the league (concussions also come from getting kneed in the head and the head hitting the turf).

In Junior Seau's case, it would have made a big difference. I believe Seau never even had a concussion (or none was reported), but it was the repeated blows from every game that caused the problem.

Steve Wallace, on offensive lineman for the Niners, also wore one of these helmets, I had forgotten about him. Both Wallace and Kelso made the pro bowl, btw.



There's also a type of helmet that's currently worn by some NFL players that cuts down significantly on concussions. Colin Kaepernick wears it, but it's still not nearly as common as other types of helmets you see in the league.

There is that Freakonomics podcast about how as helmet tech advanced in terms of protecting the skull, player injuries actually increased, echoing Easterbrook's comment. People used to tackle more with their arms and upper bodies, because it would hurt too much to use your head if you were just wearing a leather helmet. As the tech advanced and players' heads were more protected, they started using the head more, as you say, like a weapon, resulting in more way more injuries.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Va Tech has done some research on the topic and they have helmet ratings.

http://www.sbes.vt.edu/nid.php

The fact that the NFL doesn't outlaw certain helmets and mandate others is incredible to me.

The one that Kaepernick wears appears to be the top-rated helmet. I recall David Carr wearing something similar after coming to the Niners and everyone laughed at his "Megatron Helmet."

[SteelBlue]

There is that Freakonomics podcast about how as helmet tech advanced in terms of protecting the skull, player injuries actually increased, echoing Easterbrook's comment. People used to tackle more with their arms and upper bodies, because it would hurt too much to use your head if you were just wearing a leather helmet. As the tech advanced and players' heads were more protected, they started using the head more, as you say, like a weapon, resulting in more way more injuries.

This makes a lot of sense to me. I wonder what the incidence of head injuries is in professional rugby vs NFL? Take that hit in the NE vs BAL game on Sunday. No way does that happen with leather helmets. At least not more than once.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

The NFL actually outlawed the pro-cap (the thing worn by Steve Wallace and Mark Kelso) because the outer shell could potentially lock onto an opposing player's helmet and cause a spinal injury. Kelso actually supports this bizarre looking helmet called the Gladiator.

[wally]

There is that Freakonomics podcast about how as helmet tech advanced in terms of protecting the skull, player injuries actually increased, echoing Easterbrook's comment. People used to tackle more with their arms and upper bodies, because it would hurt too much to use your head if you were just wearing a leather helmet. As the tech advanced and players' heads were more protected, they started using the head more, as you say, like a weapon, resulting in more way more injuries.

This makes a lot of sense to me. I wonder what the incidence of head injuries is in professional rugby vs NFL? Take that hit in the NE vs BAL game on Sunday. No way does that happen with leather helmets. At least not more than once.

You learn not to lead with your head while tackling pretty quickly in rugby. It was always fun to watch football players turned rugby players start learning rugby. For the first few weeks of practice they were all giving themselves bloody noses and whatnot before they started using shoulders, chests and arms.

[Shaka]

Remember this helmet worn by Mark Kelso back in the day?



Someone was making the comment last week that the NFL should consider going to these helmets. Of course, it would have to be mandated by the NFL because Kelso looked like a major geek with this helmet.

They don't use these helmets any more because the external foam padding increased the likelyhood of neck injuries. A regular helmet is smooth and slippery and when it hits the ground it tends to slide. The helmet with the external foam padding tended to grip the ground more when it hit and not slide which caused torque on the neck. Think of it like the difference between running on ice with bowling shoes or old school golf spikes.