Late in his team’s game against the Green Bay Packers on September 15, Indianapolis Colts tight end Kylen Granson caught a short pass over the middle of the field, charged forward, and lowered his body to brace for contact. The side of his helmet smacked the face mask of linebacker Quay Walker, and the back of it whacked the ground as Walker wrestled him down. Rising to his feet after the 9-yard gain, Granson tossed the football to an official and returned to the line of scrimmage for the next snap.
Aside from it being his first reception of the 2024 National Football League season, this otherwise ordinary play was only noteworthy because of what Granson was wearing at the time of the hit: a 12-ounce, foam-padded, protective helmet covering called a Guardian Cap.
Already mandatory for most positions at all NFL preseason practices, as well as regular-season and postseason practices with contact, these soft shells received another vote of confidence this year when the league greenlit them for optional game use, citing a roughly 50 percent drop in training camp concussions since their official 2022 debut. Through six weeks of action this fall, only 10 NFL players had actually taken the field with one on, according to a league spokesperson. But the decision was easy for Granson, who tried out his gameday Guardian Cap—itself covered by a 1-ounce pinnie with the Colts logo to simulate the design of the helmet underneath—in preseason games before committing to wear it for real.
Maybe we should change how the game is played instead of putting helmets on the helmets
Also enjoying that we have a method for reducing concussions by half, but it isn’t mandatory in games why?
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I get why people throw that stat around but I don’t think it’s a fair way to view the sport. You can go in and only focus on those minutes but if you’re choosing to watch closely there’s lots in the middle bits too. It’s probably better to think of that stat as time of action. During that time there’s a chance to analyze how the teams are setting up, what movement and audibles are they making, consider strategy and future actions, etc.
I think probably most of our activities have an ebb and flow and highlighting only one aspect of it would certainly empower someone to try to ridicule or treat it as a waste of time.
Just trying to offer a different perspective because I do think the risk of concussion is worth highlighting but your ignorance is on display which can take away from the argument I think your trying to make.
Still a bunch of guys in tights chasing other guys in tights.
And there’s something wrong with men wearing tights?
Pretty much anything can be boiled down to worthlessness if one chooses to view it in that light.
Did I say there was?
If you enjoy it, that’s your business. And if you enjoy it because of the tights, that’s also your business.
My issue with the sport is the number of kids getting CTEs, or dying from dehydration because their coach thinks that “toughens them up”; because they’re being told that’s their one chance to get out of poverty- even though the chances of that being true are almost effectively zero, when over the course of a career, STEM or even Trades offer more stability and more of an escape than American football ever has.
Further, that these things aren’t mandatory (or even need to be mandatory… for fucks sake) is deplorable.
Just for your edification, nobody thinks it’s clever when you play dumb about a very obvious implication you were making. It’s not smart not clever and not funny just tiresome.
You can paint plenty of sports this way.
How much time during a basketball game are they just slowly dribbling to the other side of the court with no contention? Same for football.
How much time during a baseball game is the pitcher playing with the ball, waiting for it from the catcher, or slowly winding up?
This is why Hockey is the best sport. The only breaks are when they have to restrain the players from continuing for TV commercials, ice resurfacing, penalties, and fights.
They really ought to put helmets on helmets on helmets for maximum safety.
This is a materials science issue to solve. The NFL now realize putting a hard shell outside of a skull doesn’t do much for soaking up impact but a soft body provides protection. The game also discourages hitting the head and does try to avert damage as best as possible. They learn like OSHA; seeing what hit the wall and stuck.
Players with less brain mass and more fluid are the future picks as soon as we correctly factor in medical costs
Would I be way out there to suggest that if you have to go to these lengths to protect a player, maybe it’s not a good sport for the 21st century?
If people want to play it & people enjoy watching it, why discard it rather than make it safer?
I enjoy skydiving, drinking copious amounts of alcohol, & eating fried foods. It’s on me to do those things in moderation.
People enjoyed playing and watching jousting. We stopped doing it because it’s dangerous and stupid.
Also, drinking copious amounts of alcohol isn’t just on you if you have a family.
People stopped jousting because heads were severed & blood was spilt. I quite enjoy watching the jousting at ren fairs.
Drinking copious amounts of alcohol is not something I invite my family to participate in.
Unless they want to joust. Then I might be swayed.
Heads weren’t severed in jousting, what are you talking about? How would that even work? The jousting you’re watching in ren fairs is scripted. Also, blood is spilled on football fields all the time.
Also…
Drinking copious amounts of alcohol is not something I invite my family to participate in.
I seriously hope you don’t have any kids.
I have 40 children, they’re all drunk now because of you. Just out of spite.
What are you on about? You think those jousters knocked the other jousters off their horses & just started mocking their opponents?
“Hahaha look at the no horse dummy! You lose & I will now abscond with your princess! Hooray I am a jouster!!”
No. They got off their horses & aimed to behead, or otherwise cease the existence of, their opponent.
Yes. Ren Fairs are scripted. So is Wrastlin’ & they spill blood while wrastlin’ too.
What is your point here? You’re above it, so the rest of us are lesser for enjoying it.
People enjoy sport & specifically football. What’s the real problem here? That someone’s subjective opinion differs from yours?
That’s absolutely not how the sport of jousting worked. You’re just making things up. It wasn’t gladiatorial combat. And even that resulted in death less often than is usually portrayed.
Well alright expert now I’m shitfaced & ready to learn. Do, please educate us all on aspects of jousting that did not lead to mortal combat.
By your logic, Football isn’t about hurting people any more than jousting is.
Sports are sports. They aren’t going away just because you think you’re better than their fandoms.
I don’t think you could really say they’re changing the nfl, I’m watching the game right now and I don’t think there’s a single one anywhere on either team. In fact other than maybe one or two players I don’t think I’ve seen anyone wearing them at all this year.
Get rid of the pads and helmets and play like the rugby.
Thought it was this guy:
Will those ridges catch on a face guards rails? Looks like a shearing injury waiting to happen.
In the same vein, I’ve heard a lot of people suggest that the soft padding could slide less when contacting pretty much anything. So glancing helmet to helmet now contorts your neck (just a bit).
I suspect this will make players safer overall. But there’s going to be a really bad incident and they’ll ban them.
