Why are the helmet cages so antiquated?

#28
#28
It is my understanding that facemasks are built a certain way in order to help make direct impacts to that area and other areas less harmful. Hence causing glancing blows instead of direct. I could be wrong.
 
#30
#30
JohnD13 said:
It's called safety
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I’m arguing that it is unsafe as currently designed. Neck injuries being the most obvious culprit with facemasks—which restrict the flow of the game, imo. Imagine a game with no facemasks?

Using the face guard metal as a battering ram for tackling being the second obvious issue with the current helmets.

We’re a lot closer to football not being a sport at all than we are to fixing these issues, imo.
 
#32
#32
Vol Kilmer said:
I’m arguing that it is unsafe as currently designed. Neck injuries being the most obvious culprit with facemasks—which restrict the flow of the game, imo. Imagine a game with no facemasks?

Using the face guard metal as a battering ram for tackling being the second obvious issue with the current helmets.

We’re a lot closer to football not being a sport at all than we are to fixing these issues, imo.
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The problem is not the helmet, it is the technique coaches and players are using. A face up tackle is what needs to be used. Chest tackling is less conducive to neck /nerve injury. Most stingers are produced when the head goes one way and the shoulder and arm go the other. My 2 Cents!
 
#33
#33
PineyBluff Vol said:
The problem is not the helmet, it is the technique coaches and players are using. A face up tackle is what needs to be used. Chest tackling is less conducive to neck /nerve injury. Most stingers are produced when the head goes one way and the shoulder and arm go the other. My 2 Cents!
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Take away the helmet and they quit leading with the head. More and more evidence shows that soft helmets without facemasks are the most effective way of reducing head and neck injuries while also teaching better form for tackling, similar to a rugby tackle.
 
#34
#34
My belief may be way off base but I think the smaller shoulder pads have become a problem. Big pads back in the day deflected the head shots, players tackled with their shoulders more. Head is out in the open now because of the smaller pads. Reality says it's several factors including size and speed of players, more artificial turf, poor technique.
 
#36
#36
Right now they are coaching face up tackling. That goes away with no face mask. You would get guys leading with the crown of the helmet because that is where the protection is. Removing the helmet all together isn't a good idea either. You have 300 pound guys running at each other head first every play. Even if they stop leading with their head on hard tackles you still are going to have accidental contact between a players head and other players or bouncing off the turff that would cause concussions where they don't happen now. Those of you saying the helmets create a problem are right but taking them away creates a different problem that causes concussions. Unless we are going to change play to start with a scrum and not have downs like rugby the two don't compare well. Rugby has fewer concussions and overall injuries. But, it has a much higher rate of neck injuries and paralization. At this point I'm not sure how you fix CTE without a large advance in equipment technology or a drastic change to how the game is played.
 
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#38
#38
OP has a good point, with a little humor thrown in there. I've also had the same thought. Take a look at the helmet below. What if the plastic shield was on the outside of the bars, and extended all the way down to about where the chinstrap is? There would be nothing to grab onto to get a facemask call. By the way, I am an engineer. I get it that there is a lot of stress at times on those bars. Something on the outside would have to be durable as hell and stand up to some real pounding. In this day of material science and high strength materials, it seems there could be an acceptable solution that would keep the fingers (for the most part) out off the mask. Granted, you could still come up under the chin and grab it, but it would eliminate 90% of facemask calls. Ventilation might be an issue, but you could put enough small holes (mouth area) in there to get air, and put some more around the top and sides of the white part of the helmet to get more airflow going.

On a similar note, growing up here in Huntsville Al, back during the Apollo program, they were showing off the technology of the Apollo flight helmets. (Space and Rocket Center sometime in the late '60s) .They had one on a table with a rubber mallet (chained to the table) that you could pound on it and see the strength of it. Don't be a joker and suggest that I want us playing in those. It's about the material. I'm not suggesting we play in space helmets.

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#40
#40
I have no idea what this thread is about. Can someone please explain what the op is talking about ? Girth protruding and duck bill?
 
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