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Obviously NFL player safety is important, but I am much more worried about youth players and people who will never get to the NFL. This is why companies like h

Obviously NFL player safety is important, but I am much more worried about youth players and people who will never get to the NFL. This is why companies like http://brainsentry.com/ http://brainsentry.com/ need to get more exposure. [added] Brain Sentry makes sensors for youth programs to detect big hits. Obviously this isn't exactly what the author was referring to, but is a great first step.

HarryHirsch 14y ago
A technical solution to a social problem. It never works. You'd hope they take away the players' helmets so the company can go bankrupt in peace.
- JulieM 14y ago
  The whole point is to be able to keep playing the game, but make it safer. Tech can help identify the players who should be checked for a concussion and get those players off the field. Players don't report their symptoms so the technology enhances overall awareness of the topic (helping the social problem) while adding an extra set of eyes on the field (tech component).
  - HarryHirsch 14y ago
    Everyone knows what repeated concussions do to a fellow - boxer dementia is age-old - there are regulations against fielding concussed players, yet athletes play on, out of a sense of team spirit, or something. If players and coaches don't go by the information they already have, what will cause them to listen to an electronic box? This does not seem the way forward. Since it's impossible to fight team spirit the rules need changing.
    - wtvanhest 14y ago
      If I understand you correctly, you are saying that it is clear when people have concussions and that players simply disregard the advice of coaches and play anyway. 1) "It is not always easy to know if someone has a concussion. You don't have to pass out (lose consciousness) to have a concussion." http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/traumatic-brain-injury-concussion-overview http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/traumatic-brain-injury-concuss... "Since it's impossible to fight team spirit the rules need changing." I agree, by using a G meter, we can make a specific rule that if a player's head experiences a set number of G's, the player can no longer play. That basically simplifies the entire situation because it removes the subjectivity of detecting the concussion. If I had a kid, and they wanted to play football I would want him wearing a g meter to protect my kid.
      - HarryHirsch 14y ago
        At present you have the rules of the game and the helmets and padding, which encourage concussions, and they you put another device on top of that, in order to limit them. That doesn't sound as if it would lead anywhere, and past experience has shown that the evolutionary path the game has taken did nothing to improve safety, Better helmets have made the concussion problem worse. I'm not comfortable with this approach, it would be better to discourage hard hits altogether instead of limiting them with a g-meter.
VLM 14y ago
That's an interesting complicated technical solution to a simple problem with a simple solution. The simple solution is a can of spray paint. The other teams's helmet color shows up on you, and you get (insert appropriate penalty here). I used to be a big fan of the game back in the 90s but I got bored because its not a very deep game. Oh, its got some interesting depth, just not much. Anyway most of the helmet smashing is pointless offensive / defensive line stuff, mutually assured destruction basically, and sacking the QB. Some simple rule changes wouldn't fundamentally change the overall game while eliminating 99% of the head smashing. For example, what if sacking the QB causes a penalty on the defense instead of (typically) a loss of offensive possession? Obviously you'll need to prevent hacks to the system like no forward progress is allowed by the QB. Also no forward progress is allowed by the center sneaking a yard or two. Ta da I think you've just eliminated probably around 90%+ of serious brain damage right there. Maybe more. There are of course alternatives to my rule suggestions. Something like tag football can still be exciting if applied properly. One interesting option is weight limits. Fine, smash into each other, but no 350 pound linemen anymore... we'll go with featherweights. Another interesting option is as any kid who played informally at a park knows, fewer players on the field makes it more of a running game than a brutal smashing game. What it you simply had no linemen at all and just had people running around like sprinters?

HarryHirsch 14y ago

A technical solution to a social problem. It never works. You'd hope they take away the players' helmets so the company can go bankrupt in peace.

JulieM 14y ago
The whole point is to be able to keep playing the game, but make it safer. Tech can help identify the players who should be checked for a concussion and get those players off the field. Players don't report their symptoms so the technology enhances overall awareness of the topic (helping the social problem) while adding an extra set of eyes on the field (tech component).
- HarryHirsch 14y ago
  Everyone knows what repeated concussions do to a fellow - boxer dementia is age-old - there are regulations against fielding concussed players, yet athletes play on, out of a sense of team spirit, or something. If players and coaches don't go by the information they already have, what will cause them to listen to an electronic box? This does not seem the way forward. Since it's impossible to fight team spirit the rules need changing.
  - wtvanhest 14y ago
    If I understand you correctly, you are saying that it is clear when people have concussions and that players simply disregard the advice of coaches and play anyway. 1) "It is not always easy to know if someone has a concussion. You don't have to pass out (lose consciousness) to have a concussion." http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/traumatic-brain-injury-concussion-overview http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/traumatic-brain-injury-concuss... "Since it's impossible to fight team spirit the rules need changing." I agree, by using a G meter, we can make a specific rule that if a player's head experiences a set number of G's, the player can no longer play. That basically simplifies the entire situation because it removes the subjectivity of detecting the concussion. If I had a kid, and they wanted to play football I would want him wearing a g meter to protect my kid.
    - HarryHirsch 14y ago
      At present you have the rules of the game and the helmets and padding, which encourage concussions, and they you put another device on top of that, in order to limit them. That doesn't sound as if it would lead anywhere, and past experience has shown that the evolutionary path the game has taken did nothing to improve safety, Better helmets have made the concussion problem worse. I'm not comfortable with this approach, it would be better to discourage hard hits altogether instead of limiting them with a g-meter.

VLM 14y ago

That's an interesting complicated technical solution to a simple problem with a simple solution. The simple solution is a can of spray paint. The other teams's helmet color shows up on you, and you get (insert appropriate penalty here). I used to be a big fan of the game back in the 90s but I got bored because its not a very deep game. Oh, its got some interesting depth, just not much. Anyway most of the helmet smashing is pointless offensive / defensive line stuff, mutually assured destruction basically, and sacking the QB. Some simple rule changes wouldn't fundamentally change the overall game while eliminating 99% of the head smashing. For example, what if sacking the QB causes a penalty on the defense instead of (typically) a loss of offensive possession? Obviously you'll need to prevent hacks to the system like no forward progress is allowed by the QB. Also no forward progress is allowed by the center sneaking a yard or two. Ta da I think you've just eliminated probably around 90%+ of serious brain damage right there. Maybe more. There are of course alternatives to my rule suggestions. Something like tag football can still be exciting if applied properly. One interesting option is weight limits. Fine, smash into each other, but no 350 pound linemen anymore... we'll go with featherweights. Another interesting option is as any kid who played informally at a park knows, fewer players on the field makes it more of a running game than a brutal smashing game. What it you simply had no linemen at all and just had people running around like sprinters?