player equipment / protection
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Iam just wondering how the NFL forces their rules on player protection? Over the years the way the helmets are made have improved to absorb hard hits and contacts to the ground, etc. But at the same time, as these players are much more larger in size, as being muscled, and in shape etc, They are wearing smaller shoulder pads, and less padded equipment such as thigh pads, and knee pads.
I understand that the players want to have more mobility for better movement, and less constricting pads in their way, but, wouldn't these pads also help less injurys? Look how the players were covered in pads, from helmet to knees , arms wrapped , elbows, padded, forearms padded, and thighs and knees padded. Today they wear basic uniform pants and little to know pads on the shoulders etc.
Why cant the NFL put in place a mandatory rule that certain shoulder pads are to be issued for each team, depending on size of player and the same for other position etc. ?
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Excepting reversion to pads that would restrict players' speed and agility, the laws of physics say you can't protect players better with bigger pads.
Yes, mandating shoulder pads with more surface area "spread" the energy of the contact over a larger area, but the point of contact is not where most injuries occur. It would help with rib injuries and thigh contusions, large areas of the targeted player receiving the blow, but not smaller areas, e.g., knees and heads, since their limited size determine the area over which the force of impact is spread. In any case the full force of a collision is transferred.
Concussions? Got into this a year or so ago...
A concussion is the bruising of the brain.
Only one thing can bruise the brain... the skull.
The only way brain meets skull is when the skull accelerates (or "decelerates", which is simply negative acceleration) faster than the brain does and exceeds the capability of the head's brain suspension system. As good as helmet suspensions have gotten in keeping the skull from contacting the helmet's shell, they still simply do not sufficiently effect the skull's acceleration rate to prevent brain contact.
By penalizing contact to the head and some of the bigger acceleration change situations, e.g., defenseless receiver rules, the NFL has done about as much as it can.
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