Will football be around in 30 years?

[SCFinfan]

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2013-01-29/Super-Bowl-2013-Bernard-Pollard-Ravens-safety-NFL-will-be-extinct

Bernard Pollard has apparently said he doesn't believe the NFL can keep going, given the public revelations about the connection between the injuries NFL players sustain during their career, and CTE/depression/suicide, etc.

It's probably just fluff. After all, how long has rugby been around? It's just as violent as football, if you ask me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8v-qZFVYnc

However, given the litigiousness of our society, will the game be recognizable in 30 years? Obviously, if there's a known connection between the game as-played and some sort of psycho-somatic issue, then, the owners/league will just be asking for generation upon generation of negligence suits - even more so, given the KNOWN risk, possibly intentional tort suits, etc.

That said, how will the game change? How can it? Is the only option to go out of business?

[Dave Gray]

I think that they may further outlaw "hitting".  Tackling will have to be done by wrapping people up, not just by smacking them and making them fall over. 

[Thundergod]

Goodell can always impliment Pro Bowl rules... oh wait.   

The NFL will be around, but yeah, it'll continue to change. Hopefully it doesn't continue to get worse.

[CF DolFan]

I like Jim Harbaugh's response when asked about Obama's claim he wouldn't let his son play football ...

“Well, I have a four-month, almost five-month old son, Jack Harbaugh, and if President Obama feels that way, then there will be a little bit less competition for Jack Harbaugh when he gets old,” Jim Harbaugh said.

Jim Harbaugh then offered a very early scouting report on his infant.

“He is a really big kid. He has an enormous head. We don’t have a forty(-yard dash time) on him yet, but his wingspan is plus one and as soon as he grows into that head, he is going to be something," he said. "It’s early, but expectations are high for young Jack.”

[Sunstroke]

^^^ Have to admit that I laughed my butt off when I read that earlier. I love Harbaugh, and think he's the best thing to happen to the 49ers in a very long time.

[dolphins4life]

One change I think they should start with is to mandate that everybody wear certain pads.  People are taking pads off their legs to move faster.  Every player in the NFL should be required to wear knee, thigh, and hip pads.  That would certainly help.

[Dave Gray]

I think that technology needs to improve to better helmets, rules need to continue to evolve, and waiting periods for injuries will need to be mandated.  And the dialogue needs to be more open, which is already happening.

[Phishfan]

I think that technology needs to improve to better helmets,

The only helmet improvement they can make to ease these head injuries is to go back to leather ones. The injury isn't because the shell of the helmet is inadequate, it comes from the brain rumbling around in your skull. They need to quit using the head as a weapon or a target.

[Landshark]

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/story/2013-01-29/Super-Bowl-2013-Bernard-Pollard-Ravens-safety-NFL-will-be-extinct

Bernard Pollard has apparently said he doesn't believe the NFL can keep going, given the public revelations about the connection between the injuries NFL players sustain during their career, and CTE/depression/suicide, etc.

It's probably just fluff. After all, how long has rugby been around? It's just as violent as football, if you ask me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8v-qZFVYnc

However, given the litigiousness of our society, will the game be recognizable in 30 years? Obviously, if there's a known connection between the game as-played and some sort of psycho-somatic issue, then, the owners/league will just be asking for generation upon generation of negligence suits - even more so, given the KNOWN risk, possibly intentional tort suits, etc.

That said, how will the game change? How can it? Is the only option to go out of business?

Funny how nobody cared about all this back in the days.

[srt8]

It's football, it's a violent dangerous sport. They get severely and utterly overpaid and in return they put their body on the line. Some of the rules that have been implemented have already seriously impacted the quality of the game. I say go back to the rules of the 80s and be done with it, but that ain't gonna happen. Instead of these gradual changes. Why don't we just make the NFL 100% sissified and make it a flag football league with no hitting allowed whatsoever. It won't be worth watching in a few years anyhow.

[bsmooth]

Do what Ditka suggested and take the bars off the helmet. That will make people think twice before leading with their helmet.
Also you can blame NFL Films for such wonders as Crunch Course which encouraged players to go for the big hit to become famous. The big hitters are always remembered, but how many of the players who were really good tacklers.

[Dolphin-UK]

Simple solution, remove the pads and helmet!

Rugby players show that you can make form tackles without lots of padding and stop a player in his tracks.

The high impact nature of the sport is purely down to the speed at which they can make contact, which removes any element of injury risk to the person making contract.

It would reduce contact speeds immediately making it safer for the "defenseless receiver" again it's possible to tackle without hurting yourself. It would also increase peripheral vision so the blindside QB hits would be reduced.

It remove the need for pads in training camp and the infamous Oklahoma drills, yeah you'll still get concussions occasionally but they will be much lower risk.

AND, because you're now looking for a form tackle rather than hurling the body at a players legs (because that will now hurt!) the knee and ankle injuries will reduce too

BUT, this assumes the NFL is about the plays, the passing, the running, the tactics and not about delivering knockout hits which look good on TV.