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View Full Version : Inside Slant: Re-imagining NFL helmets



Ravage!!!
04-24-2014, 10:22 AM
http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/124602/inside-slant-re-imagining-nfl-helmets

"...The photo shows that an SG helmet appears similar to standard models. But carbon Kevlar is by definition a lighter material, and the weight of an SG helmet is between 2.4 and 2.6 pounds for adults and 1.8 pounds for youth. A standard football helmet weighs between 4 and 6 pounds.

"It's raw physics," Simpson said. "You remember force equals mass times acceleration? If you have less mass, the force of the blow to the head from the collision is going to be lower..."

"...These numbers point SG in the right direction, and its innovation has entered the market at a time when the politics of brain equipment are changing in the NFL. Players have always been allowed to wear any helmet approved by the NOCSAE, but an exclusive contract between the league and Riddell made its helmets the default selection of many. If a player used another brand, that company's logo could not be visible.

The league terminated that deal in the fall, disassociating itself with the idea of endorsing a helmet of any kind...."

OrangeHoof
04-24-2014, 12:56 PM
I've said for years the technology of football helmets is lacking what it could be and needs an overhaul. Protecting the brain is becoming a greater emphasis (as it needs to be) and I believe the helmets ought to be at least as safe as the ones NASCAR uses.

BroncoWave
04-24-2014, 05:33 PM
It seems to me like a no-brainer that any player would choose this helmet, even if the NFL doesn't give it an exclusive deal. Why would you not want your gear to weigh a couple of pounds less? Probably makes you move a little quicker and if this article is correct, it makes you safer as well. I think any player would be an idiot not to switch to a helmet like this.

Ravage!!!
04-24-2014, 05:50 PM
It seems to me like a no-brainer that any player would choose this helmet, even if the NFL doesn't give it an exclusive deal. Why would you not want your gear to weigh a couple of pounds less? Probably makes you move a little quicker and if this article is correct, it makes you safer as well. I think any player would be an idiot not to switch to a helmet like this.

well.. if you look at the "poster" in the article, it lists 18 helmets that the players can use.... and there are several that have a 5 star rating as opposed to this particular one that has a 4 star rating. So that could be a reason I might choose another helmet over this one.

Simple Jaded
04-24-2014, 11:08 PM
Michael Sam your tennis helmet can't have any unauthorized logos, mmkay?

HORSEPOWER 56
04-25-2014, 06:31 AM
Helmet technology is all well and good and anything that improves safety and performance is a good thing, but no matter how "light" or less massive you make the helmets, you're really not going to make much of a dent in the desired goal of reducing concussions and brain injuries.

Helmets protect the SKULL from fracture, not so much the brain from impact. Concussions come from the brain impacting the inside of the skull during a collision. Short of having a ridiculously padded helmet that actually slows down the momentum of the head and therefore the brain during impact, there really isn't much a helmet will do to stop concussions during violent impacts. I understand a less massive helmet will hit with less force which is better for the person being hit, but it really won't help the hitter all that much.

Ravage!!!
04-25-2014, 01:22 PM
Helmet technology is all well and good and anything that improves safety and performance is a good thing, but no matter how "light" or less massive you make the helmets, you're really not going to make much of a dent in the desired goal of reducing concussions and brain injuries.

Helmets protect the SKULL from fracture, not so much the brain from impact. Concussions come from the brain impacting the inside of the skull during a collision. Short of having a ridiculously padded helmet that actually slows down the momentum of the head and therefore the brain during impact, there really isn't much a helmet will do to stop concussions during violent impacts. I understand a less massive helmet will hit with less force which is better for the person being hit, but it really won't help the hitter all that much.

Well, the article did show stats that playrs that use the new helmets do cut the concussions down to about half compared to the stats of those that don't use them. Not to mention, it DOES talk about the weight being a very large contributor to the cause of concussions as the majority of them are from rotational energy....something in which the weight has a direct relation to.

G_Money
04-25-2014, 03:42 PM
There's a guy who made a helmet of separate plates that can soften impact. There's a thing called "ProCap" that was actually being used in pro football briefly in the 90s by a few guys that reduced concussions. You can read about that (and the NFL's desire to make Riddell the King of Everything right here (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-18/helmets-preventing-concussion-seen-quashed-by-nfl-riddell.html)).

You CAN slow the head's sudden stop in certain situations, certainly in helmet-to-helmet and helmet-to-ground collisions. Most football helmet designs choose not to. It's EASIER not to.

The bigger problem is whether so-called micro concussions are just as bad. Because as you were indicating, there's nothing you can do to completely stop the brain from sloshing into the skull wall when two guys slam into each other at full speed. If it comes out that there's nothing to be done, football will cease to be the most popular sport in America, because kids won't be able to get the health wavers to play the sport all across the country any more.

But in the meantime, I'm glad the league let go of their helmet exclucivity preferences and is letting the best helmet win. That's better for the players in the short term, certainly.

~G