2011 - 20?? Bears Offseason(s) Thread

[Quality Start Machine]

First Campana and now Johnny Knox. Sad, sad week for the meatbreathers.

Feel sad for Johnny Knox and the way his career ended. Terrible, terrible injury.

It may have ended his career, but given what we now know about CTE and brain injuries, it may have extended his life.

Not to worry. The only thing we all belong to is on the case, and will help eliminate the scourge that is tackle football.

Intrepid Reader: Deion Sanders

Tackling is overrated.

[R-V]

First Campana and now Johnny Knox. Sad, sad week for the meatbreathers.

Feel sad for Johnny Knox and the way his career ended. Terrible, terrible injury.

It may have ended his career, but given what we now know about CTE and brain injuries, it may have extended his life.

Not to worry. The only thing we all belong to is on the case, and will help eliminate the scourge that is tackle football.

Intrepid Reader: Deion Sanders

Tackling is overrated.

From TJ's link:

While scientists in recent years have found evidence of lasting neurological damage in some people who suffered football-related concussions, skeptics say the links have yet to be proved definitively.

Great reporting there, Tribune. Mayhaps you could tell us who these unnamed skeptics are and the basis for their skepticism?

[CBStew]

First Campana and now Johnny Knox. Sad, sad week for the meatbreathers.

Feel sad for Johnny Knox and the way his career ended. Terrible, terrible injury.

It may have ended his career, but given what we now know about CTE and brain injuries, it may have extended his life.

Not to worry. The only thing we all belong to is on the case, and will help eliminate the scourge that is tackle football.

Intrepid Reader: Deion Sanders

Tackling is overrated.

From TJ's link:

While scientists in recent years have found evidence of lasting neurological damage in some people who suffered football-related concussions, skeptics say the links have yet to be proved definitively.

Great reporting there, Tribune. Mayhaps you could tell us who these unnamed skeptics are and the basis for their skepticism?

They wanted to remain anonymous so that they would not be distracted from their Global Warming denial research.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

First Campana and now Johnny Knox. Sad, sad week for the meatbreathers.

Feel sad for Johnny Knox and the way his career ended. Terrible, terrible injury.

It may have ended his career, but given what we now know about CTE and brain injuries, it may have extended his life.

Not to worry. The only thing we all belong to is on the case, and will help eliminate the scourge that is tackle football.

This country used to be free.

[Gilgamesh]

First Campana and now Johnny Knox. Sad, sad week for the meatbreathers.

Feel sad for Johnny Knox and the way his career ended. Terrible, terrible injury.

It may have ended his career, but given what we now know about CTE and brain injuries, it may have extended his life.

Not to worry. The only thing we all belong to is on the case, and will help eliminate the scourge that is tackle football.

Honestly, if potential football players (or their parents) at all levels are appraised of the potential neurological effects of tackle football at pretty much every stage, and they still go ahead and play, I really don't care.

I wouldn't propose limiting practices, as this bill does, but informing players seems to be appropriate, no?

[Quality Start Machine]

First Campana and now Johnny Knox. Sad, sad week for the meatbreathers.

Feel sad for Johnny Knox and the way his career ended. Terrible, terrible injury.

It may have ended his career, but given what we now know about CTE and brain injuries, it may have extended his life.

Not to worry. The only thing we all belong to is on the case, and will help eliminate the scourge that is tackle football.

Honestly, if potential football players (or their parents) at all levels are appraised of the potential neurological effects of tackle football at pretty much every stage, and they still go ahead and play, I really don't care.

I wouldn't propose limiting practices, as this bill does, but informing players seems to be appropriate, no?

How hard does she think players tackle teammates in practice anyway?

[J. Walter Weatherman]

How hard does she think players tackle teammates in practice anyway?

From the damn article itself...

But one Purdue University study last year cast a spotlight on practice.

Researchers at the Purdue Neurotrauma Group attached sensors to the helmets of high school players and found that some athletes absorbed dozens of blows to the head per week.

Eric Nauman, a mechanical engineering professor who is part of the group, said players who took the most hits performed the worst on cognitive tests. It remains unclear if those effects could pose larger problems later in life, but he said eliminating some contact is a good idea.

"It would be huge," he said. "Most of the hits kids take are in practice."

To the Google machine...

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2012/120202NaumanFootball.html

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A two-year study of high school football players suggests that concussions are likely caused by many hits over time and not from a single blow to the head, as commonly believed.

Purdue University researchers have studied football players for two seasons at Jefferson High School in Lafayette, Ind., where 21 players completed the study the first season and 24 the second season, including 16 repeating players.

Helmet-sensor impact data from each player were compared with brain-imaging scans and cognitive tests performed before, during and after each season.

"The most important implication of the new findings is the suggestion that a concussion is not just the result of a single blow, but it's really the totality of blows that took place over the season," said Eric Nauman, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and an expert in central nervous system and musculoskeletal trauma. "The one hit that brought on the concussion is arguably the straw that broke the camel's back."

...

Findings, detailed in a paper to appear online in the Journal of Biomechanics, are contrary to conventional thinking.

"Most clinicians would say that if you don't have any concussion symptoms you have no problems," said Larry Leverenz, an expert in athletic training and a clinical professor of health and kinesiology. "However, we are finding that there is actually a lot of change, even when you don't have symptoms."

...

The research may help to determine how many blows it takes to cause impairment, which could lead to safety guidelines on limiting the number of hits a player receives per week.

"Any change in fMRI data is a concern, but we don't yet know what these changes mean, what they translate to, in terms of cognitive impairment," Breedlove said.

A common assumption in sports medicine is that certain people are innately more susceptible to head injury. However, the new findings suggest the number of hits received during the course of a season is the most important factor, Talavage said.

"Over the two seasons we had six concussed players, but 17 of the players showed brain changes even though they did not have concussions," Talavage said. "There is good correlation with the number of hits players received, but we need more subjects."

...

Players in the study received from 200 to nearly 1,900 hits to the head in a single season, with two players exceeding 1,800 hits. Helmet-sensor data indicated impact forces to the head ranged from 20 Gs to more than 100 Gs.

"The worst hit we've seen was almost 300 Gs," Nauman said.

A soccer player "heading" a ball experiences an impact of about 20 Gs.

...

[R-V]

First Campana and now Johnny Knox. Sad, sad week for the meatbreathers.

Feel sad for Johnny Knox and the way his career ended. Terrible, terrible injury.

It may have ended his career, but given what we now know about CTE and brain injuries, it may have extended his life.

Not to worry. The only thing we all belong to is on the case, and will help eliminate the scourge that is tackle football.

Honestly, if potential football players (or their parents) at all levels are appraised of the potential neurological effects of tackle football at pretty much every stage, and they still go ahead and play, I really don't care.

I wouldn't propose limiting practices, as this bill does, but informing players seems to be appropriate, no?

How hard does she think players tackle teammates in practice anyway?

I'm just a knuckle dragging Peorian, but some pretty hard hitting went on in our practices.

(I'm mostly just trolling for more high school anecdotes from Yeti)

[flannj]

A soccer player "heading" a ball experiences an impact of about 20 Gs.

Intrepid Reader: Fork

"Soccer is for fags"

[Quality Start Machine]

I dunno...every skill player we had wore a yellow "non contact" pullover. We'd just wrap and the coach would blow a whistle. Of course, it was hard to tackle back when we played with onions on our belts.

[CBStew]

Since they started requiring college players who lose their helmets to sit out a play I became aware of how common an occurrence it is.  Or did they recently start to design the helmets differently?

[Gilgamesh]

Since they started requiring college players who lose their helmets to sit out a play I became aware of how common an occurrence it is.  Or did they recently start to design the helmets differently?

They do have a new design from Riddel, but remember Mark Kelso from the Bills?  He had that huge helmet.

Here it is, in fact:

[Brownie]

I wouldn't propose limiting practices, as this bill does, but informing players seems to be appropriate, no?

That's all I'm saying. Are a bunch of moran state legislators of whom the vast majority supported Rod Blagojevich twice and who have yet to do anything to address the state's shit economy and albatross pension obligations really needed to tell a bunch of professional educators and parents how to do their jobs?

[Gilgamesh]

I wouldn't propose limiting practices, as this bill does, but informing players seems to be appropriate, no?

That's all I'm saying. Are a bunch of moran state legislators of whom the vast majority supported Rod Blagojevich twice and who have yet to do anything to address the state's shit economy and albatross pension obligations really needed to tell a bunch of professional educators and parents how to do their jobs?

Totally solid point.  That being said, I'm sure most of them (or some) are smart enough to multitask on legislation, but...you know, this pension shit is hard and concussions are in the news lately, so DISTRACT THE PUBLIC!!!

In all seriousness, I question whether football will look anything like what we see today in the next 15 or 20 years.  As the issue of long-term brain injuries come into focus (and not just the singular "concussion issue"), how many parents are going to be willing to allow their kids to play football?  If kids lose interest at the younger ages that cuts off the feeder high schools, which in turn cuts off college football, and then the NFL. 

Or will the various levels of football just have to come out and say this is a dangerous sport, this is what can happen to you (that science knows so far), and you need to sign this, this, and that before you can play?

[Oleg]

Rolling Stone had a great article about high school players who suffered concussions and one (they mention a couple more) who died when he was 17 from a hit.  The article is not available online but I can lend you my magazine if you want to stop by and pick it up.  Caveat: Needless to say, it's been in the bathroom with me.

Basically, the issue isn't just the blows to the head but also the underdeveloped brain, brain stem, and spine (the nervous system as a whole) of the dudes who are not yet adults.

There is just simply no good reason to allow kids to play tackle football.  It's really scary shit.  When I think about headaches I'd sometimes get after tackling drills...scares the piss out of me. /Forkstory