Tyriq Harris

Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103
7/14/2015
How to Decrease the Number of Injuries within the NFL (National Football League)
To understand how to treat an injury and prevent it, one must first learn about the injury
itself. One of the major injuries in todays game being, concussions. Concussions are an injury
that is caused by a violent shake, or trauma to the head. A concussion is your brain hitting to hard
against your skull, this can be caused by sports, or just everyday activity such as walking and
tripping. Concussions happen to be the leading major injury in the NFL today (bostick).
Most people think that concussions are relatively minor today because theyre frequently
occurring injuries however, this isnt the case. Many people have been seriously injured due to
these concussions. Two major NFL players recently have decided to walk away from the game
because of the trauma they received from concussions. Those players being Chris Borland and
Anthony Davis. They felt the game was bearing too hard on their bodies and decided it was
better for them to have just left the game. This is part of the game that is very dangerous. While
there are other injuries that do happen, concussions are the biggest. That is why the NFL is trying
to increase safety.
In fact, the NFL has already issued some rule changes so that the game will become much
safer than it is now. The NFL has been changing rules for quite some time now, since the 1920s
in fact. However, as of 2010 theyve been really attempting to create a safer playing environment

for their players. For example in 2010 the NFL defined that it is illegal to hit a defenseless
player as a defender with their helmet, forearm, or should (Evolution of the Rules). In 2011 a
very controversial rule was made. They moved the kickoff line from the 30 yard line to the 35
yard line. Now, to most this may seem like a very miniscule change in the game, however it
greatly impacted the NFL. The reason being most kickers are by this point used to kicking it 70
yard into the opposite end zone. However with this change it resulted it many touchbacks. The
reasoning for this is that with more touchbacks it doesnt allow for as much contact as before
with kickoffs. Kickoffs is more than likely the most dangerous play in all of football. The reason
being its two teams in the beginning of the game running full speed right at each other trying to
make a play. Just by changing this rules the percentage of concussions went down 40% over the
past 3 years (Chadiha).
The NFL has also created new rules for the upcoming 2015 season. These rules include
always having a medical spotter on the field at all times, so that if a player appears disoriented on
the field they have the right to stop the game and retrieve the player. While doing this it also
expands the principle of a defenseless player to that of a person who is the intended target of a
pass and a defender intercepts the ball and the immediate aftermath if he was target, he is
classified as a defenseless player. Then one final safety rule that if it is field goal, the defense
cant push one player into the offensive line to attempt to block the field goal this is illegal as
well (McKinney). These rules are the new rules in place to attempt to help players stay safe
while playing on the field. Is this enough however? Other ideas and proclamations are being
presented to the NFL on how to deal with the issue of safety. With new technologies and changes
to the game.

One extremely controversial part of making the game safer is the elimination of Kickoffs
from the NFL. This has been rumored for quite some time now and most people dont know
what to think of it. Current NFL players such as Montell Owens feels that its just part of the
game and it is risk that people have to be willing to take (Chadiha). However, some retired NFL
players do not feel the same way as him. For example Steve Tasker, one of the best kick
coverers in the history of the Buffalo Bills talked to a new journalist about the subject and gives
his answers to this question. I regret that some guys wont be able to experience it. But now
that Im removed from it, I understand, too, you can live without. Its just not worth it
(Battista). Agreeing with Tasker, Battista, the journalist is also for the removal of Kickoffs. They
both understand that Kickoff is a tradition of the game however most people arent ready for the
consequences that could happen on one of these kickoffs. For example Kevin Everett was a
kickoff specialist for the Bills and he suffered a severe neck injury that almost paralyzed him and
forced him to retire from the game (Brown). Though Everett hasnt reportedly said anything on
whether or not he feels kickoffs should be discontinued it is evident that seriously unfortunate
things can happen to those who do this.
Along with the controversial review of whether or not to take out kickoff from the game,
some other ideas of preventing injuries within the NFL is through upgraded helmets. Some
people agree think that through technologies such as the Guardian Cap it would be possible to
reduce the amount of head injuries. Guardian Caps are a piece of technology that takes extra
padding and allows it to be slid on top of helmets and could reduce the impact of up to 33%
(Sports). However through very research by the National Operating Committee on Standards for
Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) the tests show that these caps are just a quick solution rather
than a long term solution to multiple head injuries (sports). The dream of a concussion proof

helmet is nothing more than that, a dream. Through the laws of Physics the only way to truly
decrease the amount of force upon something is to extend the duration of the impact. Helmets
simply cannot stretch time longer than the instance of the hit so all the force is still there
(Eveleth). So with this being said, the only reasonable thing to do is to attempt to find a long
term solution to the problem. This can be found through the Heads Up program. This is a
program that unites Highschool, College, and the NFL football programs together for one cause,
to teach of a safer way to tackle and block (Heads Up Football). By doing this it allows for a
long term solution to the problem of direct head to head injury. Also throughout this program, it
teaches children of young ages to be able to tackle with the safest form possible to avoid head
injuries. This way when they get older they dont have to try and adapt to a new form of tackling/
blocking. They will have already been accustomed to it so it wont be a problem.
There is no one solution to solving the problem of injuries within the NFL. It will take a
multitude of steps, and years of hard work and development for the game to be truly safe. Even
then however the game wont be completely free of injury that is just a risk that these players
have to take. Hopefully, we can all work together to make this sport as safe as it can be.

Works Cited
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