The movie Concussions

[PAL95]

Just finished watching the movie and it was an eye opener for me having two boys that compete at a high level in football. One in college and one in highschool. They started at an early age in popwarner, but if I knew what I know now I would have let them play, but at a later age.
There have been alot more rules implemented in regards to spearing and hitting defenseless players which has helped in a way, but I would tend to see lineman having a tough time not getting helmet to helmet contact on a regular basis.
Just wanted to know thoughts on the movie if anyone has checked it out, and if you haven't, go see it.

 

[Bubba3000]

Just finished watching the movie and it was an eye opener for me having two boys that compete at a high level in football. One in college and one in highschool. They started at an early age in popwarner, but if I knew what I know now I would have let them play, but at a later age.
There have been alot more rules implemented in regards to spearing and hitting defenseless players which has helped in a way, but I would tend to see lineman having a tough time not getting helmet to helmet contact on a regular basis.
Just wanted to know thoughts on the movie if anyone has checked it out, and if you haven't, go see it.

Haven't seen the movie yet but I have always felt linemen are some of the best protected on the field from head injuries. Sure, they get plenty of helmet to helmet contact but rarely what I consider "high impact" contact like linebackers, running backs and players in the secondary get from contact via a running start.

 

[CaliTrojan4Life]

Haven't seen the movie yet but I have always felt linemen are some of the best protected on the field from head injuries. Sure, they get plenty of helmet to helmet contact but rarely what I consider "high impact" contact like linebackers, running backs and players in the secondary get from contact via a running start.

Totally agree. The first time I got my bell rung was in practice. Forget the name of the drill but it was a tackling drill where the ball carrier and tackler both lay flat on their backs facing opposite ways. As a Sophomore DB I got the courage to go against an older Senior LB that was a stud on varsity. Being the big dawg on JV prior to being moved up to varsity didn't help me against this varsity stud. He was the ball carrier and I was the tackler and when we collided helmet to helmet I instantly felt a sharp pain in my neck. I politely and slowly went to the back of the line and took a knee and never participated in that drill again. For those of you that don't have kids playing the game football is not a joke. Your whole world can change in a split second from a routine decision on any given play. With that being said, football is a lot of fun and I would play it again if I was a youngster. Just my 2 cents in regards to the movie concussion.

 

[PAL95]

Totally agree. The first time I got my bell rung was in practice. Forget the name of the drill but it was a tackling drill where the ball carrier and tackler both lay flat on their backs facing opposite ways. As a Sophomore DB I got the courage to go against an older Senior LB that was a stud on varsity. Being the big dawg on JV prior to being moved up to varsity didn't help me against this varsity stud. He was the ball carrier and I was the tackler and when we collided helmet to helmet I instantly felt a sharp pain in my neck. I politely and slowly went to the back of the line and took a knee and never participated in that drill again. For those of you that don't have kids playing the game football is not a joke. Your whole world can change in a split second from a routine decision on any given play. With that being said, football is a lot of fun and I would play it again if I was a youngster. Just my 2 cents in regards to the movie concussion.

Same thing happened to me as a freshman playing football where there were no tackling techniques told to the players by the coaches. My second day in a football helmet and pads I run around and it's a ten yard sprint and collision. I was a db also and had the ball going head up at full speed against a huge LB. We literally went straight helmet to helmet, both of us fell back after the impact and all you heard were cheers. I had a headache the rest of practice and could have easily broken my neck. I did the drill again only to use my shoulder pads and never speared on a tackle because of that moment.

 

[CaliTrojan4Life]

Same thing happened to me as a freshman playing football where there were no tackling techniques told to the players by the coaches. My second day in a football helmet and pads I run around and it's a ten yard sprint and collision. I was a db also and had the ball going head up at full speed against a huge LB. We literally went straight helmet to helmet, both of us fell back after the impact and all you heard were cheers. I had a headache the rest of practice and could have easily broken my neck. I did the drill again only to use my shoulder pads and never speared on a tackle because of that moment.

Yeah that collision definitely change the way I tackled. It was like a wake up call to be honest.

 

[Bubba3000]

Same thing happened to me as a freshman playing football where there were no tackling techniques told to the players by the coaches. My second day in a football helmet and pads I run around and it's a ten yard sprint and collision. I was a db also and had the ball going head up at full speed against a huge LB. We literally went straight helmet to helmet, both of us fell back after the impact and all you heard were cheers. I had a headache the rest of practice and could have easily broken my neck. I did the drill again only to use my shoulder pads and never speared on a tackle because of that moment.

Being a former nose tackle I never had a concussion that I know of but every injury I ever had from playing football was totally worth it. It was a privelidge to play the game and benefit from the life long friendships that came from it.

 

[Bubba3000]

Totally agree. The first time I got my bell rung was in practice. Forget the name of the drill but it was a tackling drill where the ball carrier and tackler both lay flat on their backs facing opposite ways. As a Sophomore DB I got the courage to go against an older Senior LB that was a stud on varsity. Being the big dawg on JV prior to being moved up to varsity didn't help me against this varsity stud. He was the ball carrier and I was the tackler and when we collided helmet to helmet I instantly felt a sharp pain in my neck. I politely and slowly went to the back of the line and took a knee and never participated in that drill again. For those of you that don't have kids playing the game football is not a joke. Your whole world can change in a split second from a routine decision on any given play. With that being said, football is a lot of fun and I would play it again if I was a youngster. Just my 2 cents in regards to the movie concussion.

The most brutal drill I can remember is called Bull in the Ring. I think it has been outlawed in most areas. You take a bunch of guys and assign each a number. They form a circle about ten yards in diameter and put one guy in the middle. When the coach calls out a number that guy makes a bee line as fast as he can colliding with the guy in the middle and they go at it until the whistle blows. Once the guy in middle returns to the middle the coach calls out another number and the collision is repeated. Sometimes guys were not allowed to leave the middle until they had taken on five or six different and freshly rested guys. That's about as old school as I can remember.

 

[Bluedog2]

The most brutal drill I can remember is called Bull in the Ring. I think it has been outlawed in most areas. You take a bunch of guys and assign each a number. They form a circle about ten yards in diameter and put one guy in the middle. When the coach calls out a number that guy makes a bee line as fast as he can colliding with the guy in the middle and they go at it until the whistle blows. Once the guy in middle returns to the middle the coach calls out another number and the collision is repeated. Sometimes guys were not allowed to leave the middle until they had taken on five or six different and freshly rested guys. That's about as old school as I can remember.

The Bull in the ring that I faced was a running back protected by one guard or tackle and your number would be called out and it was your job to take the running back down, but at the same time, the guard or tackle was his job to protect the running back....some times two numbers or even three would be called out if no body was taking the running back down....The circle was about 15 yards in diameter...This was not the bull in the ring that the Jr. colleges or colleges used, but the idea was to build up stamina in the effort to bring the running back down and it took every ounce of effort you had to get the job done...If after your number was called and you didn't bring the running back down...then the guard or tackle would go into a three point stance , center the ball to the running back and you would have to fight your way to reach the running back....The guys would be huffen and puffen after it was over...

 

[CaliTrojan4Life]

The most brutal drill I can remember is called Bull in the Ring. I think it has been outlawed in most areas. You take a bunch of guys and assign each a number. They form a circle about ten yards in diameter and put one guy in the middle. When the coach calls out a number that guy makes a bee line as fast as he can colliding with the guy in the middle and they go at it until the whistle blows. Once the guy in middle returns to the middle the coach calls out another number and the collision is repeated. Sometimes guys were not allowed to leave the middle until they had taken on five or six different and freshly rested guys. That's about as old school as I can remember.

Yes I remember the bull in the ring drill. Very famous drill during my pop warner days. I witness coaches allowing some of their best players knock weaker players about 20 yards outside of the bull ring circle. Kids would be wuzzy and the coach would still allow other players to knock fire from them. Don't know if you remember or participated in the drill called the train wreck. That drill would either make you or break you as a football player. The drill has two lines with the players facing each other. A player would take off on the whistle from the back of one line while another player would take off from the front of the other line. The two players would meet at full speed in the middle of the two lines and the collision would be very violent. One player is the ball carrier and the other would be the tackler.

 

[Bubba3000]

Yes I remember the bull in the ring drill. Very famous drill during my pop warner days. I witness coaches allowing some of their best players knock weaker players about 20 yards outside of the bull ring circle. Kids would be wuzzy and the coach would still allow other players to knock fire from them. Don't know if you remember or participated in the drill called the train wreck. That drill would either make you or break you as a football player. The drill has two lines with the players facing each other. A player would take off on the whistle from the back of one line while another player would take off from the front of the other line. The two players would meet at full speed in the middle of the two lines and the collision would be very violent. One player is the ball carrier and the other would be the tackler.

Yup I remember that drill too! Used to piss me off when coaches would create obvious mismatches in these types of drills good way to get guys injured. Even the talented players would get injured sometimes so what's gained?

 

[Bluedog2]

Yup I remember that drill too! Used to piss me off when coaches would create obvious mismatches in these types of drills good way to get guys injured. Even the talented players would get injured sometimes so what's gained?

The Train Wreak was brutal, we never had it, but we heard of it and several kids took a serious beating and some quit and never came back while others took a long time to recover, a real nasty drill....

 

[slick58]

Just finished watching the movie and it was an eye opener for me having two boys that compete at a high level in football. One in college and one in highschool. They started at an early age in popwarner, but if I knew what I know now I would have let them play, but at a later age.

Question, what do you know now that you didn't know before?

I need to read up on CTE. One of my sisters has cerebral palsy. That's a pretty rough brain injury in which the physical and mental effects are very noticeable. Not to be a jerk but the CTE symptoms I just looked up sound like life.

 

[Rmbr26]

I've seen the trailer & Will Smith interview so no need to see the movie. I get it as its a heavy contact sport, but wonder what the actual number of serious injuries & deaths are percentage wise to the number of players thoughout the country at all age levels. I know there are people who would refuse to let their kids play & would actualy like to see the entire sport modified/eliminated. At the same time do we limit kids from biking, skate board riding, skiing, ice skating, hockey or driving a car? Anything where your head comes into contact with possible injury becomes suspect - such as "heading" a ball in soccer.

I played FB for a number of years as a WR, KR and never any kind of concussion along with my son who was a QB in HS and never any head injuries that I'm aware of [did I mention he played 6 years of Pop Warner as well?]. My father for that matter was an all-city RB in SF when they'd get 20,000+ at Kezar for the big HS games [& dad is now in 80's and has all his "marbles"].

So is it possibly a genetic defect within some individuals makes them more suceptable? Why does a QB like Jim McMahon of the Chicago Bear's Super Bowl team end up with brain damage and RB's like Emmett Smith or Jim Brown are seemingly unscathed? My fear is that the hype and over-protectiveness of some individuals/parents could have a serious impact on the most popular sport in our country [from what I and many others derive enormous satisfaction from watching besides playing when younger].

 

[Bluedog2]

I've seen the trailer & Will Smith interview so no need to see the movie. I get it as its a heavy contact sport, but wonder what the actual number of serious injuries & deaths are percentage wise to the number of players thoughout the country at all age levels. I know there are people who would refuse to let their kids play & would actualy like to see the entire sport modified/eliminated. At the same time do we limit kids from biking, skate board riding, skiing, ice skating, hockey or driving a car? Anything where your head comes into contact with possible injury becomes suspect - such as "heading" a ball in soccer.

I played FB for a number of years as a WR, KR and never any kind of concussion along with my son who was a QB in HS and never any head injuries that I'm aware of [did I mention he played 6 years of Pop Warner as well?]. My father for that matter was an all-city RB in SF when they'd get 20,000+ at Kezar for the big HS games [& dad is now in 80's and has all his "marbles"].

So is it possibly a genetic defect within some individuals makes them more suceptable? Why does a QB like Jim McMahon of the Chicago Bear's Super Bowl team end up with brain damage and RB's like Emmett Smith or Jim Brown are seemingly unscathed? My fear is that the hype and over-protectiveness of some individuals/parents could have a serious impact on the most popular sport in our country [from what I and many others derive enormous satisfaction from watching besides playing when younger].

This movie is not drawing the following that some people thought it would bring, there are a lot of parents that could fall under" Chicken Little the sky is falling" And RMBR26 comments on his years in football I think pretty well cover what goes on....I played HS football and three years of college football as a running back and I can think of only one guy who speared another helmet to helmet and his helmet burst like an egg and he did suffer serious injuries, but doing a fool thing like that is what leads to these problems....So for one person in all the years I played ball, when you consider how many guys we see over the seasons, things happen, but this was one event that could have been avoided if the tackle went for a straight tackle...

 

[Rmbr26]

Just hapenned to think: who do i know who last had a concussion & how did it happen & was it sport related?

1] In October my brother in-law at a beach & slipped in parking lot stepping on a loose piece of wood wearing new flip-flops. Face planted breaking his nose & broken sunglasses severely cut his face. He suffered a severe concussion & spent time in Stanford once home.

2] Most serious head injury - close friend of mine slipped on a sloped mossy driveway & fell backwards hitting his head resulting in bleeding & swelling of the brain [did not survive].

In the year's I did play football no team member ever suffered a concussion I'm aware of. Certainly there could have been some or some underlying
cerebral damage of sort sort, but simply no way of knowing. Certainly there are many ways in which to hit your head on something in everyday life, but is football the villian they're making it out to be here? As you might note from the 2 examples above at least football players are wearing helmets to prevent/minimize damage to some degree.

 

[Rmbr26]

Currently listening to KNBR Sports-Talk on radio am 68 regarding movie "Concussion".

Listening to how many facts are conveniently left out of the movie. One was a long term study from 2012 in which 1,000 retired NFL players were studied. Of these former players the lifespan was actually longer than the average U.S. male and the issue of depression & anger was slightly less as well. Of significance was the fact that the incidence of suicide was no greater than the public population which I found interesting.

It was easy to look up several other independent studies such as from Harvard & Michigan state and there is a slightly higher percentage of Alzheimer's and neorological problems among former NFL players as their age increases.

 

[Bubba3000]

Currently listening to KNBR Sports-Talk on radio am 68 regarding movie "Concussion".

Listening to how many facts are conveniently left out of the movie. One was a long term study from 2012 in which 1,000 retired NFL players were studied. Of these former players the lifespan was actually longer than the average U.S. male and the issue of depression & anger was slightly less as well. Of significance was the fact that the incidence of suicide was no greater than the public population which I found interesting.

It was easy to look up several other independent studies such as from Harvard & Michigan state and there is a slightly higher percentage of Alzheimer's and neorological problems among former NFL players as their age increases.

I'm shocked to hear that NFL retirees outlive the average US male. I was always under the impression that it was a shorter lifespan.

 

[observer22]

I'm shocked to hear that NFL retirees outlive the average US male. I was always under the impression that it was a shorter lifespan.

It does make sense though. NFL players are some of the strongest and fittest people in the world. The average US male includes a large sample of sick or handicapped people who may not live past the age of 30. Maybe if you took a sample of US males who were very healthy at the age of 30 and compared that to NFL retirees, it may look quite different?

 

[Bubba3000]

It does make sense though. NFL players are some of the strongest and fittest people in the world. The average US male includes a large sample of sick or handicapped people who may not live past the age of 30. Maybe if you took a sample of US males who were very healthy at the age of 30 and compared that to NFL retirees, it may look quite different?

All good points. I think if you look at the lifespan of NFL big men you will see short lifespans

 

[observer22]

All good points. I think if you look at the lifespan of NFL big men you will see short lifespans

True, but if you compare the average NFL big man to the average US male 300 pounder they will both be very short lifespans. Some manage to stay in decent shape, but those guys are used to eating like horses and once their playing days are over it ain't pretty. Steve Wisniewski lives in Alamo and he looks great, but many others not so much.

 

[PAL95]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/former-nfl-player-regrets-playing-201247271.html

 

[Bubba3000]

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/former-nfl-player-regrets-playing-201247271.html

Figures it would be a high impact position like WR.

 

[Indianpride45]

Aw bull in the ring fond memories. I think head trauma affect everybody different. I never had a issue playing sports. However I was in a car accident where my head hit the door jam and rang my bell as they say. I was sick at my stomach, tired, forgetful, dizzy for weeks. I can see where repeating this could cause issues no doubt in people's live.

 

[1315]

Figures it would be a high impact position like WR.

B3K, even yours is not immune and thinking it's position related is a head in the sand approach.

True that Antwaan Randle El was a wide-out and wished he played baseball (although that's a concussion sport too. Personal experience-grade 3.)
Regarding CTE, "Forty percent of those who tested positive were the offensive and defensive linemen who come into contact with one another on every play of a game, according to numbers shared by the brain bank with FRONTLINE. That finding supports past research suggesting that it’s the repeat, more minor head trauma that occurs regularly in football that may pose the greatest risk to players, as opposed to just the sometimes violent collisions that cause concussions."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/a...-nfl-players-test-positive-for-brain-disease/

 

[Bubba3000]

True mine is not immune. It's football there will always be risk anytime you play, regardless of the position you play. It's the risk one takes to play they greatest team sport on the planet.