no more nfl within 30 years?

so predicts ravens safety bernard. and i'm beginning to agree that is the direction we're headed:

http://tracking.si.com/2013/01/28/bernard-pollard-nfl-future-ravens-super-bowl-safety-head-injuries-nfl/?sct=uk_t2_a5

what does the rest of the class think? ??? ??? ???

 

I thought it was an interesting concept and I could potentially see it if he changed it to "no more NFL as we know it."

But I doubt these owners (and the governments that funded their stadiums) are going to let their billions of dollars worth of value just float away.

 

Great there goes my PSL "investment"

 

I don't think that at all... I think they're already being smarter about not letting guys play until they are cleared to come back after a concussion. Very little is said about how many of the guys are wearing different helmets and guys are starting to wear helmets that actually fit, which few did for awhile.

Adjustments will be made. I think within five years the helmets they wear will be dramatically different than what they've had over the past decade.

They'll also continue to enforce the penalties for helmet-to-helmet and leading with the head and while that won't eliminate concussions, it will gradually reduce them.

 

Thirty years is a really long time. Think of how much the world has changed in the last decade.

So, yes, I definitely could see the NFL as we know it gone in 30 years, and maybe even gone period.

I think the smart people in the NFL *get* how much of a threat they're under, which is why they're doing everything in their power to save their billions of dollars in investments.

 

The NFL will peak ... and that opens the door for Roller Derby at long last.

 

Whatever progress has been made on that front has been completely undermined by the Alex Smith situation. Players just aren't going to be honest anymore, and unless a guy's eyes roll back in his head he's going to say "I'm fine, Coach."

 

Add in the Greg McElroy story. He got a concussion in Chargers game ( no wonder 12 sacks) and tried to hide it from the coaches but by Thursday of following week he came to his senses and let the coaches know that he could not play against the Bills in final game.

I think what you are going to see is that the NFL talent pool is going to become even more regional and minority driven.

 

That's why you take it out of their hands. If a guy takes a hit and he shows any signs of being unsteady on his feet, he comes out and the medical staff tests him.

What needs to end is guys who are clearly showing signs of concussions being allowed right back in. During the 2010 season opener, the Eagles let Kevin Kolb and Stewart Bradley return even after suffering concussions. Bradley staggered and fell over coming off the field and those idiots let him return to play.

The Browns did the same thing with Colt McCoy in 2011. It wasn't to hard to spot at all, but the training staff checked his hand injury, but not his head. Those things can't happen and the league needs to start enforcing the rules against the teams as well as the players.

 

Did you just start watching pro sports this year?

Pro athletes have never been honest about being ok to play. The first answer is always some variation of "I'm ready to go."

 

When I was a teenager in the 1960s, my favorite sport was automobile racing. Then I drifted away from it. There were just too many deaths.
Automobile racing is infinitely safer today than it was back then and efforts to make it safer are extensive and ongoing. The NFL has just begun to recognize the safety issue that threatens its existence, let alone deal with it, but it's a huge, wealthy organization with the resources to address the issue and mitigate the game's risks to an acceptable level as far as the public, especially juries, is concerned.

 

It's not the safety factor that has killed boxing. Heck, Benny Paret died on national TV. Rather, it's putting every big event on PPV, having multiple titles, and the corruption factor that has killed boxing.

If the NFL put the Super Bowl on PPV, had five teams claim to be the Super Bowl champion, have the Jaguars be the "interim champion" and had Goodell reverse the score of some games, they'd be destroyed too.

I think the league will still be around, but it'll be more safer. They'll use foam helmets, and much softer pads.