Probably the Dumbest Rule Ever Made

[Eric]

It's been probably 15 games into the season and I'm already completely sick of the "no helmet" rule (lose your helmet, sit out the next play). What really is the point? I just saw Alex Carder of Western Michigan lose his helmet as he was going down to the ground and he wasn't at risk at any point. The helmet came off at the very end of the play, but he had to come off to the sidelines. Could you imagine in a big game this year if a player lost his lid at the very end of a play in the most fluky way imaginable and now it's 4th down and you're playing with your backup QB? This rule is absolutely ridiculous.

[Eric]

And also as an addendum, I hate the new kickoff rule. It completely takes the kickoff out of the game (unless you have Buffalo's kicker who can't kick it out of the endzone). Georgia took one back today, but I imagine that will be one of the very, very few big plays we see all year on kickoffs. All they really need to do is keep the 25-yard-line rule and that way you could at least theoretically still see the kick return be a part of the game.

[Derek]

There was a guy from Buffalo that lost his helmet today, don't know if they sent him to the sidelines or not.

It does seem kinda silly.

I do, however, look forward to the day when we no longer keep score. Or we play 2 hand touch. Whichever comes first.

[Vileborg]

It's a product of using loose helmets. Guy got hit without his helmet today and had to have stitches.

[armchairqb]

And also as an addendum, I hate the new kickoff rule. It completely takes the kickoff out of the game (unless you have Buffalo's kicker who can't kick it out of the endzone). Georgia took one back today, but I imagine that will be one of the very, very few big plays we see all year on kickoffs. All they really need to do is keep the 25-yard-line rule and that way you could at least theoretically still see the kick return be a part of the game.

I really hate the kickoff rule. Why should college ball have to do that simply because the NFL does it?

[Vileborg]

It's because everybody is getting sued. Concussions used to be part of the game. The tough survived and the game went on.

The game is getting soft because the people who aren't built to play are getting hurt and suing.

If it keeps happening we'll be watching flag football in full body armor.

[donovan]

I don't like the kickoff rule.....for all the reasons stated and 27 more.

The helmet rule is much more complicated. We talked about this for a couple of years. But there are a couple of issues that I think the facts bare out, and I personally believe.

1. The helmets come off in almost every case because the players have altered or not put them on correctly, they do this intentionally for several reasons.

2. Padding and helmets is what allows heavy contact. It is what makes players invincible in their own mind. Play without pads or helmets and hitting is altogether different. Nobody with out pads plows into someone when it is going to hurt you as much as them.

3. If you want football to be like it use to be....then I think you need a little study on the history of football injuries...it is not a pretty picture.

4. Because it is equipment failure, that is the rule, sit out the play. No different than any other equipment failure.

5. Like everything the NCAA does, the rule has all kinds of ambiguity in it. The ten second penalty, the helmet coming off because of a penalty.....It gets written so it is just one more thing that is unclear and unenforceable...but the key is, buckle up your helmet and they will not come off....

Way to go Derek......maybe the officials should wear helmets.

[WoVeU]

Men always have to tinker..and they do so at a clip that out performs their thinker!

Some kids will figure out that you can pile on, unsnap and remove another kid's helmet and this will become a strategical tactic.

[billybud]

I noticed in a game..that the tacklers grabbed the opposing player around the head and pulled off his helmet twice...making the starting QB leave the field for a play each time....not a bad strategy.

[WoVeU]

I noticed in a game..that the tacklers grabbed the opposing player around the head and pulled off his helmet twice...making the starting QB leave the field for a play each time....not a bad strategy.

Yep...saw it once, and was in the kitchen when I heard what sounded like another play that could have been the case again. (Don't recall what game it was.)

*I don't know beyond HS football, but heads come in many different shapes and I have seen equipment personnel try repeatedly to get a helmet that stays on some kids head better to very little avail. I have seen some college player's helmet come off 5 or 6 times in a game! I think we are looking squarely at a rule that will play a role in the outcome of several games.

[donovan]

I am hardly the defender of modern day football....and I think Mr. Billybud is right, people will figure out a way to use anything to their advantage and will be coached to do so...but the helmet issue is not just a case of ill fitting helmets and kids not putting them on right. Read about this whole issue. Every kid has a custom fitted helmet....brain concussions are real. Jarring the gray matter against the skull is not the best thing to do. Not sure we want our kids playing football to be like so many boxers. Helmets, I believe, to the greatest extent, come off for the reason Mr. Billybud stated or kids intentionally do not put them on correctly.

Maybe we should ban protective cups for linemen and catchers...they should just cowboy up.

[Derek]

I don't like the kickoff rule.....for all the reasons stated and 27 more.

The helmet rule is much more complicated. We talked about this for a couple of years. But there are a couple of issues that I think the facts bare out, and I personally believe.

1. The helmets come off in almost every case because the players have altered or not put them on correctly, they do this intentionally for several reasons.

2. Padding and helmets is what allows heavy contact. It is what makes players invincible in their own mind. Play without pads or helmets and hitting is altogether different. Nobody with out pads plows into someone when it is going to hurt you as much as them.

3. If you want football to be like it use to be....then I think you need a little study on the history of football injuries...it is not a pretty picture.

4. Because it is equipment failure, that is the rule, sit out the play. No different than any other equipment failure.

5. Like everything the NCAA does, the rule has all kinds of ambiguity in it. The ten second penalty, the helmet coming off because of a penalty.....It gets written so it is just one more thing that is unclear and unenforceable...but the key is, buckle up your helmet and they will not come off....

Way to go Derek......maybe the officials should wear helmets.

Yeah, I remember that. They took that ref to the locker room for some testing. Not sure what happened with it.

There was a collective..."ouch"

[WoVeU]

donovan I do not mean to imply I am not in favor of the rule...I just think it may need a kick stand or 2 to keep it propped up. Some judgment needs to be applied with this. Not that the ref can readily wave of sitting out a play. But they need to be watching for foul play...and flag it if it should happen. Moreover, film needs to be reviewed if this happens more than twice a game or so...and punish those who purpose to remove a helmet.

In addition, 1 play doesn't mean a whole lot in and to itself. This should also require an examination after the series, and perhaps another. Due to the onset of symptoms often being delayed.

[billybud]

I. too, am all for helmet safety. In my very varied career, I spent a couple of years as a member of the Florida Rehabilitation Council and I was also appointed to a leadership role at a government agency under which the state's traumatic brain injury rehabilitation program was assigned. I saw the consequences of brain injury.

Unlike losing a limb, a traumatic brain injury can take what is essential from you..."you". With a loss in IQ, changes in personality, limitations in ability to communicate and other assorted consequences, it is a most heinous of injuries.

I ride a Harley..and I wear a helmet. And, I am sure, that my riding buddies widely reviled me when I was lobbying on behalf of Florida's helmet law.

But...sports are what they are. We could stop playing them...and I could stop riding my Harley brcause of the increased risk. Ain't happening.

Let's talk about the fact that the average life expectancy for a NFL offensive lineman is sixty years. While the exact reasons for the much shorter than normal life expectancy are being debated...the growing number of guys plumping up past 300 pounds surely has something to do with it.

What do we do? Make a rule like boy's football? Limit players to 250 pounds?