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Ken Stabler who died recently, was just diagnosed with CTE.
This is obviously a huge problem that they need to solve very quickly. The current safety precautions aren't enough. Reported concussions nearly doubled this season in the NFL.
It seems there are some common sense solutions which would help immediately.
1. Use that helmet that Solitary Man just posted.
2. Combine that with the other helmet that has the light that goes off on the back of the helmet whenever a hit is deemed hard enough to possibly cause a concussion.
3. If that light goes off, you go to the sideline to be checked. If it goes off two or three times in a game, you're out the rest of the game. That keeps incompetent teams or coaches honest.
4. Increase the active roster size by 12-15 players a game to replace the players leaving the field.
That won't fix everything, but it can be put in place immediately before the first game next season while further advancements are studied.
The concussion light you reference is an interesting idea. But I think it would have to be coupled with penalties for an opposing team. There has to be a major incentive for the other team not to knock another team's star players out of the game. Another idea would be to go to Draconian measures in terms of anti-concussion rules. If the opponent loses a player to concussion, your equivalent player is out of the game too. We knock their #1 WR out of the game with a concussion, our #1 WR sits. I actually think this is a pretty great idea because it employs the maximum penalty possible for the opponent, is not subjective, and would create the highest possible incentive to avoid severe hits, no matter on who the hits are occurring. I wonder how I could get this idea to an NFL executive?
Maybe we should turn this thread into a 'How to eliminate concussions and save the NFL' brainstorming thread and submit our recommendations to the league?