Anti-concussion Helmets

by Rudy916 on May 2, 2009 8:37 AM EDT Comment 20 comments

In one of the more recent front pages, Ron NM brought up the discussion. Some bloggers brought up the fact that the helmets looked "different/new" and it spawned that these helmets maybe the latest and greatest anti-concussive technology. I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread just for this specific topic.Here is the most recent artical I could find. I remember reading this when it came out.

The Xenith helmet artical

Also if you go to this company's website

Xenith website

Watch the video for the X1 helmet. It discusses how the technology works.

I'm not sure the NFL helmets actually use this technology, but if its one thing the NFL is good at, its spending the money to get the best technology.

This FanPost was written by a registered user of Buffalo Rumblings. Its views do not necessarily reflect the views of Rumblings' editorial staff, but are just as valued as our own.

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Great research Rudy, Rec'd

Looks like a very inovative company and a very good helmet. It seems to be popular with younger players too, especially in college.

Now I’m in no way an expert in helmets, but the science behind it seems very solid. The fact that most of our rookies are wearing it too looks good to me. Now we only need to get one to Trent.

by CanadianBillsFan on May 2, 2009 9:08 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Although if you look at the helmets that they're wearing in camp...

You’ll see that Maybin, Wood nd Levitre are wearing the Riddell equivilant of what we see here. However it appears that Nelson is wearing the Xenith helmet.

by CanadianBillsFan on May 2, 2009 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Man, it looks like it’s a little too small for his head too!

Maybin’s looks a little different, at least in the facemask, from Wood.

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on May 2, 2009 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That is one funky facemask.

by CanadianBillsFan on May 2, 2009 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybin, Wood and Levitre are wearing the Riddell Revo version of the helmet

That was the first generation Anti-Concussion helmet on the market.

As for the NFL adopting these types of helmets, they are relying on kids coming up from HS then College to be USED to wearing the new fangled gear so they ask for it when they get to the Pros. They are taking an approach similar to what the NHL did when they started mandating helmets, let the old timers who played without one do so, but make the new kids wear one.

In this case, the NFL is just letting kids personal preference and their college programs get them into the new head gear so when they reach the pros, they will ask for it and not be put off by the design. And that is in fact the SINGLE biggest stumbling block at the NFL level for anti-concussion hemlet adoption has been HOW the things look compared to the old school helmets. Even though the helmets do not fit any looser or different from the current helmets from the people I have talked too about this who wear the newer helmets, alot of older players dislike how they look, so would prefer to have a higher risk for brain trauma rather than wear the new stuff.

Hence, in a way, the NFL is using a Darwinian method of removing the older equipment from the teams hands. New kids want the new stuff, old guys want the old stuff, old guys get more concussions, have to quit football earlier, more new kids come in wanting new stuff, and away you go, soon only new stuff is wanted.

If the Bills were a drug, I could only hope they were like speed so I could lose some weight as well.

by WABillsfan on May 2, 2009 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

YES!

Get one to Trent as soon as possible. With as long as that guy holds the ball he needs one! Hopefully with the new additions that we added in the offseason he will be able to unload the ball quicker.

The time to deliver is now and if you fail to do so you will no doubt witness the consequences first hand.

by Cutter3636 on May 2, 2009 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Trent has been wearing a Revo helmet, Stanford has their whole team in those

And he has been using one since he got here. That tells you what type of shot he took though in that Arizona game to get one!

If the Bills were a drug, I could only hope they were like speed so I could lose some weight as well.

by WABillsfan on May 2, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m a fan of this one:

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on May 2, 2009 1:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Here’s the rest of the article

~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."

by Kurupt on May 2, 2009 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow that looks like one of those inflatable helmets that the fans wear in the stands!

by CanadianBillsFan on May 2, 2009 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, ummm, don't see many guys in the NFL taking the company up on that offer

Players are very conservative when it comes to their head gear choices, methinks Gladiator here has some ground to make up. They should start by offering deals to HS teams, and let the helmet demand trickle upwards into college, so when kids hit the NFL they will demand it there, and adoption across the board would be easier to have occurr.

If the Bills were a drug, I could only hope they were like speed so I could lose some weight as well.

by WABillsfan on May 2, 2009 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

are we looking at the right problem?

i look at this from a rugby perspective, where players either wear no headgear or a soft skull cap. There is no hard outer layer. Tackling in rugby is every bit as hard hitting as american football, but concussion is no more likely and long term damage less of a problem.

Maybe the hard helmet is the cause of the concussion, a soft helmet without a face gaurd would, i think, reduce the number of concussions but lead to more broken noses and missing teeth. i know which i would prefer.

A second related point is when i used to play rugby, and i think it is still true, if you suffered a concussion you could not play or do any contact training for three weeks, yet i remember Mike Shanahan being fined for telling officials during a game his QB, I cannot remember who, had a concussion instead of a separated shoulder because a separated shoulder would prevent him from returning but he could return from a concussion. Shanahan wanted to keep the opposition guessing about his plans. At the time this struck me as crazy, how could a coach or a team doctor even think about letting a concussed player return to a game.

So to recap introduce soft helmets, never going to happen, treat concussions with respect might start happening

Football. Bloody Hell!!

by gregeng on May 2, 2009 2:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If these guys went all throwback and used leather skullies, it might stop guys from leading with their heads but it wouldn’t prevent plays like the one Edwards faced, from happening.

"It's not delivery, it's DiGiorgio!"

by TheAfghanTwilight on May 3, 2009 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's what Ditka has said all along.

Nobody would lead with their heads if they were the softies.

Playing Realistic Optimist at Buffalo Rumblings since 2008. Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.

by MattRichWarren on May 4, 2009 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I play rugby

And our team hasn’t had any concussions this year and none of us even wear those thin scrum caps because they bottle up way to much heat. But the main reason I think concussions are rare in rugby is because of they way the game is played. It is tackling without pads and the hits are just as hard but you also can’t block in rugby. And rugby is a total north-south game meaning 99% of the time you know when you’re about to get tackled so you can brace yourself so no one is ever getting blind sided by a tackle or a block that would often cause the concussion

"Where else would you rather be than right here, right now?"

by ArenZimm on May 3, 2009 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pro football and Rugby?

Please take a step back from the keyboard and ask yourself if the tackling in rugby is as hard as American football. I have seen rugby and football played at all levels, from youth to pro [I lived in New Zealand for a while, (go All Blacks,)] and I can say without a doubt that the tackling is night-and-day different.

In rugby, tacklers break down to protect themselves. They don’t have pads! In American football, some of the collisions are MUCH more violent. I am surprised anyone who has played/watched much rugby and watched a few NFL games can make such a claim.

I love the sport of rugby, but the tackling is very different.

Character and Intelligence

by thurman on May 4, 2009 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would love these helmets for JV varsity football. these things are so sick.

by carlvanetten on May 2, 2009 4:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

One issue with the Galdiator I just thought of

With the Soft-Hard-Soft design, keeping those things in shape will be real tough for any HS equipment guy to do if some of those helmets take real beatings. Thats why the old hard shell helmets were so popular, they lasted for ever and could be fixed up and reused.

If the Bills were a drug, I could only hope they were like speed so I could lose some weight as well.

by WABillsfan on May 2, 2009 5:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs