Collie And Clark Test New Helmets

[chad72]

http://www.indystar.com/article/20110825/SPORTS03/108250354/Collie-teammates-test-helmet?odyssey=obinsite

[JoKeR]

Wow they are only 2 pounds. Multiple Colts might wear it.

I think players who have a history of hitting with their helmets should have to wear them.

[oldunclemark]

Wow they are only 2 pounds. Multiple Colts might wear it.

I think players who have a history of hitting with their helmets should have to wear them.

Is anyone else concerned because Collie does not discuss this issue...

...I wonder if he's afraid...

...and if so..I wonder why he's still playing...

[chad72]

Is anyone else concerned because Collie does not discuss this issue...

...I wonder if he's afraid...

...and if so..I wonder why he's still playing...

If something traumatic enough happens in your life, would you want someone to bring it up over and over again and/or would you want to talk about it over and over again?

[JoKeR]

He's being proactive and smart.

[21isSuperman]

Whatever helps to keep them healthy, I'm for it

[Megan]

Interesting. Clark loves this one and he had already been wearing a different helmet designed to reduce impact/cut down on concussions. Must be a good one.

And it's beyond me why the media just won't leave Collie alone. He's made it very clear he doesn't want to keep discussing last year. I think the answers he gave about it in SI pretty much summed everything up for everyone.

[ReMeDy]

Hmm... "I think weight is the biggest issue," said Simpson, 71. "If a five-pound helmet at 20 mph hits a wall and a two-pound helmet at 20 mph hits a wall, the five-pound one is going to have way more energy than the two-pound one. That's just simple physics.

So then why did we switch away from pigskin helmets again, other than it looks dorky?

[ColtsHoosiersBB]

Hmm... "I think weight is the biggest issue," said Simpson, 71. "If a five-pound helmet at 20 mph hits a wall and a two-pound helmet at 20 mph hits a wall, the five-pound one is going to have way more energy than the two-pound one. That's just simple physics.

So then why did we switch away from pigskin helmets again, other than it looks dorky?

I was kinda thinking, if our guys are wearing 2LB helmets and the opposition are still

wearing the 5 pounders, how many more concussions will we see this year?

[NDKoltz]

I was kinda thinking, if our guys are wearing 2LB helmets and the opposition are still

wearing the 7 pounders, how many more concussions will we see this year?

If i remember some of Collie's Concussions last year, i think some were not the hits of defenders, it was the head bouncing off the ground on impact. I think that a lighter helmet might help in that situation... anyone have a PHd in physics???

[il vecchio]

If i remember some of Collie's Concussions last year, i think some were not the hits of defenders, it was the head bouncing off the ground on impact. I think that a lighter helmet might help in that situation... anyone have a PHd in physics???

I have no PhD in physics, but I did take a year of physics in college, for what it may be worth. I'm very likely missing something somewhere, so someone can chime in and correct my thinking, but this "lighter helmet" endeavor makes no sense to me.

From the article...

"I think weight is the biggest issue," said Simpson, 71. "If a five-pound helmet at 20 mph hits a wall and a two-pound helmet at 20 mph hits a wall, the five-pound one is going to have way more energy than the two-pound one. That's just simple physics.

We need to find out what the weaknesses are and the strengths. The most important thing is to lessen the effect of concussions."

Simpson is correct that the 5 pound helmet will have more energy hitting the wall. Energy of the collision is proportional to mass. So the WALL sustains less damage with the 2 pound helmet. Good for the wall.

Couple of things, though...

1) There are no walls on the field, so that's irrelevant. In any case, as an example, you are no safer hitting a concrete wall driving a 2,000 pound car than you are driving a 5,000 pound car.

2) As has been mentioned by others here, if you are wearing a 2 lb helmet and the opponents have 5 lb helmets and you butt heads...advantage 5 lb helmet. To quote Simpson "That's just simple physics." I would suggest that Collie is better off with a 12 lb helmet.

I'm also no doctor, but I'm fairly certain that concussions occur when the soft brain slams into the hard skull, especially if the brain gets twisted around some in the process. You are running fast, your skull hits something and stops but the brain keeps moving until it hits the inside of the skull. So, what you would probably want to do is slow down the sudden deceleration that the brain experiences when the head or body hits something. This is the strategy that car manufacturers use with their "crumple zones". It seems to me that what you want is a helmet that absorbs and deflects impact as much as possible. The players get some of that already with the helmet padding, but a redesigned shell that bends or somehow crumples or disintegrates would also help.

One other important thing. Not all concussions happen from head collisions. All you need is for the brain to hit the inside of the skull. That can happen from any hard body slam. Maybe others recall, but didn't Collie take a double hit on one of his concussions from two DBs almost simultaneously? That would really toss the brain around like Jello.

I'm hoping that Collie isn't being taken for a ride here.

[jvan1973]

Collie should get this helmet... with a facemask

[chad72]

Helmet design and concussions, here are a couple of useful articles:

http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=228427

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-07/smarter-football-helmet-could-prevent-brain-damage

[ColtsHoosiersBB]

Collie should get this helmet... with a facemask

[NDKoltz]

I have no PhD in physics, but I did take a year of physics in college, for what it may be worth. I'm very likely missing something somewhere, so someone can chime in and correct my thinking, but this "lighter helmet" endeavor makes no sense to me.

From the article...

"I think weight is the biggest issue," said Simpson, 71. "If a five-pound helmet at 20 mph hits a wall and a two-pound helmet at 20 mph hits a wall, the five-pound one is going to have way more energy than the two-pound one. That's just simple physics.

We need to find out what the weaknesses are and the strengths. The most important thing is to lessen the effect of concussions."

Simpson is correct that the 5 pound helmet will have more energy hitting the wall. Energy of the collision is proportional to mass. So the WALL sustains less damage with the 2 pound helmet. Good for the wall.

Couple of things, though...

1) There are no walls on the field, so that's irrelevant. In any case, as an example, you are no safer hitting a concrete wall driving a 2,000 pound car than you are driving a 5,000 pound car.

2) As has been mentioned by others here, if you are wearing a 2 lb helmet and the opponents have 5 lb helmets and you butt heads...advantage 5 lb helmet. To quote Simpson "That's just simple physics." I would suggest that Collie is better off with a 12 lb helmet.

I'm also no doctor, but I'm fairly certain that concussions occur when the soft brain slams into the hard skull, especially if the brain gets twisted around some in the process. You are running fast, your skull hits something and stops but the brain keeps moving until it hits the inside of the skull. So, what you would probably want to do is slow down the sudden deceleration that the brain experiences when the head or body hits something. This is the strategy that car manufacturers use with their "crumple zones". It seems to me that what you want is a helmet that absorbs and deflects impact as much as possible. The players get some of that already with the helmet padding, but a redesigned shell that bends or somehow crumples or disintegrates would also help.

One other important thing. Not all concussions happen from head collisions. All you need is for the brain to hit the inside of the skull. That can happen from any hard body slam. Maybe others recall, but didn't Collie take a double hit on one of his concussions from two DBs almost simultaneously? That would really toss the brain around like Jello.

I'm hoping that Collie isn't being taken for a ride here.

I would say that the weight of the opositions helmet does not matter since it is attached to and moving at the same speed as the defender that is wearing it, and the 3 lbs difference is is only 1.5 % difference when added to a 200 lb man(200 lb VS 203). I would think that if the head is whipped around on impact, the neck muscles would be able to slow the velocicy of the head more with a 2lb helet than with a 5 lb helmet and the speed . I know you were only joking about the 12 LB helmet, but I would think the heavier weight would cause more injuries to the head and neck than the lightweight one.

[RedHJedi]

You would also think that the Carbon/Kevlar helmet is able to be made stronger, yet much lighter than the plastic models that the players are using now...and it's obvious from the pics that we've seen that the new design is much bigger in the upper head area, so it stands to reason that the padding is much improved. These two factors alone would help against concussions, you'd think...

[oldunclemark]

If something traumatic enough happens in your life, would you want someone to bring it up over and over again and/or would you want to talk about it over and over again?

Concussions do not heal......Its not a time to withhold info

If he's worried...its best for all concerned that he stand down. I wouldnt blame him. Nobody would.

I dont want him laid out on the field again..He has a wife and family... its my understanding..

.and he risks everything by continuing to play..

[lost soldier]

Some good points made here. First the weight of the helmet wont change things much because the helmet and head are attached to the body, what you want to avoid is the head absorbing the force of the two colliding football players. Second, the idea about crumble zones or padding or even airbags would be great if they were feasible. The new helmet is being made with kevlar. Kevlar's value is in its unique ability to disperse energy over a wider area, thus limiting the force to any specific area of the head and thus brain. This is the way kevlar stops a bullet, the bullet still strikes with the same force, the kevlar rapidly disperses the energy to the fibers connected to it, spreading that energy out. This could help with concussions, but as another poster said, concussions have alot to do with the brain moving inside the skull, so dispersing the energy outside the helmet may not reduce the brain movement inside the skull, but I'm not concussion expert.