each year the NFL tries to make improvement for the players safety by improving the equipment the players use each year, or they try to change or get rid of rules to have less injuries occur. the last couple years they really started to improve the new style helmets to reduce concussions from happening. they have made so many new kinds of helmets that every football team across the word are using them. concussions can lead to serious brain injury and thats why its important to keep updating the safety of equipment to protect the players. having these rules changed for safety from how they were years ago, will make a lot of people mad and possibly not look at football the same. the NFL is trying to prevent long term injuries from happening by making these changes. there has been many changes to the rules each year and many of them change or take away by the NFL.
The NFL has adjusted its rules to allow players the option of using Guardian Caps in regular-season games to enhance their protection against head injuries, the league confirmed Friday.The padded headgear was mandated for players at certain positions during training camp in 2022 and 2023. Speaking earlier this year, NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said that Guardian Caps have contributed to a nearly 50% reduction in concussions for the position groups that wore them during those time periods.(new guardian caps) i believe this will actually help the prevention of concussions because they have been used in only practices and the players seemed to like them and think they are beneficial. I think with this change it will really be helpful in the long term for the players. they also have been proven that they work really well and now its being used for actual games.
The NFL has prioritized adjusting kickoff rules to make the play more exciting but safer as it heads into the offseason with some promising injury data, league officials said Wednesday.The NFL saw a steep drop in the number of regular-season games missed to injury this season, largely thanks to a significant drop in lower extremity strains and ACL tears, season-end injury data showed.The number of concussions remained largely stable from last season — 219, including those suffered in preseason and regular-season games and practices. That is up from 213 in 2022, but still well below the high of 281 a few years ago.Concussions sustained on kickoffs dropped by 60 percent, from 20 to eight. That is because kickoffs were returned less frequently after the NFL adjusted the rules governing kickoff returns last offseason, so that a returner could signal for a fair catch no matter where the ball was kicked, and the ball would be placed on the 25-yard line. The rule was designed to reduce the number of returns because a disproportionate number of concussions happen on the high-speed, high-impact collisions that occur on such plays. Returns did not get safer with the new rule, though. When there were returns, there were concussions, league officials said.(changes to NFL kickoff)
In advance of the 2024 season, NFL clubs have voted unanimously to remove the hip-drop tackle from the game.A hip-drop tackle occurs when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto ball carrier’s legs during the tackle.A hip-drop tackle will result in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first-down if a player uses the following technique to bring a runner to the ground. Grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms. Unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s legs at or below the knee(hip drop tackle rule change). The idea behind the rule change is well-intentioned. Hip-drop tackles, where defenders effectively use their body weight to drag down an opposing player, appear more likely to cause a lower-body injury than a standard tackle attempt. For example, Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews missed six games in 2023 after suffering a sprained ankle caused by a hip-drop tackle. this technique has been arounds for years in the league and its becoming very dangerous. this is a type of way to tackle someone, but the past years there have been far to many injuries because the players drop there hips before bringing the player down. thats causing way to many injuries to players and this is a great way to prevent that from happening. Im happy the league is finally making changes to the rules because of the consistant injuries. The reality is, football is a violent game and players are going to get hurt. Attempting to police defenders on how exactly they are tackling while moving at full speed does not seem like a solution anybody will be happy with. the league has been making changes to the rules dramatically for the players safety. just recently these past couple years they started changing them. the rules haven’t been changes in years and some of the players back then who played in the league think its soft and kind of mad about it.
although some players and coaches might not like these rule changes, i think its going to be super beneficial to the players because its now becoming a less risk of a season ending injury or even a career ending injury. the league is making huge jumps by finding ways to change and enhance the rules so players get injured less. it will take a bit to get used to but overall its going to help.
work cited-
article title- NFL to allow guardian caps on helmets during regular season, website title ESPN, date assessed May 1st, 2024
article title-NFL’s prioritization of player safety leads to promising injury data for 2023 season: NFL Football Operations, website title- NFL’s prioritization of player safety leads to promising injury data for 2023 season | NFL Football Operations, date assessed May 1st, 2024
Article title- NFL officials back proposed hip-drop tackle rule change amid protests, website title ESPN, date accessed May 1st, 2024
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