With a surfeit of electronic technology available one would think high-tech research devices should be placed on NFL helmets to document concussive head impacts better. The U.S. Army might adopt some of the research to use to help prevent concussions for its soldiers banging their heads around from I.E.D.s.
What about placing some soft shock absorber on the outside as well as the inside of the helmet-maybe an inch of foam? Perhaps the entire football concept could be reconsidered in order to defend against egregious brain injuries and thus to conform better to the general purpose of a civilization of making life better for humanity.
1912 West Point Football Team with Dwight Eisenhower
image credit: Eisenhower Library
Football doesn't require that interior linemen butt their skulls innumerable times a game. The linemen starting two yards apart would have little reason to lead with their skulls-they might start standing up actually. Then however the field would probably be too small and it would need to be extended to 200 yards in size and five more in width. A more athletic contest of running and pass catching would follow with better heart conditioning and more mobile and durable linemen. As it is, bulk size is featured and those 300 lb vs 350 lb collisions repeatedly from point blank range tend to minimize the neurological health of the winners and losers alike.
Obviously it would be absurd to make a kind of shock absorber between the inner and outer layers of a helmet or to install a noise making device that goes off with a head impact-yet it mike make an interesting concert if varied according to strength of impact.
Plainly there should be no water obstacles on a revised NFL field because of the drowning danger, yet the helmet at least can be upgraded to better document and reduce head injuries I would think
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