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No More Helmets? What Can NFL Learn From Cowboys' Marshawn Kneeland CTE Reveal?
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- No More Helmets? What Can NFL Learn From Cowboys' Marshawn Kneeland CTE Reveal?
Last season, when the news of Marshawn Kneeland's passing dropped, it was horrible in every way you can think of, and the Dallas Cowboys did their best to honor Marshawn's legacy.
Now, months removed from that day, it has been revealed that Kneeland, who was just 24 years old and had only played two NFL seasons, had Stage 1 CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), which is caused by head trauma such as concussions and repeated hits to the head.
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Just think about that. Having the early stages of CTE at just 24. The worst part is that CTE can't be diagnosed while the person is alive.
And it got me thinking about how that happens and whether there is anything the NFL can do to change how it approaches tackling in the game.
"We've done concussion protocols, we've changed the helmets, we're teaching different ways to tackle and to block, different ways to use your helmet and your head and your face and your neck," our own Mike Fisher stated on the Fish Report as he detailed the recent news on Marshawn.
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And for me, what Fish says here is where I think the biggest problem lies - using "your head, face, neck" to tackle.
In my opinion, that is the worst way to tackle. The head, neck, and face shouldn't be used at all if a player can help it.
As an Australian and having watched and covered the AFL (Australian Football League) for years, what Fish said about a chat with Cowboys legend Troy Aikman has also gotten my attention.
"I had a conversation with Troy Aikman," Fish added. "This goes back 30 plus years. He was the first guy I ever heard say, "Maybe we shouldn't have helmets.
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"Maybe if we played without helmets, we'd get broken teeth and broken noses, but we wouldn't use our head as a weapon."
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And Aikman, in my opinion is right on the money here.
So, coming at this from an Australian angle, why NFL players use their heads to drive into tackles, to get players on the ground, has baffled me.
Why put your head in an area where it is definitely going to get hit every single time you get tackled? It's head-scratching, and yes, I get it, it's how most are taught to tackle, but still, it seems like a bad idea to me.
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As an Australian, playing "football" or "Australian Rules" as some call it "Down Under", we aren't taught to "lead with our head," we are taught to watch a player's hips, legs, to determine the best course of action to execute the tackle (hit AFL tackles on YouTube if you haven't seen it before).
Not dive in head-first like I see so many times on a Sunday.
Now, we too have CTE cases in the AFL, so it isn't like our way of tackling is bulletproof. However, you rarely see players driving with their heads to make a tackle.
Instead, it is a full-body tackle, using the upper body, torso, and legs to power through an opponent, while the head, the most important part of the body, is off to the side, so the shoulder/collarbone area takes most of the force of the impact, not the head.
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Given how fast and strong NFL athletes are now, leading with your head, in my opinion, is a recipe for disaster, and Kneeland's CTE diagnosis just two years into his NFL career is jarring.
For years, I have shaken my head at how NFL players (and likely young players) are seemingly taught to lead with their heads to make tackles. How many times in a game is a player's head met with forceful contact? I don't know the actual stats, but I'd imagine it would be a lot.
In the AFL? It is minimal...and we don't use helmets.
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Yes, head contact still occurs and it always will, just like in the NFL, simply because it is a contact sport. But maybe Aikman, in talking to Fish all those years ago, was onto something -- no helmets.
Yes, I get it. You might think "Adam, what on earth are you talking about?" but it makes some sort of sense, at least to my Australian brain. If you know your head isn't protected by a helmet, aren't you going to be more careful about how you tackle?
Won't you be more cognizant of where you are putting it?
Now, will it happen? Not likely, but the tackling techniques used in AFL could be used in the NFL as well.
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No more leading with the head to get a player down in open space, or trying to clog up running lanes. Instead, getting low, moving your head to the side, and making a full-body tackle by watching an opponent's hips might just be the way to go.
I've seen some NFL players tackle that way, and it's effective, but that technique isn't seen often.
And if the latest updates on Marshawn have taught us anything, it's that maybe it is time for a change in how the NFL approaches it.
Now, will my way solve it completely? Of course not, but it might limit the number of genuine head knocks players receive on a weekly basis.
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Or, maybe we dive deeper in Aikman's "no-helmets" idea.
Because being diagnosed with CTE when you are 50+ years old and retired is one thing. ... and tragic enough. But in your second year of football? That's another thing entirely - and it merits consideration of any and all possible solutions.
