After each week of NFL football games for the 2017-2018 season, the Heads 'N Tales podcast will be posting an episode dedicated to injuries and health & safety topics surrounding the NFL. Specifically we will talk about possible prevention strategies, the rulebook, equipment and other injury buzz around the league. My co-host and strategist for these episodes will be one of my closest friends, Josh Boyd (hence the J in "JK"..I'm the K...). Josh and I grew up playing baseball together. Josh was a division-1 center fielder for Monmouth University and experienced his fair share of injuries throughout his career. Although Josh never played organized football, the dude flat-out knows the game of football and undoubtably knows more about the ins-and-outs of the sport better than I do from both a fan and x's & o's perspective. Our intention for these episodes is to spark conversations around topics that are usually brushed under the rug or only minimally covered in the hopes of making football and all sports safer for the athletes who play them.

You are currently looking at the show notes for Week 14!

Week 14 Injuries:

Alvin Kamara, RB New Orleans, Concussion (Thursday Night), Expected to play sunday

Alvin Kamara injured vs Falcons on tackle by Deion Jones pic.twitter.com/ZyhxIkRtEq
— BLACK SPORTSCENTER (@VersaceBoyEnt) December 8, 2017

Carson Wentz, QB Philadelphia, ACL (Out for season)

#Eagles QB Carson Wentz suffers a brutal knee injury against the #Rams. Sources say he could be done for the year. pic.twitter.com/yeAz5fbQms
— NYSportsCast (@NYSportCast) December 11, 2017

Wentz’s left knee bent outwards when he tried to get off the field pic.twitter.com/GD9z72oiuU
— Barstool Sports (@barstooltweetss) December 11, 2017

Josh McCown, QB New York Jets, Broken Hand

Extremely emotional Josh McCown talking about injury. #Jets QB in tears after breaking left hand vs. #Broncos pic.twitter.com/1JOmzsoTpu
— Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) December 11, 2017

Heart goes out to this guy.
- 38 yrs old, 8th NFL Team, started every game this season for Jets.

Nathan Peterman, QB Buffalo, Concussion/Brain Freeze?

Somewhere in the puff of snow... Nathan Peterman entered concussion protocol. pic.twitter.com/eY4rpVYcvw
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) December 11, 2017

Too much snow for a video?

Tom Savage, QB Houston, Concussion

Tom Savage hits head on ground, appears to have seizure while ref looks on, comes back in the game 5 minutes later. pic.twitter.com/gW9lYxDIwQ
— TheRenderNFL (@TheRenderNFL) December 10, 2017

Disgusted that the @HoustonTexans allowed Tom Savage to return to the game after 2 plays after showing these horrifying #concussion signs (is that a seizure?) after a head impact. I would not let my worst enemy go through the 2017 #NFL sideline concussion protocol... https://t.co/PeJr5ISAIJ
— Chris Nowinski, Ph.D. (@ChrisNowinski1) December 10, 2017

Tom Savage suffered a concussion and was allowed to return to the game, raising questions about the NFL's protocol @kristieAP https://t.co/LwPEXZjvMy
— AP NFL (@AP_NFL) December 11, 2017

The tweet directly above outlines the concussion protocol events.
Led to the discussion that maybe the blue tents potentially rush the protocol or don't provide enough time for symptoms to show.

Marcus Mariota, QB Tennessee, Knee

#Titans QB Marcus Mariota this is the play where he injured his knee trying to slide. #TENvsAZ pic.twitter.com/V1ILgLfiL3
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) December 11, 2017

Baseball slide gone wrong?
If you don't want to get hurt, stay in the pocket!

Bobby Wagner, LB Seattle, Hamstring

Week 13 EXTENDED Wrap-up:

Instagram Poll:

Over 50 Voters.
Of those who voted "yes", most had no football affiliation (never played, coached, or supervised).
Of those who said "no", most had a background in football (either played, currently play, coach, or supervise).

Fines Discrepancies Continue

Bengals Safety, Overturned suspension, but fined $36,464.50.
Gronk's Suspension/Game Check Fine.
The Media Reaction to Suspensions and Processes.
Mike Mitchell’s thoughts on safety in the game (Below).

This is a combat contact sport there are going to be injuries.
The game changed his family’s legacy.
This is a man’s game.

Episode 106 : The Big Scrum, How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football, w/ John J. Miller

If you are interested in all of this football health & safety conundrum, I encourage you to check out episode 106 to learn about the evolution of football and how football was nearly abolished back in 1905.