Week 21 Injury Report : Gronk/Brady/Ajayi Update, Concussion Stats, XFL Comeback, Chris Borland-The Future of Football
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 THE 2017-18 PRO BOWL WEEK!
Week 20 Injury updates:
Rob Gronkowski, New England TE, Concussion
Still in concussion protocol, participated in non-contact practice on Saturday.
How quickly we forget (Gronk’s concussion inducing people's elbow earlier this season)
All signs point towards playing.
Healthy or not, would he really not play in the Super Bowl?
Second concussion of the season for Gronk.
Tom Brady, New England QB, Hand “not quite where he want’s it to be”
But should we really believe him?
There's a method behind Bill Belichick's injury non-answers and it trickles down to his players.
Brady has practiced without a glove.
Tom Brady crushing the preparation for life after football in "Tom vs. Time"
Take notes on his career longevity tips below... I know I am...
Deatrich Wise, New England DT, Concussion
Present for practice with Gronk.
Malcolm Brown, New England DT, Foot
Patriots DT Malcom Brown (foot) says he'll be good to go for the Super Bowl after practicing today.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyed) January 28, 2018
Practiced Sunday, says he will definitely be good to go.
Jay Ajayi, Philadelphia RB, Ankle
Limited in Thursday practice.
Health & Safety Headlines:
Concussions suffered by NFL players up this season; injury rate higher for Thursday games
- Data published in Washington Post Article linked in subject title above.
According to the data, which is gathered and analyzed by the independent company IQVIA (formerly called Quintiles) and also provided to the NFL Players Association, players suffered 281 concussions during the preseason and regular season. That is an increase of 15.6 percent over the 243 diagnosed concussions suffered by players during the 2016 preseason and regular season.
Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of health and safety, pointed to the sharp increase in the number of concussions suffered by players in practices before the season. That number jumped from 26 in 2016 to 45 in 2017. That increase will lead to a closer examination by the league, Miller said, of the types of drills performed by individual teams during preseason practices.
There were 6.9 injuries per game on Thursday nights, according to the NFL’s data, compared to 6.3 injuries per game in Saturday, Sunday and Monday games.
Sample was too small to draw any conclusions.
Is the NFL in a lose-lose situation with this one?
Tackle football would be banned for children younger than 12 under a proposed state law that will be unveiled in Chicago
Law would be named the Dave Duerson Act.
Duerson is a former Bears player who took his own life back in 2011.
Is this a bad thing? Forcing flag football? Are there any unintended repercussions?
XFL 2020!
View Vince McMahon's Press Conference below:
Is Vince McMahon's reborn XFL doomed to be just another ex-FL?
— Forbes (@Forbes) January 29, 2018
https://t.co/8yt1LHiv40 pic.twitter.com/xWHJg5wZWe
The XFL has nothing to lose and can take some significant risks that the NFL isn't willing to take, especially in regard to rule changes to make the game safer.
Would the game look anything like the Pro Bowl?
Thud tempo.
Lot's of passing.
Super quick whistles.
Quicker game tempo.
High scoring.
Why people call it the YFL league? (Kevin nerds out on math jokes).
Wall Street Journal Article: How to Save Football Players’ Brains
Shoutout to Episode 106 guest, John J. Miller for bringing this one to my attention.
How to Save Football Players’ Brains, by Paul S. Auerbach @Stanford https://t.co/oC6M6pqmxS via @WSJOpinion
— John J. Miller (@heymiller) January 20, 2018
If you liked our conversation on how Teddy Roosevelt saved football you have to check out this rendition of the story by Comedy Central below:
The Future of Football with Chris Borland on The Ringer NFL Show
Chris Borland retired from football after his rookie season in the NFL with the 49ers because of concerns about the long-term effects of repetitive head trauma.
Recorded the day after the Pitt-Cincy game in week 13
Topics of discussion include:
Advocating for flag football
Why obesity will always be an advantage
Inherent advantage to be physical
Give the episode a listen and form your own opinion below:
There will be one more week of injury reports for this season and Josh and I are hoping for a clean and safe game in the Super Bowl. Be on the lookout to cast your vote for who you have in our Instagram story this Sunday!
