By what %age would this game(?) be reduced by if all the poncey padding and helmets were banned?
Answers:
I have to say that having played the game, the padding really only helps a bit. The hits are far far harder than rugby and you really do know when someone's given you a real pop.
The whole reason that the helmets were introduced in the first place was because there was such a proliferation of fatalities during the early days of the sport that it very quicly became obvious to those in charge that the heads of players needed to be protected. This lead to the first leather type helmets. As technology hs improved the materials have inreasingly become more lightweight. Players have become fitter, faster and much stronger now and this means that injuries still can and frquently do occur.
They once wired up a helmet for one of the Giant's linbackers in the early 90's to see what sort of pressure was exerted on his head and neck during a game. When the result came back they were a little flabbergasted. It turned out that there was a pressure exerted equivalent to 7G's during some phases of play!!
It doesn't take a lot to realise why team rosta's are so big, every position needs about 3 potential players in case of problems.
100%, they wouldn't be brave enough to play it otherwise!
The life expectancy of a lineman would be about seven minutes and the QB and WR's might make it to halftime.
The difference would be the length of the players careers. As hard as they hit, players would drop by the dozens. But that's something you over-seas soccer players wouldn't understand.
The padding isn't really as protective as you people seem to think. You and your "suit of armor" comments need to look closer at what the padding really is. It is a CUSHION. They sill get stings in the least from hits.
Without the padding, players wouldn't hit anymore, it would turn into rugby. That's what you people don't seem to realize, rugby players don't hit, I've played both sports, there's no comparison to the hitting they do in football. It's the padding that allows them to hit as hard as they do. Anyone who has ever been a blocker on a kickoff knows exactly how hard the hitting is in football. For those who haven't, imagine running 50 yards as fast as you can, then lowering your head and running into a wall. That's how it is, that's why they need padding. By the way there's only really padding on the head and shoulders, because that is what you lead with when you hit. Even with the helmets, one of the most common injuries in football is a concussion, without the helmets, most of those concussions would be deaths.
Some British university once did a bit of research into the energy the really big guys on the offensive and defensive lines release when they make first contact on a play.
They found that when a 300lb Guard and a 320lb Defensive Tackle lock up, the kinetic force would move 21 tons one inch.
Which is why they wear the padding.
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