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Griz players and concussions

dirtysoup

Well-known member
Amie Just's last article. Really good read.

https://twitter.com/missoulian/status/1054054939331346433?s=19
 
Really good read. Sheds some light on Thayne and others and brings to reality what many of us speculated as the reason they walked away. I can’t say I blame the kids, health is way more important for sure. Best of luck to all of them!
 
Do the Griz wear the extra padding on outside helmets during practices? I have not seen any practices. Only pictures I have seen from practices I did not see any. Saw pictures of the Cats wearing them, and have seen Montana high schools using them. Not sure if can prove they help yet, but seems better safe than sorry. If Montana is really concerned seems strange if they have chosen not to.
 
Seems strange that O-linemen would get so many concussions. Doesn’t seem like they take a lot of shots to the head like running backs or receivers or QB’s....then again, I never played the game...
 
AZGrizFan said:
Seems strange that O-linemen would get so many concussions. Doesn’t seem like they take a lot of shots to the head like running backs or receivers or QB’s....then again, I never played the game...

Just look at their helmets and that will tell you.
 
AZGrizFan said:
Seems strange that O-linemen would get so many concussions. Doesn’t seem like they take a lot of shots to the head like running backs or receivers or QB’s....then again, I never played the game...

Thinking the same thing, there's something else but I still recognize the seriousness of it.
 
fanofzoo said:
AZGrizFan said:
Seems strange that O-linemen would get so many concussions. Doesn’t seem like they take a lot of shots to the head like running backs or receivers or QB’s....then again, I never played the game...
Thinking the same thing, there's something else but I still recognize the seriousness of it.
Hopefully, someone with more real game experience will chime in on this issue ... but it does not surprise me all that much. I played maybe a half season of (basically) PE football in high school where we were actually given helmets. An O-lineman is taught to keep his feet but get as low as possible when he blocks (we were, anyway), just like in most forms of wrestling. That's because, almost invariably, low man wins. And you're going all-out, especially if you're on a pull route. Guess what? You may try to keep your head out of the way, but more often than not, you are met with a hip or a knee to the head. With the crude helmets we wore (just a bar), I still wonder how more guys didn't lose teeth. It's actually pretty dangerous if you do it without a helmet (blows to the temple :eek: ), but we didn't know any better.

Edit: Forgot one other fact of life for an O-Lineman ... the forearm shiver to the chops. You come in low, the D-back doesn't want to get blasted, so he snaps your head back with a forearm. (Totally legal, near as I can tell.) For him, it's even better if his arm is all wrapped because of an "injury."
 
AZGrizFan said:
Seems strange that O-linemen would get so many concussions. Doesn’t seem like they take a lot of shots to the head like running backs or receivers or QB’s....then again, I never played the game...

I wasn’t a lineman at the collegiate level, but helmet to helmet contact is VERY common. Look at the helmets. Research as shown that CTE isn’t simply an outcome of big hits, but it’s also an outcome of many small ones. The collisions in the line generally aren’t the highlight reel variety, but they happen frequently, especially during run blocking and blitz pickup.

You are taught to keep low Zs and Vs (low man wins. Zs reference the trace of the legs to the arms, Vs reference the arms), but getting there often results in helmet to helmet contact. It’s the nature of the position.
 
PDXGrizzly said:
I wasn’t a lineman at the collegiate level, but helmet to helmet contact is VERY common. Look at the helmets. Research as shown that CTE isn’t simply an outcome of big hits, but it’s also an outcome of many small ones. The collisions in the line generally aren’t the highlight reel variety, but they happen frequently, especially during run blocking and blitz pickup.
Ever notice how many times teammates slap each other on their helmets after good plays? Sometimes the slap (altho meaning well) knocks the player's head enough to be seen.
 
IdaGriz01 said:
Edit: Forgot one other fact of life for an O-Lineman ... the forearm shiver to the chops. You come in low, the D-back doesn't want to get blasted, so he snaps your head back with a forearm. (Totally legal, near as I can tell.) For him, it's even better if his arm is all wrapped because of an "injury."
This was even more of an issue in the days when you could not use your hands blocking. The forearm was just as much a weapon for the OL. Since the OL had the snap count, you could get the blocking target on his heels with a quick and strong forearm to the Adam's apple. It was key to handling a bigger target. I can't count the number of bone bruses on my left forearm caused by the facemask cages with the big vertical bar in the middle.
 
AZGrizFan said:
Seems strange that O-linemen would get so many concussions. Doesn’t seem like they take a lot of shots to the head like running backs or receivers or QB’s....then again, I never played the game...

It’s actually just about every play. Might not be as big of an impact but it is very common. Another thing about the trenches, according to sports illustrated in an article ten yearsish ago, an o-lineman and d-lineman are colliding at a force that is the same force as being in a car wreck at with 10 or 20 mph. It’s going to take a toll on any player
 
Grizzoola said:
PDXGrizzly said:
I wasn’t a lineman at the collegiate level, but helmet to helmet contact is VERY common. Look at the helmets. Research as shown that CTE isn’t simply an outcome of big hits, but it’s also an outcome of many small ones. The collisions in the line generally aren’t the highlight reel variety, but they happen frequently, especially during run blocking and blitz pickup.
Ever notice how many times teammates slap each other on their helmets after good plays? Sometimes the slap (altho meaning well) knocks the player's head enough to be seen.

Every time I see that I think the same thing.
 
Perhaps they could trade in the Dartmouth Dummy that they don’t seem to be using for some of those protective practice lids. Interpret that in any way you wish.
 
PDXGrizzly said:
AZGrizFan said:
Seems strange that O-linemen would get so many concussions. Doesn’t seem like they take a lot of shots to the head like running backs or receivers or QB’s....then again, I never played the game...

I wasn’t a lineman at the collegiate level, but helmet to helmet contact is VERY common. Look at the helmets. Research as shown that CTE isn’t simply an outcome of big hits, but it’s also an outcome of many small ones. The collisions in the line generally aren’t the highlight reel variety, but they happen frequently, especially during run blocking and blitz pickup.

You are taught to keep low Zs and Vs (low man wins. Zs reference the trace of the legs to the arms, Vs reference the arms), but getting there often results in helmet to helmet contact. It’s the nature of the position.
Pretty much what I have read on the head injury subject, as you noted the constant head pounding contact simply builds up over a season, through many seasons from high school onward.
 
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