NFL meltdown thread: the slow two-minute drill to disaster

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 5:38 pm

I'd like to see Goodell played by Tom Arnold, or maybe Norm McDonald. But Nick Offerman could stick the landing better than anyone.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 7:46 pm

It's Woody Harrelson's job to lose. He could just play it straight up as Marty Hart.

Johnny Carwash · Post by **Johnny Carwash** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:06 pm

I always thought Goodell looked kind of like an uptight, square Owen Wilson, and here he's played by Luke Wilson, so make what you will of that.

howard · Post by **howard** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 8:09 pm

Luke's rate is cheaper

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 9:58 pm

Norm McDonald as Commissioner Goodell wrote:So, ahhhhh, Tom. Those balls are uhhhh, a little under inflated, huh? You send your ball guy to the bathroom to make your balls nice and soft, for ya? The way you like them?

If that happened, I'd love to see Artie Lange playing Brady. Cast Giselle as herself, with a lot of Artie groping her and some gratuitous sex scenes.

howard · Post by **howard** » Mon Aug 31, 2015 10:01 pm

Howard Stern as the Federal Court judge. BabaBooey as the NFL attorney

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 12:31 pm

NFL can't get out of its own way.

howard · Post by **howard** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 1:59 pm

So, the league is acting like a pharmaceutical conglomerate. Funding the research that proves what they want to prove.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 8:04 am

Tyler Sash, 27 year old who had history of concussions in the league and died of painkiller OD found to have had Stage 2 CTE.

Significant because of his age and that Stage 2 is not usually presnt in his age range. Most of the test subjects were older so it's unusual (but only by sample size, most likely) to have this in a player his age.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 8:07 am

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but...

These guys have been playing full contact football since they were pee wees. By the time they reach the NFL, a lot of the damage has already been done.

I know - I'm thinking like an NFL lawyer, but isn't the NCAA also culpable? And high school leagues...

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 8:10 am

Pruitt wrote:I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but...

These guys have been playing full contact football since they were pee wees. By the time they reach the NFL, a lot of the damage has already been done.

I know - I'm thinking like an NFL lawyer, but isn't the NCAA also culpable? And high school leagues...

Absolutely. Article mentions he played for 16 years total. And what I was trying to convey is that there are probably a lot of people at 27 who have this, but don't get tested, hopefully because they don't die to be able to be tested. He just happened to be a higher profile case for testing.

If I were the family member of someone who played competitive football at a high level, I think I'd be interested in getting the brain tested if they passed away. This probably isn't going to be just an NFL issue in the long run. They're just the visible entity that may or may not have known this was an issue. But the NCAA probably isn't super excited about it either.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 8:33 am

Pruitt wrote:And high school leagues...

#1 reason I think it all comes crashing down sooner rather than later.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 9:21 am

mister d wrote:
Pruitt wrote:And high school leagues...
#1 reason I think it all comes crashing down sooner rather than later.

Exactly what I was thinking. A few choice lawsuits could sound the death knell of the sport in its current form.

So, would we still watch if it was closer to flag football?

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 9:23 am

Pruitt wrote:
mister d wrote:
Pruitt wrote:And high school leagues...
#1 reason I think it all comes crashing down sooner rather than later.
Exactly what I was thinking. A few choice lawsuits could sound the death knell of the sport in its current form.

So, would we still watch if it was closer to flag football?

Easterbrook used to advocate for no tackle until the high school level. Don't know how much that would make a difference though.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 9:29 am

Not sure if I've mentioned this here, but my school is one of the few I know of that's been held directly liable for an on-field head injury. I think the settlement ($7.5MM) reflected a level of medical negligence, but if allowance becomes negligence, its done at any level that doesn't exist specifically as a football entity.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 12:40 pm

A_B wrote:
Pruitt wrote:
mister d wrote:
Pruitt wrote:And high school leagues...
#1 reason I think it all comes crashing down sooner rather than later.
Exactly what I was thinking. A few choice lawsuits could sound the death knell of the sport in its current form.

So, would we still watch if it was closer to flag football?
Easterbrook used to advocate for no tackle until the high school level. Don't know how much that would make a difference though.

One of the reasons offered to support no tackle until that age is that kids' necks are not strong enough to help support their head and helmet during contact, which helps limit the whiplash effect where the brain hits the inside of the skull.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 1:48 pm

A_B wrote:
Pruitt wrote:I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but...

These guys have been playing full contact football since they were pee wees. By the time they reach the NFL, a lot of the damage has already been done.

I know - I'm thinking like an NFL lawyer, but isn't the NCAA also culpable? And high school leagues...
Absolutely. Article mentions he played for 16 years total. And what I was trying to convey is that there are probably a lot of people at 27 who have this, but don't get tested, hopefully because they don't die to be able to be tested. He just happened to be a higher profile case for testing.

If I were the family member of someone who played competitive football at a high level, I think I'd be interested in getting the brain tested if they passed away. This probably isn't going to be just an NFL issue in the long run. They're just the visible entity that may or may not have known this was an issue. But the NCAA probably isn't super excited about it either.

Unless a player has NFL money, most families probably can't afford to pay for the brain testing. It's probably not worth the process and suing unless we are talking about the NFL or NCAA.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 1:49 pm

The Sybian wrote:
A_B wrote:
Pruitt wrote:I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but...

These guys have been playing full contact football since they were pee wees. By the time they reach the NFL, a lot of the damage has already been done.

I know - I'm thinking like an NFL lawyer, but isn't the NCAA also culpable? And high school leagues...
Absolutely. Article mentions he played for 16 years total. And what I was trying to convey is that there are probably a lot of people at 27 who have this, but don't get tested, hopefully because they don't die to be able to be tested. He just happened to be a higher profile case for testing.

If I were the family member of someone who played competitive football at a high level, I think I'd be interested in getting the brain tested if they passed away. This probably isn't going to be just an NFL issue in the long run. They're just the visible entity that may or may not have known this was an issue. But the NCAA probably isn't super excited about it either.

Unless a player has NFL money, most families probably can't afford to pay for the brain testing. It's probably not worth the process and suing unless we are talking about the NFL or NCAA.

Well, you can't do it until after they're dead anyway. So can't you just donate it to science? I bet there are a LOT of scientists who would gladly take the brains and share the results. They're probably being funded by others anyway.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 3:10 pm

mister d wrote:Not sure if I've mentioned this here, but my school is one of the few I know of that's been held directly liable for an on-field head injury. I think the settlement ($7.5MM) reflected a level of medical negligence, but if allowance becomes negligence, its done at any level that doesn't exist specifically as a football entity.

My high school got rid of football when I was in grade 10 - 36 years ago. Not sure if it was in response to an injury, or out of concern for kids' safety. They switched to rugby, and my brother and I played - I remember at the time my mother couldn't believe that rugby was less dangerous than football. after all, no pads in rugby. That'd be the prevailing wisdom of the times.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:08 pm

A_B wrote: Well, you can't do it until after they're dead anyway. So can't you just donate it to science? I bet there are a LOT of scientists who would gladly take the brains and share the results. They're probably being funded by others anyway.

There was an announcement a few years ago that the people here at the Allen Institute would be doing studies on CTE, funded by a special grant from Paul Allen, but I don't know what ever came of it.

Post by **brian** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 8:41 pm

I'm sure the NFL put the kibosh on that what with him owning an NFL team and all.

duff · Post by **duff** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 2:27 pm

I played tackle football from age 10 to 17. I can remember getting my first concussion at age 11. I was running the ball and had a head on collision with one of the biggest/fastest kids in the league. We both went down. I saw stars and probably blacked out for 15-20 seconds. Jackie laid on the ground for a good three minutes and wobbled off the field. After that I probably had two or three other instances the next six years of seeing stars or blacking out. Never even considered it an injury at the time. That is what happens in football was the mentality. I am glad that I don't have boys. Although my oldest daughter wants to play football so bad, but I just don't see that opportunity happening.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 4:13 pm

duff wrote:I played tackle football from age 10 to 17. I can remember getting my first concussion at age 11. I was running the ball and had a head on collision with one of the biggest/fastest kids in the league. We both went down. I saw stars and probably blacked out for 15-20 seconds. Jackie laid on the ground for a good three minutes and wobbled off the field. After that I probably had two or three other instances the next six years of seeing stars or blacking out. Never even considered it an injury at the time. That is what happens in football was the mentality. I am glad that I don't have boys. Although my oldest daughter wants to play football so bad, but I just don't see that opportunity happening.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 10:01 am

The Snake had CTE.

When was the last player who donated their brain that DIDN'T have it?

tennbengal · Post by **tennbengal** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 10:27 am

A_B wrote:The Snake had CTE.

When was the last player who donated their brain that DIDN'T have it?

New theory -- everyone has CTE.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 10:37 am

tennbengal wrote:
A_B wrote:The Snake had CTE.

When was the last player who donated their brain that DIDN'T have it?
New theory -- everyone has CTE.

Well, I am sure there is some kind of control group, and Deadspin mentioned that 4 of the 94 brains tested thus far of former NFL players did not have CTE, but it would be interesting to see how much of the normal population has this and if it can be traced back to casual football/other sports in those people.

Joe K · Post by **Joe K** » Wed Feb 03, 2016 11:52 am

tennbengal wrote:
A_B wrote:The Snake had CTE.

When was the last player who donated their brain that DIDN'T have it?
New theory -- everyone has CTE.

I'm completely pulling this out of my ass but my theory is that playing a contact sport for an extended period of time virtually guarantees that you will have CTE. However, I suspect that CTE by itself is likely fairly benign in most cases. I.e., the vast majority of players with CTE will not develop major psychiatric or behavioral issues. Obviously there needs to be a ton more research into this area but my understanding is that the only brain-related health problem for which there is clear evidence that ex-football players are at a higher risk (as compared to a control group) is dementia-related disorders. Even if that's the only major side effect of CTE, it's still a pretty big deal. But I'm very skeptical of the "OJ murdered two people because of CTE" line of thought.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Sat Feb 06, 2016 1:36 pm

Goodell warns of risk of sitting on the couch

And, in a more detailed article:

SF Chronicle wrote:NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell nearly made it through his Super Bowl news conference Friday without saying anything substantive or splashy. Then, in his next-to-last answer, he veered into treacherous territory.
“If I had a son, I’d love to have him play the game of football because of the values you get,” Goodell said. “There’s risk in life. There’s risk in sitting on the couch.”

Goodell’s “couch” comment prompted widespread mocking on social media. It also sparked an angry response from Chris Nowinski, co-founder and executive director of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, the leading concussion-advocacy organization in the U.S.
“I think Roger Goodell thinks we’re all stupid,” Nowinski told The Chronicle. “He’s trying to conflate the benefits of exercise with our goal of not hitting children in the head. He’s pretending if kids don’t play football, they’ll just sit on the couch, which is absurd.”

link

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Sat Feb 06, 2016 8:10 pm

Well, say what you want about baseball's Hall of Fame voting situation, at least the reaction isn't "wait, didn't he shoot all of those people?"

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 8:11 am

Two potential murderers in two years but Owens is the one who needs to learn his lesson. Love the NFL.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 1:52 pm

mister d wrote:Two potential murderers in two years but Owens is the one who needs to learn his lesson. Love the NFL.

Harrison's misconducts took place off camera.

On the field he was a model citizen.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 7:40 am

Not sure having a bunch of old players hobble out on the field was the greatest move for the NFL. Some of those guys were struggling.

rass · Post by **rass** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 7:41 am

NYT Mag article Goodell and the NFL

I'm not sure if there is much new in there, but the writer makes some enjoyable observations (describing Jerry Jones as "rascally", how Goodell always seems to flexing under his suit, and how Dan Snyder refused to make eye contact). Also, this from Bob McNair:

I asked him what he thought of having his team featured last summer on the HBO reality show ‘‘Hard Knocks,’’ about life at an N.F.L. training camp. He said it was a net plus, although he was distraught over how much swearing there was and joked that Coach Bill O’Brien should introduce a cuss jar. I asked McNair if he was as sensitive to other offensive language, specifically the N.F.L. team in the nation’s capital’s being named the Redskins. McNair told me that he grew up in western North Carolina, around many Cherokee Indians. ‘‘Everybody respected their courage,’’ McNair told me of the Indians. ‘‘They might not have respected the way they held their whiskey, but. . . .’’ He laughed. ‘‘We respected their courage. They’re very brave people.’’ Put McNair down as not offended by ‘‘Redskins.’’

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 8:48 am

A_B wrote:Not sure having a bunch of old players hobble out on the field was the greatest move for the NFL. Some of those guys were struggling.

Only 1 dead though, right? Did I miss more? That's kind of amazing.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:02 am

Ryan wrote:
A_B wrote:Not sure having a bunch of old players hobble out on the field was the greatest move for the NFL. Some of those guys were struggling.
Only 1 dead though, right? Did I miss more? That's kind of amazing.

I counted 1 too, and the Wiki confirms.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:20 am

So winning super Bowl MVP extends your life expectancy!

Ryan · Post by **Ryan** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 9:21 am

A_B wrote:So winning super Bowl MVP extends your life expectancy!

If you were somehow able to win SB MVP while only playing baseball, you'd make it to 150.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:48 am

So are the NFL owners dancing a jig this morning over the Todd Ewen results? Just allows them to add more doubt to connecting CTE to behaviors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/11/sport ... ref=sports" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 10:49 am

I'm not sure "professional football doesn't give professional hockey players CTE" is a great talking point.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 12:21 pm

I was surprised to see this commercial on the NBCSN English Premier League broadcast this morning.