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    Shutdown Corner

    Concussions on kickoffs were cut in half in 2011

    By MJD | Shutdown Corner – Thu, Feb 16, 2012 5:24 PM EST

    Getty ImagesThe number of concussions on kickoff plays was cut in half last season in the NFL, according to Hunt Batjer, the NFL's co-chair of the Head, Neck and Spine Committee.

    Here's Batjer, speaking to Chicago-area high school coaches and players. Via Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune:

    "We just got the data recently," said Batjer, the co-chair of NFL Head, Neck & Spine Committee and department chair of neurological surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "It looks to me like a decreased number of runbacks played a role. It did not affect a lot of the other injuries paradoxically."

    I see it as a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that there are fewer concussions. Kicking off from the 35-yard-line resulted in more touchbacks, fewer returns, and thus, fewer concussions. Healthier brains is good news.

    The bad news is that the only way the league has found to reliably reduce concussions is, in essence, to play less football.

    I wish we had the raw data ‒ the exact number of concussions from 2010, and the number from 2011. It'll be interesting to see if the data continues in the same direction in 2012.

    For now, what we do with this information, I don't know. I'm sure it's enough to squash any conversation that might've ensued about moving kickoffs back to the 30. But again, the only thing we've proven is that less running and hitting results in fewer concussions, and I think we pretty much knew that.

    At least now there's something concrete to point to, in terms of concussion danger, when Roger Goodell next brings up playing an 18-game season.

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    11 comments

    • Vertskate900
      Vertskate900  •  North Chicago, Illinois  •  3 months ago
      Well yeah it's a duh argument...no one's going to get concussed, or suffer any injury for that matter, while they stand around and watch the pretty football fly into the endzone. And while there's too much money at stake for the NFL to be nixed completely to prevent nasty head injuries, we can expect to see a more watered down version of the game year after year. That's just the honest truth...
    • Gambler
      Gambler  •  Fresno, California  •  3 months ago
      Why bother with the kickoff at all? Just go the basketball route after they killed the jump ball - just have alternate possessions at the 20. Snore. That way, teams can save the expense of the kicker altogether. Oh, and you can't sack the quarterback, or breath on a wide receiver.
    • Jason
      Jason  •  3 months ago
      By this argument, they should just stop playing all together since that will reduce the number to zero. The new game of football will just be two teams sitting on the bench staring at each other and players will be eliminated from the game if they have to get up and go to the bathroom. Last team with a player remaining wins.
    • Gambler
      Gambler  •  Fresno, California  •  3 months ago
      Here's one more fact: The most exciting play in football, the kickoff return, was essentially removed from the game. Watch 70,000 fans get geared up for opening kickoff, screaming, yelling, cameras zoomed in on the receiver, and then ... nothing but a commercial.
    • Richard
      Richard  •  3 months ago
      I'm surprised the NFL just didn't ban tackling... 20 years from now the NFL will be flag football...
    • Kbojedla
      Kbojedla  •  Cleveland, Ohio  •  3 months ago
      Pretty silly, misleading statistic. Reducing kickoff returns by like 50% will undoubtedly reduce concussions by 50% since there are 50% less plays for players to get injuries. Makes it seem like the situation is getting better and injuries are becoming less common when the problems are just being masked. That's like reducing the game to 30 minutes and saying injuries are down by 50%.
    • UWnotUcon
      UWnotUcon  •  3 months ago
      And how many low value free agents that would have got a chance to shine now do not.
    • Thanatos
      Thanatos  •  3 months ago
      Yeah, but how many concussions per return? I'm talking actual returns, not touchbacks.
      • Dave
        Dave 3 months ago
        Sorry, meant to give you a thumbs up but misclicked - I was interested in this too, whether there has been a lower rate of concussions per hit rather than just per kick.
    • whoaaa
      whoaaa  •  3 months ago
      It's OBVIOUS that is the case, the number of Kickoff returns probably halved, maybe even less!
    • Goodell Sux Big Ones
      Goodell Sux Big Ones  •  3 months ago
      Statistics can be misleading.

      If they are going to keep the kick off line where it is, they will eventually have to just end kick offs as kickers get stronger.
    • Coach Isiah Thompson
      Coach Isiah Thompson  •  3 months ago
      Head concussions should never be taken lightly. They can be very dangerous because in the head is the brain.
      • Michael W
        Michael W 3 months ago
        you don't say
      • Judgemental Pig
        Judgemental Pig 3 months ago
        Hey Coach, I'm guessing some people didn't pick up on the Gumpish humor. LOL
     Post a comment

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