Nick Collins Fined $50,000 For Illegal Hit
by Brandon on Nov 9, 2010 8:47 AM CST
in Green Bay Packers News
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PrintAs Brad Biggs pointed out, the fine came a bit earlier in the week than normal, but it wasn't unexpected. The NFL fined Green Bay Packers FS Nick Collins $50,000 for a helmet-to-helmet on WR Roy Williams last Sunday night, but no suspension. From this AP article, Williams was quoted as saying "no injury, no harm" and he didn't think Collins should receive a fine, which I found interesting, and defensive coordinator Dom Capers pointed out how hard it is to ask a player to play aggressively while hitting a moving target at full speed: "sometimes you might end up 2 to 3 inches from where you aimed to begin with."
For him to receive a fine and a penalty on the hit is OK because those are the rules. But I don't like how the NFL is handling this problem. First, they ramped up their efforts to penalize helmet-to-helmet hits during the season instead of giving teams and players a full offseason to adjust and prepare. Second, they don't seem to be addressing the source of the problem: the helmets themselves.
As Will Carroll mentioned this weekend, the NFL needs to set up a "helmet X prize" to find a new helmet design. A New York Times article last month detailed how the modern helmet came into being (designed in the 1960s to prevent skull fractures), there is little oversight to either update or improve these standards, and there is a trade off between a helmet design hard enough to prevent skull fractures and soft enough to avoid concussions. Unless they suggest a complete change to the style of the game, a new and improved helmet offers the best opportunity to improve player safety, and these fines aren't likely to make big difference.
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They are being consistent
But it is really not fair to the players. You are trying to make a play on a receiver who is catching a ball. You are going full speed, and you want to hit him hard so he can’t make the catch. And all the sudden the trajectory of your bodies is such that your helmets are heading towards each other. What are you supposed to do?
Two thoughts
First, the hit put on Austin Collie this weekend wasn’t fined, and I didn’t feel it was that different from the hit Collins put on Williams. That’s my opinion, obviously, and the league felt differently.
Second, there are helmets out there that reduce concussion frequency already. I know DeSean Jackson is wearing one now. This by itself isn’t going to fix matters though, players have to be taught differently.
Theoretically, improving helmet safety may actually increase the disregard for head safety if no other actions are taken. There’s a psychological phenomenon (I can’t think of the name off the top of my head) where humans have a level of risk that they find acceptable, and lowering the risk in one area tends to lead to riskier behaviors in other areas. For example, people who don’t wear seat belts in cars tend to use less risky driving behaviors than people who do wear seat belts.
Towlieppan: "You wanna throw high?"
If you want to fix the problem, you make the helmets softer.
I don’t think too many guys in the leatherhead era were using their helmets as weapons.
I didn’t have a problem with the hit on Collie…another guy hit him into the defender that concussed him. They were different hits. I don’t know that the intent was there on either though.
Helmets
There are alot of Helmet designs that would reduce concussions, but because the companies that make them aren’t NFL sanctioned they aren’t allowed to be used! They are not w/ the proper company, which the NFL is in bed with… The NFL is being completely double faced about all this!!! Safer helmets exist, but players can’t use them, much less see them cuz the NFL has contracts to uphold w/ other companies!
Also, if the NFL really is concerned about player safety, why isn’t every player forced to wear standard pads like thigh pads, knee pads, properly sized shoulder pads, etc… How many players do you see that don’t even wear pads on their legs whatsoever? Most nowadays!!! Even wonder what the hell DL are wearing shoulder pads designed for QB? Most of them do now…
Imo, every positions should have standard gear that they MUST wear to ensure as much safety as possible for every player!!! But they don’t care about those issues… NFL is really double faced about the whole player safety issue!!! Right down to the new likely 18 game schedule!!!
You've been Stroh'd!!!
That first paragraph actually isn't true
Players can use helmets from companies that aren’t “official” NFL suppliers, but the label can’t be visible.
Towlieppan: "You wanna throw high?"
you're correct
but the player needs a valid reason to switch helmet companies as well.
-this is why DeSean Jackson can now wear his anti-concussion helmet, but why no one wears them prior to the injury.
The time for reckoning has come, and we already have the answer
Interesting
So a player without a history of concussions wouldn’t be able to go to the league and say he wants to use this helmet to reduce the risk of concussion? Or am I reading too much into that?
Towlieppan: "You wanna throw high?"
Everything I have read
Has said what GoGregGo said. They can use any helmet, but the brand name cannot be visible.
There are players using those helmets already…
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/This-is-DeSean-Jackson-s-new-anti-concussion-hel?urn=nfl-282521
Idea
It’s interesting how Roy Williams came out and said he didn’t believe Collins’ hit was worthy of a fine, and it got me thinking of an idea….why not ask the player who got hit if they think the hit should be worthy of a fine? Obviously the final decision should not be solely based on that one response, but it could at least push the decision along. This definitely goes along with the hit Collie took, and I think it’s BS that at least one of those Eagles’ defenders didn’t have to pay up after Collie was left unconscious, taken off on a stretcher, out for the game, leaving all that worry with his teammates for his well-being, with the final diagnosis being a concussion. Because I bet if Collie was asked, he would definitely want those players fined.
Make the Helmets Soft on the Outside, too.
…then they won’t be a weapon. The damage from helmet-to-helmet collisions would be reduced, as well as the damage from helmet-to-everything else.
Read the last paragraph of the post
“A New York Times article last month detailed how the modern helmet came into being (designed in the 1960s to prevent skull fractures), there is little oversight to either update or improve these standards, and there is a trade off between a helmet design hard enough to prevent skull fractures and soft enough to avoid concussions.”
by LambeauLeap12 on Nov 10, 2010 11:21 AM CST up reply actions
great point.
as soon as they introduced the helmet it was turned into a weapon. why do we use so much gear any way? rugby players don’t need pads. or footy. or futbol.
by Matthew Grassinger on Nov 10, 2010 2:19 PM CST reply actions
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