Brett Favre :-(

[BruceMGF]

Brett Favre is 44 years old, and having major memory lapses, almost certainly due to head-shots from his lengthy career as a quarterback:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9909288/brett-favre-adds-fodder-head-injury-concerns

Not that it ever was, but this just isn't funny anymore.

[David in FL]

As a lifelong, diehard Packer fan, all I have to say is, who?

[Ernest Jones]

Brett Favre is 44 years old, and having major memory lapses, almost certainly due to head-shots from his lengthy career as a quarterback:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9909288/brett-favre-adds-fodder-head-injury-concerns

Not that it ever was, but this just isn't funny anymore.

Yes. As an NHL fan I have to agree, the concussion situation has to addressed some how. It's not simply "getting your bell rung" as we believed in the past.

[newtogolf]

There are a number of reasons / explanations for memory loss of which multiple concussions are one.  I find it ironic that in a sport where hitting your opponent is a major part of the game that people are shocked that there are long term effects from it.

What's next, hockey players claiming they didn't know that playing the sport might result in the loss of teeth?

[BruceMGF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtogolf

There are a number of reasons / explanations for memory loss of which multiple concussions are one.  I find it ironic that in a sport where hitting your opponent is a major part of the game that people are shocked that there are long term effects from it.

What's next, hockey players claiming they didn't know that playing the sport might result in the loss of teeth?

It doesn't seem like it was always this way.  I heard an interview with Joe Namath recently and he sounds like he's all there (except for his knees).  Terry Bradshaw still does TV commentary.  Those guys are way older than 44.

I saw this in the comment block of the linked article:

Quote:

The NFL and College and even High School has become the land of the "launch my body/head at ball carrier" as the way to play football instead of the "grill in the chest, arms driven up through the shoulders, and wrapping with your legs never stopping." In Big Boy High School Football, that fundamental stuff gets you cut or benched. All they want is rockets with no fear.

[newtogolf]

It doesn't seem like it was always this way.  I heard an interview with Joe Namath recently and he sounds like he's all there (except for his knees).  Terry Bradshaw still does TV commentary.  Those guys are way older than 44.

I saw this in the comment block of the linked article:

Bradshaw was never a rocket scientist so I'm not sure we'd notice if he lost any mental capacity from hits he took .

The game did change after Bradshaw retired, steroids were more rampant making the players bigger and faster than they had been and as a result collisions became more violent.  There were still big hitters in Bradshaw's day, Jack Tatum, George Atkinson, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount but they were the exception, today they are the norm.  The game was different then too, the game was played more between the hash marks, more running, less passing.  The dirty stuff was in the pileups when guys like Conrad Dobler would bite, claw and punch opponents in the groin, not in the open field.

Despite the changes to players and the game, everyone has their own limits in their ability to sustain multiple impacts before permanent damage occurs.  Favre took a lot of hits and he wasn't always in great shape so it's not a surprise he might have some damage as a result of a long career in the NFL.  He was also an alcohol and pain killer abuser which probably killed off some brain cells too.

[iacas]

What's next, hockey players claiming they didn't know that playing the sport might result in the loss of teeth?

Nah, they know:

[Golfingdad]

As a lifelong, diehard Packer fan, all I have to say is, who?

He's that guy who DOESN'T currently own a broken left collarbone.

Bradshaw was never a rocket scientist so I'm not sure we'd notice if he lost any mental capacity from hits he took .

The game did change after Bradshaw retired, steroids were more rampant making the players bigger and faster than they had been and as a result collisions became more violent.  There were still big hitters in Bradshaw's day, Jack Tatum, George Atkinson, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount but they were the exception, today they are the norm.  The game was different then too, the game was played more between the hash marks, more running, less passing.  The dirty stuff was in the pileups when guys like Conrad Dobler would bite, claw and punch opponents in the groin, not in the open field.

Despite the changes to players and the game, everyone has their own limits in their ability to sustain multiple impacts before permanent damage occurs.  Favre took a lot of hits and he wasn't always in great shape so it's not a surprise he might have some damage as a result of a long career in the NFL.  He was also an alcohol and pain killer abuser which probably killed off some brain cells too.

A lot of people didn't, and still don't, agree with it, and it remains to be seen how much it will help, but I really like the way the game is FINALLY trying to take head injuries seriously.  Obviously, the game is changing because of it, and some of these personal foul calls can be a bit frustrating at times**, but overall, I think they are definitely headed in the right direction.  The game is not less entertaining just because James Harrison isn't out there trying to put people into comas.

**This weekend in the UCLA-Colorado game the referee called unnecessary roughness against UCLA for a hit to the quarterback.  It wasn't late, and it wasn't helmet-to-helmet, and it wasn't a shot to the head or neck.  It was, I shit you not, and I quote "for tackling the quarterback with his full body weight."  I swear to you, that is exactly what the referee said.  WTF??

Also, for those that don't know, in college, if they call "targeting" against a player for hitting a defenseless receiver either with the crown of the helmet OR with any part of the body making contact with the head or neck first, the offending player is ejected from the game, with one goofy-ass caveat:  The play is reviewed upstairs, and if it's found to be an erroneous call, if the hit was clean, they overturn the ejection, but they DO NOT overturn the penalty.  That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

All of that said, I'll take those stupid penalties all day long, if along with it comes a safer game.

[billchao]

It doesn't seem like it was always this way.  I heard an interview with Joe Namath recently and he sounds like he's all there (except for his knees).  Terry Bradshaw still does TV commentary.  Those guys are way older than 44.

The same thing is happening in the NHL. The simplest explanation is that players back then didn't workout as much, they didn't lift weights, and they simply didn't train the way players do today. Athletes are getting bigger, stronger, and faster, but there's a physical limit to the amount of damage the human body can take.

[MEfree]

It doesn't seem like it was always this way.  I heard an interview with Joe Namath recently and he sounds like he's all there (except for his knees).  Terry Bradshaw still does TV commentary.  Those guys are way older than 44.

There may be some old timers who are perfectly fine, but I am sure that there are others who have been affected- that is part of the reason the NFL agreed to pay $700+ Million.  Similarly, some of the guys playing today may retire after long careers and seem perfectly fine while others are likely to have problems.  It seems hard to predict outcomes when you are talking about head injuries.

As Newtogolf said, it shouldn't really be surprising that some are suffering long term effects.

Best wishes to Farve and his family.

[boogielicious]

Bradshaw was never a rocket scientist so I'm not sure we'd notice if he lost any mental capacity from hits he took .

The game did change after Bradshaw retired, steroids were more rampant making the players bigger and faster than they had been and as a result collisions became more violent.  There were still big hitters in Bradshaw's day, Jack Tatum, George Atkinson, Jack Lambert, Mel Blount but they were the exception, today they are the norm.  The game was different then too, the game was played more between the hash marks, more running, less passing.  The dirty stuff was in the pileups when guys like Conrad Dobler would bite, claw and punch opponents in the groin, not in the open field.

Despite the changes to players and the game, everyone has their own limits in their ability to sustain multiple impacts before permanent damage occurs.  Favre took a lot of hits and he wasn't always in great shape so it's not a surprise he might have some damage as a result of a long career in the NFL.  He was also an alcohol and pain killer abuser which probably killed off some brain cells too.

Um, Bradshaw had his neck broken when he played.

[newtogolf]

He's that guy who DOESN'T currently own a broken left collarbone.

A lot of people didn't, and still don't, agree with it, and it remains to be seen how much it will help, but I really like the way the game is FINALLY trying to take head injuries seriously.  Obviously, the game is changing because of it, and some of these personal foul calls can be a bit frustrating at times**, but overall, I think they are definitely headed in the right direction.  The game is not less entertaining just because James Harrison isn't out there trying to put people into comas.

**This weekend in the UCLA-Colorado game the referee called unnecessary roughness against UCLA for a hit to the quarterback.  It wasn't late, and it wasn't helmet-to-helmet, and it wasn't a shot to the head or neck.  It was, I shit you not, and I quote "for tackling the quarterback with his full body weight."  I swear to you, that is exactly what the referee said.  WTF??

Also, for those that don't know, in college, if they call "targeting" against a player for hitting a defenseless receiver either with the crown of the helmet OR with any part of the body making contact with the head or neck first, the offending player is ejected from the game, with one goofy-ass caveat:  The play is reviewed upstairs, and if it's found to be an erroneous call, if the hit was clean, they overturn the ejection, but they DO NOT overturn the penalty.  That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

All of that said, I'll take those stupid penalties all day long, if along with it comes a safer game.

I was taught, just as I'm sure the guys today are that you need to build your neck muscles, traps, and deltoids because they support your head and absorb the impact of hits to the head.  I don't see guys in my gym ever work their neck muscles the way we used to unless they are wrestlers.  When I played LB, my neck was 21", today it's 17.

When I look at some of the WR's and QB's today, some don't even look like they play sports.  Guys like Terrell Owens, Megatron, Boldin are built to absorb the impact but they are in the minority to all the lanky speed guys out there.

Most guys I know that played football would prefer a hit to their head than their knees.  The league needs to be careful because I see a lot more knee injuries to top players already this season and it's just half over.  When defenses start diving at the lower legs of guys to avoid head contact we're going to need a lot more crutches.

[GaijinGolfer]

Lifelong, diehard Packer fan too and I appreciate everything that Favre did for us while he was in Green Bay but I dont feel sorry for him.  Anyone who thinks that they can play football for decades and there arent going to be any long-term consequences is an idiot.

[teed off]

Ancient Roman Gladiators were mercilessly and relentlessly beaten in the Colosseum and unfortunately the modern day NFL "Gladiator" will succumb to the same end.......... to the cheers of many.

[jamo]

Lifelong, diehard Packer fan too and I appreciate everything that Favre did for us while he was in Green Bay but I dont feel sorry for him .  Anyone who thinks that they can play football for decades and there arent going to be any long-term consequences is an idiot.

You don't feel even a little bit sorry for a guy who risked his life weekly for our entertainment and is going to have brain damage for life?

[iacas]

You don't feel even a little bit sorry for a guy who risked his life weekly for our entertainment and is going to have brain damage for life?

To be fair you're asking the guy who gleefully hits into people. :-P

[David in FL]

You don't feel even a little bit sorry for a guy who risked his life weekly for our entertainment and is going to have brain damage for life?

Nonsense. He did it for millions of dollars........NOT for our entertainment.

[iacas]

Nonsense. He did it for millions of dollars........NOT for our entertainment.

Well, he only gets millions of dollars because it's entertainment for which people pay.