![]() ![]() NFL statistics have shown that concussions are five times more likely on kickoffs than on the average play, a league executive told ESPN last spring. And I do believe that if it gets to that point, that our country goes down, too."Ĭollege football quickly shot back, ACC Commissioner John Swofford insisting "we have to respect the science." At Florida Atlantic, coach Lane Kiffin said, "The changes in the game that continue to come are going to help people's concerns" about CTE. "I fear that the game will get pushed so far to one extreme that you won't recognize the game 10 years from now," he said. "I blame a groundswell of data that is tweaked one way or the other," he said.įedora also denounced adjustments to the rule book. Speaking to reporters at the Atlantic Coast Conference media days, Fedora questioned widely accepted studies that link concussions to a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. "I think it's a precursor to doing away with kickoffs altogether," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said, adding "the normal kickoff return is going to become a dinosaur."Ī few weeks have passed since North Carolina coach Larry Fedora declared: "I believe the game is under attack." They worry about fundamentally altering the game. Kickers might need to change their strategy, too. ![]() Though injuries, especially those to the head, remain a major concern, coaches and returners must now wrestle with a new kind of decision over when to stay and when to go. Think about it - when you have 11 defenders charging downfield, high-speed collisions are inevitable. NCAA leaders are hoping to discourage returns, taking the sting out of a play that can be electrifying but produces an outsized share of concussions. ![]()
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