Five actionable solutions to reduce NFL injuries, from mandating turf shoes and slowing down fields to snap count reduction and increased recovery time.
I think there's a trade-off (injury-wise) when it comes to turf shoes, but I think the physics works in their favor. Obviously, if your shoes are going to slip, you're going to get more "slip" (linear) injuries like strains or falls (e.g., slipping backwards and hitting your head), but with cleats (rotational), as Dr. Liao pointed out, you're more prone to serious knee, ankle, and foot injuries because of how well they grip the playing surface.
In theory, turf shoes should be easier to adopt. But once you start talking about slowing down the speed of the game, you're fighting an uphill battle. It took years for the NFL to make kickoffs, a play that we see only 10 times a game on average, safer.
However, I think that mandating a specific type of playing surface that has been studied and proven to reduce injuries would be reasonable. Grass can be a double-edged sword, though. It's a living surface, and not all grass is the same. Players hate Soldier Field and the Steelers just installed brand new grass at Acrisure stadium over the summer because it was rated as the worst surface to play on in the entire league.
Overwhelmingly, the #1 way to reduce injuries is to reduce the amount of playing time or games. But with the NFL pushing for an 18 game season, I'm not sure how they're going to accomplish that. Ultimately, at least for now, it's going to come down to the Lions themselves, and how and when they choose to play their specific players, but there's also just a boatload of luck that factors in, too. Fingers crossed this year.
All excellent points. Agree with you that grass/dirt surface can be terrible, especially if it's hard to grow and rock hard in a cold weather location.
I'm with you that the 18 game season could lead to unintended consequences like increased obvious load management, as you pointed out.
Get rid of artificial turf. Add an extra bye week where it's the same week for all teams. Perhaps set a snap count limit for all players except QB and center. Every other position could be rotated. Maybe increase the roster to 55 players active for every game. This would apply to all teams equally.
For the Lions who seem to be near the top of the injury parade every season, it might be enough to get into a Super Bowl with enough good players still able to play.
Excellent ideas. The snap count limit could be NFL-mandated or just voluntarily done by teams. Helps keep the stars healthy. If it was mandated, the increased roster size makes sense.
Getting rid of turf completely would be nice but is really complex with cold-weather teams and domes.
I think there's a trade-off (injury-wise) when it comes to turf shoes, but I think the physics works in their favor. Obviously, if your shoes are going to slip, you're going to get more "slip" (linear) injuries like strains or falls (e.g., slipping backwards and hitting your head), but with cleats (rotational), as Dr. Liao pointed out, you're more prone to serious knee, ankle, and foot injuries because of how well they grip the playing surface.
In theory, turf shoes should be easier to adopt. But once you start talking about slowing down the speed of the game, you're fighting an uphill battle. It took years for the NFL to make kickoffs, a play that we see only 10 times a game on average, safer.
However, I think that mandating a specific type of playing surface that has been studied and proven to reduce injuries would be reasonable. Grass can be a double-edged sword, though. It's a living surface, and not all grass is the same. Players hate Soldier Field and the Steelers just installed brand new grass at Acrisure stadium over the summer because it was rated as the worst surface to play on in the entire league.
Overwhelmingly, the #1 way to reduce injuries is to reduce the amount of playing time or games. But with the NFL pushing for an 18 game season, I'm not sure how they're going to accomplish that. Ultimately, at least for now, it's going to come down to the Lions themselves, and how and when they choose to play their specific players, but there's also just a boatload of luck that factors in, too. Fingers crossed this year.
All excellent points. Agree with you that grass/dirt surface can be terrible, especially if it's hard to grow and rock hard in a cold weather location.
I'm with you that the 18 game season could lead to unintended consequences like increased obvious load management, as you pointed out.
Get rid of artificial turf. Add an extra bye week where it's the same week for all teams. Perhaps set a snap count limit for all players except QB and center. Every other position could be rotated. Maybe increase the roster to 55 players active for every game. This would apply to all teams equally.
For the Lions who seem to be near the top of the injury parade every season, it might be enough to get into a Super Bowl with enough good players still able to play.
Excellent ideas. The snap count limit could be NFL-mandated or just voluntarily done by teams. Helps keep the stars healthy. If it was mandated, the increased roster size makes sense.
Getting rid of turf completely would be nice but is really complex with cold-weather teams and domes.