Football - Potentially Lethal Situation

[BlueSky]

Don't you get the feeling somebody's going to get killed on one of these plays where a guy loses his helmet? Shockey in the playoff game, the Florida defender in the BCS game, and so on (go here to see Deuce McAllister lose his headgear but keep on truckin' vs. Tampa Bay) - if a guy keeps playing and takes a helmet-to-head hit, you could literally have somebody killed.

But what's the answer? Say a guy's in the clear running for a touchdown and one of his blockers loses his helmet or knocks someone else's off. Doesn't seem fair to blow it dead, but you can't have somebody suffering death or an incapacitating brain injury either.

[slapshot]

In every level of football the I officiate (semi-pro, high school & youth), play is immediately stopped if the ball carrier's helmet comes off. For everyone else, play continues until the ball is dead, to prevent someone from intentionally killing a play by removing the helmet.

If the helmet is secured correctly, it should not come off. All the players you see whose helmets are coming off aren't securing all the buckles on the chin straps, or have so much hair that the helmet isn't sitting properly.

[BlueSky]

Good info, thanks. I do remember one hit though that was unbelievable. If memory serves it was a Cardinals receiver who got leveled making a catch. His helmet flew off and landed several yards away. They zoomed in on it and all 4 chinstrap snaps were in place and still snapped. How that happened I have no idea.

[whitedawg22]

Back when I played, I had my helmet knocked off once in a similar situation, where all four straps stayed buckled. It takes a hit in exactly the right spot to do that, but it's possible.

I think a rule would be possible where play gets immediately blown dead if a player loses his helmet, but if a player is determined to have intentionally removed his helmet during a play or is playing with the helmet less than fully buckled, the player is assessed a personal foul. Nobody would risk the 15 yards with any shenanigans, but player safety would be protected.

[NJTank]

No no No

It rarely happens and if a player is brave enough to keep trucking let him truck along

[BlueSky]

It rarely happens and if a player is brave enough to keep trucking let him truck along

I disagree, because once somebody gets killed or is lying brain-damaged in a full-service nursing home, the NFL will surely take action. Why wait?

[footballfiji]

I think a lot of common sense will come into play.

If a defenders helmet has come off, they are the persuer. They will make the correct judgement call as to whether or not they will continue to pursue (i.e. the Florida player)

I've never seen a case where the QBs helmet came off and the play was still live (for example, he had the ball and was still looking for a reciever)

As for a Running Back if the helmet comes off then more then likely contact has already been made and will be going down soon anyway or is so far from any defenders that it won't matter.

[Ben5]

In every level of football the I officiate (semi-pro, high school & youth), play is immediately stopped if the ball carrier's helmet comes off. For everyone else, play continues until the ball is dead, to prevent someone from intentionally killing a play by removing the helmet.

If the helmet is secured correctly, it should not come off. All the players you see whose helmets are coming off aren't securing all the buckles on the chin straps, or have so much hair that the helmet isn't sitting properly.

This is the right way to do it. No penalties, no allowing the ball carrier to keep running and get trucked. If a helmet falls off, it's the player's fault for not having it strapped on correctly.