Ted Ginn's Facemask

[DenverJ]

Ok, does anyone know why Ted Ginn wears a punter/place kicker type of face mask?? Is is for "better vision" to see the ball type of thing or what?

[hormone]

I'd like to ask another question too...is his visor at an extra length or does it just look like it due to the small mask? I've heard the better vision argument though.

[powersurge]

Ok, does anyone know why Ted Ginn wears a punter/place kicker type of face mask?? Is is for "better vision" to see the ball type of thing or what?

Actually makes a lot of sense for a WR if he is doing it for that reason. I'm surprised that more players aren't following in his footsteps.

Isn't that why most players, especially QB's did it in the past?

[sacker12]

I can't believe that it's legal for him to do that in the pro's.

[GFB]

I'd like to ask another question too...is his visor at an extra length or does it just look like it due to the small mask? I've heard the better vision argument though.

No, I think he wears it lower than everyone else. If you look at the pictures, the tabs on his helmet don't come up as high as normal tabs do...

My question is does he have to wear the visor for safety reason? The difference between his mask and a simple one-bar mask across wouldn't be that great. If he took the visor off, wouldn't he open himself to hands to the face or eyes?

[steiny_ramone]

I noticed that last night. He was recieving a kick, and the punter had a bigger facemask than him.

[Chazberg]

Actually, he hasn't worn the visor for a while now. It's probably not a big risk, since he's a wide receiver/returner and doesn't have a lotta contact with defenders.

And yeah it looks pretty ridiculous in my opinion, but I guess I can see where it makes sense.

[rtrich11]

It's about as close to this as you can get these days. (I miss these old masks...)

[chris86saw]

didnt they move away from that style a few decades ago, im sure there was a good reason, hmm...

[andrewharrington]

I actually don't think it looks that ridiculous on Ted, though I always hated it on kickers and punters. He pulls it off well, and I see the functionality of it as well.

[Old School Fool]

You could use that facemask in NFL 2K5.

[AndrewPF]

on a kind of similar note, i'm a lineman and i ended up with a running back facemask. if you're familiar with Riddell revolution helmets, that leaves space for 2 fists to fit in to the face area.

[Billy B]

I can see where he might have better vision with the lower mask, but to me the bars don't really matter. Since I'm average sized (small for an offensive lineman) all the Revolutions were too big so I had to where a facemask with the bar down the middle. But in junior high I wore the lineman Revolution without the bar and I can't tell much of a difference in vision. It might make more of a difference to a receiver/returner that has to focus on the ball, though.

If it actually helps his play, it's fine. But if not, that looks rediculous.

[eqtmgr]

To clear a few things up . . .

Ginn's mask I believe is an RKOP made by Schutt. It is a little unorthodox for a skill player other than a kicker to wear on, but to each his own.

The shield is legal in the NFL and the NCAA provided in college it is clear. We do not allow our players to wear one unless it is medically necessary. Honestly, most of them wear it for cosmetic reasons and they are a complete pain in the ass to mount onto the mask, especially the older style Revo masks, especially the Short Open.

I have some of my linemen wearing a skill style in the Revo G. The opening is not any bigger than the other skill styles.

Aloha!

[TFoA]

Actually, he hasn't worn the visor for a while now. It's probably not a big risk, since he's a wide receiver/returner and doesn't have a lotta contact with defenders.

And yeah it looks pretty ridiculous in my opinion, but I guess I can see where it makes sense.

Trust me, WRs/DBs need as much room to see the field/ball as they can get. I wore a mask similar to this back when I played DB in high school. Trust me, it definitely helps IMO.

[andrewharrington]

I see a lot of players doing the switcheroo for whatever reason. LT went to that awful bulldog mask this year after using one of the more classic RB masks. Two weeks ago, Kellen Winslow had switched to a Revolution helmet, and last weekend, he was back in the conventional helmet, donning one of those trendy DB facemasks with the 'eyeglass protection' bars (as seen in my avatar) instead of his original mask, which was of the more standard variety usually worn by WRs. I remember when Deion Sanders tried playing offense as a Cowboy, he used the DB mask on defense, but switched to one without the eye bars for offense, allegedly to help his vision. I see all these young receivers like Winslow and Braylon Edwards wearing the DB mask, and I wonder if it really hinders the vision. I feel like some people wouldn't mind sacrificing function for the sake of fashion, like Braylon Edwards, for example.

[John in KY]

They finally outlawed the old Riddell BD-9s (the plastic 2-bars) back in the 1980s - I remember seeing footage of Steve Largent getting one shattered on a hit; it seems like it happened soon after that.

Wearing the eyeglass protection style mask may not be trendy; some of these players may want the extra eye protection and simply don't like the plastic shields, which probably aren't much good in rain or snow. I noticed that LT had taken his shield off at some point during the Chargers/Colts game which was played in rain.

Interesting to hear about the Revolution helmets from people currently wearing them; have Riddell's new facemasks for these corrected some of the problems you had or is it just the design of the helmet? Hey, "state of the art" back when I was in high school was the Riddell PAC-3 helmet and they hadn't brought out the double-wire facemasks, so things have changed a lot.

[Rambulance]

on a kind of similar note, i'm a lineman and i ended up with a running back facemask. if you're familiar with Riddell revolution helmets, that leaves space for 2 fists to fit in to the face area.

If you let an opposing player get two fists inside your helmet, maybe you're not that good of a lineman

[Joshawaggie]

on a kind of similar note, i'm a lineman and i ended up with a running back facemask. if you're familiar with Riddell revolution helmets, that leaves space for 2 fists to fit in to the face area.

If you let an opposing player get two fists inside your helmet, maybe you're not that good of a lineman

I understand that that type of facemask allows maximum viewing, which is great for a WR... but having the shield on there, does that cause any type of glare? Does it defeat the purpose of having a wide open mask?

[BlueSky]

I can't see wearing a mask like Ginn's that looks like it would accommodate a defender's forearm quite nicely. That was my issue with Scott "Chin Mask" Player. He might as well have worn a sign saying, "Please hit me in the face!"