CBS' Dennis Dodd: Concussions and college football: The game must change -- or perish

per Dodd:

In the future there will be no helmets. There will be plastic flags flapping from their hips, attached by Velcro. Pull them off, you've made a "tackle". Pads? Only those on the walls in the back of the end zones so no one stubs a toe.

Welcome to the world of college football in 2033.

At the current rate -- per the nut job college football rules reactionaries of 2013 -- the game will de-evolve into touch in 20 years. You've heard or seen the uninformed whining analysts across the media landscape as the game redefines itself due to the growing concern over head trauma.

Limiting contact, flagging head shots, protecting quarterbacks is going to make less men of us all. That's their take. Here's mine in concluding CBSSports.com's series on concussions:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...llege-football-the-game-must-change-or-perish

Go Gophers!!

Yuck. Reading that made me both sad and angry.
Let it become a niche sport then. Players should have a choice to play or not, and be educated on the potential side effects. Why would a waiver at the beginning of the season not work to alleviate the lawsuits?

I'm not on board with the whole concussion witchhunt we're seeing now.

Thanks for posting. Interesting take from a couple of former players.

Ole, I agree that a waiver should make a difference, but they often don't.

Football is a crazy violent sport that like the Roman Coliseum leaves its gladiators crippled and dead. These are facts. Concussions, injuries to knees, backs and other body parts significantly reduce quality of life to a high % of participants and a shortened life span for many. How many gophers have had knee surgery in the last five years? How will this affect their lives in twenty years? Ben Utecht has described that he cannot remember attending his best friend's wedding.

230-250 lb 18 year olds arrive on campuses around the country and in 18 months are 320 lb starting offensive and defensive linemen. Think that won't effect the quality of their lives in twenty years? Remember Alan Page the only NFL defenseman to win POY honors played at 250 lbs. Ditka benched the Fridge for weight issues when he topped 300 lbs. now neither one of them would be big enough to make a team.

I watch college football and I attend games whenever I can. Thank goodness there are parents who don't care if their kids die young and get crippled for my amusement.