The Underrated Importance of Special Teams in Football

1558 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Introduction on football safety

In football, players are divided up into three categories, offensive, defensive and special teams. Fans tend to think that the offensive and defensive players are the most important in the game, but the special teams can be just as important. Special teams can win the game, weather it is a field goal, or an onside kick. One play that occurs on special teams is the kickoff. The kickoff is important because it symbolizes the start of the game, is the play that allows a team to get the ball back after the other team scores, and is a play that teams can score on. Though the kickoff is a big part of the game of football, it is arguably the most dangerous. With twenty-two players sprinting as fast as they can for thirty or forty yards and then colliding with the opposing team, it can cause injury. The NFL has tried to make the kickoff safer by moving the placement of the ball from the 20-yard line to …show more content…

In order to make the game safer, the NFL needs to eliminate the kickoff entirely because the kickoff causes injury, is a boring waste of time, and is pointless. Football is a dangerous sport; players go into games knowing that they could get hurt. The kickoff plays a huge role when it comes to head injuries. According to an article by Mark Maske, there were a total of 270 concussions in the NFL in 2010 and 35 of them were from the kickoff. Though 35 may not seem like a large number it still would make the game safer if there were zero concussions instead of 35. The number has decreased over the years though, “Players suffered 266 concussions last season, including 20 on kickoffs, according to the study released Tuesday by Edgeworth Economics, a consulting firm. That was down from 270 concussions suffered by NFL players during the 2010 season, 35 of them on

Show More
Related

  • Cost of Glory: The Issues Surrounding Football Injuries

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    America’s newfound favorite pastime, football, came from a bizarre chain of events. Football started when a soccer player got fed up with just kicking the ball, so he picked up the ball and ran to the goal. His actions of picking up the ball and running with it fathered a new European sport, rugby, which was soon brought over to American shores, and was altered slightly, the shape of the ball and a few other small rules. The sport became organized into a league and produced the NFL(National Football League). The NFL had a slow beginning, but has picked up popularity, currently having a 9 billion dollar yearly revenue. Playing football comes with great costs, including physical and mental health deterioration, plus the amount of time spent prepping before game day. Which can pose several questions, “Why suffer for a game, Is it worth the money? Is it worth the fame? How great is the cost?” I believe that football, should have stricter regulations for the treatment of injuries, along with informing players of just how devastating a concussion can be, along with the other major injuries that commonly occur while playing football.

    Read More

  • NFL Held Responsible for Brain Injuries

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    The average NFL player takes up to 1,000 blows to the head throughout their football career. Some of those blows can have the force of a sledgehammer (“RealNatural”). Based on a research study by Dr. Jesse David, there were 265 concussions reported in the 2012 season, during the 2011 season there were 266 concussions, and 270 concussions in 2010 season (Kacsmar). It has been known that repeated blows to the head can cause long-term brain damage since at least the 1950’s, long before most of the NFL players had begun their careers (“RealNatural”). Past infractions of the NFL have already resulted in over 4,500 forme...

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech About Concussions

    1759 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 2001 there were 150,000 athletes that were injured at the age of nineteen and younger. In 2009 there were 250,000 injured athletes at the age of nineteen and younger. There is a 6.3 per 1,000 incidence a college player will suffer a concussion while a high school athlete has a 11.2 per 1,000. Risk of concussions in football is high and equipment should continue to improve, but rules should stay the same in order for the game to remain

    Read More

  • The Concussion Problem in Professional and Amateur Football

    2124 Words  | 5 Pages

    The number of concussions in professional and amateur football has been rising and has sparked much controversy in recent years. These concussions are most likely linked with disease and even the deaths of some pro and semi-pro football players. New research is attempting to solve the problem but the issue is still prevalent in football today.

    Read More

  • Essay On Football Safety

    1803 Words  | 4 Pages

    The National Football League was formed on August 20, 1920. Players wore pads, not quite as protective as the ones today, helmets and legs pads. Even though their protective gear wasn 't all that protective they still made contact with the players of the opposing teams. As the years progressed the league made many changes to the rules due to player safety. They invented better protective gear for the players and they also made more strict rules regarding playing guidelines. The main goal of those rules, like the targeting rule that is so controversial today, is to protect the players. The targeting rule itself states that no player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown of his helmet, when in

    Read More

  • Should Children Play Tackle Football?

    1412 Words  | 3 Pages

    Concussions occur regularly on the football field and have always been an injury associated with football. They occur at all levels from little league to the NFL. One of the earliest reported concussion...

    Read More

  • Concussions In The NFL

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Effects of Concussions on the NFL For many years the NFL has been considered one of the most painful and dangerous sport played in the United States. But is it too Dangerous? The uprising number of concussions is shocking. NFL analysts survives suggest a 14 percent increase of concussions for the year 2013. Player safety rules have also been implemented into the official rule book. The three main effects that concussions have on the NFL today are big hits, big plays, and the defensive game played today.

    Read More

  • Concussions In Football

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    Football is one of the most popular sports in the world. It is played in a lot of different ways, fashions, and other countries. It can be a very brutal sport with players hitting at the intent to hurt one another. With these intents come great consequences. In recent years the head injuries involved with this brutal game play have been getting uncomfortably high. Many rules have had to be enforced for player safety, because of the increase of head injuries resulting in tragic effects on players both old and new. One of the injuries that have had the most devastating effects is the concussion.

    Read More

  • High School Football Dangerous

    626 Words  | 2 Pages

    How dangerous is high school football? How dangerous is high school football? That’s a question that a lot of coaches get asked. In reality, they can not give a correct answer. Personally I believe that every sport is dangerous but, if you play the correct way it could be safe.

    Read More

  • American Football: Technology and Regulation of Helmet Safety

    1969 Words  | 4 Pages

    American football is full of exciting competition, but do we realize the danger! Helmet safety in football remains an immense problem as the sport accounts for the highest incidence of concussions. Since leather football helmets, the technology for safer helmets has improved drastically and continue to improve. The development of newly designed helmets and technology has lowered the risk of head injuries for players. Furthermore, improvements in helmet testing methods have led to better understanding head injuries and the protectiveness of the helmet. In respect, football helmet safety still remains a challenge, such as a necessity of a proper categorization system to rank helmets and regulations to improve helmet safety. Regardless, standards and regulations attempt to address helmet safety through government intervention and a proper measuring system for football helmets. Despite the cultural perception of football, measures are taken to ensure safety, such as the reforms and education with regards to playing safer football. I intend to address the technological advances and regulation of football towards the discussion of helmet safety. Therefore the aggresivity in football’s culture should embrace stronger helmet standards and regulation that are promoted through improved testing methods and innovations because of the need to prevent further dangerous head injuries, especially concussions.

    Read More

  • The Game of Adversity: Football

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    Success without adversity is impossible. Everyone in life has their ups and downs and nothing in this world is perfect. At some point in life, hardships begin to occur and that’s when the real test begins. Some people rise up and try their absolute best to take a stand against the challenge. Then there are others that would crawl back into their shells, crying for mercy. There should be no excuse for giving up or not putting in the effort. People are only successful in winning the battle of adversity when they are mentally tough. The intense game of adversity can be referred to football.

    Read More

  • The Dangers of Playing American Football

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...o be a major part of life; but the hopes are that many things about football are changed in order to make the sport safer for everyone.

    Read More

  • History of American Football

    1537 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the modern day United States the sport American football has become not only entertainment but also a tradition whether it’s watching the BCS college championship or watching the super bowl with the family. The sport of American football is unique to the United States and has grown and became iconic over the years and has become a part of many Americans lives. American Football was made in 1869 and was modeled after the sport of rugby. They took the basics of rugby and changed it to make it fit better for them. The game has changed over the years but it also affected many Americans as the tradition of Monday Night football has begun. The game has had problems with the United States government as it was said to be too dangerous to play, this lead to an upgrade in the equipment and they tried very hard to make the equipment well ensuring player safety throughout the sport.

    Read More

  • Football vs. Soccer

    780 Words  | 2 Pages

    First of all, the rules of football require one to equip himself with approximately twenty pounds of equipment, including a helmet, shoulder pads, and girdle pads. This is because football has the most contact involved out of all sports. In a football game, the norm is that the home team wears colorful jerseys and the visiting team wears white jerseys. Moreover, if a team’s offense is on the field, their defense is on the sideline. A team’s offense includes a center, who snaps the ball to the quarterback. The “QB” then has a choice to run with the ball, hand it off to a running back, or throw it to a wide receiver. The quarterback has an offensive line to protect him from the assailing defense. If a teammate happens to score a touchdown, he earns his team six points, which allows for the kicker to kick an extra point, and give his team a total of seven points. However, if the offense fails to travel at least ten yards within four attempts, or “downs,” they have the opti...

    Read More

  • The Football Game

    489 Words  | 1 Pages

    One one thousand. The stands are filled with men, women, and children waving their hands and homemade signs. The cheers coming from the crowd make it hard for me to hear. I smell the hot dogs, popcorn, and pizza being sold at the concession stand. The marching band has just left the field with the tuba player’s last note still ringing in my ear. In the fourth quarter with us in the lead by five the scoreboard shows six seconds. The coach yells, “It’s time to go”! I strap on my helmet with great enthusiasm and head towards the field to take my position.

    Read More

More about The Underrated Importance of Special Teams in Football

Open Document